I’m pleased to announce the publication of Under Caesar’s Sword: How Christians Respond to Persecution, just published by Cambridge University Press, edited by Timothy Samuel Shah and myself.. It presents the findings from the Under Caesar’s Sword research project on how Christians respond to persecution around the world.
The bad news is that the book costs $140. The good news is that early next year it will come out in paperback at an affordable price.
This description from the book’s webpage tells it best:
The global persecution of Christians is an urgent human rights issue that remains underreported. This volume presents the results of the first systematic global investigation into how Christians respond to persecution. World-class scholars of global Christianity present first-hand research from most of the sites of the harshest persecution as well as the West and Latin America. Their findings make clear the nature of persecution, the reasons for it, Christian responses to it – both non-violent and confrontational – and the effects of these responses. Motivating the volume is the hope that this knowledge will empower all who would exercise solidarity with the world’s persecuted Christians and will offer the victims strategies for a more effective response. This book is written for anyone concerned about the persecution of Christians or more generally about the human right of religious freedom, including scholars, activists, political and religious leaders, and those who work for international organizations.
- Brings attention to the underreported plight of persecuted Christians
- Includes details of persecution in twenty-four countries
- Will help activists and officials respond more effectively to persecution
And here’s a crackerjack endorsement from Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput:
‘As editors Daniel Philpott and Timothy Shah show in this immensely valuable volume, nearly three-quarters of the world’s people live in nations burdened with religious discrimination or worse, and eighty percent of the violence and persecution is directed against Christians. Followers of Jesus Christ are the most commonly repressed, attacked and violated religious group not just in history, but right now in countries across the globe. The editors have done a superb job of gathering together comprehensive proof of anti-Christian persecution from a wide range of regions and political circumstances, and the overall effect is stunning – but also unimpeachable. Anyone sincerely interested in human rights and dignity needs to read and share this book.’ Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia