Does Religion Cause Violence?: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Violence and Religion in the Modern World

Description

One of the most pressing issues of our time is the outbreak of extremist violence and terrorism, done in the name of religion. This volume critically analyses the link made between religion and violence in contemporary theory and proposes that 'religion' does not have a special relation to violence in opposition to culture, ideology or nationalism. Rather, religion and violence must be understood with relation to fundamental anthropological and philosophical categories such as culture, desire, disaster and rivalry. Does Religion Cause Violence? explores contemporary instances of religious violence, such as Islamist terrorism and radicalization in its various political, economic, religious, military and technological dimensions, as well as the legitimacy and efficacy of modern cultural mechanisms to contain violence, such as nuclear deterrence. Including perspectives from experts in theology, philosophy, terrorism studies, and Islamic studies, this volume brings together the insights of Rene Girard, the premier theorist of violence in the 20th century, with the latest scholarship on religion and violence, particularly exploring the nature of extremist violence.

Scott Cowdell is Research Professor in Public and Contextual Theology at Charles Sturt University, Australia, and Canon Theologian of the Canberra-Goulburn Anglican Diocese. He is the author of Rene Girard and Secular Modernity (2013) and President of the Australian Girard Seminar. Chris Fleming is Associate Professor in Philosophy and Anthropology at Western Sydney University, Australia. He is the author of Rene Girard: Violence and Mimesis (2004) and Vice-President of the Australian Girard Seminar. Joel Hodge is Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology at Australian Catholic University, Australia. He is the author of Resisting Violence and Victimisation: Christian Faith and Solidarity in East Timor (2012) and Treasurer of the Australian Girard Seminar. Carly Osborn is a Research Fellow at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions at the University of Adelaide, Australia, and Secretary of the Australian Girard Seminar.

[The] essays in the volume offer something that is often lacking in scholarship in the area: a sustained interrogation of the question of religion and violence anchored in a theoretically rich thinker ... [A] thoughtful and critical engagement on the relationship between religion and violence through dialogue with the life works of Rene Girard. * Modern Theology * [Primarily] of use to graduate students of political theology ... [For] those specialists, this is a valuable resource that it is well worth investing in. * Reviews in Religion and Theology * [Provides] readers with remarkably concise and contrasting perspectives on religion and violence. * Reading Religion * [A] fine product of a critical mass of Girardian thinkers currently at work in Australia, whose collective energy and commitment (evident in the Melbourne COV&R/AGS conference of 2016) are so significant for the current well-being of mimetic theory. * The Bulletin of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion * The volume is a fine contribution to a pressing question. * Ethical Perspectives * This is a wonderfully timely collection of hard-won and valuable insights into some of the most vexing questions of our time. Rarely have these been attended to with such subtlety, or with such a wide range of reference matter and intellectual daring. A book for the reader who wants not only to learn about the relationship between religion and violence, but to be stimulated to think further for themselves. * James Alison, priest, theologian, and co-editor of The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion * This volume of outstanding essays begins with the master-question 'Does religion cause violence?' and ends with a careful look at the case of Islamic terrorism. In between it explores modern forms of containing violence. Rene Girard's mimetic theory is invoked, questioned, criticized and stretched as the writers respond to vexing question of how religion seems to both invite and defer violence. We learn about the ways in which religion and the sacred, politics and spirituality, Christianity and Islam all intersect with each other and with the problem of violence in our modern world, and in so learning we are invited to take steps to undo the knots that disfigure love into hate. * Jeremiah L. Alberg, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, International Christian University, Japan *