"<i>When God Stops Fighting</i> is an excellent introductory work. . . .[its] brevity, its smooth readability and its lively descriptions make it both a thought-provoking and an enjoyable read."
Medicine, Conflict, and Survival
"Anyone, be they theologians, religious studies majors, sociologists, psychologists, historians, politicians, lawyers, those entrusted with the arts of conflict resolution, or just a member of the public, should read this book. In doing so, they will come to understand more about the many subtle (and not so subtle) processes by which men (usually) can steer situations either towards tragic disasters or in the direction of those more promising situations <i>When God Stops Fighting</i>."
Reading Religion
"A valuable read for all those interested in militant violence."
Religion
Mark Juergensmeyer is arguably the globe’s leading expert on religious violence, and for decades his books have helped us understand the worlds and worldviews of those who take up arms in the name of their faith. But even the most violent of movements, characterized by grand religious visions of holy warfare, eventually come to an end. Juergensmeyer takes readers into the minds of religiously motivated militants associated with the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq, the Sikh Khalistan movement in India’s Punjab, and the Moro movement for a Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines to understand what leads to drastic changes in the attitudes of those once devoted to all-out ideological war. When God Stops Fighting reveals how the transformation of religious violence manifests for those who once promoted it as the only answer.
1. The Trajectory of Imagined Wars
2. The Apocalyptic War of the Islamic State
3. The Militant Struggle of Mindanao Muslims
4. The Fight for Khalistan in India's Punjab
5. How Imagined Wars End
Notes
Interviews
Bibliography
Index
"Juergensmeyer has an extraordinary knack for asking great questions at the right time. In this small tome he asks the important questions about how and why religious wars end. Informed by participants who had dedicated themselves to absolutist religious warfare, he discovers and reports that the imaginary of war in their minds has changed. Although core ideas remain, his interlocutors reveal that warfighting might not be the best method, such that they’ve come to accept that the war must end even if the struggle for righteousness does not."--Monica Duffy Toft, Professor of International Politics, The Fletcher School, Tufts University