Holy Hatred

by James A. Haught and James A. Haugt

Book Overview

From the Catholic-Protestant killings in Northern Ireland to the Hindu-Sikh-Muslim massacres in India, from the Orthodox-Catholic-Muslim horror in the former Yugoslavia to the Branch Davidian cult... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879759224
• ISBN13: 9780879759223
• Release Date: November 1995
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Eye opening if a little too easy

Haught's book is one that everyone should look at. If anyone still is not aware of the dimensions of religious conflict in the modern world, they really need to be. On the other hand, it is a little too easy to take shots at religion as the source of all the evil in the world. The simple but complex truth is that religion motivates people...to do good or to do harm, as their beliefs lead. Religion is neither all good nor all bad. It is probably all false (!), but a more serious and in-depth analysis of what violence is, what religion is, and how the two are related is necessary, rather than gleeful sticks poked in the eye of religion. God (!) knows, people have done great violence for non-religious reasons too. The point is to understand how religion can contribute to violence, not just to point an accusatory finger at religion. I deal some with religion and violence in my new books, "Natural Atheism" and "Violence and Culture: A Cross-Cultural and Interdisciplinary Approach."

A Book that should be Required for High Schoolers

Haught discusses only conflicts in the 1990's in this book, which actually stops in 1994. Although when you realize that the book is more than 230 pages long, it puts things into perspective. The reviewer before mine was reading this at the same time as "Can Man Live Without God?" by Zachrias (I hope I spelled his name right!), folks the answer is YES! The fact is that millions of people find live invigorating whether it is with or without religion. This book, while old, will make you sick (I can think of no other word to describe how I felt) with the information about religious hatred, murder, rape, genocide, the list of tortures described in this book are despicable. Unfortunately, the fact that religion can engender evil, and in fact, may engender it easier than good, does not make religious people evil. Personally, I would be much happier if people read this book, stopped bickering about whether or not something exists out there, and started obeying some damn commandments. Again, in summary, this book should be REQUIRED for EVERYONE! It implicitly is a loud, ringing YES for Jefferson's "wall of separation." Haught goes around the world in 230 pages to uncover the evils people will do because they worship the "One True God." Or for the Hindu, "The Several True Gods." What people will do to pave their neighbors way to Happiness and Heaven is described in this book.

Read alongside Ravi Zacharias' "Can Man Live Without God?"

Does religion make men virtuous? Does believing in God make one moral? This book is a punch in the face for anyone who would naively answer 'yes' to the above questions. This book is just shocking, disgusting, and really makes you want to puke at all the atrocities done in the name of 'righteous' religion. This is definitely a must read book, but it has problems. It is not very detailed and more sources would help. There is no index, and the title is inappropriate. This only covers the years 1990-1994 in depth. Thank you, James Haught, for having the courage to write this book. I hope another comes out for the years 1995-2000!