Violence and the World's Religious Traditions An Introduction

Is religion inherently predisposed to violence? Or has religion been taken hostage by a politics of aggression? The years since the end of the Cold War have shown a noticeable shift in patterns of religious extremism, accentuating the uncomfortable, complex, and oft-misunderstood relationship between religion and violence. The essays in this succinct new volume examine that relationship by offering a well-rounded look at violence as it appears in the world's most prominent religious traditions, exploring Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese, Sikh, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, African, and Pacific Island texts and practices.

The essays in Violence and the World's Religious Traditions explore the ways in which specific religions have justified acts of destruction, in history, in scripture, and in the contemporary world. But the collection also offers an investigation of religious symbols and practices, shedding new light on the very nature of religion and confronting the question of how deeply intertwined are violence and faith.

Mark Juergensmeyer is Professor of Sociology and Global Studies, and Director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Margo Kitts is Professor of Humanities and Religious Studies and Coordinator of Religious Studies and East-West Classical Studies at Hawai'i Pacific University in Honolulu.

Michael Jerryson is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Youngstown State University.

Introduction
"The Enduring Relationship of Religion and Violence"
Mark Juergensmeyer, Margo Kitts and Michael Jerryson

1. Hinduism
"Violence and Nonviolence at the Heart of Hindu Ethics"
Veena Das

2. Buddhism
"Buddhist Traditions and Violence"
Michael Jerryson

3. Sikhism
"Sikhs and Violence"
Cynthia Keppley Mahmood

4. Judaism
"Religion and Violence in the Jewish Tradition"
Ron Hassner and Gideon Aran

5. Christianity
"Religion and Violence in Christianity"
Lloyd Steffen

6. Islam
"Muslim Engagement with Injustice and Violence"
Bruce Lawrence

7. Africa
"African Traditional Religion and Violence"
Nathalie Wlodarczyk

8. Pacific Islands
"Religion and Violence in Pacific Island Societies"
Andrew Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart

9. China
"Mutual Tolerance, State Persecution, and Martial Divinities in Chinese Religion"
Meir Shahar

Authors
Index