Peacemaking and the Challenge of Violence in World Religions

Written by top practitioner-scholars who bring a critical yet empathetic eye to the topic, this textbook provides a comprehensive look at peace and violence in seven world religions.

• Offers a clear and systematic narrative with coverage of Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Native American religions
• Introduces a different religion and its sacred texts in each chapter; discusses ideas of peace, war, nonviolence, and permissible violence; recounts historical responses to violence; and highlights individuals within the tradition working toward peace and justice
• Examines concepts within their religious context for a better understanding of the values, motivations, and ethics involved
• Includes student-friendly pedagogical features, such as enriching end-of-chapter critiques by practitioners of other traditions, definitions of key terms, discussion questions, and further reading sections

Irfan A. Omar is Associate Professor of Islam and World Religions at Marquette University, USA. He teaches courses on Islam, interfaith dialogue, and World Religions and his research interests include Christian-Muslim and Hindu-Muslim dialogue. He is the editor or co-editor of several books, including The Judeo-Christian-Islamic Heritage: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives (2012) and A Christian View of Islam: Essays on Dialogue (2010). In 2006, he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Muhammadiyah University Malang in Indonesia. He currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies and the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion. He is also a member of the steering committee of the Ethics Section of the American Academy of Religion.
Michael K. Duffey is Associate Professor of Theology at Marquette University, USA. He is also Director of the Interdisciplinary Major in Peace Studies and founder of the Marquette Center for Peacemaking. He holds degrees in government and in religious studies and his research interests include post-conflict healing, interreligious peacemaking, and the history of nonviolence. He has been published widely in scholarly journals and is the author of three books: Sowing Justice, Reaping Peace: Case Studies of Racial, Religious, and Ethnic Healing Around the World (2001), Peacemaking Christians: The Future of Just War, Pacifism, and Nonviolence (1995), and Be Blessed in What You Do (1988).