Blood That Cries Out From the Earth: The Psychology of Religious TerrorismOxford University Press, 11. apr 2008 - 208 pages Religious terrorism has become the scourge of the modern world. What causes a person to kill innocent strangers in the name of religion? As both a clinical psychologist and an authority on comparative religion, James W. Jones is uniquely qualified to address this increasingly urgent question. Research on the psychology of violence shows that several factors work to make ordinary people turn "evil." These include feelings of humiliation or shame, a tendency to see the world in black and white, and demonization or dehumanization of other people. Authoritarian religion or "fundamentalism," Jones shows, is a particularly rich source of such ideas and feelings, which he finds throughout the writings of Islamic jihadists, such as the 9/11 conspirators. Jones goes on to apply this model to two very different religious groups that have engaged in violence: Aum Shinrikyo, the Buddhist splinter group behind the sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subway system, and members of the extreme religious right in the U.S. who have advocated and committed violence against abortion providers. Jones notes that not every adherent of an authoritarian group will turn to violence, and he shows how theories of personality development can explain why certain individuals are easily recruited to perform terrorist acts. |
From inside the book
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Page xvii
... acts does not mean that religiously motivated terrorists lack legitimate political grievances. While the terrorists ... act on these grievances in ways never justifiable, especially within the religious traditions they claim to represent ...
... acts does not mean that religiously motivated terrorists lack legitimate political grievances. While the terrorists ... act on these grievances in ways never justifiable, especially within the religious traditions they claim to represent ...
Page 4
... act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population or compel a government or international organization to do or abstain from doing any act” (2004: 52). The report of the Club de Madrid summit on “Democracy, Terrorism, and ...
... act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population or compel a government or international organization to do or abstain from doing any act” (2004: 52). The report of the Club de Madrid summit on “Democracy, Terrorism, and ...
Page 5
... act must be violent, must be directed at those the observer (if not the perpetrator) considers innocent or noncombatant, must inspire fear and terror, and is often symbolic in some sense. Also, I have argued elsewhere that, in general ...
... act must be violent, must be directed at those the observer (if not the perpetrator) considers innocent or noncombatant, must inspire fear and terror, and is often symbolic in some sense. Also, I have argued elsewhere that, in general ...
Page 6
... acts of violence that change the course of history—the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand that was the catalyst for World War I, the taking hostage of the American embassy in the Iranian revolution, the 9/11 attack—are rarely ...
... acts of violence that change the course of history—the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand that was the catalyst for World War I, the taking hostage of the American embassy in the Iranian revolution, the 9/11 attack—are rarely ...
Page 7
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Contents
3 | |
Psychological Themes in Religiously Motivated Terrorism | 29 |
Violence and Terrorism in Japanese Buddhism | 71 |
Religion and Violence in American Apocalyptic Christianity | 88 |
Toward a Clinical Psychology of Religious Terrorism | 115 |
Chapter 6 What Does This Tell Us about Religion? | 142 |
Notes | 171 |
Bibliography | 177 |
Index | 189 |
Other editions - View all
Blood That Cries Out From the Earth: The Psychology of Religious Terrorism James Jones Limited preview - 2008 |
Blood That Cries Out From the Earth: The Psychology of Religious Terrorism James Jones Limited preview - 2008 |
Blood That Cries Out From the Earth: The Psychology of Religious Terrorism James Jones Limited preview - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
acts aggression al-Qaeda American apocalyptic Christianity apocalypticism Asahara Atran attacks Aum Shinrikyo Aum’s authoritarian become beliefs blood blood atonement bombings book of Revelation Buddhism calls central chapter child clinical commit contemporary culture death demonizing described devotees dichotomizing divine empathy evangelical evil example experience factors fanatical Freud Frykholm fundamentalist genocide Girard goal God’s Hafez holy human bombers idealized individual insistence Islam Jahiliyyah Jesus jihad jihadists Juergensmeyer Khosrokhavar killing Kohut LaHaye & Jenkins leaders Left Behind series Lifton martyr martyrdom militant moral Mormon movements murder Muslim one’s Palestinian Pape Pape’s patriarchal person political practices prophetic psychodynamic psychological purification Qutb rapture religious terrorism religious terrorists religiously motivated terrorism religiously motivated terrorists ritual role sacrifice sarin Sayyid Qutb scapegoating secular sense sexual shame and humiliation Shimazono social society spiritual splitting Strozier suicide bombers suicide terrorism Tamil Tamil Tigers teachings themes theology tion tradition transformation understanding victims writes