Dying for Heaven: Holy Pleasure and Suicide Bombers-Why the Best Qualities of Religion Are Also Its Most Dangerous

by Ariel Glucklich

Overview

In Dying for Heaven, Georgetown scholar and advisor to the defense community Ariel Glucklich explains the religious motivation of terrorism. This provocative work of political science argues that the very best qualities of religion—its ability to make people feel good and bring them together—are in fact its most dangerous. Glucklich, author of Sacred Pain and Climbing Chamundi Hill, offers a new understanding of religion and provides a vision for preventing further religiously-inspired violence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061959417
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/03/2009
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	453 KB

About the Author

Ariel Glucklich is a professor at Georgetown University. He is the author ofSacred Pain: Hurting the Body for the Sake of the Soul, Climbing Chamundi Hill, and The Strides of Vishnu.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Religious Self-Destructiveness and Nuclear Deterrence 11

2 The Mysteries of Pleasure 41

3 The Varieties of Religious Pleasure 67

4 The School for Happiness 101

5 Disgust and Desire: Why We Sacrifice for the Group 131

6 God's Love and the Prozac Effect 159

7 Spiritual Love and the Seeds of Annihilation 193

8 The Paradise Paradox: The Misery of Heaven-Addicts 225

9 The Martyr's Theater 251

Conclusion 287

Acknowledgments 291

Notes 293

Index 329

Editorial Reviews

With profound clarity, insight, and skill, Glucklich (Hinduism, Georgetown Univ.; Sacred Pain) enters into the fray of post-9/11 discourses on religion, reorienting the perceptions about suicide bombers that obtain mostly in the West by examining the social, psychological, and historical roles of pleasure. Moving away from an oft-perceived Islamic-West dualism, Glucklich probes the very nature of what it means to be religious and the attractiveness of becoming religious. In nine chapters, he digs into the role that such concepts as pleasure, happiness, humor, and ridicule play in the social and religious realities of our worlds (Islamic or not), complete with examples from Mozart to the KKK. Through his explorations, he successfully elucidates both the emotive and the visceral foundations of not only the suicide bomber but also our Western perceptions and reactions. VERDICT Extremely well written, and at times quite funny (e.g., when Glucklich writes about humor), this book is an absolute necessity for a public seeking to understand religious nuance and zealotry; it deserves careful attention and a broad readership. Highly recommended.—Anthony J. Elia, JKM Lib., Chicago\

Library Journal

[Dying for Heaven] is more than 300 pages of gripping analysis about the inner motivations—the high-octane rocket fuel—within religion.

Read the Spirit.com

A new and major treatise on what it takes to become a suicide bomber and what it takes to counter it. Glucklich combines religion, terrorism, hope and despair in a breathtaking and highly readable manner.

Ahmed Rashid

This brilliant and gracefully written study sheds new light on religious behavior . . . Rich with examples and scholarly detail, this study should be read by policymakers, social scientists, and anyone fascinated with what lies behind the awesome power of religious faith.

Mark Juergensmeyer

Ariel Glucklich’s Dying for Heaven offers a provocative explanation of religion and terrorism based on a Darwinian approach. Although not all readers will embrace this analysis, it provides absorbing food for thought and a surprisingly attractive solution for the problem it addresses.

Carl W. Ernst

An important and enlightening book for a dangerous age.

Booklist (starred review)

In Dying for Heaven, Ariel Glucklich argues against the misconception that religious terrorists fight their enemies out of hatred. Rather, it is the positive aspects of religion that inspire the most heinous actions.

Washington Post.com