This book examines the connection between religion and violence in the Western traditions of the three Abrahamic faiths, from ancient to modern times.

Introduction Religion and Violence in Western Traditions-André Gagné, Jennifer Guyver, and Gerbern S. Oegema; 1 "I will be an enemy to your enemies": The Genocidal Ideal in the Hebrew Bible and its Legacy-Frances Flannery; 2 Turn the Cheek but Buy a Sword: Responding to Violence in Luke-Acts-David Anthony Basham; 3 Anabaptists and the Apocalypse: The Makings of a Cosmic War in Münster-Jennifer Otto; 4 "Ruling [the Church] to its destruction and leading souls to hell in masses": Violence, Victimhood and Self-Defence in the Conciliarist Discourse of Jacques Almain-Shaun Retallick; 5 Fearful Symmetry: Revelation, Hellboy, and Pop Apocalyptic Violence-Aaron Ricker; 6 Inciting Genocide in Rwanda and the Reception of the Bible: "When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it"-Spyridon Loumakis; 7 Jihadism and the Family in Europe: The Anthropology of the Jihadist Family-Farhad Khosrokhavar; 8 Mediatization of Religious Violence: Information and Obscenity-Stefan Bratosin; 9 Protecting the Legitimacy of State Violence Through Laïcité: the Case of Quebec-Jennifer Guyver; 10 Battling the Plague: Spiritual Warfare, COVID-19 and the Demonization of Political Adversaries-André Gagné