McConnell considered the book important, and argued that it complimented the philosopher Michel Foucault's "Discipline and Punish" (1975). He praised Girard's discussion of the cultural origins of judicial systems and the relevance of the concept of the sacrificial crisis to modern society. Farenga described Girard's theory of sacrifice as "brilliant", though he believed that its details would be criticized. He found Girard's discussion of Freud convincing. He suggested that "Violence and the Sacred" reassessed the "Greco-Roman" tradition of western thought in the same way that Girard's subsequent book "Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World" reassessed the "Judeo-Christian" tradition, and that Girard's work had a "Christological" background. He contrasted Girard's ideas with those of the philosopher Gilles Deleuze and the psychoanalyst Félix Guattari, as presented in "Anti-Oedipus" (1972), as well as with critical theory and deconstruction.