Why God Needs War and War Needs God

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Mark Juergensmeyer (Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Global Studies, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Global Studies, University of California)

Why God Needs War and War Needs God

Mark Juergensmeyer (Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Global Studies, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Global Studies, University of California)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
18 January 2025

Religious groups: social & cultural aspects; Social & cultural anthropology; Psychological theory & schools of thought

For decades, Mark Juergensmeyer has been studying the rise of religious violence around the world, including groups like ISIS and Christian militias that have been involved in acts of terrorism. Over the years he came to realize that war is the central image in the worldview of virtually every religious movement engaged in violent acts. Behind the moral justification of using violence are images of great confrontations of war on a transcendent scale. Why God Needs War and War Needs God explores the dark attraction between religion and warfare. Virtually every religious tradition leaves behind it a bloody trail of stories, legends, and images of war, and most wars call upon the divine for blessings in battle. This book finds the connection between religion and warfare in the alternative realities created in the human imagination in response to crises both personal and social. Based on the author's thirty years of field work interviewing activists involved in religious-related terrorist movements around the world, this book explains why desperate social conflict leads to images of war, and why invariably God is thought to be engaged in battle.

By: Mark Juergensmeyer (Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Global Studies Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Global Studies University of California)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 219mm, Width: 157mm, Spine: 8mm
Weight: 186g
ISBN: 9780197795804
ISBN 10: 0197795803
Pages: 120
Publication Date: 18 January 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Mark Juergensmeyer is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was founding director of the Orfalea Center of Global and International Studies. He is author or editor of over twenty books, including the award winning Terror in the Mind of God.

Reviews for Why God Needs War and War Needs God

This short book, based on lectures delivered in several venues, will be of interest to anyone interested in religious violence and should be accessible to intermediate and advanced students as well. * Eugene V. Gallagher, Nova Religio *