Abstract
Religion and violence have intertwined in public life in the North America since at least the first European settlements in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. During a time of intense religious intolerance, persecution, and wartare in Europe, many of the first European scttiers coming to North America brought with them the familiar conflicts, harsh judgments, and persecutions based on differences of religious belief and practice. To make matters worse. many of the European settlers also carried with them violence-prone interpretations of Christianity that would soon justify the brutal treatment of Native Americans and enslaved Africans. Given the raging religious animosities of i”he Old World and the age-old patterns of conquest” and domination, it is not surprising that religious justifications for violence poisoned public life in North America. What is more remarkable is the development of alternative perspectives that sought to end the violent religious struggles, accept religious differences amicably, and provide freedom and equality to all the land’s inhabitants.1
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Notes
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Lefebure, L.D. (2016). Religion, Violence, and Public Life in the United States of America. In: Latinovic, V., Mannion, G., Phan, P.C. (eds) Pathways for Interreligious Dialogue in the Twenty-First Century. Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137507303_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137507303_16
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