Nine original first-person accounts provide an integrated, problem-solving approach to field research in religious extremism as the authors journey into the worlds of a variety of unusual, sometimes violent, religious groups.

Acknowledgments Contributors 1. Introduction: The Challenge of Entering Religious Minds Mark Juergensmeyer and Mona Kanwal Sheikh Part I Bridging Disciplines: Theology, Religious Studies, and Social Science 2. From Methodists to Mormons: Reflections on Describing and Explaining Religious Worldviews Ann Taves 3. Finding a Vocation Between Religious Worlds Richard Madsen 4. Route 40: Encountering a Spiritual School in the Desert Ariel Glucklich 5. Translating Worldviews: Religious Studies as a Social Science Julie Ingersoll Part II Encountering Religious Violence: Fieldwork, Empathy, and Immersion 6. Talking with Terrorists, Entering Their Minds Mark Juergensmeyer 7. Epistemic Worldviews: Buddhist Perspectives on Violence Michael Jerryson 8. Lessons from My Study of the Pakistani Taliban Mona Kanwal Sheikh 9. Interviewing White Ethno(-Religious) Nationalists: Reflections on Fieldwork Sara Kamali 10. Grasping Ritual Violence in Ancient Texts Margo Kitts 11. Conclusion: The Significance of Worldview Analysis for Social Sciences Mona Kanwal Sheikh Index

"This important volume makes a significant conceptual and methodological contribution to the study of religion by exploring in-depth cases of religious communities' worldviews. The chapters provide fascinating inside perspectives on communities across an impressive range of geographic sites and religious traditions. It should be of great interest to a broad, multidisciplinary audience at all levels." Cecelia Lynch, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California, Irvine"We cannot fully understand religious violence without taking the inside perspective into account – the worldview as perceived by the believer within its particular social context. This unique and important book provides a useful interdisciplinary guide for scholars of religion, political science and sociology on how to emphatically understand and critically analyze the religious experience. By putting the religious imageries, ideas, justifications, and practices as the focal points of the analysis, the book provides novel ways to bridge the inside and outside approach to the study of religion in general, and religious violence, in particular." Isak Svensson, Uppsala University, author of Ending Holy Wars: Religion and Conflict Resolution in Civil Wars (2012) and co-editor of International Relations and Religion (2016).