In the Name of Heaven: 3000 Years of Religious Persecution

by M.J. Engh

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 divinely ordered genocides and capital punishment for worshipers of other deities.Chapters are devoted to ancient Greece (Socrates, Alcibiades, and Aristotle, among others, clashed with the religious establishment); the Roman Empire (persecutions of Jews, Christians, and Manichaeans, and the later persecution of pagans and heretics by a Christianized Rome); the Islamic Empire (persecutions of polytheists and dissident Muslims); and medieval and Reformation Europe (where Protestants and Catholics persecuted each other and both persecuted heretics).The twenty-two chapters also cover Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific area. In an epilogue Engh reviews the new forms of religious persecution from the 20th century to the present-from major genocides and militant forms of polytheism to persecution of all religion by atheistic governments. Complete with references to further reading, this sobering but factually indisputable survey of religion's dark side enlightens while serving as a warning for the future.

Genres: Religion, History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

M. J. Engh is a science fiction author and independent Roman scholar. In 2009, Engh was named Author emerita by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She is best known for her 1976 novel Arslan, about an invasion of the United States.

Reviews

[Andrew Skretvedt · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need to get up to speed on the major religiously-motivated human conflicts throughout human history, and you need to do it in a hurry, perhaps without much prior knowledge or experience in religion/theology/spiritual belief systems/philosophy...this is THE book for YOU!

It's a relatively short book which makes no prior assumptions about the experience of the reader, and quickly takes you from zero to history-major. You get a comprehensive survey of major battles when the worlds of adherents to differing systems of belief, bump up against one another. It's a study in how cross-cultural exchange is short-circuited when religious zeal is involved, leading to massive humanitarian disasters.
Nothing but pain, suffering, martyrdom, and vengeance seems to be the fate of those cultures who, prior to coming into contact with one another, had been enjoying mostly peaceful, productive, and happy existences.
You'll get through it in just a few nights, and your mind will be so blown that it will cajole you into never thinking about your own belief system the same way again.
After this book, take a couple of days to ruminate on the content, then I might suggest trying Dawkins' "The God Delusion". If you regard yourself as a person of faith, yet you also regard yourself as a curious and intellectual sort who is motivated by empirical evidence and reason, then these two books will certainly move the faith portion of your being, way outside its comfort zone.
Footnoted with comprehensive bibliography for anyone desiring further study of any particular situation or event presented.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Name of Heaven” is a very generalized overview of religious persecution over the past 3000 years. Each of its 22 chapters covers a different time period and/or region of the world. The chapters are short and end with a couple of paragraphs which mention a few, not many, additional sources. Perhaps the most important part is the epilogue. In this overview of persecution the “one great danger signal is exclusiveness.” This includes ‘patriotic’ as well as religious groups. Ms. Engh has written a generalized history of persecution. To understand more about how a group will insidiously promote persecution I would suggest “American Fascists” by Chris Hedges.

[Dancingfoolvb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very easy read, well-written, comprehensive. Nice job.