From the author of A History of God, an exploration of religion's connection to violence. For the first time in American history, religious self-identification is on the decline. Some have cited a perception that began to grow after Sept 11-- that faith in general is a source of aggression, intolerance, and divisiveness-- something bad for society. But how accurate is that view? And does it apply equally to all faiths? In these troubled times, we risk basing decisions of real and dangerous consequence on mistaken understandings of the faiths subscribed around us, in our immediate community as well as globally. And so, Karen Armstrong examines the impulse toward violence in each of the world's great religions."--from publisher's description.