An anthology that examines the historical and contemporary relationship between religion and violenceThis groundbreaking anthology provides the most comprehensive overview for understanding the fascinating relationship between religion and violence-historically, culturally, and in the contemporary world. Bringing together writings from scholarly and religious traditions, it is the first volume to unite primary sources-justifications for violence from religious texts, theologians, and activists-with invaluable essays by authoritative scholars.The first half of the collection includes original source materials justifying violence from various religious perspectives: Hindu, Chinese, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist. Showing that religious violence is found in every tradition, these sources include ancient texts and scriptures along with thoughtful essays from theologians wrestling with such issues as military protection and pacifism. The collection also includes the writings of modern-day activists involved in suicide bombings, attacks on abortion clinics, and nerve gas assaults. The book's second half features well-known thinkers reflecting on why religion and violence are so intimately related and includes excerpts from early social theorists such as Durkheim, Marx, and Freud, as well as contemporary thinkers who view the issue of religious violence from literary, anthropological, postcolonial, and feminist perspectives. The editors' brief introductions to each essay provide important historical and conceptual contexts and relate the readings to one another. The diversity of selections and their accessible length make this volume ideal for both students and general readers.

Acknowledgments ixIntroduction: Why Is Religion Violent and Violence Religious? 1Part I: Religious Justifications for ViolenceIntroduction to Part I 7Chapter 1. Kautilya 13"Forms of Treacherous Fights," the Arthashastra 13Chapter 2. Sun Tzu 17"Laying Plans," The Art of War 17Chapter 3. The Bhagavad Gita 20The Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata 20Chapter 4. Soho Takuan 25"Annals of the Sword Taia," The Unfettered Mind 25Chapter 5. The Hebrew Bible 29Deuteronomy 20 31Exodus 23 32Chapter 6. The Qur'an 35Surah 2 ("The Cow") 36Chapter 7. Thomas Aquinas 41"Whether It Is Always Sinful to Wage War?" Summa Theologica 41Chapter 8. Reinhold Niebuhr 45"Why the Christian Church Is Not Pacifist" 45Chapter 9. Michael Bray 55"A Time for Revolution?" A Time to Kill 56Chapter 10. Abd al-Salam Faraj 62The Neglected Duty 63Chapter 11. Meir Kahane 69"War and Peace," The Jewish Idea 69Chapter 12. Shoko Asahara 75Declaring Myself the Christ 76Disaster Comes to the Land of the Rising Sun 77Chapter 13. 9/11 Conspirator 82"Last Instructions of 9/11" 83
Part II: Understanding the Religious Role in ViolenceIntroduction to Part II 93Chapter 14. Émile Durkheim 100Elementary Forms of the Religious Life 101Chapter 15. Henri Hubert and Marcel Mauss 108"Conclusion," Sacrifice: Its Nature and Function 109Chapter 16. Sigmund Freud 115Totem and Taboo 116Chapter 17. René Girard 127"Sacrifice," Violence and the Sacred 128Chapter 18. Walter Burkert 141Homo Necans 141Chapter 19. Maurice Bloch 152Prey into Hunter 152Chapter 20. Georges Bataille 167Theory of Religion 167Chapter 21. Karl Marx 174Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right 174Chapter 22. Nancy Jay 178"Sacrifice and Descent," Throughout Your Generations Forever 178Chapter 23. Elaine Scarry 190The Body in Pain 191Chapter 24. Jean Baudrillard 201The Spirit of Terrorism 201Chapter 25. Ashis Nandy 210"The Discreet Charm of Indian Terrorism," The Savage Freud and Other Essays 210
Closing Comments: The Connection between War and Sacrifice 217Selected Bibliography 223Permissions 229About the Editors 231Index 233