Religious extremism: The good, the bad, and the deadly

Iannaccone, Laurence R.; Berman, Eli

doi:10.1007/s11127-006-9047-7

Cited by 245 publications

(124 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Once identified, organized and armed, that small minority could cause recurring damage. 46 One special aspect of religious organizations in this context is that since they make supernatural promises, the ultimate credence goods, they have a special interest in creating credibility among their leadership and membership (Iannaccone and Berman, 2006). That credibility may ease defection constraints.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Iannaccone (2006) points out that despite conventional wisdom about "brainwashing," research reveals that indoctrination played only a minor role in recruitment to US sects in the 1970s. Recruits were predisposed to belief.…”

Section: Rational Martyrs? 19mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their incentives to do so are amplified if government can discriminate in favor of club members, as the Taliban government did. A constitutional promise not to discriminate along religious or ethnic lines, such as church state separation, dampens incentives of sects to organize politically or as militias (Iannaccone and Berman, 2006). 45 Shawn Flanigan (2008) describes how World Bank funds to build housing in war-affected parts of Sri Lanka were diverted to build a "Heroes' Village," reserved for the families of LTTE fighters who had died in battle.…”

Section: Countering Suicide Attacksmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Religion, terrorism and public goods: Testing the club model

Berman

Laitin

2008

Journal of Public Economics

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370

215

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Can rational models, once theological explanations are discredited, explain why certain radical religious rebels are so successful in perpetrating suicide attacks? The fundamental barrier to success turns out not to be recruiting suicide attackers; there is a rational basis for volunteering. Rather, the barrier is the danger of other operatives defecting. A club model, portraying voluntary religious organizations as efficient providers of local public goods, explains how they weed out potential defectors by requiring sacrifices as signals of commitment. They are thereby able to succeed in risky terrorist attacks. The model has testable implications for tactic choice and damage achieved by clubs and other rebel organizations. Data spanning a half-century on both terrorists and civil war insurgents, much from Middle East sources and Israel/Palestine, reveal that: a) missions organized by radical religious clubs that provide benign local public goods are both more lethal and are more likely to be suicide attacks than missions organized by other terrorist groups with similar aims and theologies; and b) suicide attacks are chosen when targets are "hard," i.e., difficult to destroy. Our results suggest benign tactics to counter radical religious terrorism and insurgency.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rational Martyrs? 19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Countering Suicide Attacksmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Religion, terrorism and public goods: Testing the club model

Berman

Laitin

2008

Journal of Public Economics

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370

215

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“…The authors advance the idea that religion promotes pro-social cooperation within culturally defined groups, and they do not necessarily support the notion that pro-social behavior should be forced indiscriminately (Iannaccone and Berman 2006;Ruffle and Sosis 2006;Saroglou 2006). As suggested by Saroglou (2006), there is no reason to expect that religion implicates heroic standards and high-cost altruistic or pro-social behavior.…”

mentioning

confidence: 68%

“…Saroglou (2006) points out that it would be enough if the impact of pro-social religious ethics occurred between those people whose judgments and perceptions are mutually valued and among the members of a religious group involved in a relationship of greater reciprocity. The authors advance the idea that religion promotes pro-social cooperation within culturally defined groups, and they do not necessarily support the notion that pro-social behavior should be forced indiscriminately (Iannaccone and Berman 2006;Ruffle and Sosis 2006;Saroglou 2006). As suggested by Saroglou (2006), there is no reason to expect that religion implicates heroic standards and high-cost altruistic or pro-social behavior.…”

mentioning

confidence: 68%

Pro-Social Behavior: Contributions of Religiosity, Empathic Concern, and Spirituality

Roth¹

2017

Int J Lat Am Relig

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The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between empathy, antisocial behavior, religiosity, and spirituality as causal variables of pro-social behavior. The study has also considered the influence of other variables such as age, sex, religious creed, and ethnicity in a Catholic sample of Bolivian university students. A preliminary conceptual model of empathic concern was proposed based on the studied variables. While the relationship between religiosity and pro-social behavior did not prove to be very sound, the results did show strong ties between pro-social behavior, empathy, and spirituality, revealing how these variables contribute to explaining such behavior. The output of the modeling process indicates (verified through standardized weights) that at least three of the four latent variables included in the model showed a relevant influence on pro-social behavior (empathy, religiosity, and spirituality). Antisocial behavior was dismissed as a source of an endogenous variable explanation. Although the model seems to be acceptable, some adjustments are needed to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the empathy-a pro-social conceptual framework.Keywords Pro-social behavior . Empathic concern . Religiosity . Spirituality Statements such as BDon't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you^, attributed to Buddha, or BLove your neighbor as yourself^of the Christian gospels 1 , or BDo good to others without expecting anything in return^, and many other similar expressions shared by different religions tell us much about the importance that sacred Int J Lat Am Relig (2017) Batson et al. 1993;Yodrabum 2005;Hardy and Carlo 2005) consider the religious experience, the practice of faith, instilling moral thinking, sharing, cooperating, and promoting pro-social behavior as a wide range of actions that seek to benefit one or more people (Batson 1998). On the other hand, there are reasons to believe that individuals are usually generous, cooperative, concerned, and trustworthy, and it is assumed that religious people are more likely to show such attributes. Therefore, religiosity could be considered as a predictor of kindness and understanding as well as emotional pro-social altruism (Hardy and Carlo 2005).However, a growing number of studies question the relationship between religious practices and pro-social behavior, making it necessary to deepen its analysis and review its underlying theoretical assumptions. The existing scientific literature related to this topic is far from having achieved a full agreement on the existence of evidence for such a relationship and, rather, reveals contradictions regarding the influence of religiosity on pro-social behavior.While there is little doubt about the relationship as such, the controversy arises when discussing the causal status of religiosity. This seems to be related to the complexities of the multidimensional nature of the pro-social theoretical construct and the notion of religiosity. For example, it is evident that som...

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Terrorism, International

Asthappan¹

2013

The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice

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International terrorism is a relatively new phenomenon considering the age of terrorism. Terrorism has been used for over 2,000 years, but international terrorism as we know it today was made possible by technological advances. This entry begins by reviewing pivotal historical events that led to terrorism's use, as well as the underlying reasons for terrorism today. The article then discusses the influence of political stability and culture on international terrorism. Finally, a brief discussion of counter‐terrorism strategies highlights the means by which terrorism is prevented.

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Religious extremism: The good, the bad, and the deadly

Cited by 245 publications

References 25 publications

Religion, terrorism and public goods: Testing the club model

Religion, terrorism and public goods: Testing the club model

Pro-Social Behavior: Contributions of Religiosity, Empathic Concern, and Spirituality

Terrorism, International

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