The role of religion and religiosity in processes of radicalisation to violence has been at the forefront of debates around terrorism and extremism for decades. The events of 9/11 gave new impetus to these debates. The years since 9/11 have seen a striking diversification in the terrorist and violent extremist landscape, yet the treatment of how religious beliefs, concepts and histories are entangled with established and emergent violent ideologies and social movements has changed far less. By looking beyond Islamist-inspired or attributed terrorism, this volume explores how violent extremists instrumentalise religion and religiosity in unexpected ways, from Orthodox Christianity and Hindutva to ‘conspirituality’, far-right extremism, and single-issue social movements.

CSD’s contribution to the handbook explores how religiously attributed radicalization has shaped state policies in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovinа, and Bulgaria. The chapter analyses the historical, political, and social contexts that have contributed to religiously-inspired violent extremism in these countries. It highlights the impact of security threats on religious governance policies.

The eBook edition of this book is available open access here.