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.

ANDREW R. MURPHY is Chair and Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan. His scholarly interests focus on the history of religious liberty in the Anglo-American context, the broader intersection of religion and politics, and political martyrdom. He is the author of Toleration: A Very Short Introduction; as well as William Penn: A Life (2019); Liberty, Conscience,?and Toleration: The Political Thought of William Penn (2016); Prodigal Nation:?Moral Decline and Divine Punishment from New England to 9/11 (2009); and Conscience and Community: Revisiting Toleration and Religious Dissent in Early Modern England and America (2001).