The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation (Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict) - Softcover

Appleby, R. Scott

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0847685551 ISBN 13: 9780847685554

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1999

Synopsis

Terrorists and peacemakers may grow up in the same community and adhere to the same religious tradition. The killing carried out by one and the reconciliation fostered by the other indicate the range of dramatic and contradictory responses to human suffering by religious actors. Yet religion's ability to inspire violence is intimately related to its equally impressive power as a force for peace, especially in the growing number of conflicts around the world that involve religious claims and religiously inspired combatants. This book explains what religious terrorists and religious peacemakers share in common, what causes them to take different paths in fighting injustice, and how a deeper understanding of religious extremism can and must be integrated more effectively into our thinking about tribal, regional, and international conflict.

About this title

Review:

I have found myself deeply impressed by the persuasiveness of its argument and by the wide-ranging case studies it contains. I can here only hint at the rich and varied resourses he provides in abundance to enable us to be both more faithful interpreters of our own traditions and to be more strategic in our peacemaking.--Paul Deats "Fellowship "

Scott Appleby's book provides a timely, clear, and highly perceptive treatment of why and how religion has, especially since the end of the Cold War, gravitated to the center of the discussion of international affairs. . . . There is no doubt that this volume will be the centerpiece henceforward of an important new discussion on 'religion, violence, and reconciliation.'--David Little, United States Institute of Peace

In this volume [Appleby] seeks to balance the overall picture by focusing on the success stories and peacebuilding initiatives buried inside the newspapers, embedded in a largely untold past, and emerging piecemeal in the final years of this genocidal century. This is a kind of compensatory history, urgently needed in the contemporary debate, and it carries enormous implications for the way we think about religion's complex role, and undeniable potential, in preventing deadly conflict and in rebuilding communities shattered by violence.--Theodore M. Hesburgh

Appleby is extremely knowledgeable about movements, conflicts and personalities. Ambivalence of the Sacred contains rich veins of information about the complex relationship of religion, violence and peacemaking. It provides dozens of detailed portraits of personalities and religious movements that put faces on anonymous groups.--America: The Jesuit Review of Faith & Culture

In this current important book--not limited to conservative movements-- Appleby uses case studies, careful analysis, and a highly readable narrative style to present religion's role in contemporary peacemaking and warmaking.--CHOICE

Richly researched and wide-ranging book. What Appleby has done in this finely nuanced inquiry is to assemble an impressive array of documentation, both historical and bibliographical, along with a preliminary means of sorting out key variables. Students, teachers, and people seeking to develop religious engagement in programs of conflict transformation are all in his debt.--Theological Studies

In The Ambivalence of the Sacred, R. Scott Appleby expands the definitions associated with religious organizations and clarifies the roles they play in national politics, conflict and peace. Appleby thoroughly supports his thesis. He establishes clear definitions, argues powerfully for reconciliation and clearly delineates the legitimiacy that religious activists wo pursue it already enjoy.--Military Review

Is a treasure trove of information on religious activists around the world, many little known even to an informed public.--The Christian Century

This book is that rare thing, a scholarly work which also makes a powerful impact on the interiority of the reader. It should be required reading not only for diplomats and specialists in international relations but also for religious studies students.--The Heythrop Journal

A rich and rewarding volume.--Ethics: An International Journal of Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy

Synopsis:

Terrorists and peacemakers may grow up in the same community and adhere to the same religious tradition. The killing carried out by one and the reconciliation fostered by the other indicate the range of dramatic and contradictory responses to human suffering by religious actors. This book explains what religious terrorists and religious peacemakers share in common, what causes them to take different paths in fighting injustice, and how a deeper understanding of religious extremism can and must be integrated more effectively into our thinking about tribal, regional, and international conflict.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0847685551
• ISBN 13: 9780847685554
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 444