The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict
"[A]n important book." --Commonweal"Williams T. Cavanaugh's Myth of Relipious Violence is a disaplined, detailed and painstakingly thorough book that sets out to debunk al all-too-pervasive liberal myth: that something called "religion" is necessarily inclined to produce violence, especially left unchecked"--Leigh Edwards, Durham, North Carolina"Cavanaugh not only exposes the myth for what it is, he provides details to show precisely how the myth is not grounded in reality"--Walter Brueggemann, Christian Century"...an important and highly interesteding work...enough to make one doubt the modern dogma of religious violence and be alert to its ideological function in the West."--James R. A. Merrick, University of Aberdeen."The book is well-written, thoroughly documented, and clearly argued, and it should be of value both to generalists and to readers with particular interest in the topic."--Debra Erickson"A detailed and carefully researched rebuttal of the idea that there is some essence or necessary function of religion that makes it a more consistent cause of violence than other worldviews, belief systems or ideologies. He effectively unveils the self-serving nature of secular liberal condescension toward religion."--Modern Theology"Razor sharp and pertinent...Cavanaugh leaves us hard pressed to imagine how the notion of a privatized, internalized "God of One's Own" could ever be part of the solution to a problem that it is responsible for inventing in the first place."--Common Knowledge