ABSTRACT
Aum Shinrikyo startled the world by launching a nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway on 20 March 1995. Many felt that terrorists finally crossed a threshold by producing and using an apocalyptic weapon, the 'poor man's atomic bomb'. The historical record indicates secular groups have sought to use such weapons more often than religious groups. Aum confirmed a belief widespread among students of terrorism that religious groups are particularly attracted to these weapons. The chapter discusses religious believers who want an apocalypse to occur in order to redeem the world. It examines two types, those who fear the apocalypse and those who exploit that anxiety for their own mundane purposes. Conventional explosives, like those used to create the Nairobi or Oklahoma City atrocities, will continue to inflict the overwhelming bulk of the casualties.
