Dying for Heaven

In Dying for Heaven, Georgetown scholar and advisor to the defense community Ariel Glucklich explains the religious motivation of terrorism. This provocative work of political science argues that the very best qualities of religion—its ability to make people feel good and bring them together—are in fact its most dangerous. Glucklich, author of Sacred Pain and Climbing Chamundi Hill, offers a new understanding of religion and provides a vision for preventing further religiously-inspired violence.

How can the search for holy pleasure and a place in heaven lead to such violent self-sacrifice?

• The Science of Pleasure (Hedonics): An examination of how religion manipulates natural human pleasures—turning selfish individuals into willing, even altruistic, members of a group ready for self-sacrifice.
• Evolutionary Psychology of Religion: A groundbreaking argument that the same biological impulses that make religion feel good are the ones that make it a threat, explaining the tenacity of modern religious violence.
• The Martyr’s Theater: A deep dive into the performance of martyrdom, revealing why the pageantry of a glorious death can be more compelling than survival for a religious actor in a high-stakes crisis.
• The Prozac Effect: Discover the psychological misperception that allows mystics and martyrs alike to interpret intense internal feelings of pleasure as the transcendent love of God—with potentially catastrophic results.