Religious Evolution And The Axial Age
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Religious Evolution And The Axial Age
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Author : Stephen K. Sanderson
language : en
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Release Date : 2018-01-25
Religious Evolution And The Axial Age written by Stephen K. Sanderson and has been published by Bloomsbury Publishing this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-01-25 with Social Science categories.
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.
Religion In Human Evolution
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Author : Robert N. Bellah
language : en
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Release Date : 2017-05-08
Religion In Human Evolution written by Robert N. Bellah and has been published by Harvard University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017-05-08 with Religion categories.
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice An ABC Australia Best Book on Religion and Ethics of the Year Distinguished Book Award, Sociology of Religion Section of the American Sociological Association Religion in Human Evolution is a work of extraordinary ambition—a wide-ranging, nuanced probing of our biological past to discover the kinds of lives that human beings have most often imagined were worth living. It offers what is frequently seen as a forbidden theory of the origin of religion that goes deep into evolution, especially but not exclusively cultural evolution. “Of Bellah’s brilliance there can be no doubt. The sheer amount this man knows about religion is otherworldly...Bellah stands in the tradition of such stalwarts of the sociological imagination as Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Only one word is appropriate to characterize this book’s subject as well as its substance, and that is ‘magisterial.’” —Alan Wolfe, New York Times Book Review “Religion in Human Evolution is a magnum opus founded on careful research and immersed in the ‘reflective judgment’ of one of our best thinkers and writers.” —Richard L. Wood, Commonweal
The Axial Age And Its Consequences
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Author : Robert N. Bellah
language : en
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Release Date : 2012-10-31
The Axial Age And Its Consequences written by Robert N. Bellah and has been published by Harvard University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2012-10-31 with Religion categories.
The first classics in human history—the early works of literature, philosophy, and theology to which we have returned throughout the ages—appeared in the middle centuries of the first millennium bce. The canonical texts of the Hebrew scriptures, the philosophical writings of Plato and Aristotle, the Analects of Confucius and the Daodejing, the Bhagavad Gita and the teachings of the Buddha—all of these works came down to us from the compressed period of history that Karl Jaspers memorably named the Axial Age. In The Axial Age and Its Consequences, Robert Bellah and Hans Joas make the bold claim that intellectual sophistication itself was born worldwide during this critical time. Across Eurasia, a new self-reflective attitude toward human existence emerged, and with it an awakening to the concept of transcendence. From Axial Age thinkers we inherited a sense of the world as a place not just to experience but to investigate, envision, and alter through human thought and action. Bellah and Joas have assembled diverse scholars to guide us through this astonishing efflorescence of religious and philosophical creativity. As they explore the varieties of theorizing that arose during the period, they consider how these in turn led to utopian visions that brought with them the possibility of both societal reform and repression. The roots of our continuing discourse on religion, secularization, inequality, education, and the environment all lie in Axial Age developments. Understanding this transitional era, the authors contend, is not just an academic project but a humanistic endeavor.
The Evolution Of Religion Religiosity And Theology
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Author : Jay R. Feierman
language : en
Publisher: Routledge
Release Date : 2019-09-11
The Evolution Of Religion Religiosity And Theology written by Jay R. Feierman and has been published by Routledge this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2019-09-11 with Religion categories.
This book takes a multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary approach to religion, religiosity and theology from their earliest beginnings to the present day. It uniquely brings together the natural sciences and theology to explore how religious practice emerged and developed through the four sections into which the book is organized: Evolutionary biology; Philosophical linguistics, psychology and neuroscience; Theology and Anthropology. The volume features an international panel of contributors who develop an innovative picture of religion as a culturally-created social institution; religiosity as a more personal and subjective anthropological element of people expressed through religion; and theology as the study of god. To survive in changing times, living systems — a good characterization of religion, religiosity and theology — all must adaptively evolve. This is a vital study of a rapidly burgeoning field. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars in religious studies and theology as well as in the psychological, sociological, and anthropological study of religion.
Evolution And Syncretism Of Religion
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Author : Craig Vander Maas
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2017-09
Evolution And Syncretism Of Religion written by Craig Vander Maas and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017-09 with categories.
Many people believe that religion began when God revealed himself to human beings at the time of their creation several thousand years ago. However, we now know that in fact the earth is 4.5 billion years old. With this knowledge in mind, how did religion begin and develop? In particular, how did Judaism and Christianity begin and evolve? This book explores the answers to these questions, particularly syncretism of religion, i.e. the merging and blending of religious ideas. Topics include paleolithic and neolithic religion, influences of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia on Judeo-Christian beliefs, "mystery religions," human sacrifice in Canaan, the axial age, and the origins of Yahweh.
From World Religions To Axial Civilizations And Beyond
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Author : Saïd Amir Arjomand
language : en
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Release Date : 2021-03-01
From World Religions To Axial Civilizations And Beyond written by Saïd Amir Arjomand and has been published by State University of New York Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2021-03-01 with Social Science categories.
The post–World War II idea of the Axial Age by Karl Jaspers, and as elaborated into the sociology of axial civilizations by S. N. Eisenstadt in the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, continues to be the subject of intense scholarly debate. Examples of this can be found in recent works of Hans Joas and Jürgen Habermas. In From World Religions to Axial Civilizations and Beyond, an internationally distinguished group of scholars discuss, advance, and criticize the Jaspers-Eisenstadt thesis, and go beyond it by bringing in the critical influence of Max Weber's sociology of world religions and by exploring intercivilizational encounters in key world regions. The essays within this volume are of unusual interest for their original analysis of relatively neglected civilizational zones, especially Islam and the Islamicate civilization and the Byzantine civilization, and its continuation in Orthodox Russia.
The Origins And Diversity Of Axial Age Civilizations
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Author : Shmuel N. Eisenstadt
language : en
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Release Date : 2012-02-01
The Origins And Diversity Of Axial Age Civilizations written by Shmuel N. Eisenstadt and has been published by State University of New York Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2012-02-01 with History categories.
This book presents a new and original analysis of the great ancient civilizations, focusing on the breakthroughs and their institutionalization in Greece, Israel, China, and India. The conditions under which these civilizations developed are systematically explored. For comparative purposes, the civilization of Assyria, where such a breakthrough did not take place is analyzed. Attention is given to the transformation of modes of thought and symbolism. Special focus is brought to the development of the great religions and the perception of tension between the transcendental and mundane orders and between rulers and other elites.
The Emergence And Evolution Of Religion
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Author : Jonathan H. Turner
language : en
Publisher: Routledge
Release Date : 2017-08-10
The Emergence And Evolution Of Religion written by Jonathan H. Turner and has been published by Routledge this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017-08-10 with Social Science categories.
Written by leading theorists and empirical researchers, this book presents new ways of addressing the old question: Why did religion first emerge and then continue to evolve in all human societies? The authors of the book—each with a different background across the social sciences and humanities—assimilate conceptual leads and empirical findings from anthropology, evolutionary biology, evolutionary sociology, neurology, primate behavioral studies, explanations of human interaction and group dynamics, and a wide range of religious scholarship to construct a deeper and more powerful explanation of the origins and subsequent evolutionary development of religions than can currently be found in what is now vast literature. While explaining religion has been a central question in many disciplines for a long time, this book draws upon a much wider array of literature to develop a robust and cross-disciplinary analysis of religion. The book remains true to its subtitle by emphasizing an array of both biological and sociocultural forms of selection dynamics that are fundamental to explaining religion as a universal institution in human societies. In addition to Darwinian selection, which can explain the biology and neurology of religion, the book outlines a set of four additional types of sociocultural natural selection that can fill out the explanation of why religion first emerged as an institutional system in human societies, and why it has continued to evolve over the last 300,000 years of societal evolution. These sociocultural forms of natural selection are labeled by the names of the early sociologists who first emphasized them, and they can be seen as a necessary supplement to the type of natural selection theorized by Charles Darwin. Explanations of religion that remain in the shadow cast by Darwin’s great insights will, it is argued, remain narrow and incomplete when explaining a robust sociocultural phenomenon like religion.
The Great Transformation
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Author : Karen Armstrong
language : en
Publisher: Vintage Canada
Release Date : 2009-02-24
The Great Transformation written by Karen Armstrong and has been published by Vintage Canada this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2009-02-24 with Religion categories.
From one of the world’s leading writers on religion and the highly acclaimed author of the bestselling A History of God, The Battle for God and The Spiral Staircase, comes a major new work: a chronicle of one of the most important intellectual revolutions in world history and its relevance to our own time. In one astonishing, short period – the ninth century BCE – the peoples of four distinct regions of the civilized world created the religious and philosophical traditions that have continued to nourish humanity into the present day: Confucianism and Daoism in China; Hinduism and Buddhism in India; monotheism in Israel; and philosophical rationalism in Greece. Historians call this the Axial Age because of its central importance to humanity’s spiritual development. Now, Karen Armstrong traces the rise and development of this transformative moment in history, examining the brilliant contributions to these traditions made by such figures as the Buddha, Socrates, Confucius and Ezekiel. Armstrong makes clear that despite some differences of emphasis, there was remarkable consensus among these religions and philosophies: each insisted on the primacy of compassion over hatred and violence. She illuminates what this “family” resemblance reveals about the religious impulse and quest of humankind. And she goes beyond spiritual archaeology, delving into the ways in which these Axial Age beliefs can present an instructive and thought-provoking challenge to the ways we think about and practice religion today. A revelation of humankind’s early shared imperatives, yearnings and inspired solutions – as salutary as it is fascinating. Excerpt from The Great Transformation: In our global world, we can no longer afford a parochial or exclusive vision. We must learn to live and behave as though people in remote parts of the globe were as important as ourselves. The sages of the Axial Age did not create their compassionate ethic in idyllic circumstances. Each tradition developed in societies like our own that were torn apart by violence and warfare as never before; indeed, the first catalyst of religious change was usually a visceral rejection of the aggression that the sages witnessed all around them. . . . All the great traditions that were created at this time are in agreement about the supreme importance of charity and benevolence, and this tells us something important about our humanity.
Evolution Cognition And The History Of Religion A New Synthesis
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Author : Anders Klostergaard Petersen
language : en
Publisher: BRILL
Release Date : 2018-10-08
Evolution Cognition And The History Of Religion A New Synthesis written by Anders Klostergaard Petersen and has been published by BRILL this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-10-08 with Religion categories.
Evolution, Cognition, and the History of Religion: A New Synthesis comprises 41 chapters that push for a new way of conducting the study of religion, thereby, transforming the discipline into a genuine science of religion. The recent resurgence of evolutionary approaches on culture and the increasing acknowledgement in the natural and social sciences of culture’s and religion’s evolutionary importance calls for a novel epistemological and theoretical framework for studying these two areas. The chapters explore how a new scholarly synthesis, founded on the triadic space constituted by evolution, cognition, cultural and ecological environment, may develop. Different perspectives and themes relating to this overarching topic are taken up with a main focus on either evolution, cognition, and/or the history of religion.