Martyrdom, self-sacrifice, and self-immolation : religious perspectives on suicide / edited by Margo Kitts.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Kitts, Margo, 1952- editor.

UPSO (University Press Scholarship Online)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Martyrdom.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 344 pages.)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2018]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Suicide in the forms of martyrdom, self-sacrifice, or self-immolation is perennially controversial: Should it rightly be termed suicide? Does religion sanction it? Should it be celebrated or anathematized? At least some idealization of such self-chosen deaths is found in every religious traditions treated in this volume, from ascetic heroes who conquer their passions to save others by dying, to righteous warriors who suffer and die valiantly while challenging the status quo. At the same time, there are persistent disputes about the concepts used to justify these deaths, such as altruism, heroism, and religion itself. In this volume, renowned scholars bring their literary and historical expertise to bear on the contested issue of religiously sanctioned suicide. Three examine contemporary movements with disputed classical roots, while eleven look at classical religious literatures which variously laud and disparage figures who invite self-harm to the point of death. Overall, the volume offers an important scholarly corrective tot he axiom that religious traditions simply and always embrace life at any cost. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction: On Death, Religion, and Rubrics for Suicide / Margo Kitts Kitts, Margo 1

2 To Die For: The Evolution of Early Jewish Martyrdom / Shmuel Shepkaru Shepkaru, Shmuel 18

3 Performing Christian Martyrdoms / Gaii P. Streete Streete, Gaii P. 40

4 Collective Martyrdom and Religious Suicide: The Branch Davidians and Heaven's Gate / Catherine Wessinger Wessinger, Catherine 54

5 Martyrdom and its Contestations in the Formative Period of lslam / Asma Afsaruddin Afsaruddin, Asma 85

6 The Death of Musa al-Kazim (d. 183/799): Knowledge and Suicide in Early Twelver Shiism / Najam Haider Haider, Najam 106

7 Apologia for Suicide: Martyrdom in Contemporary Jihadist Discourse / Mohammed M. Hafez Hafez, Mohammed M. 126

8 Hindu Ascetic Death / Mary Storm Storm, Mary 140

9 Sati / David Brick Brick, David 162

10 Dying Heroically: Jainism and the Ritual Fast to Death / Anne Vallely Vallely, Anne 182

11 The Tropics of Heroic Death: Martyrdom and the Sikh Tradition / Louis E. Fenech Fenech, Louis E. 205

12 The Meanings of Sacrifice: The Ltte, Suicide, and the Limits of the "Religion Question" / Benjamin Schonthal Schonthal, Benjamin 226

13 To Extract the Essence from this Essenceless Body: Self-Sacrifice and Self-Immolation in Indian Buddhism / Reiko Ohnuma Ohnuma, Reiko 241

14 Reflections on Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Traditions / Jimmy yu yu, Jimmy 264

15 Relinquishing the Body to Reach the Pure Land: Buddhist Ascetic Suicide in Premodern Japan / Jacqueline I. Stone Stone, Jacqueline I. 280.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. Oxford Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780190656522

0190656522

Publisher Number:

40028217520

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.