Mormonism and Violence
The Battles of Zion

The book critically assesses the relationship of Mormonism and violence. Pays special attention to violence in the Book of Mormon.

Patrick Q. Mason (Author)

9781108706285, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 May 2019

75 pages
18 x 12.8 x 0.5 cm, 0.12 kg

In popular culture and scholarship, a consistent trope about Mormonism is that it features a propensity for violence, born of the religion's theocratic impulses and the antinomian tendencies of special revelation. Mormonism and Violence critically assesses the relationship of Mormonism and violence through a close examination of Mormon history and scripture, focusing on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Element pays special attention to violence in the Book of Mormon and the history of the movement, from the 1830s to the present.

1. 'Wars and contentions': violence in the Book of Mormon
2. 'All are mob' – violence in early Mormonism
3. 'Unsheathe the sword' – violence in pioneer Utah
4. 'We believe in being subject' – modernization and state violence
Epilogue – toward peace.

Subject Areas: History of religion [HRAX], Religious intolerance, persecution & conflict [HRAM9], Religious ethics [HRAM1]