The Cambridge Companion to Religion and War
The Cambridge Companion to Religion and War
This Companion offers a global, comparative history of the interplay between religion and war from ancient times to the present. Moving beyond sensationalist theories that seek to explain why 'religion causes war,' the volume takes a thoughtful look at the connection between religion and war through a variety of lenses - historical, literary, and sociological-as well as the particular features of religious war. The twenty-three carefully nuanced and historically grounded chapters comprehensively examine the religious foundations for war, classical just war doctrines, sociological accounts of religious nationalism, and featured conflicts that illustrate interdisciplinary expressions of the intertwining of religion and war. Written by a distinguished, international team of scholars, whose essays were specially commissioned for this volume, The Cambridge Companion to Religion and War will be an indispensable resource for students and scholars of the history and sociology of religion and war, as well as other disciplines.
- Exposes readers to a vast history and the many layered dimensions of the interplay between religion and war, from biblical times to the present
- Offers twenty-three chapters on distinct facets of religion and war,from the ritual inducements to crusader combat to Islamic just war doctrines to the demonology and apocalyptic visions of the Taiping Rebellion, with all chapters being historically grounded and sociologically nuanced
- Presents traditional overviews as well as close examinations of particular features of religious war, along with a summary of the subject as a whole, followed by 500-word summaries of each chapter
Reviews & endorsements
'This comprehensive Companion offers short, scholarly surveys with bibliographies for each section. There are many areas of interest which people may wish to follow up.' Church Times
‘The Cambridge Companion to Religion and War serves as a welcome correction of common misperceptions of religion and war that mistakenly assume the separability of the two.’ Jean E. Rosenfeld, Nova Religio
Product details
May 2023Adobe eBook Reader
9781108879880
0 pages
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: exploring religion and war Margo Kitts
- Part I. Classical Foundations:
- 1. Biblical paradigms for war in history and eschatology John Collins
- 2. Early Christianity and war Paul Middleton
- 3. Fighting and martial valor in Islamic thought Asma Afsaruddin
- 4. Hinduism and war Kaushik Roy
- 5. The Buddha in the ring of fire: the Buddhist ethics of warfare Stephen Jenkins
- 6. Sikhism: exploring the notion of a righteous war (Dharam Yudh) Pashaura Singh
- 7. Religion and war in traditional China Barend ter Haar
- 8. Buddhism and war in premodern Japan Brian A. Victoria
- Part II. Just War:
- 9. Judaism and the ethics of war Reuven Kimelman
- 10. Just war in Christian thought, from the age of Augustine through the Early Modern period James Turner Johnson
- 11. Islam and the just war tradition: post-classical developments David Cook
- 12. Is there a Hindu just war? Torkel Brekke
- 13. Buddhist just war traditions Kristin Scheible
- Part III. Religious Nationalism:
- 14. War in religious zionism Robert Eisen
- 15. Christian nationalism and millennialism in the United States Angela M. Lahr
- 16. The elusive dream of pan-Islamism Mohammed M. Hafez
- 17. Killing for the Hindu nation: Hindu nationalism and its violent excesses Kathinka Frøystad
- 18. Nationalism, violence and war in Myanmar's Theravāda Buddhist context Matthew J. Walton
- Part IV. Featured Conflicts:
- 19. Christian crusading, ritual, and liturgy M. Cecilia Gaposchkin
- 20. A paradigm of righteous Jihād in the Muslim ethos Osman Latiff
- 21. Fierce Goddesses of India: Durga and Kali June McDaniel
- 22. The demonological framework of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace Barend ter Haar
- 23. War outside the state: religious communities, martiality and state formation in Early Modern South Asia Anne Murphy.
