The aim of Terror and Religion is to explore the historic and contemporary links between terror and religion, and to help students understand the complexity of religious violence in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, especially in relation to terrorism and the so-called “war against terror”. The course addresses the re-emergence of religious nationalism and the threats it presents to modern states.

The course investigates legal and other definitions of terrorism and the development of modern doctrines of terror. It examines topics such as religious motivation, and the justification and legitimisation of the use violence in a number of major religious belief systems. It identifies the differences between mainstream and extremist teachings on the use of violence in these religions. It analyses significant acts of religiously motivated violence, and explores background issues such as secularisation, modernism and globalisation. It also looks at more personal issues, such as the nature of religious conviction and its influence on behaviour.

The course takes an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating insights from history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, studies in religion, politics and the law.

More information can be found on the Course Outline Website.