Religion--the source of inspiration, hope, and basic values for most of humanity throughout history--has also been the motive for atrocious persecutions from antiquity to the present. "In the Name of Heaven" is a wide-ranging historical survey of religious persecution encompassing three millennia and a great diversity of cultures worldwide.
Defining religious persecution as "repressive actions initiated or condoned by authorities against their own people on religious grounds," author Mary Jane Engh begins with ancient Egypt, followed by the biblical history of Israel with its accounts of...