Fields of Blood: Religion And The History of Violence by Karen armstrong

Merits: Karen Armstrong has authored several books on religion including The Case for God, A History of God, Holy War, Islam, and Buddha. Her work on comparative religion is well traveled and has been translated into forty-five languages. She was awarded the TED prize in 2008 and in the same year was awarded the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Medal. In 2013 she was awarded the British Academy’s inaugural Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Transcultural Understanding.

Material: This book presents a sweeping overview of two thousand plus years of religious evolution in human society and analyses the violence that occurs within the orbits of these faiths. The compelling argument she presents is that is religion to blame for said violence, or could the state and the rise of warrior culture be responsible for the repetitive cycle of destruction?

Grade: Black Jesus. This book faces off against popular opinion and presents a very cogent argument for finally unyoking religion from the weight of sole responsibility for mankind’s historical aptitude for violence.