Thinking about Religion and Violence

Course Overview

Course No. 4105

Examine the complex relationship between spirituality and aggression through 24 thought-provoking lectures with Professor Jason C. Bivins.

This course explores:

• Sacred texts’ portrayals of violence
• Historical persecution (witch trials, heresy hunts)
• Religion’s role in racial/gender violence
• Modern terrorism and religious conflicts
• Constructive responses to religious violence

Video Lectures

01: Religion and Violence: A Strange Nexus (31 min)

Introduce key questions about why religions sometimes inspire violent acts.

02: Defining Religion and Violence (29 min)

Establish frameworks for analyzing spiritual beliefs and aggressive behaviors.

03: Violence in Sacred Texts (31 min)

Analyze war narratives and divine vengeance in holy scriptures.

04: Martyrdom, Sacrifice, and Self-Harm (31 min)

Explore voluntary suffering from asceticism to religious suicide.

05: Scapegoating and Demonology (31 min)

Understand how dehumanization enables religious persecution.

06: Understanding Witch Trials (31 min)

Investigate early modern Europe’s deadly obsession with witchcraft.

07: The Apocalyptic Outlook (30 min)

Study doomsday cults from Jonestown to Aum Shinrikyo.

08: Racial Violence and Religion (31 min)

Compare white supremacist Christianity with Nation of Islam rhetoric.

09: Religion and Violence against Women (31 min)

Examine gendered persecution from menstrual taboos to witch hunts.

10: Sexuality, Morality, and Punishment (33 min)

Track religious regulation of LGBTQ+ identities and reproductive rights.

11: Heresies and Their Suppression (32 min)

Analyze inquisition tactics against Galileo and other “heretics.”

12: Religion and Just War Theory (30 min)

Compare Hindu, Buddhist, and Abrahamic philosophies on warfare.

13: Peace as a Religious Ideal (32 min)

Highlight Gandhi, Catholic pacifists, and Muslim peace scholars.

14: War Gods and Holy War (31 min)

Trace divine warrior archetypes from ancient myths to Cold War rhetoric.

15: Religious Violence in Israel (31 min)

Decipher modern tensions between Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

16: Religious Violence in India (32 min)

Study Sikh conflicts and Hindu nationalist “Saffron Terror.”

17: Religion’s Relationship with Slavery (30 min)

Confront faith’s dual role in justifying and opposing bondage.

18: Native Americans and Religious Violence (30 min)

Document spiritual persecution through colonization.

19: Violence and “Cults” (29 min)

Analyze new religious movements from Mormons to Solar Temple.

20: Anti-Catholicism in Europe and America (31 min)

Track centuries of anti-papist stereotypes and violence.

21: The Persistence of Anti-Semitism (31 min)

Examine historical roots of Jewish persecution.

22: Islam, Violence, and Islamophobia (32 min)

Debunk stereotypes while analyzing modern jihadist movements.

23: Religion and Terrorism (31 min)

Profile Gush Emunim, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda’s ideological foundations.

24: What We Can Do About Religious Violence (33 min)

Conclude with practical strategies for reducing faith-based conflicts.