Unearthly Powers

Religious and Political Change in World History

Nonfiction, History, World History, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book Unearthly Powers by Alan Strathern, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alan Strathern ISBN: 9781108750530
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: March 21, 2019
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Alan Strathern
ISBN: 9781108750530
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: March 21, 2019
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

Why was religion so important for rulers in the pre-modern world? And how did the world come to be dominated by just a handful of religious traditions, especially Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism? Drawing on sociology and anthropology, as well as a huge range of historical literature from all regions and periods of world history, Alan Strathern sets out a new way of thinking about transformations in the fundamental nature of religion and its interaction with political authority. His analysis distinguishes between two quite different forms of religiosity - immanentism, which focused on worldly assistance, and transcendentalism, which centred on salvation from the human condition - and shows how their interaction shaped the course of history. Taking examples drawn from Ancient Rome to the Incas or nineteenth-century Tahiti, a host of phenomena, including sacred kingship, millenarianism, state-church struggles, reformations, iconoclasm, and, above all, conversion are revealed in a new light.

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

Why was religion so important for rulers in the pre-modern world? And how did the world come to be dominated by just a handful of religious traditions, especially Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism? Drawing on sociology and anthropology, as well as a huge range of historical literature from all regions and periods of world history, Alan Strathern sets out a new way of thinking about transformations in the fundamental nature of religion and its interaction with political authority. His analysis distinguishes between two quite different forms of religiosity - immanentism, which focused on worldly assistance, and transcendentalism, which centred on salvation from the human condition - and shows how their interaction shaped the course of history. Taking examples drawn from Ancient Rome to the Incas or nineteenth-century Tahiti, a host of phenomena, including sacred kingship, millenarianism, state-church struggles, reformations, iconoclasm, and, above all, conversion are revealed in a new light.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Existentialism by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book How to Improve Preconception Health to Maximize IVF Success by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book A Guide to the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book Cosmology and the Polis by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book Flora of Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 3, Mimosaceae - Lentibulariaceae by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book American Gridlock by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book Failures of American Civil Justice in International Perspective by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book Status in World Politics by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book Integrity and the Virtues of Reason by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book Incentives for Global Public Health by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book Computation, Proof, Machine by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book Physics, Pharmacology and Physiology for Anaesthetists by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book The Mechanical Hypothesis in Ancient Greek Natural Philosophy by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book Strategic A2/AD in Cyberspace by Alan Strathern
Cover of the book Spinoza by Alan Strathern
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