Why do certain groups and individuals seek to do harm in the name of God? While studies often claim to hold the key to this frightening phenomenon, they seldom account for the crucial role that religious conviction plays, not just in radical Islam, but also in the fundamentalist branches of the world's two other largest religions: Christianity and Hinduism. As the first book to examine violent extremism in all three religions together, Competing Fundamentalisms draws on studies in sociology, psychology, culture, and economicswhile focusing on the central role of religious ideasto paint a richer portrait of this potent force in modern life. Clarke argues that the forces of globalization fuel the aggression of these movements to produce the competing feature of religious fundamentalisms, which have more in common with their counterparts across religious lines than they do with the members of their own religions. He proposes ways to deescalate religious violence in the service of peacemaking. Readers will gain important insights into how violent religious fundamentalism works in the world's three largest religions and learn new strategies for promoting peace in the context of contemporary interreligious conflict.

About the Author
Sathianathan Clarke is the Bishop Sundo Kim Chair in World Christianity and Professor of Theology, Culture, and Mission at Wesley Theological Seminary. He has taught previously at United Theological College in Bangalore, India and as visiting faculty at Harvard University Divinity School. Clarke is the author of Dalits and Christianity and coeditor of The Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies, Dalit Theology in the Twenty-First Century, and Religious Conversion in India.


Book Information
ISBN 9780664259884
Author Sathianathan Clarke
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Westminster/John Knox Press,U.S.
Publisher Westminster/John Knox Press,U.S.