Understanding Religious Violence: Thinking Outside the Box on Terrorism

by Larsson,J.P.

• ISBN13: 9780754639084
• ISBN10: 0754639088
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-12-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In this compelling book J.P. Larsson investigates religious violence, terrorism and armed conflict in order to deliver the understanding required for a more peaceful world and to allow for a framework of conflict transformation. This multi-disciplinary text will greatly interest those in the fields of international relations, theology and sociology.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Foreword	ix
1 Introduction	1	(8)
2 Questions/Problems: Contemporary Perspectives	9	(20)
'Strategic Appraisal' of Religion in International Armed Conflicts	10	(4)
'Resurgence' of Religion on the International Arena	14	(3)
Religion as a 'Threat to International Peace and Security'	17	(7)
Tripartite Perspective of Analysis	24	(5)
3 Correlates: Illustrative of Contemporary Perspectives	29	(32)
Types of Religious Violence	30	(5)
Examples of Religious Violence	35	(2)
The First Terrorists: The Assassins	37	(4)
Political Religion: Holy War in the Sudan	41	(3)
'Religious Politics': Sri Lanka's Civil War	44	(4)
Pre-existing Religious Narratives: The Sepoy Mutiny in British India	48	(3)
Imposed Religious Narratives: The Conflict of the Karens in Myanmar	51	(3)
Types of Peaceful Religion	54	(7)
4 Prerequisites: Philosophical Prerequisites for Contemporary Perspectives	61	(24)
Definitional Prerequisites	61	(1)
Definition, Conceptualisation and Use of the Term 'Religion'	62	(6)
Definition and Use of Other Words and Concepts	68	(2)
Distinction between 'Explaining' and 'Understanding'	70	(4)
Assumptions, Presuppositions and Bias	74	(4)
Ontological Considerations	78	(7)
5 Causation: Historical Causation of Contemporary Perspectives	85	(20)
Rationality: Rational Actor Model vs. Religious Rationality	86	(8)
Legacy of Westphalia	94	(11)
6 Origins: Religious Origins of Contemporary Perspectives	105	(26)
The Logic of Religious Violence	105	(5)
The Concept of Religious Truth	110	(3)
Cosmic Dualism	113	(4)
The Concept of Evil	117	(3)
The Concept of Fear	120	(3)
The Concept of Anthropomorphism, Vices and Virtues	123	(3)
The Concept of Survival	126	(5)
7 Conclusions: A Framework for Conflict Transformation	131	(14)
Bibliography	145	(22)
Index	167