Sacred Terror : How Faith Becomes Lethal

by Price, Daniel E.

• ISBN13: 9780313386381
• ISBN10: 0313386382
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-07-19
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group

Summary

Religion-based terrorism is perceived as one of the most significant threats to U.S. homeland security in the 21st century. Sacred Terror: How Faith Becomes Lethal makes the central argument that religion-based violence and terrorism is primarily a result of political, socioeconomic, and psychological forces, thereby demystifying religion-based terrorism and revealing its inherent similarity to other forms of terrorism and war. Daniel Price examines religious texts and traditions in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; looks at the history of religion-based terrorism; and explores why religion facilitates violence. He builds upon this foundation to explain how religion as an ideological force that motivates violence is not as powerful as commonly believed, and that religious fervor is not unlike other non-religious ideologies such as Marxism, nationalism, and anarchism. The work also presents in-depth analysis of the political, socioeconomic, and psychological forces that are behind religion-based violence, and discusses case studies from multiple religions that illustrate the author's argument.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction	p. xv
How Religion Facilitates Terrorism	p. 1
A More Complex Relationship between Religion and Terrorism	p. 25
Political Causes of Religion-Based Terrorism	p. 49
Socioeconomic Causes of Religion-Based Terrorism	p. 75
Psychological Causes of Religion-Based Terrorism	p. 101
Judaism: Religion-Based Terrorism in Israel	p. 129
Christianity: The Troubles in Northern Ireland and Antiabortion Terrorism in the United States	p. 153
Islam: Hamas, Hezbollah, and al Qaeda	p. 183
Conclusion: What's Next?	p. 215
Notes	p. 229
Index	p. 259
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