Monotheism and Violence

A major accomplishment of Shaw's monumental work on sacred violence is that it takes the religious violence that swept North Africa in the fourth century out of the privileged category of church history and moves it into the study of violence more generally. Like scholars of more recent periods, Shaw relies on "thick description" as a means to isolate the conditions that lead to violent encounters. The wealth of detail in this book, covering everything from rhetoric to labor practices, puts the conflict into a social and cultural setting, from which it can be compared with violence in other ages.