Introduction: Confronting Distinguished Bigots / 1
1. Sins of Anti-Semitism / 9
2. The Suppressed Gospels / 37
3. Persecuting the Tolerant Pagans / 53
4. Imposing the Dark Ages 73
5. Crusading for Land, Loot, and Converts / 93
6. Monsters of the Inquisition / 117
7. Scientific Heresies / 135
8. Blessed Be Slavery / 169
9. Holy Authoritarianism / 187
10. Protestant Modernity / 209
Postscript / 231
Notes / 233
Bibliography / 243
Captions and credits / 257
Index / 259
Rodney Stark was one of the leading authorities on the sociology of religion. Following a tour of duty in the US Army, Stark received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He held appointments as a research sociologist at the Survey Research Center and the Center for the Study of Law and Society. For many years, the Pulitzer Prize nominee was sociology and comparative religion professor at the University of Washington. In 2004 he became Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and codirector of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University.
Stark authored more than 150 scholarly articles and 32 books in 17 different languages, including several widely used sociology textbooks and best-selling titles like The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries; The Triumph of Faith: Why the World is More Religious Than Ever; The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World’s Largest Religion; God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades; A Star in the East: The Rise of Christianity in China; The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success; and Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History.
“Rodney Stark gives the last acceptable prejudice a sound thrashing
and clears up many confused history along the way. Give this fine
book to anyone you know who’s been subjected to
‘social studies.’”
—George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public
Policy Center “Growing up Catholic in the United States is to
hear a constant stream of stuff that, one’s experience shows, is
just not true. Still, I have always trusted that some unbiased
non-Catholic scholar would one day look at the evidence (even its
simple logic) again. Little did I imagine that this expected
dispassionate historian would be so deeply informed, lucid,
thorough, and blunt. Rodney Stark has done justice to neglected
historical truth, and I am deeply grateful for his steady
toughmindedness. His aim was to honor the truth, so now historians
must look again, face his challenges, and come refreshed to their
own verdicts.”
—Michael Novak, winner of the Templeton Prize (1994), author of The
Spirit of Democratic Capitalism “A majestically argued,
gorgeously written, and essential book by one of the truly
indispensable minds of our time. Bearing False Witness is one more
gift to history from Rodney Stark. It should, in turn, be given to
and read by students and professors everywhere, whatever
their beliefs.”
—Mary Eberstadt, author of How the West Really Lost God and It’s
Dangerous to Believe “An elegantly written and lucid overview
of the myths and fables produced by what has been described as
‘America’s oldest prejudice.’ Directors of adult education groups
should run out and buy this book.”
—Mark Massa SJ, dean, School of Theology and Ministry,
Boston College “If ever there was a book that would stir up
controversy among historians, scholars of religion, sociologists,
and politicians, then Bearing False Witness is it. In it, Rodney
Stark rebuts, with his usual mastery of sources and mature
judgment, the widespread ‘black legends’ about Catholic violence,
bigotry, intolerance, and rejection of modern science. Regardless
of whether one agrees with all of his arguments, this book will be
a useful resource for educators and scholars alike. Due to its
engaging and lucid style, it is a must-have for every
history lover.”
—Ulrich L. Lehner, author of The Catholic Enlightenment
“Those trapped by convention will bristle at Stark's book, but
those who attempt to deconstruct their own stance will find here
much that resonates. Written in a lively style, Stark’s book will
appeal to those interested in the history of Western civilization,
Christianity, and culture.”
—CHOICE
“According to a new, groundbreaking book by sociologist and
historian Rodney Stark, the truth is far more friendly to the
Catholic Church, and those who say otherwise are overlooking
important developments in the study of history. In Bearing
False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History, Stark
rebuts 10 historical myths that reflect badly on the
Catholic church.”
—Tyler O’Neil, PJ Media
“Even if you are not Catholic, to understand today’s culture wars,
you must understand Catholic history. [T]his book has my
highest endorsement for everyone from Catholics to atheists who
appreciate brave truth-telling on important topics.”
—FrontPage Magazine, Danusha Goska, author of Save
Send Delete
“The fallout from these anti-Catholic myths has been extensive and
damaging. Stark sets the record straight.”
—Kathleen A. Mulhern, Patheos
“Stark writes as a historian, not an apologist, but the truth is
good history and the best defense of the Church.”
—Gerald J. Russello, National Catholic Register
“In each chapter, Stark takes on a well-established anti-Catholic
myth, gives a fascinating history of how each myth became the
conventional wisdom and presents a startling picture of the
real truth.”
—Supremacy and Survival
“In Bearing False Witness, Stark crushes anti-Catholic myths one by
one with clarity and well-researched scholarship.”
—Klaus Vella Bardon, Times of Malta
“Stark has done the Catholic Church a great service in presenting a
thorough dismantling of many anti-Catholic narratives, as well as
offering analysis as to how and why this happened… Even those
outside the parameters of the Catholic Church should welcome this
study, as it enables us to move beyond the usual sniping
characteristic of so many church history debates and pursue a more
thorough, historically faithful ecumenical dialogue.”
—Casey Chalk, Call to Communion “Bearing False Witness by Rodney
Stark is a generous book—though more importantly, a judicious one.
Stark is a Protestant who grew up believing many anti-Catholic
myths, including that old canard from Washington Irving that
Columbus’s voyage had been discouraged by the Church because of her
belief that the world was flat. Stark dismantles this quaint piece
of ahistorical folklore in his Introduction, then sets his sights
on the whole panoply of ‘Black Legends’ maliciously promulgated
throughout history to justify bigotry towards Catholics, first by
rival denominations (English and Dutch Protestants invented the
lurid, baseless cartoon we picture when we hear ‘Spanish
Inquisition') and then by secular forces (I learned here that it
was Soviet propagandists who started the lie that Pius XII was
‘Hitler’s Pope’) . . . the book is an across-the-aisle attempt to
right some wrongs of Christian historiography”
—Alexi Sargeant, First Things
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