From Jeremiad to Jihad: Religion, Violence, and America

Violence has been a central feature of America's history, culture, and place in the world. It has taken many forms: from state-sponsored uses of force such as war or law enforcement, to revolution, secession, terrorism and other actions with important political and cultural implications. Religion also holds a crucial place in the American experience of violence, particularly for those who have found order and meaning in their worlds through religious texts, symbols, rituals, and ideas. Yet too often the religious dimensions of violence, especially in the American context, are ignored or overstated-in either case, poorly understood. From Jeremiad to Jihad: Religion, Violence, and America corrects these misunderstandings. Charting and interpreting the tendrils of religion and violence, this book reveals how formative moments of their intersection in American history have influenced the ideas, institutions, and identities associated with the United States. Religion and violence provide crucial yet underutilized lenses for seeing America anew-including its outlook on, and relation to, the world.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Martin E. Marty Preface Introduction. John Brown, Jeremiad, and Jihad: Reflections on Religion, Violence, and America John D. Carlson and Jonathan H. Ebel Part I. Religious Origins and Tropes of American Violence 1. From King Philip's War to September 11: Religion, Violence, and the American Way Andrew R. Murphy and Elizabeth Hanson 2. A Nation Birthed in Blood: Violent Cosmogonies and American Film S. Brent Rodriguez-Plate 3. From Covenant to Crusade and Back: American Christianity and the Late Great War Jonathan H. Ebel 4. From Jeremiad to Manifesto: The Rhetorical Evolution of John Foster Dulles's "Massive Retaliation" Ned O'Gorman 5. American Providence, American Violence Stephen H. Webb Part II. Religion and America's "Others" 6. New Israel, New Amalek: Biblical Exhortations to Religious Violence John Corrigan 7. Religion and Violence in Black and White Eddie S. Glaude Jr. 8. State Violence and the Un-American West: Mormons, American Indians, and Cults Todd M. Kerstetter 9. Alma White's Bloodless Warfare: Women and Violence in U.S. Religious History Lynn S. Neal 10. Of Tragedy and Its Aftermath: The Search for Religious Meaning in the Shootings at Virginia Tech Grace Y. Kao Part III. The Ethics of Violence and War 11. A Just or Holy War of Independence? The Revolution's Legacy for Religion, Violence, and American Exceptionalism John D. Carlson 12. Why War Is a Moral Necessity for America: Realism, Sacrifice, and the Civil War Stanley Hauerwas 13. Contemporary Warfare and American Efforts at Restraint James Turner Johnson 14. Enemies Near and Far: The United States and Its Muslim Allies in Radical Islamist Discourse Sohail H. Hashmi 15. Varieties of "Violence": Thinking Ethically about the Use of Force in the War on Terror Jean Bethke Elshtain Contributors Index

About the Author :
John Carlson is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Arizona State University. Jon Ebel is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Review :
"An excellent study of the complex relationship between religion and violence... Highly recommended." -- J. R. Asher, Georgetown College Choice