Violence has been a central feature of AmericaOCOs history, culture, and place in the world. It has taken many forms: from state-sponsored uses of force such as war or law enforcement, to revolution, secession, terrorism and other actions with important political and cultural implications. Religion also holds a crucial place in the American experience of violence, particularly for those who have found order and meaning in their worlds through religious texts, symbols, rituals, and ideas. Yet too often the religious dimensions of violence, especially in the American context, are ignored or overstatedOCoin either case, poorly understood. "From Jeremiad to Jihad: Religion, Violence, and America" corrects these misunderstandings. Charting and interpreting the tendrils of religion and violence, this book reveals how formative moments of their intersection in American history have influenced the ideas, institutions, and identities associated with the United States. Religion and violence provide crucial yet underutilized lenses for seeing America anewOCoincluding its outlook on, and relation to, the world.

Currently, the nation's attention is concentrated on the long-standing sexual misdeeds conducted by prominent political, sports, and entertainment figures, which has been succinctly captured by the "#Me Too" movement. This movement has spread to call into question the actions of leaders in religious institutions and organizations, providing the context for research that examines the experiences of individuals and groups as they engage in their daily activities within these establishments. #MeToo Issues in Religious-Based Institutions and Organizations is an essential research book that provides comprehensive research into the effects of the #MeToo movement on institutions and organizations with a significant religious basis and reveals challenges and issues of welcoming gender and diversity. Readers will gain insights and tools for improving social conditions in their personal lives, in places of worship, in organizations, and in academic or other institutional environments. Highlighting a range of topics including diversity, gender equality, and Abrahamic religions, this book is ideal for religious officials, church leaders, psychologists, sociologists, professionals, researchers, academicians, and students.

In the 1990s, churches across the southeastern United States were targeted and set ablaze. These arsonists predominately targeted African American congregations and captured the attention of the media nationwide. Using oral histories, newspaper accounts, and governmental reports, Christopher Strain gives a chronological account of the series of church fires. Burning Faith considers the various forces at work, including government responses, civil rights groups, religious forces, and media coverage, in providing a thorough, comprehensive analysis of the events and their fallout. Arguing that these church fires symbolize the breakdown of communal bonds in the nation, Strain appeals for the revitalization of united Americans and the return to a sense of community. Combining scholarly sophistication with popular readability, Strain has produced one of the first histories of the last decade and demonstrates that the increasing fragmentation of community in America runs deeper than race relations or prejudice. A volume in the series Southern Dissent, edited by Stanley Harrold and Randall M. Miller