How Violence Shapes Religion
Subtitle: Belief and Conflict in the Middle East and Africa
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: Sep 27, 2018
Language: eng
Format: paperback
Number of pages: 224
ISBN-13: 9781108452854
Description: Is there an inevitable global violent clash unfolding between the world's largest religions: Islam and Christianity? Do religions cause violent conflicts, or are there other factors at play? How can we make sense of increasing reports of violence between Christian and Muslim ethnic communities across the world? By seeking to answer such questions about the relationship between religion and violence in today's world, Ziya Meral challenges popular theories and offers an alternative explanation, grounded on insights inferred from real cases of ethno-religious violence in Africa and the Middle East. The relationship between religion and violence runs deep and both are intrinsic to the human story. Violence leads to and shapes religion, while religion acts to enable violence as well as providing responses that contain and prevent it. However, with religious violence being one of the most serious challenges facing the modern world, Meral shows that we need to de-globalise our analysis and focus on individual conflicts, instead of attempting to provide single answers to complex questions.
Notes: Source title: How Violence Shapes Religion: Belief and Conflict in the Middle East and Africa