Violence has always played a part in the religious imagination, from symbols and myths to legendary battles, from colossal wars to the theater of terrorism. The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence surveys intersections between religion and violence throughout history and around the world.

The forty original essays in this volume include overviews of major religious traditions, showing how violence is justified within the literary and theological foundations of the tradition, how it is used symbolically and in ritual practice, and how social acts of violence and warfare have been justified by religious ideas. The essays also examine patterns and themes relating to religious violence, such as sacrifice and martyrdom, which are explored in cross-disciplinary or regional analyses; and offer major analytic approaches, from literary to social scientific studies.

The contributors to this volume—innovative thinkers who are forging new directions in theory and analysis related to religion and violence—provide novel insights into this important field of studies. By mapping out the whole field of religion and violence, The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence will prove an authoritative source for students and scholars for years to come.

Table of Contents

Contributors
Introduction: ``The Enduring Relationship of Religion and Violence`` - Mark Juergensmeyer, Margo Kitts, and Michael Jerryson
Part I: Overview of Religious Traditions
1. Hindu: ``Violence and Nonviolence at the Heart of Hindu Ethics`` - Veena Das
2. Buddhist: ``Buddhist Traditions and Violence`` - Michael Jerryson
3. Sikh: ``Sikh Traditions and Violence`` - Cynthia Keppley Mahmood
4. Jewish: ``Religion and Violence in the Jewish Traditions`` - Ron Hassner and Gideon Aran
5. Christian:``Religion and Violence in Christian Traditions`` - Lloyd Steffen
6. Islamic: ``Muslim Engagement with Injustice and Violence``- Bruce Lawrence
7. African: ``African Traditional Religion and Violence`` - Nathalie Wlodarczyk
8. Pacific Island: ``Religion and Violence in Pacific Island Societies`` - Andrew Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart
9. Chinese: ``Violence in Chinese Religious Traditions`` - Meir Shahar
Part II: Patterns and Themes
10. Evil: ``The Religious Problem of Evil`` - James Aho
11. Sacrifice: ``Sacrifice/Human Sacrifice in Religious Traditions`` - David Carrasco
12. Martyrdom: ``Martyrdom in Islam`` - David Cook
13. Self Mutilation: ``Starvation and Self Mutilation in Religious Traditions`` - Liz Wilson
14. Apocalypse: ``Apocalyptic Religion and Violence`` - Jamel Velji
15. Sacred War: ``Cosmic War in Religious Traditions`` - Reza Aslan
16. Genocide: ``Genocide and the Religious Imaginary in Rwanda`` - Christopher Taylor
17. Terrorism: ``Terrorism as Performance Violence`` - Mark Juergensmeyer
18. Torture: ``Christianity and Torture`` - Karen King
19. Just War: ``Just War and Legal Restraints`` - John Kelsay
20. Abortion: ``Religiously Motivated Violence in the Abortion Debate`` - Julie Ingersoll
21. Contested Sites: ``Conflicts over Sacred Ground`` - Ron E. Hassner
22. Political Violence: ``Religion and Political Violence`` - Monica Toft
23. Death Rituals: ``Rituals of Death and Remembrance`` - Susumu Shimazono and Margo Kitts
24. Violent Death: ``Violent Death in Religious Imagination`` - Margo Kitts
Part III: Analytic Approaches
25. Sociology: ``Religion and Violence from a Sociological Perspective`` - John R. Hall
26. Anthropology: ``Religion and Violence from an Anthropological Perspective`` - Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern
27. Psychology: ``Religion and Violence from a Psychological Perspective`` - James W. Jones
28. Political Science: ``Religion and Violence from a Political Science Perspective``- Daniel Philpott
29. Literary Theory: ``Religion and Violence from Literary Perspectives`` - Margo Kitts
30. Theology: ``Religion and Violence from Christian Perspectives`` - Charles Kimball
Part IV: New Directions
31 Sacrifice: ``Sacrificial Violence: A Problem in Ancient Religions`` - Walter Burkert
32. Cities: ``Cities as One Site for Religion and Violence`` - Saskia Sassen
33. Armageddon: ``Armageddon in Christian, Sunni and Shi`a Traditions`` - Michael Sells
34. Phenomenal Violence: ``Phenomenal Violence and the Philosophy of Religion`` - Hent de Vries
35. Constructions of Evil : ``The Construction of Evil and the Violence of Purification`` - David Frankfurter
36. Mimetic Theory: ``Mimetic Theories of Religion and Violence`` - Wolfgang Palaver
37. Scarcity: ``Religion and Scarcity: A New Theory for the Role of Religion in Violence`` - Hector Avalos
38. Evolutionary Theory: ``Ritual, Religion, and Violence: An Evolutionary Perspective`` - Candance S. Alcorta and Richard Sosis
39. Rites of Terror: ``Divergent Modes of Religiosity and Armed Struggle`` - Harvey Whitehouse and Brian McQuinn
40. Sociotheology: ``A Sociotheological Approach to Understanding Religious Violence`` - Mark Juergensmeyer and Mona Sheik
Index

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.

Contributors:
James Aho, Idaho State University
Candace S. Alcorta, University Of Connecticut
Gideon Aran, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
Reza Aslan, University Of California - Riverside
Hector Avalos, Iowa State University
Walter Burkert, University Of Zürich
David Carrasco, Harvard University
David Cook, Rice University
Veena Das, Johns Hopkins University
David Frankfurter, Boston University
John R. Hall, University Of California - Davis
Ron Hassner, University Of California - Berkeley
Julie Ingersoll, University Of North Florida
Michael Jerryson, Eckerd College
James W. Jones, Rutgers University
Mark Juergensmeyer, University Of California - Santa Barbara
John Kelsay, Florida State University
Charles Kimball, University Of Oklahoma
Margo Kitts, Hawai`i Pacific University
Karen L. King, Harvard University
Bruce B. Lawrence, Duke University
Cynthia Keppley Mahmood, University Of Notre Dame
Wolfgang Palaver, University Of Innsbruck
Daniel Philpott, University Of Notre Dame
Saskia Sassen, Columbia University
Michael Sells, University Of Chicago
Meir Shahar, Tel Aviv University
Mona Kanwal Sheikh, University Of Copenhagen
Richard Sosis, University Of Connecticut
Lloyd Steffen, Lehigh University
Andrew J. Strathern, University Of Pittsburgh
Pamela J. Stewart, University Of Pittsburgh
Christopher C. Taylor, Independent Scholar
Monica Duffy Toft, Harvard University
Jamel Velji, Haverford College
Hent De Vries, Johns Hopkins University
Harvey Whitehouse, University Of Oxford
Liz Wilso, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Nathalie Wlodarczyk, Exclusive Analysis