Gods at War: Understanding Three Millennia of Religious Conflict

UK: Amberley Publishing, 2019. Hardcore. New/New. New tightly bound hardcover with black cloth to boards and gilt lettering to spine. New dust jacket. 8vo. (6.34 x 1.22 x 9.57 inches) Clean text free of marks or underlining. Color photo plates. Includes appendices, bibliographies and an index. 304 pp.

Fast shipping in a secure book box mailer with tracking. Gods at War examines the role played by religions in starting or supporting wars from ancient Egypt and Israel to the current conflicts in Yemen and the Ukraine. It does not just cover the traditionally recognised wars of religion such as the Crusades and the Thirty Years War or the many Islamic jihads, but also addresses the role played by nearly all religions in encouraging warrior kings, dictators and even democracies to wage wars, supporting them with money, promises of a good after-life, promises of victory (God is on their side), motivating slogans and symbolism, and supportive priests to keep up morale.

The account assesses the level of religious involvement in wars, including less obvious ones such as the Spanish Armada, the Ming in China, the French Revolutionary Wars, World War 1 and the Japanese War in the Pacific. For example, the prime minster of Japan who launched the attack on Pearl Harbor was a devout Buddhist and Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge had trained as a Buddhist monk. Equally, there are examples of wars inspired by Judaism, rival Christian and Muslim sects, Sikhism and Japanese Shinto.