Sacred Fury: Understanding Religious Violence

History, marred with the actions of fundamentalist and extremist groups, continues to highlight religion as a cause for violent action. But how 'religious' is this violence? And what drives the faithful to attack in the name of their beliefs? Charles Selengut brings together approaches from a wide range of disciplines to comprehend forms of religious violence around the globe. Drawing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the 9-11 attacks, Heaven's Gate, the Catholic sex abuse scandals, and many other recent cases, Sacred Fury explains the logics behind these faith driven acts. In this expanded second edition, Selengut pays special attention to the Iraq War, and the theology and organization of Al-Qaeda.