The (De)Legitimization of Violence in Sacred and Human Contexts

This book provides a multidisciplinary commentary on a wide range of religious traditions and their relationship to acts of violence. Hate and violence occur at every level of human interaction, as do peace and compassion. Scholars of religion have a particular obligation to make sense out of this situation, tracing its history and variables, and drawing lessons for the future. From the formative periods of the religious traditions to their application in the contemporary world, the essays in this volume interrogate the views on violence found within the traditions and provide examples of religious practices that exacerbate or ameliorate situations of conflict.

1: Introduction.- 2: Violence and The Cross: The Affinity Between Theories of Atonement and Christian Attitudes Towards War and Peace.- 3: Facing Down Fear: John Chrysostom’s Answer to Violence.- 4: The Parable of the Wedding Protest: Matthew 22:1-14 and Nonviolent Resistance.- 5: Refuting the Violent Image of God in the Book of Joshua 6-12.- 6: The Conflict of War: Unresolved Challenges and Sentiments in Jewish Sources.- 7: Remodeling the Paradigm of Religious Inference and Decision Making in Islam: Converting Dogmatism into a Positive and Vibrant Human Activity.- 8: Violence or its De-Legitimization? Conflicting Views from the Hindu World.- 9: Speak Dhamma but Carry a Big Stick: Violence in Early Buddhist Discourse.- 10: War and Religious Discourse in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict.- 11: The Quest for Radical Islamism and the War on Terror in Indonesia.- 12: The Violent Wahhabism and the Use of Islamic Texts to Justify Armed Violence Against Muslims and Non-Muslims.-13: Embracing Nonviolence: Pope Francis and Catholic Teaching on War.- 14 Covert Violence: Counting Cultural Trauma at the Intersection of ATR, Islam and Neoliberalism in Africa.- 15: The Myth of Islam as Inherently Violent.- 16: “Heads Will Roll:” Decapitations in Mughal Painting – Persecution or Punishment?.- 17: Islamophobia and the Far-Right in Modern Germany, 2008-2018: An Introduction.- Concluding Remarks.

Muhammad Shafiq is Executive Director of the Hickey Center and holds the IIIT Interfaith Studies Chair at Nazareth College, USA.

 Thomas Donlin-Smith is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Nazareth College, USA.