Killing for Religion: An Analysis of Conflict in Asia - Paperback

by Stephen R. Schwalbe (Author)

The book will inform Westerners about how the three primary Asian religions facilitate violence and conflict. Each of the three Asian religions selected, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shinto, is defined and compared with the others and with the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Next these Asian religions are analyzed to see how each allows for violence and conflict. Then the nature of religious conflict within them is compared to the nature of religious conflict within two of the Abrahamic religions (Christianity and Islam). Religious-facilitated conflicts in Asia have already occurred for many centuries, are occurring today, and likely will continue to occur. Although Asian religions may profess to be peaceful, they still end up facilitating violence and conflict. It is important to enlighten both the American members of the armed forces currently stationed in the Asia-Pacific region (numbering over one hundred thousand) as well as American taxpayers, whose taxes pay for this security regarding the religious aspect of conflict in Asia.

Author Biography

Stephen R. Schwalbe is an adjunct professor at Columbia College. Formerly, he was a professor at the Air War College and American Public University. During his thirty-four-year career in the US Air Force, he served as the assistant defense intelligence officer for the Middle East and terrorism, air attaché to South Korea, air attaché to Jordan, and inspection director for the Department of Defense inspector general.