ABSTRACT
This chapter takes a different approach than most of the preceding parts of this book. Above, we largely approached religion through the lenses of important theoretical and analytical frameworks that helped the people to break down the compound category of religion and gain a more precise understanding of the various relationships of religion and violence. Finally, readers may wish to treat this chapter as something like a brief encyclopedia, seeking out individual entries as needed rather than reading in sequence. In short, basing religious claims on divinely revealed sources whether the oral reports of prophets or written scriptures can elevate those claims to absolute status, shield them from criticism, and invite those who believe them to impose them on others. Many religious communities with strong elements of ritual sacrifice in their backgrounds have largely de-emphasized, modified, or abandoned those practices in recent history.
