Nonviolence in the World’s Religions

<p>The twenty-first century began with the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001. Much has been written and debated on the relationship between faith and violence with acts of terror at the forefront. However the twentieth century also gave rise to many successful nonviolent protest movements. </p><p>Nonviolence in the World’s Religions introduces the reader to the complex relationship between religion and nonviolence. Each of the essays delves into the contemporary and historical expressions of the world’s major religious traditions in relation to nonviolence. Contributors explore the literary and theological foundations of a tradition’s justification of nonviolence; the ways that nonviolence has come to expression in its beliefs symbols rituals and other practices; and the evidence of nonviolence in its historic and present responses to conflict and warfare. The meanings of both religion and nonviolence are explored through engagement with nonviolence in Hindu Buddhist Chinese Sikh Jewish Christian Islamic Jain and Pacific Island religious traditions. </p><p>This is the ideal introduction to the relationship between religion and violence for undergraduate students as well as for those in related fields such as religious studies peace and conflict studies area studies sociology political science and history.</p>