Religious Evolution and the Axial Age

From Shamans to Priests to Prophets

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Marriage & Family, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity
Cover of the book Religious Evolution and the Axial Age by Stephen K. Sanderson, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Stephen K. Sanderson ISBN: 9781350047440
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: January 25, 2018
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic Language: English
Author: Stephen K. Sanderson
ISBN: 9781350047440
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: January 25, 2018
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Language: English

Religious Evolution and the Axial Age describes and explains the evolution of religion over the past ten millennia. It shows that an overall evolutionary sequence can be observed, running from the spirit and shaman dominated religions of small-scale societies, to the archaic religions of the ancient civilizations, and then to the salvation religions of the Axial Age.

Stephen K. Sanderson draws on ideas from new cognitive and evolutionary psychological theories, as well as comparative religion, anthropology, history, and sociology. He argues that religion is a biological adaptation that evolved in order to solve a number of human problems, especially those concerned with existential anxiety and ontological insecurity.

Much of the focus of the book is on the Axial Age, the period in the second half of the first millennium BCE that marked the greatest religious transformation in world history. The book demonstrates that, as a result of massive increases in the scale and scope of war and large-scale urbanization, the problems of existential anxiety and ontological insecurity became particularly acute. These changes evoked new religious needs, especially for salvation and release from suffering. As a result entirely new religions-Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism-arose to help people cope with the demands of the new historical era.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Religious Evolution and the Axial Age describes and explains the evolution of religion over the past ten millennia. It shows that an overall evolutionary sequence can be observed, running from the spirit and shaman dominated religions of small-scale societies, to the archaic religions of the ancient civilizations, and then to the salvation religions of the Axial Age.

Stephen K. Sanderson draws on ideas from new cognitive and evolutionary psychological theories, as well as comparative religion, anthropology, history, and sociology. He argues that religion is a biological adaptation that evolved in order to solve a number of human problems, especially those concerned with existential anxiety and ontological insecurity.

Much of the focus of the book is on the Axial Age, the period in the second half of the first millennium BCE that marked the greatest religious transformation in world history. The book demonstrates that, as a result of massive increases in the scale and scope of war and large-scale urbanization, the problems of existential anxiety and ontological insecurity became particularly acute. These changes evoked new religious needs, especially for salvation and release from suffering. As a result entirely new religions-Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism-arose to help people cope with the demands of the new historical era.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book War and Peace in the Western Political Imagination by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book The Chaos Code by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book Soviet Lend-Lease Tanks of World War II by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book Dispute Resolution in Transnational Securities Transactions by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book Crash Test Boat by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book Private Power, Online Information Flows and EU Law by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book Literature and Moral Theory by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book Tiley’s Revenue Law by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book The American Biographical Novel by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book Dark Energy by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book The Constitution of France by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book Transformative Pacifism by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book Battleground Prussia by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book It's Not My Fault! by Stephen K. Sanderson
Cover of the book Toward a Prosecutor for the European Union Volume 1 by Stephen K. Sanderson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy