The literature on religion and violence was already substantial before the Sept. 11 attacks, and it has swelled at an increased pace since then. I have not seen abundant evidence, however, that the serious reflections on violence expressed in these books has made a noticeable impact on the shape of higher education, on news media reporting, or on the thinking of government officials around the world. This is unfortunate.
Popular opinion doesn't reflect on the complexity of violence. We assume that violence (that is, the violence done by others) is evil, but we don't understand it and seem to have little interest in understanding it. The authors listed below are trying to change tha[...]