Call For Proposals: New Book Series with Routledge Press.

We are delighted to announce a new book series in partnership with Routledge Press, entitled “Bible and Violence”.

This series of monographs will generate new research centred on the ways that the Bible is used in situations of violence, and how the texts can be interpreted irenically. Each volume will describe and evaluate a well-delineated situation of structural or physical violence, within which the Bible has been or is being weaponised by its actants. It will also, from a perspective that is both academically critical and confessionally committed, offer a constructive interpretation of the relevant texts or themes which is irenic, moderate, and promotes human flourishing.

Violence exists in many forms—racial, sexual, economic, etc.—all of which are present within the Bible, but over the centuries people have also looked to the Bible as a text which speaks of peace. It is the Bible more than any other text that has had a profound impact on the modern world. From statecraft to popular culture, the Bible casts a long shadow. In order to address the many forms of violence existent today, challenge them, and progress towards the actualization of further justice and peace, the Bible and its impact in the history of violence must be given sustained and detailed attention. Toward this end, the Bible and Violence series will illuminate the often violence-legitimating reception of the Bible and mine the theological and ethical resources of its text for cultivating communities of peace, justice, and flourishing. 

These books will be around 70,000 words in length, and will be interdisciplinary by their very nature. This may be achieved by the collaboration of two writers with complementary specialisms, or, more commonly, by a single author whose specialism encompasses both disciplines. The author(s) will not aim to provide a comprehensive study of the subject but rather to give a broad overview of the ways in which biblical texts and themes are used to endorse violence in a particular situation, and then will focus more closely on a small selection of those relevant texts and themes in order to put forward a reading of the scriptural witness that is conducive to peace.

Examples of Possible Topics (this list is not exhaustive)

  • The Bible and capital punishment (under contract)
  • The Bible and conflict in Northern Ireland (under contract)
  • The Bible and the Iraq war (under discussion)
  • The Bible and white supremacy
  • The Bible and British colonialism
  • The Bible and domestic abuse
  • The Bible and corporal punishment
  • The Bible and Black slavery
  • The Bible and apartheid
  • The Bible and MAGA
  • The Bible and European nationalism
  • The Bible and police brutality
  • The Bible and toxic masculinity
  • The Bible and modern just war
  • The Bible and the Balkan genocide
  • The Bible and American gun culture
  • The Bible and ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment

If you are interested in proposing a volume to us, please read our our submission guidelines and Routledge’s submission guidelines and then get in touch as detailed on that document. If you are planning to offer a reworked PhD thesis, you may also find this document useful.