This book is about the role that media and religion play in promoting peace and inciting violence. Using a wide range of examples drawn from around the world, it explores:

• how different media contribute to the creation of communicative environments where violence can be incited
• how various media are used to promote peacebuilding
• the ambivalent role of religion in these processes.

It is sometimes suggested that through skilful packaging of religious messages audiences can be turned into more violent or more peaceful citizens. Jolyon Mitchell paints a more complex picture in order to tease out the ambivalence of the sacred in a number of different communicative contexts.

Jolyon Mitchell is Professor of Communications, Arts and Religion and Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at the University of Edinburgh, UK. A former BBC World Service producer and journalist, he has written and lectured widely on issues relating to communications, violence and peacebuilding. His publications include Media Violence and Christian Ethics (2007) and Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader (2011).

List of Illustrations. Acknowledgements. Introduction. Part One: Inciting Violence 1. Visualising Holy War 2. Celebrating Martyrdom 3. Cultivating Violence. Part One Conclusions. Part Two: Promoting Peace 4. Bearing Witness through Film 5. Searching for Truth and Reconciliation 6. Promoting Peace on Screen 7. Conclusion: 'Swords into Ploughshares'. Notes. Bibliography. Webography. Filmography. Index.