Sacred Fury: Understanding Religious Violence

Selengut (sociology, County College of Morris, New Jersey) specializes in religious fundamentalism and new religious movements. Here he asks why religion is so often involved in violent conflict, and why religion is used to justify war and violence. He finds the answer in the unique nature of religious faith, organization, and leadership. Religious faith is different from other commitments, he says, and the rules and directives of religion are understood by the faithful to be entirely outside ordinary social rules and interactions. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR