The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence

An interdisciplinary survey of religion and violence, fully updated This second edition of The Wiley Blackwell?Companion to Religion and Violence presents new and updated essays analyzing the relationship between religion and violence. It is organized into four parts: a discussion of the definitions of “religion” and ?“violence” and the challenges associated with arriving at them; the insights gained by looking through the disciplinary lenses of economics, sociology, anthropology, evolutionary biology, law, psychology, media, and gender studies; religious traditions and themes and the way they illuminate the religion’s interconnection with violence; the historical emergence of religious traditions and the vocabulary through which violence is claimed and contested. Finally, a collection of case studies from Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the United States. New and revised chapters provide readers with the conceptual and interpretive tools to understand white Christian nationalism in the United States, Hindu nationalism in India, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, religion and mass atrocities, sexual orientation and gender identity, nationalism and political Islam in?Turkey, Shia Islam and Hezbollah, and religion, violence, and Latin American drug?trafficking. Written for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars in religious studies, political science, and related disciplines, it serves as an authoritative reference for courses in religion and politics, political violence, and religious violence—and an indispensable addition to library and research-center collections. A survey of the contemporary intersection between religion and violence In this second edition, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence assembles an international, interdisciplinary group of scholars to map the complex relationships between religion and violence. This book explains how religious traditions intersect with political conflict, collective violence, and social upheaval in a wide range of contexts that reflect academic, social, and political developments since the publication of the first edition. New and updated chapters address political theology, White Christian Nationalism in the United States, Hindu nationalism in India, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, religion and mass atrocities, sexual orientation and gender identity, nationalism and political Islam in Turkey, Shia Islam and Hezbollah, and religion, violence, and Latin American drug trafficking. A new introduction frames these developments within broader analytical contexts. Readers will also find: Updated case studies covering Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine Interdisciplinary perspectives from historians, political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, theologians, and scholars of gender studies and communication Focused analysis of Christian nationalism, Hindu nationalism, and political Islam as distinct contemporary phenomena Coverage of religion's role in mass atrocities, drug trafficking violence, and politically-motivated conflicts across multiple global regions Designed for scholars, advanced students, and research libraries in religious studies, political science, and related disciplines, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence delivers a rigorous, up-to-date reference that connects theoretical analysis with pressing contemporary developments at the intersection of religion and violence.