From Jeremiad to Jihad

Religion, Violence, and America

John D. Carlson, Jonathan H. Ebel, John D. Carlson, Jonathan H. Ebel

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9780520271661
• eBook ISBN:
  9780520951532
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: North American History

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

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction. John Brown, Jeremiad, and Jihad: Reflections on Religion, Violence, and America
• Part One. Religious Origins and Tropes of American Violence
• Part Two. Religion and America’s “Others”
• Part Three. The Ethics of Violence and War
• Contributors
• Index