Bock begins with a description of ethnoreligious violence in the world today and then offers a case study about Hindu-Muslim riots in India that illustrates how religion is used to engineer violence by those who gain from it. The way that religion foments violence as compared to how it can be used to prevent it is analyzed in a chapter on the flash-point asymmetry problem. While religion in the direction of hatred seems to be sharp like a sword, it is argued that in some respects it is more like a butterknife in the direction of understanding and tolerance.

The second part of...

Bock begins with a description of ethnoreligious violence in the world today and then offers a case study about Hindu-Muslim riots in India that illustrates how religion is used to engineer violence by those who gain from it. The way that religion foments violence as compared to how it can be used to prevent it is analyzed in a chapter on the flash-point asymmetry problem. While religion in the direction of hatred seems to be sharp like a sword, it is argued that in some respects it is more like a butterknife in the direction of understanding and tolerance.

The second part of Dr. Bock's...