The Myth of Religious Violence by William T. Cavanaugh

What are two taboo topics? What if we combine them? If you want to discuss religion and politics, then join us for our latest book. We are reading The Myth of Religious Violence by William T. Cavanaugh. (This link is an Amazon Associate link and purchasing through this link helps me to cover the cost of adminstering groups on MeetUp. Thank you.)

In this book, "He argues three points: 1) There is no transhistorical and transcultural essence of religion. What counts as religious or secular in any given context is a function of political configurations of power; 2) Such a transhistorical and transcultural concept of religion as non-rational and prone to violence is one of the foundational legitimating myths of Western society; 3) This myth can be and is used to legitimate neo-colonial violence against non-Western others, particularly the Muslim world."

This book is currently discounted on Kindle. The hardcover is expensive but I'm happy to share my copy and get the Kindle edition.