Unearthly Powers: Religious and Political Change in World History

Synopsis

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. Introduction -- A Language Of Religion -- An Overview Of The Book -- Some Matters Of Methodology -- The Axial Age -- The Two Forms Of Religion: Being And Nothingness -- The Characteristics Of Immanentism -- The Characteristics Of Transcendentalism -- An Unstable Synthesis -- Religion As The Fabric Of The State -- The Social Power Of Religion -- Centralization Under The Conditions Of Immanentism -- Centralization Under The Conditions Of Transcendentalism -- The Instabilities Of Transcendentalism -- The Two Forms Of Sacred Kingship: Divinization And Righteousness -- Some Notes On How To Think About Sacred Kingship -- The Divinized King -- The Righteous King -- The Inevitable Synthesis -- The Economy Of Ritual Efficacy And The Empirical Reception Of Christianity -- Some Reflections On The Function Of Ritual -- Missionaries And The Impression Of Ritual Superiority -- Prophetic, Millenarian And Cargo Movements -- The Conversion Of Kings Under The Conditions Of Immanentism: Constantine To Cakobau -- A Model Of Ruler Conversion -- War And Healing As Turning Points -- Overcoming Resistance: Immanentism Recreated And Destroyed -- Dreams Of State: Conversion As The Making Of Kings And Subjects -- The Consolidation Of The Religious Field -- Loyalty, Governability And Pacification -- Conversion And Dilemmas Of Sacred Kingship -- Conclusion -- Glossary Of Theoretical Terms. Alan Strathern, University Of Oxford. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.