Religion and the Politics of Peace and Conflict

by Linda F. Hogan (Editor), Dylan Lehrke (Editor)

Overview

Description: The connections between religion and violence are complex and multifaceted. From the conflicts in Middle East and the Balkans to those in Southeast Asia and beyond, religion frames and legitimates political violence. Moreover, in international relations since 9/11, religious language and metaphors have acquired a new significance. In this context the emerging consensus appears to be not only that violence is intrinsic to religion, but also that religions incite, legitimate, and intensify political violence. However, such an unambiguous indictment of religions is incomplete in that it fails both to appreciate significant counter examples and to recognize the diversity that exists within religions on the issue of violence, particularly the religious roots of pacifism and the ethics of non-violence. This collection explores aspects of this ambivalence between religion and violence. It focuses on traditions of legitimation and pacifism within the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and concludes with an examination of this ambivalence as it unfolds in each tradition's engagement with the politics of gender. Endorsements: ""The essays in this collection suggest that the tasks of ameliorating irrational fears and encouraging the recognition of irreducible interreligious complementarity are tasks that can and should be shared by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Moreover these traditions are replete with exemplars, both historical and contemporary, who witness to the possibilities for interreligious dialogue and understanding. For religious persons, undoubtedly, these issues are particularly challenging since they require us to confront the complexities and limitations of our own traditions while also responding to their often-radical demands. Yet in these complexities lie the possibilities for the religions to develop a greater sense of mutual understanding, since it is in these complexities that the commonalities between the religions on the matter of political violence are found."" --from the Introduction About the Contributor(s): Linda Hogan is Professor of Ecumenics at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College, Dublin. Dylan Lee Lehrke is a PhD candidate at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College, Dublin. He also serves as Case Studies Working Group Chief of Staff for the DC-based Project on National Security Reform.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498250023
Publisher:	Pickwick Publications
Publication date:	01/01/2009
Series:	Princeton Theological Monograph , #94
Pages:	262
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Linda Hogan is Professor of Ecumenics at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College, Dublin.

Dylan Lee Lehrke is a PhD candidate at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College, Dublin. He also serves as Case Studies Working Group Chief of Staff for the DC-based Project on National Security Reform.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Between Legitimation and Refusal: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Responses to Political Violence Linda Hogan ix

Part 1 Traditions of Legitimation and Limits

1 Legitimations and Limits of War in Jewish Traditions George R. Wilkes 3

2 Why Should You Not Fight?: The Imperative of War in Islam and Christianity John Kelsay 25

Part 2 Traditions of Pacifism and Non-violence

3 Imagining Co-Existence in the Face of War: Jewish "Pacifism" and the State 1917-1948 Mark Levene 57

4 Sacrificing the Sacrifices of War Stanley Hauerwas 83

5 The Politics of Peace in Islam Muhammad A. S. Abdel Haleem 104

Part 3 Religions and the Gendering of Violence

6 Gender, Religion, and War Mary Condren 125

7 The Gendering of Post-Holocaust Jewish Responses to War and Collective Violence Melissa Raphael 159

8 Prisoner Abuse: From Abu Ghraib to The Passion of the Christ David Tombs 175

9 Islam, Women, and the Politics of Violence: Illustrations from the Middle East Haleh Afshar 202

Bibliography 223