In God’s Name: Stories Of Faith And Vigilante Justice

 

Categorizing those who do violence is a messy business.

The very individuals who are called heroes, warriors and revolutionaries by some can be categorized as villains, murderers and radicals by others. But when the morality of a violent person is highly controversial or just ambiguous, we have a separate, more fuzzy term — we call them a vigilante.

For religious people, the idea that what is right and wrong is bigger than just what is legal or illegal is extremely familiar.

While much of a legal system may coincide with a religious person’s worldview, it is virtually unthinkable that the two would be fully aligned outside of a theocracy.

And, most religious people are content to keep away from spiritually impermissible wrongdoing through self-control and community support.

But for some, this hasn’t been enough. The wrongdoing of fellow citizens and government officials is so egregious to them that they have no choice but to act out in sometimes violent ways. In order to understand what kind of person is willing to take the law into their own hands for the sake of their god, I explored religious vigilantism throughout history.

In this week’s podcast, we explore stories from Christianity, Islam and Judaism that depict violent acts ranging from verbal harassment to mass suicide.

You can listen to the Religion Unplugged podcast on Apple and Spotify.

Matthew Peterson is Religion Unplugged’s podcast editor and audience development coordinator. He took part in this past summer’s European Journalism Institute held in Prague, an annual program co-sponsored by The Media Project.

 
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