Overview
Suicide in the forms of martyrdom, self-sacrifice, or self-immolation is perennially controversial: Should it rightly be termed suicide? Does religion sanction it? Should it be celebrated or anathematized? At least some idealization of such self-chosen deaths is found in every religious tradition treated in this volume, from ascetic heroes who conquer their passions to save others by dying, to righteous warriors who suffer and die valiantly while challenging the status quo. At the same time, there are persistent disputes about the concepts used to justify these deaths, such as altruism, heroism, and religion itself. In this volume, renowned scholars bring their literary and historical expertise to bear on the contested issue of religiously sanctioned suicide. Three examine contemporary movements with disputed classical roots, while eleven look at classical religious literatures which variously laud and disparage figures who invite self-harm to the point of death. Overall, the volume offers an important scholarly corrective to the axiom that religious traditions simply and always embrace life at any cost.
Full Product Details
Author: Margo Kitts (Hawai'i Pacific University)
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Imprint: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780190656522
ISBN 10: 0190656522
Publication Date: 24 May 2018
Audience:
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Format: Undefined
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Why would people want to kill themselves on behalf of God? Behind the troubling scenes of suicide bombers and burning monks are complex religious histories of martyrdom. This remarkable collection of authoritative essays covers all aspects of this perplexing topic in every religious tradition, ranging from early history to the present. This important volume forces us to think anew about the awesome power of the religious imagination. -Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence
"""Why would people want to kill themselves on behalf of God? Behind the troubling scenes of suicide bombers and burning monks are complex religious histories of martyrdom. This remarkable collection of authoritative essays covers all aspects of this perplexing topic in every religious tradition, ranging from early history to the present. This important volume forces us to think anew about the awesome power of the religious imagination.""-Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence"
Author Information
Margo Kitts is Professor and Coordinator of Religious Studies and East-West Classical Studies at Hawai'i Pacific University. She is the author or editor of six books and over 30 articles dealing with ancient literature and/or religion and violence. She edits the Journal of Religion and Violence, and co-edits the monograph series, Cambridge Elements of Religion and Violence.
