1. Remembering wars

‘Remembering wars’ discusses how war and religion mingle and shape one another and demonstrates how religion offers to meet the need for meaning in the overwhelming catastrophe of personal and national loss that war brings. There are three interesting different situations in which religious resources have been brought to bear on the remembrance of war, and equally have been shaped by it. The first one is the depiction of martyrdom and martyrs in the commemoration of the Battle of Karbala. The second one is the use of the cross in Great War memorials, while the third one is the Ghost Dance movement

3. Sanctifying secular wars

‘Sanctifying secular wars’ evaluates another category of religious wars: secular wars, in which religious commitment is used to pursue aims largely unrelated to religion. Shinto and Buddhism helped strengthen the Japanese war effort in the Second World War. But Japan fought a war of outward conquest. More often, when religion supports rather than motivates war, this is in situations where two religions, each related to a community more or less defined in other ways, collide. This dynamic can arguably be seen at work in Serbia during the Battle of Kosovo Polje (1389), in Northern Ireland, in Sudan, in the Biafra war in Nigeria (1967–70), and in Sri Lanka.

2. Waging holy wars

‘Raging holy wars’ examines holy wars, beginning with an analysis of the integration of war and religion in the ancient world. Is a particular holy war fought to achieve a religious goal, such as converts or possession of a holy place; or is the war a religious activity in itself? In classical civilizations, it has quite often been the latter. As one moves toward the modern world, with its more universal sense of religion, and a less total integration of religion into communal life, the former becomes more of a factor. Perhaps the most controversial way to raise this question is the case of jihad. The chapter then considers the crusades.

6. Questioning religion and war

‘Questioning religion and war’ explains how each faith—particularly Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—has a complex relationship to war and peace. It assesses whether or not religion in general does or does not tend to cause and intensify war in general. Those who are hostile to religion often claim it is inherently warlike. Those who favour religion conclude that it is a force for peace or, where it is implicated in war, it has been misunderstood and warped. Those who think religion inspires both war and the pursuit of peace want to promote the latter and discourage the former. These views have something in common: the idea that war is bad.

4. Mitigating the horrors of war

‘Mitigating the horrors of war’ situations in which religion, rather than motivating or assisting war, has sought to be a force making warfare less barbarous and catastrophic. Many religions have a distinctive ethical code with regard to war. The Western Christian tradition has developed a concept of ‘just war’, and the Islamic notion of jihad also places limits on war. But perhaps the oldest body of ideas and teachings on this topic arose on the Indian sub-continent. This thought receives a subtle treatment in the Mahabharata epic. The Mahabharata presents an understanding of the ethics of warfare in which compromise is unavoidable.

5. Invoking peace

‘Invoking peace’ describes religious pacifism, which is a spectrum. Some will take the religious imperative to peace as a simple prohibition on fighting, while some will take it as a command to active peace-building. Likewise, there are different ways in which religious pacifism is lived out and has an impact. Buddhist pacifism, Jainism, and Christian pacifism are worth considering, particularly the figures of Mahatma Gandhi and Bacha Khan. There are issues with contemporary Muslim peace-building and the limits of liberal peace-building and this can be seen through the example of an initiative to promote interfaith dialogue and understanding: the Interfaith Mediation Centre based in Kaduna, in Northern Nigeria.