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E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F
RELIGION
S E C O N D E D I T I O N

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E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F
RELIGION
S E C O N D E D I T I O N
7
ICONOGRAPHY
LINDSAY JONES
•
EDITOR IN CHIEF
JUSTIN MARTYR
eorel_fm 3/2/05 8:36 AM Page iv
Encyclopedia of Religion, Second Edition
Lindsay Jones, Editor in Chief
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Encyclopedia of religion / Lindsay Jones, editor in chief.— 2nd ed.
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1. RELIGION—ENCYCLOPEDIAS. I. JONES, LINDSAY,
1954-
BL31.E46 2005
200’.3—dc22
2004017052
This title is also available as an e-book.
ISBN 0-02-865997-X
Contact your Thomson Gale representative for ordering information.
Printed in the United States of America
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E D I T O R S A N D C O N S U L T A N T S
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Program in Religious Studies,
SIGMA ANKRAVA
LINDSAY JONES
University of Wisconsin—Madison
Professor, Department of Literary and
Associate Professor, Department of
C
Cultural Studies, Faculty of Modern
HARLES H. LONG
Comparative Studies, Ohio State
Professor of History of Religions,
Languages, University of Latvia
University
Baltic Religion and Slavic Religion
Emeritus, and Former Director of
Research Center for Black Studies,
DIANE APOSTOLOS-CAPPADONA
BOARD MEMBERS
University of California, Santa Barbara
Center for Muslim–Christian
DAVÍD CARRASCO
Understanding and Liberal Studies
MARY N. MACDONALD
Neil Rudenstine Professor of Study of
Program, Georgetown University
Professor, History of Religions, Le
Latin America, Divinity School and
Art and Religion
Moyne College (Syracuse, New York)
Department of Anthropology, Harvard
DIANE BELL
DALE B. MARTIN
University
Professor of Anthropology and Women’s
Professor of Religious Studies, and
Studies, George Washington University
GIOVANNI CASADIO
Chair, Department of Religious
Australian Indigenous Religions
Professor of History of Religions,
Studies, Yale University
Dipartimento di Scienze
KEES W. BOLLE
AZIM NANJI
Professor Emeritus of History,
dell’Antichità, Università degli Studi
Professor and Director, The Institute
University of California, Los Angeles,
di Salerno
of Ismaili Studies, London
and Fellow, Netherlands Institute for
WENDY DONIGER
JACOB OLUPONA
Advanced Studies in the Humanities
Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service
Professor, African American and
and Social Sciences
Professor of the History of Religions,
African Studies Program, University
History of Religions
University of Chicago
of California, Davis
MARK CSIKSZENTMIHALYI
GARY L. EBERSOLE
MICHAEL SWARTZ
Associate Professor in the Department
Professor of History and Religious
Professor of Hebrew and Religious
of East Asian Languages and
Studies, and Director, UMKC Center
Studies, Ohio State University
Literature and the Program in
for Religious Studies, University of
Religious Studies, University of
INÉS TALAMANTEZ
Missouri—Kansas City
Wisconsin—Madison
Associate Professor, Religious Studies
Chinese Religions
JANET GYATSO
Department, University of California,
RICHARD A. GARDNER
Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies,
Santa Barbara
Faculty of Comparative Culture,
The Divinity School, Harvard
Sophia University
University
CONSULTANTS
Humor and Religion
GREGORY D. ALLES
CHARLES HALLISEY
Associate Professor of Religious Studies,
JOHN A. GRIM
Associate Professor, Department of
McDaniel College
Professor of Religion, Bucknell
Languages and Cultures of Asia and
Study of Religion
University and Co-Coordinator,
v
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vi
EDITORS AND CONSULTANTS
Harvard Forum on Religion and
TED PETERS
Religion, University of Chicago
Ecology
Professor of Systematic Theology,
Law and Religion
Ecology and Religion
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
TOD SWANSON
JOSEPH HARRIS
and the Center for Theology and the
Associate Professor of Religious Studies,
Francis Lee Higginson Professor of
Natural Sciences at the Graduate
and Director, Center for Latin
English Literature and Professor of
Theological Union, Berkeley,
American Studies, Arizona State
Folklore, Harvard University
California
University
Germanic Religions
Science and Religion
South American Religions
URSULA KING
FRANK E. REYNOLDS
MARY EVELYN TUCKER
Professor Emerita, Senior Research
Professor of the History of Religions
Professor of Religion, Bucknell
Fellow and Associate Member of the
and Buddhist Studies in the Divinity
University, Founder and Coordinator,
Institute for Advanced Studies,
School and the Department of South
University of Bristol, England, and
Asian Languages and Civilizations,
Harvard Forum on Religion and
Professorial Research Associate, Centre
Emeritus, University of Chicago
Ecology, Research Fellow, Harvard
for Gender and Religions Research,
History of Religions
Yenching Institute, Research Associate,
School of Oriental and African
GONZALO RUBIO
Harvard Reischauer Institute of
Studies, University of London
Assistant Professor, Department of
Japanese Studies
Gender and Religion
Classics and Ancient Mediterranean
Ecology and Religion
DAVID MORGAN
Studies and Department of History
HUGH B. URBAN
Duesenberg Professor of Christianity
and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania
Associate Professor, Department of
and the Arts, and
State University
Comparative Studies, Ohio State
Professor of Humanities and Art
Ancient Near Eastern Religions
University
History, Valparaiso University
SUSAN SERED
Politics and Religion
Color Inserts and Essays
Director of Research, Religion, Health
CATHERINE WESSINGER
JOSEPH F. NAGY
and Healing Initiative, Center for the
Professor of the History of Religions
Professor, Department of English,
Study of World Religions, Harvard
and Women’s Studies, Loyola
University of California, Los Angeles
University, and Senior Research
University New Orleans
Celtic Religion
Associate, Center for Women’s Health
New Religious Movements
M
and Human Rights, Suffolk University
ATTHEW OJO
Healing, Medicine, and Religion
R
Obafemi Awolowo University
OBERT A. YELLE
African Religions
LAWRENCE E. SULLIVAN
Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, University
of Toronto
J
Professor, Department of Theology,
UHA PENTIKÄINEN
Law and Religion
Professor of Comparative Religion, The
University of Notre Dame
History of Religions
University of Helsinki, Member of
ERIC ZIOLKOWSKI
Academia Scientiarum Fennica,
WINNIFRED FALLERS SULLIVAN
Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious
Finland
Dean of Students and Senior Lecturer
Studies, Lafayette College
Arctic Religions and Uralic Religions
in the Anthropology and Sociology of
Literature and Religion
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
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A B B R E V I A T I O N S A N D S Y M B O L S
U S E D I N T H I S W O R K
abbr. abbreviated; abbreviation
3 Bar. 3 Baruch
2 Chr. 2 Chronicles
abr. abridged; abridgment
4 Bar. 4 Baruch
Ch. Slav. Church Slavic
AD anno Domini, in the year of the
B.B. BavaD batraD
cm centimeters
(our) Lord
BBC British Broadcasting
col. column (pl., cols.)
Afrik. Afrikaans
Corporation
Col. Colossians
AH anno Hegirae, in the year of the
BC before Christ
Colo. Colorado
Hijrah
BCE before the common era
comp. compiler (pl., comps.)
Akk. Akkadian
B.D. Bachelor of Divinity
Conn. Connecticut
Ala. Alabama
Beits. Beitsah
cont. continued
Alb. Albanian
Bekh. Bekhorot
Copt. Coptic
Am. Amos
Beng. Bengali
1 Cor. 1 Corinthians
AM ante meridiem, before noon
Ber. Berakhot
2 Cor. 2 Corinthians
amend. amended; amendment
Berb. Berber
corr. corrected
annot. annotated; annotation
Bik. Bikkurim
C.S.P. Congregatio Sancti Pauli,
Ap. Apocalypse
bk. book (pl., bks.)
Congregation of Saint Paul
Apn. Apocryphon
B.M. BavaD metsiEaD
(Paulists)
app. appendix
BP before the present
d. died
Arab. Arabic
B.Q. BavaD qammaD
D Deuteronomic (source of the
EArakh. EArakhin
Bra¯h. Bra¯hman.a
Pentateuch)
Aram. Aramaic
Bret. Breton
Dan. Danish
Ariz. Arizona
B.T. Babylonian Talmud
D.B. Divinitatis Baccalaureus,
Ark. Arkansas
Bulg. Bulgarian
Bachelor of Divinity
Arm. Armenian
Burm. Burmese
D.C. District of Columbia
art. article (pl., arts.)
c. circa, about, approximately
D.D. Divinitatis Doctor, Doctor of
AS Anglo-Saxon
Calif. California
Divinity
Asm. Mos. Assumption of Moses
Can. Canaanite
Del. Delaware
Assyr. Assyrian
Catal. Catalan
Dem. DemaDi
A.S.S.R. Autonomous Soviet Socialist
CE of the common era
dim. diminutive
Republic
Celt. Celtic
diss. dissertation
Av. Avestan
cf. confer, compare
Dn. Daniel
EA.Z. EAvodah zarah
Chald. Chaldean
D.Phil. Doctor of Philosophy
b. born
chap. chapter (pl., chaps.)
Dt. Deuteronomy
Bab. Babylonian
Chin. Chinese
Du. Dutch
Ban. Bantu
C.H.M. Community of the Holy
E Elohist (source of the Pentateuch)
1 Bar. 1 Baruch
Myrrhbearers
Eccl. Ecclesiastes
2 Bar. 2 Baruch
1 Chr. 1 Chronicles
ed. editor (pl., eds.); edition; edited by
vii
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ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
EEduy. EEduyyot
Hung. Hungarian
Lith. Lithuanian
e.g. exempli gratia, for example
ibid. ibidem, in the same place (as the
Lk. Luke
Egyp. Egyptian
one immediately preceding)
LL Late Latin
1 En. 1 Enoch
Icel. Icelandic
LL.D. Legum Doctor, Doctor of Laws
2 En. 2 Enoch
i.e. id est, that is
Lv. Leviticus
3 En. 3 Enoch
IE Indo-European
m meters
Eng. English
Ill. Illinois
m. masculine
enl. enlarged
Ind. Indiana
M.A. Master of Arts
Eph. Ephesians
intro. introduction
Ma Eas. MaEaserot
EEruv. EEruvin
Ir. Gael. Irish Gaelic
Ma Eas. Sh. MaE aser sheni
1 Esd. 1 Esdras
Iran. Iranian
Mak. Makkot
2 Esd. 2 Esdras
Is. Isaiah
Makh. Makhshirin
3 Esd. 3 Esdras
Ital. Italian
Mal. Malachi
4 Esd. 4 Esdras
J Yahvist (source of the Pentateuch)
Mar. Marathi
esp. especially
Jas. James
Mass. Massachusetts
Est. Estonian
Jav. Javanese
1 Mc. 1 Maccabees
Est. Esther
Jb. Job
2 Mc. 2 Maccabees
et al. et alii, and others
Jdt. Judith
3 Mc. 3 Maccabees
etc. et cetera, and so forth
Jer. Jeremiah
4 Mc. 4 Maccabees
Eth. Ethiopic
Jgs. Judges
Md. Maryland
EV English version
Jl. Joel
M.D. Medicinae Doctor, Doctor of
Ex. Exodus
Jn. John
Medicine
exp. expanded
1 Jn. 1 John
ME Middle English
Ez. Ezekiel
2 Jn. 2 John
Meg. Megillah
Ezr. Ezra
3 Jn. 3 John
Me Eil. MeEilah
2 Ezr. 2 Ezra
Jon. Jonah
Men. Menah.ot
4 Ezr. 4 Ezra
Jos. Joshua
MHG Middle High German
f. feminine; and following (pl., ff.)
Jpn. Japanese
mi. miles
fasc. fascicle (pl., fascs.)
JPS Jewish Publication Society trans-
Mi. Micah
fig. figure (pl., figs.)
lation (1985) of the Hebrew Bible
Mich. Michigan
Finn. Finnish
J.T. Jerusalem Talmud
Mid. Middot
fl. floruit, flourished
Jub. Jubilees
Minn. Minnesota
Fla. Florida
Kans. Kansas
Miq. MiqvaDot
Fr. French
Kel. Kelim
MIran. Middle Iranian
frag. fragment
Ker. Keritot
Miss. Mississippi
ft. feet
Ket. Ketubbot
Mk. Mark
Ga. Georgia
1 Kgs. 1 Kings
Mo. Missouri
Gal. Galatians
2 Kgs. 2 Kings
MoEed Q. MoEed qat.an
Gaul. Gaulish
Khois. Khoisan
Mont. Montana
Ger. German
Kil. Kil Dayim
MPers. Middle Persian
Git.. Git.t.in
km kilometers
MS. manuscriptum, manuscript (pl.,
Gn. Genesis
Kor. Korean
MSS)
Gr. Greek
Ky. Kentucky
Mt. Matthew
H
. ag. H
. agigah
l. line (pl., ll.)
MT Masoretic text
H
. al. H
. allah
La. Louisiana
n. note
Hau. Hausa
Lam. Lamentations
Na. Nahum
Hb. Habakkuk
Lat. Latin
Nah. Nahuatl
Heb. Hebrew
Latv. Latvian
Naz. Nazir
Heb. Hebrews
L. en Th. Licencié en Théologie,
N.B. nota bene, take careful note
Hg. Haggai
Licentiate in Theology
N.C. North Carolina
Hitt. Hittite
L. ès L. Licencié ès Lettres, Licentiate
n.d. no date
Hor. Horayot
in Literature
N.Dak. North Dakota
Hos. Hosea
Let. Jer. Letter of Jeremiah
NEB New English Bible
H
. ul. H
. ullin
lit. literally
Nebr. Nebraska
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ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
ix
Ned. Nedarim
pop. population
sp. species (pl., spp.)
Neg. Nega Eim
Port. Portuguese
Span. Spanish
Neh. Nehemiah
Prv. Proverbs
sq. square
Nev. Nevada
Ps. Psalms
S.S.R. Soviet Socialist Republic
N.H. New Hampshire
Ps. 151 Psalm 151
st. stanza (pl., ss.)
Nid. Niddah
Ps. Sol. Psalms of Solomon
S.T.M. Sacrae Theologiae Magister,
N.J. New Jersey
pt. part (pl., pts.)
Master of Sacred Theology
Nm. Numbers
1Pt. 1 Peter
Suk. Sukkah
N.Mex. New Mexico
2 Pt. 2 Peter
Sum. Sumerian
no. number (pl., nos.)
Pth. Parthian
supp. supplement; supplementary
Nor. Norwegian
Q hypothetical source of the synoptic
Sus. Susanna
n.p. no place
Gospels
s.v. sub verbo, under the word (pl.,
n.s. new series
Qid. Qiddushin
s.v.v.)
N.Y. New York
Qin. Qinnim
Swed. Swedish
Ob. Obadiah
r. reigned; ruled
Syr. Syriac
O.Cist. Ordo Cisterciencium, Order
Rab. Rabbah
Syr. Men. Syriac Menander
of Cîteaux (Cistercians)
rev. revised
TaE an. TaEanit
OCS Old Church Slavonic
R. ha-Sh. RoDsh ha-shanah
Tam. Tamil
OE Old English
R.I. Rhode Island
Tam. Tamid
O.F.M. Ordo Fratrum Minorum,
Rom. Romanian
Tb. Tobit
Order of Friars Minor
Rom. Romans
T.D. Taisho¯ shinshu¯ daizo¯kyo¯, edited
(Franciscans)
R.S.C.J. Societas Sacratissimi Cordis
by Takakusu Junjiro¯ et al.
OFr. Old French
Jesu, Religious of the Sacred Heart
(Tokyo,1922–1934)
Ohal. Ohalot
RSV Revised Standard Version of the
Tem. Temurah
OHG Old High German
Bible
Tenn. Tennessee
OIr. Old Irish
Ru. Ruth
Ter. Terumot
OIran. Old Iranian
Rus. Russian
T
. ev. Y. T
. evul yom
Okla. Oklahoma
Rv. Revelation
Tex. Texas
ON Old Norse
Rv. Ezr. Revelation of Ezra
Th.D. Theologicae Doctor, Doctor of
O.P. Ordo Praedicatorum, Order of
San. Sanhedrin
Theology
Preachers (Dominicans)
S.C. South Carolina
1 Thes. 1 Thessalonians
OPers. Old Persian
Scot. Gael. Scottish Gaelic
2 Thes. 2 Thessalonians
op. cit. opere citato, in the work cited
S.Dak. South Dakota
Thrac. Thracian
OPrus. Old Prussian
sec. section (pl., secs.)
Ti. Titus
Oreg. Oregon
Sem. Semitic
Tib. Tibetan
EOrl. EOrlah
ser. series
1 Tm. 1 Timothy
O.S.B. Ordo Sancti Benedicti, Order
sg. singular
2 Tm. 2 Timothy
of Saint Benedict (Benedictines)
Sg. Song of Songs
T. of 12 Testaments of the Twelve
p. page (pl., pp.)
Sg. of 3 Prayer of Azariah and the
Patriarchs
P Priestly (source of the Pentateuch)
Song of the Three Young Men
T
. oh. t.ohorot
Pa. Pennsylvania
Shab. Shabbat
Tong. Tongan
Pahl. Pahlavi
Shav. ShavuEot
trans. translator, translators; translated
Par. Parah
Sheq. Sheqalim
by; translation
para. paragraph (pl., paras.)
Sib. Or. Sibylline Oracles
Turk. Turkish
Pers. Persian
Sind. Sindhi
Ukr. Ukrainian
Pes. Pesahim
Sinh. Sinhala
Upan. Upanis.ad
Ph.D. Philosophiae Doctor, Doctor
Sir. Ben Sira
U.S. United States
of Philosophy
S.J. Societas Jesu, Society of Jesus
U.S.S.R. Union of Soviet Socialist
Phil. Philippians
(Jesuits)
Republics
Phlm. Philemon
Skt. Sanskrit
Uqts. Uqtsin
Phoen. Phoenician
1 Sm. 1 Samuel
v. verse (pl., vv.)
pl. plural; plate (pl., pls.)
2 Sm. 2 Samuel
Va. Virginia
PM post meridiem, after noon
Sogd. Sogdian
var. variant; variation
Pol. Polish
Sot.. Sot.ah
Viet. Vietnamese
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ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
viz. videlicet, namely
Yad. Yadayim
* hypothetical
vol. volume (pl., vols.)
Yev. Yevamot
? uncertain; possibly; perhaps
Vt. Vermont
Yi. Yiddish
° degrees
Wash. Washington
Yor. Yoruba
+ plus
Wel. Welsh
Zav. Zavim
– minus
Wis. Wisconsin
Zec. Zechariah
= equals; is equivalent to
Wis. Wisdom of Solomon
Zep. Zephaniah
× by; multiplied by
W.Va. West Virginia
Zev. Zevah.im
→ yields
Wyo. Wyoming
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N


v o l u m e s e v e n
o m m e r c
c
C O e
M
M o
E R CfE
O F I M A G E S
i m a g e s
Although certain definitions of religion would like to portray
worship and the contemplative life as devoid of anything so
profane or secular as commerce, in fact, work, trade, and religion are often insepa-
rable, and can even be indistinguishable. And no religion is without fundamental
economic aspects. If commerce is broadly understood as any system of exchange in
which goods, services, or capital act as a medium of human relations, it is not dif-
ficult to see how commerce also characterizes much religious behavior. Human traffic
with the divine may be described as a commerce of sorts, and often precisely as a
system of exchange in which human beings barter for goods and services that will
enhance their lives. Images are often the coin by which the metaphysical economy of
exchange is conducted with the gods or divine forces whose benefits may be acquired
by the expenditure of moral or spiritual capital betokened by the image. In other
cases, images promote or facilitate consumption that is
infused with religious meaning.
The food and incense offered to earth gods by a
Chicago Chinatown grocer in the small shrine repro-
duced here (a) are propitiations, that is, inducements
to blessing or favorable action. The food is not simply
a form of literal sustenance, though the practice of
offering food to ancestors and the dead is common
in many religions. But in such cases, as with the earth
gods of the Chinese American grocery store owner, the
food symbolizes the giver’s mindfulness and plea. The
offering, in other words, betokens a desired relation-
ship, not a mere material dependency. The gods, like
the dead, do not wish to be forgotten. Remembering
them curries their favor because it engages them in a
deliberate relationship with the living. They respond
benevolently not because they are paid to do so, but
(a) A small shrine with offerings of food and incense at a
grocery store in Chicago’s Chinatown in 1999. [Photograph by
David Morgan]
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COMMERCE OF IMAGES
out of their sense of gratitude to the human recognition of
their needs or because of the respect they are due. Such an
economy humanizes the otherwise unpredictable power
of the divine. A world in which the devout can engage
the divine in acts of civility is a world less hostile and
inhumane. The earth gods invoked by the grocer’s shrine
respond by promoting the sale of food in a way that par-
allels their propitiation in rural China, where they could
assist good harvests.

The practice of displaying thanks for healings and
deliverance or posting petitions for such blessings is
familiar in Roman Catholicism and Shintō. Small paint-
ings (b) are commissioned and displayed in cathedrals
by those who wish to thank the Mother of God for her
intervention in difficult circumstances. Public displays of
this visual form of thanks are an essential part of the ritual
since they are a kind of reciprocation that recognizes the
Virgin’s benevolence. Catholic women often post their
petitions and thanks to Saint Jude at his shrines or in
shrine publications as part of seeking his assistance in
overcoming obstacles. Shintō pilgrims who visit shrines
and holy places, such as mountains in Japan, display their
petitions on pieces of wood purchased and then deposited
at the shrines (c).
(b) ABOVE. Nineteenth-century ex-votos for the Virgin
Mary on a church wall in Vilsbiburg, Germany. [©José F.
Poblete/Corbis] (c) RIGHT. Wooden prayer tablets with requests
for favors from the gods for sale at a Shintō shrine in Kyoto,
Japan. [©Catherine Karnow/Corbis]
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COMMERCE OF IMAGES

In the later Middle Ages in Europe, Christians were
able to procure time off from extended stays in purga-
tory for themselves or dead loved ones by purchasing
indulgences, which were delivered as tokens on paper
(d). Letters of indulgence were drawn up by ecclesiastical
authorities and awarded to particular churches or religious
orders, authorizing the sale of indulgences to those who
visited shrines or churches where they might venerate
relics or images and offer prayers. Indulgences were often
associated with pilgrimage churches and offered lucrative
benefits to the towns, orders, bishoprics, and the Vatican.
Images and medallions were sold at pilgrimage sites as
tokens of pilgrimage and as devotional items that were
used in prayer and even enshrined for devotion afterward.
Sales at religious festivals helped ensure local artisans of
income and boosted local economies, as well as church
coffers (e).
(d) RIGHT. A sixteenth-century woodcut flyer advertises indul-
gences to be purchased from John Tetzel, an indulgence seller.
[©Bettmann/Corbis] (e) BELOW. Jörg Breu the Elder, Sale of
Indulgences, c. 1530, woodcut. [©Art Resource, N.Y.]
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Festivals
such
as
Ramad.ān, Ro’sh ha-Shanah, Christ-
mas, and Easter are commonly celebrated the world over
by the sale of all manner of decorations (f ). Muslims, like
their Christian and Jewish counterparts, purchase inex-
pensive, brightly decorated items for domestic display (g).
These objects are often mass-produced, but typically recall
premodern forms of craft and handmade production.
Highly decorative, they incorporate explicitly religious
symbols and motifs that will encourage ritual mindful-
ness during the festival and support rituals of gifting that
(f ) TOP. Ramad.ān decorations for sale in 2003 in Beirut, Leba-
non. [AP/Wide World Photos]
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COMMERCE OF IMAGES
are common on the occasions of such holy days. Even
daily devotional life finds a hearty place for artistic goods,
as seen in two different African religious marketplaces,
which show an Ethiopian Orthodox priest and lay persons
patronizing image peddlers outside of a temple in Addis
Ababa (h) and two Muslim men in front of a vendor’s
glass painting display in Dakar, Senegal (i). Consump-
tion, therefore, is a familiar form of religious observance.
Religious practices such as Vodou, which are perhaps most
commonly experienced as forms of problem-solving by
practitioners, rely on proprietors who create the material
(h) TOP. Religious images for sale near an Ethiopian Orthodox
Church compound in Addis Ababa in 1999. [Photograph by David
Morgan] (i) RIGHT. Senegalese men view images of S.ūfī lead-
ers and tourist themes for sale in 2001 in Dakar. [UCLA Fowler
Museum of Cultural History; photograph by Lynne K. Brodhead]
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COMMERCE OF IMAGES
culture of liturgy, ritual action, and petition that priests
and laity purchase in commercial shops for later use (j).

Religion is market-friendly even among those tradi-
tions that criticize and seek to reform certain econom-
ic practices. By challenging and ultimately subverting
the metaphysical economy of indulgences used among
Roman Catholics, the renegade monk Martin Luther and
the Reformation he led and inspired replaced it with an
alternative economic system of belief. Arguing that God
himself provided the means of redemption in a theology
of substitutionary atonement, in which the debt of sin
was paid for by the sacrificial blood of Christ’s death,
Luther rejected the believer’s dependence on an economic
relationship with the divine that was mediated by the
ecclesiastical hierarchy.

Inspired by the success of Luther’s use of print and
the commercial viability of print production, Protestants
formed tract and bible societies that published and dis-
tributed materials domestically and internationally, often
as the cornerstone of their mission outreach (k). In effect,
Protestantism tended to transform faith into the affirma-
(j) TOP. Two Haitian merchants display Vodou items for sale
tion of a message that was inexpensively circulated on a
in the Iron Market in Port-au-Prince in 1994. [Photograph by
vast scale as mass-produced information or “news.” These
Doran Ross] (k) ABOVE. The Colporteur on his Rounds, an
illustration from The Sunday at Home (vol. 8, no. 345,
printed items were often illustrated, since images both
December 6, 1860, page 776). [Courtesy of the Billy Graham
attracted consumers and effectively condensed informa-
Center Museum, Wheaton, Ill.]
tion into economically viable forms of advertisement.
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Advertisement was understood as a form of evangelism,
as the mural painted by an evangelical sign painter in Los
Angeles (l) clearly shows. The pithy, attention-grabbing
image was accompanied by the richly visual language of
the Bible to deliver its urgent message in a direct way.

The very efficacy of Protestantism’s use of imagery in
mass-produced media during the nineteenth and twen-
tieth centuries encouraged the exploitation of biblical
narrative as a form of mass entertainment. Cecil B. De
Mille’s sensational portrayal of the life of Moses in The Ten
Commandments (1956) was not only a box office hit in the
United States, but in several countries. The promotional
poster reproduced here (m) advertised the film to Japa-
nese viewers in a way that capitalized on the star power
and charisma of the Hollywood commodities of celebrity
and extravaganza.

Making work and religion indistinguishable is not
a peculiarly Protestant habit. Islam anticipated the inte-
gration of work and belief by centuries. This is perhaps
most assiduously practiced by the Mourides, a Senegalese
S.ūfī ethnic group that regards work as a spiritual practice
par excellence. This attitude is strongly conveyed by the
(l) ABOVE. Mire of Sin, a mural by John B. D. at the
Emmanuel Baptist Rescue Mission in Los Angeles.
[©Camilo José Vergara, reproduced by permission.] (m) LEFT. A
Japanese poster advertising Cecil B. De Mille’s 1956 film
The Ten Commandments. [Courtesy of the Billy Graham Center
Museum, Wheaton, Ill.]
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COMMERCE OF IMAGES
(n) An image of Amadou Bamba, a Mouride saint, on the wall
intermingling of the portrait of the Mouride saint, Ama-
of a hubcap shop in Dakar, Senegal, in 1994. [Photograph by Mary
dou Bamba, on a wall of a hubcap shop in Dakar (n).
N. Roberts and Allen F. Roberts]
Buying hubcaps at this store promises a special blessing to
devout consumers. For Muslims and Christians, business
is an ideal medium for religious practice because it carries
belief into the heart of the daily world, infusing the most
mundane acts with a transcendent significance.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andersson, Christiane, and Charles Talbot, eds. From a Mighty
Fortress: Prints, Drawings, and Books in the Age of Luther,
1483–1546. Detroit, 1983.
Cosentino, Donald J. Vodou Things: The Art of Pierrot Barra and
Marie Cassaise. Jackson, Miss., 1998.
Morgan, David. Protestants and Pictures: Religion, Visual Culture,
and the Age of American Mass Production. New York, 1999.
Orsi, Robert A. Thank You, St. Jude: Women’s Devotion to the
Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes. New Haven, 1996.
Roberts, Allen F., and Mary Nooter Roberts. A Saint in the City:
S.ūfī Arts of Urban Senegal. Los Angeles, 2003.
Zarur, Elizabeth Netto Calil, and Charles Muir Lovell, eds. Art
and Faith in Mexico: The Nineteenth-Century Retablo Tradition.
Albuquerque, N. Mex., 2001.
David Morgan ()
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C O N T I I
N U E D
ICONOGRAPHY
This entry consists of the following articles:
ICONOGRAPHY AS VISIBLE RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
ICONOGRAPHY AS VISIBLE RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
TRADITIONAL AFRICAN ICONOGRAPHY
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL ICONOGRAPHY
NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ICONOGRAPHY
MESOAMERICAN ICONOGRAPHY
MESOPOTAMIAN ICONOGRAPHY
EGYPTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
GRECO-ROMAN ICONOGRAPHY
HINDU ICONOGRAPHY
BUDDHIST ICONOGRAPHY
DAOIST ICONOGRAPHY
CONFUCIAN ICONOGRAPHY
JEWISH ICONOGRAPHY [FIRST EDITION]
JEWISH ICONOGRAPHY [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
ISLAMIC ICONOGRAPHY
ICONOGRAPHY: ICONOGRAPHY AS VISIBLE RELIGION [FIRST
EDITION]
Iconography literally means “description of images,” but it also refers to a research program
in art history that exposes the different meanings of images vis-à-vis the beholder.
WORDS AND IMAGES. Religious iconography defines a relationship between word and pic-
torial scheme, each of which follows its own logic. Visual forms are not discursive: they
do not represent their message sequentially but simultaneously. While the meanings given
through verbal language are understood successively, those given through visual forms are
understood only by perceiving the whole at once. Susanne Langer, who argues for such
a distinction in her Philosophy in a New Key (1951, pp. 79–102), calls this kind of seman-
tics “presentational symbolism,” indicating that we grasp it not by reasoning but by feel-
ing. From this basic difference it follows that word and image sometimes compete against
each other and sometimes supplement each other. There is no universal law for this rela-
C LOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT CORNER. Relief of the ancient Egyptian deities Horus and Isis with
Euergetes II at Kom Ombo in Aswan, Egypt. [©Roger Wood/Corbis]; Twelfth-century
Byzantine mosaic of Christ with the Virgin Mary in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.
[©Charles & Josette Lenars/Corbis]; Colossal stone Buddha (destroyed in 2001) in Bamiyan,
Afghanistan. [The Art Archive]; Fifteenth-century Inca ruins at Machu Picchu in Peru.
[©Alison Wright/Corbis]; The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. [©Scala/Art Resource, N.Y.] .
4295
4296
ICONOGRAPHY: ICONOGRAPHY AS VISIBLE RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
tionship; I shall illustrate some of the possibilities with exam-
citizens’ demands on the other. Yet, these materials have
ples from the history of ancient religions.
scarcely begun to be used for the study of political and civil
conceptions of religion apart from the well-known priestly
In ancient societies, the artist who shaped statues or
one.
carved stamps and seals was included among the artisans, a
disparate group of producers who came to form a rank of
Another factor should be noted: the scarcity of pictorial
their own. In Iran, as elsewhere, the three age-old social
schemes. As there existed only a limited number of well-
groups of priests, warriors, and peasants were joined in Par-
known stereotypes suitable for representing gods, we often
thian times (third century BCE–second century CE) by that
find a certain break between image and inscription. A partic-
of the artisans. But this new group was unable to elevate its
ularly dramatic example appears on a jar from Palestine
status, as confirmed by the Book of Ben Sira (second century
(about 800 BCE), decorated with two figures similar to the
BCE). This text, which enumerates a list of craftsmen, ac-
Egyptian Bes (with feather crown, phallus, and crooked legs).
knowledges that without such skilled workers as the engrav-
An inscription declares: “I will bless you by Yahveh my [our]
ers of seals, the smith, or the potter, a city would have no
protector and his Ashera” (Monotheismus im Alten Israel und
inhabitants and no settlers or travelers would come to it. Yet,
seiner Umwelt, edited by Othmar Keel, Fribourg, 1980,
the writer points out, the artisans “are not in demand at pub-
pp. 168–170). The pictorial representation of God of course
lic discussions or prominent in the assembly,” since the as-
violates the ban on images (Ex. 20:4), though this prohibi-
sembly needs the wise men who are engaged in study rather
tion originally concerned cult statues (pesel) alone and was
than manual labor (Ben Sira 38:24–39:5).
extended only later to a comprehensive ban on pictorial rep-
resentation (Robert P. Carroll in Studia theologica 31, 1977,
The low reputation of the artisans is also reflected in the
pp. 51–64). Nor does the chosen pictorial scheme fit the offi-
anonymity of their work. Artists working on behalf of a tem-
cial literary conceptions of Yahveh. But this incongruency
ple, a palace, or a private customer became alienated from
does not prove that inscription and image are disconnected.
their work. Although Greek vases were presumably signed by
There were only a small number of pictorial schemes appro-
their painters for the first time about 700 BCE, the majority
priate for the representation of sky gods. In the second and
of artists were still unknown in later times and remained de-
first millennia BCE, three main schemes were used: the figure
pendent on their patrons. The carvers of the Achaemenid
of a seated old man with a beard, dressed in a long garment
rock reliefs (Iran, sixth–fifth century BCE), for example, relied
with a horn-crown on his head; the figure of a standing
completely on the political visions and models of the imperi-
young man with a club in his right hand; and the figure of
al court and were obliged to create a visual legitimation of
a wild bull (Peter Welten in Biblisches Reallexikon, 2d ed.,
Achaemenid kingship. (See Margaret Root’s The King and
Tübingen, 1977, pp. 99–111).
Kingship in Achaemenid Art, Leiden, 1979).
Here we obviously touch on a characteristic of all tradi-
Other trends of patronage can be observed with seals,
tional imagery: it tends toward the most simple schemes,
stamps, amulets, and pottery. In Hellenistic Egypt, for exam-
which will be evident to almost all beholders. We know that
ple, the god Bes is represented in clay figures more often than
ancient Jewish literature was aware of these schemes. The
the official and well-known Egyptian gods. The artisans in
psalms refer to Yahveh as a smiting god (Ps. 29, for example;
the provincial workshops obviously had to take into account
see Othmar Keel’s Die Welt der altorientalischen Bildsymbolik
the taste of private customers, who were looking for a deity
und das Alte Testament, 2d ed., Zurich, 1977, pp. 184–197),
able to avert evil powers and to protect men and women. The
while Daniel 7:9 refers to Yahveh as the old god. These
frightening appearance of Bes that the artisans shaped served
schemes were welcome as textual symbols, but for visual
as protection against such perils and met the demands of the
form they were rejected by the priests and prophets. None-
laity (see Françoise Dunand in Visible Religion 3, 1985). The
theless, images such as Yahveh as Bes may well have been a
history of Greek vase paintings provides us with similar phe-
pictorial representation not admitted by priests and proph-
nomena. While some paintings represent typically heroic at-
ets, and in fact, the ban on images so poorly argued in the
titudes toward dying, others display an unheroic, plebeian
Hebrew scriptures should be carefully reviewed in this con-
fear of death (see H. Hoffmann in Visible Religion 4, 1985–
text of pictorial schemes.
1986). Here the dependency on the court has been replaced
by a dependency on citizens: the artisans were obviously serv-
Further examples will suggest other aspects of the rela-
ing civil demands and had to respond to changing social val-
tionship between word and image. In India the concretiza-
ues. But in Egypt and Greece alike, the priests were scarcely
tion of gods in images reduced their geographical universality
able to control the artisans’ relations with their customers.
and emphasized their local function (Heinrich von Stie-
If there existed a market for religious objects and if there were
tencron in Central Asiatic Journal 21, 1977, pp. 126–138).
influential lay employers, then priests could be expected to
In Greco-Roman religions, gods that originally belonged to
lose control of this part of religion. To make the point in pos-
the same tradition could be split by different representations
itive terms: craft products sometimes reflect a popular com-
(Hendrik Simon Versnel in Visible Religion 4, 1985–1986).
prehension of religion and thus can be used to trace the rul-
These are only two instances where images have had an im-
ers’ demands for political legitimation, on the one hand, and
pact on the conceptual tradition. But we can also observe the
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ICONOGRAPHY: ICONOGRAPHY AS VISIBLE RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
4297
contrary: a ban on images in the literary tradition can deeply
own culture. Once the viewer’s role is seen to be greater than
affect the pictorial representation. Medieval and modern
Panofsky allowed, new problems are raised. How can we de-
Sh¯ıE¯ı Muslim artists usually paint their holy imams as men
scribe the way other people see their images? How do we dis-
without faces; the incomplete and mutilated human figures
tinguish between subjective association and objective percep-
testify to an image-critical tradition. In other cases, as in Mu-
tion? Where do we draw the line between true and false
nich in 1534–1535, a ban on images could result in full-
inference?
fledged iconoclasm (Bildersturm, edited by Martin Warnke,
Munich, 1973). Yet a thorough analysis of iconoclasm must
A second criticism of Panofsky’s original scheme has
pay close attention to the different functions these images
been advanced by George Kubler, who reproaches the seem-
have had: a political one in the case of state art, a civic one
ing preference for words over images in The Shape of Time
in the case of objects created by artisans for their fellow citi-
(1962). Separating forms and meanings, he argues that arti-
zens, and finally, a sacerdotal one in the case of temple art.
facts have to be studied as forms of their own; their develop-
The destruction of rulers’ emblems, the smashing of amulets,
ment must be traced regardless of the meanings connected
or the cleansing of the temple can all be justified by the same
with them. By including architecture and sculpture along
ban on images. But in fact each of these actions has its own
with painting, Kubler has also conclusively extended the
rationale and must be described in separate terms.
field. He reminds us that images and symbols are not free-
floating but regularly connected with particular art forms
APPROACHES TO ICONOGRAPHY AND ICONOLOGY. The
and that, conversely, art forms have an affinal relationship
study of iconography within the discipline of art history ex-
with images and symbols. This phenomenon can be de-
plores the symbolic references of pictorial representations.
scribed in terms of iconological genres: images and symbols,
The first modern scholar to address such issues was Aby War-
like literary concepts, became institutionalized in genres (see
burg (1866–1929), who specialized in the art of the Europe-
Gombrich’s introduction to Symbolic Images, 1972). The art
an Renaissance. Erwin Panofsky (1892–1968) proceeded to
form (a coin, for example, or a vase) is the place where an
develop a comprehensive model for the description of picto-
artisan combines a functional object with symbolic values.
rial arts based on three strata of meaning, each entailing par-
The study of continuity and variety in the designs of these
ticular analytical and terminological tools. According to
art forms, therefore, yields insights into symbolic values. This
Panofsky, the first level resides in the world of natural objects
analysis of iconological genres seems to offer a much more
and events and is evident to every beholder. The second level,
controlled approach to iconology than the intuition that
that of conventional meanings, can be detected in the motifs
Panofsky had in mind, since it allows us to discern between
of works of art; it is the domain of iconography in the narrow
true and false implications.
sense of the word to identify these conventional meanings.
Finally, there are underlying principles of symbolic values, in
It is evident that no verbal description can enter into de-
the sense defined by Ernst Cassirer, and he described the in-
tails as much as a visual depiction. This means that each text
tuitive process of detecting them as iconology (see Studies in
leaves a certain free play to the imagination of the artist, and
Iconology, pp. 3–31).
the manner in which artists have used this freedom is in no
way accidental. To cite one example, the first Christian art-
While Panofsky’s design for reading images has been
ists working in the Roman catacombs depicted Jesus as the
widely accepted, it has also been refined over time. Besides
Good Shepherd with a lamb on his shoulders, a motif obvi-
the Gestalt psychologists, the influence that Ludwig Witt-
ously inspired by Matthew 18:12–14 and Luke 15:4–7. But
genstein (1889–1951) has exerted on the general theory of
there was a change in meaning: while the parables emphasize
symbols has been felt in the field of iconology. In his Philo-
the concerns of the shepherd for the individual gone astray,
sophical Investigations (1953), for example, Wittgenstein
the artists of the third century depicted Jesus with a lamb on
presents a figure that can be read as either a duck or a rabbit.
his shoulders to emphasize the value of protection in the “age
What we see, he demonstrates, depends on our interpreta-
of anxiety.” Later on, as social values changed, other motifs
tion. In other words, there is no innocent eye; seeing is an
were demanded (see Moshe Barasch in Visible Religion 2,
active process, not a passive one. As recent research into pic-
1983). This episode neatly illustrates the subject of Panof-
torial representation emphasizes, the share of the beholder
sky’s iconology: an image—in itself an illustration of a
is decisive; the likeness between drawing and object is of
story—can be explained as a reflection of the symbolic value
minor importance. What might be called a critical rational-
of an age, and therefore changes in the representation indi-
ism of viewing dictates that when we read a drawing we are
cate changes in basic attitudes.
looking for stereotypes we have in mind already. This view,
promoted most influentially by Ernst H. Gombrich (1977),
Panofsky himself perceived the risks connected with his
implies that there is no clear-cut division between natural
approach. There is always the danger, he observed, that ico-
and conventional meanings as Panofsky maintained; reading
nology, which should relate to iconography as ethnology re-
images mainly involves the recognition of conventional
lates to ethnography, will instead parallel the relationship be-
schemes. Different cultures develop different schemes for
tween astrology and astrography (Meaning in the Visual Arts,
identical objects; thus, we believe that we recognize likeness,
p. 32). This danger of excessive interpretation is due to the
but in fact we only recognize stereotypes well known in our
very ambiguity of images and to the difficulty of comparing
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ICONOGRAPHY: ICONOGRAPHY AS VISIBLE RELIGION [FIRST EDITION]
them. Every iconological statement must therefore be care-
rum. Free-floating symbols can be assigned various mean-
fully argued and submitted to certain control. In the case of
ings, but this variety will become more limited if symbols are
the history of Mediterranean religions and arts, two ap-
regularly associated with specific art forms. The use of an ob-
proaches appear to meet this fundamental demand, one fo-
ject clearly influences the beholder’s perceptions and associa-
cusing on styles, the other on the institutional function of
tions: function guides the projection that the beholder
images.
makes. This phenomenon is also familiar from literature,
where the reader’s expectations are shaped by literary genre.
Changes of style. A comparison of art from early Egyp-
The same holds true for visual representations: an image of
tian and late Roman times immediately reveals certain
a god on a coin evokes other associations than those sum-
changes in the means of depiction. The Egyptian mode,
moned by the same image on an amulet: whereas the coin
which Gerhard Krahmer has described as paratactical or pre-
conveys political legitimacy, the amulet is associated with
perspective (Figur und Raum in der ägyptischen und gr-
personal feelings of veneration. Thus, only by studying
iechisch-archaischen Kunst, The Hague, 1931), can be seen on
genres are we able to specify meanings, and only by studying
the famous Narmer Palette of about 2800 BCE. The details
institutional contexts can we discern between the true and
of the image are disconnected. Even the body is not a whole,
false implications of images.
for every part of it is depicted as an independent unit: head
and legs are shown from the sides, eye and trunk from the
There are basically two theoretical models that can be
front. The picture does not presuppose a spectator who per-
invoked to explain the meaning of pictures: images can be
ceives the depiction as a whole; rather, it tells a story by
read as elements of a structure, and they can be read as mod-
means of signs and symbols that are not interrelated. The vi-
els of social reality. The two main theories of symbols, name-
sual and discursive systems of representation have not yet
ly those of Claude Lévi-Strauss and Ernst Cassirer, are also
been separated: the visual does not evoke illusion, while the
used in the field of iconography. For Lévi-Strauss, the mean-
Egyptian system of writing represents discursive speech with
ings of symbols are based on their own logical interrelation-
pictorial symbols (see Herman te Velde in Visible Religion 4,
ships, while for Cassirer, symbols provide a conceptual
1985–1986). Only with classical Greek art does the depic-
means to grasp reality.
tion come to rely on an ideal beholder and deliberately evoke
what we call illusion. These differences, of course, have noth-
These approaches can be illustrated with recent scholar-
ing to do with skill or lack of it. More aptly, we should ex-
ship on Greek material. Herbert Hoffmann has studied the
plain them in terms of a different Kunstwollen—a word used
paintings on Greek vases as structural codes. The scenes on
by Alois Riegl and only inadequately translated by “artistic
the vases illustrate myths, but these illustrations can be read
intention” (Otto J. Brendel, Prolegomena to the Study of
as paradigms referring to social values. Death, for example,
Roman Art, New Haven, 1979, p. 31). If one accepts the no-
is sometimes represented as the monster Gorgon whom the
tion of Kunstwollen, however, the different artistic intentions
hero courageously encounters, and sometimes it is represent-
remain to be explained.
ed as an ugly demon pursuing human beings. Behind the
choice of different mythological themes hide two distinct
At this point Panofsky again becomes useful because he
conceptions of death, one heroic and the other plebeian (Vis-
looked for the symbolic values underlying artistic products.
ible Religion 4, 1985–1986).
In this case, the change from paratactical to hypotactical (or
perspectival) art can be analyzed as a change in worldview.
An approach more in the line of Cassirer is used in
By the fifth century
Wiltrud Neumer-Pfau’s study of possible links between Hel-
BCE in Greece, an archaic conception of
person and nature lacking the notion of organic coherence
lenistic Aphrodite statues and the social position of women.
had been replaced by one stressing the organic interrelation-
Such links are not unlikely, because ancient physiognomic
ship of different parts. Later on, in Hellenistic and Roman
literature postulated a connection between body posture and
times, this organic conception of person and nature was re-
the moral qualities of the person depicted. In fact, the pos-
placed by yet another one stressing mechanical order. The
ture of the Aphrodite statues changed in the course of time.
individual object (a statue, for instance) then became part of
In the early Hellenistic period the nude Aphrodite is shown
a spatial scheme submitting different constructions and ob-
reacting to an unseen beholder who has disturbed her; thus
jects to a superior artificial order. The arrangements of space
the spectator looking at the beautiful nude woman is freed
in late Roman art not only evoke military order but also re-
from feeling any guilt. Later statues portray the nude goddess
flect the values of a bureaucratic society that succeeded in
as less shy and modest: she allows the invisible beholder to
crushing the civil structure of the polis (Hans Peter L’Orange,
admire her. Finally there are statues showing the goddess
Art Forms, Princeton, 1965). There exist only a few of such
frankly exposing her nude beauty to the spectator. The moral
large-scale comparisons of styles, but they are sufficient to
qualities ascribed to the subject have gradually changed, and
prove the value of such an approach, and similar cases could
this change cannot be isolated from the fundamental impact
be made for other cultures.
that ancient Near Eastern culture had on the social and legal
position of women in the Greek world. While women were
Genres. A second iconological approach describes and
under male tutelage in ancient Greek society, they enjoyed
compares images as reflections of certain principles of deco-
a certain independence in Egypt and the Near East. Thus the
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ICONOGRAPHY: ICONOGRAPHY AS VISIBLE RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
4299
change of visual representation reflects the change of social
Panofsky, Erwin. Meaning in the Visual Arts (1955). Reprint, Chi-
reality. (See Neumer-Pfau, Studien zur Ikonographie und ge-
cago, 1982. Further studies based on his methodological ap-
sellschaftlichen Funktion hellenistischer Aphrodite-Statuen,
proach.
Bonn, 1982).
Riegl, Alois. Spätrömische Kunstindustrie. 2d ed. (1927). Reprint,
These two theoretical models are valuable tools for en-
Darmstadt, 1973. The well-known book of Riegl describes
the history of art from early Egyptian to late Roman times
larging scientific knowledge about past and foreign cultures.
as stages of ancient worldview; many descriptive terms.
Iconography as a description of how other cultures read their
images enables us to reconstruct hitherto undiscovered as-
Visible Religion: Annual for Religious Iconography. Edited by H. G.
pects of ethos and worldview.
Kippenberg. Leiden, 1982–. An annual reconstructing how
visual representations have been read by other cultures. Pub-
S
lished to date: vol. 1, Commemorative Figures (1982); vol. 2,
EE ALSO Aesthetics, article on Visual Aesthetics; Arche-
types; Architecture; Cassirer, Ernst; Colors; Human Body,
Representations of Gods (1983); vol. 3, Popular Religions
(1984); vol. 4, Approaches to Iconology (1985–1986).
article on Human Bodies, Religion, and Art; Images; Sym-
bol and Symbolism.
H. G. KIPPENBERG (1987)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gail, Adalbert J., ed. Künstler und Werkstatt in den orientalischen
Gesellschaften. Graz, 1982. A collection of essays dealing with
ICONOGRAPHY: ICONOGRAPHY AS VISIBLE
the social status of artists and artisans in different ancient and
RELIGION [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
modern societies of the East; a valuable survey.
Since 1988, discussions related to the topic of iconography
Gombrich, Ernst H. “Aims and Limits of Iconology.” In Symbolic
as a form of visible religion have expanded the boundaries
Images: Studies in the Arts of the Renaissance. London, 1972.
previously established by Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945), Ernst
An introductory essay expounding the idea of genres and the
Gombrich (1909–2001), Suzanne Langer (1895–1985),
institutional function of images.
Erwin Panofsky (1892–1968), and Aby Warburg (1866–
Gombrich, Ernst H. Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of
1929). The forms and directions of research questions have
Pictorial Representation. 5th ed. Oxford, 1977. An excellently
been re-shaped and re-formulated as the study of religion has
written book with many interesting examples; the main the-
been effected by the widening boundaries of gender studies,
sis is that reading images means recognizing mental stereo-
investigations of the body, and the study of economic, eth-
types.
nic, engendered, and/or racial minorities. The study of art,
Hermerén, Göran. Representation and Meaning in the Visual Arts:
ranging from art history through theories of appreciation,
A Study in the Methodology of Iconography and Iconology.
aesthetics, and art criticism has been expanded similarly to
Stockholm, 1969. A sagacious analysis of the conceptual
incorporate material culture, popular culture, and visual cul-
framework of iconography and iconology; the main thesis is
ture. The growing recognition among religious scholars of
similar to that of Gombrich—seeing is an active process, not
the significance and meaning of the iconographic elements
a passive one—but the author elaborates this idea more sys-
in film, television, video, photography, and the mass media
tematically than Gombrich along the lines of philosophical
was prompted by the studies of Lynn Schofield Clark, Gre-
theories of symbols.
gor Goethals, Stewart M. Hoover, Nissan N. Perez, and S.
Kaemmerling, Ekkehard, ed. Ikonographie und Ikonologie: Theo-
Brent Plate. New scholarship has extended the study of art
rien, Entwicklung, Probleme. Cologne, 1979. A collection of
and religion into geographic areas previously investigated to
first-class essays, including the basic texts of Panofsky that
a lesser extent, such as Pre-Columbia, Latin America, Africa,
discuss the program of Warburg and Panofsky.
and Oceania, as for example in the work of Carol Damian,
Keel, Othmar. Die Welt der altorientalischen Bildsymbolik und das
Rosalind I. J. Hackett, and Albert C. Moore.
Alte Testament. 2d ed. Zurich, 1977. A book full of pictorial
schemes; it analyzes the imagery of Old Testament texts with
Interest in response theory (especially in relation to the
regard to these schemes.
arts) has affected the attitude toward and methodologies for
Kubler, George. The Shape of Time. New Haven, 1962. A contri-
the study of iconography. Attention in the last ten years has
bution to a theory of iconological genres; he criticizes Panof-
been placed on the religious valuing and influence of popular
sky for emphasizing meaning derived from texts and argues
culture, and more recently, visual culture. These appear in
in favor of art forms that can be studied independently of
the work of art historians such as Jeffrey F. Hamburger, Sally
meanings.
Promey, and Gary Vikan, and among religion scholars such
Langer, Susanne K. Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Sym-
as Erika Doss, Colleen McDannell, David Morgan, and Ste-
bolism of Reason, Rite, and Art. 3d ed. Cambridge, Mass.,
phen Prothero. They have begun a transfer of interest from
1951. Especially important for iconography is the distinction
the traditional focus of iconographic analysis to new catego-
she makes between discursive and presentational forms.
ries of engagement. Simultaneous to these renovations, re-
Panofsky, Erwin. Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the
appraisals of the theories and methods developed by Cassirer,
Art of the Renaissance (1939). Reprint, Oxford, 1972. The in-
Gombrich, Langer, and most especially Panofsky, have re-
troductory chapter expounds his basic program.
framed the fundamental starting points for analysis.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4300
ICONOGRAPHY: TRADITIONAL AFRICAN ICONOGRAPHY
NEW PERSPECTIVES. As linguistic analyses and technology
Ferretti, Silvia. Il demone della memoria: simbolo e tempo storico in
advance our understanding of the epistemological and aes-
Warburg, Cassirer, Panofsky. Cassale Monferrato, Italy, 1984.
thetic processes, future directions for the study of iconogra-
Freedberg, David. The Power of Images: A History of Response Theo-
phy as a form of visible religion will emerge in coordination
ry. Chicago, 1989.
with a growing recognition of global and multicultural dis-
Frese, Pamela R., and John M. Coggeshall, eds. Transcending
courses as pioneered in the comparative studies of traditional
Boundaries: Multi-Disciplinary Approaches to the Study of
iconographic motifs by Helene E. Roberts. New modes of
Gender. New York 1991.
analyses will incorporate nonlinear patterns of thinking as
Goethals, Gregor. The Electronic Golden Calf: Images, Religion,
initiated in the “visual thinking” of the philosopher Rudolf
and the Making of Meaning. Cambridge, Mass., 1990.
Arnheim and the creative linguistics of physician Leonard
Hackett, Rosalind I. J. Art and Religion in Africa. New York,
Shlain. Further, the studies of the significance of optics and
1996.
vision as communicators of cultural values and ideas in the
Hamburger, Jeffrey F. Nuns as Artists: The Visual Culture of a Me-
recent work of art historians James Elkins and Martin Kemp
dieval Convent. Berkeley, Calif., 1997.
will impact the study of iconography as a form of visible
Holly, Michael Ann. Panofsky and the Foundation of Art History.
religion.
Ithaca, N.Y., 1984.
The rapid transfer of information via visual global
Hoover, Stewart M. Mass Media Religion: The Social Sources of the
media raises new questions regarding the communication of
Electronic Church. Newbury Park, Calif., 1988.
information, knowledge, and ideas beyond the traditional
Hourihane, Colum, ed. Image and Belief: Studies in Celebration of
boundaries of cultural and religious frames. The need for de-
the Eightieth Anniversary of the Index of Christian Art. Prince-
veloping a methodology that incorporates globalism, mul-
ton, N.J., 1999.
ticulturalism, and modern technology will become more ap-
Kemp, Martin. Visualizations: The Nature Book of Art and Science.
parent, and hopefully filled in conjunction with the
New York, 2001.
development of a language to discuss the visual. Similarly,
Kvaerne, Per. The Bön Religion of Tibet: The Iconography of a Liv-
the continuing study of the visual codes of traditional cul-
ing Tradition. Boston, 1995.
tures, especially among indigenous peoples, provides the nec-
Lavin, Irvin, ed. Meaning in the Visual Arts: Views from the Out-
essary foundation for current and future study significantly
side: A Centennial Commemoration of Erwin Panofsky (1892–
expanding the field of religious studies.
1968). Princeton, N.J., 1995.
McDannell, Colleen. Material Christianity: Religion and Popular
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Culture in America. New Haven, Conn., 1998.
Almeida-Topor, H. d,’ Michel Sève, and Anne-Elisabeth Spica,
eds. L’historien et l’image: de l’illustration?á la preuve: actes du
Moore, Albert C. Arts in the Religions of the Pacific: Symbols of Life.
Colloque tenu á l’Université de Metz, 11–12-mars 1994. Metz,
London, 1997.
France, 1998.
Morgan, David. Visual Piety: A History and Theory of Popular Reli-
Arnheim, Rudolf. Visual Thinking. Berkeley, Calif., 1997.
gious Images. Berkeley, Calif., 1999.
Berlo, Janet Catherine, ed. Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihua-
Perez, Nissan N. Revelation: Representations of Christ in Photogra-
can: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 8th and 9th October
phy. London, 2003.
1988. Washington, D.C., 1992.
Plate, S. Brent, ed. Religion, Art, and Visual Culture: A Cross-
Bolvig, Axel, and Phillip Lindley. History and Images: Towards a
Cultural Reader. New York, 2002.
New Iconology. Turnhout, Belgium, 2003.
Promey, Sally. Painting Religion in Public: John Singer Sargent’s
Burke, Peter. Eyewitnessing: The Uses of Images as Historical Evi-
Triumph of Religion at the Boston Public Library. Princeton,
dence. Ithaca, N.Y., 2001.
N.J., 2001.
Bynum, Caroline Walker. The Resurrection of the Body in Western
Prothero, Stephen. American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a
Christianity, 200–1336. New York, 1995.
National Icon. New York, 2003.
Cassidy, Brendan, ed. Iconography at the Crossroads: Papers from
Roberts, Helene E., ed. Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography.
the Colloquium Sponsored by the Index of Christian Art,
2 volumes. Chicago, 1998.
Princeton University, 23–24 March 1990. Princeton, N.J.,
Shlain, Leonard. The Alphabet Goddess: The Conflict between Word
1993.
and Image. New York, 1999.
Clark, Lynn Schofield. From Angels to Aliens: Teenagers, the Media,
Vikan, Gary S. Sacred Images and Sacred Power in Byzantium. Bur-
and the Supernatural. New York, 2003.
lington, Vt., 2003.
Dalle Vacche, Angela, ed. The Visual Turn: Classical Film Theory
and Art History. New Brunswick, N.J., 2003.
DIANE APOSTOLOS-CAPPADONA (2005)
Damian, Carol. The Virgin of the Andes: Art and Ritual in Colonial
Cuzco. Miami Beach, Fla., 1995.
Doss, Erika. Elvis Culture: Fans, Faith, and Image. Lawrence,
ICONOGRAPHY: TRADITIONAL AFRICAN
Kan., 2004.
ICONOGRAPHY
Elkins, James. Visual Studies: A Skeptical Introduction. New York,
Africa is enormous, and the diversity of peoples and com-
2003.
plexities of cultures in sub-Saharan black Africa warn against
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONOGRAPHY: TRADITIONAL AFRICAN ICONOGRAPHY
4301
generalizations, especially when discussing visual images, the
“signs” on shrine walls, which refer to the basic ontological
significance of which is inextricably linked to local religious
properties of the world; funerary masquerades and dances
and aesthetic sensibilities. Hence, in order to understand the
through which the deceased is transformed into a venerated
iconography of traditional African religions, one must use a
ancestor; and secret languages through which the incanta-
comparative approach. Only by examining the religious ico-
tions and texts describing the creation of the world and the
nography of a variety of cultures can one fully understand
appearance of death are conveyed from one generation to an-
how visual images represent distinctive ways of experiencing
other. These are the means by which the Dogon can act ef-
the world for the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa.
fectively in their world, strengthen the creative process, and
ANCESTORS AND KINGS: TWO CASE STUDIES. On the grana-
at the very least provide a momentary stay against confusion.
ry doors of the Dogon people of Mali, rows of paired ances-
Among the Edo people along the coastal forest of south-
tor figures called nommo stand watch over the precious millet
east Nigeria, the iconography of the Benin kingdom reflects
stored within. Similar figures, at times androgynous, are
a culture with a very different spirituality, one shaped by a
placed next to the funeral pottery on ancestral shrines of fam-
monarchical tradition. The present dynasty traces its origins
ilies and on the shrine in the house of the hogon, the religious
to the fourteenth century, beginning with Oba Eweka I, who
and temporal leader of a clan. Their elongated, ascetic bodies
was fathered by Òran`míyan´, son of Odùduwà (Odua), the
and proud, dispassionate faces image the Dogon’s myths of
Yoruba creator-god and first king of Ife (although, according
origin, as well as their perception of themselves when life is
to oral tradition, even before Eweka, the Benin kingdom was
filled with spiritual vitality, nyama.
said to have been ruled by the Ogosi kings). Thus, for centu-
Oral traditions recall a great drought in the fifteenth
ries the political and religious life of the Edo people has fo-
century that occasioned the migration of the Dogon in two
cused upon the person and powers of the oba, or king.
successive waves from southwestern regions to the area of the
The magnificently carved ivory tusks projecting from
Bandiagara cliffs and plateau. There they displaced the Tel-
the top of the bronze memorial heads on the royal ancestral
lem people, whose shrine sculpture they retained and used,
shrines (until the British punitive expedition of 1897) sym-
and established themselves in small villages, often situated in
bolized the powers of the king—his political authority and
pairs. In an environment largely devoid of permanent water-
his supernatural gifts. While his authority depended upon
courses, the Dogon dug wells to great depths, cultivated sub-
statecraft and military conquest, it was by virtue of his de-
sistence crops of millet, and fashioned houses, shrines, and
scent from obas who had become gods and his possession of
granaries of a mud-masonry architecture using the geometri-
the coral beads, said to have been taken from the kingdom
cal forms, such as cylinders, cones, and cubes, that can also
of Olokun, god of the sea, that the oba had ase, “the power
be seen in Dogon wood sculpture.
to bring to pass,” the power over life and death.
The Dogon trace their descent to the “four families”
Over the centuries the royal guild of blacksmiths created
who made the legendary migration, but this history of ori-
more than 146 memorial bronze heads of deceased obas,
gins is inextricably intertwined with an elaborate creation
queen mothers, and conquered kings and chiefs; and the
mythology which profoundly informs their social and reli-
royal guild of carvers portrayed on 133 ivory tusks the king,
gious life. The variations in the myth, as in the sculptured
his wives, chiefs, and retainers, as well as leopards and mud-
forms expressing it, reflect the strong sense of individuality
fish, emblems of his power over forest and water and of his
that each Dogon village possesses. It also permits the free
ability to move across boundaries distinguishing disparate
play of the sculptor’s imagination, whose work then gener-
realms. Although the memorial heads and the carved tusks
ates new mythological interpretations.
were created in honor of particular obas, and the rites that
are performed before them are always in the name of an indi-
Dogon myth, ritual, and iconography express a view of
vidual oba, the bronze heads and carved figures do not por-
life in which, through a process of differentiation and pairing
tray the individuality of past obas in either form or expres-
of related beings (nommo), an ordered, fruitful world is to
sion. It is an aesthetic and a religious principle in Benin
be created. But the creative process of complementarity, or
culture that the particular is subordinated to the general. The
twinness, contains within it the potential of opposition and
reigning oba depends upon the collective royal ancestors and
conflict. The primordial being, or nommo, who was a black-
yields to their commands, and the same is true of the iconog-
smith, stole iron and embers from the sun and descended to
raphy of the ancestral shrines and ritual artifacts of the Edo
earth within a well-stocked granary. It was he who led the
people generally. Thus, the ancestral shrines and their sculp-
descendants of the eighth nommo in civilizing the earth.
tures are not merely memorials but also serve as a means of
Thus creation involves human participation through ritual
communication with the living dead.
actions that restore life and maintain an ordered world.
Among the materials of the ritual process are village shrines
As in most other African religious traditions, the Edo
representing a set of twins; shrine sculpture, as well as grana-
distinguish between a high god, Osanobua, and a pantheon
ry doors with their bas-relief of paired figures, snakes and liz-
of deities that includes Olokun, god of the sea and bestower
ards, zigzag patterns, and female breasts, all symbolically as-
of wealth, Ogun, god of iron, and Osun, god of herbal leaves,
sociated with the creation myth; geometric patterns or
whose shrines and rituals articulate the religious life for king
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ICONOGRAPHY: TRADITIONAL AFRICAN ICONOGRAPHY
and commoner as one of response to the powers upon which
A similar observation may be made about the reliquary
individuals are dependent but over which they have relatively
figures of the Kota people of Gabon. Referred to as mbulu-
little control. However, in a monarchical society, with its di-
ngulu, “image of the dead,” the two-dimensional figures con-
visions of labor among craftsmen, hunters, farmers, warriors,
sist of large ovoid heads above simple, diamond-shaped
and traders (with the Portuguese, Dutch, and British) and
wooden bases. On a shrine, the sculptured form is seated in
its high regard for individual enterprise and prowess, the
a bark container holding the bones of several generations of
Cult of the Hand, ikegobo, also known as ikega, provides a
ancestors. The ovoid face and coiffure are created by apply-
means for celebrating the ability of the individual to accom-
ing thin sheets or strips of brass and copper to a wooden form
plish things and, within limits, to achieve new status. Con-
in a variety of interrelated geometric patterns. In every case,
tainers for offerings to the Hand, crafted in bronze for kings
it is the power of the eyes that holds and penetrates the be-
and in wood for titled persons, bear images of power such
holder, expressing the bond between the living and the de-
as an oba sacrificing leopards, a warrior holding the severed
ceased and the protective power of the ancestors in and for
head of an enemy, Portuguese soldiers with guns, or the tools
the life of the extended family.
and emblems of office for the blacksmith, carver, or trader.
All shrines for the Hand bear the image of the clenched fist,
It is not only the reality of the ancestral presence that
showing the ventral side, with the thumb pointing upward
Africa’s religious art presents. Among the È:gbá, È:gbádò, and
and outward. The directness with which the ritual symbol-
Kétu it is the power of “our mothers” that is celebrated in
ism is expressed is unusual in African religious art but quite
the spectacle of the È:fè:/Ge:le:de: festival of masquerade, dance,
consistent with a ritual of self-esteem.
and song at the time of the spring rains. “Our mothers,”
àwo:n ìyá wa, is a collective term for female power, possessed
FORM AND MEANING. Notwithstanding the particularity of
by all women, but most fully by female ancestors and deities
traditional African iconography, it is, in general, essentially
and by elderly women in the community who are thus able
conceptual and evocative. It is not representational and illus-
to sustain or inhibit the procreative process and all other
trative, and it is not abstract.
human activities upon which the entire society depends. Bal-
Although the principal subject of African art is the
anced on the heads of the dancers—for they always appear
human figure, there is rarely any concern to portray individ-
in pairs—are sculptures depicting the composed face of a
ual likeness, even where a sculpture has been commissioned
beautiful woman, above which there may be a dramatic scene
to commemorate a particular person, as in Akan funerary
of conflict between snakes and a quadruped, or scenes depict-
pottery, Yoruba twin figures, or, as noted above, the Benin
ing domestic activities or social roles. The total sculpted
bronze heads on royal ancestral shrines. And there is rarely
image is perceived as a visual metaphor, often understood as
any attempt to visualize in material form spiritual powers,
having multiple levels of significance. Likewise, in the delib-
although an elaborately constructed masquerade of cloth,
erate pairing of the delicate face masks and the massive forms
wood, and raffia or a sculpted figure on a shrine may “locate”
and aggressive imagery of zoomorphic helmet masks of the
for ritual purposes the ancestral presence, the god, or the
Poro society among the Senufo people of the Ivory Coast one
spirit. Rather, African iconography is primarily concerned
also observes images that refer to the complementary roles
with expressing the essential nature and status of those pow-
of female and male, both human and spiritual, by which life
ers to which one must respond and with providing models
is sustained. In these masquerades, as in Kuba helmet masks
of appropriate response to such powers.
worn by the king, African artists are not concerned with the
representational illusion entailed in copying nature. Rather,
Presence of power. Among the Ìgbómìnà Yoruba of
they concentrate on that which they know and believe about
southwestern Nigeria the costumes of the masquerades for
their subjects, and they seek to construct images to which the
the patrilineal ancestors, egun´gun´ paaka, combine materials
distinctive spirituality of a people can react.
of the forest with those of human manufacture, such as layers
of richly colored cloths, bits of mirror, and beaded panels.
This is also true of emblems of office, such as the beauti-
The carved headdress portion often melds animal and
fully carved bow stands owned by Luba chiefs. The bow
human features. Packets of magical substances are secreted
stands are considered sacred and are usually kept with ances-
within the costume. It is the peculiar state of being of the
tral relics, where only the chief and special caretakers are per-
living dead, who cross boundaries and move between two
mitted to see them. The work images Luba political and spir-
realms, who dwell in heaven yet profoundly affect the well-
itual power. It is through the maternal line that chiefs inherit
being of the living, that is materialized, for masquerades are
their office. In the sculpted female figure at the top, woman
created to reveal a reality not otherwise observable and to
as genetrix is conveyed in the lifting of the maternal breasts,
evoke an appropriate response, such as awe and dependency,
the elaborately scarified abdomen, and the exposed genitals.
on the part of the observer. Thus, among the Pende the con-
The closed eyes of the serene face convey the inner, cerebral
cept of mahamba signifies an object, such as a mask, or a ritu-
power that contrasts with the reproductive and nurturing
al given by the ancestors to the living for the common good
power of her body. And the soaring three-pronged coiffure,
and through which the ancestors periodically manifest them-
expressing her status and beauty, repeats as an inverted pat-
selves and communicate with their descendants.
tern the sculptural treatment of the breasts and the legs, each
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ICONOGRAPHY: TRADITIONAL AFRICAN ICONOGRAPHY
4303
of which frames a central vertical element. On ritual occa-
RITUAL ACTIVITY. It is evident that the iconography of Afri-
sions, the chief’s bow and arrows, signs of his political au-
can peoples must be understood in the context of ritual activ-
thority, would rest in her elaborate coiffure at the top of the
ity, where the world as lived and the world as imaged become
staff. Below her, the metal tip of the staff is thrust into the
fused together and transformed into one reality. There are
earth, the realm of the ancestors. It is maternal power that
essentially two types of rituals—those in which a person or
provides the link with the ancestral power on which a Luba
group undergoes a change in status, usually referred to as
chief’s power depends.
rites of passage, and rituals of world maintenance, through
Models of response. Ritual sculpture provides not only
which a person or group affirms and seeks to secure in the
images of the powers on which the living depend but also
words and actions of sacrifice a worldview.
models for appropriate response to gods and spirits. The
Rites of passage. Among many African peoples the
naked male or female with arms at their sides or touching
masquerade is associated with rites of passage, as, for exam-
their abdomens which appear on Lobi shrines in Burkina
ple, the seasonal rituals of sowing, tilling, and harvesting
Faso, as well as the figure of a kneeling woman with a thun-
among the Bwa and Bamana, the funeral rites of the Dogon
der-ax balanced upon her head and holding a dance-wand
and the Yoruba, and the rituals of initiation of youth into
for the Yoruba god San`gó, are images of man and woman
the societies of the Dan and Mende peoples of West Africa.
as devotees, as inspirited and powerful. They are images
through which persons see their spirituality and by which
Among the Mende people of Sierra Leone, Nowo, a fe-
their spirituality is deepened.
male spirit, appears in dance and masquerade to girls being
initiated into the Sande (also known as Bundu) ceremonial
The distinction between imaging the nature and status
society. As far as is known, it is the only female mask danced
of spiritual powers and imaging the religious self in the pos-
by a woman in Africa. Although primarily associated with
ture of devotion and power cannot in most instances be
the Sande society and thought of as the Sande spirit, Nowo
clearly drawn: much African iconography combines the two
also appears in other ritual contexts. Her image is carved on
processes, less so perhaps where there are ancestral associa-
the finals of the rhythm pounders used in the boys’ initiation
tions and more often where the reference is to gods and spir-
rites, on the staff carried by the leader of the men’s Poro soci-
its. On the shrines of the Baule people of the Ivory Coast,
ety, and on the carved mace of the Mende king, as well as
men and women place figures representing the spouse that
on divination implements, women’s ritual spoon handles,
they had in the other world before they were born. The fig-
and on weaving-loom pulleys. But it is only to the female ini-
ure is thus the locus for one’s spirit-spouse and the place
tiates into Sande that Nowo appears in the fullness of the
where one attends to the claims of that other. But at the same
masquerade and the movements of the dance.
time the sculptures—many of them carved with great skill—
present idealized images of male and female, often in the ma-
In the rituals, Nowo is a spiritual presence and images
turity of life, the hair or beard carefully groomed, the body
the beauty and power, the nobility, of woman. Thick, dyed-
decorated with scarification patterns and adorned with
black fiber strands, suspended from a wooden helmet mask,
beads, the face composed, the stance well-balanced. Like-
cover the dancer’s body. The carved headdress depicts a com-
wise, among the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria, the tu-
posed face with faintly opened eyes that see but may not be
telary gods of a town are imaged in wooden figures based
seen. The head is crowned with an elaborate coiffure into
upon an idealized human model, for the gods not only have
which are woven cowrie shells and seed pods, symbols of
life-giving powers but are also the guardians of morality. The
wealth and fertility. Black is said to be woman’s color, the
sculptures—for they are often in groups—are looked upon
color of civilized life. The glistening black surface suggests
as the “children” of the deity honored. Hence, in their pres-
the lustrous, well-oiled skin with which the initiates will re-
ence the devotee is confronted with conceptions of the self
enter the world. Nowo thus provides an image of the physi-
that constrain him or her in thought and action to a deep-
cal beauty and the spiritual power of woman to those about
ened awareness of the self that that person is and is not.
to take their place as adults in Mende society.
Perhaps the most extraordinary images of self and of
World maintenance rituals. The role of iconography
personal power are carvings that incorporate magical sub-
in Africa’s rituals of world maintenance is no less important
stances (in or on images) to the extent that they alter the
than in rites of passage. Among the Yoruba, to cite only one
human form of the image. They are found for the most part
example, paired bronze castings of male and female figures
among the Songye and Congo peoples of the lower Congo
joined at the top by a chain, e:dan, are presented to an initiate
basin. Some figures have an antelope horn filled with “medi-
into the higher ranks of the secret society that worships
cines” projecting from the head, others have nails and small
Onílè:, “the owner of the earth.” The society is known as Òg-
knives pounded into the body, or a magic-holding resin box
bóni in Ò:yó: and the region once under the influence of the
embedded in the belly. They are visualizations in the extreme
Ò:yó: Empire in the eighteenth century. In this instance Onílè:
of ritual action as manipulative power. Using such carvings
has feminine connotations and exists in a complementary re-
in conjunction with words of invocation, the priest or owner
lationship to Olódùmarè, the high god, who is usually
of the image engages with the evil in the world, either to
thought of in masculine terms. Among the southern Yoruba,
project or deflect its aggressive power.
the same society is called Òs:ùgbó, who also worship Onílè:.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4304
ICONOGRAPHY: AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL ICONOGRAPHY
However, the pronunciation of Onílè: requires that the term
Fernandez, James. Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagina-
be translated as “owner of the house.” The house is the cult
tion in Africa. Princeton, N.J., 1982.
house, which is thought of as a microcosm of the universe.
Fischer, Eberhard, and Hans Himmelheber. Die Kunst der Dan.
(Yoruba is a tonal language. The word ilè: with a high tone
Zurich, 1976.
on the concluding letter means “house,” and with a low tone
Glaze, Anita J. Art and Death in a Senufo Village. Bloomington,
and shortened vowel refers to the “earth.”) The secret, visual-
Ind., 1981.
ized in the linking of male and female, appears to refer to
Horton, Robin. Kalabari Sculpture. Lagos, Nigeria, 1965.
a vision of life in terms of its completion and transcendence
Karp, Ivan, and C. Bird, eds. African Systems of Thought. Washing-
of time.
ton, D.C., 1979.
The titled members of the Ògbóni/Òs:ùgbó society are
LaGamma, Alisa. Art and Oracle: African Art and Rituals of Divi-
the elders of the community. They are beyond the time of
nation. New York, 2000.
procreative concerns. For them, sexual differentiation is no
LaGamma, Alisa. Genesis: Ideas of Origin in African Sculpture.
longer as important as it once was. Furthermore, kinship dis-
New York, 2002.
tinctions are secondary to the worship of Onílè:, because
Lamp, Frederick. African Art of the West Atlantic Coast: Transition
identification of person by patrilineage is replaced by the al-
in Form and Content. New York, 1979.
legiance to the unity of all life in Onílè:. Thus, the
Ògbóni/Òs:ùgbó elders participate in the settling of conflicts
Laude, Jean. Les arts de l’Afrique noire. Paris, 1966. Translated by
that divide the body politic. The sacred emblems of the soci-
Jean Decock as The Arts of Black Africa. Berkeley, Calif.,
1971.
ety, the e:dan, are placed on those spots where the relation-
ships among persons have been broken and blood spilled.
MacGaffey, Wyatt. “Complexity, Astonishment, and Power: The
Expressing the unity of male and female, they possess the
Visual Vocabulary of Kongo Minkisi.” Journal of Southern
African Studies 14, no. 2 (1988): 188–203.
power of reconciling and adjudicating differences and aton-
ing through sacrifice for the violation of the essential whole-
Meyer, Piet. Kunst und Religion der Lobi. Zurich, 1981.
ness of life, whether imaged in “earth” or “house.”
Pemberton, John, III, ed. Insight and Artistry in African Divina-
tion. Washington, D.C., 2000.
The seated male and female figures present to the viewer
the signs of their power and authority, às:e:. The female holds
Rattray, R. S. Religion and Art in Ashanti. Oxford, 1927.
a pair of e:dan, as she would twin children. The male figure,
Roberts, Mary Nooter, and Allen F. Roberts, eds. Luba Art and
with clenched fists, makes the sign of greeting Onílè:. Four
the Making of History. New York, 1996.
chains with tiny bells are suspended from the sides of each
Schildkrout, Enid, and Curtis Keim, eds. African Reflections: Art
figure’s head. The number four, as well as multiples of four,
from Northeastern Zaire. New York, 1990.
are important in Ifa divination; Ò:run´mìlà (also called Ifá),
Siroto, Leon. African Spirit Images and Identities. New York, 1976.
the divination god, knows the secret of creation and the sac-
Strother, Z. S. Inventing Masks: Agency and History in the Art of
rifices that will make one’s way propitious. Above the spare,
the Central Pende. Chicago, 1998.
ascetic bodies, the heads of the paired figures radiate with
Thompson, Robert Farris. African Art in Motion. Los Angeles,
their às:e:. Twelve chains are suspended from the plate below
1974.
each figure. Twelve is a multiple of three and four, also num-
bers associated with Ògbóni/Òs:ùgbó and Ifá ritual symbol-
Thompson, Robert Farris. The Four Movements of the Sun: Kongo
ism. In their combination, there is completion and whole-
Art in Two Worlds. Washington, D.C., 1981.
ness born of the secret knowledge of Ògbóni/Òs:ùgbó and
Vogel, Susan M. Baule: African Art, Western Eyes. New Haven,
Ifá, a secret readily revealed to the informed eye.
Conn., 1997.
Vogel, Susan M., ed. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the
SEE ALSO Dogon Religion; Edo Religion.
Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York, 1981.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
JOHN PEMBERTON III (1987 AND 2005)
Biebuyck, Daniel. The Arts of Zaire, vol.1: Southwestern Zaire.
Berkeley, Calif., 1985.
Ben-Amos, Paula. The Art of Benin. Revised edition. London,
ICONOGRAPHY: AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL
1995.
ICONOGRAPHY
Drewal, Henry John, and Margaret T. Drewal. Gelede: Art and Fe-
Art has a central place in Australian Aboriginal religion. The
male Power among the Yorùbá. Bloomington, Ind., 1983.
substance of Aboriginal ceremonies and rituals consists of en-
Drewal, Henry John, John Pemberton III, and Rowland Abiodun.
actments of events from the Dreaming, or ancestral past,
Yorùbá: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought. New
events that are conserved in the form of the songs, dances,
York, 1989.
designs, and sacred objects that belong to a particular clan
Ezra, Kate. Art of the Dogon. New York, 1988.
or totemic cult group. Such forms are referred to collectively
Fagg, William B., and John Pemberton III. Yorùbá Sculpture of
by a word that can be translated as “sacred law,” and it is as
West Africa, edited by Bryce Holcombe. New York, 1982.
“sacred law” that art mediates between the ancestral past and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONOGRAPHY: AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL ICONOGRAPHY
4305
the world of living human beings. Designs that were created
used in different contexts for different purposes. The same
in the Dreaming as part of the process of world creation are
basic design may be used as a sand sculpture in a curing cere-
handed down from generation to generation as a means of
mony, painted on the bodies of initiates to associate them
maintaining the continuity of existence with the ancestral
with particular ancestral forces or signify membership in a
past.
social group, or painted on a coffin to guide a dead person’s
soul back to the clan lands for reincorporation within the an-
Designs can be referred to then as “Dreamings,” and
cestral domain.
they are manifestations of the ancestral past in a number of
senses. Each originated as a motif painted on an ancestral
SYSTEMS OF REPRESENTATION. Meaning in Aboriginal art is
being’s body, as an impression left in the ground by that
encoded in two distinct systems of representation, one iconic
being, or as a form associated in some other way with ances-
and figurative, the other aniconic and geometric. The ico-
tral creativity. In many regions myths relate how ancestral
nography of Aboriginal religious art arises out of the inter-
beings gave birth to or created out of their bodies the sacred
play between these two complementary systems. This dis-
objects associated with particular social groups and land
tinction extends outside the area of the visual arts to dance
areas. The meaning of the designs on the objects often refers
and ceremonial action, which involve some components and
to the acts of ancestral creativity that gave rise to the shape
actions that are essentially mimetic and represent the behav-
of the landscape; in this respect, the designs can be said to
ior and characteristics of natural species, as well as other com-
encode Dreaming events. Finally, designs can be a source of
ponents that are abstract and have a conventional and non-
ancestral power. Paintings on the bodies of initiates are
representational meaning. The balance between the
thought to bring the individuals closer to the spiritual do-
figurative and the geometric varies from one region to anoth-
main; sacred objects rubbed against their bodies can have a
er. The art of central Australia, of groups such as the Warl-
similar effect. Upon a person’s death in eastern Arnhem
piri, the Aranda, the Pintubi, and the Pitjantjatjara, is charac-
Land, designs painted on his or her chest or on the coffin
terized by geometric motifs, whereas western Arnhem Land
or bone disposal receptacle help to transfer the soul back to
is associated with a highly developed figurative tradition.
the ancestral world for reincorporation within the reservoirs
Nonetheless, there is a figurative component in central Aus-
of spiritual power associated with a particular place. Art is
tralian art, and the marayin designs, clan-owned body paint-
linked with the concept of the cycling of spiritual power
ing designs used in certain western Arnhem Land initiation
through the generations from the ancestral past to the pres-
ceremonies, are largely geometric.
ent, a concept that characterizes Aboriginal religious
The forms of Aboriginal art are systematically linked to
thought. The same design may later be painted on an initi-
its various functions. The figurative art presents images of the
ate’s chest, signifying what Nancy Munn refers to in Walbiri
Dreaming that at one level can be readily interpreted as rep-
Iconography (1973) as the intergenerational transfer of ances-
resentations of totemic species and the forms of ancestral be-
tral power, which conceptually integrates the Dreaming with
ings. The X-ray art of western Arnhem Land, for example,
present-day experience.
is a figurative tradition that creates images of totemic ances-
Aboriginal art varies widely across the continent. Any
tors associated with particular places, thus linking them di-
similarities that exist tend to reside in the properties of the
rectly to the natural world.
representational systems that are employed—the kinds of
meanings that are encoded in the designs and the way in
The title of Luke Taylor’s book, Seeing the Inside, aptly
which they are encoded—rather than in the use of particular
expresses the capacity of X-ray art to look beyond the surface
motifs. One notable exception appears to be what Munn re-
form of things. The figures are in part accurate representa-
fers to as the circle-line or site-path motif (0 = 0 = 0), which
tions of kangaroos, fish, snakes, and so on. However, they
forms a component of designs throughout Australia. In such
are more than that. The X-ray component, representing the
designs, the circles usually refer to places where some signifi-
heart, lungs, and other internal organs of the animal, adds
cant event occurred on the journey of a Dreaming ancestral
an element of mystery to the figures and differentiates the
being, and the lines refer to the pathways that connect the
representations from those of ordinary animals. Moreover,
places.
the art includes representations that combine features of a
number of different animals in a single figure. For example,
Likewise, designs in Aboriginal art exist independent of
the figure of the Rainbow Snake, an important mythical
particular media. The same design in Arnhem Land may
being throughout Arnhem Land, may combine features of
occur as a body painting, a sand sculpture, an emblem on
a snake, a kangaroo, a buffalo, an emu, and a crocodile. Such
a hollow log coffin, or an engraving on a sacred object (rang-
figures in X-ray art, together with songs and dances associat-
ga). In central Australia the same design may be incised on
ed with them, are part of a system of symbolism that decom-
a stone disc (tjurunga), painted on the body of a dancer in
poses the natural world into its elements, breaks the bounda-
blood and down, or made into a sand sculpture. Further, it
ries between different species of animals, and alludes to the
is the design that gives the object its particular ancestral con-
underlying transforming power of the Dreaming. The west-
nection: the designs are extensions of ancestral beings and are
ern Arnhem Land X-ray figures are public representations of
sometimes referred to as their “shadows.” Thus, they can be
the ancestral world and, painted on cave walls, are projec-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
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ICONOGRAPHY: AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL ICONOGRAPHY
tions of the ancestral past into the present in a fairly literal
complex diamond pattern representing the cells of the hive.
form. Their presence on rock surfaces acts as a sign of the
The diamonds are cross-hatched in different colors to signify
ancestral transformations that created the form of the land-
different components of the hive: grubs, honey, pollen, and
scape and a reminder of the creative forces inherent in the
bees. The bars across some of the segments represent sticks
land.
in the structure of the hive, and the dots within the circles
represent bees at its entrance. On another level, elements of
Much of the ceremonial art and most of the secret art
the design signify smoke, flames, and ash from the hunter’s
of Australia is, however, geometric in form. The geometric
fire, and on still another level, the diamond pattern repre-
art encodes meaning in a more elusive way, well suited to a
sents the rippling of floodwater as it passes beneath the
system of esoteric knowledge in which some of the meanings
paperbark trees. The Wild Honey ancestor is all of those
of art are restricted to the initiated. Without some assistance,
things and more.
its meaning will remain a mystery: in order to be understood
it has to be interpreted and its meanings have to be revealed.
SYSTEMS OF INTERPRETATION. As people go through life
Geometric art gives priority to no single interpretation, and
they learn the meanings of designs such as the Wild Honey
as a person grows older he or she learns increasingly more
pattern; they associate it with places created by the ancestral
about the meaning of particular designs. Thus, geometric art
being and with ceremonies that celebrate that being’s creative
is potentially multivalent, and different meanings and inter-
power. For the individual, the design is no longer an abstract
pretations can be condensed into the same symbol or design.
sign but a manifestation of the ancestral being concerned.
Aesthetic aspects of the design reinforce this understanding,
This property of geometric art enables it to encode the
as Howard Morphy has shown in Ancestral Connections, his
relationship between different phenomena or orders of reali-
book on the aesthetics and iconography of Yolngu ritual art.
ty. On one level, a circle in a design may represent a water
In northeastern Arnhem Land, Yolngu body paintings con-
hole, and the line joining it may represent a creek flowing
vey a sense of light and movement through the layering of
into the water hole. On another level, the circle may be said
finely cross-hatched lines across the skin surface. Similar ef-
to represent a hole dug in the ground and the line a digging
fects are created in central Australian painting through the
stick. On yet another level, the circle may be interpreted as
use of white down and the glistening effect of blood, fat, and
the vagina of a female ancestral being and the line as the
red ocher. These attributes of paintings are interpreted by
penis of a male ancestor. All three interpretations are related,
Aboriginal people as attributes of the ancestral being: the
for digging in the sand is an analogue for sexual intercourse,
light from the ancestral being shines from the painting as
and the water hole was created through sexual intercourse be-
symbol or evidence of the power of the design.
tween two ancestral beings in the Dreaming. The design of
which the circle is a part may belong to a particular clan and
Throughout much of Australia, rights to designs and
be identified as such. The design as a whole thus represents
other components of “sacred law” are vested in social groups
ancestral beings creating features of the landscape in territory
that exercise some control over their use and have the respon-
associated with a particular social group. It is this set of asso-
sibility to ensure that they continue to be passed down
ciations that characterizes the iconography of Aboriginal art:
through the generations. Such rights are of considerable im-
the designs mediate between the present and the ancestral
portance, as “sacred law” provides the charter for ownership
past by encoding the relationship between ancestral being,
and control of land. Hence, designs not only represent
people, and place. Aboriginal religion firmly locates the iden-
sources of ancestral power but are politically significant in
tity of people in the spirituality of place, and designs infused
demonstrating rights over land and providing a focal point
with the power of ancestral beings provide an important
for group solidarity and identity. This dimension is reflected
transportable medium of connection.
in the iconography insofar as designs often vary on the basis
of group ownership, each group holding rights to a unique
The geometric art represents the ancestral world both
set of designs.
semiotically and aesthetically, by expressing ancestral power
in an artistic form. The Dreaming beings are often complex
There is enormous regional variation in Australian Ab-
concepts, and their encoding in abstract representations pro-
original art, and the specific symbolism of the designs can
vides one of the ways by which people develop shared under-
only be understood in their regional context. However, the
standings that help to order their collective experience of the
underlying principles of the art have much in common ev-
ancestral past. For example, in the case of the Yolngu people
erywhere. Moreover, belief in the spiritual power and medi-
of northeastern Arnhem Land, the Wild Honey ancestor
ating functions of the designs is to an extent independent of
consists of the whole set of things associated with the collec-
knowledge of their meaning. For both these reasons, designs
tion of wild honey: the hive, the bees, the honey; pollen and
and other components of ritual can be passed on to other
grubs; the paperbark tree where the hives are found and the
groups—from neighboring or even quite distant places—and
swamps where the trees grow; the hunter, his baskets, and
become part of those groups’ ancestral inheritance. In this
the smoke made by the fires he lights. All things associated
respect, religious iconography is integral to the process of re-
with wild honey are attributes of the Wild Honey ancestor.
ligious change, enabling religious ideas to be exchanged with
In painting, the Wild Honey ancestor is represented by a
other groups and diffused across the continent. Changes also
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONOGRAPHY: NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ICONOGRAPHY
4307
can occur internally through the Dreaming of new designs.
Morphy, Howard. Ancestral Connections: Art and an Aboriginal
This allows the iconographic system to adjust to sociopoliti-
System of Knowledge. Chicago, 1991. A detailed account of
cal reality or to the creation of new groups and the demise
the iconography of the paintings of the Yolngu people of
of existing ones. However, from the Aboriginal viewpoint,
northeast Arnhem Land, including their meanings and ritual
such changes are always revelatory: they ultimately have a
context.
Dreaming reference and will always be credited to the past.
Morphy, Howard. Aboriginal Art. London, 1998. A comprehen-
The designs not only encode meanings that help endow ev-
sive and richly illustrated introduction to Aboriginal art with
eryday events and features of the landscape with cosmic sig-
broad regional and historic coverage.
nificance, but are themselves extensions of those Dreaming
Mountford, Charles Pearcy. Records of the American-Australian
ancestors into the present.
Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land. Vol. 1: Art, Myth and
Symbolism. Melbourne, Australia, 1956. A comprehensive
Since the 1970s, through the popularity of Aboriginal
collection of paintings from western and eastern Arnhem
bark and acrylic paintings, art has become an increasingly
Land and Groote Eylandt. The collection is extensively doc-
important means by which Aboriginal people communicate
umented with accounts of Aboriginal myths. The documen-
religious ideas to a wider audience. While non-Aboriginal
tation is somewhat general and not always accurate, but its
audiences have been attracted by the aesthetic dimension of
coverage is excellent.
the works, they also have been exposed to the religious ideas
Munn, Nancy D. Walbiri Iconography. Ithaca, N.Y., 1973. A de-
and values that are integral to them. Exhibitions of Aborigi-
tailed account of the representational systems of the Warlpiri
nal art emphasize the religious values that the works embody:
of central Australia and the religious symbolism of the de-
the idea of the Dreaming, the immanence of the sacred in
signs. This is a classic work on the geometric art of central
Australia.
the form of the landscape, and the emergent nature of spiri-
tuality.
Myers, Fred R. Painting Culture: The Making of an Aboriginal
High Art. Durham, N.C., 2002. A detailed account of the
Aboriginal people also have responded to and accom-
central Australian acrylic art movement that provides in-
modated religious ideas through their art. Yolngu artists
sights into its cultural context and religious significance in
from Arnhem Land carried on a dialogue with Christianity
addition to its developing global market.
from the arrival of the first missionaries in 1935. This dia-
Taylor, Luke. Seeing the Inside: Bark Painting in Western Arnhem
logue resulted in the placing of painted panels of Yolngu reli-
Land. Oxford, 1996. A rich account of western Arnhem
gious art on either side of the altar of the new church built
Land X-ray and ceremonial art covering equally the social
in 1962. Subsequently, as Fred Myers has shown, the Pintubi
and conceptual dimensions of artistic practice.
artist Linda Syddick’s paintings combine Christian themes
Watson, Christine. Piercing the Ground: Balgo Women’s Image
concerning crucifixion with reflections on separation and
Making and Relationship to Country. Freemantle, Australia,
identity stimulated by the science fiction character E.T., all
2003. A rich account of the iconography of desert paintings
represented through central Australian iconography. This
from Balgo with a particular emphasis on the tactile dimen-
dynamic aspect of Australian Aboriginal art and its capacity
sion of their cultural aesthetics.
to reach diverse audiences within and outside the society is
HOWARD MORPHY (1987 AND 2005)
one of the factors that has enabled Aboriginal religion to con-
tinue to make a contribution to global religious discourse.
S
ICONOGRAPHY: NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN
EE ALSO Dreaming, The; Tjurungas; Wandjina.
ICONOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Iconography is a living force in North American Indian reli-
Berndt, Ronald M., ed. Australian Aboriginal Art. New York,
gious life, past and present. Rooted in mythical imagery, it
1964. A pioneering volume, with essays by Ted Strehlow,
informs the content of individual dreams and nourishes the
Charles Mountford, and Adolphus Peter Elkin, that provides
themes of contemporary Indian art. A study of the iconogra-
a broad coverage of Aboriginal art and its religious signifi-
phy of a people provides a unique opportunity to gain insight
cance.
into what Werner Müller calls the “pictorial world of the
Elkin, A. P., Ronald M. Berndt, and Catherine H. Berndt. Art in
soul” (Die Religionen der Waldlandindianer Nordamerikas,
Arnhem Land. Melbourne, Australia, 1950. The pioneering
Berlin, 1956, p. 57).
work on Australian Aboriginal art, placing the art of Arnhem
The following exposition of the major themes of reli-
Land in its social and mythological context.
gious iconography in North America is restricted to the evi-
Groger-Wurm, Helen M. Australian Aboriginal Bark Paintings
dence of the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries of eth-
and Their Mythological Interpretation. Canberra, Australia,
nographic research. As a result, the beautiful pottery and
1973. A good account of northeastern Arnhem bark paint-
stone remains of the prehistoric peoples of the Southwest and
ings, with detailed interpretations of their meanings.
Southeast are not represented here, nor are the remains of
Kleinert, Sylvia, and Margo Neale, ed. The Oxford Companion to
the Mound Builder cultures of the river regions.
Aboriginal Art and Culture. Melbourne, Australia, 2000.
A comprehensive reference work on Aboriginal art and
The iconographical themes follow the general lines of
religion.
myth and religious beliefs. As such, they can be cataloged in
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4308
ICONOGRAPHY: NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ICONOGRAPHY
the following manner: the cosmos, supreme beings, trick-
path is called the Good White Path, the symbol of the
sters/culture heroes, guardian beings, other mythic beings,
human life. It corresponds to the Milky Way, which is the
astronomical beings, weather beings, animal beings, vegeta-
path of the souls of the dead. The Ojibwa bark charts of
tion beings, human beings, geological beings, and abstract
the Midewiwin ceremony consist of illustrations of the de-
symbols. But it is not always the case that the verbal images
grees of initiation into the Mide secret society. All of the de-
of the myths are equivalent to iconographical images: one
grees are represented as connected by the path of the initiate’s
notorious example of divergence is the Ojibwa trickster, Rab-
life, starting in the image of the primordial world and ending
bit, who, when pictured, is actually human in form.
upon the island of direct communication with the supreme
being. This path is pictured with many detours and dramatic
Concerning the wide variety of media used, the follow-
occurrences.
ing general distribution can be observed: in the Far North—
ivory, bone, and stone; the Northeast and Southeast Wood-
SUPREME BEINGS. Among the myriad images found in
lands—wood, bark, skin, quillwork, and beadwork; the
North American Indian iconography are certain divine be-
Plains—skin, beadwork, pipestone, quillwork, and painting
ings whose representations cut across taxonomic groups;
of bodies and horses; the Northwest Coast—cedar, ivory, ar-
these include supreme beings, tricksters/culture heroes,
gillite, blankets, and copper; California—baskets and some
guardian beings, and other mythical beings. Since the majes-
stone; the Southwest—sand painting, wood, stone, baskets,
tic, all-encompassing supreme being is difficult to visualize,
pottery, jewelry, and dolls.
its morphology is relatively simple. When not visualized as
some object or animal intimately associated with the su-
THE COSMOS. Cosmologies vary from tribe to tribe in both
preme being, its form tends to be anthropomorphic. For ex-
content and imagery. But whereas the mythical image of the
ample, the Ojibwa song charts visualize the supreme being,
universe (its cosmography) may be highly detailed, the
Kitsi Manitu, with a pictograph of a human head, belonging
iconographical rendering is necessarily restricted. The cos-
to an initiate in the Mide secret society.
mos is most often graphically limited to those elements that
characterize its basic nature and structure, including its non-
On the other hand, the all-pervasiveness of the supreme
visual aspects.
being among the Plains Indians can result in the use of sym-
bols of lesser deities to represent it. Thus Wakantanka, of the
The most widespread symbol of the whole cosmos is the
Oglala Lakota, has various manifestations such as the Sun,
ceremonial lodge, house, or tent. The fundamental idea of
the Moon, Buffalo, and so on, all of which are pictured on
the ceremonial lodge, such as the Delaware xingwikáon (“big
hides or, as with Buffalo, represented by a buffalo skull.
house”), is that all of its parts symbolize, and in ritual con-
texts actually are, the cosmos. Usually the realms of this cos-
TRICKSTERS/CULTURE HEROES. The most widespread
mos are interconnected with a central post, which is con-
iconographic trickster type is theriomorphic: Raven, Coyote,
ceived of as extending itself like a world tree up to the
or Rabbit. The most well-known image is that of Raven
heavens. Renewing such a house constitutes the actual re-
among the Northwest Coast tribes, a character who encom-
newal of the cosmos.
passes all of the classical features of the trickster. He is pic-
tured in raven-form on virtually every object throughout the
Similar ideas are found among the Plains Indians, for
Northwest, usually in the context of a mythical event that
whom the sacred camp circle constitutes an image of the
somehow affected the ancestor of the house in which the ob-
world, and the central pole of the Sun Dance tipi, the whole
ject is found, be it house pole, settee, or some other form.
cosmos. In fact the Crow call this tent the “imitation” or
As part of shamanic paraphernalia, his image imparts one of
“miniature” lodge, a replica of the Sun’s lodge.
his main characteristics: that of transformation. Even though
Representations of the cosmos can refer to the more
the trickster is an animal, in mythical thought he can change
subtle manifestations of the world, as in the sand paintings
to human form, and this process is often reflected icono-
of the Luiseño of California, but they can also approach the
graphically, as with the Navajo Coyote and the Delaware and
reality of topographical maps, as in the sand paintings of the
Ojibwa Rabbit.
neighboring Diegueño. In a completely different approach
The culture hero is a divine or semidivine mythic figure
to the visualization of the cosmos, the well-known Navajo
who, through a series of heroic deeds—especially the theft
sand painting of Father Sky and Mother Earth illustrates the
of such an important item as fire or light—starts humanity
anthropomorphic representation of the cosmos.
upon its cultural road. When he is not the theriomorphic
Concerning nonvisual aspects of the cosmos, it is not
trickster, he is often simply visualized as a human being.
uncommon that ethical ideals or holistic images of proper
GUARDIAN BEINGS. Guardian beings associate themselves
human life, which are extensions of the theological bases of
most often on a personal level with single individuals, and
many cosmologies, are also visualized iconographically. The
they function as guardians who bring blessings to their
most common image of this type is that of the right, or the
human partners. In the Plains and Northern Woodlands cul-
beautiful, path. The Delaware big house has a circular path
tures, to seek and receive a personal vision of just such a
on its floor, which the visionary singers and other partici-
guardian is necessary in order to secure an individual’s sta-
pants in the big house ceremony walk and dance upon. This
tion in life. These guardians can appear in just about any
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ICONOGRAPHY: NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ICONOGRAPHY
4309
form taken from the natural or the mythological world.
stars most often pictured are the Morning Star (Venus), the
Among the Oglala it may be necessary to paint a version of
Pleiades, Orion, Altair, the constellation Ursa Major (which
one’s vision on the tipi in order to secure its validity, al-
is invariably pictured as a heavenly bear), and the Milky
though generally images of the guardian are painted on
Way. Stars are shown with four, five, and six points and are
shields.
often associated with human figures.
In the cultures of the Far North and Arctic areas, the
METEOROLOGICAL BEINGS. This group consists of Thunder,
shaman and his guardians are a constant iconographic
Wind, Rain, and Lightning. Thunder is often pictured as the
theme. His guardians are portrayed in several general ways:
Thunderbird, but other birds can also be used. Wind, on the
as diminutive human beings clustered near the shaman or as
other hand, is generally associated with the cardinal regions
human faces clustered together, as a human visage under an
and therefore not visualized directly. Cultures with anthro-
animal visage such as seen in Alaskan masks, as an animal
pocentric morphology, however, such as the Navajo and the
form reduced in size and resting on the head or shoulders
Ojibwa, picture even this being in human shape.
of the shaman, as birdlike shamans or shamans in transfor-
Rain is usually illustrated as lines falling from cloud
mation, as flying spirits being ridden by shamans, as an ani-
symbols or as a being from which rain is falling. Lightning
mal or human being with skeletal markings, or as flying bears
is always shown as zigzag lines regardless of the tribe in ques-
or other usually flightless beasts. These images are portrayed
tion. The lines usually end in arrowheads, for there is a con-
in contemporary drawings, ivory sculpture, masks, stone
ceptual link between lightning and arrows. Lightning and
sculpture, bone sculpture, drumsticks, shaman staff, and so
thunder are usually considered to be the weapons of the
on. Throughout North America the shaman also uses organ-
widely known Warrior Twins.
ic parts of his guardians in his ritual paraphernalia, or else
he can use the entire skin of his guardian animal to transform
ANIMAL BEINGS. There are a number of animals which are
himself.
known and visualized throughout North America, such as
the bear, the deer, and the buffalo. However, other animals
Guardians appear in nonvisionary and nonshamanistic
peculiar to a particular region are the more common icono-
cultures as well. The Pueblo deities of the six world regions
graphical subjects, such as the whales and seals of the north-
are considered to be guardians of humanity. Another type of
ern coasts, or the lizards and snakes of the desert regions. The
guardian is Rainbow Serpent, pictured on almost all Navajo
general rule is that the animal is depicted in its natural form.
sand paintings. This figure encircles the entire painting but
remains open toward the east. Its function is to keep the evil
Representations of animals may signify the spirit or
spirits out of the reinstated cosmic region.
master of their species or the form of some deity, guardian
being, or primordial creature, or they may indicate the totem
OTHER MYTHICAL BEINGS. Among the mythological figures
animal. All animal images used in ritual contexts have reli-
who are pictured iconographically, one important group is
gious significance. But the most common use of animal im-
that of monsters. The most common monster motif is an
ages occurs in heraldry, which casts some doubt on the exclu-
image of the primordial horned, flying serpent, the cause of
sively religious significance of its use and meaning.
floods and earthquakes. He is known all over the Americas
and is generally pictured in exactly the form described. An-
The Northwest Coast Indians are the most conspicuous
other monster known all over North America is Thunder-
users of totem symbols. These symbols are represented in lit-
bird, usually pictured on shields, shirts, and beadwork as an
erally every conceivable medium: poles, house fronts, hats,
eaglelike creature.
aprons, spoons, bowls, settees, boat prows, spearheads, fish-
hooks, dagger handles, facial painting, masks, speaker staffs,
There is also a whole group of evil beings who, in one
paddles, drums, rattles, floats, bracelets, leggings, pipes, and
form or another, are believed to exercise a malignant and
gambling sticks. The question of religious significance may
dangerous influence on humanity. Such creatures are usually
be resolved by the fact that the totem animal is considered
theriomorphic but not necessarily so.
either a direct ancestor of the clan or somehow associated
ASTRONOMICAL BEINGS. The sun, the moon, and the stars
with an ancient human ancestor. Thus the symbol at least,
are pictured as beings throughout North America. The sun
if not its use, has religious meaning.
is portrayed most intensely where it is strongest, in southeast-
VEGETATION BEINGS. Corn is the plant most commonly vi-
ern and southwestern North America. The Hopi portray the
sualized. The representation can simply refer to the plant it-
Sun, Taawa, anthropomorphically but, in keeping with
self, but frequently a maize deity is being invoked. The latter
Hopi iconography, he wears a mask that consists of a circular
is the case throughout the Southwest, whether among the
disk fringed with radiating feathers and horsehair. This radial
Pueblo or the Athapascan peoples. The maize deity is usually
representation of the sun is the most common image known.
clearly anthropomorphized. Hallucinogenic plants such as
The Ojibwa, on the other hand, have a completely different
peyote, jimsonweed, or the strong wild tobaccos are more or
image, which is horned, winged, and legged.
less realistically pictured; such images refer to the deities of
The moon is usually represented in its quarter phase, al-
these potent plants. Others beings who somehow influence
though images of the full moon are sometimes found. The
plant growth are also visualized iconographically; these in-
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ICONOGRAPHY: NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ICONOGRAPHY
clude the Yuki impersonations of the dead, who have a de-
sent categories already discussed (such as clouds, rain, light-
cided influence on the abundance of acorns, or the Hopi im-
ning, the sun, and so on), also belong to the category of
personations of cultic heros and heroines whose rituals
abstract symbols. Cultures with highly developed artistic ico-
influence crop growth.
nographies, such as those of the Northwest Coast, the South-
H
west, and the Woodlands peoples with their birchbark illus-
UMAN BEINGS. This category concerns not only human an-
trations, also develop series of signs referring to abstractions
cestors but also a miscellaneous collection of beings that have
inherent to their systems. On the Ojibwa Midewiwin scrolls,
human form. The first type are effigies of once-living human
for example, the symbol of bear tracks in a particular context
beings. These are most commonly figured on Northwest
represents a priest’s four false attempts to enter the Mide
Coast mortuary poles, but they are also found elsewhere: the
lodge. These four false attempts can also be symbolized by
Californian Maidu, Yokuts, Luiseño, and Tubatulabal, for
four bars.
example, all burn effigies of prominent people two years after
their deaths.
SEE ALSO North American Indians; Shamanism, article on
Human images can also be material expressions of the
North American Shamanism; Tricksters, article on North
ineffable. During the Sun Dance the Shoshoni and the Crow
American Tricksters.
each bring out a stone image in diminutive human shape,
which is then attached to a staff or the center pole of the tent.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
It is said to represent the spirit of the Sun Dance. Human
There is unfortunately no comprehensive work on the religious
images, such as dolls, can symbolize or are actually consid-
iconography of the North American Indians. Information
about iconography is found in the original ethnographic data
ered to be small spritelike creatures who can have an array
on various peoples published in the annual reports and the
of functions and duties and who play a part in ceremonial
bulletins of the Bureau of American Ethnology. An ethno-
contexts as well. Human representations can also signify the
graphic approach to art in North America, with emphasis on
heroes or founders of cults; such is the case with many images
prehistoric art, can be found in Wolfgang Haberland’s The
on Pueblo altars and other representations on Northwest
Art of North America, translated by Wayne Dynes (New
Coast poles.
York, 1964). General works on the art of American Indians
are numerous; the most comprehensive is Norman Feder’s
GEOLOGICAL BEINGS. This category of images is based on
American Indian Art (New York, 1971). Another useful
a type of religious geomorphology. It is not a numerically
study is Frederick J. Dockstader’s Indian Art of the Americas
dominant theme, but it is nonetheless of singular impor-
(New York, 1973).
tance. The most prominent geological being envisioned is
For the Indians of the Far North, see Jean Blodgett’s The Coming
Mother Earth, although it is seldom that direct representa-
and Going of the Shaman: Eskimo Shamanism and Art (Win-
tions of it occur. In such anthropocentric iconographies as
nipeg, 1979) and Inge Kleivan and Birgitte Sonne’s Eskimos:
that of the Navajo, it is no problem to illustrate Mother
Greenland and Canada, “Iconography of Religions,” sec. 8,
Earth as a somewhat enlarged female human being. Usually,
fasc. 1 (Leiden, 1984). Concerning the Northeast and South-
however, Mother Earth is symbolized by some fertility
east Woodlands tribes, see Frank G. Speck’s Montagnais Art
image, such as an ear of corn, or by a circle. Among the Dela-
in Birch-bark, a Circumpolar Trait, “Museum of the Ameri-
ware, the earth is symbolized by the giant tortoise who saved
can Indian, Heye Foundation, Indian Notes and Mono-
humankind from the flood and upon whose back the new
graphs,” vol. 11, no. 2 (New York, 1937), and Concerning
earth was created by Nanabush. Sods of earth can also be
Iconology and the Masking Complex in Eastern North America,
used to represent Mother Earth, as in the Cheyenne buffalo-
“University Museum Bulletin,” vol. 15, no. 1 (Philadelphia,
1950). For the Plains Indians, see A˚ke Hultkrantz’s Prairie
skull altar in the medicine lodge.
and Plains Indians, “Iconography of Religions,” sec. 10, fasc.
Another group of geological beings consists of images
2 (Leiden, 1973), and Peter J. Powell’s Sweet Medicine: The
of mountains. Except for isolated pockets of flatlands and de-
Continuing Role of the Sacred Arrows, the Sun Dance, and the
sert basins, most of North America is covered with moun-
Sacred Buffalo Hat in Northern Cheyenne History, 2 vols.
(Norman, Okla., 1969). For Indians of the Northwest
tains, and these are usually believed to be alive or at least
Coast, see Charles Marius Barbeau’s Totem Poles, 2 vols. (Ot-
filled with life, that is, they are the abodes of the gods. This
tawa, 1950–1951), and Franz Boas’s Primitive Art (1927;
feature of mountains is highly important and is also recog-
new ed., New York, 1955). Concerning the Pueblo Indians
nized iconographically.
of the Southwest, see my Hopi Indian Altar Iconography,
Finally, some mention should be made of stones and
“Iconography of Religions,” sec. 10, fasc. 4a (Leiden, 1986),
and Barton Wright’s Pueblo Cultures, “Iconography of Reli-
prehistoric implements. Animacy or power is attributed to
gions,” sec. 10, fasc. 4 (Leiden, 1985). For the Navajo Indi-
implements such as ancient pipe bowls, mortars, and blades,
ans of the Southwest, see Sam D. Gill’s Songs of Life: An In-
any odd-shaped stones, and stones resembling animal, vege-
troduction to Navajo Religious Culture, “Iconography of
table, or human outlines. Such stones symbolize whatever
Religions,” sec. 10, fasc. 3 (Leiden, 1979), and Gladys A. Re-
they resemble.
ichard’s Navajo Medicine Man: Sandpaintings and Legends of
A
Miguelito (New York, 1939).
BSTRACT SYMBOLS. The dynamic and highly stylized geo-
metric patterns on Southwest Indian pottery, which repre-
ARMIN W. GEERTZ (1987)
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ICONOGRAPHY: MESOAMERICAN ICONOGRAPHY
4311
ICONOGRAPHY: MESOAMERICAN
intricate Olmec symbol system presents formidable difficul-
ICONOGRAPHY
ties, and interpretations of prominent students often differ
Each major Mesoamerican culture developed its religious
radically.
imagery in a distinctive fashion, although all were historically
A major characteristic of Olmec iconography is the
interlinked and drew from the common pool of Mesoameri-
blending of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features.
can stylistic-iconographic tradition. This type of pictorializa-
Much of the controversy surrounding the interpretation of
tion was especially important in an area cotradition that
Olmec iconography has focused on these fused images,
lacked fully evolved phonetic scripts. It constituted an effec-
which often exhibit additional overtones of infantilism and
tive technique of visually communicating in a standardized,
dwarfism. The most popular interpretation has been that
codified manner the basic concepts of the religious-ritual sys-
they merge feline with human characteristics, and the term
tems that played such a crucial sociocultural role in pre-
were-jaguar has become fashionable to refer to them. Fre-
Hispanic Mesoamerica.
quently cited in support of this interpretation are two well-
ISSUES OF INTERPRETATION. The Mesoamerican icono-
known Olmec monumental sculptures from two small sites
graphic systems that were functioning at the time of the
near the great Olmec center of San Lorenzo, Veracruz, that
Spanish conquest in the early sixteenth century can be inter-
supposedly represent a jaguar copulating with a human fe-
preted with the aid of a broad range of data, including writ-
male, thus producing a hybrid feline-human race, the “jag-
ten sources compiled in Spanish and in the native languages.
uar’s children.” In this view, the composite creature, connot-
The iconographies of the earlier cultures must be studied
ing rain and terrestrial fertility, constituted the fundamental
without the assistance of texts of this type and pose much
Olmec deity, the archetypical ancestor of all later Me-
greater interpretative difficulties. The technique most often
soamerican rain-and-fertility gods. However, another inter-
employed has been to invoke similarities between the Con-
pretation would give preeminence to crocodilian rather than
quest period images, whose connotations are reasonably well
feline imagery; the rattlesnake and the toad also have their
understood from ethnohistorical information, and those of
vigorous proponents.
the earlier traditions, assigning to the latter generally similar
meanings. This procedure, employing the elementary logic
Other Olmec composite beings are recognized, but
of working from the known to the unknown, is often
opinions differ concerning the precise zoological identifica-
referred to as the “direct historical approach” or “up-
tion of their constituent elements. A considerable case has
streaming.”
been presented for the importance of a polymorphic, essen-
tially saurian creature with various aspects. Called the Olmec
This technique has been criticized, particularly when
Dragon, it has been postulated as the ancestor of a variegated
long temporal spans are involved. Disjunctions between
family of celestial and terrestrial monsters prominent in later
form and meaning in religious imagery, it has been pointed
Mesoamerican iconography.
out, have been common in iconographic history (above all
in the Western tradition with the sharp ideological breaks
To what extent Olmec religious imagery indicates the
that accompanied the rise of Christianity and Islam). How-
existence of discrete, individualized deities has also elicited
ever, those who sustain the validity of the direct historical ap-
considerable debate. Some scholars argue for a fairly sizable
proach argue that no major disjunctions of the type that oc-
Olmec pantheon, often linking its members with prominent
curred in the West took place in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.
contact-period gods. Others view Olmec symbolism as con-
They cite various examples of imagic continuity from Olmec
noting various generalized supernaturalistic concepts but not
to Aztec and suggest that Mesoamerica can be more fitly
recognizable deities—which, in their opinion, did not
compared to pre-Christian Egypt or to India and China,
emerge in Mesoamerica until much later. However, it
areas well known for their long-term iconographic continui-
seems likely that at least prototypical versions of various later
ties of form and meaning. These disagreements among lead-
deities were already being propitiated in “America’s first civi-
ing scholars indicate that considerable caution is advisable
lization.”
when appraising the accuracy of interpretations of religious
IZAPA. A series of closely interrelated stylistic and icono-
images and symbols of the more ancient Mesoamerican
graphic traditions known as “Izapan,” after the major site of
cultures.
Izapa, Chiapas, Mexico, flourished between about 500 BCE
OLMEC. Most archaeologists agree that the earliest sophisti-
and 250 CE (Late Preclassic-Protoclassic) in the area flanking
cated religious iconographic system in Mesoamerica was that
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, concentrated in the Pacific
of the Olmec, which flourished between about 1200 and 400
slope region of Chiapas, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Izapan
BCE (Middle Preclassic), and was centered in the Gulf Coast
iconography bears a close relationship to Olmec, from which
region of eastern Veracruz and western Tabasco. Olmec
it partly derives, but its formats are generally somewhat more
style, which conveyed religious concepts imaginatively and
complex. The style is most typically expressed by low-relief
effectively, was one of the most striking and original esthetic
carving, commonly on the perpendicular stone monuments
expressions ever achieved in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. Un-
known as stelae, which are sometimes fronted by plain or ef-
fortunately, accurately ascertaining the connotations of the
figy “altars.”
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4312
ICONOGRAPHY: MESOAMERICAN ICONOGRAPHY
Izapan iconography frequently displays a narrative qual-
some notion of the magnitude and importance of this lost
ity in its compositions, depicting a variety of ritual-mythic
Classic Maya “iconographic archive.” The recent progress
scenes, some of considerable complexity. These scenes are
that has been made in the decipherment of Lowland Maya
often framed by highly stylized celestial and terrestrial regis-
hieroglyphic writing has resulted in a considerably improved
ters, interpreted as monster masks. As in Olmec, polymor-
understanding of the meaning of the religious imagery so
phic creatures, ostensibly merging feline, saurian, and avian
richly developed in this most spectacular of ancient New
elements, are common. Even more than in the case of
World cultures.
Olmec, identifying recognizable deities is difficult, but
M
prominently featured in Izapan iconography is the profile
ONTE ALBÁN. Another major Mesoamerican cultural tra-
dition, connected in its origins with Olmec and having some
mask of the “long-lipped dragon,” depicted in numerous
Izapan ties, was that of Monte Albán, so named from the
variants including the “scroll-eyed demon.” Another signifi-
huge site near the modern city of Oaxaca. Already well devel-
cant Izapan composite creature was the “bi- and tricephalous
oped in Late Preclassic times (Monte Albán I-II, c. 600
monster,” apparently with both celestial and terrestrial con-
BCE–
100
notations. Also prominent on Izapan monuments are down-
CE), its full flowering occurred during the Classic period
(Monte Albán IIIa–b, c. 100–700
ward-flying, winged, anthropomorphic beings, downward-
CE). Monte Albán iconog-
raphy is one of the richest and most structured in pre-
peering celestial faces, combat scenes (humanoid figures ver-
Hispanic Mesoamerica. There is general agreement that a
sus double-headed serpentine creatures), polymorphic bird
numerous pantheon of individualized deities was portrayed,
monsters, cosmic trees with “dragon-head roots,” and dimin-
especially in the famous funerary urns, theomorphic ceramic
utive human ritual celebrants accompanied by various ritual
vessels placed in tombs. Many deities are identified by their
paraphernalia. This region during the Late Preclassic and
“calendric names,” the day in the 260-day divinatory cycle
Protoclassic periods produced some of the most iconographi-
on which they were believed to have been born. Some can
cally intriguing sculptures of Mesoamerica.
be tentatively connected with deities known to have been
CLASSIC LOWLAND MAYA. The Izapan tradition led directly
propitiated by the Zapotec-speakers who occupied most of
into the most sophisticated of all Mesoamerican iconograph-
the area around Monte Albán at the time of the Conquest,
ic and stylistic traditions, that of the Classic Lowland Maya
including the basic rain-and-fertility god, Cocijo. The walls
(c. 25–900 CE) As in the case of Izapan, which lies in its back-
of a few tombs at Monte Albán display painted images of dei-
ground, Maya art in general is essentially two-dimensional
ties or deity impersonators, some of them identical to those
and painterly but is also more structured and mature in its
depicted on the ceramic urns. The hieroglyphic writing of
expressive power than the earlier tradition. Nearly all of the
Monte Albán is still poorly understood, but it has been of
most common Izapan iconographic themes were retained
some aid in interpreting the iconography of one of the great-
and often further elaborated. These included the bi- and
est of the Mesoamerican Classic civilizations.
tricephalous polymorphic celestial-terrestrial creature now
frequently conceived as the “ceremonial bar” held by the rul-
TEOTIHUACAN. Dominating the Classic period (c. 100–750
ers, the long-lipped dragon in numerous manifestations that
CE) in central Mexico—and spreading its influence through-
eventually evolved into the long-nosed god of rain (Chac),
out Mesoamerica—was the dynamic civilization of Teoti-
celestial and terrestrial enclosing frames, cosmic trees, and
huacan, centered in the urban metropolis known by that
avian composite creatures (serpent birds). Some deities that
name at the time of the Conquest and located about twenty-
were clearly prototypical to those represented in the iconog-
five miles northeast of Mexico City. Teotihuacan iconogra-
raphy of Postclassic Yucatán can be discerned in Maya reli-
phy, evidenced by a plethora of ceramic and stone pieces and
gious art of the Classic period. Classic Maya stelae—
numerous mural paintings, was one of the most intricate and
accurately dated, erected at fixed intervals, and containing
variegated of ancient Mesoamerica. Symmetry and repeti-
long hieroglyphic texts—display profile and frontal portraits
tiveness were hallmarks of Teotihuacan formats, which, par-
of the great Maya dynasts. Their elaborate costumes are re-
ticularly in the murals, include processions of ritual cele-
plete with religious symbols that invested them with the aura
brants, frontal anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images
of divinity.
flanked by profile figures, and complex scenes involving nu-
merous personages engaged in a variety of activities. The
A particularly complex Lowland Maya iconography is
dominant theme was clearly the promotion of fertility, fea-
portrayed on Late Classic painted ceramic vessels usually en-
turing what appear to have been at least two major aspects
countered in burials. An extensive pantheon of underworld
of the preeminent rain-and-fertility deity that was prototypi-
supernaturals is featured in these scenes. It has been suggest-
cal to the Aztec Tlaloc. Aquatic and vegetational motifs are
ed that they frequently display connections with the Hero
ubiquitous.
Twins of the Popol Vuh, the cosmogonical epic of the Quiché
Maya of Highland Guatemala. The representations on these
To what extent clear-cut deity representations are pres-
vessels were probably derived at least in part from painted
ent in Teotihuacan iconography, as in the case of the earlier
screenfold paper books. Although no Classic period examples
Mesoamerican traditions already discussed, has generated
have been found, the surviving Postclassic specimens (known
considerable differences of opinion. Various motif clusters
as Codex Dresden, Codex Paris, and Codex Madrid) provide
have been defined, which some have suggested might have
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ICONOGRAPHY: MESOAMERICAN ICONOGRAPHY
4313
connoted distinct cults. Certain images have also been iden-
and gave rise to another distinctive stylistic and iconographic
tified as discrete deities of the Aztec type, and they have often
tradition, mainly expressed in relief sculpture. The greatest
been labeled with Nahuatl names. They include Tlaloc, the
amount of sculpture decorated one remarkable structure, the
rain-and-earth god; a female fertility deity who may be the
Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent. Aside from huge, undu-
prototype of various Aztec goddesses (Chalchiuhtlicue,
lating representations of the feathered serpent, various cross-
Xochiquetzal, Teteoinnan, and others); an old fire god
legged seated personages, reflecting Lowland Maya stylistic
(Aztec Huehueteotl or Xiuhtecuhtli); the flayed god (Xipe
influence, are depicted, many identified with their name
Totec); a butterfly deity, the Fat God (possibly prototypical
signs and in some cases, seemingly, place signs as well. Calen-
to Xochipilli/Macuilxochitl, the Aztec god of sensuality);
dric inscriptions are also present, and some scholars have sug-
and, perhaps, prototypes of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered ser-
gested that the carvings may commemorate a major gather-
pent creator-and-fertility god; Xolotl, god of monsters and
ing of priests to discuss calendric reform and other ritual-
twins; and Tecciztecatl, the male lunar deity. As in earlier
religious matters. Another possibility is that this conclave
and contemporary Mesoamerican traditions, composite zoo-
involved some important dynastic event, perhaps a royal cor-
morphic images are another hallmark of Teotihuacán ico-
onation. Other Xochicalco monuments, such as three elabo-
nography. Some, such as the feathered serpent, may have
rate stelae now in the Museo Nacional de Antropología, fea-
served as the “disguises” or avatars of various deities, as in
ture hieroglyphic inscriptions and different deities, including
the Aztec system.
a version of the rain god, Tlaloc, and a fertility goddess.
C
TOLTEC. At the outset of the Postclassic period a new politi-
LASSIC VERACRUZ. During the Early Classic period (c.
100–600
cal and cultural power arose north of the Basin of Mexico,
CE), after the fade-out of the Olmec tradition in
the Gulf Coast region, a distinct regional stylistic and icono-
at Tollan, modern Tula, in the state of Hidalgo. Flourishing
graphic tradition emerged, climaxing during the Late Classic
between about 900 and 1200, Tollan was a major metropo-
and Epiclassic periods (c. 600–900
lis, capital of an extensive empire. Its stylistic and icono-
CE). It was best expressed
at the major site of El Tajín, in northwest Veracruz, where
graphic tradition was quite eclectic and represented an amal-
a sophisticated style of relief carving, featuring double-
gam of various earlier traditions (Teotihuacan, Xochicalco,
outlined, interlocking scroll motifs, decorates a number of
El Tajín, and others).
structures; these include the famous Pyramid of the Niches,
Toltec iconography is known primarily from relief
two ball courts with friezes portraying complex sacrificial rit-
sculpture, decorated ceramics, figurines, and some remark-
uals connected with the ball game, and even more complicat-
able cliff paintings at Ixtapantongo, southwest of Tula in the
ed ceremonial scenes on a series of column drums in the
Toluca Basin. The relief carvings frequently depict armed,
Building of the Columns.
elaborately attired personages on quadrangular pillars and,
in processional files, on bench friezes. Some of these figures
The most famous exemplars of Classic Veracruz iconog-
are identified with their name (or title) signs and seem to de-
raphy are the handsomely carved stone objects worn by the
pict actual individuals. The militaristic flavor of Toltec imag-
ball players or replicas thereof: yokes (ballgame belts); hachas,
ery was also expressed by alternating representations of pred-
thin stone heads; and palmas, paddle-shaped stones, the lat-
atory animals and birds: jaguars, pumas, coyotes, eagles, and
ter two objects attached to the yokes worn by the players.
vultures. Recognizable deity depictions are rare in the reliefs
Sculptured on these pieces are various anthropomorphic and
but can be more readily identified in the ceramic figures and
zoomorphic beings, especially a monstrous creature probably
especially in the Ixtapantongo cliff paintings. Many appear
symbolizing the earth. A major tradition of ceramic sculpture
to be prototypical forms of Aztec deities: Tlaloc, Quetzal-
also flouished in this region during the Classic period. Some
coatl, Xipe Totec, various fertility goddesses, pulque deities,
examples appear to represent deities that were prototypical
solar and Venus gods, and others. Toltec iconography was
to those of Postclassic times. They include the Old Fire God;
particularly haunted by the feathered-serpent icon symboliz-
versions of Tlaloc and long-lipped beings probably related
ing Quetzalcoatl; the related “man-bird-jaguar-serpent”
to the iconographically similar Izapan and Maya rain-and-
motif was also important.
fertility deities; male and female figures wearing human
M
skins, evidencing rituals similar to those of the Aztec fertility
IXTECA-PUEBLA AND AZTEC. During the Toltec period a
new stylistic and iconographic tradition was apparently
deities Xipe Totec and Tlazolteotl/Teteoinnan; the Fat God;
emerging to the southeast, centered in southern Puebla, Ve-
perhaps a proto-Ehécatl (wind god); and a whole complex
racruz, and western Oaxaca (the Mixteca), which has been
of smiling figures seemingly expressing aspects of a cult of
labeled “Mixteca-Puebla.” During the Postclassic period its
sensuality—possibly involving the ritual ingestion of halluci-
pervasive influence was felt throughout Mesoamerica, as a
nogens—similar to that of Xochipilli/Macuilxochitl of later
kind of final iconographic synthesis of the earlier traditions
times. Complex ceremonial scenes are also represented on
already described. In contrast to its predecessors, it was char-
mold-pressed, relief-decorated ceramic bowls.
acterized by a greater depictive literalness, plus a particular
XOCHICALCO. With its apparent floruit during the Epiclassic
emphasis on symbolic polychromy. An extensive pantheon
period (c. 750–900 CE), the extensive hilltop site of Xochical-
of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic supernaturals was rep-
co flourished in what is now the state of Morelos, Mexico,
resented with relatively standardized identificatory insignia.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4314
ICONOGRAPHY: MESOAMERICAN ICONOGRAPHY
The Aztec sytlistic and iconographic tradition, which
study of Olmec iconography, profusely illustrated by line
flourished in central Mexico during the last century or so be-
drawings. Includes “A Dictionary of Olmec Motifs and
fore the Conquest, can be considered, from one aspect, a re-
Symbols.”
gional variant of Mixteca-Puebla. It differs principally in dis-
Kampen, Michael Edwin. The Sculptures of El Tajín, Veracruz,
playing an even greater naturalism in human and animal
Mexico. Gainesville, Fla., 1972. An important monograph
imagery. It also was expressed much more frequently in mon-
describing and analyzing the sculptural art of the greatest of
umental three-dimensional stone sculpture, particularly
the Classic Veracruz sites. Includes a catalog of all known
deity images. Because of the wealth of available ethnohistori-
Tajín carvings, illustrated with excellent line drawings.
cal documentation, the Aztec iconographic tradition can be
Kubler, George. The Iconography of the Art of Teotihaucan. Dum-
interpreted with considerably more success than any other
barton Oaks Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology,
Mesoamerican system. Virtually all of its principal symbols
no. 4. Washington, D.C., 1967. Significant pioneer discus-
have been correctly identified as well as the great majority
sion and analysis of Teotihuacan iconography, utilizing a lin-
of the numerous deity depictions, which include almost
guistic model requiring that “each form be examined for its
grammatical function, whether noun, adjective, or verb.” In-
every member of the crowded pantheon mentioned in the
cludes a table of approximately one hundred Teotihuacan
primary sources. Those who advocate maximum utilization
motifs and themes.
of the direct historical approach in the analysis of pre-
Kubler, George. Studies in Classic Maya Iconography. Memoirs of
Hispanic Mesoamerican iconography stress the importance
the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. 18. New
of this extensive corpus of information concerning the Aztec
Haven, 1969. Preliminary but broad-ranging consideration
system as a key point of departure for interpreting the much
of Classic Lowland Maya iconography, with special attention
less well-documented pre-Aztec traditions.
to dynastic ceremonies, ritual images, and the “triadic sign.”
S
Nicholson, H. B. “The Mixteca-Puebla Concept in Mesoameri-
EE ALSO Aztec Religion; Maya Religion; Mesoamerican
Religions, article on Mythic Themes; Olmec Religion; Tem-
can Archaeology: A Re-Examination.” In Men and Cultures,
ple, article on Mesoamerican Temples; Toltec Religion.
edited by Anthony F. C. Wallace, pp. 612–617. Philadel-
phia, 1960. Discusses and defines the Postclassic Mesoameri-
can Mixteca-Puebla stylistic and iconographic tradition con-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ceptualized as a “horizon style,” with some consideration of
Acosta, Jorge R. “Interpretación de algunos de los datos obtenidos
its origins and the mechanism of its diffusion.
en Tula relativos a la epoca Tolteca.” Revista mexicana de es-
tudios antropológicos 14, pt. 2 (1956–1957): 75–110. A use-
Nicholson, H. B. “The Iconography of Classic Central Veracruz
ful, well-illustrated summary of the archaeological aspect of
Ceramic Sculptures.” In Ancient Art of Veracruz: An Exhibit
Toltec culture by the principal excavator of Tula. Includes
Sponsored by the Ethnic Arts Council of Los Angeles,
some discussion of the iconography.
pp. 13–17. Los Angeles, 1971. A concise discussion of the
iconography of Classic Veracruz ceramic figures, with sug-
Caso, Alfonso. “Calendario y escritura en Xochicalco.” Revista
gestions that some of them probably represent specific
mexicana de estudios antropológicos 18 (1962): 49–79. An im-
deities.
portant study of Xochicalco iconography, focusing on the hi-
eroglyphic writing system and calendric inscriptions.
Nicholson, H. B. “The Late Pre-Hispanic Central Mexican
(Aztec) Iconographic System.” In The Iconography of Middle
Caso, Alfonso. “Sculpture and Mural Painting of Oaxaca.” In
American Sculpture, pp. 72–97. New York, 1973. Summary
Handbook of Middle American Indians, edited by Robert
discussion of the iconographic system of Late Postclassic cen-
Wauchope and Gordon R. Willey, vol. 3, pp. 849–870. Aus-
tral Mexico, with specification of its leading diagnostics.
tin, Tex., 1965. Well-illustrated discussion of Monte Albán
iconography through sculpture and wall paintings.
Parsons, Lee A. “Post-Olmec Stone Sculpture: The Olmec-Izapan
Transition of the Southern Pacific Coast and Highlands.” In
Caso, Alfonso. “Dioses y signos teotihuacanos.” In Teotihuacan:
The Olmec and Their Neighbors, edited by Elizabeth P. Ben-
Onceava Mesa Redonda, Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología,
son, pp. 257–288. Washington, D.C., 1981. Perceptive,
pp. 249–279. Mexico City, 1966. A broad survey of Teoti-
well-illustrated discussion of the Izapan and related stylistic
huacan iconography, extensively illustrated.
and iconographic traditions as manifested in the Pacific
Caso, Alfonso, and Ignacio Bernal. Urnas de Oaxaca. Memorias
Slope region of Chiapas-Guatemala and adjacent highlands.
del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, no. 2.
Quirarte, Jacinto. Izapan-Style Art: A Study of Its Form and Mean-
Mexico City, 1952. The classic study of the effigy funerary
ing. Dumbarton Oaks Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Ar-
urns of the Monte Albán tradition, illustrated with hundreds
chaeology, no. 10. Washington, D.C., 1973. A significant
of photographs and drawings.
pioneering attempt to define the leading formal and icono-
Coe, Michael D. The Maya Scribe and His World. New York,
graphic features of the Izapan stylistic and iconographic tra-
1973. A beautifully illustrated catalog featuring principally
dition; well illustrated with numerous line drawings.
Late Classic Lowland Maya painted ceramic vessels, with
Robicsek, Francis, and Donald M. Hales. The Maya Book of the
perceptive analyses of their complex iconographic formats
Dead: The Ceramic Codex; The Corpus of Codex Style Ceramics
and accompanying hieroglyphic texts.
of the Late Classic Period. Charlottesville, Va., 1981. Exten-
Joralemon, Peter David. A Study of Olmec Iconography. Dumbar-
sive album of photographs (including full-surface rollouts
ton Oaks Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology,
and color) of Late Classic Lowland Maya ceramic vessels
no. 7. Washington, D.C., 1971. The most comprehensive
with scenes and hieroglyphic texts related to the surviving rit-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONOGRAPHY: MESOPOTAMIAN ICONOGRAPHY
4315
ual-divinatory paper screenfolds. Includes iconographic anal-
EARLY IMAGERY. Nude female figurines are among the earli-
ysis and preliminary decipherment of the texts.
est artifacts to which a religious significance can be attached.
H. B. N
Among the prehistoric figurines of Mesopotamia are the tall,
ICHOLSON (1987)
thin, clay “lizard” figures with elongated heads, coffee-bean
eyes, slit mouths, and clay pellets decorating the shoulders.
“Lizard” figurines have been found at southern sites in both
ICONOGRAPHY: MESOPOTAMIAN
male and female versions though the latter is dominant. Far-
ICONOGRAPHY
ther north, at Tell al-Sawwan, female figurines and male sex-
Any discussion of the religious iconography of ancient Meso-
ual organs were carved from alabaster. These figurines also
potamia is hampered by the fact that we have, on the one
have elongated heads and prominent eyes but are more
hand, religious texts for which we possess no visual counter-
rounded in shape. In the north, clay figurines often have ab-
parts and, on the other, representations—sometimes ex-
breviated heads, and the emphasis is on a well-rounded, full-
tremely elaborate ones—for which we lack all written docu-
breasted body. An opposite trend is attested, however, at Tell
mentation. Mesopotamia lacked raw materials such as stone,
Brak, where “spectacle” or “eye idols” were found in a late
metal, and wood, and these had to be imported. As a result
fourth-millennium temple. Here the eyes are emphasized to
stone was often recut and metal was melted down; nor has
the exclusion of everything else, and there has even been de-
wood survived. In time of war, temple treasures were carried
bate as to whether they might not, in fact, represent huts.
off as booty, and divine statues were mutilated or taken into
Although there is always a risk in attributing a religious sig-
captivity, so that virtually none remains. Indeed we should
nificance to a figurine when there is no written evidence to
know very little of Mesopotamian sculpture of the third and
corroborate this, it does seem likely that these figures had fer-
second millennia BCE were it not for the objects looted by
tility connotations.
the Elamites in the late second millennium BCE and found
by the French in their excavations at Susa in southwestern
Animal combats. One motif that seems to have had a
Iran from 1897 onward. In time of peace the temples them-
special significance throughout Mesopotamian prehistory
selves frequently melted down metal votive objects in order
and history shows a heroic male figure in conflict with wild
to produce others. Occasionally a hoard of consecrated ob-
animals. A pot of the Halaf period (c. 4500 BCE) shows an
jects was buried near the temple, however, presumably to
archer aiming at a bull and a feline. A figure traditionally
make room for others. The Tell Asmar and Al-EUbaid hoards
known as the priest-king appears on a relief and a seal of the
dating to the second quarter of the third millennium
Uruk period (late fourth millennium) shooting or spearing
BCE are
two examples of this practice. In only a few cases has frag-
lions and bulls, and the same theme reappears in the Assyrian
mentary evidence survived to indicate how temples were dec-
reliefs of the ninth and seventh centuries BCE and forms the
orated (the leopard paintings at Tell EUqair, for instance),
subject of the Assyrian royal seal. After the hunt the king is
but their elevations are often depicted on monuments and
shown pouring a libation over the corpses, thus fulfilling his
seals, and facades decorated with date-palm pilasters or water
age-old function as representative of the god and protector
deities have been found. The decoration of secular buildings,
of the country against wild cattle and lions. This function
among them the painted murals from the palace at Mari and
must have been particularly important when animal hus-
the limestone reliefs that ornamented the palaces of the
bandry and agriculture were in their infancy but would have
Assyrian kings, provide some evidence for religious iconogra-
lost some of that immediacy in Assyrian times, when animals
phy.
had become scarce and were specially trapped and released
from cages for the hunt.
Our best sources for religious iconography are therefore
the small objects that are more likely to have survived.
At certain periods the theme of animal combat became
Plaques and figurines made of local clay often illustrate a
dominant in the iconographic repertoire. For several centu-
more popular type of religion. At certain periods painted
ries during the third millennium, and at various times later
pottery is the vehicle for representations that have religious
on, heroes are shown protecting sheep, goats, and cattle from
significance. Decorated votive metal vessels, stone maces,
the attack of lions and other predators. Generally the heroes
and small bronze figures also occasionally survive. Without
are either naked except for a belt, with their shoulder-length
seals, however, our knowledge would be extremely scant.
hair falling in six curls, or they are kilted and wear a decorat-
Prehistoric stamp seals were replaced during the second half
ed headdress. They are often assisted by a mythic creature
of the fourth millennium by small stone cylinders that were
who has the legs and horns of a bull and a human head and
used as marks of administrative or personal identification
torso. Attempts have been made to equate the figures with
until the end of the first millennium BCE. These cylinder
the legendary king Gilgamesh and his wild companion En-
seals were carved with designs in intaglio and could be rolled
kidu, but the evidence is lacking. We probably have here an
across clay jar-sealings, door-sealings, bullae, tablets, or their
extension of the theme already discussed, with the emphasis
clay envelopes so as to leave a design in relief. Such miniature
on the protection of domesticated animals from their aggres-
reliefs are the vehicle for the most complex and tantalizing
sors. Prehistoric stamp seals showing figures who often wear
iconographic representations.
animal masks and who are involved with snakes, ibex, and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4316
ICONOGRAPHY: MESOPOTAMIAN ICONOGRAPHY
other animals probably reflect a more primitive animistic re-
riage feasts in others. They are to be distinguished from later
ligious tradition.
neo-Hittite funerary meals, but the preparation of food for
the gods is a favorite iconographic motif in the second half
Early urban imagery. The advent of an organized
of the second and early first millennia
urban society in the second half of the fourth millennium
BCE.
led to the development of more varied vehicles for the trans-
Deities and their attributes. The representation of dei-
mission of iconographic concepts. Some examples of monu-
ties developed slowly, though by the middle of the third mil-
mental sculpture have survived, among them an almost life-
lennium they were wearing horned headdresses as a means
size female head which was probably part of a cult statue.
of identification. In Akkadian times (2340–2180 BCE) dis-
The wig and the inlay that once filled the eye sockets and
tinct iconographies were established for the more prominent
eyebrows have vanished and make this sculpture particularly
deities, and their position facing left became fixed, though
attractive to modern Western aesthetic taste. Uruk, where
the detailed representations of myths on seals of this period
the head was found, was the center of worship of the fertility
are generally incomprehensible to us. The role of some dei-
goddess Inanna, and a tall vase is decorated with a scene
ties can be identified by the attributes they hold, others by
where the robed goddess in anthropomorphic form, accom-
the sprigs of vegetation, streams of water, rays, or weapons
panied by her symbol, the reed bundle, receives offerings
which issue from their shoulders. Often these serve only to
from a naked priest and a (damaged) figure who wears a
establish that the deity is, for instance, a vegetation or a war-
crosshatched skirt; this latter is probably the priest-king men-
rior god without being more specific.
tioned above. In his role as en (“lord”) he is depicted feeding
flocks and cattle, engaging in ritual hunts, or taking part in
In fact, it is only a very few representations which can
religious ceremonies; in his role as lugal (“owner”) he tri-
actually be identified with any degree of certainty. Plows are
umphs over prisoners. He too has survived in sculpture in
frequently depicted, especially on Akkadian seals, but this is
the round, on reliefs, and on cylinder seals.
not always a shorthand for Ninurta (who is, however, depict-
Other significant motifs are known only from their im-
ed in a chariot on the famous Stela of the Vultures). Warrior
pression on clay sealings. It seems that certain types of seals
gods on Old Babylonian seals are probably also to be equated
were used by particular branches of temple administration:
with him in many cases, and he appears on Assyrian reliefs.
boating scenes used by those connected with fishing and wa-
The temple of Ninhursaga at Al-EUbaid was decorated with
terways, animal file seals for those dealing with herds. Cer-
friezes showing dairy scenes. There are clear representations
tain designs, for instance those showing variations on a pat-
of the water god Enki/Ea in his watery house or with water
tern of entwined snakes and birds, are more difficult to fit
flowing from his shoulders on Akkadian seals. His Janus-
into this scheme of things. Other seals are squat, often con-
faced attendant, Usmu, is also shown, as is the Zu bird who
cave-sided, and cut with excessive use of the drill to form pat-
stole the tablets of destiny. Later the water god fades from
terns. These might have been used by an administration deal-
the iconography and comes to be represented by a turtle. A
ing in manufactured goods since potters and weavers are
neo-Assyrian seal showing a divine figure running along the
depicted. Some show a spider pattern, and it is tempting to
back of a dragon is often taken to represent the Babylonian
associate these with the temple weavers, whose patron deity
god Marduk with the primeval monster Tiamat, but there
was the spider-goddess Uttu. Some more abstract patterns
is no proof that this is so.
are difficult to interpret.
The moon god Nanna/Sin was a major deity, but there
If we have dealt at some length with this early period
are surprisingly few representations of him. A stele from Ur
it is because many of the iconographic concepts found later
and one of the wall paintings from the palace of Mari are per-
have their roots in the late fourth-millennium repertoire, in-
haps the most convincing representations of this god, but
cluding depictions of both the physiomorphic and the an-
where gods in boats can be identified with any certainty, they
thropomorphic form of deities, cult scenes with naked
seem to be the sun god. The moon’s crescent below the sun
priests, the attitude of worship with hands clasped and large,
disk is also extremely common. The iconography of the sun
inlaid eyes to attract the deity’s attention, as well as the royal
god Utu/Shamash is, however, well attested. He is frequently
hunt, the sacred marriage, and banquet scenes. Even such
shown with rays rising from his shoulders, placing his foot
quasi-abstract concepts as the rain cloud received its icono-
on a mountain and holding the saw-toothed knife with
graphic shape during this period, as testified by seal impres-
which he has just cut his way through the mountains of the
sions showing the lion-headed eagle. Later he is shown on
east. Often he is accompanied by his animal attribute, the
seals, vessels, reliefs, and particularly on a huge copper relief
human-headed bull (probably a bison), or by attendants who
that adorned the temple at Al-EUbaid.
hold open the gates of dawn. Scorpions likewise can be asso-
LATER DEVELOPMENTS. Banquet scenes were especially pop-
ciated with the sun god, but they are also symbols of fertility
ular in Early Dynastic times (mid-third millennium) and are
and attributes of the goddess of oaths, Ishara. A famous
often associated with scenes of war: seals, plaques, and mosa-
plaque shows the sun god seated in his temple in Sippar; he
ic panels depict these ritual banquets, which are probably to
also appears as the god of justice, holding a symbolic rod and
be interpreted as victory feasts in some contexts and as mar-
ring, on the law code of Hammurabi of Babylon.
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ICONOGRAPHY: EGYPTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
4317
From Old Babylonian times onward the storm god
evangelists as we know them, combining human intelligence
Adad occurs frequently, often standing on a bull and holding
with the wings of the eagle and the strength of the bull or
a lightning fork. His consort Shala may appear briefly, on
lion, the most powerful creatures in heaven and on earth.
seals and in the form of mass-produced clay figurines of the
Old Babylonian period, as a nude goddess, shown frontally.
SEE ALSO Mesopotamian Religions, overview articles.
Ishtar (Inanna), the Uruk fertility goddess, appears on Akka-
dian seals holding a date cluster, calling down rain, and often
BIBLIOGRAPHY
winged with weapons rising from her shoulders as goddess
There is no recent study of Mesopotamian religious iconography.
of war. It is this last aspect that becomes predominant, and
An early attempt at bringing order out of chaos is Elizabeth
the Old Babylonian representations are so standardized that
Douglas Van Buren’s Symbols of the Gods in Mesopotamian
it is tempting to see in them the depiction of a well-known
Art (Rome, 1945). This is still a useful book but has been
cult statue. It may be her aspect as “mistress owl” which is
superseded to a large extent by Ursula Seidl’s detailed study
of the Babylonian boundary stones, Die babylonischen
shown on the famous Burney relief (on loan to the British
Kudurru-Reliefs (Berlin, 1968). The symbols which appear
Museum). Her earlier symbol, the reed bundle, is later re-
on these stones are analyzed, the various possible interpreta-
placed by a star. One early seal may show her consort Du-
tions and identifications are discussed, and examples from all
muzi (Tammuz) as a prisoner in the dock, but otherwise he
periods are listed.
is difficult to identify. Ningirsu is often identified as a lion-
Most studies on religious iconography have appeared in catalogs
headed eagle or thunderbird. There are several representa-
of cylinder seals, beginning with Henri Frankfort’s pioneer-
tions of what is probably Nergal as a warrior god. The god
ing attempt to relate the seal designs to the texts in his Cylin-
in the winged disk on Assyrian reliefs has generally been
der Seals (London, 1939). Edith Porada’s Corpus of Ancient
identified as Ashur but is more likely the sun god Shamash.
Near Eastern Seals in North American Collections, vol. 1, The
Amurru, the god of the Amorites, appears on Old Babylo-
Pierpont Morgan Library Collection (Washington, D.C.,
nian seals accompanied by a gazelle and holding a crook.
1948), is also a mine of information. The same author has
more recently edited Ancient Art in Seals (Princeton, 1980),
Unidentifiable figures. From the wealth of symbols
which includes an essay by Pierre Amiet relating the iconog-
which represent deities, many can only be tentatively identi-
raphy of Akkadian seals to a seasonal cycle. In her introduc-
fied. The Babylonian boundary stones show these symbols
tion Porada summarizes the advances in glyptic studies
on podia and list names of deities, but there is often no corre-
which have taken place since Frankfort wrote. Many of the
lation between image and text. This is also the case on Old
objects referred to here are illustrated in André Parrot’s
Babylonian seals of the earlier part of the second millennium
Sumer (London, 1960) and Nineveh and Babylon (New York,
1961) or in J. B. Pritchard’s The Ancient Near East in Pictures
BCE where we have frequent representations of unidentifiable
relating to the Old Testament (Princeton, 1969).
figures and a large number of inscribed seals mentioning di-
vine protectors: the names do not generally have any bearing
DOMINIQUE COLLON (1987)
on the representation. It seems that the owners of the seals
were “hedging their bets” and invoking some deities in picto-
rial form, others in written form, and still others by their
symbols.
ICONOGRAPHY: EGYPTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
The principal iconographic sources for ancient Egyptian reli-
It has also been suggested that the deities invoked most
gion are the representations of scenes, both ritual and mytho-
frequently were those most likely to be depicted; again this
logical, carved in relief or painted on the walls of Egyptian
cannot be so since Ishtar, for instance, is frequently depicted
temples and tombs, as well as the numerous images and stat-
and is almost never mentioned in the inscriptions. It is likely
ues of gods and pharaohs. Additionally, there are many ob-
that certain deities had a well-established iconography (like
jects of ritual or practical function decorated with carved or
the popular saints of medieval Christianity), probably based
painted religious motifs, and finally, numerous hieroglyphic
on a commonly known cult statue or wall painting, while
signs belonging to the Egyptian writing system are represen-
others were invoked by name because their iconography was
tations of gods, religious symbols, and ritual objects. These
not as immediately recognizable. The picture becomes even
types of sources remain constant throughout the more than
more complex in neo-Assyrian times when demons played
three thousand years of ancient Egyptian history from the
an ever-increasing part in religion: we have descriptions of
Old Kingdom to the Roman period (c. 3000 BCE–395 CE).
the demons, but these are difficult to reconcile with the rep-
resentations.
Egyptian gods were depicted both as human beings and
as animals; a composite form combining a zoomorphic head
The rich and tantalizing iconography of Mesopotamia
with a human body enjoyed special popularity in relief and
is also responsible for key images in the Judeo-Christian tra-
statuary alike. Anthropomorphic representations of Egyptian
dition. To cite only one example, the huge, winged, human-
gods relate to their mythological functions and reveal narra-
headed lions and bulls which decorated and protected the
tive aspects of their relationships, whereas other forms may
Assyrian palace entrances are the basis for Ezekiel’s vision
be defined as their “metamorphoses” or symbols, emphasiz-
(Ez. 1:4–13) and by extension for the symbols of the four
ing one particular feature or event. In this symbolic realm
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4318
ICONOGRAPHY: EGYPTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
one divinity could be represented by various animals or ob-
front of the temple to symbolize the monarch’s identity as
jects—for example, the cow, the lioness, the snake, and the
solar god. Rows of sphinxes lined both sides of processional
sistrum (a musical instrument) are all manifestations of the
ways leading to the principal temple entrances.
goddess Hathor. Conversely, one animal could embody vari-
FUNERARY ART. Another important part of our knowledge
ous gods; thus, the protective cobra that appears on the fore-
about ancient Egyptian iconography comes from the decora-
head of each pharaoh could be identified with almost all god-
tion of Egyptian tombs and coffins that comprises the great
desses. The divine identity of an animal may differ in various
Egyptian religious “books”—literary compositions that com-
local pantheons. Particularly numerous were iconographic
bine spells of magical, mythological, and ritual character
variations of the sun god, which illustrate various phases of
with pictures illustrating Egyptian visions of the nether-
the sun’s perpetuum mobile. Some male gods associated with
world. The most ancient of these “books” are the Pyramid
generative powers (Min, Amun-Re, Kamutef) are depicted
Texts carved on the walls of some of the rooms inside the
ithyphallically. A particular shape, that of a mummified
royal pyramids (Old Kingdom, c. 3000–2200 BCE). The il-
human body, was attributed to Osiris, the god of the dead.
lustrations accompanying this sort of text appear for the first
This form also occurs in some representations of other gods,
time in the Book of Two Ways, which is part of the Coffin
especially when they appear in the realm of the dead. Diads
Texts (Middle Kingdom, 2134–1600 BCE) painted on the
and triads of gods, frequent in Egyptian statuary, as well as
sides of wooden coffins.
larger groups of divine beings represented in reliefs and
paintings, are visual expressions of various relationships
Subsequent literary compositions of religious character
among numerous divinities. Syncretistic tendencies in Egyp-
are generally accompanied by elaborate tableaux, often in the
tian religion, popular after the Amarna period, take concrete
form of vignettes drawn above a column of text written on
form in the composite features that combine the iconograph-
papyrus. From the New Kingdom (1569–1085 BCE) on, the
ic features of different gods.
most popular of these “books” was the Book of Going Forth
by Day (the so-called Book of the Dead), a copy of which was
Scenes carved on the walls of tombs and temples as well
a necessary element of the funerary offerings of every noble.
as on furniture and ritual objects most frequently show the
The visual aspects of royal eschatology are best known from
gods in the company of a king making offerings or perform-
a composition called Amduat (That Which Is in the Nether-
ing other ritual acts (such as censing, purifying with water,
world), which was painted or carved on the walls of royal
or embracing the god). All representations of the king facing
tombs. Illustrations show the nightly wandering of the sun
a divinity illustrate the ongoing relationship of reciprocity
god through the netherworld. Beginning with the New
between them. In return for the precious object that he pres-
Kingdom and continuing into the Roman period, fragments
ents to the god, the pharaoh receives symbols of life,
of these “books” also decorate many tombs, coffins, and ritu-
strength, stability, many years of kingship, and the like.
al objects belonging to the nobles.
STATUARY. Numerous Egyptian statues made of all possible
TEMPLES. As the abode of the gods, Egyptian temples were
materials, such as stone, wood, gold, bronze, and faience,
accessible only to the kings and priests. The king, considered
represent one, two, or three gods often accompanied by a
the mediator between the gods and the people, is usually
king. Both gods and king wear crowns and hold characteris-
shown in front of the gods in the ritual scenes that decorate
tic insignia, among which the most frequent are the sign of
the temple walls, although in reality it must have been the
life (ankh) and various types of scepters. Many elements of
priests who performed the rituals in the king’s name.
the king’s dress are identical with those of the gods, thus vi-
sualizing the divine aspects of the monarch’s nature. The
The sanctuary, usually situated at the far end of the tem-
shape of their artificial beards is distinctive, however: the
ple along its axis, contained the sacred image of the god to
beard of the god is bent forward at the end, while that of
whom the temple was dedicated. The statue of Amun-Re,
the king is cut straight in its lower part.
the chief divinity of Thebes and the state divinity since the
time of the New Kingdom, stood inside a shrine on a porta-
The size of the statues varies according to their function.
ble bark placed upon a sled. In Theban temples this effigy
Small bronze statuettes of votive character were common, es-
is often represented in connection with the Opet Feast or the
pecially in the first millennium BCE. Many represent animals
Beautiful Feast of the Valley, during which it was transported
sacred to Egyptian gods; sometimes these figures are set on
along or across the Nile on a huge ceremonial boat adorned
boxes containing mummies of the animals represented. The
with reliefs and statues.
mummified bodies of larger animals, such as bulls, ibis, croc-
Narrative cycles. Many temple scenes form standard-
odiles, and cats, have been found buried within special ne-
ized sequences of pictures showing summarily, sometimes al-
cropolises near places connected with the cults of various
most symbolically, successive episodes of mythicized rituals
gods.
that often refer to important historical events, such as the mi-
Large stone statues served as cult objects in Egyptian
raculous birth of the king, his coronation, his victories over
temples. Pairs of colossal effigies of the seated king usually
enemies, his jubilee, and the founding of the temple. These
stood in front of the temple pylons. The sphinx, with its
representations appear in the inner parts of the temple, to-
body of a lion and head of the king, was often placed in the
gether with tableaux depicting the daily ritual performed be-
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ICONOGRAPHY: EGYPTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
4319
fore the statue of the temple’s principal deity and scenes
found in the first room of the tomb, refers to various episodes
showing various offerings being made. Often the icono-
in the earthly life of the deceased, including such religious
graphic repertory of the decoration of the pillared hall—the
ceremonies or feasts as the Beautiful Feast of the Valley, the
central part of many temples—constitutes something of a
royal jubilee, the New Year festival, or the harvest feast. In-
“showcase,” reviewing in abbreviated form all the important
cluded in all these scenes are processions, offerings (including
elements of the temple’s relief decoration.
burnt offerings), incense burning, and performances with
playing, singing, and dancing. Of special importance among
The interior of the walls enclosing the courts are often
Egyptian musicians was the harpist, who came to be repre-
decorated with episodes of the most important feasts, while
sented by the squatting figure of a blind man shown in
the grandiose tableaux found on the exterior of the walls and
profile.
on the gates (frequently in the form of pylons) commonly
illustrate the king’s military achievements. Standard scenes
The other group of scenes, found in the inner room, il-
on the pylon faces show the king smiting foreign captives,
lustrates various episodes of the funeral rites, such as the em-
presenting them to a god, and images of the king offering
balming ritual, the symbolic “pilgrimage to Abydos” by boat,
a figure of the goddess Maat—the personification of truth,
and various processions with the mummy being dragged on
justice, and order—to the main divinity of the temple. An-
sledges. The ritual of “opening the mouth” was one of the
other iconographic pattern frequently occurring on the py-
most important ceremonies of the long funeral cycle. Per-
lons and on the socle of royal thrones is the symbolic repre-
formed on the statue of the deceased or on his mummy, it
sentation of subjugated peoples, the so-called ring-names,
was composed of episodes including censing, pouring liba-
showing legless human figures, with hands bound, behind
tions, purifying, and “opening the mouth” with special in-
an oval ring containing the name of the foreign province.
struments, all of which were intended to revive the spirit of
The facial features of these figures were meant to characterize
the deceased.
the physiognomy of each particular people.
Cult of the dead. Of particular importance in every
Symbolic motifs. In addition to these scenes referring
tomb were the places intended for the cult of the deceased.
to particular events, the temple walls are also decorated with
These featured niches with statues of the dead person (and
numerous motifs of a more symbolic nature, which give visu-
sometimes of members of his family), stelae often depicting
al form to religious, political, or geographical ideas. The so-
the deceased adoring and making offerings to various gods
called geographical processions, for instance, symbolize the
or royal personages, and lastly, false-door stelae constituting
provinces of Egypt in the form of hefty divinities personify-
a symbolic passage between the realm of the dead and the
ing the Nile, each bearing offerings in their hands.
world of the living.
Various iconographic patterns invented by the Egyp-
Enabling the deceased to enjoy the sight of the shining
tians give shape to the idea of the unification of Lower and
sun is another idea that predominates in the eschatological
Upper Egypt. The central motif of a great number of them
visions depicted and described on the walls of royal tombs.
is the heraldic symbol called sma-tawy, which is composed
Such great religious compositions as the Amduat, the Book
of two plants, papyrus (for Lower Egypt) and a kind of bul-
of Gates, and the Book of Caverns depict, among other things,
rush (for Upper Egypt), bound together around the spinal
the nightly journey of the sun god, who is often identified
cord and the lungs of an animal. Two divine personifications
with the king. The monarch is thus endowed with the ability
of the Nile—the motive power of this unification—are often
to reappear in the morning as a form of the solar divinity.
shown holding and binding together the two plants
Most important in each tomb, however, was the burial
chamber, commonly situated underneath the accessible
Geographical and religious at the same time, the con-
rooms at the bottom of a deep vertical shaft. Here were con-
cepts of the country’s division into two parts—either north
tained the sarcophagus with the mummy of the deceased and
and south or east and west—belong to the most important
all the funerary offerings, including the four Canopic jars for
principles prevailing in Egyptian iconography. They find ex-
the viscera of the deceased, the mummiform figures known
pression in symmetrical or antithetical compositions of
as shawabtis (ushabtis), a copy of the Book of Going Forth by
scenes placed in the axial rooms of temples and tombs, as in
Day written on papyrus, and various ritual objects. The sar-
the disposition of the various gods representing north and
cophagi and coffins, made of wood or stone, took the form
south or east and west, especially on the decoration of lintels,
of cubical or body-shaped cases decorated with painted or
doorposts, and rear walls.
carved religious motifs. The four Canopic jars were associat-
The netherworld. The Egyptian realm of the dead lay
ed with the four sons of the royal deity Horus, with the four
in the west. The best illustration of ancient Egyptian visual
cardinal directions, and with the four protective goddesses;
concepts of the netherworld appears in the decoration of
they each had distinctive stoppers, often representing the
New Kingdom royal and noble tombs situated in west
heads of the four sons of Horus or simply anthropomorphic
Thebes; these iconographic patterns remained a favorite and
heads. Numerous shawabtis holding various objects, such as
repeated subject right up to the Roman period. Of the two
hoes, baskets, or religious symbols, and most frequently
principal groups of scenes depicted there, the first, usually
made of faience or stone, accompanied the deceased in his
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4320
ICONOGRAPHY: GRECO-ROMAN ICONOGRAPHY
tomb in order to help him in the netherworld. In some
among the Indo-European peoples. Most notable of these is
tombs the number of these figures were considerable: more
an organized pantheon of deities related by birth or marriage
than one thousand were recovered in the tomb of King Ta-
and presided over by a god of the sky who is both ruler and
harqa (r. 689–664 BCE). Particularly rich were the grave
father (e.g., Zeus Pater and Jupiter). Nevertheless, although
goods of the royal tombs; the most complete version of such
it is clear that such gods accompanied the movement of the
a funeral outfit has been found in the tomb of Tutankhamen
Indo-Europeans into Greece and Italy, it is impossible to
(r. 1361–1352 BCE) located in the Valley of the Kings, the
state with certainty what iconographic representation, if any,
New Kingdom necropolis in west Thebes.
was used to worship them during this earliest period. The
The evolution of iconographic patterns in the three-
attempt to discern early iconographic patterns is further
thousand-year course of ancient Egyptian history parallels
hampered by the fact that both peoples were invaders whose
general changes in religious concepts, which are themselves
later religious outlook was influenced by older, settled cul-
a function of political and social changes. A “democratiza-
tures. When the Greeks arrived at the beginning of the sec-
tion” of religious beliefs during the Middle Kingdom and the
ond millennium BCE, they found not only an indigenous
Second Intermediate period resulted, on the one hand, in the
population on the mainland (whom they called the Pelas-
depiction of direct relations between gods and human beings
gians) but also the flourishing civilization of nearby Crete,
and, on the other hand, in identifying the dead with the god
whose art and architecture show evidence of Egyptian and
Osiris. Religious conflicts during the eighteenth dynasty,
Near Eastern influences. Thus, not only all the gods who
probably reflecting political struggles and culminating in the
constituted the classical Greek pantheon but also their ico-
“heresy” of Amenhotep IV-Akhenaton, led first to a dispro-
nography must be considered the products of a long process
portionate emphasis on solar cults and then to a develop-
of syncretism and synthesis of Indo-European, pre-Hellenic,
ment of religious concepts concerning the realm of the dead,
Cretan, and Near Eastern concepts of divinity. Similarly, the
with a dual focus on Osiris and the solar god. The union of
Indo-European settlers in Italy mixed with a variety of peo-
these two once-competing deities occurs frequently after the
ples already well established on the peninsula. Therefore, any
Amarna period and contributes to a development of theolog-
attempt to understand the development of the form and con-
ical concepts as well as their iconographic renderings. This
tent of Greco-Roman iconography must necessarily entail a
syncretism increases during the Third Intermediate period
consideration of the often disparate parts of the traditions.
and generates an unparalleled variety of forms during the
MINOAN-MYCENAEAN ICONOGRAPHY (2000–1200 BCE).
Ptolemaic period.
The study of Cretan (Minoan) religion may be compared to
S
a picture book without a text. The two symbols of Minoan
EE ALSO Pyramids, article on Egyptian Pyramids; Temple,
article on Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean
civilization, the double ax and the horns of consecration,
Temples.
clearly had religious significance, perhaps as tools of worship,
but their function is not understood. From the archaeologi-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cal evidence, however, which includes frescoes, seals, and fig-
The most complete and up-to-date compendium of information
urines, one may conclude that the representation of the di-
concerning the iconography of ancient Egyptian religion is
vine was both anthropomorphic and theriomorphic. Found
Egypt, volume 16 in the series “Iconography of Religions,”
are depictions of female deities encoiled by snakes or with
edited by the Institute of Religious Iconography, Groningen.
birds perched upon their heads; these figures may explain the
Each of the thirteen fascicles of this volume, arranged in
prominence of snakes in later Greek religion as well as the
chronological sequence, contains rich photographic materials
association of Greek deities with specific birds. In addition,
and a detailed bibliography. Encyclopedic information on
particular subjects can be found in Hans Bonnet’s Reallex-
animal-headed figures reminiscent of contemporaneous
ikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte, 2d ed. (Munich,
Egyptian material have been uncovered. One such type, a
1971), and in Lexikon der Ägyptologie, 6 vols., edited by Hans
bull-headed male, may be the source for the Greek myth of
Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto, and Wolfhart Westendorf
the Minotaur. Also found are representations of demonlike
(Wiesbaden, 1972–). Bonnet’s Ägyptische Religion (Leipzig,
creatures who appear to be performing various ritual acts;
1924) may be consulted as a valuable complement to these
these have been cited as evidence of Mesopotamian influ-
publications. There is an amazing scarcity of scientific litera-
ence. A number of seals portray the figures both of a hunt-
ture in English, but see Manfred Lurker’s The Gods and Sym-
ress, who is called “mistress of the beasts” and whom the
bols of Ancient Egypt, revised by Peter A. Clayton (London,
Greeks associated with Artemis, and of a male deity, who
1980).
stands grasping an animal by the throat in each hand. Final-
KAROL MYSLIWIEC (1987)
ly, the seals present strong evidence for the existence of tree
cults and pillar cults, the survival of which perhaps may be
seen in the Greek myths about dryads, the woodland spirits
ICONOGRAPHY: GRECO-ROMAN
of nature who inhabit trees. To what extent the traditions
ICONOGRAPHY
of Minoan iconography immediately influenced the Greeks
The religious structures of both Greeks and Romans con-
can be explored through a consideration of Mycenaean re-
form to the typical patterns of divinity and belief found
mains. Indeed, although the Linear B tablets from Pylos have
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ICONOGRAPHY: GRECO-ROMAN ICONOGRAPHY
4321
provided valuable linguistic evidence about the names of the
rather cynically that “mortals consider that the gods are born
earliest Greek deities, most of our information, as in the case
and that they have clothes and speech and bodies like their
of Crete, comes from archaeological sources. From the exca-
own,” or Plato, who banned poets from his ideal state be-
vations at Mycenae have come a number of clay snakes, and
cause they told lies about the gods, the Greeks persisted in
at Tiryns a fresco depicts a crocodile-headed creature remi-
depicting their gods as human in form and action. Neverthe-
niscent of those seen on Crete. Persistence of the Minoan tra-
less, there is a great deal of evidence to indicate that, in the
ditions may also be found in the Lion Gate of Mycenae, over
conservative ritual of Greek religion, the older forms of rep-
which two lions, carved in relief and leaning on a central pil-
resentation of the divine persisted. Aniconic images of the
lar, stand guard. Providing further evidence for the continu-
divine, such as the omphalos at Delphi, provide proof of its
ing influence of Minoan iconography are a number of Myce-
survival. This stone, which in Greek myth was described as
naean seals, rings, and ornaments that display
the one that Rhea gave to Kronos to swallow when he wished
representations of sacred trees, bird-decorated shrines, and
to devour his infant son Zeus, and that the ruler of the
demons carrying libations. To what extent, however, the
Olympians then placed at the center of the world, is clearly
continuity of form indicates a continuity of content is diffi-
a baetyl, a sacred stone that contains the power of the divine.
cult to determine. In 1969, further excavations at Mycenae
Similarly, the widespread appearance of the herm, a pillar on
uncovered the Room of the Idols, which contained a quanti-
which was carved an erect phallus and that acted as an agent
ty of clay statues with arms either raised or outstretched. Al-
of fertility and apotropaic magic, points to the survival of ear-
though possessing only an approximation of human form,
lier conceptions of the divine. Myth also provides a clear illu-
each has a distinctive individuality; it has been suggested they
mination of the remnants of a theriomorphic iconography:
may be the earliest representations of those Olympian gods
Zeus changes himself into a bull in order to rape Europa and
later described by Homer. However, perhaps most character-
into a swan in order to seduce Leda; Athena and Apollo
istic of Mycenaean religious iconography are the thousands
metamorphose themselves into vultures to watch the battle
of clay statuettes called phi and psi figurines (after their dis-
between Hector and Ajax. The amalgamation of a number
tinctive shapes). Although most are rendered recognizably fe-
of functional deities during the Archaic and Classical periods
male by the accentuation of the breasts, they do not necessar-
can be seen in the great variety of epithets by which each god
ily portend future anthropomorphic representation. They
was addressed. In the use of such epithets, we see once again
are often found in graves, but there is no general agreement
the particularism of Greek religion. The disparate types,
as to their function. It is possible that they once served as vo-
which link seemingly unconnected functions from both the
tive offerings but that, like much of later Greek art originally
world of nature and the world of humans in a single deity,
sacred in nature and function, they became separated from
are probably a result of the continuing processes of synthesis
their original purpose.
and syncretism described above. Owing to the conservative
ARCHAIC AND CLASSICAL ICONOGRAPHY. The difficulty of
nature of Greek religion, no epithet was ever discarded.
establishing the continuity of the iconographical tradition
Thus, the most primitive expression of the power of nature
from the Mycenaean into the later periods of Greek history
embodied in the god as well as the most sophisticated con-
is illustrated by a comment of the historian Herodotus (fifth
ceptions of divine political power can be found in the ico-
century BCE), who credits Homer and Hesiod with describ-
nography, but it is clear that not all aspects of a deity can
ing the gods and “assigning to them their appropriate titles,
be equally well expressed through the various cultic epithets.
offices, and powers,” but who concedes that the two poets
Nevertheless, many of the epithets of the Olympians can be
had lived not more than four hundred years before him.
considered as proof of older iconographic substrata that re-
Homer and Hesiod are in fact our earliest sources for the ico-
veal functions closely linked to the world of nature: horselike
nography of the Greek gods after the Mycenaean age. But
Poseidon, owl-eyed Athena, cow-eyed Hera, cloud-gathering
another four hundred years separate the destruction of Myce-
Zeus. Although deities were often portrayed with their attri-
nae and the life of Homer, and the poet’s descriptions of the
butes of nature—the thunderbolt of Zeus, the trident of Po-
Olympian gods bear little resemblance to the representations
seidon—the connection between iconography and function
of the divine found at Mycenaean sites. Hesiod’s account of
may at times be difficult to establish because it is clear that
the birth of the gods in his Theogony indicates that, while ear-
many of the earlier “nature” functions of individual deities
lier generations of deities were often monstrous in appear-
could not be expressed with clarity in the monuments. The
ance as well as behavior, the victorious Olympian gods, with
frequent dichotomy between mythic meaning and ritual
Zeus as their ruler, were clearly anthropomorphic. Homer
function also presents one with difficulties in understanding
elaborates upon this concept, describing not only their very
the iconography of a particular god. In Greek myth, Posei-
obviously human physical appearance but also their often all-
don is clearly the god of the sea, who appears in sculpture
too-human behavior. It has been suggested that the source
and vase painting brandishing his trident or rising from the
for the relentlessly anthropomorphic quality of the Greek
sea in his chariot. Yet, Poseidon was also worshiped as a god
gods in both literature and art is a general rejection of the
of horses, and he is depicted on coins in the form of a horse.
concept of an abstract deity. Despite criticism by philoso-
Likewise, the Artemis of myth is the eternal virgin, yet it is
phers such as the pre-Socratic Xenophanes, who commented
clear from both cult and iconography that she was worshiped
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4322
ICONOGRAPHY: GRECO-ROMAN ICONOGRAPHY
as a goddess of fertility. It would seem that myth often serves
fane—flows. The temple itself was also an expression of the
to create a coherent portrait while religious ritual and prac-
all-encompassing might of Zeus: twenty-eight meters wide,
tice see no such need. The medium, too, often shapes icono-
sixty-nine meters long, and twenty meters high, its colossal
graphic conceptualization: the narrative of myth can be more
size emphasized those attributes of power and universality
readily portrayed in vase painting and reliefs than through
that Phidias had sought to convey in his sculpture.
freestanding sculpture. The evolution of the form and con-
HELLENISTIC AND ROMAN ICONOGRAPHY. The declining
tent of Greek iconography as a means of expressing spiritual
political fortunes of the Greek states after the Peloponnesian
ideals generally parallels that of Greek art, especially in sculp-
War paved the way for the rise of Macedon and the magnifi-
ture. The earliest religious sculpture and architecture were
cent career of Alexander the Great. His military conquests
executed in wood and have vanished; but in the seventh cen-
produced a new cultural synthesis of East and West that radi-
tury BCE we see the development of monumental stone archi-
cally altered the perception and portrayal of the divine; for
tecture and sculpture. The most representative forms of
although the Classical understanding of the nature of deity
sculpture are the kouros and the kour¯e (female) figures that
survived, it was now informed by new religious, social, and
stand rigidly with stylized features and dress. Perhaps votive
political ideals. Absolute monarchy, an altered concept of the
offerings, they have been variously identified as divine or
divine as embodied in Eastern mystery cults, and the rise of
human but may represent something in between: an ideal-
a middle class eager to display its wealth all contributed to
ized existence shared by gods and mortals alike. One cannot
the development of different iconographic sensibilities. Reli-
divorce iconography from the history of Greek art and archi-
gious iconography in the Hellenistic period presents a curi-
tecture, for there is no such concept as purely hieratic art:
ous admixture of Eastern and Western values, of monumen-
the Classical Apollo, for example, is not only presented as the
talism and individualism, of divine rationality and pathos,
youthful god, naked and beardless, but comes to embody the
amalgams that expressed themselves in the formal magnifi-
idealization of youth. Similarly, a bronze statue of a muscu-
cence of the tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus as well as
lar, bearded god with his left arm stretched out in front of
in the representations of Aphrodite that emphasize her naked
him and his right arm extended behind as if to hurl some-
human beauty, in sleeping satyrs and playful cupids as well
thing is identified as either Zeus or Poseidon; without light-
as in the struggling Laocoön doomed by the gods. The Great
ning bolt or trident, it is impossible to distinguish between
Altar of Zeus at Pergamum, with its wide monumental stair-
the spheres of sky and sea. Increasing emphasis on the beauty
way, was encompassed by a frieze that, in depicting the an-
of the human form in repose and in action informs both
cient Greek myth of the war between the Olympians and the
Greek sculpture and the understanding of the divine. Fur-
Giants, displays a remarkable range and intensity of human
thermore, iconography is linked not only with the develop-
emotions. In a world where kings were hailed as living gods
ment of the artistic ideal but with that of the political as well.
and apotheosis was a constant possibility, and where gods
As the institutions of the state evolved, the original gods of
suffered and died, the division between sacred and profane
nature were made citizens of the polis and given civic func-
iconography became even less distinct. With the conquest of
tions as protectors and benefactors of the city. Thus, the gold
the Hellenistic kingdoms the Romans acquired the values
and ivory statue of Athena in the Parthenon portrayed the
that had informed later Greek religious art and architecture.
armed goddess in full regalia as the protector and patron of
Although the earlier Etruscan culture of Italy had been
Athenian civilization, the goddess who had led her people to
strongly influenced by Greek and Oriental ideologies, it
victory against the Persians. The Parthenon itself is a symbol
shows evidence of a religious outlook distinct from both.
of the bond between Athena and her city, for the temple
Tomb paintings from the Archaic period, for example, por-
frieze depicts the procession of the Panathenaea, a festival
tray lively Dionysian revels and rowdy funeral games that,
held in honor of both the goddess and the powerful city that
while drawing on Greek sources, perhaps indicate a more op-
worshiped her, the pediment portrays scenes from the life of
timistic view of the afterlife than that of the Greeks. Roman
Athena, and the metopes record various victories of Greeks
iconography, on the other hand, reflects the conscious choice
over barbarians. Similarly at Olympia, which served as the
of the Greek ideal. Roman religion seems to have remained
religious and political center of Greece during the Classical
rooted in nature to a much greater extent than civic Greek
period, the Phidian Zeus sat enthroned in the inner sanctu-
religion had; the early anthropomorphic representations of
ary of the great temple, the concrete expression of the god’s
Mars and Jupiter are exceptions, perhaps occasioned by their
power and majesty. Crafted of gold and ivory, nearly twelve
clear identification with the political rather than the agricul-
meters high, the Lord of the Universe held in one hand a
tural life of the Roman people. Mars was the father of Romu-
statue of Victory and in the other a golden scepter on which
lus and Remus and thus the ancestor of the Roman people;
sat an eagle. Behind the throne were the Graces and Hours,
but even so it was the she-wolf, nurse of the twin boys, who
goddesses of the seasons and regulators of nature. The worlds
became the emblem of Rome’s auspicious origins. Only
of nature and culture become one. Phidias himself reportedly
when old Italic spirits of nature became identified with their
said that he had meant to portray the king in his supremacy
anthropomorphic Greek counterparts did the Romans build
as well as in his magnanimity and nobility. The god may be
temples as houses for their gods and represent them in
seen as the source out of which all reality—sacred and pro-
human form. The conservative values of Roman religion not
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only inhibited the development of a distinctive iconography
ICONOGRAPHY: HINDU ICONOGRAPHY
but at the same time led to the adoption of those elements
Vis:n:u, S´iva, and Dev¯ı are the basic visual images of Hindu-
in Hellenistic art that seemed best to reflect those values. Al-
ism. Each of these deities is worshiped in a concrete image
though Augustus’s attempt to recreate the old Roman reli-
(mu¯rti) that can be seen and touched. The image is conceived
gious values through the resurrection of archaic rituals and
in anthropomorphic terms but at the same time transcends
priesthoods and the rebuilding of ancient temples and
human appearance. With certain exceptions, Hindu images
shrines was ultimately unsuccessful, his Altar of Augustan
have more than two arms. Their hands, posed in definite ges-
Peace (Ara Pacis) illustrates the Roman understanding of the
tures, hold the attributes that connote the deity’s power and
connection between traditional expressions of piety and po-
establish its identity. While the images are concrete in their
litical success. One of its panels depicts Augustus offering
substantiality, they are but a means of conjuring up the pres-
solemn sacrifice; another reveals Mother Earth holding on
ence of deity: this is their essential function. The image serves
her lap her fruitful gifts. The peace and prosperity of mortals
as a yantra, an “instrument” that allows the beholder to catch
and gods are attributed to Augustus’s piety and devotion.
a reflection of the deity whose effulgence transcends what the
More than three hundred years later, the Arch of Constan-
physical eye can see. The divine effulgence is beheld in inner
tine was to reflect the same themes: celebrating the victory
vision. As a reflection of this transcendental vision, the image
of the emperor over his enemies, its inscription attributes his
is called bimba. This reflection is caught and given shape also
triumph to the intervention of an unnamed divine power
by the yantra, a polygon in which the presence of deity dur-
and his own greatness of spirit. Over three millennia, the ico-
ing worship is laid out diagrammatically. The yantra is con-
nography of Greek and Roman religion became increasingly
structed with such precision that the “image” emerges in its
unmistakable identity.
concrete, locating the divine first in nature, then in objects,
and finally within the human realm.
Deity, beheld by the inner eye, by an act of “imagina-
tion,” is translated in terms of the image. In this respect the
SEE ALSO Temple, article on Ancient Near Eastern and
image is called pratima¯—“measured against” the original vi-
Mediterranean Temples.
sion of the deity as it arose before the inner eye of the seer.
Iconometry in the case of the anthropomorphic three-
dimensional image corresponds to the geometry of a linear
BIBLIOGRAPHY
yantra. Thus the anthropomorphic image is at the same time
Boardman, John. Greek Art. Rev. ed. New York, 1973. A useful
a reflection of a transcendental vision and a precise instru-
and thorough survey of the development of Greek art forms
ment for invoking the divine presence during worship in the
from the Mycenaean age through the Hellenistic peri-
manmade and manlike figure of the image. It has its place
od.Dumézil, Georges. Archaic Roman Religion. 2 vols. Trans-
in the temple, where it is worshiped not only as a stone stela
lated by Philip Krapp. Chicago, 1970. An analysis of early
in high relief in the innermost sanctuary but also on the out-
Roman religion that depends primarily on a structural analy-
side of the walls. There, a special niche or facet of the wall
sis of Indo-European religious institutions and mytholo-
gies.Farnell, Lewis R. The Cults of the Greek States (1896–
is allotted to each of the images embodying aspects of the
1909). 5 vols. New Rochelle, N. Y., 1977. Although lacking
image in the innermost sanctuary.
recent archaeological and linguistic evidence, this work re-
Vis:n:u, S´iva, and Dev¯ı (the Goddess) are represented in
mains the standard reference for ancient sources on Greek re-
many types of images, for each of these main deities has mul-
ligion in all its forms.Guthrie, W. K. C. The Greeks and Their
tiple forms or aspects. These are carved in relief in niches on
Gods. London, 1950. A well-balanced view of the origins of
the outer side of the temple walls, each niche suggesting a
each of the Greek gods, with detailed discussion of the multi-
sanctuary correlated in the main directions of space to the
dimensional roles of the divine in Greek society.Hauser, Ar-
central image—or symbol—in the innermost sanctuary.
nold. The Social History of Art, vol. 1. New York, 1951. A
combination of art criticism and social analysis, Hauser’s
While the images of Vis:n:u and Dev¯ı are anthropomorphic
work attempts to define the cultural forces that determine ar-
and partly also theriomorphic, the essential form in which
tistic sensibilities.Nilsson, Martin P. A History of Greek Reli-
S´iva is worshiped is in principle without any such likeness.
gion (1925). Translated by F. J. Fielden. 2d ed. Oxford,
S´IVA. The main object of S´iva worship is the lin˙ga. The word
1949. Emphasizes the continuity of tradition between Mino-
lin˙ga means “sign,” here a sign in the shape of a cylinder with
an and Mycenaean ritual and practice.Nilsson, Martin P.
a rounded top. The word lin˙ga also means “phallus” howev-
Greek Piety. Translated by Herbert Jennings Rose. Oxford,
er; some of the earliest S´iva lin˙gas are explicitly phallus
1948. This short work presents a thoughtful study of the var-
shaped. However, this sign is not worshiped in its mere an-
ious social, historical, and political forces that shaped Greek
thropomorphic reference. It stands for creativity on every
attitudes about the nature of the divine.Peters, F. E. The
Harvest of Hellenism. New York, 1970. A historical, cultural,
level—biological, psychological, and cosmic—as a symbol of
and religious survey of the Greek and Roman world after Al-
the creative seed that will flow into creation or be restrained,
exander.
transmuted, and absorbed within the body of the yogin and
of S´iva, the lord of yogins. In its polyvalence the lin˙ga is
TAMARA M. GREEN (1987)
S´iva’s most essential symbol, while the images of S´iva, each
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4324
ICONOGRAPHY: HINDU ICONOGRAPHY
in its own niche on the outside of the temple wall, are a man-
pentads—is visualized in the iconic-aniconic, five-faced
ifestation of S´iva in a particular role offering an aspect of his
lin˙ga. This concept underlies the image in the innermost
totality.
sanctuary of the Caturmukha Maha¯deva Temple in Nachna
Kuthara, near Allahabad (sixth century), and that of Sada¯´siva
The images of S´iva visualize the god’s two complemen-
in the cave temple of Elephanta, near Bombay (mid-sixth
tary natures: his grace and his terror. Like all Hindu divine
century). These are ultimate realizations and constructs em-
images, that of S´iva has multiple arms; their basic number,
bodied in sculptural perfection.
four, implies the four cosmic directions over which extends
the power of deity in manifestation. S´iva’s image of peace
The facial physiognomy of the image reflects the nature
and serenity in one of its forms, Daks:in:a¯u¯murti, is that of
of the particular aspect or manifestation of the god. His
the teacher. Seated at ease under the cosmic tree, he teaches
calm, inscrutable mien as well as Bhairava’s distorted counte-
the sages yoga, gnosis, music, and all the sciences. In another
nance are shown with many nuances of expression that con-
image, standing as Pa´supati, “lord of animals,” S´iva protects
vey the significance of each particular manifestation, defined
all the “animals,” including the human soul.
as it is by specific attributes and cognizances. The ornaments,
He is also the celestial bridegroom, Sundaramu¯rti, em-
however, the necklaces, belts, earrings, and so on, are not es-
bracing his consort (A¯lin˙ganamu¯rti) or enthroned with her
sentially affected by the specific manifestation. Likewise
(Uma¯mahe´svara), while as Soma¯skanda the seated image of
some of S´iva’s attributes, particularly the trident, serpent,
the god includes his consort, also seated, and their dancing
crescent moon, rosary, and antelope, are part of the god’s
child. These images assure happiness within the human con-
image in more than one manifestation. Invariably, however,
dition, whereas Ardhanarisvara, the “lord whose half is
S´iva’s crown is his own hair. He is the ascetic god, and his
woman,” the androgyne god, his right half male and left half
crown shows the long strands of the ascetic’s uncut hair piled
female, is an image of superhuman wholeness.
high on his head in an infinite variety of patterns, adorned
by serpents, the crescent moon, and the miniature figure of
Myths and legends in which S´iva annihilates or pardons
the celestial river Gan˙ga¯ (Ganges) personified. Lavish presen-
demons of world-threatening ambition are condensed in im-
tation here nonetheless constitutes iconographic economy,
ages of him as victor over destructive forces and death
for each of the various symbols implies an entire myth, such
(Tripura¯ntaka, Ka¯la¯ri). Another class of images visualizes the
as that of the descent from heaven of the river goddess
god as a young, seductively naked beggar (Bhiks:a¯tan:a) and,
Gan˙ga¯, whose impact would have wrought havoc on earth
in a later phase of the selfsame myth, as an image of terror,
had not S´iva offered his hair as a temporary station for her.
an emaciated, skeletal—or, as Bhairava, bloated—god who
is sinner and penitent on his way to salvation. Bhairava is an
An essential cognizance particular to S´iva among gods—
image of the lord’s passion on his way to release. There he
though not present in every S´iva image—is the god’s third
dances as he danced on the battlefield in his triumph over
eye (which also graces deities derived from the S´iva concept,
fiends. S´iva’s dance is the preeminent mode of the god’s op-
such as Dev¯ı and Gan:e´sa). Vertically set in the middle of
eration in the cosmos and within the microcosm, in the heart
S´iva’s forehead above sun and moon, his two other eyes, the
of man. The image of S´iva Na¯t:ara¯ja dancing his fierce dance
third eye connotes the fire of the ascetic god. It broke out
of bliss subsumes ongoing movement and stasis in the rhyth-
when Pa¯rvat¯ı, his consort, playfully covered the god’s other
mic disposition of limbs and body as if the dance were ever-
eyes with her hands: darkness spread all over the cosmos.
lasting: in his upper hands are the drum and flame, the drum
This fire also blazed forth to destroy the god Ka¯ma, “desire,”
symbolizing sound and the beginning of creation, the flame
in his attempt to wound S´iva with his arrow.
symbolizing the end of creation; one arm crosses over the
Whether distinguished by one symbol only or by a com-
body and points to the opposite, while his raised foot signals
bination of symbols, the identity of S´iva is unmistakable in
release from gravity and every other contingency in the
his images. There is also no inconsistency if, for example, the
world. The whole cycle of the eternal return is laid out in
crown of S´iva, lovingly enthroned with Pa¯rvat¯ı, is wreathed
the yantra of S´iva’s dancing image. In another image, that
with skulls (Uma¯-Mahe´svara from Belgavi, Karnataka,
of the cosmic pillar, S´iva reveals himself to the gods Brahma¯
twelfth century). The total being of S´iva is present in the par-
and Vis:n:u; an endless flaming pillar of light arises from the
ticular aspect.
netherworld. The image of Lingodbhava shows the anthro-
pomorphic figure of S´iva within the lin˙ga pillar bursting
Facing the lin˙ga, the image of Nandin, the zebu bull
open.
carved in the round and stationed in front of the entrance
of the temple or in its hall, is at the same time the animal
The lin˙ga as both abstract symbol and partly anthropo-
form of S´iva, his attendant, and conveyance (va¯hana). In
morphic shape is the main Saiva cult object. In some of the
more than one respect, Nandin, the “gladdener,” conveys
sculptures, a human head adheres to the cylinder of the lin˙ga,
S´iva.
or four heads are positioned in the cardinal directions, imply-
ing a fifth head (rarely represented) on top. Five is S´iva’s sa-
VIS:N:U. The pervader and maintainer of the universe is repre-
cred number, and the entire Saiva ontology—the five senses,
sented by his anthropomorphic image in the innermost sanc-
five elements, five directions of space, and further hierarchic
tuary. Invariably the image stands straight like a pillar, and
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4325
its four arms symmetrically hold the god’s main attributes:
Each avata¯ra is assumed by the supreme Vis:n:u for a par-
conch, wheel, mace, and lotus. The conch—born from the
ticular end, as the situation demands. Yet each avata¯ra or di-
primordial ocean—with its structure spiraling from a single
vine descent, though known to have come about at a definite
point, is a symbol of the origin of existence. The wheel repre-
time, remains valid for all times. The number of avata¯ras or
sents the cycle of the seasons, of time. The mace stands for
incarnations (vibhavas) is generally accepted as ten, but
the power of knowledge, while the lotus flower symbolizes
twelve further vibhavs are also described. The ten shapes are
the unfolded universe risen from the ocean of creation. Ac-
those of the (1) fish (Matsya); (2) tortoise (Ku¯rma); (3) boar
cording to their respective placement in the four hands of the
(Vara¯ha); (4) man-lion (Narasim:ha); (5) dwarf and “[god
Vis:n:u image, these four attributes define the particular aspect
who took] three strides” (Va¯mana and Trivikrama); (6)
under which the god is worshiped according to the needs of
Ra¯ma with the ax (Para´sura¯ma), who reestablished the lead-
the worshiper. Each of the twenty-four images—the total
ing position of the brahmans; (7) Ra¯ma, the ideal king; (8)
permutations of the four symbols in the four hands—has a
Kr:s:n:a; (9) Buddha; and (10) Kalkin, the redeemer yet to
name. The supreme god, Vis:n:u has a thousand names in
come. In niches of the temple wall, the avata¯ras are imaged
which those of the twenty-four images are included.
in anthropomorphic, theriomorphic, or combined anthropo-
theriomorphic shapes.
In addition to the standing image in the innermost sanc-
tuary—an anthropomorphic version of the concept of the
The Matsya avata¯ra incorporates a deluge myth, telling
cosmic pillar—Vis:n:u may assume two other positions, seated
how a grateful small fish saved by Manu in turn saved Manu,
and recumbent. Indeed, no other Hindu god—except a
who became the founder of present-day mankind. The tor-
Vis:n:u-derived allegory, Yoganidra¯—is shown recumbent,
toise myth tells of the cosmic tortoise that lent its body as
and together, these three positions render the mode of the
the firm support for the world mountain, which served as a
god’s pervasive presence in the cosmos and during its dissolu-
churning stick at the churning of the primeval ocean. The
tion, when in yoga slumber Vis:n:u reclines on S´es:a, the ser-
third of Vis:n:u’s descents similarly illustrates a creation myth
pent whose name means “remainder,” floating on the waters
out of the cosmic waters. While the Matsya avata¯ra establish-
of the cosmic ocean. In South India each of the three types
es the existence of mankind on earth and the Ku¯rma avata¯ra
of images occupies its own innermost sanctuary, on three le-
guarantees the firmness of its support, the boar incarnation
vels in three-storied temples. According to the needs of the
shows Vis:n:u as the savior who lifted the earth from the depth
worshiper, each of these three types of images fulfills four
of the ocean waters to the light of the sun. In the man-lion
goals: total identification with the god, desire for wish fulfill-
incarnation, Vis:n:u assumes this combined shape, bursting
ment in worldly matters, desire for power, and desire for suc-
out of a pillar in the demon king’s palace in order to disem-
cess by magic. According to their desired efficacy on these
bowel this fiend who had questioned Vis:n:u’s omnipresence.
four levels, the images are more or less elaborate in the num-
The fifth incarnation, the dwarf, gained from the demon
ber of attendant divinities, with the images granting wish ful-
king Bali a foothold on which to stand and took the three-
fillment on the worldly plane the most elaborate.
fold stride by which he traversed the cosmos. The four fol-
lowing avata¯ras appeared in the shape of man as hero or god.
The twenty-four varieties of the four-armed, standing
The images of Kr:s:n:a as the child of superhuman powers
Vis:n:u image are emanations (vyu¯has) of the supreme Vis:n:u.
(Balakr:s:n:a) and as flute-playing young god have their own
Four of the emanations, Sam:kars:an:a, Va¯sudeva, Pradyuma,
visual iconography, particularly in metalwork. Two forms of
and Aniruddha, are considered primary, though their names
Kr:s:n:a are unlike other images of Hindu gods. The one is
occur as the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth
Jaganna¯tha, “lord of the world,” whose center of worship is
in the list of twenty-four.
in Pur¯ı, Orissa; the other is S´r¯ı Na¯thj¯ı, whose center of wor-
ship is Na¯thadva¯ra in Mewar, Rajasthan. Both these images
Theological doctrine and its supporting imagery each
are roughly hewn and painted wooden chunks only remotely
follow an inherent logic. The vyu¯ha or emanation doctrine
anthropomorphic. From the sixteenth century on, Kr:s:n:a ap-
is as relevant to the twenty-four types of the Vis:n:u image as
pears in miniature paintings incomparably more frequently
the avata¯ra or incarnation doctrine, according to which the
than any other Hindu god. In front of Vis:n:u temples, the
supreme Vis:n:u was fully embodied in a specific shape, be it
image in the round of Vis:n:u’s partly anthropomorphic vehi-
that of fish or boar or man or god. One or the other of these
cle, the bird Garud:a, is supported by a high pillar.
incarnate forms, however, including that of the dwarf
(Va¯mana) or of Kr:s:n:a, also figures among the twenty-four
DEV¯I. The Great Goddess, Dev¯ı, represents the creative
varieties of the main cult image of Vis:n:u.
principle worshiped as female. She is S´akti, the all-pervading
energy, the power to be, the power of causation, cognition,
Vis:n:u is also conceived in his fivefold aspect: as ulti-
will, and experience. She is the power of all the gods; she
mate, transcendental reality (para); in his emanation (vyu¯ha);
wields all their weapons in her main manifestations or im-
in his incarnation (vibhava); as innermost within man
ages. She is the origin of the world, the conscious plan of cre-
(antarya¯min), the inner controller; and as arca¯ or consecrated
ation, the mother; she is the goddess Knowledge. Her main
image, this fifth instance being an avata¯ra, a “descent” into
image is that of Durga¯ in the act of beheading the buffalo
matter.
demon, the mightiest of the demons whom she defeats. This
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ICONOGRAPHY: HINDU ICONOGRAPHY
huge, dark, demonic animal, an embodiment of stupidity,
goddesses,” though of lower hierarchical standing, is wor-
is her archenemy. In her image as killer of the buffalo demon,
shiped in hypaethral temples, which allow their total of sixty-
the young and lovely goddess is accompanied by her mount,
four images to be worshiped separately. The iconography of
the lion.
the Goddess has its counterpoint in the (originally imageless)
diagrams. Both these instruments of contemplation of the
In certain traditions the buffalo demon while still in
goddess—her image and the geometrical diagram—are man-
human shape adored the goddess. In some of the sculptures
made. The Goddess is also worshiped as a stone in its natural
of the goddess as slayer of the demon—his body that of a
shape.
man, his head that of a buffalo—he ecstatically surrenders
to her as she slays him. When not depicted in action but
Stones in themselves are sacred. A ´sa¯lagra¯ma stone, a
standing straight in hieratic stance, the goddess is supported
fossilized ammonite embedded in dark stone, represents
by a lotus or a buffalo head.
Vis:n:u, with the spiral of the fossil structure evoking Vis:n:u’s
The Great Goddess has many forms. Like S´iva she has
wheel. The ´sa¯lagra¯ma is worshiped in domestic rituals. Simi-
three eyes; like Vis:n:u, in her form as Yoganidra¯, “yoga slum-
larly another stone, the ba¯n:alin:ga, washed by the water of the
ber,” she is represented lying, an embodiment of Vis:n:u’s
river where it is found into lin˙ga shape, is sacred to S´iva.
slumber. Yoganidra¯ is most beautiful and has only two arms,
Among lin˙gas, which can be made of any material, whether
whereas the Goddess displays from four to sixteen arms in
clay or precious stone, the svayambhu¯ lin˙ga, a natural outcrop
her other images. Although the lion is the va¯hana or vehicle
of rock like a menhir, has special sanctity.
of the Great Goddess, as Rambha¯ she rides an elephant; as
Today most of the preserved images are made of stone
Gaur¯ı, the White Goddess—the aspect under which the
or metal. The few paintings that have survived over the last
gods contemplate her—she stands on an alligator. In her hor-
four centuries are in watercolor on paper, as a rule small in
rific, emaciated aspects, the owl is her vehicle. Like S´iva, the
size, and narrative rather than iconic. To this day the gods
Goddess is seen in divine beauty or in a shape of horror as
are painted in their iconographic identity on walls of houses
Ka¯l¯ı or Ca¯mun:da¯.
and on portable paper scrolls. Color, according to ancient
¯
When worshiped in her own image, the Goddess is the
texts, was essential to the image: its use was primarily sym-
center of the composition, but as the ´sakti or creative power
bolic and expressive of the nature of the respective deities.
of a god she is figured by his side, smaller in stature, and with
However, different colors in different texts are prescribed for
only two arms, for she is the god’s consort. Pa¯rvat¯ı is S´iva’s
the same deity.
consort, whereas Bhu¯dev¯ı and S´r¯ıdev¯ı—the goddess Earth
GAN:ES´A. Gan:apati or Gan:e´sa, the lord of hosts and god of
(Bhu¯) whom Vis:n:u rescued in his boar incarnation, and the
wisdom, who is also called Vighne´svara (“the lord presiding
goddess Splendor (S´r¯ı)—are shown by Vis:n:u’s side.
over obstacles”), has an obese human body topped by the
head of an elephant. Worshiped throughout Hinduism, he
If the images of these gods are cast in bronze, they are
is invoked at the beginning of any enterprise, for his is the
modeled in the round. These are processional images, meant
power to remove obstacles but also to place them in the way
to be visible from all sides, in contrast to the stone images
of success. His shape is a symbol charged with meaning on
in the innermost sanctuary or on the temple walls, where
many levels. His huge belly, containing the world, is sur-
they confront the devotee as he or she approaches them.
mounted by his elephant head, signifying the world beyond,
However, where the image of Dev¯ı is represented as the su-
the metaphysical reality. The head is maimed; it has only one
preme goddess, she may be flanked or surrounded by smaller
tusk, thus signifying the power of the number one, whence
figures of gods and demons who play a role in the particular
all numbers have their beginning. Every part of Gan:e´sa’s
myth represented. Attendant divinities may further enrich
shape is a conglomerate symbol, and each is accounted for
the scene.
by more than one myth. According to one tradition, the di-
Dev¯ı is not only represented in her own right as su-
chotomy of Gan:e´sa’s body resulted from S´iva’s beheading of
preme goddess or as the consort of one of the main gods, she
Vighne´svara, Pa¯rvat¯ı’s son, in a fit of anger. S´iva then or-
is also embodied as a group, particularly that of the “Seven
dered the gods to replace Vighne´svara’s head with that of the
Mothers” (saptama¯tr:ka¯s) where, as Mother Goddess, she is
first living being they met. This was an elephant; they cut
shown as the ´sakti of seven gods, including Brahma¯, Vis:n:u,
off its head and put it on Vighne´svara’s body. According to
and S´iva. Brahma¯, although the creator in ancient times, is
another source, Gan:e´sa was the child Kr:s:n:a whose head was
rarely figured in the present-day Hindu pantheon and has
severed by S´ani (Saturn) and replaced by that of the son of
but few temples of his own. In South India his image figures
Aira¯vata, elephant of the god Indra.
on the south wall of a Vis:n:u temple opposite that of S´iva
In the R:gveda (2.23.1) Gan:apati is a name of Br:haspati,
Daks:in:a¯mu¯rti on the north wall.
the lord of prayer, the lord of hosts. From the fifth century
Brahma¯’s consort Sarasvat¯ı, the goddess of knowledge
CE, images of Gan:e´sa are numerous. An elephant-headed
and speech, is worshiped in her own image to this day. The
deity is shown on an Indo-Greek coin of the mid-first centu-
image of the “Seven Mothers” arrayed in one row are wor-
ry CE. Today, Gan:e´sa is invoked at the beginning of all liter-
shiped in their own sanctuary. Another assemblage of “group
ary compositions and all undertakings. Every village, every
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4327
house has an image of Gan:e´sa, seated, standing, or danc-
varied over the course of Buddhist history, but also according
ing—like S´iva. Some of his images have a third eye. In one
to the particular ritual, devotional, and decorative context in
of his (generally) four hands he holds the broken-off tusk.
which they are situated. Although there has been consider-
His vehicle is the mouse or the lion. In his form as Heramba,
able scholarly debate about the matter, it seems clear that
Gan:apati has five heads; as Ucchis:t:a Gan:e´sa, he is accompa-
Buddhists began to depict the Buddha very early on, perhaps
nied by a young goddess. He is red, yellow, or white in differ-
even before he died, although no such images survive. The
ent varieties of his image.
Buddha himself is recorded in some commentaries on the
Pali suttas to have said that images of him would be permissi-
SEE ALSO Avata¯ra; Durga¯ Hinduism; Gan:e´sa; Goddess
ble only if they were not worshiped; rather, such images
Worship, article on The Hindu Goddess; Man:d:alas, article
should provide an opportunity for reflection and meditation.
on Hindu Man:d:alas; Mu¯rti; S´iva; Temple, article on Hindu
However, in other commentarial texts images also are dis-
Temples; Vis:n:u; Yantra; Yoni.
cussed as viable substitutes for the absent Buddha. In any
case, virtually all Buddhist temples and monasteries through-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
out the world contain sculptural images—of the Buddha, bo-
Banerjea, Jitendra. The Development of Hindu Iconography. 2d ed.
dhisattvas, minor divinities, yaks:as, and significant monks
Calcutta, 1956. A handbook particularly dealing with the be-
and saints. These images range from very simple early Indian
ginnings and historical typology of Hindu images.
stone sculptures of the Buddha, standing alone delivering a
Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. The Dance of Shiva (1918). Rev. ed.
dharma talk, to incredibly intricate medieval Japanese depic-
New York, 1957. Interpretation of an iconographic theme
tions of a bodhisattva like Kannon with a thousand heads,
based on original sources.
elaborate hand gestures, and iconographic details.
Courtright, Paul B. Gan:e´sa. New York, 1985. The first compre-
IMAGES OF S´A¯KYAMUNI (THE “HISTORICAL BUDDHA”).
hensive and insightful presentation of Gan:e´sa.
The earliest surviving Buddhist sculpture dates to roughly
Eck, Diana L. Banaras, City of Light. New York, 1982. A topical
the third century BCE, and the images that were produced
study in depth, relating the icon to its setting.
contextually functioned as decorations and visual “texts” in
Gopinatha Rao, T. A. Elements of Hindu Iconography (1914–
monasteries. Significantly, however, the Buddha himself is
1916). 2 vols. in 4. 2d ed. New York, 1968. The standard
absent from these very early images. Instead of his physical
survey of Hindu iconography.
form, early Buddhist artisans employed a range of visual sym-
Kosambi, D. D. Myth and Reality. Bombay, 1962. An exposition
bols to communicate aspects of the Buddha’s teachings and
of the roots of iconic and aniconic traditions.
life story:
Kramrisch, Stella. The Hindu Temple (1946). Reprint, Delhi,
1. The wheel of dharma, denoting the preaching or “turn-
1976. An exposition of architectural form in relation to the
ing” of his first sermon, and also, with its eight spokes,
iconography of its images.
the eight-fold Buddhist path.
O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythol-
2. The bodhi tree, which represents the place of his en-
ogy. Berkeley, 1976. A study in depth of the interrelation of
gods and demons in Hindu mythology.
lightenment (under the tree) and comes to symbolize
the enlightenment experience itself.
Shah, Priyabala, ed. Vis:n:udharmottara Pura˜n:a. 2 vols. Gaekwad’s
Oriental Studies, vols. 130 and 137. Baroda, 1958 and 1961.
3. The throne, symbolizing his status as “ruler” of the reli-
The most complete and ancient treatise (c. eighth century
gious realm, and through its emptiness, his passage into
CE) of Hindu iconography.
final nirva¯n:a.
Shulman, David D. Tamil Temple Myths. Princeton, 1980. An in-
4. The deer, evoking both the place of his first sermon, the
dispensable background study for South Indian iconography.
Deer Park at Sa¯rna¯th, and also the protective qualities
S´ivaramamurti, Calambur. The Art of India. New York, 1977.
of the dharma.
The best-illustrated and best-documented presentation of In-
dian sculpture.
5. The footprint, which denotes both his former physical
presence on earth and his temporal absence.
Zimmer, Heinrich. Artistic Form and Yoga in the Sacred Images of
India. Translated and edited by Gerald Chapple and James
6. The lotus, symbolic of the individual’s journey up
B. Lawson. Princeton, 1984. A clarification of the function
through the “mud” of existence to bloom, with the aid
and relation of iconic, sculptural form and abstract, linear
of the dharma, into pure enlightenment.
diagram.
7. The stupa, the reliquary in which the Buddha’s physical
STELLA KRAMRISCH (1987)
remains are contained—a powerful symbol of both his
physical death and continued presence in the world.
Later Buddhism added countless other symbols to this icono-
ICONOGRAPHY: BUDDHIST ICONOGRAPHY
graphic repertoire. In the Maha¯ya¯na, for instance, the sword
In Buddhism, the very nature of a sculptural image is com-
becomes a common symbol of the incisive nature of the Bud-
plex. Not only have the conception and function of images
dha’s teachings. In the Vajraya¯na, the vajra, or diamond (or
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
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ICONOGRAPHY: BUDDHIST ICONOGRAPHY
thunderbolt), is a ubiquitous symbol of the pure and un-
protuberance atop the head, elongated earlobes, webbed fin-
changing nature of the dharma.
gers, and dharmacakra on the palms. In the Gandhara region,
the Buddha typically was depicted in what appears to be a
Much of the very early art produced in India is narrative
Greek style of representation, wearing a robe that resembles
in both form and function, presenting episodes from the
a toga, and with distinctly Western facial features. These de-
Buddha’s life and, particularly, scenes from his prior lives.
tails may be evidence that an iconographic exchange took
At sites such as Bha¯rhut and Sa¯ñc¯ı in modern Madhya Pra-
place with the Greeks who inhabited the region at the time
desh, Bodh Gaya¯ in modern Bihar, and Amara¯vat¯ı in mod-
of Alexander the Great. Many of the Gandharan Buddha im-
ern Andhra Pradesh, huge stupas were erected as part of the
ages depict him seated, forming the dharmacakra
large monastic complexes that were built in these locations
mudra¯—literally the “turning of the wheel of dharma ges-
beginning in the third century BCE. In addition, elaborate
ture”—with his hands. In other images he is presented in a
carvings were made on and around these stupas, particularly
meditative posture, his body withered by the years of extreme
on the railings that encircled the monuments themselves.
asceticism that preceded his enlightenment. These different
Many of these were scenes from the Buddha’s prior lives,
iconic forms were employed by Buddhist artisans (and their
which also were verbally recorded in the Ja¯taka and Avada¯na
royal, monastic, and lay patrons) to emphasize different mo-
literature. These included representations of prior Buddhas,
ments in the Buddha’s life story, and to convey visually dif-
as well as depictions of key events in the Buddha’s life such
ferent aspects of the dharma.
as miraculous conception, his birth, and his departure from
the palace in search of enlightenment.
By the fifth century CE, the Buddha was represented in
a large array of forms and sizes. Some of these representations
Typically, it has been assumed that because the earliest
were truly colossal, cut from cliffs and reaching upward of
Buddhist artistic images did not depict the Buddha, there
100 feet—a practice that would continue throughout the
must have been a doctrinally-based prohibition against such
Buddhist world for the next millennium. The sheer size of
depictions. First articulated by the French art historian Al-
these images seems to have been intended to convey an un-
fred Foucher in 1917, this idea—generally referred to as the
derstanding of the superhuman qualities of the Buddha,
“aniconic thesis”—has deeply influenced our understanding
many of which were also expressed in contemporary bio-
of early Buddhist art. The basic assumption has been that
graphical stories contained in various Nika¯yas, the Lalitavi-
there must have been a prohibition against representing the
stara, Buddhacarita, and several other well-known texts. Fur-
Buddha in the early centuries after his death. Perhaps this
thermore, such massive images would have served as a potent
was because the Buddha had, at the time of his parinirva¯n:a,
means of attracting new followers.
passed forever out of existence, and therefore could only be
represented by his absence.
Stone and metal sculptures of the Buddha were pro-
duced in abundance throughout India. These were in addi-
In the late twentieth century scholars began to rethink
tion to painted images, many of which were in caves, such
this basic assumption, arguing that perhaps these early sculp-
as those that form the massive monastic complexes at Ajanta¯
tures are not reflective of a theological position, but instead
and Ellora. Many of these images presented the Buddha in
frequently represent scenes after the Buddha’s death, scenes
a single pose, representing a particularly significant moment
of worship at prominent places of pilgrimage linked to key
in his life. Among these, the giving of his first sermon was
events in his life—such as Bodh Gaya¯, Lumbin¯ı, and
especially common. The Buddha typically is seated in such
Ra¯jagaha—and are thus intended to serve as ritual records
images, forming the dharmacakra mudra¯. Oftentimes, he is
and blueprints, and visual prompters for correct veneration.
flanked by several smaller figures: the five monks who first
In any case, what seems clear is that early Buddhists had a
heard the sermon, the laywoman Sujata¯ who offered him the
complex understanding of both the form and function of the
modest gift of food that gave him strength to attain enlight-
Buddha’s representations, and that any attempt to articulate
enment, two deer, and an image of the wheel.
a univocal theory of early Buddhist art is probably misguid-
Another common form is the Buddha at the moment
ed, precisely because of the complex interactions of original
of defeating the evil Ma¯ra—the embodiment of temptation,
intent, ritual and aesthetic context, and individual disposi-
illusion, and death in Buddhism. In these images, the Bud-
tion. Fundamentally, then, Buddhist images project an open
dha is seated in what is sometimes called the bhu¯mispar´sa
potential.
mudra¯, or “earth-touching gesture,” visually evoking the mo-
Actual images of the historical Buddha began to appear
ment when the Buddha calls the earth goddess as witness to
sometime around the turn of the first millennium, promi-
his enlightenment, and marking the final defeat of Ma¯ra.
nently in two regions: in Mathura, near modern Agra, and
This iconographic form, sometimes presenting the Buddha
in Gandhara, in what is now modern Afghanistan. In Ma-
as a crowned figure and including the seven jewels (saptarat-
thura, large standing images of the Buddha were made in red
na) of the ideal king, became extremely popular in medieval
sandstone. The Buddha in these images is depicted as broad
north India, where it seems to have been complexly involved
shouldered, wearing a robe, and marked by various laks:anas,
in royal support of Buddhism by the Pa¯las, the last line of
the thirty-two auspicious marks with which he was born. De-
Buddhist kings in India, evoking as it does the image of the
scribed in several early texts, these included the us:n:¯ıs:a, or
Dharmara¯ja, the righteous ruler.
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4329
By the eighth century, a fairly common means of repre-
heads, and as Kuan-yin he is manifested as a female figure.
senting the Buddha—especially in the monastic stronghold
Maitreya, the Buddha of the future, is often depicted as a
of northeastern India—was a standardized set of eight scenes
crowned, royal figure (often with a Buddha image or stupa
known as the as:t:amahapratiharya. This presented a kind of
in his forehead). He typically displays the dharmacakra
condensed version of the Buddha’s life—birth, enlighten-
mudra¯, the gesture of religious discourse, since it is he who
ment, first sermon, various miraculous events in his biogra-
will deliver the final version of the dharma that will release
phy, and death—that enabled the viewer of the image to par-
all beings from sam:sa¯ra. In medieval China, after the Tang
ticipate ritually and imaginatively in the entire life of the
period, Maitreya is sometimes iconographically transformed
Buddha by looking at and venerating a single image. In this
into Budai, a jovial, pot-bellied figure who spreads good
sense, then, such images were more than visual texts or narra-
cheer and is the special friend of children.
tives; they served as means to embark upon visual pilgrim-
T
ages. As such, they not only recorded past events in the Bud-
RANSCENDENT BUDDHAS. The various Maha¯ya¯na schools
articulated complex understandings of the continued pres-
dha’s life and ongoing ritual activity, but also allowed the
ence and power of the Buddha in the world, understood
viewer to participate in the Buddha’s life. In short, they
broadly as buddhata¯, or “buddhaness.” One particularly
evoke a sense of the Buddha’s continued presence in the
common manifestation of buddhata¯ was the five celestial
world despite his physical absence.
Buddhas, sometimes called Jina or Dhya¯ni Buddhas. More
BODHISATTVAS. As the various Maha¯ya¯na schools emerged
properly deemed the pancatatha¯ga¯tas, this set represents the
and developed in India, Tibet, and later in East Asia, the
manifestation of different aspects of the Buddha’s teaching
Buddhist pantheon expanded tremendously and was reflect-
and salvific power, and is depicted in both sculpture and
ed in both art and iconography. In India, particularly in the
painting (particularly man:d:ala paintings in the Vajraya¯na).
northeast, there was a virtual iconographic explosion after
The five celestial Buddhas are Vairocana, Aks:obhya, Ratna-
the eighth century. Although images of various bodhisattvas
sambhava, Amita¯bha, and Amoghasiddhi.
had been produced in the early art of Gandhara and Mathu-
ra, they became particularly prominent in the Maha¯ya¯na.
Iconographically, each of five Buddhas bears specific
Images of Mañju´sr¯ı were quite common in India after about
symbols and a specific color (when painted in a man:d:ala, for
the fifth century, and he is sculpturally depicted in dozens
example), as well as specific mudra¯s. For instance, Aks:obhya
of forms. Typically, he is depicted as a handsome young man
(the “unshakable one”) occupies the eastern quadrant of the
holding aloft a sword—the incisive sword of wisdom, with
man:d:ala and displays the bhu¯mispar´sa mudra¯, since he is the
which he cuts through delusion and ignorance—in one hand
manifestation of the Buddha’s steadfastness and unshakable
and a lotus in the other. A consistent element in his iconogra-
calm, even in the face of Ma¯ra, or the embodiment of death.
phy is the representation of the book—sometimes he holds
Vairocana, the “radiant one,” is the manifestation of the
the text aloft, sometimes it rises out of a lotus to one of his
Buddha’s supreme dharma, and thus his standard icono-
sides. In contemporary iconographic manuals, this is de-
graphic form displays the dharmacakra mudra¯. In the Pure
scribed as the Perfection of Wisdom text, of which he is the
Land schools that developed in China and later took root in
manifestation. In the Vajraya¯na context, Mañju´sr¯ı frequent-
Korea and Japan, Amita¯bha, the Buddha of the West, be-
ly is depicted in a wrathful form, as Ya¯mantaka, a buffalo-
came particularly important. In a wide variety of images—
headed demon who does battle with Ya¯ma, the god of death.
stone and metal sculptures, bas-reliefs, cave temples, and
Avalokite´svara, the embodiment of compassion and the bo-
paintings—Amita¯bha frequently is depicted at the center of
dhisattva who sees all suffering and comes to the aid of his
a large entourage of bodhisattvas and buddhas, or more com-
devotees, is perhaps the single most popular figure in the
monly is presented in a standard triad, flanked by
Buddhist world after the Buddha himself. He is depicted in
Avalokite´svara and Maitreya. As Amida, Amita¯bha continues
a vast range of forms. Avalokite´svara frequently is shown
to be very popular in contemporary Japan, and is depicted
with several eyes, denoting his compassionate omniscience,
in a variety of modern images including metal and plastic
and sometimes with multiple heads, as in the das’amukha
sculptural forms, paintings, and even animated comic books.
(ten-faced) iconographic form prevalent particularly in
WRATHFUL FIGURES. With the rise of the Vajraya¯na in
Nepal.
northeastern India around the ninth century, and its later de-
In addition, Avalokite´svara almost always has multiple
velopment in Tibet, the divine pantheon expanded to a
hands, in which he holds various implements that aid him
seemingly limitless degree, with a vast range of Buddha fami-
in his salvific endeavors. In the Saddharmapun:d:ar¯ıka Su¯tra
lies, bodhisattvas, goddesses, yogin¯ıs, and all manner of fierce
and several other Maha¯ya¯na texts, he is described as a great
divinities. There are numerous categories of wrathful beings
protector whom one invokes against a standardized set of
in the Vajraya¯na pantheon, including vajradha¯ras, herukas,
perils (snakes, beasts, robbers, poisons, storms, and so forth),
lokapa¯las, and dharmapa¯las. These beings are projections of
which are sometimes iconographically depicted with him.
the base aspects of human nature: lust, anger, delusion,
Avalokite´svara becomes extremely popular in East Asia,
greed, and so on. However, when propitiated these figures
where he is known as Kannon (in Japan) and Kuan-yin (in
are transformed into saviors who destroy the passions of the
China); as Kannon, he sometimes is depicted with 1,000
mind and protect the faithful. Their faces are depicted with
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ICONOGRAPHY: BUDDHIST ICONOGRAPHY
strikingly wrathful expressions, their mouths contorted into
portant patriarchs were common. Most prominent was Bod-
angry smiles, from which protrude long fangs, sometimes
hidharma, who typically is depicted as an aged monk deep
dripping with blood.
in mediation. Sometimes, he is depicted floating in the ocean
atop a reed, representing his voyage from India to China.
Particularly in Tibet, man:d:alas frequently depict vastly
Bodhidharma also is represented in a kind of aniconic form,
complex Buddha families and their associated divinities.
as an abstract face painted on papier-mâché or wooden balls,
Meditation and rituals focused on such divinities typically
and occasionally as a lascivious old man, often in the compa-
are intended to bring the divinity to life. For instance, in the
ny of courtesans. This conveys Chan’s understanding that
practice of deity yoga the meditator can bring the divinity
enlightenment can be found in the most mundane, and even
to life in him or herself by realizing the inseparability of the
the most conventionally polluting, of activities. In Tibet, im-
self and the divinity. In the esoteric schools that developed
ages of Padmasambhava, who is said to have introduced Bud-
in Japan, the lokapa¯las often flank a central bodhisattva and
dhism and tamed the demons who inhabited the region, are
are depicted as sometimes fierce and menacing dark-skinned
common. He frequently is depicted as a robed monk with
foreigners. Consistent with the early literature that lays out
a crown, often holding an alms bowl and vajra. Prominent
Buddhism’s basic cosmological view, in a relative sense, such
monks such as At¯ı´sa and Xuanzang are common in both the
beings are very real and very active in the world. However,
sculpture and painting of China and Japan. Particularly in
in an absolute sense they ultimately are creations of our
Japan, individual monks, often specific to a particular mon-
minds, and therefore, like everything else, are empty. There-
astery, are presented in remarkably realistic images, some-
fore, the iconographic presentation of these divinities is in-
times life-size, three-dimensional sculptures. As with images
tended to provide an opportunity for meditation on the very
of S´a¯kyamuni, such sculptures function as meditational aids
nature of reality.
to be emulated, pedagogical prompters, and outright objects
WISDOM GODDESSES. A range of divine and semidivine fe-
of devotion.
male figures also is depicted in Buddhist iconography, many
IMAGES AND RITUAL. The Sa¯dhanama¯la¯ and Nis:pannayo-
of which are elaborately described in medieval texts such as
ga¯val¯ı are two medieval Indian iconographic manuals, writ-
the Sa¯dhanama¯la¯ and Nis:pannayoga¯val¯ı. The female divinity
ten in Sanskrit and still used in the early twenty-first century.
Ta¯ra¯ emerges in the Maha¯ya¯na as a divine savior who pro-
These texts—and the countless other lesser-known manuals
tects and nurtures her devotees. Her name literally means
that deal with three-dimensional icons, paintings, and
“star,” and she was perhaps originally associated, in particu-
man:d:alas—describe in sometimes minute detail the proper
lar, with guiding sailors. Ta¯ra¯ is sometimes referred to as
way to construct an image. They cover the purifying rituals
jagat tarin¯ı, the “deliverer of the world.” She is depicted in
to be performed prior to the start of work, the materials to
numerous forms—sometimes seated with a book, sometimes
be used, the iconographic details, the specific proportion, as
standing displaying variations of the abha¯ya mudra¯ (the ges-
well as detailed instructions for the ritual practices that are
ture of no fear) or making a hand gesture of giving—and is
associated with the image.
intimately associated with the lotus, denoting her character-
From the moment they appeared in the Buddhist world,
istic purity. In addition to her very common benevolent
visual images were intended to narrate aspects of the Bud-
forms, in the Vajraya¯na Ta¯ra¯ is sometimes depicted as wrath-
dha’s life and teachings, and therefore function on the
ful figure who transforms into the benign savior for her devo-
ground as visual texts to be read. In addition, they were very
tees when properly worshiped. Ta¯ra¯ was and continues to be
much intended to be objects of ritual worship. A wide range
extremely popular throughout the Maha¯ya¯na and Vajraya¯na
of texts are available for making and consecrating Buddhist
worlds, particularly in Nepal and Tibet, and she is frequently
images, from locally-produced manuals in the vernacular to
associated with Avalokite´svara. Sometime around the sev-
pan-Buddhist iconographic manuals. Perhaps the most com-
enth century, the Perfection of Wisdom texts (Prajña¯pa¯ramita¯
mon form of worship in the Buddhist world is buddha pu¯ja¯,
su¯tras) became personified in the figure of prajña¯pa¯ramita¯,
literally “honoring the Buddha.” This is a ritual that typically
wisdom incarnate, the divine “mother” of all enlightened be-
involves making some sort of offering to a Buddha image (or
ings. She typically is seated, legs crossed, and has either two
to a relic or a stupa), such as a flower, a small lamp, food,
or four arms. Prajña¯pa¯ramita¯ almost always forms the dhar-
or even money. Many images, particularly the stelae that
macakra mudra¯, holding both a lotus (emblematic of the
were abundantly produced in the medieval Indian milieu—
purity of her teachings) and the text of which she is the em-
although this also is an iconographic theme on some of the
bodiment.
very earliest Buddhist images—actually depict such worship
SAINTS, ARHATS, AND MONKS. As Buddhism spread beyond
as part of the sculpture. These depictions usually are found
India, an elaborate iconographic lexicon related to arhats,
along the base of the image, at what would in a ritual context
monks, and saints emerged. In China, the veneration and
be eye-level for the worshiper. The iconography in such
representation of important patriarchs became prominent;
cases, then, serves as a kind of visual guide to proper ritual
arhats were frequently represented, occasionally individually
action.
but more commonly in groups. In the Chan schools in par-
Across the Buddhist world, image construction and
ticular, where monastic lineage was central, portraits of im-
consecration are embedded in elaborate ritual structures. Im-
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ICONOGRAPHY: DAOIST ICONOGRAPHY
4331
ages are made by specially trained and sanctified artisans,
Marie-Thérèse Mallmann’s Introduction à l’iconographie du
who follow extremely precise iconographic guidelines that
tântrisme bouddhique (Paris, 1975). Two of the most com-
dictate the proportions and specific details of a particular
prehensive studies of Buddhist iconography are Lokesh
image. In northern Thailand, for instance, images are con-
Chandra’s Buddhist Iconography (New Delhi, 1991), which
structed using local ritual texts that include iconographic
focuses particularly on the Tibetan pantheon, and his Dictio-
proportions, recitation of special protective chants (paritta),
nary of Buddhist Iconography (New Delhi, 2004). For an ex-
cellent study of the particular iconography of Eastern India,
and elaborate consecration rituals, which “enliven” the
and especially the later esoteric schools that were prevalent,
image. Of particular interest in this regard is a clearly articu-
Thomas Donaldson’s Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of
lated correlation between the various parts of the image—
Orissa, two volumes (New Delhi, 2001), is a treasure trove
which in the ritual becomes the “form body” (rupaka¯ya) of
of information. In Imaging Wisdom: Seeing and Knowing in
the Buddha—and the dhammaka¯ya, or “teaching body” of
the Art of Indian Buddhism (London, 1999), Jacob Kinnard
the Buddha. According to these Thai texts—and there are
examines medieval Indian Buddhist sculpture specifically re-
similar manuals in other ritual contexts in Tibet, China,
lated to the important faculty of prajna. For a useful foray
Japan, Sri Lanka, and other Asian countries—a properly con-
into the medieval iconographic manuals, see Benoytosh
structed and consecrated Buddha image is one that makes
Bhattacharyya’s Indian Buddhist Iconography: Mainly Based
the ritual participant feel as though he or she is in the pres-
on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Ritu-
als (Calcutta, 1958). Tucci’s Theory and Practice of the Man-
ence of the Buddha himself.
dala (London, 1961) remains a useful study. For the recent
For the laypeople and monks who participate in such
debate about the aniconic thesis, see Susan Huntington’s
rituals, the Buddha image has a special apotropaic power,
“Early Buddhist Art and the Theory of Aniconism” (Art
often heightened by the accompanying recitation of paritta
Journal, 1990); Vidya Dehejia’s “Aniconism and the Multiv-
texts and various mantras. In some instances, part of the con-
alence of Emblems” (Ars Orientalis, 1992); and Susan Hun-
secration ritual involves the “instructing” of the image in the
tington’s response, “Aniconism and the Multivalence of Em-
blems: Another Look,” (Ars Orientalis, 1993). Donald
life story and teachings of the Buddha, which provides, also,
Swearer’s Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Conse-
the opportunity for the laity to receive this same instruction.
cration in Thailand (Princeton, 2004) presents a richly de-
Finally, the construction, consecration, and ritual veneration
tailed examination of the ritual construction and use of bud-
of images in virtually all Buddhist contexts provide an oppor-
dha images in northern Thailand as well as a useful
tunity for laypersons to generate merit by way of donations
comparative survey of ritual praxis associated with images.
made to the image—food, money, material objects—and by
For an important postmodern-oriented essay, see Bernard
sponsoring such rituals.
Faure’s “The Buddhist Icon and the Modern Gaze” (Critical
Inquiry, 1998). Finally, for a fascinating collection of essays,
Frequently, Buddhist iconography is intended to focus
see Living Images Japanese Buddhist Icons in Context (Stan-
the mind of the worshiper on the Buddha and his teachings,
ford, 2002), edited by Robert H. Sharf and Elizabeth Horton
serving as a visual aid and helping the practitioner to engage
Sharf.
in buddha anusmr:ti, or “recollection of the Buddha.” This
important form of meditation involves contemplating the
JACOB N. KINNARD (2005)
Buddha’s magnificent qualities and internalizing them, very
often with the use of a sculpture or painting. The iconogra-
phy of such images, then, serves a mimetic function in that
ICONOGRAPHY: DAOIST ICONOGRAPHY
the meditator is to emulate the iconographically presented
Buddha. In the process, the practitioner creates a mental
Like Daoism, Daoist iconography is not easily described as
image by internalizing the external iconographic form, there-
a unity. The focus in this entry will be on the visual expres-
by becoming like the image, and like the Buddha himself.
sions of the organized religion whose origins can be traced
to the second century CE, but this religion and its iconogra-
SEE ALSO Bodhidharma; Buddha; Buddhism, overview arti-
phy cannot be understood without reference to the intellec-
cle; Buddhist Meditation, articles on East Asian Buddhist
tual and religious developments that formed its background.
Meditation, Therava¯da Buddhist Meditation, and Tibetan
BACKGROUND. Many of the tenets that the Daoist religion
Buddhist Meditation; Buddhist Philosophy; Lotus; Mudra¯;
came to embrace evolved during the last four centuries BCE,
Stupa Worship; Temple, articles on Buddhist Temple Com-
the period that forged the worldview of imperial China. A
pounds.
chief concern for the competing rulers of the late Warring
States period (403–221 BCE) and the founders of the suc-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ceeding Qin (221–206 BCE) and Han (206 BCE–220 CE)
For a broad-ranging orientation to Buddhist iconography, see Fre-
dynasties was the sanction of political power, based on the
drick W. Bunce’s Encyclopedia of Buddhist Demigods, God-
lings, Saints and Demons, two volumes (New Delhi, 1994).
previous conception of a mandate (ming, also meaning “des-
The Image of the Buddha (Paris, 1978), edited by David L.
tiny” and “life”) bestowed by heaven (tian) on one who pos-
Snellgrove, focuses on the development and function of Bud-
sessed perfect virtue or “inner power” (De). From the fourth
dha images across the tradition. A good initiation into the
century BCE on, Chinese thinkers speculated about the rela-
Tantric pantheon and its complex iconography is found in
tionships between this inner power, the concept of an ineffa-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4332
ICONOGRAPHY: DAOIST ICONOGRAPHY
ble way (Dao) underlying the functions of the cosmos as a
Demonstrative of the experience that for ordinary hu-
whole, and the notion of ming in its double sense as heaven’s
mans immortality is attainable only in an afterlife, most arti-
mandate to rule and as the mandate of life granted by heaven
facts testifying to ancient Chinese beliefs about the cultiva-
to each individual. To many of these philosophers, de or
tion of life have been discovered in tombs. A second-century
inner power, believed to derive from the ability of aligning
BCE Han tomb in Mawangdui contained the almost perfectly
oneself with the Dao, was the prerequisite quality of both the
preserved body of a woman belonging to the high aristocra-
sage ruler and the saint capable of preserving his life. In the
cy. A painted silk banner presenting the lady’s ascent from
Dao de jing (Scripture on the way and inner power), attribut-
the tomb to the immortal realms covered the innermost of
ed to the paradigmatic figure of the “Old Master,” Laozi, the
four coffins encasing her. Other finds in tombs of Han
saint and sage ruler are equivalent. This also holds for the
dynasty elites include Boshan (Universal Mountain) censers,
texts Guanzi (compiled between the fourth and the second
incense burners with perforated, mountain-shaped lids de-
centuries BCE) and Huainanzi (submitted to the Han emper-
picting the marvelous world of the immortals; bronze mir-
or Wu in 139 BCE). The book Zhuangzi (the earliest parts
rors, whose backsides show the Queen Mother of the West,
are attributed to the fourth-century BCE philosopher Zhuang
often along with her male counterpart, the King Father of
Zhou), however, envisages the ideal, “fully realized person”
the East; and so-called money-trees, stylized tree-sculptures
(zhenren)—whether female or male—gaining boundless free-
in bronze with coin-shaped leaves, their branches carrying di-
dom by forsaking all political aspirations.
vinities such as the Queen Mother of the West, immortals,
and fabulous beasts.
While some Warring States rulers quickly caught on to
the idea of a direct connection between heaven-endowed
The Queen Mother, a deity of ancient origin, became
power and longevity or immortality, a dialogue between vari-
one of the foremost idols of the Han immortality cult. By
ous court professionals (astrologers, calendarologists, and
the second century CE, she was believed to rule over a para-
health specialists) and philosophers led to the systematization
dise of immortals on the mythic Kunlun Mountain located
of a theoretical framework by which the cosmic functions of
at the far western rim of the Han empire. Her picture—
the great Dao could at least approximately be understood
identified by her phoenix-patterned headdress, her throne
and controlled. Modern Western scholars have termed the
flanked by a tiger and dragon, and animals such as a bird,
resulting system—based on the theories of yin and yang, of
hare, toad, and fox—frequently adorns Han dynasty stone
qi (the vital pneuma and material basis of the universe), and
sarcophagi and mortuary architecture. As Wu Hung has
of the five cosmic driving forces (wuxing; also rendered five
demonstrated, her increasingly iconic representation—
elements, phases, or agents)—Chinese correlative cosmology.
showing her frontally, seated, and centered—derives from
Its symbolic expressions included animal figures (e.g., the
images of the Buddha, which became known in China
tiger and the dragon standing for yin and yang), color
around the same time. Indeed, in the second century CE, the
schemes, and trigrams derived from the ancient Yi jing (Book
Buddha (recognizable by the us:n:¯ıs:a protuberance on his
of changes). The system, which united the divine, natural,
head, his halo, Ghandaran-style gown, and hand gestures or
social, and moral orders into one interconnected whole,
mudra¯s) began to appear in Chinese funerary art as an equiv-
henceforth became the mainstay not only of traditional Chi-
alent of the Queen Mother of the West, promising, like her,
nese cosmo-political thought, but also of the gamut of Chi-
immortality beyond the tomb.
nese sciences, including medicine and the immortality arts,
Evidently, the hope for postmortem immortality in
and of Chinese religion in general.
some paradisiacal region was counterpoised by fears of an af-
Just as, according to correlative cosmology, the order of
terlife in the drab realms of death. Texts excavated from
the cosmos was manifest in the human realm in the form of
graves of commoners reveal that the netherworld was already
administrative structures, the universe as a whole came to be
in the late fourth century BCE imagined as a bureaucratic in-
viewed as administered by a bureaucracy of divine forces.
stitution. By the second century CE, this administration was
believed to be headquartered in China’s Five Sacred Moun-
The figure of the Yellow Emperor took the central position,
tains and ruled by the Celestial Emperor or Yellow God. The
analogous to the elemental force of “yellow” earth, among
texts usually express people’s trepidation at the possibility of
a group of five celestial thearchs correlated with the wuxing.
untimely death, either on account of an error in the nether-
By the early Han dynasty, the Yellow Emperor was the para-
world bookkeeping, or because the deceased might have suf-
digm for the sage ruler. Believed to have not only civilized
fered or committed severe wrongs during life. Surviving fam-
the world, but also succeeded in the cultivation of life, he be-
ily members buried human figurines of ginseng and lead
came the model for Emperor Wu’s (r. 140–87 BCE) quest for
with the bodies of the deceased to redeem their guilt and
universal rule and immortality. But some two hundred years
serve as surrogates for the living, lest they might fall ill and
later, the emperors of the declining Han dynasty pleaded
die by implication.
their hopes for longevity, male posterity, and the dynasty’s
survival before a far more powerful divinity: Laozi, who by
EARLY DAOIST RELIGION. Early Daoists shared and refined
then was seen as the very embodiment of the eternal Dao
this broader worldview as they constructed their tradition be-
itself.
tween the second and fifth centuries CE. Among several polit-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONOGRAPHY: DAOIST ICONOGRAPHY
4333
ico-religious movements in the second century, the Way of
DAOIST SCULPTURE. Concrete material images, however,
the Celestial Master alone survived and established the fun-
constituted in Daoist eyes only crude attempts to give fixed
damental liturgical and organizational structures of the Dao-
shape to the ever-changing modalities of the Dao and its hy-
ist religion. Celestial Master followers worshiped Laozi as the
postases. Fully sculpted icons of durable materials presented
supreme embodiment of the Dao, whose limitless pneumata
the bottom rank on that scale, and were considered danger-
(qi) could, however, take the shape of innumerable other di-
ous, because their coarse materiality might easily invite im-
vinities. Originally more concerned about death and its har-
pure and potentially malevolent spirits instead of the deities
binger, disease, than the pursuit of immortality, Celestial
whose likeness they purportedly produced. Even in late im-
Master priests sent petitions to the Three Bureaus, the other
perial times, Daoist texts frequently mention demons pos-
world’s legal institution, to relieve parishioners from the con-
sessing such icons as causes of disease, but already a fifth-
sequences of the crimes of deceased family members. Subor-
century source, attributed to the famous southern Chinese
dinated to the Three Bureaus were twelve hundred officials,
Daoist Lu Xiujing (406–477), complains that lay believers
including their civil and military staffs, whose divine inter-
installed sculpted images in their ritual chambers like the fol-
vention could be invited depending on the specific circum-
lowers of vulgar cults. Curiously, despite all Daoist claims of
stances of each case.
the formlessness of the Dao, a seventh-century Buddhist au-
thor accuses precisely Lu Xiujing of plagiarizing Buddhist
These were fairly concrete notions about a bureaucrati-
icons in sculptures of Daoist Heavenly Worthies (an epithet
cally functioning spirit world, wholly inscribed in Laozi’s di-
of the Dao’s embodiment as supreme deity in three different
vine body of the Dao, but, in accord with the Dao de jing’s
aeons).
assertion that the Dao ultimately has no concrete forms, early
Daoists hesitated to give outside visual form to any of these
Archaeologically, the earliest examples of Daoist sculp-
ideas. A second-century commentary to that scripture, whose
ture date indeed to the fifth and sixth centuries CE; but they
author stood at least close to the Celestial Master religion,
come from north China, where the Daoist Kou Qianzhi
even warns against picturing the Dao in the form of inner-
(d. 488) supposedly first promoted such icons. These images,
corporeal divinities. This evidently marked an extreme, since
carved on stelae and dedicated by private donors to the weal
anthropomorphic visualizations of the numinous forces in-
of the government and the happiness of their ancestors, os-
dwelling the body—a microcosm of Laozi’s cosmic body—
tensibly relate to a well-known Buddhist practice of merit-
quickly became central to the Daoist work of regulating uni-
transfer. Indeed, there are indications that religious differ-
versal flows through meditation. The fourth-century
ences barely mattered to followers of the custom. Several of
Shangqing (Higher Purity) scriptures contain the most de-
the stone monuments combine images of both Buddhist and
tailed instructions for such visualizations, although there are
Daoist divinities, which are distinguished only by minor fea-
prior guidelines for actualizing microcosmic deities—even
tures. While the figures of buddhas and bodhisattvas feature
Laozi himself—through mentally created images of their ap-
us:n:¯ıs:as or crowns and monastic garb, Daoist deities, often
pearances, including their size, garb, headgear, coloring, and
bearded and holding fans, wear hats and belted Chinese gar-
accoutrements.
ments. Otherwise, the posture and grouping of the Daoist
gods, with the chief divinity flanked by two attendants, con-
Apart from this eidetic technique of imaging, however,
form entirely to Buddhist iconography. Nor are there differ-
Daoists presented the forces of the divine preferably in ab-
ences in the appearance of Daoist deities identified by dis-
stract, symbolic ways. Diagrams, sacred maps, and various
tinct titles; whether a figure is referred to as Lord Lao
forms of secret script early on played important roles. The
(specifically Laozi as the body of the Dao) or Heavenly Wor-
yin-yang symbol (taiji tu) with its two comma-shaped fields
thy (a general appellation for hypostases of the Dao), their
inscribed in a circle, which became so prominent from the
images are the same. Only late in Daoist history, the Three
Song dynasty (960–1279) on, may not just be traced to a
Purities, or main hypostases of the Dao, developed their indi-
Tang dynasty (618–907) Buddhist antecedent, as Isabelle
vidualized iconographies with Yuanshi tianzun (Heavenly
Robinet has shown, but to even earlier Daoist, albeit non-
Worthy of Prime Origin) holding a pearl, Lingbao tianzun
transmitted, diagrams. Maps of the interior of the Five Sa-
(Heavenly Worthy of the Numinous Treasure) carrying a
cred Mountains existed already in early medieval times, even
scepter, and Daode tianzun (Heavenly Worthy of Dao and
though the extant diagrams only replace the long-lost origi-
De) retaining the features of the white-haired, bearded Lord
nals. But the chief key to access divine forces was writing.
Lao (Laozi).
This accounts for the centrality of Daoist fu, secret tallies (or
talismans), which Daoists drew in order to tap particular nu-
While Six Dynasties (220–589) Daoist sculpture was
minous sources. Moreover, from the fourth and fifth centu-
predominantly a matter of private devotion, the situation
ries on, Daoist scriptures were held to incorporate the blue-
changed dramatically under the Tang dynasty, which traced
print of the cosmos itself in their original celestial-script
its ancestral line to Laozi and therefore strongly supported
versions. That is why so much weight was put even on the
Daoism in its official cult. Tang emperors established a na-
calligraphic quality of the transcripts of such scriptures in
tionwide network of Daoist temples in which large freestand-
human hands.
ing statues of the holy ancestor were set up. Empress Wu (r.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4334
ICONOGRAPHY: DAOIST ICONOGRAPHY
684–705), before she founded her own interim dynasty and
nues, all turning towards the Dao, which in its threefold as-
turned to Buddhism for legitimization, decreed that sculp-
pect was represented by statues of the Three Purities (now
tures of Laozi’s mother should accompany those of Laozi;
lost).
and Xuanzong (r. 712–756), the most powerful of the em-
perors of the re-established Tang, even had his own likeness
Depictions of the Daoist pantheon at audience with the
installed in temples along with images of Laozi.
Dao’s higher hypostases may go back to the tenth century.
Other examples of narrative religious painting in China, such
If statuary began to play a role in state-endorsed Daoist
as the tableaus related to the “Water and Land” ritual of uni-
temples in connection with the imperial cult, the rules for
versal salvation (shuilu zhai) and the earlier “transformation
the production and worship of these images followed Bud-
pictures” (bianxiang) of hell (which existed already by the
dhist models. A relatively early Daoist source (ascribed a pre-
seventh century and of which Wu Daozi reportedly also was
Tang date by many scholars, but more probably compiled
a master) are associated with Buddhism; and Buddhism is
in the early Tang) determines a code of “auspicious marks”
considered to have inspired Daoist painting in general. But
(Skt., laks:an:a) for different types of icons and, prescribing
such paintings on Buddhist themes were early on connected
monthly vegetarian offerings and ritual cleansings for them,
with popular performances and rituals in China and likely
ascertains their sacrality. In the early tenth-century, a promi-
received indigenous Chinese and Daoist influence from the
nent court Daoist welcomed all ideological efforts at demon-
beginning. Surviving “Water and Land” frescoes, hell fres-
strating the miraculous powers of Daoist over Buddhist
coes, and scrolls of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
icons.
and beyond, at least, clearly manifest the impact of Daoism
(which then had incorporated them in its liturgy) in their hi-
Still, Daoists remained reluctant about attributing stat-
erarchic-bureaucratic vision of the numinous realms and the
uary a central place in their innermost ritual practice. Even
inclusion of Daoist gods.
today, effigies are generally eschewed in the inner sanctum
of the enclosed temporary altar constructions, where the es-
Nonetheless, Buddhist iconography unquestionably
sential rites of Daoist services take place. As a rule, only
shaped the appearance of Daoist deities. One example is the
painted images of the Daoist high divinities are allowed here,
Great Monad Heavenly Worthy Saving from Suffering
while sculpted icons from community temples and house-
(Taiyi jiuku tianzun), who, already by the tenth century, had
hold altars are relegated to the outer areas of the sacred space
assumed features of the bodhisattvas Avalokite´svara (Guany-
as onlookers. If statues have any immediate ritual functions,
in), Ks:itigarbha (Dizang), and Mañju´sri (Wenzhu). Central
such as the figures of altar guardians, messengers, or the
to Daoist funerary rituals, Taiyi jiuku tianzun is still repre-
newly deceased in funeral services, they are made of paper.
sented on painted scrolls next to the Three Purities in mortu-
These images are animated at the beginning of the ritual
ary altar settings. Particularly influential was the submerged
through the so-called eye-opening rite (kaiguang), and
Tantric Buddhist tradition in China. As Daoist liturgical
burned as soon as the spirits legitimately possessing them
texts of the twelfth through fourteenth centuries show, eso-
during the ritual have fulfilled their tasks.
teric Buddhist rituals and popular spirit possession practices
DAOIST PAINTING. Court support was also a chief factor in
greatly enriched the Daoist exorcistic tradition and its pan-
the development of Daoist painting. Wu Daozi (fl. 710–
theon of star deities, thunder gods, and divine marshals or
760), reportedly a Daoist priest, created his famous murals
generals. As a result, some Daoist deities, such as the multi-
and scroll paintings on both Buddhist and Daoist themes
handed Mother of the Seven Dipper Stars (Doumu), became
under Emperor Xuanzong’s sponsorship. None of his origi-
directly modeled on Tantric divinities. In others, the multi-
nals has survived, but textual references and transmitted
ple eyes, heads, and arms of Tantric spirits were combined
works of later artists, most of whom placed themselves in Wu
with traditional Daoist symbols and the names and features
Daozi’s tradition, bespeak the main features of his style:
of popular gods; in the chief thunder gods, iconographic syn-
movement, dramatic facial expressions, individualized fig-
thesis produced new chimerical shapes. Daoist sources none-
ures, and narrative composition.
theless understand these composite divinities in quintessen-
tially Daoist terms as manifestations of pure cosmic forces,
Beautiful examples of the illustrative art that the Daoist
re-created through the cycling and blending of corporeal qi
pictorial tradition eventually produced survive in the four-
in visual meditations. As in earlier Daoist texts, these visual-
teenth-century murals of the Eternal Joy Temple (Yongle
izations follow exact descriptions of the deities’ semblance
gong in Shanxi province) depicting the lives of the Immortals
and attributes and their cosmological significance; only the
(xian) Lü Dongbin and Wang Chongyang. But more expres-
iconographic vocabulary has become far more diverse. Even
sive of what inspired Daoist painting at its core is the brilliant
the fu tallies, originally abstract graphs designed to contract
rendition of the theme known as the “Audience with the Or-
divine powers, take in these late ritual manuals, often the
igin” in the temple’s main hall. The frescoes show the various
form of calligraphic pictures of the deities and their symbols.
monarchs of the Daoist universe, including the Jade Emper-
or; the Purple Tenuity Emperor of the North Pole; the
The general agreement between such liturgical sources
Queen Mother of the West; her spouse, Lord of the Dao in
and depictions of Daoist divinities in late imperial and mod-
the East; Houtu, the royal matriarch of earth; and their reti-
ern religious paintings suggests a connection between ritual
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONOGRAPHY: DAOIST ICONOGRAPHY
4335
performance and pictorial representation. Indeed, just as the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Audience with the Origin was not merely an iconographic
Bokenkamp, Stephen R., with Peter Nickerson. Early Daoist
theme, but originally denoted the culmination of Daoist
Scriptures. Berkeley, 1997. Contains several important early
meditation (when the divinities of an adept’s or priest’s bodi-
Daoist texts in English translation, including individual in-
ly microcosm are brought face to face and merged with the
troductions and thorough annotations. Peter Nickerson’s
contribution is of special interest in context with early Celes-
original oneness of the Dao), authentic artworks, and partic-
tial Master liturgy and its connection with previous mortuary
ularly paintings, were to reflect the internal visions of Daoist
rituals.
priests and the iconographic codes thereby established. That
Davis, Edward L. Society and the Supernatural in Song China. Ho-
this continuity between liturgy and the visual arts always re-
nolulu, 2001. The most comprehensive analytical study of
mained an ideal and never led to the iconographic standard-
Daoist ritual in the Song dynasty and later.
ization achieved in the Buddhist tradition is partly due to
Harper, Donald. “Resurrection in Warring States Popular Reli-
Daoism’s internal diversity and comparatively loose organi-
gion.” Taoist Resources 5, no. 2 (1994): 13–29. An important
zation, partly to difficulties in institutionalizing links be-
article on popular afterlife beliefs in the Warring States
tween clerical and art traditions, and, of course, also to the
period.
disruptions of modern times.
Kamitsuka Yoshiko. “Lao-tzu in Six Dynasties Taoist Sculpture.”
In Lao-tzu and the Tao-te-ching, edited by Livia Kohn and
While already in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,
Michael LaFargue, pp. 63–87. Albany, N.Y., 1998. A con-
scrolls portraying the Three Purities, the Jade Emperor, the
cise and highly informative essay on early Daoist sculpture.
Purple Tenuity Emperor, the Heavenly Worthy Saving from
Katz, Paul R. Images of the Immortal: The Cult of Lü Dongbin at
Suffering, and other Daoist high divinities surrounded the
the Palace of Eternal Joy. Honolulu, 1999.
inner, most sacred area of Daoist altars, these paintings, sur-
prisingly, were not accorded full sacred status. Even today,
Lemoine, Jaques. Yao Ceremonial Paintings. Bangkok, 1982. A
richly illustrated, exceedingly interesting introduction to the
the actual seat of Daoist divinities during rituals is in the
ritual paintings of the Yao minority people living in the
shenwei, small tablets inscribed with their names, not in
mountainous regions in south and southwestern China, who,
the paintings. An exception here is the Daoist tradition of
by the thirteenth century at the latest, were collectively con-
the Yao minority, which clearly emphasizes the sacrality of
verted to Daoism.
altar paintings through special rites of consecration and de-
Little, Stephen, and Shawn Eichman. Taoism and the Arts of
consecration (once they have outlived their ritual life spans).
China. Chicago and Berkeley, 2000. This catalog of an un-
precedented exhibition in Chicago and San Francisco is a
DAOIST ICONOGRAPHY IN POPULAR CHINESE ART AND RE-
treasure trove of stunning illustrations, including both dis-
LIGION. Daoist visions of gods and immortals, as well as de-
tinctly Daoist works and others that are more widely related
monic beings and their realms, have had a tremendous influ-
to Daoist concepts and themes. The authors have made ef-
ence on popular religious iconography. Temple murals and
forts at contextualizing their examples with Daoist history,
altar hangings evidently played important roles, but Daoists
thought, and liturgy. With five essays on particular topics by
also propagated their views through narrative and perfor-
different experts, this is the most up-to-date book-length
mance arts. The most eloquent proof of this exists perhaps
publication on Daoist arts and iconography.
in some of the great vernacular novels of the sixteenth
Loewe, Michael. Ways to Paradise: The Chinese Quest for Immortal-
through eighteenth centuries that feature the eminently hy-
ity. London, 1979. A classic on immortality and afterlife be-
brid pantheon of popular Chinese religion, including im-
liefs in early China.
mortals, Daoist and Buddhist divinities, and entirely com-
Reiter, Florian C. “The Visible Divinity: The Sacred Image in Re-
posite and often even renegade gods, all under the Jade
ligious Taoism.” Nachrichten der deutschen Gesellschaft für
Emperor’s rule. Even contemporary Chinese cite these novels
Natur-und Völkerkunde Ostasiens 144 (1988): 51–70. The
as sources of information about the backgrounds, functions,
article studies the guidelines concerning Daoist temple imag-
symbolism, and iconography of the deities worshiped by
ery in an early (pre-Tang/beginning of Tang) Daoists liturgi-
cal code.
them, whether in statues and murals in community temples,
or in wood-block book illustrations and New Year’s pictures
Robinet, Isabelle. Taoism: Growth of a Religion. Translated by
at home. As these explanations again are frequently traced
Phyllis Brooks. Stanford, Calif., 1997. A lucid introduction
to the history of Daoist thought up to the mid-fourteenth
to Daoist liturgical literature, they point—in line with the
century by one of the foremost scholars in the field. Includes
motto favored by late imperial Daoists, that all religious
an illuminating discussion of the importance of script and
paths eventually run into the Great Way—to Daoism as the
scripture in Daoism, and provides information on the evolu-
most important factor in the formation of popular Chinese
tion of the yin-yang symbol.
religion and iconography.
Seidel, Anna. “Traces of Han Religion in Funeral Texts Found in
Tombs.” In Dokyo to shukyo bunka, edited by Akizuki Kan’ei,
SEE ALSO Afterlife, article on Chinese Concepts; Calligra-
pp. 21–57. Tokyo, 1987. One of the famous late author’s pi-
phy, article on Chinese and Japanese Calligraphy; Dao and
oneering studies of the mortuary cult of the Han dynasty in
De; Daoism; Temple, article on Daoist Temple Com-
connection with the early Daoist religion of the Celestial
pounds; Xian; Yinyang Wuxing.
Master movement.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4336
ICONOGRAPHY: CONFUCIAN ICONOGRAPHY
Stevens, Keith. Chinese Gods: The Unseen Worlds of Spirits and De-
More specifically, using painted or sculpted figural im-
mons. London, 1997. An introduction to the icons of popu-
ages as objects of reverence to depict these beings is not clear-
lar Chinese religion, richly illustrated and with copious
ly attested in early texts. Later Confucian historiography, be-
ethnographic commentaries that help readers see the inter-
ginning at least as early as the Song dynasty (960–1279),
connections between Chinese everyday religion and Daoist
insisted that anthropomorphic images of deceased human
and Buddhist imagery.
beings, or of nonhuman divinities, were not used in ritual
Teiser, Stephen. “‘Having Once Died and Returned to Life’: Rep-
contexts in Warring States times or earlier. Both written re-
resentations of Hell in Medieval China.” Harvard Journal of
cords and the archaeological record as it was then known
Asiatic Studies 48, no. 2 (1988): 433–464. An outstanding
iconological study on Chinese Buddhist representations of
support this notion.
hell in medieval times.
For example, according to the Book of Rites, ancestors
Verellen, Franciscus. “‘Evidential Miracles in Support of Taoism’:
were instead “imaged” (xiang, a term used as both noun and
The Inversion of a Buddhist Apologetic Tradition in Late
verb) or represented by a personator (or impersonator) of the
T’ang Dynasty China.” T’oung Pao 77/78 (1991–1992):
dead. The personator (shi) was a living descendant of the de-
217–263. An exceedingly interesting account of how a late
ceased who temporarily took upon the identity of the depart-
medieval court Daoist turned the tables on Buddhist polem-
ed ancestor, whose laid-out body was simultaneously called
ics against Daoist liturgical and iconographic plagiarism.
a shi, during commemorative rites that feted the personator/
Wu Hung. The Wu Liang Shrine: The Ideology of Early Chinese Pic-
deceased with food and liquor. The consanguineous relation-
torial Art. Berkeley, 1989. An authoritative in-depth study
ship between the dead and the personator (the bodies of de-
of Han dynasty tomb art and iconography with focus on an
offering shrine of 151
scendants were moreover considered consubstantial with
CE.
those of their forebears) often ensured a close physical resem-
URSULA-ANGELIKA CEDZICH (2005)
blance between the personator and his or her ancestral “pro-
totype.”
ICONOGRAPHY: CONFUCIAN ICONOGRAPHY
Personators were not widely used after the Warring
Over the centuries, the terms “Confucian” and “Confucian-
States era, but the notion that an image should resemble its
ism” have been constructed in different ways, both in China
prototype became crucial in later times, when validity of an
and in the West. The adjective “Confucian” here is used
image was determined by its perceived similitude to its pro-
loosely, referring not only to the writings of Confucius (551–
totype. Some Chinese scholars of the Song and Ming (1368–
479
1644 CE) dynasties believed that the custom of using person-
BCE) but also to that larger body of learning and praxis
transmitted in other (often older) ancient classical texts and
ators to image the deceased was in fact the origin of the later
their later commentaries (which are being compiled to this
use of anthropomorphic images in sacrificial offerings. Ac-
day). This collection of works is very diverse and its bounda-
cording to this historiographic interpretation, after Warring
ries are difficult to determine. The more important titles,
States times the living descendant was replaced with painted
which date to Warring States times (403–221
or sculpted images of the deceased, which were held to high
BCE) or earlier,
are the Book of Odes (Shijing), Book of Documents (Shangshu),
standards of semblance.
Book of Rites (Liji), Master Zuo’s Commentary on the Spring
Such ancestral portraits were widely used by the Song
and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu Zuozhuan), and the Analects
dynasty, and were called ying, or “shades.” Conceptually, the
of Confucius. Somewhat later is the Han dynasty (206 BCE–
term ying incorporates the meanings of both “shadow” and
220 CE) Book of Filial Piety (Xiaojing). The term “iconogra-
“reflection,” and can be understood as an emanated projec-
phy” is used here in a very general sense to refer to visual de-
tion from the human body that is visible in sunlight and re-
pictions of the phenomena recorded in such classical texts,
flected in mirrors and other clear or flat surfaces, such as the
and it also refers to later products of the visual culture that
surface of an ancestral painting used in rites to commemorate
was based in some fashion upon that written legacy.
the deceased. In folk tales such as the Ming dynasty Peony
CONFUCIAN DIVINITIES AND MYTHIC BEINGS. Early texts
Pavilion, shades sometimes become doppelgängers of the
describe an expansive pantheon of divinities, numinous pow-
original body and take on lives of their own—even after the
ers, ideal beings, and culture heroes. These include the Lord
prototype body is deceased. Ancestral portraits are still wide-
on High; heaven and earth; spirits of mountains and rivers;
ly used in modern times, although they have been largely re-
powers of cold, heat, and celestial bodies; mythic supra-
placed by photographs, which ensure greater verisimilitude
human beings; sage rulers; and ancestral spirits, to name a
than paintings. In fact, the modern expression “to photo-
few.
graph” is literally she ying, “absorb the shade.”
Historiographic issues. The ways in which these be-
Images in early China. Confucian images often emerge
ings were visually understood in pre-Han times, however, is
from or appear in mortuary, visionary, or other liminal con-
unclear. The pre-Han archaeological record preserves depic-
texts. One of the earliest known textual descriptions of an
tions of a wide range of mythic beings. However, they are
image in a Confucian text is of an image (xiang) created to
neither readily identifiable nor easily associated with figures
depict a man seen in a vision. The Book of History records
from “Confucian” written works.
how a bereft ruler went into mourning and underwent the
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ICONOGRAPHY: CONFUCIAN ICONOGRAPHY
4337
usual austerities of isolation, fasting, silence, and occlusion
depict their subjects in the very act of performing virtuous
of the senses. This typically led to visionary experiences, and
deeds: a wife allows herself to be murdered in order to save
not unexpectedly the ruler saw in a dream a man whom he
her husband and father; the culture hero Yu digs the water-
understood was to be his helpmate or body-substitute. This
ways that preserved the world from floods; a mother rescues
helpmate would replace the ruler while he remained secluded
a nephew at the expense of her own child.
in mourning. The ruler ordered an image created of the man
Early medieval images. These Han images are murals
he saw and sent it about the kingdom until someone was lo-
in shrines, but during the Tang dynasty (618–907), spirits
cated who resembled it. This person was then established as
of all kinds also were represented at their “spirit places” (shen-
the ruler’s prime minister. Visions of the deceased, as well
wei) on temple altars by spirit tablets (zhu), which were verti-
as the living, were commonplace in the pre-sacrificial vigils
cal planks that recorded the name and title of the divinities
of commemorative offerings presented by pious descendants
they represented. Written records indicate that by this time
to their ancestors. It was here that one could see them again,
period, Confucius and other famous literati also were repre-
even though they were now in the realm of spirits, which
sented by two- or three-dimensional anthropomorphic im-
were otherwise formless, invisible, and ineffable.
ages on altars where they were given state-sponsored food of-
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE OF CONFUCIAN FIGURES. Virtually
ferings. Debates ensued over how certain figures should be
nothing is known of the actual physical appearance of partic-
represented; being depicted sitting rather than standing was
ular figures from Confucian lore, or even of Confucius him-
considered a mark of honor. These arguments paralleled de-
self.
bates over which textual or spiritual traditions should be
Han dynasty iconography. By Han times, thinkers and
granted greater authority: personal disciples of Confucius, or
artists began to create their own visual interpretations of im-
later scholars who transmitted the learning of a particular
portant figures. Extant sculpted stone bas-reliefs on shrines,
classic. Because few Tang images exist, their actual appear-
tombs, and steles from the Han and early medieval periods
ance is unknown.
(to 618 CE) depict narrative representations of daily life, his-
One of the most widely known depictions of Confucius
toric figures, mythic beings, and prognosticatory omens.
is traditionally attributed to the famous Tang painter Wu
These reliefs were didactic in nature and, when located in
Daozi (fl. 710–760), although the image’s authenticity is
tombs or shrines, were the backdrop for the mortuary rites
questionable. This rendering depicts Confucius as a solitary
convened there.
standing figure, hands held at his chest. A long beard attests
Confucius appears frequently in these early depictions,
to his age and seniority; he is no longer a pupil who bows
never alone and sometimes accompanied by a retinue of dis-
politely to seek wisdom from others, but is an autonomous,
ciples and even by half-human, half-animal hybrid creatures.
iconic figure presented visually as a model of authoritative
He is yet far from being depicted as the premier sage of the
gravitas. It is this Confucius who is the subject of modern
Analects—or even as the “uncrowned king” that contempo-
sculptures in Chinatowns throughout the world.
rary philosophical texts claim him to be—but is more com-
In other Tang and Song renderings, Confucius is no
monly shown to be a pedant instructed by recluses, farmers,
longer accompanied by his “teacher,” Xiang Tuo, who has
or even children. He frequently appears in conversation with
instead been replaced by Confucius’s favorite disciple, Yan
the legendary Laozi and the child prodigy Xiang Tuo. The
Hui. In contrast to the child prodigy, Yan Hui was noted
assemblage of these three figures constitutes an admixture of
for his humility. Elsewhere, Confucius is found in poses sim-
mythic accounts from several textual sources, some of which
ilar to those of the Buddhist layman Vimalak¯ırti: he sits on
are not “Confucian.” In this grouping, Confucius is under-
a raised platform and holds a fan. However, instead of an en-
stood to be a middle-aged man who is the pupil of both the
tourage of monks and bodhisattvas, he is accompanied by his
older master (“Lao” means simply “old” or “elderly”) and the
disciples. These images exist as narrative scrolls on paper and
precocious child. Tales of Confucius’s apocryphal conversa-
silk, and also as stone carvings displayed in temples.
tions with Xiang Tuo appear in Dunhuang literature (a trove
of documents dating to Tang times discovered in the Dun-
POLITICAL AND SOCIETAL ACCEPTANCE. Some Song schol-
huang caves of Central Asia), and both texts and illustrations
ars began to express discomfort with anthropomorphic ren-
of the encounter are still commonly included in yearly alma-
derings of both historic figures and spirits of natural phe-
nacs distributed among Chinese populations worldwide.
nomena, particularly when they were used in ritual contexts.
Other bas-reliefs from Han and early medieval times de-
Images in the Song dynasty. The brothers Cheng Hao
pict culture heroes and heroines from antiquity: the model
(1032–1085) and Cheng Yi (1033–1107) questioned the use
rulers Yao, Shun, and Yu; exemplars of filial piety; paragons
of ancestral portraits, especially those wanting in verisimili-
of female courage; and men of remarkable character. The
tude. In addition, Chen Chun (1159–1223) ridiculed the
medium does not allow for “realistic” renderings, and the fig-
practice of depicting the spirit of sacred Mount Tai as a
ures are highly stylized and sometimes only identifiable by
human king. Taking anthropomorphizing to its logical con-
virtue of their insignia or textual cartouches. Didactic repre-
clusion, Chen wondered where such a geographically isolated
sentations, such as those of the Wu clan shrines in Shandong,
mountain range was likely to find a queen. Distaste for per-
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4338
ICONOGRAPHY: CONFUCIAN ICONOGRAPHY
ceived Buddhist influences on Chinese practices, and for the
lets that bore only the names and titles of the deceased. In
charlatanry that passed for Buddhism, was not far below the
officially sponsored temples, images remain largely absent
surface. Zhu Xi (1130–1200) was troubled that images of
from temple altars to this day, although during the late Ming
Confucius were depicted in ahistorical Buddhist poses, and
dynasty the ban was occasionally circumvented by hiding im-
Cheng Hao ordered the decapitation of a Buddhist statue
ages inside temple walls.
that gained notoriety by purportedly emitting rays of light.
Paradoxically, even as sculpted images were being
Elsewhere, artists of the Song dynasty found their sub-
cleansed from the altars of officially sponsored temples, other
jects in classical texts. Such famous artists as Li Gonglin (c.
kinds of images flourished. The expansion of the publishing
1041–1106) created illustrations for the Book of Filial Piety,
industry resulted in an unprecedented variety of woodblock
and others illustrated the Women’s Book of Filial Piety. These
illustrations. Many illustrated collections that depicted im-
works were created in the hand scroll format: a long scroll
portant events (largely apocryphal) in the life of Confucius
of paper or silk about one foot in height and several yards
were printed, as were illustrated books of filial piety and ritu-
in length was illustrated alternately with text passages and ac-
al paraphernalia. Another popular genre was collected vol-
companying illustrations. Intended for the moral edification
umes of portraits of famous people: historical figures, rulers
and aesthetic appreciation of the viewer, the scroll would be
and ministers, sages and worthies, local heroes, filial children,
unfurled slowly and the images viewed one at a time, perhaps
and exemplars of women’s virtues.
with the help of an instructor. The twelfth-century painter
Ma Hezhi and his calligraphic collaborator, Song emperor
In late imperial times Confucius also was popularly de-
Gaozong (1107–1187; r. 1127–1162) chose as their subject
picted in “Three Teachings” images that illustrated how the
the verses of the ancient Book of Odes. The cryptic verses and
Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist traditions (represented by
liturgical hymns of the Odes were believed to embody the
Confucius, Laozi, and S´a¯kyamuni Buddha, respectively)
epitome of human sensibility, and were thus a fitting subject
were deeply interrelated. Not everyone believed that Bud-
for the ruler himself.
dhism was a heterodox religion that profaned the teachings
of the sages of ancient China. To make the philosophical
For millennia, vessels of bronze and objects of jade have
point that the three traditions were different manifestations
been the vehicles for presenting food offerings and displaying
of a common substratum, the three figures are sometimes
pious sentiments to spiritual beings, and even illustrations of
shown schematically as intertwining shapes that form one
those objects bear iconic status. Several compilations of
body, or ti (a term that can be applied to a human body as
woodblock illustrations, depicting ritual objects, were creat-
well as a canonical corpus). Other depictions recall the Han
ed during the Song dynasty. Thereafter, this genre remained
representation of Confucius, Laozi, and the child Xiang Tuo.
popular for centuries. Some of these texts were created for
However, in the late imperial images Xiang Tuo is replaced
an audience of connoisseurs and antiquarians. However, oth-
by an infant named S´a¯kyamuni, who is held in Laozi’s arms.
ers were intended as handbooks for those who officiated at
rites or were used as visual inventories of sacred objects ap-
During the Qing dynasty, images of Confucius were
preciated for their own sake. The display, arrangement, di-
largely proscribed from official temples and shrines to Con-
rectionality, and number of particular objects used in ritual
fucian sages and worthies, but they were not eliminated at
performances was of great concern, and Ming (1368–1644
the Kong (the Chinese family name of Confucius) ancestral
CE) and Qing (1644–1911 CE) dynastic records provide line
temples in Qufu in Shandong province, which also main-
illustrations that document the placement of each goblet and
tained a collection of family portraits of “the Sage’s” descen-
saucer for spiritual beings of all ranks.
dants. During the early twentieth century, there was a revival
of interest in visual depictions of Confucius. At this time,
Images in later imperial times. In the Ming, scholars
Confucian associations from around the world returned to
began to question more fundamentally the use of anthropo-
Qufu to locate “real” images of Confucius that could be du-
morphic images in sacrificial offerings. To some thinkers,
plicated and distributed in large quantities to promote the
human-shaped images of clay or paint created by mere arti-
values of the Analects. The search for verisimilitude was par-
sans blasphemed the subtle formlessness of spirits. Images
tially fueled by the development of photography.
that did not look like their prototypes were considered inval-
id. Images of Confucius, for example, could not possibly
Twentieth-century trends. During the first half of the
look like Confucius, for none of them even looked like one
twentieth century, political regimes employed images of
another. Others presented xenophobic arguments against
Confucius or of the Kong family temples to promote their
Buddhist customs imported from India and against Mongo-
own agendas. In China, the facade of a temple also is under-
lian Buddhist tendencies (China had been ruled by Mongol
stood as a mian, or face. Several governments featured Con-
people in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries) to-
fucius’s visage, or that of his temple at Qufu, on their curren-
ward iconophilia. By the 1530s, sentiment against anthropo-
cy. By doing so, they attempted to fortify their own cultural
morphic images in temples to Confucius and other literati
legitimacy and establish a cultural symbol that was palatable
was so strong that they were ordered eliminated by imperial
to the hundreds of diverse cultural and ethnic groups within
decree. Sculpted images of clay were replaced by wooden tab-
China. Even the Japanese puppet government of Manchuria
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONOGRAPHY: CONFUCIAN ICONOGRAPHY
4339
adopted Confucius on its currency, thus claiming sovereign-
article; Confucius; Temple, article on Confucian Temple
ty over the cultural homeland of Shandong.
Compounds.
With the establishment of the avowedly iconoclastic
People’s Republic of China in 1949, however, religious and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cultural symbols of all kinds (other than those promoted by
the Communist Party) were erased in the name of revolu-
For early depictions of the human body in Chinese art, see Hel-
tion. Even though thinkers such as Kuang Yaming tried to
mut Brinker’s “The Concept of the Human Body in Chinese
depict Confucius as a “man of the people,” “Confucianism”
Art,” in Symbolik des menschlichen Leibes, edited by Paul Mi-
became synonymous with cultural stagnation and economic
chel (Bern, Switzerland, 1995), pp. 49–81. Bas-reliefs of the
Wu clan shrine are explored in Wu Hung’s The Wu Liang
backwardness. In the civil strife of the Cultural Revolution,
Shrine: The Ideology of Early Chinese Pictorial Art (Stanford,
the Confucian images at Qufu were disemboweled and pa-
Calif., 1989). For ancestral portraits, see Worshipping the An-
raded around the town in dunce caps, much as if they were
cestors: Chinese Commemorative Portraits by Jan Stuart and
living entities. Communist propaganda distributed to adults
Evelyn S. Rawski (Washington, D.C., 2001) and Patricia
and children depicted Confucius as a hideous, deceitful, and
Ebrey’s “Portrait Sculptures in Imperial Ancestral Rites in
decrepit old man who was deservedly punished for his reac-
Song China,” in T’oung Pao 83 (1997), pp. 42–92. Song de-
tionary ways by muscular young peasants and laborers.
pictions of Confucian sages and texts are discussed in Julia
CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS. By the end of the twenti-
K. Murray’s “The Hangzhou Portraits of Confucius and Sev-
eth century, revolutionary zeal was supplanted by financial
enty-two Disciples (Sheng xian tu): Art in the Service of Poli-
ambition as China became a larger force in the world econo-
tics” (Art Bulletin 74, 1992, pp. 7–18), as well as her Ma
my. As China reshaped its image of itself as a nation among
Hezhi and the Illustration of the Book of Odes (Cambridge,
equals, it rehabilitated its own culture heroes. Municipal
U.K., 1993). For the Classic of Filial Piety, see Richard M.
governments and schools refashioned their own civic monu-
Barnhart’s Li Kung-lin’s Classic of Filial Piety (New York,
ments and replaced statues of Mao with public sculptures of
1993). For late-imperial narrative scenes in the life of Confu-
famous world figures from the sciences, the arts, and philoso-
cius, see Julia K. Murray’s “Varied Views of the Sage: Illus-
phy. In addition to Newton, Copernicus, Einstein, and Bee-
trated Narratives of the Life of Confucius” in Thomas A.
thoven, these included representations of Confucius. In cine-
Wilson, ed., On Sacred Grounds: Culture, Society, Politics, and
the Formation of the Cult of Confucius (Cambridge, Mass.,
ma, the mythic life of Confucius has been featured in several
2002), pp. 222–264. For Chinese pictorial collections of
lengthy television series and feature films, where he is often
sculptures, paintings, and architectural monuments related
depicted as a virtuous man who successfully withstands ad-
to the Confucian tradition see the Rujia tuzhi (A collection
versity.
of Confucian images) compiled by Xu Lingyun et al. (Shan-
Confucian temples in Taiwan continue to preserve the
dong province, China, 1994) and Dazai Kongzi (O Great
Ming tradition of using tablets instead of images, and their
Confucius), edited by Zhang Zuoyao (Hong Kong, 1991).
walls are dominated by textual and calligraphic icons, when
The art and architecture of the temple of Confucius in Qufu
decorated by anything at all. Blood-red tablets mark the
is documented in Qufu Kongmiao Jianzhu (Architecture of
names of hundreds of famous literati and invoke their bodies
the Confucian temple in Qufu), edited by the Qufu Cultural
of written work. Inside shrines, altars stand before oversized
Administration (Beijing, 1987). For the religious and philo-
calligraphed renditions of the Great Learning, clearly mark-
sophical significance of images of Confucius, see Deborah
ing the text as an object of reverence.
Sommer, “Destroying Confucius: Iconoclasm in the Confu-
cian Temple,” in Thomas A. Wilson, ed., On Sacred
In Beijing, which has been an imperial capital since the
Grounds: Culture, Society, Politics, and the Formation of the
fifteenth century, the presence of numinous powers also is
Cult of Confucius (Cambridge, Mass., 2002), pp. 95–133.
marked by simple tablets, as well as extensive architectural
Revivals of Confucius as a subject matter for artists is docu-
structures and sacred spaces. The late-imperial Temple of
mented in the Jinian Kongzi danchen 2550 zhounian quanguo
Heaven complex at the southern end of the north-south axis
meishu zuopin Zhongguohua zuopin ji (Collection of Chinese
of the city marks the sacrality of the earth with a large open-
paintings from the national art exhibition to commemorate
air circular altar; of heaven, with a smaller, closed structure
the 2,550th birthday anniversary of Confucius), edited by
roofed in blue tiles. The larger Hall of Yearly Harvests archi-
the editorial committee of the national art exhibition to com-
tecturally represents the intersection of time and space: the
memorate the 2,550th birthday anniversary of Confucius
numerical arrangement of columns and shrines marks the
(Beijing, 1999). For a European exhibition featuring works
four seasons, twelve months, and calendrical days of the year.
related to Confucius and time, see Confucius: a l’aube de hu-
This complex is oriented with additional temples to the sun
manisme chinois, edited by Jean-Paul Desroches (Paris,
and moon in other quadrants of the city’s cosmography,
2003). For more theoretical studies of visuality in China, see
making all of Beijing a sacred space shared by humans and
Craig Clunas’s Pictures and Visuality in Early Modern China
spiritual powers.
(Princeton, N.J., 1997).
SEE ALSO Chinese Religion, overview article; Confucianism
DEBORAH SOMMER (2005)
in Japan; Confucianism in Korea; Confucianism, overview
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4340
ICONOGRAPHY: JEWISH ICONOGRAPHY [FIRST EDITION]
ICONOGRAPHY: JEWISH ICONOGRAPHY
modern scholars tend to see these motifs as “decoration” de-
[FIRST EDITION]
void of articulate symbolic meanings; others, especially
Jewish iconography, whether actually represented in works
Goodenough, attribute established symbolic meanings to
of art or existing only as traditional imagery (and occasionally
them.
referred to in literature), was determined from the first by
M
the biblical “prohibition of images.” This prohibition, trans-
IDDLE AGES. In the European Middle Ages, especially be-
tween the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, Jewish religious
mitted in the Bible in several versions, could be understood
imagery developed further. The illumination of manuscripts
(1) as forbidding, in a religious context, all images, regardless
of their subject matter (Ex. 20:4, Dt. 4:15–18), or (2) specifi-
is the central aesthetic medium of the period; of particular
cally forbidding the depiction of God and the ritual use of
significance are the manuscripts produced in Spain, Italy,
such a depiction as an idol (Dt. 27:15). While the first inter-
and Germany. All these manuscripts are of a ritual nature,
pretation of the prohibition did not prevail (the Bible itself
the most important groups being the Haggadah for Passover
provides evidence of this in 1 Kgs. 6:23–29, Ez. 8:5–12), the
and prayer books for the holidays, the mah:zor. The illumina-
other was consistently implemented. Possibly the most strik-
tions (and later, printed illustrations) represent many ritual
ing feature of Jewish iconography throughout the ages is the
utensils, but they also include, more often than in Jewish art
systematic avoidance of any depiction of the figure of God.
of other periods and media, human figures, especially in bib-
To a large extent this is also true for saintly personages:
lical scenes. The iconographic repertoire is enlarged by myth-
though hagiographical literature emerged in Judaism, it was
ical motifs, attesting to messianic beliefs. Among these motifs
not accompanied by any visual imagery of saints. From the
are the legendary beasts (such as the shor ha-bar, a kind of
beginning, then, Jewish religious iconography developed in
wild ox), on which the just will feast on the day of redemp-
marked contrast to the traditions predominant in the Chris-
tion; these are particularly prominent in manuscripts pro-
tian West. Since the loss of political independence in 71 CE,
duced in Germany. The future Temple that, according to
Jewish imagery could not be formed within the framework
common belief, is to be built after the redemption, is another
of a state art and did not enjoy any official support for its
frequent mythical motif, especially in Spanish and German
symbols. As the art and imagery of a religious minority, how-
manuscripts; it is sometimes patterned after contemporary
ever, it flourished in the Diaspora throughout the ages. The
Christian models. Both the temple building and the ritual
iconography that emerged within these limitations devel-
utensils (the latter sometimes rendered on the opening folios
oped mainly in a few periods and thematic cycles.
of Bible manuscripts produced in Spain) may be taken as ex-
H
pressions of “the ardent hope and belief” to see the “restored
ELLENISM. The meeting between Judaism and the Greek
world—a process that lasted from early Hellenism to late an-
Temple in the messianic future.” In countries under Islamic
tiquity (roughly, second century
rule, Jewish art readily adapted the aniconic attitude and the
BCE to fifth century CE)—
resulted in a body of religious images. While the Mishnah
repertoire of decorative motifs common among the Muslims,
and Talmud were being compiled (roughly second to sixth
although in literature, visual imagery continued to thrive in
centuries
the form of metaphors and descriptions.
CE) Jewish communities produced a large number
of representations, which have been uncovered in Jewish re-
QABBALISTIC SYMBOLISM. The qabbalistic tradition is a spe-
mains (mainly synagogues and burial places) from Tunisia
cial field of iconographic creation. Qabbalistic literature
to Italy and eastward to the Euphrates; sites in Israel are par-
abounds in visual metaphors, since the authors often tend to
ticularly rich. Occasionally this imagery includes human fig-
express (or to hide) their thoughts and mysteries in visual im-
ures, either in biblical scenes or in pagan myths (frequently
ages and descriptions of supposed optical experiences. Since
the image of Helios, the Greek sun god).
the beginnings of Jewish mysticism in late antiquity, a con-
More often, however, these survivals show objects with
tinuous tradition of visual symbols has persisted. Considera-
definite ritual connotations. Most prominent are the seven-
bly enriched in the Middle Ages, and in the seventeenth cen-
branched menorah (candelabrum), Aron ha-Qodesh (the Ark
tury, this tradition remained unbroken up to, and including,
of the Covenant), lulav and etrog (palm branch and citron),
Hasidic literature. The central image of qabbalistic symbol-
and shofar (ceremonial animal horn). These objects (which
ism is the Tree of Sefirot. The godhead is imagined as struc-
reflect the crystallization of Jewish ritual) have no strict hier-
tured in ten spheres, each of them representing a “divine
archy, but the menorah, and the Ark of the Covenant, repre-
quality” (Heb., sefirah). The shape and place of the spheres,
senting the law itself, are more important than the others.
and the spatial relationships between them, are firmly estab-
When both are shown together, they always occupy the cen-
lished in the qabbalistic imagination. The overall pattern
tral place. Besides such explicitly ritual objects, Jewish re-
vaguely resembles a tree (hence the name), but the basic char-
mains abound in artistic motifs, taken over from Hellenistic
acter of the image is abstract rather than figurative. Though
art, whose symbolic character is obscure. A good example is
the Tree of Sefirot has frequently been depicted (mainly in
the vine, most likely derived from contemporary Dionysian
simple form, primarily in popular printed editions) and has
imagery and often found in Jewish cemeteries. But whether
exerted some influence on contemporary Jewish painters, the
in Jewish communities it carried the meaning of salvation
image is not primarily an artistic one; rather, it is still widely
that it had in the pagan world is a matter of dispute. Some
known from the literary sources.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONOGRAPHY: JEWISH ICONOGRAPHY [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
4341
Qabbalistic literature produced other visual symbols,
covery, scholarly publication, and the public exhibition of
among them the images of broken vessels, scattered sparks,
Jewish art (often in museums established by Jewish commu-
Adam Qadmon (primordial man) as a figure of God, and so
nities for the purpose). Early scholarship was carried out
forth. Scholem has also shown that an elaborate color sym-
mainly by non-Jewish scholars, generally with Jewish finan-
bolism emerged in the qabbalistic literature. In modern civil
cial backing. This was thought to afford this research with
societies, Jewish iconography is still in the process of forma-
greater veracity. Notable among scholarly writings of this
tion and has not yet been properly studied.
early period was art historian J. von Schlosser’s pathbreaking
work on Hebrew manuscripts, Die Haggadah von Sarajevo:
SEE ALSO Biblical Temple; Qabbalah; Synagogue.
Eine spanisch-judische Bilderhandschrift des Mittelalters
(1898), with Jewish scholar D. H. Müller and a contribution
BIBLIOGRAPHY
by David Kaufmann; classicists Heinrich Kohl and Carl
For the imagery of the Hebrew Bible (though not necessarily in
Watzinger’s Antike Synagogen in Galilaea (1916); and Hein-
art only) still useful is Maurice H. Farbridge’s Studies in Bib-
rich Frauberger’s revolutionary work on Jewish ceremonial
lical and Semitic Symbolism (1923; reprint, New York, 1970).
art, Üeber Alte Kuntusgegenstände in Synagoge und Haus
Erwin R. Goodenough’s Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman
Period, 13 vols. (New York, 1953–1968), has a rich collec-
(1903).
tion of photographs; the text is stimulating, albeit sometimes
Since World War I the majority of scholarship has been
arguable. Mainly for the Middle Ages, see Jacob Leveen’s The
carried out by Jews, usually within the contexts of Judaic
Hebrew Bible in Art (1944; reprint, New York, 1974). For
early modern times, see Beauty in Holiness: Studies in Jewish
studies. The prominent exceptions all focused on the Greco-
Customs and Ceremonial Art, edited by Joseph Gutmann
Roman period: Carl Kraeling’s exceptional final report of the
(New York, 1970), a catalog of Jewish artifacts from the
Dura Europos synagogue, Kurt Weitzmann’s interest in this
Prague Museum shown at the Jewish Museum in New York.
material for the study of early Christian art, and Erwin R.
Much can be learned from the discussion of single problems. See,
Goodenough’s provocative Jewish Symbols in the Greco-
for example, The Temple of Solomon, edited by Joseph Gut-
Roman Period (1953–1967). Zionist and Israeli scholarship
mann (Missoula, Mont., 1976). Another individual problem
has been particularly prominent as Jewish art scholarship was
is discussed by Zofia Ameisenowa in “The Tree of Life in
formulated in nationalist terms. E. L. Sukenik’s studies of
Jewish Iconography,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld
Jewish archaeology—particularly his discovery of ancient
Institutes 2 (1938–1939): 326–345. Qabbalistic imagery is
synagogues and Second Temple (536 BCE–70 CE) period
best discussed in Gershom Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish
tombs—and Mordecai Narkiss’s studies of ceremonial art
Mysticism, 3d rev. ed. (New York, 1954), esp. pp. 205–243.
A highly interesting study of a particular subject in qabbalis-
and his project of building the Bezalel National Museum
tic symbolism is Scholem’s “Farben und ihre Symbolik in der
(now part of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem) are notable,
jüdischen Überlieferung und Mystik,” Eranos Yearbook 41
particularly Narkiss’s The Hanukkah Lamp (1939, in He-
(1974): 1–49, The Realms of Colour (with English and
brew). His son Bezalel Narkiss’s work during the second half
French summaries).
of the century focused on medieval manuscripts and the as-
M
sembly of an Index of Jewish Art to serve as an adjunct to the
OSHE BARASCH (1987)
Princeton Index of Christian Art, which is the main project
of his Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Je-
rusalem. Narkiss founded The Journal of Jewish Art (now
ICONOGRAPHY: JEWISH ICONOGRAPHY
Jewish Art) in 1974 as an annual, although for the last decade
[FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
it has appeared less frequently. At midcentury important
In his 1987 Encyclopedia of Religion article, Israeli art histori-
contributions were made, particularly by expatriate Ger-
an Moshe Barasch surveyed some of the important issues and
manophones in America and Israel—most prominently by
artistic genres in the history of Jewish art as they were under-
Rachel Wischnitzer, Franz Landsberger, Michael Avi-Yonah,
stood by historians of Jewish art of his generation. Within
and Stephen S. Kayser. More recently, Isaiah Shachar, Joseph
that community, scholars were often reacting against a deep
Gutmann, Rachel Hachlili, Abraham Kampf, Carole Krin-
prejudice against Jewish art—and even the possibility of Jew-
sky, Shalom Sabar, Vivian Mann and others have made Jew-
ish art—that was deeply ingrained in the Western discourses
ish art from antiquity to the modern period widely available
on art and on the relation of art and Judaism. This reaction
and known. Much of this scholarship has focused on primary
against prevalent notions that Judaism was aniconic (without
publication of artifacts (and in Mann’s case, also primary
symbols or icons), iconophobic, or otherwise antithetical to
texts) and building the corpus of Jewish art. The varied audi-
art resulted in the discovery, publication, and exhibition of
ences for whom scholars wrote are significant. Some focused
artifacts of Jewish art and archaeology.
on academic Jewish studies contexts (e.g., M. Narkiss,
APOLOGETICS AND EARLY RESEARCH. With few exceptions,
Wischnitzer, Kayser, Kraeling, Shachar, Gutmann, Sabar,
late nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholarship did not
and Mann), others located their work within general art his-
face the prevailing prejudice against Jewish artistic produc-
tory and archaeology (e.g., Avi-Yonah, Kraeling, Weitz-
tion head on. Rather, it was refuted indirectly through dis-
mann, B. Narkiss, Gutmann, Krinsky, and Hachlili), and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4342
ICONOGRAPHY: JEWISH ICONOGRAPHY [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
still others sought to integrate it within the history of reli-
ish: Challenging Traditional Identities, a major traveling exhi-
gions approach (e.g., Goodenough).
bition of contemporary art with Jewish themes organized by
More recently social historians with less of an object-
the Jewish Museum in New York in 1996. Annabelle Whar-
focus have developed interests in Jewish art. Most prominent
ton (1994) was the first to address these issues in an Ameri-
among these are Richard I. Cohen and Ezra Mendelsohn.
can academic context, focusing on the colonialist ways that
Explicit reflection on the study of Jewish art has been rare.
the Dura Europos synagogue has been studied since its dis-
Perhaps the most interesting conceptualization developed
covery in 1932 and the ways that these approaches have col-
during the first half of the twentieth century was presented
ored interpretation. The academic watershed, however, was
by German/Israeli art historian Heinrich Strauss, who,
Catherine Soussloff’s edited volume, Jewish Identity in Mod-
against the tide, referred to Jewish art as a “minority art.”
ern Art History, published in 1999. The assembled studies,
Most reflection tended to be apologetic, as in Cecil Roth’s
composed by historians and art historians (although signifi-
introduction to his seminal widely influential edited volume,
cantly, no specialists in Jewish art) suggest the absolute am-
Jewish Art, first published in 1956 and still in print in He-
bivalence (if not contempt) that art historical scholarship,
brew. Roth’s anthology, which begins with the Biblical peri-
often carried out by Jews, has shown toward Judaism and
od and concludes with then-contemporary art and architec-
Jewish art. The importance of this volume is in the fact that
ture, was intended to serve as an introduction to Jewish art
it brought together scholars working in diverse areas of art
through the ages. He begins this monumental project with
history to shine a focusing lens on the issue of art historical
the apology that “the conception of Jewish art may appear
constructs of Jewish visual culture. This early statement of
to some to be a contradiction in terms: for there is a wide-
the problem was the harbinger of the first monographs to ap-
spread impression that in the past visual art was made impos-
proach Western conceptions of Jewish art.
sible among the Jews by the uncompromising prohibition in
Kalman Bland, a contributor to Soussloff’s volume and
the Ten Commandments. . .” (Roth, 1961, p. 11).
a colleague of Wharton’s at Duke University produced the
As late as 1988 archaeologist Rachel Hachlili introduced
first monograph on Jews and art. Bland discussed the nine-
her important study, Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology in
teenth century philosophical roots of this phenomenon in his
the Land of Israel with the confession: “For some time now
The Artless Jew: Medieval and Modern Affirmations and Deni-
I have felt the need for a comprehensive study, which would
als of the Visual (2000). Still schematic in its approach, Bland
support my thesis for the existence of an ancient Jewish art.”
succeeds in tracing the denial of Jewish visuality to the
(Hachlili, 1988, p. xxi). For most of the twentieth century
thought of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), who praised Jews
the backdrop for Jewish study of this material was often the
for being aniconic like German Protestants, and G. W. F.
need to prove and legitimize its very existence. This project
Hegel (1770–1831), who damned them for the same sup-
has been intertwined with the opening and expansion of Jew-
posed aniconicism. Bland also began to show ways that Jews
ish museums (of which there are now around fifty in the
of different allegiances responded to these approaches. In
United States alone), the Center for Jewish Art, excavation
general, classical Reform Jews, who denied Jewish people-
of archaeological sites, the publication of popular books, and
hood also denied the existence of Jewish art, a national art
the use of Jewish art as a source of symbols by the State of
being impossible for a nonpeople. This conception brought
Israel. Ideology has generally not impinged on the quality of
Judaism close to Protestant ideals. The stakes in Jewish ani-
scholarship. During the closing decades of the century the
conism were large for Protestants, who believed that the ear-
apologetic impulse was in steep decline both in the public
liest Christians were aniconic—like the ancient Jews, their
sphere and in scholarship.
religion corrupted by pagan influences, resulted in Christian
Beginning during the mid-1990s and continuing into
art, and the “idolatry” of the Catholic church. Jews commit-
the twenty-first century, a major reevaluation of the place of
ted to Jewish peoplehood (both Zionist and non-Zionists),
Jewish art in Western culture has been undertaken by Anna-
however, reacted strongly to the notion that Judaism was art-
belle Wharton, Catherine Soussloff, Kalman Bland, Marga-
less and set out to prove this paradigm wrong. These Jews
ret Olin, Yaakov Shavit, Avner Holtzman and other scholars.
found support in Catholic praise of ancient Jewish art, which
This reassessment is very much in motion, although it has
Catholic scholars saw as the predecessor to their own artistic
already begun to receive some critical response. Writing in
tradition. It is not surprising that the earliest Jewish art schol-
the postmodern mode, each of these scholars has focused on
arship was centered in Catholic Budapest, where Kaufmann
the historiography of Jewish art, setting scholarship of the
and his students worked within a generally supportive intel-
late nineteenth and twentieth centuries within the general
lectual environment—and not in Protestant lands.
discourses on art and Judaism during this period. This schol-
Margaret Olin, a contributor to both Kleebatt’s and
arship follows a general trend in history writing during this
Souseloff’s volumes, published The Nation Without Art: Ex-
period, in which reevaluation of humanities scholarship
amining Modern Discourses on Jewish Art in 2002. This
across the spectrum has been a major preoccupation.
monograph presents case studies in the historiography of art
The contemporary art world’s ambivalent attitude to-
history regarding Jews. Olin’s discussions of nineteenth and
ward Judaism was addressed in Norman Kleebatt’s Too Jew-
twentieth century conceptions in the German academy and
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ICONOGRAPHY: JEWISH ICONOGRAPHY [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
4343
Jewish responses to this artlessness are particularly relevant.
Recent developments in the historiography of Jewish art
Olin’s main focus is the notion that each nation has a unique
have changed the conceptual frame within which this disci-
and distinctive national art (with its own style and iconogra-
pline functions. By exposing the often anti-Semitic (and
phy), and the problems created by such classifications. For
sometimes anti-rabbinic) roots of many of these conceptions,
Judaism in particular, notions of Jewish peoplehood and na-
scholars of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century
tionality were basic to the construction of Jewish identity
have created a level playing field in which the study of Jewish
during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and hence the
material culture may be pursued without engaging in the
existence or nonexistence of Jewish art was an important
types of implicit and overt apologetics that were so often ne-
statement of Jewish self-understanding and the ways that
cessitated during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Jews were viewed by the majority Western cultures. Olin fo-
cuses on Zionist responses to Jewish artlessness, David Kauf-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
mann’s early scholarship on Jewish art, and art historical ap-
Bland, Kalman P. The Artless Jew: Medieval and Modern Affirma-
proaches to the Dura Europos synagogue, as well as attitudes
tions and Denials of the Visual. Princeton, N.J., 2000. The
toward more contemporary art by Jews. Her study of Dura
first monograph on Western discourse on Jewish art, Bland
is particularly insightful, exposing a deeply anti-Semitic
also briefly surveys Jewish attitudes toward the visual, as well
strain in European scholarship (associated with proto-Nazi
as selected issues of aesthetics in Jewish thought.
scholar Josef Strzygowski, who placed the origins of Chris-
Cohen, Richard I. Jewish Icons: Art and Society in Modern Europe.
tian art firmly in the East, in a Jewish context) and ways that
Berkeley, Calif., 1998. Cohen presents historical case studies
of the reception of Jewish art during the nineteenth century.
it influenced scholarship on Jewish art at midcentury (partic-
ularly by the philo-Semitic German expatriate art historian,
Elsner, Ja´s. Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph: The Art of the
Kurt Weitzmann). Her discussions of more contemporary
Roman Empire AD 100–450. Oxford, 1998.
manifestations, as expressed in studies of Clement Green-
Elsner, Ja´s. “Cultural Resistance and the Visual Image: The Case
berg, George Segal, and others point to the continuation of
of Dura Europos.” Classical Philology 96, no. 3 (2001):
this phenomenon through the second half of the century.
269–304.
Elsner, Ja´s. “The Birth of Late Antiquity: Riegl and Strzygowski
Parallel to the development of this corpus, Yaakov
in 1901.” Art History 25, no. 3 (2002): 358–379.
Shavit (1992; 1997) followed by Avner Holtzman (1999)
Elsner, Ja´s. “Archaelogies and Agendas: Reflections on Late An-
has focused on ways that Zionists conceptualized art against
cient Jewish Art and Early Christian Art.” Journal of Roman
the background of Eastern European Jewish ambivalence to-
Studies 93 (2003): 114–128. Influenced by Olin and others,
ward non-Jewish art forms and the place of art in Jewish-
Elsner’s discussion of ancient Jewish art reflects a marked
Palestinian culture of the pre-State era before 1948.
shift from the traditional anti-Jewish bias of art history to a
S
far more reflective stance.
ECOND WAVE. The second wave of studies dealing with
these issues is being written by historians who are applying
Fine, Steven. Art and Judaism During the Greco-Roman Period: To-
the insights of previous studies directly to the study of an-
ward a New “Jewish Archaeology.” Cambridge, U.K., 2005.
cient art and religion. In a series of articles influenced by
Fine provides a thorough analysis of the ways that Jewish art
Olin and others, British classicist and art historian Ja´s Elsner
and Jewish archaeology relation has been constructed in
America, Palestine/Israel, and Europe against the backdrop
has moved from a rather negative position vis-à-vis Jewish
of Western thought. The work of Sukenik and Goodenough
art and its relation with Christian art during late antiquity
are contextualized.
to a position that subsumes Jewish, Christian, and pagan art
Frauberger, Heinrich. Üeber Alte Kuntusgegenstände in Synagoge
together under a broader category of Late Antique art. Ac-
und Haus. Frankfürt, Germany, 1903.
cording to Elsner’s new approach, Jewish art is not merely
a backdrop to Christian art but an equal. Steven Fine’s Art
Goodenough, Erwin R. Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period.
New York, 1953–1968. Goodenough’s assemblage of Jewish
and Judaism During the Greco-Roman Period (2005) discusses
archaeological remains from antiquity was important for the
ways that the “artless Jew” trope affected historiography of
development of interest in this material beyond Jewish
ancient Judaism, particularly the work of E. R. Goodenough,
studies circles. His theory, that this material bespeaks an an-
M. Smith, and Smith’s students (among them Jacob Neus-
cient nonrabbinic “mystical Judaism” that created this art,
ner, S. J. D. Cohen, and Lee Levine). The assumption that
while widely refuted, occasioned a profound reevaluation of
Jews are artless was transformed by Goodenough into the no-
previous paradigms for the interpretation of ancient Judaism.
tion that whereas Jews created art, the Talmudic rabbis were
Hachlili, Rachel. Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology in the Land
anti-art. Extant Jewish art was therefore often conceived as
of Israel. Leiden, 1988.
nonrabbinic. Reevaluating ancient Jewish attitudes toward
Holtzman, Avner. Aesthetics and National Revival—Hebrew Liter-
art as reflected in both literary and archeological sources,
ature Against the Visual Arts [in Hebrew]. Tel Aviv, 1999.
Fine demonstrates coalescence between Jewish and general
Holtzman, focusing mainly on literary sources, nuances and
Greco-Roman art except in areas in which Jewish values
expands on Yaakov Shavit’s discussion of art within early
(which were scripture-based, but open to varying interpreta-
Zionism.
tions and circumstances) were at variance with general
Kohl, Heinrich, and Carl Watzinger. Antike Synagogen in
attitudes.
Galilaea. Leipzig, 1916.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4344
ICONOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
Mann, Vivian, ed. Jewish Texts on the Visual Arts. Cambridge,
agogy, and they have been rendered in the styles of the par-
U.K., 2000. Mann translates and comments on important
ticular age and place the images served. In modern times, the
Jewish texts that exemplify academic reflection on the place
sources for Christian iconography have expanded to include
of art in Judaism.
psychological, sociopolitical, and nontraditional elements.
Mendelsohn, Ezra. Painting a People: Maurycy Gottlieb and Jewish
Art. Hanover, N.H., 2002. A historical study of an impor-
The most distinctive characteristic of Christian iconog-
tant late-nineteenth-century Jewish painter.
raphy is its preoccupation with the person and role of Jesus
Narkiss, Mordecai. The Hanukkah Lamp [in Hebrew]. Jerusalem,
Christ (and his followers). The image of Christ as earthly
1939.
founder and heavenly savior is central to the religion, espe-
cially insofar as the church defines itself as the body of Christ
Olin, Margaret. The Nation Without Art: Examining Modern Dis-
courses on Jewish Art. Omaha, Neb., 2001. Olin focuses on
on earth. Thus the changing repertoire of images of Jesus and
the art historical discourse on art and Judaism, showing how
his followers reveals the nature of the religion in its many cul-
this discipline encouraged and developed the notion that the
tural and historical manifestations.
Jews are “the nation without art. ”
EARLY CHRISTIANITY. Early Christian art surviving from the
Roth, Cecil, and Z. Ephron. Jewish Art [in Hebrew]. Tel Aviv,
first half of the third century reflects the diversity of the
1956/57.
Greco-Roman context from which it emerged. The earliest
Roth, Cecil, ed. Jewish Art. Revised by B. Narkiss. 2d ed. London,
iconographic figures, borrowed directly from late antique
1971. A compendium of eighteen articles on Jewish art from
conventions, were placed in new compositional and environ-
Biblical times to the mid-twentieth century, this volume is
mental settings on jewelry and other minor arts. For exam-
still the standard reference work for the study of Jewish art.
ple, the common pose of the shepherd Endymion, a reclining
Sabar, Shalom. “The Study of Jewish Art and Its Development”
male nude resting on one elbow with ankles crossed, was the
[in Hebrew]. Mahanayim 11 (1995): 264–275. Sabar surveys
type borrowed by artists to depict the Old Testament figure
the history of scholarship on Jewish art from the nineteenth
of Jonah resting under an arbor. For Christians, Jonah repre-
century to the 1990s, and is particularly strong in his descrip-
sented an image of resurrection and, as such, was used in fu-
tion of Germanophone scholars.
nerary paintings and low-relief carvings on sarcophagi. Old
Shavit, Yaakov. Athens in Jerusalem: Classical Antiquity and Helle-
Testament figures used in early Christian iconography ap-
nism in the Making of the Modern Secular Jew. Tel Aviv,
peared almost exclusively as typologies of Christ and his fol-
1992; reprint, Portland, Ore., 1997. Shavit’s work was the
lowers.
first monograph to approach the place of art in Zionist
culture.
The earliest images of Christ were concerned with his
Sousloff, Catherine, ed. Jewish Identity in Modern Art History.
person and role on earth and were borrowed from classical
Berkeley, Calif., 1999. A watershed in the study of attitudes
types of teaching figures, miracle workers, and heroes. Con-
toward art and Judaism in art history, Sousloff’s volume pres-
ventions for depicting divine attributes were missing, and
ents a broad discussion of the place of Jews and of Judaism
there was no attempt at historical accuracy. Jesus did not
in the historiography of art.
look like an early-first-century Jewish man from Palestine,
Von Schlosser, J., and D. H. Müller. Die Haggadah von Sarajevo:
but like a Roman teacher-philosopher or like an Apollo-type
Eine spanisch-judische Bilderhandschrift des Mittelalters. With
mythic hero such as the Christos-Helios mosaic figure in the
a contribution by David Kauffmann. Vienna, 1898.
necropolis of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Frustration with
Weitzmann, Kurt, and Herbert L. Kessler. The Frescoes of the Dura
the limitations of these typologies seems to have led to sym-
Synagogue and Christian Art. Washington, D.C., 1990.
bolic representations, such as the ubiquitous Christ as Good
Weitzmann, and his student, Kessler, treat the Dura syna-
Shepherd and the emblematic cross and wreath symbolizing
gogue within the context of Christian art, postulating that
the Trophy of Victory on sarcophagi. The Good Shepherd
this building is a missing link between a hypothesized Jewish
tradition of manuscript illumination and early Christian art.
image was adapted from pagan culture, while the Trophy was
the earliest representation of the Christian cross.
Wharton, Annabel Jane. “Good and Bad Images from the Syna-
gogue of Dura Europos: Contexts, Subtexts, Intertexts.” Art
IMPERIAL CHRISTIANITY. Following the adoption of Chris-
History 17, no. 1 (1994): 1–25.
tianity as a state religion by the Roman emperor Constantine
Wharton, Annabel Jane. Refiguring the Post Classical City: Dura
in the early fourth century, the figure of Christ as the imperi-
Europos, Jerash, Jerusalem, and Ravenna. Cambridge, U.K.,
al reigning Lord emerged. Jesus enthroned as the leader of
1995. Wharton was the first American scholar to discuss
the church, or in the heavens as an imperial judge, reflected
problematic Western views of Jewish art, focusing on the
the power the church had gained in that era. Within a hierar-
Dura Europos synagogue.
chically structured society, Jesus was depicted as a reigning
STEVEN FINE (2005)
philosopher-emperor who dispensed grace and judgment
above all earthly power (see, for instance, the enthroned
Christ in the apse mosaic of Santa Pudenziana in Rome).
ICONOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
Theological teachings and conciliar rulings are reflected
For the greater part of Christian history, the church’s images
in the Christian iconography that followed. From the fourth
have been drawn from its liturgical texts, scriptures, and ped-
through the sixth century the figure of Jesus, elevated to a
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ICONOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
4345
ruler over all, came to represent the power of the church over
namic use of iconography in worship among all Christian
state and society. Christ seated in majesty above the heavens
traditions.
in the apse mosaic of the mausoleum of Santa Constanza in
Over the centuries, rules for iconographers in the East
Rome (c. 350) or in the apse mosaic of the Church of San
were formalized, and copy books determined the style and
Vitale in Ravenna, Italy (c. 550), reflects Christological for-
subject matter of iconography. Paintings of the crucifixion
mulations. Mary appears as an enthroned queen in the mosa-
in the Byzantine tradition, for example, often include the fig-
ics of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, after the Council of
ures of Mary and Saint John at the foot of the cross in atti-
Ephesus in 431, which declared her theotokos, Mother of
tudes of grief, and the corpus traditionally hangs in a limp
God. Two types of Christ figures occupy the twenty-six mo-
curve against the rigidity of the cross. This form then became
saic panels of the Christ cycle in San Apollinare Nuovo in
popular in the West, especially in medieval Italy, and influ-
Ravenna (c. 520). The figure in the scenes of Christ’s minis-
enced painters such as Cimabue (d. 1302?).
try and miracles is an Apollo type—young, beardless, and
dressed in royal purple—while the figure in the scenes of
Icons of the Madonna as the Blessed Virgin, Mother of
Christ’s last days on earth is a philosopher type—older,
God, emphasizing her role as mediator and eternal spirit of
bearded, also dressed in purple. These two figure types reflect
consolation and blessing, are numerous in Eastern iconogra-
Pope Leo the Great’s late-fifth-century theological treatise on
phy, but the single most imposing and austere composition
the two natures of Christ.
in Byzantine iconography is the Pantocrator icon of Christ.
The frontal presentation of this image emphasizes the pres-
Explicit representation of the crucifixion of Jesus is con-
ence of Christ as coeternal and coexistent with God the Fa-
spicuously absent from early Christian iconography prior to
ther. Theologically, the Pantocrator gave visible form to the
the fifth century. The visual representation of Jesus’ crucifix-
church’s teachings on the consubstantiation of Father and
ion and resurrection was reserved to be seen only for those
Son, just as the Transfiguration icon visualized its teachings
who have been baptized. By the early fifth century, on rare
on the incarnation of God in Christ. The religious and social
occasions, crucifixion scenes appeared on liturgical objects
power of icons in society is reflected in the Iconoclastic Con-
and other church furnishings, such as the wooden doors of
troversy of the eighth and ninth centuries, which produced
the Church of Santa Sabina in Rome. Nonetheless, the cruci-
a body of writings on the theology of iconography never
fixion is missing as an episode in the Christ cycle of the nave
again matched in Christian history.
mosaics in the early-sixth-century Church of San Apollinare
Nuovo in Ravenna. Once the crucifixion came to be widely
MIDDLE AGES. While saints, heroes, and narrative episodes
depicted, the preferred type in both East and West through
from scripture dominated medieval iconography, rich pat-
the ninth century was a robed, open-eyed, victorious Christ
terns of decoration and reference to everyday contemporary
hanging on the cross, such as the ones in the illuminations
life worked their way into the art of the church in the West.
of the Rabula Gospels from Mesopotamia (dated 586) or on
Sculptural programs on church buildings and marginalia in
the wall decorations of the Church of Santa Maria Antiqua
illuminated manuscripts introduced genre scenes such as the
in Rome.
symbols for the labors of the months and images for the
seven liberal arts.
From early Christian times to the ninth century, themes
of rescue, delivery, and victory were dominant. Figures intro-
Christian iconography produced in the eighth and
duced as graced believers eventually became regal symbols of
ninth centuries became regionally acculturated as its Roman
transcending powers. Mary, for instance, in third-century
origins disappeared in the face of indigenous expression.
Roman fresco painting, was a Roman citizen; in the fourth
Elaborate decorated surfaces enclosed Christian symbols and
century she acquired the dress of an aristocratic lady, and in
figures, where, in the service of beautiful patterns, iconogra-
the fifth, she was the queen of heaven. By the ninth century
phy became abstract and emblematic, especially on painted
she was a reigning personification of the church.
vellum in books.
BYZANTINE ART. Within the art of the Eastern Orthodox
During the ninth and tenth centuries a shift in emphasis
Church, the image (as icon) relates to the liturgy in a manner
from Christ the victor to Christ the victim took place in the
distinguished from that of its Western counterparts. An icon
thinking of the church; accordingly, images of the crucifix-
can appear in a variety of media: painting, mosaic, sculpture,
ion with the victorious reigning Lord on the cross were re-
or illuminated manuscript. Its subject matter includes bibli-
placed by those of the suffering human victim. The Gero
cal figures, lives of the saints, and scenes and narrative cycles
Crucifix in the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany (c. 960), is
that relate specifically to the liturgical calendar. To the pres-
one of the earliest representations of Christ as a suffering,
ent day, Byzantine tradition relies heavily on iconography in
dying figure. Under the influence of Anselm (d. 1109) the
its worship. On the iconostasis—the screen extending across
emphasis on the purpose of Christ’s sacrifice shifted from the
the front of the worship space in the Byzantine tradition—
act necessary to defeat the devil to the act necessary to satisfy
icons of Christ, Mary, and the saints appear as physical repre-
God on behalf of the world. Christian iconography of the
sentations of the real spiritual presence of these figures for
crucifixion reflected that shift. Simultaneously, the role of
the worshipers, thereby creating the most integral and dy-
Christ as a stern and eternal judge was emphasized in sculp-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4346
ICONOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
tural programs on the exterior of monastic churches such as
view of a room centered on Christ renders the moment as
those at Moissac and Autun in France. Images of Mary as
one of self-conscious and anxious questioning among the
mediator, together with the lives of the saints as models of
twelve apostles. This painting has become the most popular
virtue and fidelity, presented an array of images for instruc-
and most often reproduced object of Christian iconography.
tion and contemplation.
In an age in which “man was the measure of all things,”
By the twelfth century the decorative, narrative, and di-
the types of human figures ranged between idealized and
dactic role of the arts gave way to an explicitly sacramental
ethereal images, such as Raphael’s Madonna del Granduca
function, one in which the imagery appeared in a context be-
(1505) and the anxious and suffering figures in Michelange-
lieved to be a model of the kingdom of heaven, the church
lo’s Sistine Chapel Last Judgment (1536–1541). In the latter,
building. Iconography in the church was believed capable of
terror lurks in the consciousness of the sinful, and the blessed
building a bridge that reached from the mundane world to
rise passively to a severe and enigmatic Lord.
the threshold of the divine spirit. Described in twelfth-
In northern Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centu-
century Christian literature as anagogical art, iconography
ries, exaggerated realism in the treatment of subject matter
served as an extension of the meaning of the Mass. Visual
and pre-Reformation currents of thought shaped Christian
images led believers from the material to the immaterial (see
iconography. Matthias Grünewald’s famous crucifixion
Suger, 1979). In a Gothic cathedral the sculptural programs
panel in the Isenheim Altarpiece (1510–1512) presents
(statue columns, tympana, archivolts, capitals, screens) and
Christ as a victim whose physical appearance betrays mutila-
painted glass included figural compositions that narrated
tion and disease; the panel emphasizes divine participation
scripture, historical events, literature, and daily life, and all
on behalf of human suffering.
were considered to have an anagogical function.
Specifically Reformation iconography illustrated bibli-
In the Gothic era a proliferation of Old Testament im-
cal teaching and liturgical practices by the reformers. Lucas
agery reflected renewed theological and political interests in
Cranach the Elder, a painter and a friend of Martin Luther,
manifestations of God working within and through royal hi-
presented the subject matter of one of Luther’s sermons in
erarchies. During this period the suffering Christ of the Ro-
the figure of the crucified Christ in the Wittenberg Altar-
manesque style became a more benign savior. More types of
piece of 1545. Here, Christ appears classically proportioned,
Christ figures appear in the sculptural program and stained
alive, and without signs of maltreatment. Albrecht Dürer’s
glass of Chartres Cathedral from the twelfth and thirteenth
engravings and woodcuts, known to a wide-ranging public,
centuries than in the most elaborate Romanesque icono-
in some instances reflected contemporary religious thought
graphic schemes. The quantity of figures was more impor-
as well. Whereas the old Andachtsbild (image for contempla-
tant to the Gothic planners than to any of their predecessors,
tion) tradition in medieval Christian iconography served
owing to the twelfth-century belief in the anagogical func-
prayer and meditation, many of Dürer’s engravings engaged
tion of art.
the intellect and gave focus to religious thought and theologi-
In the late Gothic period (approximately the fourteenth
cal propositions.
and fifteenth centuries) across northern Europe, the iconog-
Reacting against “papist” imagery, Reformation icono-
raphy of Christianity was populated with aesthetically ap-
clasts destroyed vast amounts of iconographic imagery and
pealing, elegant figures and decorative surfaces known in
liturgical furnishings. For its part, the Roman Catholic
modern scholarship as the International Style. Attitudes,
Church consciously appropriated iconographic programs in
dress, and colors emphasized soft, flowing lines, gentle ex-
their churches in order to counteract the reforming move-
pressions, and rich textures.
ments. The Council of Trent, held in the middle of the six-
RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION. Christian iconography of
teenth century, formulated instructions on the uses of ico-
the Renaissance in Italy acquired classically human charac-
nography on behalf of the church. If the Reformation in
teristics as interest in Greco-Roman literature and art was re-
some areas limited or forbade the use of images in the
vived. Jesus and his followers appeared in a human guise
church, the Counter-Reformation encouraged a proliferation
heretofore unknown. Scenes of biblical episodes and histori-
of them, thereby stimulating the introduction and expansion
cally religious significance were given the illusion of three-
of the Baroque style of art. Eventually the church’s use of Ba-
dimensional settings that emphasized their reality in the nat-
roque forms extended beyond traditional sculptural pro-
ural world. Fifteenth-century Renaissance art reflected re-
grams and painted panels to wall-surface decor, ceiling plas-
newed interest in pagan mythology and Christian subject
ter, frescoes, elaboration of vestments and liturgical vessels,
matter alike; therefore, pagan iconography competed with
and extensive programmatic designs for altars and chapels.
traditional Christian iconography. Proportion, perspective,
Dramatic highlighting, theatrical effects, and atmospheric il-
and human experience were new ingredients in the iconogra-
lusions were used with iconographic programs to convince
phy of the Renaissance. For example, between 1495 and
believers that the authentic home of spirituality and the true
1498 Leonardo da Vinci completed the Last Supper on the
seat of the church’s authority was in the Roman Church.
wall of the refectory of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan,
SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES. Protestant
Italy. Leonardo’s painting of the figures within a perspectival
iconography in the seventeenth century emphasized individ-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
4347
ual experience, and images of Jesus stressed his humanity and
destruction of institutional hierarchies and the great Chris-
participation in the human condition. Rembrandt’s portraits
tian monuments associated with them. In France, for in-
of Jesus, for example, show a thirty-year-old Jewish man; his
stance, the dismantling of the medieval monastery at Cluny
Deposition from the Cross (1634) emphasizes a Christ broken
and the destruction of royal imagery on Gothic churches at
and dead. Roman Catholic iconography, by contrast,
Notre-Dame and St.-Denis in Paris demonstrated the nega-
stressed the sacramental presence of a heroic Christ in pro-
tive power of Christian iconography that appeared to be
grammatic sequences, such as Peter Paul Rubens’s early altar-
royalist.
pieces and Nicolas Poussin’s two series of paintings entitled
Nonetheless, during this period the private vision of art-
The Seven Sacraments from the 1640s.
ists dealing with Christian themes added an enigmatic di-
Eventually, architects created iconographic environ-
mension to religious iconography. For instance, William
ments in church interiors that approximated a heavenly
Blake’s figures from the late eighteenth century combined
realm, decorated with ethereal figures of saints. As the Ger-
traditional Christian subject matter with his own imaginative
man Rococo churches attest (see, for example, the Bavarian
intuition. Whereas the human condition had always im-
pilgrimage churches of Balthazar Neumann at Vierzehnheili-
pinged upon and shaped the priorities of traditional Chris-
gen and Dominikus Zimmermann at Wies), the setting for
tian iconography, personal insight shaped primary subject
the sacrament was an integration of iconography and archi-
matter in the latter half of the eighteenth century.
tecture that established a place separate from the natural
NINETEENTH CENTURY. Prior to the Enlightenment, the life
world.
of the Christian church, theologically and liturgically, influ-
THE NEW WORLD. While the excesses of Rococo icono-
enced the images and forms of art directly: Christian iconog-
graphic decoration engulfed worship spaces in eighteenth-
raphy reflected the “mind” of the church. In the nineteenth
century Europe, the New World seemed austere by contrast.
century, Christian iconography served more private and ar-
Late-seventeenth-century Christian iconography in North
tistically formal purposes. The recovery of historical styles in
America consisted primarily of small, colorful panel paint-
nineteenth-century art and architecture carried with it re-
ings for the Spanish-American communities of the South-
newed interest in Christian iconographic themes. The En-
west and of a conservative form of monochromatic portrai-
glish Pre-Raphaelites, for example, sought to recover the ar-
ture on the East Coast. The art of the Southwest reflected
tistic values and qualities of the high Middle Ages. (See, for
a Spanish Roman Catholic culture with its indigenously
example, the Edward Burne-Jones mosaic decoration for
adapted Baroque forms. By contrast, the arts introduced by
Saint Paul’s Within-the-Walls in Rome, begun in 1881.)
the Puritans in New England were understated to the point
Generally speaking, nineteenth-century Christian iconogra-
of asceticism and iconoclasm. The elimination of imagery
phy was created to celebrate a popular style—whereas in the
and decoration left a Christian iconography of simple ab-
past, style had been shaped by its ecclesiastical settings and
stract elements created by natural materials and excellent
patrons.
craftsmanship. Early American meetinghouse architecture
symbolized a community’s place of contact with itself and
Claims about the sublime as perceived in nature or in
with God, specifically the word of God. Shaker communi-
the depths of human consciousness created new aspects of
ties, for instance, made a virtue of functional beauty and cre-
religious iconography in the eighteenth and nineteenth cen-
ated a repertoire of objects that were revered for their clarity
turies. After the Enlightenment, the canon of iconographic
of form and usefulness. Cemetery art in eighteenth-century
subject matter became open-ended. As the formal aspects of
New England relied on simple abstract symbols reduced to
artistic production became foremost for artists who in previ-
line drawings in stone, representing angels’ heads or skulls
ous centuries would have been concerned with narrative
with wings.
force and meaning, iconographic expression became more
independent and individual. For instance, Vincent van Gogh
The earliest Christian imagery in North America, as
(d. 1890), who in his early life had been a Christian mission-
found in Western Hispanic communities and the Puritan
ary, created a personal iconography that eschewed, for the
centers in the East, drew on separate European traditions and
most part, any specifically Christian subject. Paul Gauguin’s
enjoyed no cross-fertilization. In the Southwest, images of
(d. 1903) paintings of Old Testament subjects, the crucifix-
Christ’s crucifixion served Roman Catholic liturgical tradi-
ion, or religious imagery from life in Tahiti created a recog-
tions, public and private. In New England any iconography
nizable but private iconography that reflected individual in-
that suggested a Roman Catholic influence was considered
terests and goals. The institutional church, for the most part,
“papist” and inappropriate. Not only were images of the cru-
disengaged itself from major artists and movements. Under
cifixion rare, but many churches refused to display the sym-
these circumstances, by the late nineteenth century a great
bol of the cross in order to avoid appearing idolatrous.
part of Christian iconography had become copy work, senti-
By the late eighteenth century, the major trends in
mental and remote from the society at large.
Christian iconography were competing with the seculariza-
TWENTIETH CENTURY. A highly individualized Christian
tion of Western culture and the impact of the Enlighten-
iconography was shaped in the twentieth century by the reli-
ment. The American and French revolutions witnessed the
gious consciousness of individual artists. The German ex-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4348
ICONOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY
pressionists, for example, insisted upon interpreting and re-
arena of religious art. In France, Henri Matisse’s windows
vealing their individuality. When Wassily Kandinsky
and wall drawings at Vence, from the late 1940s; Le Corbu-
(d. 1944) wrote Concerning the Spiritual in Art, what was re-
sier’s chapel at Ronchamp (1950–1955); and the stained
vealed in the art included the feelings of the artist and the
glass, tapestries, and altar cloth of Fernand Léger at Audin-
expressive properties of color. Emil Nolde’s nine-part Life of
court (1951) all present Christian iconography in specifically
Christ altarpiece (1911–1912) combines Nolde’s interest in
twentieth-century forms.
the impact of color with a traditional Christian format.
In the United States, the work of the abstract expres-
George Rouault, more than any other recognized twentieth-
sionists from the early 1950s to the 1970s summarized much
century artist, sought to create compelling Christian imag-
of the religious consciousness that had been expressed in
ery. His 1926 Miserere series compares Christ’s suffering
modern art during the first half of the century by various ab-
with twentieth-century experiences of human sufferings in
stract and expressionist movements. In works such as Robert
war. The work of Max Beckmann (d. 1950) equates the fall
Motherwell’s Reconciliation Elegy (1962), Mark Rothko’s
of Adam and Eve with the grotesque dimensions of the
chapel in Houston, Texas (1970), or Barnett Newman’s Sta-
human condition under fascism. In contrast, the most popu-
tions of the Cross (1958–1962), religious subject matter seems
lar and most often reproduced image of Jesus in the United
identical with expressions of radical individuality.
States in the first half of the twentieth century was W. H.
Sallmon’s Head of Christ (1940), a sentimental, idealized fig-
The twentieth century also saw the emergence of Chris-
ure with widespread influence.
tian iconography in new media, notably film and electronic
communications. Biblical stories presented in films with
Fantasy painters such as Salvador Dali and Marc Cha-
such titles as The Bible, The Ten Commandments, The King
gall used Christian subject matter in a unique manner in
of Kings, and The Gospel according to St. Matthew engaged
order to suggest visions of the mind or vistas of a dreamworld
a public separate from the church. The mass media, which
fashioned out of the subconscious. Paintings such as Dali’s
now included home video, offered traditional Christian sub-
Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955) and Chagall’s White Cru-
ject matter in extended narrative form as dramatic entertain-
cifixion (1938) identify a private vision in which traditional
ment. In 2004 the film entitled The Passion of the Christ drew
Christian iconography is reinterpreted. Pablo Picasso’s Guer-
worldwide attention. Such presentations of Christian stories
nica (1937) has been interpreted as Christian iconography
are a form of Christian iconography, but in their cultural
because some traditional imagery appears to enhance its ref-
context they appear to be no more than stories from one lit-
erence to human terror and death, and because it suggests
erary source among many, iconography for entertainment
religious meanings. Abstract art in the twentieth century cre-
rather than worship.
ated the possibility for a broadly Christian iconography with-
out recognizable subject matter. For instance, the purely ab-
CONCLUSION. The function of Christian iconography has
stract compositions of Piet Mondrian (d. 1944) were
varied in each generation. It has always been a living lan-
intended to provide an image of universal truths, religious
guage of images invented by the religious consciousness of
in nature, that reflected theosophical beliefs.
communities and individuals. Until the modern era, the fig-
ures of Jesus and his followers were always central to icono-
Radical individuality and sociopolitical realities influ-
graphic programs, but during the twentieth century the focus
enced the content of Christian iconography in the twentieth
shifted to the individual iconographer on the one hand and
century. Revolutionary movements produced Christian ico-
to major cultural presentations of the stories on the other.
nography that placed traditional religious figures in advocacy
At the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the
relationships with human beings suffering social and political
twenty-first century, individual parishes, independent reli-
injustice. In predominantly Communist countries, socialist
gious communities, and various national responses have in-
realism that emphasized the heroic stature of the worker or
troduced their own Christian themes to the iconographic vo-
the revolutionary fighter replaced Christian iconography. In
cabulary. For instance, the so-called African experience or
other cultures, indigenous forms were integrated into Chris-
Asian experience have been given renewed attention through
tian imagery. African sculpture, South American painting,
their arts.
and Asian graphics, for example, often provided indigenous
twentieth-century iconography. One aspect of the Christian
Religious art continues to be affected to some extent by
ecumenical movement around the world was to encourage
political and social forces. Censorship efforts on the part of
the diverse international community to reclaim and clarify
religious communities have attracted headlines, but these ef-
their cultural heritages. Liturgical arts and iconography in
forts have not been effective in the general public. Pornogra-
non-Western cultures emphasized their individual locales
phy has been attacked for religious reasons but remains a
and traditions.
major media industry. Antireligious attitudes have caused
small episodes of outrage, but in the end the art world has
Following the lead of religious leaders such as the Do-
not been seriously affected.
minican artist-priest M. A. Couturier (1905–1957) from
France, who encouraged abstract and modern artistic treat-
Within the large variety of Christian communities
ment of Christian themes, various modern artists entered the
around the world, expanded interest in iconographic imagery
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONOGRAPHY: ISLAMIC ICONOGRAPHY
4349
has produced a wealth of artistic activity. Nevertheless, the
Kirschbaum, Englebert, and Wolfgang Braunfels, eds. Lexikon der
proliferation of art in the Christian church has not become
christlichen Ikonographie. 8 vols. Rome, 1968–1976. Vols.
a major factor in the art markets of the world. Leading collec-
1–4, Allgemeine Ikonographie, edited by Kirschbaum, present
tors of Christian art, for instance, have not been identified,
general articles on Christian iconography, alphabetically ar-
and museums do not offer major collections of Christian art
ranged; vols. 5–8, Ikonographie der Heiligen, edited by
Braunfels, present the legends of the saints and their imagery
unless it has some other value than just being religious.
in a separate alphabetical sequence. Both series of volumes
However, interest in religions, generally, has risen in the
include excellent bibliographies and summaries. Illustrations
twenty-first century for political reasons, and interest in reli-
are relatively few in number and small in size.
gious art and architecture has increased accordingly. It may
Réau, Louis. Iconographie de l’art crétien. 3 vols. in 6. Paris, 1955–
be that the academy and the general public will become more
1959. Includes a historical overview (vol. 1), Old and New
interested in the arts of world religions in the near future be-
Testament iconography (vol. 2), and an iconography of the
cause religion has become a central theme. Other factors
saints with legends and cult status (vol. 3). Very few illus-
leading toward a larger role for religious art are the expanding
trations.
place of museums in society and the relaxation of the tradi-
Schiller, Gertrud. Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst. 4 vols. in 5.
tional split, in the United States at least, between church and
Gütersloh, Germany, 1966–1976. Offers excellent essay in-
state.
troductions to Christian themes in art and their sources, cov-
ering presentations of Christ (vols. 1–3), the church (vol. 4,
Another tendency that is emerging in the twenty-first
pt. 1), and Mary (vol. 4, pt. 2). An exemplary study with
century has to do with the way various distinctive cultures
many well-selected and clearly printed illustrations. The first
in the world have artists who are reinterpreting the Christian
two volumes have been translated by Janet Seligman as The
biblical stories in their own cultural vernacular. Earlier efforts
Iconography of Christian Art, vol. 1, The Incarnation and Life
that translated the biblical story into the major languages of
of Christ (Boston, 1971); and vol. 2, The Passion of Christ
the world have led artists to apply traditional Christian
(Boston, 1972).
iconographic themes to a variety of modern cultural settings.
Suger, Abbot. On the Abbey Church of St. Denis and Its Art Trea-
Such works of art also remind observers that the same was
sures. Edited and translated by Erwin Panofsky. 2d ed.
true when Christian iconography was first invented and
Princeton, N.J., 1979.
emerged within the context of the Roman Empire. Cultural
JOHN W. COOK (1987 AND 2005)
settings have always shaped Christian iconography and will
continue to do so.
SEE ALSO Aesthetics, article on Visual Aesthetics; Basilica,
ICONOGRAPHY: ISLAMIC ICONOGRAPHY
Cathedral, and Church; Iconoclasm; Icons; Images, article
Islam is generally considered an iconoclastic religion in
on Veneration of Images; Monastery.
which the representation of living things has been prohibited
from its very beginning. However, the QurDa¯n nowhere deals
BIBLIOGRAPHY
with this problem or explicitly speaks against representation.
Bottari, Stefano. Tesori d’arte cristiana. 5 vols. Bologna, Italy,
Rather, the prohibition of pictorial activities was derived
1956–1968. Excellent photo-essays on major architectural
from certain h:ad¯ıth, the traditions attributed to the prophet
monuments and their contents from early Christian times to
Muh:ammad and his followers. It has often been argued that
the twentieth century. The principles of selection, however,
the development of figural painting in Iran was due to Iran’s
are not clear, and the views printed are sometimes eccentric.
Sh¯ıE¯ı persuasion, which would have taken these h:ad¯ıth less
Many color illustrations and ground plans.
seriously, but this idea likewise is not in keeping with histori-
Cabrol, Fernand, et al., eds. Dictionnaire d’archéologie chrétienne
cal fact, because the Sh¯ıE¯ıs follow the tradition as strictly as
et de liturgie. 15 vols. Paris, 1909–1953. Essential material
the Sunn¯ıs, and furthermore, Shiism was declared Iran’s
for the history of Christian iconography, architecture, and
state religion only in 1501.
worship. Illustrations, although small in size and few in num-
ber, include good ground plans. A classic research and refer-
Islam’s attitude toward representation is basically in
ence source.
tune with the stark monotheistic doctrine that there is no
Didron, Adolphe Napoléon. Christian Iconography, or, The History
creator but God: To produce a likeness of anything might
of Christian Art in the Middle Ages (1851–1886). 2 vols.
be interpreted as an illicit arrogation of the divine creative
Translated by Ellen J. Millington. New York, 1965. Orga-
power by humans. Such an attitude may have hardened at
nized thematically, with each essay treating historical sources
the time of the Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversy; thus, in
in depth. Limited illustrations but valuable for theories con-
Persian poetical parlance, “pictures” are often connected
cerning iconography.
with (Christian) “convents.” Furthermore, the Islamic prohi-
Ferguson, George. Signs and Symbols in Christian Art (1954). New
bition may have first been concerned primarily with sculp-
York, 1961. Remains the most reliable single-volume hand-
ture, for sculptures—as they existed in the KaEbah in Mecca
book on the subject.
in pre-Islamic times—could lead humankind again into idol-
Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art (1974). Rev.
atry, and, indeed, hardly any sculptural art developed in
ed. New York, 1979. Includes Christian subject matter.
Islam until recently.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4350
ICONOGRAPHY: ISLAMIC ICONOGRAPHY
EMERGING IMAGERY. The feeling that representation was
become visible in the pictorial and calligraphic decorations
alien to the original spirit of Islam resulted in the develop-
of their vehicles. Similarly telling are wall paintings in Turk-
ment of abstract ornamental design, both geometric and veg-
ish or Afghan coffee- or teahouses, where one may find realis-
etal, notably the arabesque as the endless continuation of
tic scenes from the Qis:as: al-anbiya¯D (Stories of the prophets)
leaves, palmettes, and sometimes animal-like motifs growing
or allusions to folk romances.
out of each other; it also gave calligraphy its central place in
There was and is apparently no aversion to representing
Islamic art. However, it would be wrong to claim that early
angels in MiEra¯j scenes, romances, or works on cosmology,
Islam was without any pictures. In secular buildings such as
or else as single figures, even in relief on walls. Their faces
palaces, there was no lack of representations of kings, musi-
are always uncovered. Gabriel with his many enormous
cians, dancers, and the like, and expressions in Persian poetry
wings and Isra¯f¯ıl with the trumpet of resurrection are most
such as “like a lion painted in the bathhouse” point to the
prominent.
existence of wall painting (albeit with the additional, nega-
tive meaning of “something lifeless”). Decorative painting on
Islamic painting reached its zenith in Iran and India in
ceramics includes not only more or less stylized animal or
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when, partly under
human figures as individual motifs but also scenes from
the influence of European prints, naturalistic portraiture was
(often unidentified) tales and romances. Although the Arabic
developed to perfection. The Mughal emperor Jaha¯mg¯ır
and Persian texts scribbled around the rims of the vessels
(r. 1605–1627) inspired the court painters to express his
sometimes give a clue to the scene, little is known about such
dreams of spiritual world-rule in his portraits by using the
pictorial programs, which are found on metalwork as well.
motif of the lion and the lamb lying together, or by showing
Theories about pre-Islamic (Sassanid or Turkic) or astro-
him in the company of S:u¯f¯ıs.
nomical symbolism have been proposed. In the early Middle
Ages, certain Arabic books were illustrated either for practical
THE SHAPE OF SPIRITUALITY. Portraits of S:u¯f¯ıs and dervish-
purposes, namely medical and scientific manuscripts, or for
es are frequent in the later Middle Ages: Many drawings cap-
entertainment, as in the Maqa¯ma¯t (Assemblies) of al-H:ar¯ır¯ı
ture the spiritual power or the refinement of a solitary Mus-
or the animal fables known as Kal¯ılah wa-Dimnah.
lim holy man or illustrate the “sessions of the mystical lovers”
(maja¯lis al- Eushsha¯q). S:u¯f¯ıs are also shown as teachers or in
New stylistic features came with the growing Chinese
their whirling dance. However, little has been done to identi-
influence during the Mongol occupation of Iran in the late
fy them, although the color of their garments (or the shape
thirteenth century. (Persian literature speaks of China as the
of their headgear) sometimes betrays their affiliation with a
“picture house,” where Mani, the founder of Manichaeism,
certain S:u¯f¯ı order (thus, a cinnamon- or rose-colored frock
acts as the master painter.) Henceforward, illustrative paint-
is typical of the S:a¯bir¯ı branch of the Chisht¯ıyah). Colors are
ing developed predominantly in Iran, where the great epic
also used to indicate the spiritual state the mystic has
poems (an art form unknown to the Arabs) inspired minia-
reached.
turists through the centuries to the extent that the iconogra-
phy of Firdaws¯ı’s Sha¯h-na¯mah (Book of kings) and Niz:a¯m¯ı’s
Manuscripts of the QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıths were never illus-
Khamsah (Quintet) became almost standardized. Early his-
trated but were written in beautiful calligraphy that some-
torical works, such as the world history of Rash¯ıd al-D¯ın
times assumes an almost “iconic” quality, as Martin Lings
(d. 1317), were rather realistically illustrated. Human faces
has pointed out. QurDanic themes, however, as retold in the
are clearly shown (and later sometimes mutilated by ortho-
stories of the prophets or in poetry such as the Yu¯suf and
dox critics), and even the prophet Muh:ammad appears with
Zulaykha¯ by Ja¯m¯ı (d. 1492), have developed a pictorial tradi-
his face uncovered.
tion of their own. Some mystical epics, especially EAt:t:a¯r’s
The same originally held true for a branch of painting
Mant:iq al-t:ayr (The conversation of the birds), have inspired
that has continued from the fourteenth century to the pres-
painters, but the few examples of Ru¯m¯ı’s Mathnav¯ı with pic-
ent day, namely, pictures of the Prophet’s night journey
tures, which date from fourteenth-century India to nine-
(isra¯D, mi Era¯j) through the heavens on the mysterious steed
teenth-century Iran, lack any trace of S:u¯f¯ı spirituality.
Bura¯q. In the course of time, Muh:ammad’s face was covered
Sometimes seemingly simple motifs are interpreted
partly, then completely; at present, no representation of the
mystically; this author’s Turkish S:u¯f¯ı friends explain the fre-
Prophet is permitted at all: In the numerous popular pictures
quent use of tulips on the tiles in Turkish mosques with the
of the MiEra¯j, he is represented by a white rose or a cloud.
fact that the word la¯lah (“tulip”) has the same letters and thus
Bura¯q, meanwhile, has become a centerpiece of popular ico-
the same numerical value as the word Alla¯h, that is, sixty-six.
nography: Pictures of this winged, donkey-shaped creature
This is also true for the word hila¯l, “crescent,” and the hila¯l
with a woman’s head and a peacock’s tail not only appear
has come to be regarded as the typical sign of Islam although
today on cheap prints but are also painted on trucks and
its first appearance on early Islamic coins, metalwork, and
buses, especially in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as a kind of
ceramics had no religious connotations. It seems that in the
protective charm.
eleventh century, when some churches (such as Ani in Arme-
Truck painting in these areas has developed into a new
nia) were converted into mosques, their cross-shaped finials
art form, and the religious and political ideals of the owners
were replaced with crescent-shaped ones. A h:a¯jj
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ICONOGRAPHY: ISLAMIC ICONOGRAPHY
4351
(“pilgrimage”) certificate of 1432 shows drawings of the sa-
is calligraphy. The walls of Persian mosques are covered with
cred buildings in Mecca with such crescent finials. The Otto-
radiant tiles on which the names of God, Muh:ammad, and
man sultan Selim I (r. 1512–1520) used the hila¯l on his flag,
EAl¯ı in the square Kufic script give witness to the Sh¯ıE¯ı form
but only in the early nineteenth century was it made the offi-
of faith; Turkish mosques are decorated with QurDanic quo-
cial Turkish emblem, which appeared on postage stamps in
tations or with an enormous Alla¯h. In Turkey, various calli-
1863. Other Muslim countries followed the Turkish exam-
grams are based on the letter w, and the central statements
ple, and now it is generally seen as the Islamic equivalent of
of the faith are written in mirrored form.
the Christian cross (thus, the Red Crescent parallels the Red
Lately, under European influence, a very colorful popu-
Cross).
lar iconography has developed in some parts of the Muslim
There was no inhibition in representing pilgrimage sites
world. On posters, religious motifs from various traditions
in medieval guidebooks for pilgrims. In the late nineteenth
are strung together in highly surprising form: Raphael’s little
century, photographs of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina
angels appear along with the Lourdes Madonna around a de-
became prized possessions of pilgrims and of those who were
ceased Muslim leader in a lush Paradise, or an apotheosis of
unable to perform the h:a¯jj, just as many Muslim homes now
Ayatollah Khomeini is coupled with the earthbound figure
contain prints, posters, or wall hangings with representations
from Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World. (Here one is re-
of the KaEbah and/or the Prophet’s mausoleum.
minded of some pictures in the Indian Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı tradition that
While naturalistic representation of the Prophet and his
show EAl¯ı as the tenth avata¯ra in the blue color of Kr:s:n:a,
family was increasingly objected to, other ways of presenting
with Hanuman the “monkey-chief” carrying the royal um-
him developed. One might put a h:ad¯ıth in superb calligra-
brella over EAl¯ı’s white mule, Duldul.) Such syncretistic pic-
phy on a single page or write his h:ilyah, an elaboration of the
tures are certainly not acceptable to the large majority of
classical Arabic description of his outward and inward beau-
pious Muslims. On the other hand, the calligraphic tradi-
ty, in a special calligraphic style, as was done in Turkey from
tions are gaining new importance from Morocco to Indone-
about 1600. The Prophet’s footprints on stone, or represen-
sia, and some attempts at producing a kind of QurDanic scrip-
tations of them, along with more or less elaborate drawings
torial picture (thus Sadiqain and Aslam Kamal in Pakistan)
of his sandals, still belong to the generally accepted items in
are remarkably successful and deserve the attention of the
the religious tradition. One could also produce “pictures” of
historian of religion and the art lover.
saintly persons such as EAl¯ı ibn Ab¯ı T:a¯lib from pious sen-
SEE ALSO Calligraphy, article on Islamic Calligraphy;
tences written in minute script (although in Iran quite realis-
Mosque.
tic battle scenes showing the bravery and suffering of H:usayn
and other members of the Prophet’s family are also found
in more recent times).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Most histories of Islamic art deal with the topic of so-called icono-
Calligraphic images have become more and more popu-
clasm in Islam. One of the latest publications is Mazhar
lar: The letters of the word bismilla¯h (“in the name of God”)
S:evket Ip¸sirog˘lu’s Das Bild im Islam: Ein Verbot und seine
can be shaped into birds and beasts; QurDanic passages of par-
Folgen (Vienna, 1971), which stresses the S:u¯f¯ı influence on
ticular protective importance, such as the “throne verse”
Islamic painting but is not completely convincing. The only
(su¯rah 2:256), appear in animal shape; and whenever a calli-
scholar who has devoted a good number of studies to Islamic
graphic lion is found, it usually consists of a formula con-
iconography is Richard Ettinghausen; out of his many valu-
nected with EAl¯ı, who is called the “Lion of God” (Asad
able works I shall mention especially “Hila¯l in Islamic Art,”
Alla¯h, H:aydar, Shir, and so forth). Most frequently used is
in The Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed. (Leiden, 1960–), with
a thorough historical survey; “Persian Ascension Miniatures
the invocation “Na¯di EAl¯ıyan . . .” (“Call EAl¯ı, who mani-
of the Fourteenth Century,” in Oriente ed occidente nel medio
fests wondrous things . . .”), which appears on many objects
evo (Rome, 1957), which treats the early pictorial develop-
from Safavid Iran and Sh¯ıE¯ı India, as do the names of the
ment of the ascension theme; and his religious interpretation
twelve Sh¯ıE¯ı ima¯ms. The names of the Panjtan (Muh:ammad,
of a Mughal painting of Jaha¯mg¯ır preferring a S:u¯f¯ı to world-
EAl¯ı, Fa¯t:imah, H:asan, and H:usayn) combined with the word
ly rulers, “The Emperor’s Choice,” in De Artibus Opuscula
Alla¯h are used to form human faces, as in the Bekta¯sh¯ı tradi-
XL: Essays in Honor of Erwin Panofsky, edited by Millard
tion in Turkey. The names of protective saints such as the
Meiss (New York, 1961), vol. 1. See also Ettinghausen’s Is-
Seven Sleepers (su¯rah 18) are also used as a calligraphic de-
lamic Art and Archaeology: Collected Papers, prepared and ed-
sign (but their figures appear as well in Persian and Turkish
ited by Myriam Rosen-Ayalon (Berlin, 1984). The volume
painting, with their faithful dog Qit:m¯ır or his name always
dedicated to Ettinghausen, Studies in Art and Literature of the
Near East, edited by Peter Chelkowski (Salt Lake City,
in the center). Invocations of S:u¯f¯ı saints may be written in
1974), lists more of his relevant works and contains some ar-
the shape of a dervish cap (typical is that of Mawla¯na¯ Ru¯m¯ı);
ticles pertinent to the problem of iconography.
other pious exclamations appear as flowers or are arranged
in circular form.
The best pictorial introduction to the mi Era¯j miniatures is The
Miraculous Journey of Mahomet, edited by Marie-Rose Séguy
Indeed, the most typical and certainly the most widely
(London, 1977), based on a Uighur manuscript from the Ti-
used means of conveying the Islamic message was and still
murid court at Herat. Popular painting has been dealt with
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4352
ICONS
in Malik Aksel’s Türklerde dinï resimler (Istanbul, 1967), a
out the touch of the human hand. According to tradition,
delightful book with many examples of folk painting and cal-
the representation of Christ relied on a portrait Jesus had
ligraphic pictures from the Bekta¯sh¯ı tradition. A very useful
sent to the king of Edessa, Abgar Ukkama, “the black”
introduction into Islamic iconography in Africa (a much ne-
(d. 50 CE), and on the veil of Veronica, said to bear the im-
glected topic) is René A. Bravmann’s African Islam (London,
print of the Savior’s face (recent research suggests that the
1983). The calligraphic and iconographic aspects of the
name Veronica derives from the Latin vera icona, “true
QurDa¯n are lucidly explained in Martin Ling’s The Quranic
face”).
Art of Calligraphy and Illumination (London, 1976). A gener-
al survey of the calligraphic tradition in connection with the
As Christian icon painting developed after the fourth
mystical and poetical expressions can be found in my Callig-
century, themes relating to the historical cycles of Christ’s
raphy and Islamic Culture (New York, 1984).
mission (miracles, scenes from his life) and then events from
ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL (1987)
the lives of saints and from the history of the Christian
church were introduced. In the sixth century icon worship
spread throughout the Byzantine Empire. Icons were dis-
ICONS.
played to the faithful in churches or during processions, and
The term icon (from the Greek eiko¯n, “image”)
they were also to be found in private homes. They were ei-
is applied in a broad sense to all sacred images worshiped by
ther in one piece or were combined from two or three pieces,
Christians in eastern Europe and the Middle East regardless
forming, respectively, diptychs and triptychs. The strength
of the image’s media; thus icons may be mosaics, frescoes,
of the development of icon worship, the miraculous powers
engravings on marble or metal, or prints on paper. In its cur-
attributed to certain icons, and the fact that in the minds of
rent use the term describes portable sacred images painted
the faithful icons were identified with the character they rep-
on wood, canvas, or glass.
resented, aroused, even from the beginning, opposition and
BEGINNING AND GROWTH OF THE VENERATION OF ICONS.
hostility from some of the fathers of the church. This led in
Portable icons first appeared in Egypt in the third century.
the eighth century to the iconoclastic crisis, which resulted
The oldest works that have been preserved to this day bear
in the destruction of a large number of icons, especially in
a striking resemblance to the funeral portraits that replaced
areas under the direct authority of the Byzantine emperors.
the masks on the anthropoid coffins of the Hellenistic peri-
Nevertheless iconoclasm was unable to prevent the further
od. The Judaic tradition, which relied on the biblical prohi-
development of icon worship at the periphery of the empire;
bition of the use of images in religious worship, was con-
hence the oldest icons, dating from the fifth and sixth centu-
fronted in the eastern Mediterranean area with the Greek
ries, were preserved in Georgia (Transcaucasia), on Mount
tradition, theoretically substantiated by Neoplatonism, ac-
Sinai, and in Cyprus. With the official restoration of the ven-
cording to which the material symbol is an expression of spir-
eration of icons in 843, the practice of veneration became
itual reality and the image has a didactic function. This latter
generalized not only in the Byzantine Empire but also in
tradition gained ground even in some Jewish communities;
other regions where the Eastern Orthodox church had be-
for example, frescoes based on biblical subjects were painted
come predominant, such as the Balkan Peninsula and Russia.
on the walls of the synagogue at Dura-Europos (present-day
Salahiyeh, Syria) in the third century. It was the Greek tradi-
Following the triumph of the doctrine claiming the le-
tion that caused the emergence as early as the second and
gitimacy of icon worship many more wall icons were dis-
third centuries of sacred imagery in the Christian church,
played in sanctuaries, and the iconostasis (Gr., eikonostasis,
which had originally used only symbols (e.g., the cross, lamb,
“support for icons”) was introduced, a screen of icons that
fish, and dove). The didactic function of images was general-
separated the altar from the nave of the church. The iconos-
ly accepted throughout the Christian world, but the venera-
tasis apparently developed from the templon, a barrier made
tion of images did not spread to all areas: It remained a spe-
of stone, marble, or ivory that enclosed the main apse or
cific cult of Christianity in the Greco-Byzantine tradition.
chancel, where the sacred table was contained.
The earliest icons, like the Hellenistic funeral portraits,
THEOLOGY OF ICONS. The final elaboration of the theology
originally had a commemorative value: They were represen-
of icons resulted from the disputes caused by iconoclasm and
tations of martyrs, apostles, the Virgin, and Jesus Christ. As
the rules formulated by the Second Council of Nicaea (787).
early as the fourth century a typology of characters took
The earliest elements of the doctrine had already been enun-
shape, and their sacred nature was marked by a nimbus. The
ciated in the second to the fourth centuries. Arguing against
authenticity of portraits was an essential concern: The images
the Christian apologists who condemned idols as “devilish,”
of Christ and the Virgin were believed to be of miraculous
such Neoplatonic thinkers as Celsus (latter half of the second
origin, “made without hands” (Gr., acheiropoi¯etos); those of
century), Porphyry (c. 234–c. 305), and Emperor Julian the
the saints were rendered according to descriptions preserved
Apostate (d. 363) attempted to give a metaphysical justifica-
by traditional—oral or written—sources. The oldest icon
tion of sacred images and statues as material symbols express-
representing the Virgin originated in Palestine and, with the
ing external and spiritual realities and fulfilling at the same
exception of the visage, was attributed to the apostle Luke;
time a significant didactic function. According to Neoplato-
the visage was said to have been painted miraculously, with-
nists the relationship between image and prototype is not
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ICONS
4353
one of sameness: Images serve only as vehicles by which to
According to Theodore of Studios, “the fact that God
approach the divine prototype, which is hidden from hu-
made man after his likeness showed that icon painting was
mans because of the limitations of their corporeality. The ar-
an act of God.” The theology of icons confers upon icons
guments adduced by the Neoplatonists are to be found in
an almost sacramental role. As the early painters saw it, their
subsequent developments of Christian theology. Thus, the
art did not belong to aesthetics but rather to liturgy. The per-
concept according to which “sensible images are vehicles
fection of form was no more than an adequate expression of
whereby we accede, as far as possible, to divine contempla-
the doctrine. The painter was not an artist in the modern
tion” was clearly stated by Dionysius the Areopagite (c. 500)
sense of the word but a priest: His talent was a necessary, but
in his treatise Ecclesiastical Hierarchy (1.2). The relationship
not sufficient, condition. He was chosen and guided by a
between image and its divine prototype would be later clari-
master; the beginning of his apprenticeship was marked by
fied in the same vein in the writings of John of Damascus
a ritual (e.g., prayer and benediction) quite similar to that
(c. 679–749) and other authors of the Eastern church.
of an initiation.
The earliest painters of icons never signed their works
The Christian authors of the eighth and ninth centuries
because their individuality was believed to be of no conse-
who formulated the theology of icons relied on a belief that
quence. (The first icons to be signed, in the fifteenth and six-
icon worship was a consequence of the incarnation of the
teenth centuries, signaled the beginning of decadence in the
Son of God. According to Germanus I, patriarch of Constan-
art of icon making.) Seen as mere interpreters of the truth,
tinople (r. 715–730), the Son could be portrayed because he
the painters of old had to follow strict rules: The subjects of
“consented to become a man.” An icon representing Christ
their paintings could only be previously established models,
is not an image of the “incomprehensible and immortal
scenes from the holy books, or, more rarely, acknowledged
Deity” but rather that of the “human character” of the Logos
visions; they did their work after having fasted and received
(the Word) and serves as proof that “indeed he became a man
the Eucharist; and some even mixed holy water with their
in all respects, except for sin.” Christ could be represented
colors.
only “in his human form, in his visible theophany.” John of
DIFFUSION OF THE CULT OF ICONS. After the conclusion of
Damascus, who wrote three treatises in defense of “sacred
the iconoclastic crisis, icon painting in Byzantium, under the
icons,” gave the following definition of the painted image of
Palaeologus dynasty (1261–1453), witnessed a remarkable
the Deity: “I represent God the Invisible not as invisible but
period in which artistic perfection was reached; that style fur-
to the extent he became visible to us by partaking of flesh
ther influenced the art of icon making down to the present
and blood.”
time. In the Greek territories the main icon-producing cen-
John of Damascus and, especially, Theodore of Studios
ters were Mount Athos and the imperial workshops in Con-
(759–826) and Nikephoros, patriarch of Constantinople (r.
stantinople, Thessalonica, and, after the fall of Byzantium,
806–815), further clarified the relationship between the sa-
Crete. Cretan painters, having remained outside the area of
cred image, or icon, and its divine prototype. To them image
Ottoman domination between 1453 and 1669, produced a
is essentially distinct from the original: It is an object of rela-
great many works that were disseminated throughout the
tive veneration (Gr., proskun¯esis skhetik¯e). Through the medi-
Orthodox world. Their icons displayed a certain lavishness,
to be explained by the comfortable conditions in which they
ation of the icon the faithful actually address the prototype
were produced; they were increasingly influenced by the con-
it represents, and so the relative veneration of the image be-
temporary Italian painting not only in the rendering of
comes adoration (Gr., latreia) that is exclusively offered to
human visages and bodies, and of space, but even in iconog-
the Deity. This distinction between adoration of the model
raphy.
and relative veneration of its image removed the danger of
turning icons into fetishes, a danger that was inherent in
In eastern and southeastern Europe the cult of icons was
their worship. Theodore of Studios emphasized that “venera-
disseminated by the early missionaries and through contacts
tion was not due to the essence of the image but rather to
with Byzantium. At first icons were brought from the Byzan-
the form of the Prototype represented by the image . . .
tine territories, but later they began to be produced in local
since matter cannot be subject to veneration.”
workshops: at Preslav and Veliko Tu˘rnovo in Bulgaria; at the
courts of Serbian kings and Romanian princes; in Walachia
These clarifications stressed the intimate connection be-
and Moldavia; and in major monasteries in all these coun-
tween the theology of icons and the Christological question
tries. They were characterized by their faithfulness to the By-
posed by the heresy of docetism, which questioned the real
zantine prototypes, but starting in the eighteenth century,
humanity of Christ and claimed that Christ’s body was only
popular local tastes made an impact on the choice of colors,
apparent. In contradistinction, the icon was claimed to rep-
the design of costumes, and the decoration of space. The
resent the image of an incarnation of the Son of God, thus,
union of a part of the Eastern Orthodox Romanians in Tran-
according to Germanus, “proving that he invested our nature
sylvania with the church of Rome gave rise to a unique phe-
by means other than imagination.” Indescribable by his di-
nomenon in Eastern Christian art: Icons were painted on
vine nature, Christ is describable by the complete reality of
glass by peasant artists, producing works that strongly resem-
his historical humanity.
bled naive folk painting.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4354
IDEALISM
Of the oldest icons imported to Russia after the baptiz-
Timothy Ware’s The Orthodox Church, rev. ed. (Baltimore,
ing of the Russians in 988, only works of Byzantine origin
1964); Paul Evdokimoff’s L’orthodoxie (Paris, 1959); and
dating from the eleventh century have been preserved. In the
John Meyendorff’s Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and
same century the earliest local icon-making centers began to
Doctrinal Themes (New York, 1979). Photographs of the old-
emerge, first in Kiev and then in Novgorod and Vladimir-
est, fifth- to sixth-century, icons have been published in
Suzdal. The earliest masters were from Byzantium, but soon
Georgios A. Sotiriou and Maria Sotiriou’s Icones du Mont
Sinai/Eikonec the Monha Cina (in Greek and French), vols.
a specific Russian style took shape; it developed from a spiri-
1 and 2 (Athens, 1956–1958). New information about the
tualized and ascetic attitude to a search for artistic and didac-
role of icons during the posticonoclastic period is to be found
tic effects, a taste for minute detail, and naturalism. The
in Manoles Chatzedakes’s “L’évolution de l’icone aux on-
Council of the Hundred Chapters held in Moscow in 1551
zième à treizième siècles et la transformation du templon,”
reacted against the penetration of Western elements into the
and Tania Velmans’s “Rayonnement de l’icone à l’onzième
art of icon painting and put down rigid, mandatory rules to
siècle,” in Actes du quinzième Congrès international d’études
be followed by painters. This led to a proliferation of hand-
byzantines, vol. 1 (Athens, 1979), pp. 333–366, 375–419.
books that provided authorized versions (Ch. Slav., podliniki,
For icons of the Middle East, see Sylvia Agémian’s important
“outlines”) of the holy images; these guides were equivalent
study in my collection titled Les icones melkites (Beirut,
to the ones used in the Byzantine Empire beginning in the
1969).
eleventh century. The reforms enacted by Peter the Great (r.
New Sources
1682–1725) inhibited the further development of icon
Barasch, Moshe, Jan Assmann, and Albert Baumgarten. Represen-
painting, and the art subsequently lapsed into conservatism.
tation in Religion: Studies in Honor of Moshe Barasch. Leiden,
2001.
In the East after the Council of Chalcedon (451), the
Belting, Hans. Likeness and Presence: A History of the Image before
church (under the patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem)
the Era of Art. Chicago, 1994.
followed the orthodox doctrine upheld against Monophysit-
ism. In the seventeenth century the style of icon painting
Comack, Robin. Painting the Soul: Icons, Death Masks, and
known as Melchite developed under new influences—
Shrouds. London, 1997.
Arabic, in terms of decoration; western European, in terms
Damian, Theodor. Theological and Spiritual Dimensions of Icons
of subject matter.
According to St. Theodore of Studion. Lewiston, N.Y., 2002.
Eastmond, Antony, Liz James, and Robin Cormack. Icon and
SEE ALSO Docetism; Iconoclasm; Images, article on Venera-
Word: The Power of Images in Byzantium. Aldershot, U.K.,
tion of Images.
2003.
Jeffreys, Elizabeth, and Robin Cormack. Through the Looking
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Glass: Byzantium through British Eyes. Aldershot, U.K., 2000.
The scientific study of icons began in the latter half of the nine-
Nelson, Robert S. Visuality Before and Beyond the Renaissance: See-
teenth century as part of the new discipline of Byzantology
ing as Others Saw. Cambridge, U.K., 2000.
and enlisted especially Russian contributions; an essential
bibliography is to be found in Oskar Wulff and Michael Al-
Temple, Richard. Icons and the Mystical Origins of Christianity.
patoff’s Denkmäler der Ikonenmalerei (Leipzig, 1925),
Rockport, Mass., 1992.
pp. 298–299. Earlier research included icons, described as
Velmans, Tania, and Elka Bakalova. Le grand livre des icônes des
“panel paintings” or “portable images,” in studies on Eastern
origines à la chute de Byzance. Paris, 2002.
Christian iconography, among which the fundamental work
remains Gabriel Millet’s Recherches sur l’iconographie de
VIRGIL CÂNDEA (1987)
Translated from Romanian by Sergiu Celac
l’Évangile aux quator-zième, quinzième, et seizième siècles
Revised Bibliography
(Paris, 1916). In western Europe and America icons were
“discovered” as works of art and spiritual creations only after
World War I, when the Christian Orthodox tradition was re-
assessed by Catholic and Protestant scholars; see David Tal-
IDEALISM. Idealism is the metaphysical view that reality
bot Rice’s Byzantine Art, 2d ed., rev. & enl. (Baltimore,
is of the nature of mind. It stands in contrast with scientific
1968). Most experts approach icons as works of art within
the general framework of Byzantine or, particularly, Russian
philosophies, such as naturalism, realism, and pragmatism
art—for example, André Grabar’s Byzantine Painting, trans-
that assume that natural life in the natural world is philoso-
lated by Stuart Gilbert (New York, 1953), and Tamara Tal-
phy’s appropriate point of departure. Idealism is not ground-
bot Rice’s Icons, rev. ed. (London, 1960). The theology of
ed in an empirical evaluation of fact. It is grounded in an in-
icons has been systematically studied and clarified mainly by
tuitive evaluation of meaning. Because all philosophy
Western Orthodox authors since the 1950s; the most pro-
presupposes that things have a meaning and that something,
found works are Leonid Ouspensky and Vladimir Lossky’s
at least, of that meaning can be known, all philosophy has
The Meaning of Icons, translated by G. E. H. Palmer and Eu-
an idealistic element.
génie Kadloubovsky, rev. ed. (Crestwood, N.Y., 1982); and
Leonid Ouspensky’s Essai sur la théologie de l’icone dans
Idealism does not deny the reality of the physical world.
l’église orthodoxe (Paris, 1960). Most writings about Eastern
It insists only that the apparent self-sufficiency of the natural
Orthodox Christianity contain pertinent chapters on icons:
world is deceptive. Nature seems to go its own way, to be
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IDEALISM
4355
self-sufficient, eternal, and operating on the basis of its own
Here subjective idealism runs afoul of the “ego-centric
laws without need of a creator or outside force to initiate and
predicament.” Confined to his or her own ideas, the self-
sustain its motions, but idealism maintains that it relies on
confessed solipsist nevertheless assumes that he or she knows
mind or spirit or idea for its forcefulness, purposiveness, and
what it might be like not to be so confined; otherwise the as-
inherent meaning. Idealism therefore always distinguishes
sertion has no significance. Each self is conscious, necessarily,
between appearance and reality, but its emphasis can either
of what it is not, in order to know itself as a distinct and sepa-
be objective or subjective. Subjective idealism sees the physi-
rate entity. Solipsism, therefore, is self-refuting.
cal world as metaphysically insubstantial. Objective idealism
O
regards physical substance as a necessary counterpart of
BJECTIVE IDEALISM. Objective idealism, mindful of this
pitfall, grants to naturalism that the physical world is given
mind.
from “outside” one’s self, and must be received passively, but
SUBJECTIVE IDEALISM. The doctrine of the world as ma¯ya¯
agrees with subjective idealism that one’s experience of this
or illusion in S´an˙ka¯ra’s Advaita Veda¯nta philosophy in India
given world is, in large part, an interpretation shaped by
is the most systematic statement of subjective idealism, al-
one’s own mind. Both subjective and objective idealism are
though George Berkeley’s philosophy is the best-known
rooted in the intuition that reality is essentially mind. Objec-
statement of subjective idealism in the West. Berkeley ob-
tive idealism is distinguished by a nondual view in which the
served that one’s visual perception of the physical world is
physical world shares metaphysical reality.
that of shapes and colors, not of any substantial “thing.” Peo-
The historic relation between idealistic philosophy and
ple project “physical substance” into the picture because they
religious reflection stems from this common concern for
assume that there must be some “thing” that “has” these per-
showing how an immaterial power gives the material world
ceived qualities.
its reality and true being. The idealistic commitment to mind
All one ever knows, however, are the perceived qualities.
as ultimately real expresses, in the language of experience, a
Reality, therefore, is a perception on the part of a perceiver.
view that overlaps the religious commitment to spirit as the
Hence Berkeley’s principle esse est percipi (“to be is to be per-
enabling power of being. This tradition in Western philoso-
ceived”). He pointed out that one seems to see distance; in
phy was first explored systematically by Plato, for whom real-
fact, however, three-dimensional depth perception is a
ity lay in the eternal forms, or ideas, that were the meaning
learned projection of the mind, not a physical reality that im-
of any particular thing. These particulars, however, were al-
pinges directly on one’s senses. He added that the physical
ways imperfect because they were necessarily material. Mat-
sciences are not concerned with some “substantial” reality of
ter, for Plato, is an admittedly indispensable context for exis-
a physical object, but rather with those perceptions known
tence. More significantly, however, it is a hindrance to
to mind. To test a yellow metal to see if it is gold, for exam-
realization of the true meaning of things, which is their ideal
ple, the chemist does not test “substance,” but properties—
form. Plato is unclear as to why nature should exist, and mat-
solubility in different acids, combining proportions, and
ter remains a dark and unresolved dilemma in his philoso-
weight. The “substance” of gold is only a fact of experience
phy. Aristotle gave matter greater status by making it the
that these properties bring together. Berkeley concluded that
counterpart of form or idea in any particular. Matter is there-
the distinction between what Locke had called primary qual-
fore the possibility of a new form. Mind or spirit or form
ities and secondary qualities—real “substance” as opposed to
shapes matter, as the idea of a pot in the mind of a potter
“appearances” (of color, shape, etc.)—was mistaken. Nature
transforms a lump of clay into a utensil for human use.
is, he insisted, whole. If space is mental, then all the other
Plato and Aristotle incline toward idealism but remain
qualities of the natural object must also be mental. Reality
dualists. It was only after Immanuel Kant that idealism of-
is entirely an observer’s perception.
fered an integrated view of reality that did justice to natural
But what of objects that are alone and unobserved by
fact. Beginning with the radical distinction between mind
any human knower, like the tree in the deserted forest or the
and matter with which René Descartes had first fashioned
living-room furniture in the dead of night? Berkeley argued
the modern mind, idealists argued that mind and matter are
that natural laws hold for events past as well as future because
different but interdependent. J. G. Fichte argued that will
there is an eternal mind to think them. The living-room sofa
is the essence of mind, and will requires the recalcitrant op-
exists as an object in the eternal perception of the mind of
position of material stuff in order for work to teach the moral
God. God alone guarantees the eternal endurance and order
lessons of industry, perseverance, and devotion to factual
of nature.
truth. For Fichte, nature is “the material for our duty, made
sensible.” For Friedrich Schelling and G. W. F. Hegel, na-
The most consistent subjective idealist in modern West-
ture is necessary in order that mind attain full self-awareness.
ern philosophy was G. W. Leibniz, who held that each self
Hegel argued that useful knowledge is always acquired
is a “monad” of self-enclosed experience. He accepted a plu-
through a double movement: first one gains an intimate
rality of worlds—my world must be different from yours—
knowledge of the particular thing, and then one learns some-
and solipsism, the view that each person is solus ipse, a “win-
thing of what it is not. To know one’s own language for what
dowless monad.”
it truly is, for example, one must know something of a differ-
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IDOLATRY
ent language. So, to generalize from that experience, mind
ence in which to articulate the dramatic, poetic, and mytho-
must know something that is not mind. It must wander in
logical convictions of the great religions with their message
an alien world before it can return home to know itself truly
of a divine Logos that assures the ultimate fulfillment of a di-
for the first time. Nature, therefore, is the “otherness of spir-
vine purpose, that language is inescapably some form of ide-
it,” the alien land in which the mind wanders in order to gain
alism.
full possession of itself. Or, to put it less metaphorically, nat-
ural objects are the necessary content of mind. There is no
SEE ALSO Metaphysics; Naturalism; Nature, article on Reli-
thought without an object; one must think something.
gious and Philosophical Speculations.
Whereas subjective idealism, in both the monadology of
Leibniz and the Advaita Veda¯nta of S´an˙kara, argues that
BIBLIOGRAPHY
mind alone is the really real, objective idealism argues that
Plato’s dialogues all focus on the idealist issue, and Plotinus’s
objective nature is a necessary condition for the reality of
third-century Enneads bears resemblance to the Advaita
mind. Reality is therefore not a univocal state; it is a dialecti-
Veda¯nta philosophy in India, which S´an˙kara articulates in
cal process.
his ninth-century Commentary on the Brahma Sutra. Kant’s
Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone (1793), translated
IDEALIST ETHICS. Idealism also proposes an ethics, devel-
by Theodore M. Greene et al. (New York, 1960), identifies
oped from its metaphysical view that mind or spirit consti-
mind and spirit in idealistic fashion, and Hegel’s Lectures on
tutes an eternal and purposive transcendent order. As the
the Philosophy of Religion (1832), 3 vols., translated by E. B.
metaphysical reality of any particular is derived from the idea
Speirs and J. B. Sanderson (London, 1895), is the first sys-
that is its ultimate meaning, so the norms and values of
tematic statement of idealistic philosophy of religion in the
human behavior are derived from the transcendent idea of
West. Josiah Royce’s The Problem of Christianity, 2 vols.
love, power, justice, or so forth.
(New York, 1913), and William Ernest Hocking’s The
Meaning of God in Human Experience (New Haven, Conn.,
Unlike modern naturalisms, which regard ethical values
1912) are the best-known systematic statements in the Amer-
as entirely relative to the social and psychological needs of
ican philosophical tradition.
natural groups, idealism holds that there are what Kant called
The best secondary sources on idealism are in the major histories
categorical imperatives, or moral absolutes. Kant stated the
of Western philosophy. For a technical discussion of philo-
foundational principle of all idealistic ethics, people always
sophical ideas and their development, Wilhelm Windel-
should be treated as ends in themselves and never as a means
band’s History of Philosophy, translated by James H. Tufts
to some end; but his dogmatic categorical imperative lacks
(New York, 1893), is still unsurpassed. For idealism as an in-
fluential strand of modern intellectual culture, see John Her-
metaphysical justification. It was his successors who devel-
man Randall, Jr.’s The Making of the Modern Mind (New
oped an independent metaphysics that could flesh out Kant’s
York, 1976) and Randall’s two-volume The Career of Philoso-
intuitive insight with a rational argument. Hegel supple-
phy (New York, 1962–1965), especially volume 2, From the
mented the Kantian view with a dialectical interpretation of
German Enlightenment to the Age of Darwin. The most recent
concrete freedom that seeks to ally itself with whatever is ob-
significant interpretation of a major religious tradition in the
jectively rational and universal in the laws and institutions
light of an idealistic philosophy is Paul Tillich’s three-volume
of one’s community. This view turned idealism toward social
Systematic Theology (Chicago, 1951–1963).
realism. Josiah Royce later argued that the objective reason
New Sources
that Hegel sought in institutions could not be found there
Beiser, Frederick. German Idealism: The Struggle against Subjectiv-
if, as Hegel himself noted, institutions rise and fall. Rejecting
ism, 1781–1801. Cambridge, Mass., 2002.
Hegel’s conservatism, Royce argued that one’s loyalty is not
Henrich, Dieter, Between Kant and Hegel: Lectures on German Ide-
just to the institutionalized rationality of the past but to the
alism. Edited by David Pacini. Cambridge, Mass., 2003.
hoped-for rationality of the future. For Royce, therefore,
McCumber, John. “The Temporal Turn in German Idealism:
one’s primary loyalty is not to institutions but to those cre-
Hegel and After.” Research in Phenomenology 32 (2002):
ative causes that some institutions sometimes serve. There
44–60.
will be different interpretations as to what these causes
Pinkard, Terry. German Philosophy 1760–1860: The Legacy of Ide-
should be, but the authentic common spirit of cause-servers
alism. New York, 2002.
everywhere will always be one of loyalty. Royce’s categorical
imperative is therefore that one should be loyal to loyalty
Pippin, Robert. Idealism as Modernism: Hegelian Variations. New
York, 1997.
wherever it is found.
LEROY S. ROUNER (1987)
Various forms of idealism were influential during the
Revised Bibliography
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when there was
confidence in reason and hope for the future. The prevailing
spirit since the late twentieth century has become skeptical
of rationalization and pessimistic about the future, so idealis-
IDOLATRY. The word idolatry is formed from two
tic philosophy is less influential. However, when religious
Greek words, eido¯lon, “image,” and latreia, “adoration.” Ety-
thinkers look for a rational and universal language of experi-
mologically, idolatry means “adoration of images.” Authors
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IDOLATRY
4357
have given idolatry and idol widely differing definitions
idolatry, which it will approach on two levels: On the one
thereby revealing the complexity of the problem. Eugène
hand, the historico-religious fact that the three great mono-
Goblet d’Alviella uses the term idol to mean images or statues
theisms censured the worship of idols; and, on the other
“that are considered to be conscious and animate” and sees
hand, the phenomenon of humankind’s attitude of worship
idolatry in the act of “regarding an image as a superhuman
in the presence of a visible representation of divinity. The
personality” (Goblet d’Alviella, 1911, p. 126). In a relatively
study of these two aspects is made with reference to the his-
recent article, J. Goetz (1962), trying to get a better grip on
torical documentation left by the homo religiosus concerned.
the problem, establishes, first, that in the wake of etymology
HISTORICAL SEMANTICS. In ancient Greek texts since
idolatry “designates the adoration of images by emphasizing
Homer one rarely finds the word eido¯lon. Formed from eidos
the specific nature of the cult surrounding the objects, a cult
(n.), “aspect, shape,” the word eido¯lon has diverse meanings:
of adoration, which strictly speaking expresses a feeling of ab-
“phantom, undetermined form, image reflected in a mirror
solute dependence, especially through sacrifice.” He then
or in water.” It also means an image formed in the human
states that the terms idolatry and idol remain inaccurate, and
mind. Thus in the ancient Greek world, eido¯lon did not have
that “the authors who have tackled the problem of idolatry
a religious meaning.
most often defined the idol as an object in anthromorphic
form, intended to represent a spirit, the object of worship.”
One must therefore turn to the biblical Greek world,
Finally, venturing onto the terrain of religious phenomenol-
where eido¯lon is found in the Septuagint. Used 70 times in
ogy, he risks a definition of idol: “any material object that
the protocanonical texts, it translates 16 different Hebrew
receives a form of worship more or less structured,” idolatry
words, as for example aven, vanity; elil, nothing; gillulim, ex-
being this form of worship.
crement; pesel, carved statue; tselim, image. For these proto-
canonical texts the Vulgate uses idolum 112 times and simu-
The concept of idolatry originated in a very specific hi-
lacrum 32 times in order to translate 15 Hebrew words.
storico-religious context: the monotheism of Israel. Conse-
Eido¯lon also appears many times in the apocryphal writings.
quently, an authentic approach to the concept must refer to
The Hebrew Bible uses 30 different nouns in order to talk
the Hebrew scriptures. In his research on the prophetic reac-
about idols and mentions 44 pagan divinities. Thus eido¯lon
tion to pagan religious concepts, Christopher R. North pres-
designates the false gods and does so with a scornful nuance,
ents two ideas taken directly from the prophets. First, “Idola-
for they are vanity, lies, nothingness, vain images, molded
try is the worship of the creature instead of the Creator and,
metal, carved wood. It is therefore through choices made by
to make matters worse, the creature is made by man, who
Greek translators of the Bible that eido¯lon acquired the reli-
is himself a creature” (North, 1958, p. 158). He then states:
gious sense of representing a pagan divinity considered to be
“Idolatry is the worship of what in modern terms we should
a false god. Thus the Septuagint gave eido¯lon a new pejorative
call process, the ‘life-force,’ the élan vital, or what we will,
and polemical meaning. (By extension, eidoleio¯n means a
instead of the Creator who transcends and is in some sort ex-
temple in which idols are found.)
ternal to creation” (ibid., p. 159). Finally, here is another,
more recently formulated definition: “Idolatry may be de-
Eido¯lon passed into the Greek New Testament. The
fined as the worship of an idol (eido¯lon, image, portrait) con-
word does not occur in the Gospels, but it appears elsewhere
sidered as a substitute for the divine” (M. Delahoutre,
(Acts 7:41, 15:20; Rom. 2:22; 1 Cor. 8:4, 8:7, 10:9, 12:2; 2
“Idolâtrie,” Dictionnaire des religions, Paris, 1984).
Cor. 6:16; 1 Thes. 1:9; 1 Jn. 5:21; Rev. 9:20). The Vulgate
sometimes translates it as idolum and sometimes as simula-
This brief survey should help situate this article’s discus-
crum. One passage (1 Cor. 7:10) has the word eidoleion,
sion. The concept of idolatry originated in the application
“temple of idols,” which the Vulgate preserves, Latinizing it
of the second commandment. It acquired definitive formula-
as idolium. The New Testament passages show that in the
tion in censure by the prophets of Israel of the pagan cults
eyes of the compilers, the pagan gods have no substance (Gal.
and their influence on the chosen people. This biblical heri-
4:8). Behind their worship hides the work of demons (1 Cor.
tage passed into the New Testament and early Christianity,
10:19).
blazing its way through the forest of pagan cults. The mono-
theism of Islam adopted this Judeo-Christian concept and
The word eido¯lon passed into patristic terminology. Its
made it one of the foundations of its beliefs and its faith.
usage is common from the second century on. In the Epistle
of Barnabas, the eido¯la are the pagan gods to which the He-
Beginning with these notions formed with the help of
brews turned in the desert. Justin Martyr (1 Apology 64.1)
the dogmatic thought as well as the polemic stance of the
designates as an eido¯lon a statue of Kore, who was considered
three great monotheisms, the historian of religions enlarges
to be the daughter of Zeus. In speaking of pagan gods, Clem-
his vision of idolatry by studying this religious phenomenon
ent of Alexandria made use of all the richness of Greek vo-
through the behavior of homo religiosus in relation to the rep-
cabulary of his time. Evidence of this can be found in chapter
resentation of divinity. However, this study becomes vast
4 of the Exhortation to the Heathen, devoted to statues of
and includes other very important aspects: images for wor-
gods, agalmata. He calls them idols (4.53.1) and includes
ship, symbolism in religions and cults, religious art, venera-
them among the demons (4.55.1), which are impure and
tion of images, iconoclasm. The present study is limited to
base spirits. He invites his readers to approach these statues
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IDOLATRY
(agalmata) in order to uncover the error that they conceal:
ble aspect: the idolatrous worship of Yahveh as well as the
“Their exterior clearly shows the mark of your demons’ inner
worship of false gods.
dispositions” (4.57.1). Later he reproaches the Greeks for
The Mosaic prohibition. The second commandment
having given themselves models of sensuality in these idols
forbids the making of representations of the divinity (Ex.
(4.61.1). Justin proclaims that Christ came to liberate people
20:4–6; Dt. 4:15–19 and 5:6–9; Lv. 26:1). A rigorous ten-
from the domination of idols (Dialogue with Trypho 113.6).
dency took this Mosaic prohibition literally by banishing all
These pagan gods are only phantoms that take possession of
ornamentation of religious buildings. This tendency, which
the human spirit and give the pagans the illusion of divine
became widespread among the Pharisees, insisted on the spir-
worship (Athenagoras, Libellus 23). These few samples, taken
itualization of God and radically opposed the danger of idol-
from the arsenal of the polemic of the apologists and the
atry. A more liberal tendency has always existed, however,
Greek fathers, show how the meaning of eido¯lon expanded
as attested by the animal and human decoration of certain
in the Greek world during the first centuries of the common
synagogues discovered by archaeologists.
era.
The Latin fathers adopt the same vocabulary and an
Idolatrous worship of YHVH. Biblical texts refer to
identical stance. Tertullian shows that the pagan gods have
this worship on various occasions. The Hebrew tribes under-
no substance (Apologetics 10.2); then he attacks the statues
went the influence of Canaanite culture (Jgs. 3:5–6, Dt.
as inert matter, simulacra made of material related to that of
7:1–5). Micah of the tribe of Ephraim made a pesel and a
vases and ordinary utensils (12.2). In a similar fashion, Fir-
massekhah, a carved image and idol of cast metal (Jgs. 17:1–
micus Maternus speaks of the imagines consecratas of public
13), perhaps an image of God. After his victory over Midian,
pagan worship (Octavius 24.5). Augustine gives a definitive
Gideon made use of the gold taken from the enemy to make
structure to this criticism of idolatry made by the Latin apol-
and set up an efod (Jgs. 8:22–27). Moreover, there is evidence
ogists. Speaking of the pagan gods, he shows the semantic
of the tauriform cult of YHVH in the northern kingdom of
relationship between simulacrum and idolum: “simulacra,
Israel after the schism of 935 (1 Kgs. 12:26–32, 2 Kgs. 15:24).
which in Greek are called idols” (Expositions on the Psalms
In 1 Kings 12:28, Jeroboam presents God, symbolized by the
135.3). In his eyes, the idol worshipers are daemonicolae. The
bull (Hadad and Teshub, fertility gods), as the liberator of
idol lets the demon make his own revelation (Mandouze,
Israel at the time of the flight from Egypt. The writer of 2
1958).
Kings 15:24 speaks of the erection of statues of divine bulls.
This is the religious tradition of the golden calf.
The words eido¯lolatria and eido¯lolatr¯es are found neither
in secular Greek texts nor in the Septuagint nor in the writ-
The prophets fought the use of images because they rep-
ings of Philo Judaeus. They are a specific contribution of the
resented the danger of superstitition. Hosea 3:4 assails the ste-
New Testament and Christian literature of the first Christian
lae (matstsebot) erected next to the altars, the efod, which are
centuries. Paul considers idolatry a grave sin and puts it on
either images or instruments for interrogating Yahveh, and
the list of sins that Christians must avoid (1 Cor. 5:10–11,
the terafim, which closely resemble the efod. Thus, the
6:9, 10:7, 10:14; Gal. 5:20; Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:5). The writer
prophet aims at the elimination of even the accessories to
of 1 Peter 4:3 speaks in analogous fashion of the worship of
worship. Jeremiah went even further, proclaiming around
idols that ought to be rejected by Christians. The same idea
587 BCE that he would no longer speak of the Ark of the Cov-
appears in Revelation 21:8 and 22:15.
enant of Yahveh, which would be neither remembered nor
missed, and which would never be built again (Jer. 3:16).
The use of the two words becomes constant in Greek
patristic literature. Clement of Alexandria even leaves a defi-
The prophetic argument is simple. It rejects all tangible
nition of idolatry: “the extension to numerous divinities of
representation of God as dangerous because the image is dis-
what is reserved for the one true God” (Miscellanies 3.12).
tinct from God. Hosea, moreover, refers to the past, to the
The Christian church opposed idols and condemned their
youth of Israel, and to the flight from Egypt (Hos. 2:17).
manufacture. The second-century apologists left a veritable
Thus, prophetic polemics find support in the Mosaic tradi-
arsenal of arguments on which Christian polemicists would
tion. It is in this context that the incident of the golden calf
draw until the age of Augustine.
(Ex. 32) must be understood and seen in terms of a protest
against the worship of the tauriform Yahveh. Clearly, one is
IDOLATRY AND THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES. The formal con-
confronted here with a total rejection of the symbolism of
demnation of idolatry is found in Exodus 20:3–5. The bibli-
the idol.
cal God (whose unvocalized name is YHVH) simultaneously
forbids the worship of foreign gods and the making of images
Idolatry as worship of false gods. The second aspect
that claim to represent him, because it is impossible to repre-
of idolatry holds a much larger place in the Bible; to under-
sent the God of Israel. A confirmation and amplification of
stand it is necessary to review the history of idolatry in Israel.
this commandment are found in Deuteronomy 4:12–19. The
The ancestors of the chosen people practiced polytheism.
interdiction pertains to both theriomorphic and anthropo-
Joshua recalled this in his address to the assembly at She-
morphic images. It pertains also to symbolic animal repre-
chem: The father of Abraham and Nahor served other gods
sentations of the divinity. Thus idolatry is vested with a dou-
(Jos. 24:2, 24:14), and even in Egypt some Hebrews wor-
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4359
shiped pagan divinities. Upon their return from Egypt, the
remaining completely faithful to the biblical tradition, he re-
seminomadic Hebrew tribes who settled in Canaan came
flects his time by paying homage to the beauty of nature and
under the influence of the surrounding pagan culture and
works of art. He attacks the Stoic conception of gods accord-
were always tempted to adopt their gods (Jgs. 10:6; 1 Sm. 7:4,
ing to which Zeus was the ether, Poseidon the ocean, and
12:10). Furthermore, kings often advanced polytheism by
Demeter the earth (Wis. 13:1–19). He attacks the dynastic
the introduction of foreign wives who kept their gods (1 Kgs.
cult of the Ptolemies (14:17–20) and the mystery religions
11:7, 11:33). Amos accuses his contemporaries of worship-
(14:23). In his view, the adherents of zoolatry have complete-
ing Sakkuth and Kaiwan (Am. 5:26), two astral divinities.
ly lost their reason (15:18–19). It is in terms of an authentic
The prestige of the Assyrian pantheon exercised a profound
Yahvism that he judges pagan religions. He considers idola-
influence on the populations of Israel. During the reign of
try a fundamental disorder because it gives the name of God
Manasseh (688–642 BCE) a serious religious crisis broke out.
to that which is not God (13:2, 14:15, 14:20). Furthermore,
Shaken by the triumphs of the Assyrians and the Chaldeans,
the faithful adore dead idols that are incompetent and pow-
the faithful turned to the gods of the conquerors (2 Kgs.
erless. This disorder, which comes from seduction, leads to
21:1–9, 23:4–14). They worshiped the sun, the moon, the
a mental aberration that in the end produces a moral defi-
baals, and the Astartes (Jer. 2:8, 7:9). Nergal and other divin-
ciency among the faithful, who fall into error if not into lech-
ities reigned in the sanctuaries (2 Kgs. 17:30–31). After 587
ery. Yet even while condemning these mistaken ideas from
came the trial of exile, followed by a spiritual reform. The
which Abraham and the chosen people escaped, the author
prophets’ orations were beneficial for the piety of Israel,
speaks of his admiration for art. The Wisdom of Solomon has
which regained consciousness of its monotheistic faith.
left a veritable synthesis of biblical polemics against idols, a
Upon returning from exile, they were vigilant about keeping
synthesis into which certain ideas from the contemporary
their distance from idolatry, which continued to threaten the
Greek world have already entered.
people because of the populations that remained in Palestine,
I
especially in Samaria. The reaction against idolatrous cults
DOLATRY AND CHRISTIANITY. The study of idolatry from
the point of view of early Christianity is linked to problems
was especially characteristic of the syncretic attempts under
of the birth of Christian art and the question of images, their
Antiochus IV Epiphanes (2 Mc. 6:2). The entire Jewish na-
worship, and the refusal to worship them. The attitude to
tion drew tightly together around the faith in Yahveh.
adopt toward idols had been prescribed to the Christians
The most formidable opponents of idolatry were the
from the first decades of the church. The Christians coming
prophets and their prophecies. At the solemn unveiling of
from Judaism had very strong traditions. Christians who
the golden calf at Bethel, a prophet appeared before Jerobo-
converted from paganism radically separated themselves
am and announced Yahveh’s threat (1 Kgs. 13:1–32). Elijah
from idols and their worship. They all lived in the midst of
and Elisha fought against the worship of Baal and his priests
pagan populations who had proliferated temples, altars, stat-
(1 Kgs. 18:22–40). Amos reproached his Judean compatriots
ues, sacrifices, processions, and festivals in Egypt, Greece,
for letting themselves be seduced by idols (Am. 2:4). Hosea
Rome, and the Middle East. The rapid expansion of Chris-
spoke harshly also, because in his eyes the worship of Israel
tianity into the provinces of the empire obliged the church
had become idolatry (Hos. 4:12–13). Isaiah attacked the
to take very clear positions in regard to pagan cults.
idols and announced their fall (Is. 2:20, 17:7–8, 30:22).
The biblical heritage. Traces of the Old Testament op-
One of the important themes of the prophetic polemic
position to idols are found in the New Testament, where
is the emptiness of false gods. Idols are nothing but stone and
eido¯lon appears several times in the Pauline epistles. Galatians
wood (Jer. 16:20). Hosea does not hesitate to liken idolatry
4:8 takes up the common theme of pagan gods who have no
to fetishism, for in his eyes the image is set up in place of
substance. In 1 Corinthians 10:19, Paul states that when one
God (Hos. 8:4–6). Isaiah writes veritable satires of the Baby-
venerates idols, one is appealing to demons. This idea had
lonian gods, whom he compares to nothingness (Is. 44:14–
already appeared in Deuteronomy 32:17 and was developed
17). These mindless gods are carried about by beasts of bur-
after the exile as a result of the success of demonology. The
den (Is. 46:1–2). The theme of the idol as vacuous will con-
Pauline polemic revives the notion that the pagans offer sac-
tinue its march, to be exploited by subsequent prophets (Bar.
rifices to demons. Demonolatry is also denounced in Revela-
6, Dn. 13:65–14:42). Moreover, it will crystallize into an im-
tion 9:20. The double biblical theme of the emptiness of
posing number of ironic and scornful terms: nothingness, in-
idols and the demonic character of idolatry will be taken up
substantial puff of wind, lie, corpse. Ezekiel’s favorite word is
later by the apologists and the church fathers.
gillutim (“dunghill”). Derision of false gods is a biblical tradi-
tion antedating the prophets and continuing after the exile
The biblical heritage concerning idols also reached
(Preuss, 1971).
Christians by a second route, namely that of Philo Judaeus.
In Allegory of the Law Philo tries to differentiate the divinity
The Wisdom of Solomon, written in Greek on the eve of
from any human likeness, because “anthropomorphism is an
the common era, holds a veritable trial of idolatry, especially
impiety greater than the ocean” (On the Confusion of Tongues
in chapters 13–15. The author rejects the worship of nature,
27). In On the Decalogue (52–80) and Of the Contemplative
idolatry, and zoolatry (worship of animals). However, while
Life (3–9), he writes two accounts of the pagan gods. Both
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IDOLATRY
follow the same five-point outline: (1) a critique of the deifi-
mons as divine. The corruption of morals is a consequence
cation of the elements (earth, water, air, fire); (2) a critique
of error: Idols excite lust and sensuality, which were invented
of the deification of the sun, the moon, and the cosmos; (3)
by demons. To idolatry, Clement opposes the adoration of
a critique of the gods considered as actors in mythology; (4)
the true God, who shows humanity its proper dignity. Clem-
an attack against idolatry; and finally (5) a critique of zoola-
ent indicates this path of happiness by invoking Deuteronomy
try. J. Schwartz (1971) has called this “the Philonian sche-
(5:8), Exodus (20:4), the Sybilline Oracles (4:4–7, 24:27–30),
ma.” It influenced the critique of idolatry by Greek and Latin
and Christian doctrine (1 Pt. 2:9; Rom. 6:4; Jn. 8:23). Chap-
apologists, who drew on it for part of their own polemical
ter 4 of the Protrepticus is a veritable synthesis of the Chris-
material. On the subject of the worship of statues and divine
tian concept of idolatry at the end of the second century.
images, Philo writes, “Their substance is of rock and wood,
The Latin apologists. The position taken by the Latin
which was completely formless just a little while before. . . .
apologists in regard to the pagan gods constitutes a final
Fragments which were their brothers or their family have be-
stage. Here one again finds the Philonian schema of the De
come vessels for bath water or foot-washing basins” (On the
vita contemplativa (3–9). Yet, this schema is not a dead
Contemplative Life 7).
weight that condemns the argumentation of the Fathers to
The Greek apologists and fathers. In his first Apology
die-hard conservatism. Two facts emerge from the study of
(9.1–5), Justin Martyr collects the principal themes of sec-
these documents: On the one hand, the researcher is witness-
ond-century polemics against idols: The human form is not
ing a permanent renewal of the antipolytheistic argument;
suitable to divinity; idols have no soul and are made from
on the other hand, the authors take into account changes in
a base substance; they are works of depraved artisans and bait
the pagan cults, especially the rise of the mystery cults with
for thieves; they bear the names of maleficent demons in
their new religiosity. The documents appear at intervals from
whose appearance they are clothed. In his Apology Aristides
the late second to the fourth century: To the Nations, Apology,
of Athens has no sympathy for the idols of the Greeks. He
and On Idolatry by Tertullian; Octavius by Minucius Felix;
severely condemns the sin of worshiping created things but
To Donatus, To Quirinius, To Demetrianus, Quod idola di
is even harsher toward the barbarians, who revere earth,
non sint by Cyprian; Divinae institutiones and Epitome by
water, the sun, and the moon, and create idols they present
Lactantius Firmianus; and De errore profanorum religionum
as divinities. In his Libellus, another Athenian, Athenagoras,
by Firmicus Maternus.
attempts to show that making statues of divinities is recent.
The pagan gods are not idols, states Tertullian: “We
All such statues are the works of people whose names are
stopped worshiping your gods once we realized they do not
known. The artists have therefore made gods who are youn-
exist” (Apology 10.2). He first substantiates his statement
ger than their creators. In short, all these idols are no more
through history, for it is known where these gods were born
than fragments of creation that the faithful adore in place of
and where their tombs are. He reproaches the pagans for
the creator. After this interpretation of idolatry in the sense
claiming that their gods became gods after death because of
of fetishism, Athenagoras explains the manipulation of idols
their merits in the service of humans. After these consider-
by demons. The demons urge the faithful to block around
ations inspired by euhemerism, Tertullian tackles the ques-
the idols, then during the sacrifices they lick the blood of the
tion of simulacra. The statues are only inert matter, just like
victims. But all these gods had once been humans. A heritage
vases, dishes, and furniture. Insensitive to outrage or hom-
of the secularized Greek age of the centuries just prior to the
age, these statues are given over to commerce if not to de-
Christian era, this theme of euhemerism was to be a weighty
struction. Tertullian treats these questions at greater length
argument, one the Fathers would use continuously.
in On Idolatry, which undertakes to show that idolatry is the
gravest sin, encompassing all others. He condemns painting,
Clement of Alexandria wrote his Protrepticus in order to
modeling, sculpture, and participation in public festivals, be-
convince the worshipers of the gods of what he held to be
cause idolatry hides beneath seemingly innocent actions.
the stupidity and baseness of pagan myths. He first tries to
Furthermore, he forbids Christians to teach or to conduct
determine the origin and nature of idols. Blocks of wood and
business, for both pursuits require contact with idols. In
pillars of rock in ancient times, they became human repre-
short, all the powers and dignities of this world are alien to
sentations thanks to the progress of art, of which the author
God; for this reason, Christians must likewise be forbidden
gives a well-documented survey. Then Clement poses the
the military life.
fundamental question: Where did the gods represented by
idols come from? The historical response to this question, in-
The Latin apologists also developed the idea that pagan
spired by euhemerism, is the deification of human beings,
gods are demons. Demonology held a place of honor at the
of kings who have declared themselves divine, and of kings
beginning of the common era. Both Greek and Latin apolo-
by their successors. Clement then gives a theological answer,
gists transformed the false gods into demons. The fathers
partly inspired by Plato: The pagan gods are demons, shad-
seized the opportunity to turn these demons, intermediary
ows, infamous and impure spirits. Consequently,the error
beings between humanity and divinity, into characters lurk-
and moral corruption of idolatry becomes clear. The error
ing in the shadows of idols. Minucius Felix explains that “the
is serious, for it leads the faithful to worship matter and de-
demons hide behind statues and sacred images and, by exhal-
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IDOLATRY
4361
ing their breath,” exercise their mysterious effects—spells,
Thus, an essential aspect of Augustine’s criticism of
dreams, prodigies (Octavius 27.1–3). In To the Nations Ter-
idolatry is his study of demonology. After having reviewed
tullian speaks of the pagan gods represented by idols that the
some of the major themes of his predecessors, he virtually
demons use as masks to deceive men, and in On Idolatry, he
psychoanalyzes the work of demons in the life of idol wor-
curses artists and workers who fashion these bodies for the
shipers. Evoked by humans, demons take possession of idols.
demons. Minucius Felix does not hesitate to make the de-
The simulacra become animate, and the work of demons can
mons the beneficiaries of sacrifice. Taking up Tertullian’s
be achieved because the idol is no longer inert: An invisible
notion that the devil, in the mysteries of Mithra, mimics the
numen is present. The idol serves as body for the demon. It
Christian faith, Minucius Felix accuses the devil of having
receives life from the demon, to whom it lends itself. By this
plagiarized Christian ritual in the religions of Mithra and
means, the demon accomplishes his revelation. For this rea-
Isis. Firmicus Maternus develops this theory further and dis-
son, Augustine repeats incessantly, “The gods are demons,
covers the devil everywhere in paganism—in idolatry, zoola-
and worshipers of idols are worshipers of demons.” Yet in
try, the deification of sovereigns, and astrology. Thus a shak-
book 8 of City of God, he diminishes the power of demons
en paganism faces a decisive condemnation of idolatry and
somewhat, because they are not gods. For Augustine, these
idols.
false gods are lying angels who continue their struggle against
the true God. The malice of the sin of idolatry is thus ex-
Augustine. In his Against the Pagans, completed in 311,
posed.
the convert Arnobius attacked paganism, denounced the an-
Christianity since Augustine. Ever since the conver-
thropomorphism of the pagan cult, ridiculed the pagans’
sion of the empire to Catholicism, paganism had been in re-
conception of the gods, censured their myths, and attacked
treat. After one last revival under the emperor Julian, it
the mystery cults. His disciple Lactantius, converted, like
found a tough opponent in Theodosius the Great (r. 379–
him, under the persecution of Diocletian, and began his
395), who forbade idolatry as a crime of lèse-majesté. The
Divinae institutiones in 304. Lactantius demonstrates that
fifth century witnessed the demolition of temples and idols;
monotheism is the only form of belief in God consistent with
Augustine gave the final blow to pagan theology. But the
truth and reason. Speaking of the general evil of polytheism,
church remained vigilant in order to uproot the last implan-
he explains it by euhemerism and by the ruse of demons who
tations of paganism and squelch its influence among the peo-
get themselves adored under divine names first in families
ple. This preoccupation would be translated in three ways:
and then in cities.
penitential discipline enacted against the sin of idolatry; the
On August 24, 410, the hordes of Alaric entered Rome
teaching of morality, beginning with the writings of Tertul-
and subjected the city to pillage. The pagans accused the
lian; and the constant purification of Christian worship and
Christians of having destroyed the worship of the gods and
vigilance regarding the veneration of saints. Several great
thus chased away the city’s protectors. Augustine’s answer
controversies, especially iconoclasm and the Reformation,
was the City of God, written between 413 and 426, whose
show that idolatry remained a preoccupation. In the six-
twenty-two books constitute the last great apologetic work
teenth and seventeenth centuries, Protestants often accused
against ancient paganism.
the Catholic church of maintaining ceremonies and tradi-
tions tainted by idolatry. Recent discussions about the cult
The pagan gods were a prime target, but Augustine
of the saints, the worship of images, and the origin of Chris-
found himself confronting a paganism with multiple and
tian worship show the historical and theological importance
contradictory aspects. Besides the divine populace of country
of the problem.
rituals, there were the gods of the classical pantheon, deified
IDOLATRY AND ISLAM. An Arab proverb recorded by
men, and a Stoic pantheism that turned Jupiter into a world
al-Mayda¯n¯ı says, “When you enter a village, swear by its
soul. Throughout the first ten books of City of God, Augus-
god.” On the eve of the Hijrah, Arab tribes venerated many
tine launches a critique, in turn acerbic and ironic, of the
gods. In his work Kita¯b al-as:na¯m (Cairo, 1914), Ibn al-Kalb¯ı
Roman gods, polytheism, and mythology. To strike a fatal
described the prosperity of the cult of idols in the pre-Islamic
blow at the idols, he brings in Varro, Cicero, Seneca, Eu-
age (Ja¯hil¯ıyah). These idols were ans:a¯b, or raised stones;
hemerus, Apuleius, and Plato. He tries to fight Varro’s theol-
garis, or stones upon which the blood of sacrifice was poured;
ogy with its false gnosis of etymologies of divine names and
sacred trees; and statuettes that were bought and sold at fairs
its tripartition of gods introduced by poets, philosophers,
and markets. Another word used by al-Kalb¯ı, which is also
and heads of state. But Augustine knows that idols are not
found in the commentators of the QurDa¯n, is s:anam (pl.,
mere beings without substance, invented during the course
as:na¯m), “an object venerated next to God.” The word has
of history. These idols are also in the hearts of worshipers,
a Semitic origin and seems close to the Hebrew semel, “repre-
for idolatry consists of worshiping creation or a part of it as
sentation.” The word is found five times in the QurDa¯n (6:74,
God. This theme is developed in On Christian Doctrine and
7:134, 14:38, 21:58, 26:1), designating the “idol” rejected
On True Religion, in which Augustine, not content with a
by Muslims. In the pre-Islamic age s:anam designated diverse
critique of the idol, launches a critique of the idol’s worship-
objects: statues sculpted like the god Hubal, statues around
er, whom he considers a devil worshiper.
the KaEbah in Mecca, and sacred trees and stones. These
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4362
IDOLATRY
stones, which received libations and became objects of wor-
grave one because they have no faith in God (12:106), to
ship, were ans:a¯b (sg., nus:ub); the Arabs carried them in their
whom they compare mere creatures (30:30). A terrible pun-
migrations. Therefore s:anam does not mean “divinity.”
ishment awaits them: They will be treated like their idols
(10:29/28), who will abandon them to their sad fate when
Al-Azraq¯ı says that in Mecca there was an idol in every
they stand before the fire (6:23–29). Because of the serious-
house. Through this proliferation of idols, the Arab invoked
ness of this error, the law of the QurDa¯n demands that Mus-
divinity. The gods of this vast pantheon brought the divine
lims neither marry a woman idolator nor give their daughters
into the everyday realities of existence. The distinctions be-
to idolators in marriage (2:220–221). The QurDa¯n makes a
tween various epiphanies resided in the names given them
and the numerous sanctuaries. Onomastic documentation
distinction between idolators (associators) on the one hand,
takes one back to a distant age where these idols existed,
and possessors of scripture on the other, that is to say, Jews
epiphanies of the divine. In addition, Hellenism introduced
and Christians. However, the two categories of non-Muslims
into Arab paganism heroes, ancestors, and genies from Petra,
are guilty of infidelity in respect to God, as emphasized in
Palmyra, and other Hellenistic cities.
surah 98. In su¯rah 22:17 (evidently a later text), is found the
opposition between Muslims on the one hand, and Jews,
Another word is shirk (mushriku¯n), which designates the
Christians, Sabaeans, and Zoroastrians on the other. The
act of associating a person with divinity; it is the word for
QurDa¯n demands that Muslims fight idolators (9:36).
polytheism. In the QurDa¯n the word appears in the Medina
su¯rahs, where its use is frequent in Muh:ammad’s attacks on
Idolatry consists of associating a god or gods with God
the associators, the mushriku¯n (su¯rah 6:94, 10:19, 30:12,
(51:51, 50:25–26). This idea keeps recurring; it is the
39:4). Such persons are to be avoided by believers. One must
QurDa¯n’s definition of idolatry, whence the word for associa-
not pray for them, even if they are relatives (9:114). Their
tors. Idolatry is an insult to God, because honors reserved for
sin will not be pardoned. The word ka¯fir, “unbeliever,” is
him alone are bestowed on false gods. Su¯rah 17:111 shows
more general and includes both the associators and the pos-
that there are three degrees of association: children, associates
sessors of scripture (Jews and Christians). In the QurDa¯n
in kingship, and protectors (sg., wal¯ı). The idea of the pro-
shirk, “associator,” is the opposite of muslim, “worshiper of
tector is found several times in the QurDa¯n. In su¯rah 39:4/3,
God.” Shirk retains this meaning in the h:ad¯ıth.
saints are divinities that the faithful worship because they
consider them intermediaries who will bring them closer to
Muh:ammad’s opposition to idolatry is a Judeo-
God. From the beginning, in Islam, fear of idolatry led to
Christian inheritance. Abraham becomes the prototype of
the suppression of all mediation between the faithful and
the monotheistic faith that Muh:ammad espouses. Abraham
God. Association in kingship consists of putting false gods
is to the prophets what the Arabs are to other Muslim peo-
on an equal footing with the one and only God (14:35/30,
ples. Beginning with Abraham’s revelation, Muh:ammad
26:92, 26:98). It involves an actual insult to God, for the
goes on to see in Islam not only the true monotheism but
power of the Creator is given to beings who have no sub-
primordial hanifism (from h:an¯ıf, one who follows the origi-
stance (32:3/4, 40:69/67, 29:41/42). These idols are only
nal and true monotheistic religion; a Muslim), which was
names (12:40); God is the sole master of the world and peo-
transmitted by Abraham’s son Ishmael, following in his fa-
ple. A third means of association consists of attributing chil-
ther’s footsteps. It is in this original path that one discovers
dren to God (43:81), an idea that appears repeatedly in di-
the QurDa¯n’s opposition to idolatry.
verse forms. The QurDa¯n is undoubtedly alluding to
Idols are the enemies of God and his worshipers. Refer-
polytheistic myths and statues of divinities in temples. Su¯rah
ring again to Abraham, the QurDa¯n condemns them along
23:93/91 tells of the quarrels of the gods who claim to be
with the whole Semitic ancestral tradition, which is the ori-
superior to each other. There is also mention of goddesses,
gin of their worship, a worship radically opposed to the wor-
daughters of God (43.15, 52:39). The most famous passage
ship of the one true God (26:69–83). The same idea is found
is su¯rah 53:19–21, satanic verses about the three goddesses
in the text of su¯rah 21:53/52 to 70, which tells how Abraham
of the KaEbah. These goddesses were highly honored in
smashed the idols worshiped by his countrymen. These idols
the pre-Islamic Arab world, with great financial returns for
had no substance and were incapable of creating anything
the tribe of Quraysh. At the beginning of his preaching, the
(25:3–5/4). Moses had to intervene against the sons of Israel
Prophet did not dare touch them. After the seizure of Mecca
who, after their flight from Egypt, began to worship the idols
in 630, however, he had all the idols of the KaEbah destroyed
that they made for themselves (7:134/138). Thus
in his presence.
Muh:ammad orders his followers to avoid the stain of idolatry
The essence of idolatry resides in the insult to God by
and to serve God in complete fidelity (22:31/30).
the associators, who confer on mere creatures the honors and
Throughout the whole QurDa¯n is found opposition to
worship reserved for the Unique, the Creator, the Master of
idols and idolatry. One must turn away from them (15:94)
the World. Like the apologists and the Fathers of the church,
for they bring unhappiness to their worshipers (41:5/6), who
the QurDa¯n insists on the work of the demon who impels
are nothing but liars upon whom God will inflict torment
men toward idols. Abraham asks his father not to worship
after torment (16:88/86–90/88). The idolators’ error is a
Satan (19:45/44), who turns men away from the worship of
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IDOLATRY
4363
God (27:24). The demon is the patron of idolators (16:65/
The context here remains one of worship, but one in which
63) and as such is opposed to God (4:118/119). Conse-
ritual receives the greatest emphasis.
quently, idolatry becomes the demon’s auxiliary (25:57/55).
This parallel between two phenomena of worship, idol-
In su¯rah 4:117, the QurDa¯n says that idolators pray only to
atry and fetishism, will allow one to better situate idolatry
females, or to a rebellious demon.
as a religious phenomenon perceived by the historian of reli-
Alla¯h is the creator God, judge, dealer of retribution,
gions. In this view, idolatry is the worship of a divinity repre-
unique and one in himself, all-powerful, and merciful. He
sented by a substitute for the divine, called an idol. To grasp
reveals himself through his prophets. He does not show him-
the different dimensions of this worship, the historians of re-
self, but is recognized in the signs of the universe, in the signs
ligions center their research on homo religiosus at work in the
of God, a¯ya¯t Alla¯h. He can be known only by his word, his
exercise of this worship. They seek to understand human be-
names, his attributes, and his deeds. In any case, he cannot
havior through human rites and in the implementation of
be represented by an image or a representation. Islam is a reli-
the human symbolic system.
gion without icons.
In the Greco-Roman world, voices were raised against
IDOLATRY AND HOMO RELIGIOSUS. Idolatry is a historical-
the adoration of divinity in human form by Heraclitus, Xe-
religious concept that finds expression in the response and
nophanes, Pythagoras, Euripides, Diogenes and the Cynics,
behavior of the three great monotheisms when confronted
and Stoics such as Zeno and Seneca. Reflecting on the divini-
with the beliefs and the practices of the polytheistic religions
ty, these thinkers tried to establish themselves as intermedi-
they encountered along their way. This concept was devel-
aries between the philosophers’ religion and that of the peo-
oped in the course of discussions and confrontations with
ple. In this area, Plutarch’s thought becomes apparent.
these monotheisms: three religions of the Book, depositories
Seeking to avoid the two extremes of superstition and athe-
of a revelation, animated by prophecy and doctrines of salva-
ism, he emphasizes that divine life and intelligence are not
tion—religions that join humanity to a personal God who
subordinate to humans. Likewise, he refuses the application
appears in history. Idolatry means divine worship of beings
of gods’ names to insensate natures or inanimate objects (De
who are not God in the eyes of those who have defined wor-
Iside 66–67). In Egypt, he confronts zoolatry, which may
ship as idolatrous. The word has a negative and pejorative
lead to repugnant aberrations because of the worship of sa-
connotation because to the faithful of a monotheistic reli-
cred animals. However, observing that the Egyptians were
gion, attitudes, behaviors, and rites that should be strictly re-
extraordinary inventors of symbols and emblems, Plutarch
served for the true God are turned by the idolator toward
accepts the symbolism of the divine manifested in the life of
false gods. Thus, idolatry is a fundamental religious disequi-
beings. Consequently, he approves of those for whom these
librium due to two paradoxical facts: on the one hand a di-
beings are an occasion to worship the divine.
vine cultus, on the other a substitute for the divine that is
not God.
During the first century of the common era, Dio Coc-
ceianus (Chrysostomos) of Prusa, writing an apology for
Fetishism is a historical-religious concept developed in
Greek art, affirmed: “We invest God with the human body
the modern age by ethnologists and historians of religions,
since it is the vessel of thought and reason. In the complete
with a view to explaining the creeds of primal black peoples
absence of a primitive model we seek to reveal the incompa-
of western Africa. In Du culte des dieux fétiches (1760),
rable and the invisible by means of the visible and the compa-
Charles de Brosses tried to apprehend humankind in its ar-
rable, in a higher manner than certain barbarians who, in
chaic state of raw nature. He observed that ancient peoples
their ignorance and absurdity, liken the divinity to animal
worshiped animals, trees, plants, fountains, lakes, seas, stars,
shapes.” For Dio, plastic beauty expresses the divine. A cen-
and rivers as contemporary primitives still do. To this wor-
tury later the eclectic Platonist Maxim of Tyre treated the
ship, de Brosses gave the name fetishism, a term formed from
question of the legitimacy of portraying the gods. He notes
the Portuguese feitiço (“witchcraft, bewitched subject”). Hu-
that the Persians adored the divinity in the ephemeral image
manity sees an active presence in the fetish, which provokes
of fire; that the Egyptians contemplated their gods in objects
fear and the need for protection. Humankind obtains protec-
and beings worthy of scorn; and that though the images may
tion through the observance of rites. Thus, the fetishist wor-
vary, the essential thing is to worship divinity: “God, the fa-
ships the object directly, unlike in polytheism, which de
ther of all things and their creator, existed before the sun and
Brosses viewed as a more structured religion in which sym-
is older than the sky. . . . Since we cannot grasp his essence,
bols are characterized above all by the image and the statue.
we seek help in words, names, animal shapes, figures of gold,
ivory, and silver” (Philosophumena 2.10).
Research has made the notion of fetishism more precise.
Fetishism is the belief in the existence of a power, concentrat-
Augustine leaves numerous allusions to the allegorical
ed in beings or objects, that humanity must harness for its
interpretation of idolatry by pagan authors. In Expositions on
own well-being. This power is obtained by means of individ-
the Psalms 113 he speaks of certain people who claim that
ual or collective rites. The beneficial result will be a function
their worship does not really address itself to the elements
of the force obtained; therefore humankind uses a whole web
themselves but to the divinities who are their masters. The
of rituals in order to increase the force and then capture it.
same idea is found elsewhere in the same work (96), where
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4364
IDOLATRY
the idolator declares that he worships the statue he sees, but
troduces a new significance into the life of individuals and
submits to the god he does not see; the statue is only a substi-
society. In the celebration of worship, such sacred symbol-
tute for the divinity. The pagan authors targeted by Augus-
ism, myths, and rites help humankind to penetrate the mys-
tine are perhaps the emperor Julian, Porphyry, and Varro.
tery of salvation, a mystery that is represented by the holy
history of human religion and culture.
The history of religions approaches idolatry in terms of
those four fundamental aspects of religious belief and prac-
SEE ALSO Anthropomorphism; Demons; Devils; Fetishism;
tice that homo religiosus has been evolving from prehistoric
Hierophany; Iconoclasm; Iconography, article on Jewish
times down to the present: the sacred, myth, rite, and sym-
Iconography; Images; Synagogue.
bol. The idol represents a hierophany in which humans per-
ceive a manifestation of the sacred that clothes the object in
BIBLIOGRAPHY
a new dimension. This dimension is obtained by means of
Barthélémy, Dominique. God and His Image. New York, 1966.
rites consecrating the objects of worship, altars, divine stat-
Baumer, Iso, Hildegard Christoffels, and Gonsalv Mainberger.
ues, and temples: Sacral presence and sacred space are indis-
Das Heilige im Licht und Zwielicht. Einsiedeln, Switzerland,
pensable. Through consecration, the image or object now be-
1966.
longs to the divinity and can no longer serve a secular use.
Baynes, Norman H. “Idolatry and the Early Church.” In Byzan-
The Egyptian rituals for opening the mouth, eyes, nose, and
tine Studies and Other Essays, pp. 116–143. London, 1955.
ears of a statue made to represent a divinity attest to a theolo-
Bevan, Edwyn Robert. Holy Images: An Inquiry in Idolatry and
gy of the sacred in which the idol is an incarnation of power
Image-Worship in Ancient Paganism and in Christianity. Lon-
and life, a personification; it evokes the greatness of the god.
don, 1940.
Greek art tried to render this sacral dimension through the
Campenhausen, Hans von. “Die Bilderfrage als theologisches
whiteness of marble or through protective coatings applied
Problem der alten Kirche.” In Tradition und Leben, edited
to the idols. Worship reactualizes myths that put the wor-
by Campenhausen, pp. 216–252. Tübingen, 1960.
shiper in contact with primordial time and furnish him mod-
Clerc, Charly. Les théories relatives au culte des images chez les
els for his life. Thanks to this celebration, humanity again
auteurs grecs du deuxième siècle après J.-C. Paris, 1915.
becomes contemporary with the primordial event, which
Dubarle, A. M. La manifestation naturelle de Dieu d’après l’écriture.
awakens and maintains its awareness of a world distinct from
Paris, 1976.
the secular world.
Duesberg, Hilaire. “Le procès de l’idolâtrie.” In Les scribes inspirés,
This mythical behavior of homo religiosus is likewise
vol. 2. Paris, 1939. Second edition (1966) written in collabo-
found in Christian worship, but with an essential difference:
ration with Irénée Fransen.
The return to a primordial event is not a return to mythical
Gelin, Albert. “Idoles, idolâtrie.” In Dictionnaire de la Bible, sup-
time, but to the historical time of the life of Christ. The In-
plément, vol. 4. Paris, 1949.
carnation is effected in a historical time: The Christians who
Gilbert, Maurice. La critique des dieux dans le Livre de la Sagesse.
celebrate the mysteries of Christ know that they are simulta-
Rome, 1973.
neously attaining the historical time of Jesus and the trans-
Goblet d’Alviella, Eugène. “Les origines de l’idolâtrie.” In Croy-
historic time of the Word of God.
ances, rites, institutions, vol. 2, pp. 125–147. Paris, 1911.
Goetz, J. “Idolâtrie.” In Catholicisme hier, aujourd’hui, demain,
Idolatry is the area in which rites and symbols are multi-
vol. 5. Paris, 1962.
plied. For humankind, it is a matter of transcending the
human condition through contact with the sacred. The
Mandouze, André. “Saint Augustin et la religion romaine.” In Re-
cherches augustiniennes, vol. 1, pp. 187–223. Paris, 1958.
human reference point remains the archetype. This is the
role of ritual. Religions have left extraordinary documenta-
Marion, Jean-Luc. L’idole et la distance: Cinq études. Paris, 1977.
tion on the rites of celebration, as for instance the sacrificial
Michel, A. “Idolâtrie, idole.” In Dictionnaire de théologie
rites of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as sacred meals
catholique, vol. 7. Paris, 1921.
with mystical participation of the gods through statues led
North, Christopher P. “The Essence of Idolatry.” In Von Ugarit
in procession; rituals of sacrifice with three fires in the Indo-
nach Qumran, edited by Johannes Hempel and Leonhard
European world; rites of soma in India and of haoma in Iran;
Rost, pp. 151–160. Berlin, 1958.
the symbolism of the cults of Cybele and Mithra; the rites
Prat, Ferdinand. “Idolâtrie, idole.” In Dictionnaire de la Bible, vol.
of daily worship in Egyptian temples; the power of the rite
3. Paris, 1912.
and of the word in the imitation of the primordial gesture
Preuss, Horst Dietrich. Verspottung fremder Religionen im Alten
of the god Thoth, creator of the cosmos; funeral rituals of
Testament. Stuttgart, 1971.
embalming in ancient Egypt, linked to the Osiris myth; and
Sauser, Ekkart. “Das Gottesbild: Eine Geschichte der Spannung
the symbolism of the altar and of gestures in Hindu temples.
von Vergegenwärtigung und Erinnerung.” Trierer Theologis-
Incorporated in the life and existence of homo religiosus, the
che Zeitschrift 84 (1975): 164–173.
symbolism of worship has the function of revelation, for it
Schwartz, J. “Philon et l’apologétique chrétienne du second siè-
is the language of hierophany. It reveals a dimension that
cle.” In Hommages à André Dupont-Sommer, edited by André
transcends the natural dimension of life. Consequently, it in-
Caquot and M. Philonenko, pp. 497–507. Paris, 1971.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IGBO RELIGION
4365
Vermander, Jean-Marie. “La polémique des Apologistes latins
known in different parts of Igboland as Chukwu, Chineke,
contre les Dieux du paganisme.” Recherches augustiniennes 17
Ezechitoke, Osebuluwa or Obasi di n’elu. Each name privi-
(1982): 3–128.
leges certain attributes. He created the world and sustains it
Will, Robert. Le culte: Étude d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses.
from above, and one of his praise names is “the one who is
3 vols. Paris, 1925–1935.
known but never fully known.” Igbo parents honor Chukwu
New Sources
by naming their children in praise of his power: Chuk-
Bernand, Carmen, and Serge Gruzinski. De l’idolâtrie: une ar-
wudi (“God lives”), Chukwu nyelu (“God gave”), Chuk-
chéologie des sciences religieuses. Paris, 1988.
wuneke (“God creates”), Chukwuma (“God knows”),
Deacon, Richard. Image and Idol: Medieval Sculpture. London,
Chukwuka (“God is greater”), Ifeanyichukwu (“nothing im-
2001. Exhibition catalog.
possible with God”), Chukwuemeka (“God has been very
kind”), Kenechukwu (“thank God”), Ngozichukwu
Flynn, Tom. The Body in Three Dimensions. New York, 1998.
(“blessing of God”), Chukwumailo (“God knows my ene-
Gombrich, E. H., and John Onians. Sight and Insight: Essays on
mies”), and Chukwujioke (“God is the sharer”).
Art and Culture in Honour of E. H. Gombrich at 85. London,
1994.
Chukwu is seen as a powerful, munificent God, the one
Guillou, André, and Janice Durand. Byzance et les images: cycle de
who holds the knife and the yam and provides people with
conférence organisé au musée du Louvre par le Service culturel
wealth, rain, and children, and who is merciful toward rich
du 5 octobre au 7 décembre 1992. Paris, 1994.
and poor, male and female, child and aged. Every morning
Hawting, G. R. The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam:
the father of the family offers prayers to the supreme being.
From Polemic to History. Cambridge, U.K., 1999.
Chukwu does not intervene in the minor details of human
existence, however; such matters he leaves to the spirits and
Julius, Anthony. Idolizing Pictures: Idolatry, Iconoclasm, and Jewish
Art. New York, 2001.
ancestors, who are often described as his messengers.
Kamerick, Kathleen. Popular Piety and Art in the Late Middle Ages:
The spirits (alusi) are powerful beings who inhabit the
Image Worship and Idolatry in England, 1350–1500. New
three dimensions of space—sky, earth (land and water), and
York, 2002.
ancestral world. There are several categories of spirits. Power-
Mazur, Eric Michael. Art and the Religious Impulse. Lewisburg,
ful sky deities manifest through thunder, lightning, sun, and
Pa., 2002.
moon; nature spirits inhabit rocks, hills, caves, trees, and
Mills, Kenneth. Idolatry and Its Enemies: Colonial Andean Religion
land or farms. The guardian spirit of the earth is Ani/Ala, the
and Extirpation, 1640–1750. Princeton, 1997.
earth mother. There is also a spirit associated with each day
of the Igbo four-day week: Eke, Orie, Afor, and Nkwo. Pa-
JULIEN RIES (1987)
Translated from French by Kristine Anderson
tron spirits serve as guardians of hunters, farmers, fishermen,
Revised Bibliography
medicine men, and other professional guilds; the matron
spirit is called Nne Miri or Mami Wata. Marine spirits in-
habit rivers and streams. Human spirits, called chi, determine
each individual’s destiny. Spirit forces energize medicine that
IGBO RELIGION. The Igbo are the largest ethnic
individuals can conjure and deploy for strength, protection,
group of southeastern Nigeria, numbering about fifteen mil-
or to harm enemies. Ancestral spirits are the living dead who
lion people in 2000. Until the mid-twentieth century the
inhabit the spirit world but are involved in the lives of proge-
overwhelming majority of Igbo were farmers, raising yams
nies in the human world. During festivals, they visit the
as their staple crop. Traditionally, the Igbo lived in villages
human world as guests in form of masquerades. Evil spirits
or village-groups surrounded by their farms. The village-
live in both human and spirit worlds. Only those who lived
group was the primary unit of political authority; there was
honest lives, did not die from inexplicable diseases, and had
no sustained tradition of centralized states within Igbo soci-
full burial rites can be ancestors or reincarnate. The spirits
ety. Rather, there were strong ties of the village community,
of evil people wander as akalogolu who appear on lonely farm
the extended family system, age-group associations, and the
roads to frighten people. Among the most dreaded evil spirits
various religious organizations that were important to com-
are ogbanje—spirits who manifest as children, covenanted to
munity life. The Igbo have been exposed to Christian mis-
return to the marine world after a brief sojourn among
sionary activity since 1841; in 1857 an Anglican mission was
human families. Their mission is to participate exuberantly
opened at the important town of Onitsha along the Niger
in life events, tantalizing parents with their excessive beauty,
River. The Roman Catholics came in 1885. By the mid-
friendliness, joy of living, and precocious habits. Near the ap-
twentieth century most Igbo had adopted Christianity,
pointed time of return, they develop unusual illnesses and
though the tensile strength of Igbo traditional religion sus-
die very suddenly. Ogbanje spirits tend to possess females.
tained millions of devotees.
Parents consult dibia afa (divining healers, as opposed to
Igbo religion distinguishes between three types of super-
dibia ogwu, who are adept with herbs), make sacrifices to ma-
natural beings: God, the spirits, and the ancestors. Ndigbo
rine spirits, and use facial scarifications on the children to
believe that there is only one supreme being, who is variously
discourage their return to the human world. Body marks at
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4366
IGBO RELIGION
birth may betray an ogbanje child (modern medicine suspects
lowed this with four other four raids between 1912 and 1925
sickle cell anemia).
against the oracle, still to no avail.
Benevolent spirits have shrines, priests, and religious fes-
Healing is central to Igbo religion. Ndi dibia ogwu
tivals as part of their worship. The wicked spirits receive no
(herbalists) employ a variety of techniques to discern the spir-
regular cultic activity except the occasional offering made
itual cause of a particular malady or misfortune: a violation
with the left hand as the supplicant asks to be left alone.
of taboos/prohibitions, moral failure, an offense against a
Major ancestors have statues, which recall their spiritual
spirit, or a bad personal fate (chi). A spirit, agwu, possesses
power, located at a family shrine. Before drinking palm wine,
the herbalist after he recites incantations, and it identifies the
the Igbo pour out a few drops in honor of the ancestors. The
herb and the location in the forest for the cure.
ancestors are believed to help the living reap a good harvest,
Social control models include socialization into accept-
have many children, and protect the family from misfor-
able values (omenali), restriction through satires and peer
tunes. Ancestors may also be reincarnated among the chil-
joking relationships, punishment for those who flout the sa-
dren of their descendants.
lient values, and reward for those who uphold them. Each
Acts of religious worship permeate daily life and are
control is legitimized with religion. For instance, theft from
often conducted on behalf of family or village groups. A fa-
a farm threatens the food security of the community, so the
ther’s morning prayer to Chukwu is offered on behalf of his
elders invoke the spirits of Ahiajioku (the god of the yam
entire family. Individuals invoke the name of a spirit or even
who also guards farms), Ani/Ala (the earth mother), or ances-
that of Chukwu when they sense danger, have cause to re-
tors to detect and punish the thief. The earth spirit and an-
joice, when they sneeze, or when they approach a spirit’s
cestors serve as guardians of morality. The most serious
shrine. Prayers also accompany ritual sacrifice. They are of-
crimes are abominations committed against the earth spirit,
fered to God, the spirits, and the ancestors, and can be
such as patricide, suicide, incest, theft of crops or livestock,
prayers of petition, praise, or thanksgiving. The Igbo per-
giving birth to twins, and killing sacred animals. Itinerant
ceive time as cyclical, from birth to death and reincarnation.
priests from Nri conduct the expiation of such abomina-
Rites of passage are celebrated: naming ceremonies, puberty
tions. Ndigbo employ covenants with the gods of their fa-
rites, marriage rites, membership in secret and open societies,
thers to preserve social order, enhance the well-being of indi-
adult roles in communal governance, and funerary rites.
viduals and communities, and preserve the highest values,
Both the poor, ogbenye, and the rich, ogalanya, are judged
nka na nzere—long life and prosperity. They sacralize the
after this life by their honest commitment to communal
whole of life.
values.
SEE ALSO God, article on African Supreme Beings.
Sacrifice is central in Igbo religious life. Sacrifices are of-
fered for the expiation of sins, for protection from misfor-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tune, to petition for assistance, and to offer thanks. Most are
Afigbo, A. E. The Image of the Igbo. Lagos, Nigeria, 1992.
offered to spirits and ancestors, but in certain cases sacrifices
Agbasiere, Joseph Thésèse. Women in Igbo Life and Thought. Lon-
of white chickens are offered directly to Chukwu. Sacrifices
don and New York, 2000.
at family shrines are performed by the senior man of the fam-
Aguwa, Jude C. U. The Agwu Deity in Igbo Religion: A Study of
ily. Each spirit has its own priests who perform sacrifices at
the Patron Spirit of Divination and Medicine in an African So-
the shrine. Offerings include eggs, chickens, fruits, goats,
ciety. Enugu, Nigeria, 1995.
cows, and (in a few rare cases of community sacrifices)
Amu, Boniface-Peter. Religion and Religious Experience in Igbo
human beings. Sometimes the victim—animal or human—
Culture and Christian Faith Experience. Bonn, Germany,
is offered to a spirit and a little of its blood is shed as a sign
1998.
of an offering, but the victim is allowed to live as a devotee
Arinze, Francis A. Sacrifice in Igbo Religion. Ibadan, Nigeria, 1970.
who is consecrated to the spirit. Human sacrifices are some-
Egwu, Raphael Amobi. Igbo Idea of the Supreme Being and the Tri-
times connected with adjudication of disputes at oracular
une God. Würzburg, Germany, 1998.
shrines. Oracles are graded according to purview. The three
with the widest geographical patronage that extended be-
Henderson, Richard N. The King in Every Man: Evolutionary
yond Igboland were Ogbunorie, Igwe-ka-Ala, and Ibin Uk-
Trends in Onitsha Ibo Society and Culture. New Haven,
Conn., 1972.
pabi. The last acquired notoriety because the Arochukwu,
who served as middlemen in the transatlantic slave trade ma-
Ikenga-Metuh, Emefie. God and Man in African Religion: A Case
nipulated the oracle by soaking the stream near the ravine
Study of the Igbo of Nigeria. 2d ed. Enugu, Nigeria, 1999.
that housed the oracle with red ochre wood and declaring
Ilogu, Edmund. Christianity and Igbo Culture. New York, 1974.
that Ibin Ukpabi had eaten the guilty party in the arbitra-
Ilogu, Edmund. Igbo Life and Thought. Onitsha, Nigeria. 1985.
tion. Meanwhile, they sneaked the hapless victim through
Kalu, Ogbu U., ed. Embattled Gods: Christianization of Igboland,
the forest to a waiting slave boat. The colonial government
1841–1991. London and Lagos, Nigeria, 1996; Trenton,
conducted a raid on the Arochukwu community between
N.J., 2003. See especially chapter 2, “Enduring Covenants:
1901 and 1902, but could not wipe out the oracle. They fol-
The Igbo and Their Gods.”
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IGNATIUS LOYOLA
4367
Ogbuene, Chigekwu. The Concept of Man in Igbo Myths. Frank-
nival at Azpeitia. They escaped sentence by appealing to an
furt am Main, Germany, and New York, 1999.
ecclesiastical court, whose judgment remains unknown. An-
F
other revealing incident took place a few years later in Pam-
RANCIS A. ARINZE (1987)
OGBU KALU (2005)
plona. While Iñigo was walking along a street, a group of
men headed in the opposite direction shoved him against a
wall. Drawing his sword, he chased them and would have
run them through had he not been restrained.
IGNATIUS LOYOLA (c. 1491–1556) was the author
of Spiritual Exercises, founder and first superior general of the
When Velázquez died in 1517, his page promptly en-
Jesuits, and a Christian saint. Iñigo López de Loyola was
tered the service of the duke of Nájera, viceroy of Navarre,
born to noble, wealthy Basque parents in the castle at Loyola,
as a courtier, with obligations to military duty if needed.
near Azpeitia, Guipúzcoa province, in northernmost Spain.
During the revolt of the Comuneros, Iñigo fought in the
Beginning in the mid-1530s he more and more frequently
forefront of the duke’s forces in the victorious storming of
called himself Ignatius, although he also used his baptismal
Nájera (September 1520), but he refused to participate in the
name Iñigo (Enecus in Latin). Up to 1521 his career gave
customary sack of the town as an act unworthy of a Christian
no premonition of his subsequent development into one of
or a gentleman. When the French invaded Navarre in 1521
the most influential religious figures of the sixteenth and
and attacked Pamplona, its capital, the townsfolk surren-
later centuries.
dered without a struggle. Almost alone at a council of war,
Iñigo advocated resistance to death in the fortress above the
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. In the patriarchal family in
city. In the absence of a priest, he prepared for the end by
which Iñigo spent his boyhood, loyalty to Roman Catholic
following a medieval custom of confessing his sins nonsacra-
doctrines was unquestioning, and observance of religious
mentally to a comrade-in-arms. During the six-hour bom-
practices and moral standards was about average for its social
bardment of the citadel on May 21, a cannonball struck
class. At about the age of twelve Iñigo received the tonsure;
Iñigo, injuring his left leg and breaking his right one below
but his father may well have intended this not to mark the
the knee. This calamity moved the small garrison to surren-
start of a clerical vocation, but merely to be the means of pro-
der; it also effected a metamorphosis in the wounded man’s
curing the income from a local benefice at his disposal.
life.
A momentous change in the youngster’s life occurred
when he was between twelve and sixteen years of age. His
Chivalrously but inexpertly, the French tended Iñigo’s
father (who died in 1507, long after his wife) accepted the
injuries and then permitted their vanquished enemy to be
invitation of Juan Velázquez de Cuéllar to receive the boy
carried back to his family home on a litter. In resetting the
into his home at Arévalo in Castile, and there raise him as
limb there, the surgeon shortened the broken leg and left a
if he were his own son, while preparing him for a career in
large, unsightly protrusion on the kneecap. Impelled by vani-
politics, public administration, and arms. The wealthy and
ty, by a determination to return to his former lifestyle, and
famous Velázquez would act as the boy’s patron at the royal
by romantic notions about impressing a lady of very high,
court, while utilizing his services as a page. Velázquez was the
perhaps royal, lineage, whose name is still the subject of con-
master of the royal treasury and a confidant of King Ferdi-
jectures and who may have been an imaginary figure, Iñigo
nand the Catholic; his wife was an intimate friend of the
insisted on further surgery. The lump was sawed off and the
queen. Baldassare Castiglione’s famous Book of the Courtier
leg was stretched almost to normal length. During all these
(1528), a manual for the training of the polished gentleman
excruciatingly painful operations, performed without anes-
and model courtier, details the type of education furnished
thesia, the iron-willed patient voiced no complaint.
to the young page, with emphasis on courtly manners and
To while away the tedium of convalescence, the sick
conversation, proficiency in music and dancing, fastidious-
man turned to reading. Because the meager family library
ness about dress and personal appearance, devotion to the
lacked his preferred tales of chivalry, he accepted Spanish
ruler, and skill in arms. Iñigo’s literary schooling proved su-
versions of Ludolph of Saxony’s life of Christ and Jacobus
perficial, consisting mainly of avid reading of tales of chival-
de Voragine’s Golden Legend, a collection of saints’ lives. As
ry, then very popular. As he later admitted, his mind was
he kept rereading and reflecting on these two famous works
filled with the military and amorous adventures of Amadis
of edification, Iñigo developed an aversion for his worldly
of Gaul and other fictional heroes. These novels proved an
ideals and ways. He resolved to serve and imitate Christ
important formative influence, however, for they fired an
alone and to emulate the deeds of the saints, although in a
ambition to gain fame by great feats of arms.
manner as yet undetermined.
As Iñigo developed into manhood—short (about five
SPIRITUAL LIFE AND LEADERSHIP. Early in 1522 Iñigo left
feet, two inches tall) but robust, well-formed, fair-haired
home and started on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Soon
with long locks—his activities included gaming, dueling, and
he took a vow of perpetual chastity, dismissed his two ser-
amorous affairs. In 1515 he and his brother Pero, a priest,
vants, and disposed of all his money. At the Benedictine
were hailed before a secular court for some unspecified deeds
monastery of Montserrat on March 22–25, he gave away his
of premeditated violence perpetrated at night during the car-
mule and his fine clothes, donning a coarse pilgrim’s garb
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4368
IGNATIUS LOYOLA
of sackcloth. Then he made a knightly vigil of arms, praying
set sail for Venice on October 3, 1523, and arrived in Barce-
all night before the altar of Our Lady, where he discarded
lona in February 1524.
his sword and dagger. From Montserrat he proceeded to the
Study, motivated by a desire to help souls, preoccupied
nearby town of Manresa, where his stay, originally intended
the next eleven years. After applying himself to Latin in Bar-
to last only a few days, extended to eleven fateful months.
celona (1524–1526), Iñigo undertook university courses in
At Manresa, the pilgrim, as he now termed himself, refused
philosophy at Alcalá (March 1525–June 1527) and Salaman-
to divulge his true identity. He led a life of great austerity
ca (July–September 1527). Extracurricular apostolic activi-
and underwent bodily penances so severe that they perma-
ties won the student a number of followers, mostly women,
nently impaired his rugged constitution. Unkempt in ap-
and aroused official suspicions regarding his apparent adher-
pearance, he obtained food and lodging by begging, a prac-
ence to the heretical Alumbrados. During their investiga-
tice he was to follow for years. At times he dwelt in a cave.
tions, diocesan officials at Alcalá imprisoned the uncom-
Besides devoting seven hours daily to prayer on his knees, he
plaining suspect for forty-two days and those at Salamanca
read pious books, especially the Imitation of Christ, and per-
for an additional twenty-two, but in both cases Iñigo was ex-
formed works of charity.
onerated. To escape the restrictions attached to his freedom,
At Manresa Iñigo also composed the substance of Spiri-
he migrated to the University of Paris (1528–1535), where
tual Exercises, although he continued revising and expanding
he gained a master of arts degree in philosophy in 1534 and
the text until 1541. In its opening paragraph the slender
then studied philosophy for a year and a half.
book describes spiritual exercises as “every method of exami-
In Paris, new followers were attracted by Iñigo’s spiritu-
nation of conscience, of vocal and mental prayer, and of
al exercises. On August 15, 1534, in a chapel on Montmar-
other spiritual activities that will be mentioned later . . . to
tre, he and six companions vowed to dedicate their lives to
prepare and dispose the soul to rid itself of all inordinate at-
the good of their neighbors, while observing strict poverty,
tachments; and after their removal, to seek and find God’s
and to journey to Jerusalem on pilgrimage or, if this proved
will concerning the disposition of one’s life for the salvation
impossible (as it did because of war), to place themselves at
of the soul.” Along with a number of annotations, rules, and
the disposal of the pope. Three others joined in the renewal
notes, the text proposes points for methodical meditations
of this vow a year later, bringing to ten the original member-
and contemplations on various Christian doctrines and on
ship of the as yet unforeseen Society of Jesus.
some key topics original to the author, but mostly on inci-
dents in the life of Christ.
Heading for Jerusalem, Ignatius traveled in December
1535 to Venice, where his nine companions joined him in
Divided into four stages, called weeks, the exercises in
January 1537. He and six of the nine were ordained priests
their fullness are meant to occupy the memory, imagination,
there the following June. After long deliberations with the
understanding, and will of a retreatant, under a director and
whole group, Ignatius resolved to make their association a
secluded from temporal affairs, for thirty days, although con-
permanent, structured one, to be called the Society of Jesus.
siderable elasticity in length is permitted. Primarily the book
His First Formula of the Institute, a brief draft of a constitu-
is a manual of practical directives for a retreat director. High-
tion, received solemn confirmation from Paul III on Septem-
ly compressed and lacking in literary embellishments, the
ber 27, 1540, canonically establishing it as a religious order.
text is not designed for continued pious reading in the usual
The new order aimed at the salvation and perfection of its
sense. The book was mainly the product of the author’s own
members, popularly known as Jesuits, and of all humankind.
experiences within himself and with others. It soon won ac-
To this end it incorporated a number of innovations in its
claim as a spiritual masterpiece, original, unified, outstand-
organization, manner of life, and scope of ministries.
ing for its sound religious psychology and pedagogy, and re-
markably well organized. Its contents manifest the essence
In 1541 the other nine cofounders of the Society of
of Ignatian and Jesuit spirituality, and it has exerted an enor-
Jesus unanimously elected Ignatius superior general for life.
mous influence throughout the Catholic world down to the
Under his leadership, membership increased rapidly, reach-
present day. As early as 1548, Paul III’s Pastoralis officii gave
ing about 940 at the time of his death, on July 31, 1556.
what has been termed the most explicit and honorable papal
Members dispersed throughout Europe and penetrated Afri-
approval ever accorded a book. A long list of popes have
ca, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere. They engaged in nu-
added their own commendations, culminating with Pius XI,
merous pastoral, educational, and missionary labors, while
who in 1922 officially designated Ignatius as the patron saint
moving to the forefront of the work of the Catholic revival
of spiritual exercises.
and Counter-Reformation. As head of the highly centralized
society, Ignatius played the key role in all this activity, as well
From Manresa the pilgrim traveled by foot and by ship
as in the internal development of the order. He it was who
to Jerusalem, arriving on September 4, 1523, by way of Bar-
devised, organized, supervised, or at least approved all these
celona, Gaeta, and Rome and Venice. Only because he was
ministries, keeping in close contact with them through an
denied permission to reside permanently in the Holy City,
enormous correspondence; some seven thousand of his let-
where he had hoped to spend his days visiting the sacred
ters have since been published. Besides admitting new mem-
places and evangelizing, did he decide to return to Spain. He
bers, choosing superiors, and regulating the spiritual life of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH
4369
his fellow religious, he composed the Jesuit Constitutions,
may be derived from the Latin ignis, which means “fire,” but
along with other religious instructions and rules. In Rome
nothing is known of his origins. Origen relates that Ignatius
he founded the tuition-free Roman College (now the Grego-
was the second bishop of Antioch after Peter, but Eusebius
rian University) and the German College to train priests for
of Caesarea writes that he was the third bishop of Antioch
Germany. In addition he founded and won support for sev-
after succeeding Peter and Euodius (d. around 69) and thus
eral charitable institutions.
the predecessor of Heron of Antioch (70–107). He may have
Because of his rare combination of talents, Ignatius in-
met the apostles and most probably John and Paul, but there
fluenced modern religious life as few have done. He was at
is no confirmation of this. In his letter to the Ephesians (9.2),
once a man of prayer, a contemplative, a mystic who report-
he calls himself theophoros, that is, “God-bearer,” a man who
ed many visions, a man of action, and a born leader not only
bears in himself God and Christ. Indeed, his letters show
in individual spiritual direction but also in practical projects
him to be an exceptional man with an exceptional faith in
of great magnitude. He was zealous in promoting the greater
Christ.
glory of God, and he was a sharp judge of persons and events:
Although Ignatius lacked formal education, his rule as
reflective, imperturbable, prudent, decisive, and wise in ad-
bishop was an illustrious one. During the persecutions of
justing means to ends. His mode of government, while
Emperor Trajan he was arrested, condemned, and ordered
stressing obedience, was paternal, not at all military, as is
to be executed at Rome. Because of his high reputation, his
sometimes argued. In personal contacts he was inevitably
execution in Rome would provide an example to the growing
courteous, tactful, grave but pleasant and genial. He was be-
numbers of Christians in the East and at the same time an
atified in 1609 and canonized in 1622.
entertainment for the Romans, who delighted in witnessing
S
the execution of prominent Christians. On his way to Rome,
EE ALSO Jesuits.
Ignatius was taken under the guard of ten soldiers to Smyrna,
B
whence he wrote letters to the Christians of Ephesus, Magne-
IBLIOGRAPHY
For editions of the writings by Ignatius in their original languages
sia Tralles, and Rome. From Troas he wrote letters to the
and in translations, as well as for the enormous secondary lit-
churches in Philadelphia and Smyrna and to Polycarp, bish-
erature about him, see Bibliographie ignatienne (1894–1957),
op of Smyrna. Apparently, throughout the long and exhaust-
edited by Jean-François Gilmont, S.J., and Paul Daman, S.J.
ing journey, he was received by the Christian communities
(Paris, 1958), containing 2,872 entries; Orientaciones biblio-
with great respect and reverence. Finally he was executed in
gráficas sobre San Ignacio de Loyola, edited by Ignacio Ipar-
the Colosseum of Rome. Another tradition, originating in
raguirre, S.J., vol. 1, 2d ed. (Rome, 1965), with 651 items;
Antioch and recorded in the sixth century by John Malalas,
and Orientaciones bibliográficas sobre San Ignacio de Loyola,
holds that Ignatius suffered martyrdom in Antioch, but such
edited by Manuel Ruiz Jurado, S.J., vol. 2 (Rome, 1977), ad-
ding another 580 items (both volumes contain evaluative
information is without any historical foundation. The East-
comments and references to important book reviews). Com-
ern church commemorates Ignatius’s name on December 20
plete annual bibliographies appear in Archivum Historicum
and the Western church on February 1.
Societatis Iesu, published since 1932 in Rome. An important
Most patrologists today accept the authenticity of seven
source, although incomplete, brief, and ending in 1538, is
The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola, with Related Docu-
letters of Ignatius. Because of Ignatius’s emphasis on the im-
ments, translated by Joseph F. O’Callaghan and edited with
portance of the office of bishop, a dispute arose among pa-
an introduction and notes by John C. Olin (New York,
tristic scholars during the fifteenth and then during the six-
1974). Ignatius’s best-known work is available in several En-
teenth centuries concerning the authenticity of the letters.
glish translations; a particularly good version is The Spiritual
Although there are four versions of these letters, the dispute
Exercises of St. Ignatius by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. (Westminster,
has settled on the authenticity of the so-called long recension
Md., 1952), reprinted many times. The Constitutions of the
and short recension. The first contains thirteen letters and
Society of Jesus has been translated, with an introduction and
the second only three (those to the Ephesians, Romans, and
commentary by George E. Ganss, S.J. (Saint Louis, Mo.,
Polycarp). Through vigorous discussion and debate by John
1970). The best biography available in English is by Paul
Dudon, S.J.: St. Ignatius of Loyola (Milwaukee, 1949). Saint
Pearson (1672), Joseph B. Lightfoot (1885), and others, the
Ignatius Loyola: The Pilgrim Years (London, 1956), by James
authenticity of the seven letters has been accepted. Most re-
Brodrick, S.J., covers the years 1491–1538 only and is writ-
cently, J. Rius-Camps (1980) advanced the theory that a
ten by a superior stylist. The Jesuits, Their Spiritual Doctrine
forger, availing himself of the genuine ending of the letter
and Practice: A Historical Study (Chicago, 1964), by Joseph
to the Ephesians, and through a process of interpolation and
de Guibert, S.J., is an authoritative study.
plagiarism, composed three spurious letters to the churches
J
of Philadelphia and Smyrna, and to Polycarp. The chief mo-
OHN F. BRODERICK (1987)
tive of the alleged forger, according to Rius-Camps, was to
emphasize church unity and absolute obedience to the bish-
op. Such an elaborate hoax cannot be proved beyond dis-
IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH (c. 35–c. 107) was a
pute. The seven letters of Ignatius can still claim credibility
bishop and Christian saint, martyred in Rome. His name
and acceptance.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4370
IGNORANCE
Although not a man of secular erudition, Ignatius, with
one altar just as there is one bishop along with the presbytery
his simplicity of style, his biblical language and idioms, and
and the deacons, my fellow slaves” (4.1). The message is
his emotional and passionate devotion to Jesus Christ, is one
clear: one God the Father, one Jesus Christ, one Holy Spirit,
of the most attractive of the early church fathers. His great
one church, one Eucharist, one altar, one bishop. Only
faith, humility, and willingness to suffer martyrdom for
through this kind of unity will the Christians prove them-
Christ are reflected movingly in his letters, which emphasize
selves real disciples of Christ and will Christ dwell in them.
three central themes: Christ, the unity of the church under
The impact of Ignatius’s letters was great. He dispelled
the bishop, and the Eucharist. He is probably the first father
the notion that the new religion offered a magical way of sal-
of the church to emphasize in clear terms both the divinity
vation and propagated the teaching that only through real
and the humanity of Christ: “There is only one physician—
unity in the life of the church and in the sharing of the corpo-
of flesh yet spiritual, born yet unbegotten, God incarnate,
rate eucharistic life will Christians taste the joy of salvation
genuine life in the midst of death, sprung from Mary as well
and become members of the kingdom of God.
as God, first subject to suffering then beyond it—Jesus
Christ our Lord” (Letter to the Ephesians 7.2). He is ready to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
die for Christ and only for him. “Of no use to me will be
A complete bibliography is available in Johannes Quasten’s
the farthest reaches of the universe or the kingdoms of this
Patrology, vol. 1 (Utrecht, 1950), pp. 63ff. Texts of the letters
world. I would rather die and come to Jesus Christ than be
can be found in The Apostolic Fathers, edited and translated
king over the entire earth” (Letter to the Romans 6.1).
by Joseph B. Lightfoot (1956; reprint, Grand Rapids, Mich.,
1973); The Epistles of Saint Clement of Rome and Saint Igna-
Ignatius is the first Christian writer to use the term cath-
tius of Antioch, edited and translated by James A. Kleist, S.J.,
olic for the church, and he insists on the unity of the church
“Ancient Christian Writers,” no. 1 (Westminster, Md.,
under the auspices of the bishop. In his letter to the church
1946); and Early Christian Fathers, edited by Cyril C. Rich-
at Smyrna he says
ardson, “The Library of Christian Classics,” vol. 1 (Philadel-
phia, 1953). Especially valuable discussions of the letters are
You should all follow the bishop as Jesus Christ did the
found in John Romanides’s “The Ecclesiology of Saint Igna-
Father. Follow, too, the presbytery as you would the
tius of Antioch,” Greek Orthodox Theological Review 7 (Sum-
apostles; and respect the deacons as you would God’s
mer 1961–Winter 1962): 53–77; and in J. Rius-Camps’s
law. Nobody must do anything that has to do with the
The Four Authentic Letters of Ignatius, the Martyr, “Orientalia
Church without the bishop’s approval. You should re-
Christiana Analecta,” no. 213 (Rome, 1980).
gard that Eucharist as valid which is celebrated either
by the bishop or by someone he authorizes. Where the
GEORGE S. BEBIS (1987)
bishop is present, there let the congregation gather, just
as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.
(8.1–8.2)
IGNORANCE SEE KNOWLEDGE AND
Other letters declare the bishop to be tupos, or likeness, of
IGNORANCE
God the Father and charge that nothing should be done
“without the bishop.” This unity under the bishop must have
practical applications. To the Magnesians he writes, “Hence
IEJA¯Z is the concept of the “miraculousness of the QurDa¯n.”
you must have one prayer, one petition, one mind, one hope,
That the QurDa¯n is the miracle of Muh:ammad is an Islamic
dominated by love and unsullied joy—that means you must
doctrine of the utmost importance because it is held to prove
have Jesus Christ. . . . Run off—all of you—to one temple
the divine source of the holy Book, and hence its authority,
of God, as it were, to one altar, to one Jesus Christ, who came
as well as the authenticity of the Prophet to whom it was re-
forth from one Father, while still remaining one with him,
vealed. But what constitutes this miracle is a subject that has
and returning to him” (7.1–2).
engaged Muslim thinkers for many generations. By the early
Ecclesiastical unity should be expressed most especially
part of the third century AH (ninth century CE), the word
during the Eucharist. Ignatius admonishes the Ephesians to
i Eja¯z had come to mean that quality of the QurDa¯n that ren-
dered people incapable of imitating the Book or any part
assemble yourselves together in common, every one of
thereof in content and form. By the latter part of that centu-
you severally, man by man, in grace, in one faith and
one Jesus Christ, who after the flesh was of David’s race,
ry, the word had become a technical term, and the numerous
who is Son of Man and Son of God, to the end that you
definitions applied to it after the tenth century have shown
may obey the bishop and the presbytery without dis-
little divergence from the key concepts of the inimitability
traction of mind; breaking one bread, which is the medi-
of the QurDa¯n and the inability of human beings to match
cine of immortality and the antidote that we should not
it even when challenged.
die but live for ever in Jesus Christ. (20.2)
The idea of the challenge is based on several verses of
To the Philadelphians, he writes: “Be careful, then, to ob-
the QurDa¯n: in su¯rah 52:33–34 there is a challenge to pro-
serve a single eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord,
duce a discourse resembling it; in su¯rah 17:88, to bring forth
Jesus Christ, and one cup of his blood that makes us one, and
a like of it; in su¯rah 11:13, to contrive ten su¯rahs similar to
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
¯
IJ¯I, EAD:UD AL-D¯IN AL-
4371
it; in su¯rahs 10:38 and 2:23–24, to compose only one su¯rah
The author who best elaborated and systematized the
matching it, the latter su¯rah adding, “and you will not.” The
theory of naz:m in his analysis of the i Eja¯z is EAbd al-Qa¯hir
QurDa¯n declares also that even if men and jinn were to com-
al-Jurja¯n¯ı (d. 1078) in his Dala¯ Dil al-i Eja¯z (Indicators of in-
bine their efforts, they would be incapable of producing any-
imitability). His material was further organized by Fakhr
thing like it (17:88) or even like one surah of it (10:38).
al-D¯ın al-Ra¯z¯ı (d. 1209) in his Niha¯yat al-¯ıja¯s f¯ı dira¯yat
The argument, as in H:ujaj al-nubu¯wah (Proofs of pro-
al-i Eja¯z (Extreme concision in the comprehension of inimita-
phethood) of al-Ja¯h:iz: (d. AH 255/869 CE), that Muh:ammad’s
bility) and put to practical purposes by al-Zamakhshar¯ı
pagan Arab contemporaries failed to take up the challenge
(d. 1144) in his exegesis of the QurDa¯n entitled Al-kashsha¯f
to discredit him, although they were masters of rhetoric and
(The elucidator), rich in rhetorical analysis of the QurDanic
strongly motivated by opposition to Islam and by tribal
style.
pride, led some Muslim thinkers to associate the miracle with
Hardly anything new has been added by later writers on
the QurDa¯n’s sublime style. Others supported this argument
i Eja¯z. In modern times, Mus:t:afa¯ S:a¯diq al-Ra¯fiE¯ı (d. 1937)
by reference to the contents of the QurDa¯n, highlighting its
emphasized two points in explaining the sources of i Eja¯z in
information about the distant past, its prophecies of future
his I Eja¯z al-QurDa¯n wa-al-bala¯ghah al-nabaw¯ı-yah (Cairo,
and eschatological events, its statements about God, the uni-
1926), namely, the insufficiency of human capabilities to at-
verse, and society—all of which were beyond an unlettered
tempt an imitation and the persistence of this inability
man like Muh:ammad.
throughout the ages. A more recent writer, EAbd al-Kar¯ım
Early in the theological discussion, al-Naz:z:a¯m (d. 846)
al-Khat:¯ıb, offers four points in the same vein in his two-
introduced the concept of the s:arfah (“turning away”) and
volume study I Eja¯z al-QurDa¯n: Dira¯sah ka¯shifah li-khas:a¯Dis:
argued that the miracle consisted in God’s turning the com-
al-bala¯ghah al- Earab¯ıyah wa-ma Ea¯y¯ıriha¯ (An elucidating
petent away from taking up the challenge of imitating the
study of the characteristics of Arabic rhetoric and its criteria;
QurDa¯n, the implication being that otherwise the QurDa¯n
2d ed., Beirut, 1975), namely, the absolute truth of the
could be imitated. This notion was acceptable only to a few,
QurDa¯n; its authoritative, all-knowing tone of speech; its
such as Hisha¯m al-Fuwat:¯ı (d. 833?), EAbba¯d ibn Sulayma¯n
beautiful naz:m; and its spirituality, which derives from the
(ninth century), and al-Rumma¯n¯ı (d. 996). On the whole,
spirit of God.
the Muslim consensus continued to hold to the stylistic su-
premacy of the QurDa¯n. In his systematic and comprehensive
SEE ALSO QurDa¯n; Tafs¯ır.
study entitled I Eja¯z al-QurDa¯n, al-Ba¯qilla¯n¯ı (d. 1013) upheld
the rhetorically unsurpassable style of the QurDa¯n, but he did
BIBLIOGRAPHY
not consider this to be a necessary argument in favor of the
Abdul Aleem’s article “EIjazuDl-QurDa¯n [sic],” Islamic Culture 7
(1933): 64–82, 215–233, surveys the development of the
QurDa¯n’s uniqueness and emphasized instead the content of
i Eja¯z doctrine and the major works on the subject. A shorter
revelation. On the other hand, al-Qa¯d¯ı EAbd al-Jabba¯r
survey can be found in the introduction to A Tenth-Century
(d. 1025) insisted on the unmatchable quality of the
Document of Arabic Literary Theory and Criticism, edited by
QurDa¯n’s extraordinary eloquence and unique stylistic perfec-
G. E. Von Grunebaum (Chicago, 1950), which also contains
tion. In volume 16 of his extensive Al-mughn¯ı (The sufficient
a well-annotated English translation of the sections on poetry
book), he argued that eloquence (fas:a¯h:ah) resulted from the
of Muh:ammad ibn al-Tayyib al-Ba¯qilla¯n¯ı’s I Eja¯z al-QurDa¯n.
excellence of both meaning and wording, and he explained
J. Bouman’s Le conflit autour du Coran et la solution
that there were degrees of excellence depending on the man-
d’al-Ba¯qilla¯n¯ı (Amsterdam, 1959) analyzes the theological
ner in which words were chosen and arranged in any literary
discussions on i Eja¯z in their historical background and pres-
text, the QurDa¯n being the highest type.
ents al-Ba¯qilla¯n¯ı’s in detail. John Wansbrough argues in his
Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpreta-
The choice and arrangement of words, referred to as
tion (Oxford, 1977), pp. 77–83 and 231–232, that the
naz:m, have been treated in several books entitled Naz:m
dogma of i Eja¯z developed more as an assertion of the
al-Qur Da¯n, such as those by al-Ja¯h:iz:, now lost, al-Sijista¯n¯ı
QurDa¯n’s canonical status within the Muslim community
(d. 928), al-Balkh¯ı (d. 933), and Ibn al-Ikhsh¯ıd (d. 937).
than as evidence of Muh:ammad’s prophethood.
Al-Rumma¯n¯ı offered a detailed analysis of QurDa¯nic style in
ISSA J. BOULLATA (1987)
his Al-nukat f¯ı i Eja¯z al-QurDa¯n (Subtleties of the QurDa¯n’s in-
imitability) and emphasized the psychological effect of the
particular naz:m of the QurDa¯n without, however, disregard-
ing other elements of content that render the QurDa¯n inimi-
¯
IJ¯I, EAD:UD AL-D¯IN AL- (AH 680?–756/1281?–1356
table. His contemporary al-Khat:t:a¯b¯ı (d. 998) argued in his
CE) was a Muslim theologian and jurist of the Il-khanid peri-
Baya¯n i Eja¯z al-QurDa¯n (Clarification of the QurDa¯n’s inimita-
od. He originated from a well-to-do family of notables and
bility) that the source of i Eja¯z the insuperable manner in
judges living in the town of ¯Ig in the province of
which QurDanic discourse binds meaning and wording, using
Sha¯banka¯rah, near the strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
various styles that combine literary qualities characteristic of
As a young man, he tried to make a career at the court of
the QurDa¯n alone and that are conducive to a special psycho-
the Mongol dynasty reigning in Iran, the Il-khanids in Ta-
logical effect.
briz, and succeeded in winning the favor of the powerful vi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4372
IJMA¯E
zier Rash¯ıd al-D¯ın Fad:l Alla¯h, a Jew who had converted to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Islam when the Mongols themselves finally gave up their in-
Further biographical information can be found in my article
herited shamanist or Buddhist convictions. Rash¯ıd al-D¯ın
“Neue Materialien zur Biographie des EAd:udadd¯ın al-¯Ig¯ı,”
gave him a teaching post at a mobile “university” that accom-
Die Welt des Orients 9 (1978): 270–283. The Kita¯b
al-mawa¯qif was first analyzed in Louis Gardet and Georges
panied the Il-khanid ruler Öljeitu during his campaigns, but
C. Anawati’s Introduction à la théologie musulmane (Paris,
because al-¯Ij¯ı was a Sunn¯ı, his position may have become
1948). I have translated and commented upon the first chap-
precarious when Öljeitu turned to Shiism in 1310. In the
ter of the Kita¯b al-mawa¯qif, on epistemology, in my Die
long run, he seems to have returned to Sha¯banka¯rah, where,
Erkenntnislehre des EAd:udadd¯ın al-¯Ic¯ı (Wiesbaden, 1966).
after the death of his father in 1317, he had to administer
JOSEF VAN ESS (1987)
large estates that secured the wealth of his family in the form
of a charitable trust (waqf). When Rash¯ıd al-D¯ın was execut-
ed in 1318, al-¯Ij¯ı severed his relations with the court and re-
turned only when Rash¯ıd al-D¯ın’s son Ghiya¯th al-D¯ın man-
IJMA¯E. The Arabic term ijma E, which means “agreement”
aged to take over the vizierate in 1327; he then became chief
or “consensus,” becomes in Islamic jurisprudence the desig-
judge of the empire. However, with the end of the Il-khanid
nation for one of the four sources of law posited by classical
dynasty in 1335, he moved to Shiraz where he found the pro-
Sunn¯ı theory, namely the consensus of the Muslim commu-
tection of the provincial ruler Abu¯ Ish:a¯q Injü and became
nity. This consensus ranks as the third of the four sources,
chief judge of the town. His salary was much lower than be-
the first, second, and fourth of which are the QurDa¯n, the
fore, but he enjoyed the atmosphere of an art-loving court
sunnah (custom) of the prophet Muh:ammad, and analogical
and the company of poets such as H:a¯fiz: Shirazi (d. 1390?).
reasoning (qiya¯s). For the majority of Sunn¯ı legal theorists,
This phase of quiet life lasted for almost twenty years until,
the work of constructing legal rules is carried on by qualified
in 1354, al-¯Ij¯ı’s patron was driven out of Shiraz by Muba¯riz
scholars, called mujtahids, on behalf of the community as a
al-D¯ın, a rival ruler whose sphere of influence also included
whole. Whatever these scholars agree upon is therefore con-
Sha¯banka¯rah. Al-¯Ij¯ı therefore prudently knotted secret con-
stitutive of the consensus of the community, and it is not
nections with the new man and escaped to his native town
necessary for them to take into account the views of an un-
shortly before Shiraz was captured. His treason did not, how-
qualified laity. The majority of theorists further hold that an
ever, go unnoticed. Apparently at the initiative of a former
authoritative consensus is fully constituted at the very mo-
adherent of Abu¯ Ish:a¯q Injü, he was imprisoned in a fortress
ment when the community’s living scholars agree unani-
near ¯Ig and died there in 1356.
mously on a rule of law; it is not necessary to allow additional
time for individual scholars to reconsider their decisions or
Al-¯Ij¯ı was a prolific writer. Many of his works are dedi-
to wait until the entire body of scholars involved in the con-
cated to Ghiya¯th al-D¯ın or Abu¯ Ish:a¯q. Intended as systemat-
sensus has passed away, thus eliminating any possibility of
ic handbooks for teaching in high schools, they have no
reconsideration. Once constituted, a consensus is irrevoca-
claims to originality, but they are well structured and reflect
ble. It represents, in the view of all Sunn¯ıs, an infallible and
the long scholarly tradition of the Muslim East, which had
immutable statement of the divine law, or shar¯ı Eah. As such,
never been completely interrupted by the Mongol invasion.
it is worthy to be made the basis of further legal constructions
They cover the disciplines of scholastic theology, jurispru-
by individual scholars through either interpretation or ana-
dence (according to the Sha¯fiE¯ı school), QurDanic exegesis,
logical deduction. It is for this reason that ijma¯ E is included
rhetoric and dialectics, ethics, and, to a certain extent, histo-
among the sources of law.
riography. Their popularity is attested by the great number
Sunn¯ı theorists agree that the authority of consensus
of commentaries on them. Some of them are still used in reli-
must rest upon revealed declaration and that all attempts to
gious universities such as al-Azhar in Cairo. They have, how-
base that authority upon purely rational considerations are
ever, been almost completely neglected in Western scholar-
futile. The only self-constituted authority is that of the Cre-
ship. The most important work among them is the Kita¯b
ator-Lord; the authority of consensus can be nothing more
al-mawa¯qif (Book of stations), a concise summa theologica
than its derivative. However, the search for a clear-cut divine
that, after the example of Fakhr al-D¯ın al-Ra¯z¯ı, explains tra-
endorsement for the authority of consensus has been one of
ditional AshEar¯ı doctrine in philosophical terms borrowed
the most arduous tasks undertaken by classical Islamic juris-
from Ibn S¯ına¯ (Avicenna). It consists of six books, of which
prudence. The various loci classici employed in this search
only the last two deal strictly with theological problems,
have all proved to be in some degree problematic: The rele-
which are subdivided into matters depending on reason (the
vant QurDanic passages allow diverse interpretations, and the
essence of God and his attributes) and on revelation (escha-
relevant dicta of the Prophet (as recorded in h:ad¯ıth, the liter-
tology, belief and sin, and so forth). The first four books are
ary embodiment of the sunnah) are not only open to differing
concerned with the general conceptual framework of theo-
interpretation (despite their being in some cases more precise
logical discourse: epistemology, philosophical principles
than the QurDa¯n in their support of the authority of consen-
(such as necessity, possibility, eternity, and contingence), ac-
sus, as in the case of the well-known dictum, “My communi-
cidents, and substances.
ty will never agree upon an error”) but are also fraught with
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IJTIHA¯D
4373
text-critical uncertainties. Scholarly opinion has therefore
In Sh¯ıE¯ı theory, consensus is reckoned among the
been divided as to whether or not the textual evidence for
sources of law, but it cannot, according to that theory, be re-
the authority of consensus is entirely conclusive. Among
garded as properly constituted unless the divinely appointed
those who acknowledge that it is not, compensation for the
leader, the imam, is present within the community. Because
resulting element of uncertainty is found in the principle that
the word of the imam is considered infallible apart from the
on issues relating to human conduct, an authority need not
consensus, the consensus is deprived of the role it occupies
be conclusively grounded in the texts in order to acquire va-
in Sunn¯ı theory as the infallible finalizer of rules of law and
lidity, so long as there is sufficient textual evidence to make
becomes, in effect, the community’s affirmation of solidarity
the legitimacy of that authority more likely than its nonlegi-
with the imam, such that its teaching and his are one and
timacy. In this view, the case for the authority of consensus
the same. Thus, from the Sh¯ıE¯ı point of view, the consensus
thus rests upon the principle of the sufficiency of probable
may be deemed a source of law only by special license, and
textual evidence.
this status is granted only insofar as the consensus is pre-
sumed identical with the doctrine of the imam.
While a few Sunn¯ı theorists have conceded to the con-
sensus the privilege of engendering rules that have no de-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
monstrable textual basis, the great majority have restricted
There is as yet no monograph in a Western language devoted spe-
its role to granting finality to rules constructed on the basis
cifically to ijma E. For a more extensive survey of the subject
of the texts. Accordingly, the consensus must emerge from
than the above, see the article “Idjma¯E” by Marie Bernand in
the exegetical deliberations of individual scholars. Individu-
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed. (Leiden, 1960–). On the
als qua individuals can at best, according to the general view,
controversies over the authority of consensus, see George F.
produce only probable constructions of the law; their exege-
Hourani’s “The Basis of Authority of Consensus in Sunnite
sis can never be more than tentative. This exegesis is in fact
Islam,” Studia Islamica 21 (1964): 13–60. The standard Is-
called ijtiha¯d (“exertion,” whence the term mujtahid) precise-
lamicist view of ijma E and its historical development can be
ly because of its tentative character. The exegetes, as fallible
found within the pages of Joseph Schacht’s An Introduction
mediators of the divine law, exert themselves in the effort to
to Islamic Law (Oxford, 1964). For a French translation of
the writing of an important classical author, AbuDl H:usayn
achieve, through philological procedures and analogical rea-
al-Bas:r¯ı, on ijma E, see Marie Bernand’s L’accord unanime de
soning, the most accurate construction of that law possible
la communauté comme fondement des statuts légaux de l’Islam
for them. When the results of their efforts are confirmed by
(Paris, 1970).
the consensus of their contemporaries, then, and only then,
do these results acquire the stature of an infallible and immu-
BERNARD G. WEISS (1987)
table pronouncement. This confirmation may take the form
of either explicit espousal or silent consent. The theorists dif-
fer, however, as to the value of the latter. The confirmation
IJTIHA¯D. The Arabic word ijtiha¯d, which in ordinary
must, furthermore, be unanimous; a consensus cannot be
usage means “strenuous endeavor,” has become in the Mus-
constituted by a mere majority.
lim scholarly tradition a technical term for the endeavor of
Because the Islamic tradition does not provide for the
an individual scholar to derive a rule of divine law (shar¯ı Eah)
public certification or official convening of legal scholars and
directly from the recognized sources of that law without any
because unanimity on a scale vast enough to embrace the en-
reliance upon the views of other scholars. Since these sources
tire Muslim world would be difficult to achieve in the best
consist preeminently of texts, namely the QurDa¯n, the h:ad¯ıth
of circumstances, the consensus, as conceived in the classical
(narratives recording the divinely sanctioned custom of the
theory, has been virtually unrealizable throughout the greater
Prophet), and dicta expressing the consensus of Muslim
part of Islamic history. While few theorists have accepted the
scholars, ijtiha¯d is a fundamentally text-related activity em-
view of Da¯Du¯d al-Z:a¯hir¯ı (d. AH 270/884 CE) and his follow-
bracing two principal tasks: the authentication of texts and
ers, which restricted the prerogative of consensus making to
the interpretation of texts. These entail not only deliberation
the first generation of Muslims who were still alive after the
upon actual texts but also the working out of appropriate
Prophet’s death, it is not surprising that the classical theorists
methodological principles. In carrying on ijtiha¯d, a scholar,
have generally drawn their examples of consensus from that
while not relying for final answers upon other scholars, does
generation. In so doing, they have implied that only in the
interact with scholars holding contrary opinions in a setting
earliest period of Islam, when those Muslims who had been
of a highly formalized process of disputation. The rules of
in sufficient contact with the Prophet to be deemed authori-
law that the great scholars of the past have arrived at through
ties (“Companions of the Prophet”) were still concentrated
ijtiha¯d are recorded in the literature of fiqh, whereas the
in one locality, did the circumstances required for the consti-
methodological principles of ijtiha¯d are set forth in the litera-
tution of a true consensus exist and that thereafter the con-
ture of us:u¯l al-fiqh.
sensus has remained more a theoretical possibility than a his-
THE TASKS OF IJTIHA¯D. The text-critical tasks entailed in
torical actuality. The notion that the consensus is identifiable
ijtiha¯d relate mainly to h:ad¯ıth and, to some extent, to histori-
with Muslim public opinion is distinctly modern.
cal material used to determine the existence of a consensus
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4374
IJTIHA¯D
in an earlier generation. The QurDa¯n itself is considered by
The use of analogical reasoning (qiya¯s) to deduce further
Muslim scholars to be of incontestable authenticity and
rules from rules established through exegesis of the texts has
therefore not in need of attestation through formal text-
been a matter of considerable controversy among Muslims.
critical procedures. The focus of attention in all Muslim text
The main living adversaries of this method are the Twelver
criticism is upon the “chain of transmitters” (isna¯d), rather
Sh¯ıE¯ı scholars. Among Sunn¯ıs of all four surviving schools
than upon the contents of the texts themselves. The exami-
of law, the method is universally accepted, although an earli-
nation of these chains itself entails a complex methodology,
er school, namely that of Da¯Du¯d al-Z:a¯hir¯ı (d. 884), rejected
which is explored at length in the us:u¯l al-fiqh literature. Con-
it, and there is some evidence of its having been rejected by
sidered as a purely individual scholarly activity, this transmis-
some scholars within earlier “traditionist” circles out of
sion-criticism claims to be able to establish, at the very most,
which the H:anbal¯ı school arose. In any case, ijtiha¯d is clearly
the probable authenticity of a text, although the degree of
not to be identified solely with qiya¯s, as some Western writ-
probability may—as in the case of “sound” (sah:¯ıh:)
ers have been wont to do, since ijtiha¯d has been as vigorously
h:ad¯ıth—be very high. Once the degree of probability of a
undertaken by opponents of analogical reasoning as by its
text’s authenticity has been determined, the scholar faces yet
partisans. In place of analogical reasoning, some Twelver
another task before he may proceed to interpret the text: He
Sh¯ıE¯ı scholars have espoused certain more strictly rational
must determine whether or not, during the course of the
operations as valid methods of legal inquiry, which they have
Prophet’s lifetime, the text was abrogated by some other text,
subsumed under the heading of Eaql (“reason”).
for only if it was not may he endeavor to derive a rule from
In consideration of the enormity of the text-critical, in-
it.
terpretive, and deductive tasks just described, the Sunn¯ı
The process of deriving rules from the texts entails two
scholarly tradition acknowledges that certainty about rules
distinct activities: (1) the determination of rules that lie with-
of divine law is rarely possible and that the formulations of
in the meaning of the text, and (2) the determination of any
rules that emerge out of ijtiha¯d represent the opinions (z:ann)
additional rules that may be deemed analogous to these rules.
of scholars, not hard knowledge ( Eilm). That this is so is espe-
The first of these activities constitutes a derivation of rules
cially evident in the face of differences of opinion that arise
from the texts in the sense that it brings to light rules that
among scholars. On the other hand, the exegetical tentative-
are not immediately obvious from any particular text taken
ness of the rules constructed by scholars is deemed among
in isolation. One seldom encounters in the texts legally pre-
Sunn¯ıs to be no barrier to the validity and binding character
cise statements of rules, that is to say, statements having a
of these rules. If the ijtiha¯d of a scholar is truly representative
form such as “x is obligatory upon all Muslims without ex-
of his very best efforts, then the opinions emerging from it
ception” (x representing an unambiguous reference to a
are binding upon the scholar himself and upon all less quali-
human act considered as a class or category). Such state-
fied persons (muqallids, lit., “imitators”) who choose to fol-
ments, which are necessary to the development of law in
low his teaching.
Islam, must therefore be extrapolated from the texts by schol-
The practice of following the opinion of a scholar in
ars. In carrying on this task, scholars must deal with a host
preference to engaging in ijtiha¯d on one’s own is called, in
of problems relating to the language of the texts. A good ex-
Arabic, taql¯ıd (“imitation”). Through the taql¯ıd of the ma-
ample of these problems is the imperative form of the verb,
jority of Muslims, the ijtiha¯d of scholars, whose number
which appears frequently in the sorts of texts that Muslim
must necessarily be relatively small, is able to acquire authori-
legal scholars tend to focus upon. One may not assume from
ty within society at large and thus to engender law as a social
the presence of an imperative in a text such as aq¯ımu¯ al-s:ala¯t
force. The Sh¯ıE¯ı tradition recognizes both ijtiha¯d and taql¯ıd
(“Perform the prayer,” su¯rah 2:43 and elsewhere) that an ob-
but allows less scope for variation of opinion, emphasizing
ligation is intended, for imperatives are used not only to im-
its preference for knowledge over opinion.
pose obligations but also to invite, exhort, warn, permit, and
so on. If, therefore, an obligation is intended, this can be
MUJTAHIDS. Since the law of God comprehends, in princi-
known, according to the majority of Muslim scholars, only
ple, the whole of life, it must be continually expounded as
from the context. This context need not consist of the larger
novel life situations present themselves. Consequently, the
passage immediately surrounding the text in question, since
exercise of ijtiha¯d is not a right but a responsibility, one that
any text within the corpus of recognized texts may shed light
rests in every age upon the community as a whole. As with
on any other text. This being the case, each text must be in-
all communal responsibilities, it is discharged by the few
terpreted in the light of the entire corpus of texts, since virtu-
(that is, the appropriately qualified scholars) on behalf of the
ally no text is free of some degree of ambiguity, vagueness,
many and could in principle be discharged by a single schol-
or generality. As the corpus of texts is vast and the greater
ar. Those who engage in ijtiha¯d bear the title of mujtahid,
part of it—namely, the h:ad¯ıth—is subject, in greater or lesser
which, though in form a participle, becomes thus denotative
degree, to text-critical problems, the work of Muslim legal
of a status. While the claim to this status is theoretically a
scholars is perceived by the scholars themselves to be ex-
matter of individual conscience, any such claim becomes ef-
tremely demanding, and one can thus readily appreciate why
fective only after it has been validated by a substantial num-
they chose to call it ijtiha¯d.
ber of scholars. The validity of such a claim is considered to
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IKHWA¯N AL-S:AFA¯D
4375
be contingent upon the satisfaction of certain requirements,
Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii and H:anbal¯ı Schools (1911; reprint,
which are discussed at length in the us:u¯l al-fiqh literature.
Westport, Conn., 1981), pp. 69–115, 137–192.
These fall into two general categories: (1) mastery of the be-
BERNARD G. WEISS (1987)
lief system of Islam and of its rational basis and (2) mastery
of the rules of legal interpretation, text criticism, and (among
Sunn¯ıs) analogical deduction.
IKHWA¯N AL-MUSLIMU
¯ N, AL- SEE MUSLIM
Eventually Muslim scholarship drew distinctions be-
BROTHERHOOD
tween different ranks within the general status of mujtahid,
the highest being that of the “unrestricted mujtahid” (mu-
jtahid mut:laq), whose holders are free to engage in ijtiha¯d
IKHWA¯N AL-S:AFA¯D (Brethren of Purity) is a pseud-
within any field of law and to disregard the established doc-
onym assumed by the authors of a well-known encyclopedia
trine of any school. Mujtahids in the various subordinate
of the philosophical sciences who described themselves as a
ranks, on the other hand, were bound to the general doctrine
group of fellow-seekers after truth. Members of a religio-
of a particular school and permitted to explore only those
political movement, they deliberately concealed their identi-
questions that had not been fully resolved within that school
ty so that their treatises, entitled Rasa¯ Dil Ikhwa¯n al-S:afa¯D
or were restricted to certain fields of law. The rigor of the
(Epistles of the Brethren of Purity), would gain wider circu-
scholarly qualifications varied from rank to rank.
lation and would appeal to a broad cross-section of society.
AUTHORSHIP AND DATING. Over the centuries, the author-
Muslim jurisprudents debated the issue of whether it
ship of the Epistles has been ascribed to the MuEtazilah, to
was possible for the Muslim community to exist in any age
the S:u¯f¯ıs, to Imam JaEfar al-S:a¯diq, and to the great astrono-
without the presence of at least one mujtahid (a situation
mer and mathematician al-Majr¯ıt:¯ı. The assertion of Abu¯
commonly referred to in later Muslim literature as “the clos-
H:ayya¯n al-Tawh:¯ıd¯ı (d. 1023) that the treatises were com-
ing of the door of ijtiha¯d”), but a consensus seems never to
posed by a group of learned men in Basra during the middle
have been reached on this matter. The general presumption
of the tenth century was widely accepted. Al-Qift:¯ı
of Muslim scholarship down to the modern age seems, in any
(d. 1248), the famous biographer of physicians and philoso-
case, to have been that ijtiha¯d is, at least in its restricted
phers, expressed his skepticism of al-Tawh:¯ıd¯ı’s attribution
forms, an ongoing process, even if it be on occasion tempo-
by acknowledging the prevalence of the belief that the trea-
rarily interrupted. The requirements for the rank of mujtahid
tises were composed by an EAlid imam. In 1932 Husayn
mut:laq, however, were regarded as so demanding as to render
Hamdani stated that the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı MustaEl¯ı-T:ayyib¯ı tradition
the claim to this high rank extremely rare. Muslim jurispru-
attributes the Epistles to the hidden imam Ah:mad. He also
dence has generally shown great deference for the great mu-
pointed out marked features of the treatises that are mani-
jtahids of the early centuries of Islam, especially the founders
festly Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı in character.
of the schools of law. In Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam, this deference is intensi-
fied by the fact that the founders of Sh¯ıE¯ı law were none
The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı character of the Epistles is therefore no lon-
other than the infallible imams.
ger in dispute. What is yet to be determined is the precise
identity of their authors within the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı movement.
In the modern age, the concept of ijtiha¯d has sometimes
Za¯hid EAl¯ı and Wilferd Madelung consider the authors to
been applied, in an entirely unprecedented manner, to re-
have been Qara¯mit:ah from Basra. On the basis of
formist legislation introduced by, or at least subject to the
al-Tawh:¯ıd¯ı’s comments and certain information provided
ratification of, elected parliamentary bodies. It has also been
by another contemporary MuEtazil¯ı author, al-Qa¯d:¯ı EAbd
adopted by a variety of reform-minded Muslim thinkers,
al-Jabba¯r (d. 1025), S. M. Stern also implies that the authors
both “modernist” and “fundamentalist,” as a rationale for
were Qara¯mit:ah from Basra. Yves Marquet affirms the
programs calling for fundamental social change or intellectu-
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı authorship of the Epistles and suggests that the com-
al reorientation.
position might have begun under the hidden imams and that
the authors mentioned by al-Tawh:¯ıd¯ı might have been later
SEE ALSO Qiya¯s; Us:u¯l al-Fiqh.
editors.
Abbas Hamdani has pointed out the weaknesses in
BIBLIOGRAPHY
al-Tawh:¯ıd¯ı’s assertion and the untrustworthiness of his re-
While virtually every general work on Islam or Islamic law—for
port and has published the earliest reference to the Epistles
example, Joseph Schacht’s An Introduction to Islamic Law
found in the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı literature. He therefore rejects the Qar-
(Oxford, 1964)—deals to some extent with the subject of
mati authorship of the Epistles and argues that they were
ijtiha¯d, there is as yet no major scholarly monograph in a
compiled by the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah as an ideological spearhead be-
Western language on the scholarly activities that constitute
fore the establishment of the Fatimid state in North Africa
ijtiha¯d. For a cursory discussion, see my “Interpretation in
in 909.
Islamic Law: The Theory of Ijtihad,” American Journal of
Comparative Law 26 (1978): 199–212, and Abdur Rahim’s
CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLES. Rasa¯ Dil Ikhwa¯n al-S:afa¯D con-
The Principles of Muhammadan Jurisprudence according to the
sists of fifty-two philosophical treatises arranged in four
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4376
IKHWA¯N AL-S:AFA¯D
groups, a compendium (Al-risa¯lah al-ja¯mi Eah, ed. Jam¯ıl
Their Kinds Are Formed”) is an allegorical story in which
S:al¯ıba¯, Damascus, 1949), and a compendium of the com-
the animals complain to the just king of the jinn about the
pendium (Risa¯lat ja¯mi Eat al-ja¯mi Eah, ed. EA¯rif Ta¯mir, Beirut,
cruel treatment meted out to them by human beings. In the
1959). The four sections are (1) “The Mathematical Sci-
course of the debate, the animals refute humanity’s claim of
ences,” fourteen treatises on numbers, geometry, astronomy,
superiority over them by denouncing the rampant injustice
music, geography, theoretical and practical arts, morals, and
and immorality of human society. This fable is a good exam-
logic; (2) “The Physical and Natural Sciences,” seventeen
ple of the Brethren’s sociopolitical criticism of Islamic society
treatises on physics, generation and corruption, mineralogy,
couched in animal characters. The most severe criticism is
botany, the nature of life and death, the nature of pleasure
leveled against the wealthy (who go on amassing fortunes
and pain, and the limits of human beings’ cognitive ability;
without caring for the needy), the privileged, and the ruling
(3) “The Psychological-Intellectual Sciences,” ten treatises
classes. The point is rendered more explicitly in the compen-
on the metaphysics of the Pythagoreans and of the Brethren
dium (Al-risa¯lah al-ja¯mi Eah), wherein it is stated that the ani-
themselves, the intellect, the cycles and epochs, the nature
mals in the story symbolize the masses who blindly follow
of love, and the nature of resurrection; and (4) “The Divine
their rulers, and the humans represent “the advocates of rea-
Religious Sciences,” eleven treatises on beliefs and creeds, the
soning by analogy” (those who deduce legal prescriptions
nature of communion with God, the creed of the Brethren,
from the QurDa¯n and the sunnah by reasoning and by analo-
prophecy and its conditions, actions of the spiritual entities,
gy), the disciples of Satan, the adversaries of the prophets,
types of political constitutions, providence, magic, and talis-
and the enemies of the imams.
mans.
The story enjoyed wide popularity among the masses.
The Brethren attempted to popularize learning and phi-
It was translated into Hebrew during the fourteenth century
losophy among the masses. Appealing to a multiplicity of
and was rendered into Urdu-Hindustani by Mawlav¯ı Ikra¯m
races and religions, they developed a strong strain of inter-
EAl¯ı (Calcutta, 1811). In modern times it was translated into
confessionalism. Their attitude toward other religions is
English by L. E. Goodman as The Case of the Animals versus
therefore strikingly liberal. They argued that religious differ-
Man before the King of the Jinn (Boston, 1978).
ences stem from accidental factors such as race, habitat, and
PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEM. The philosophical system of the
time and do not affect the unity and universality of truth.
Epistles is a synthesis of reason and revelation wherein the
The complete text of the Epistles was first published in
cosmos is viewed as a unified, organic whole. The philosoph-
1305–1306/1887–1889 in Bombay, then in 1928 in Cairo
ical structure and the cosmology are derived from Neoplato-
(ed. Zirikl¯ı), and most recently in 1957 in Beirut. However,
nism and Neo-Pythagoreanism. Eclectic in nature, the sys-
a critical, reliable edition based on the widely scattered origi-
tem draws on various faiths and philosophies, with a strong
nal manuscripts of the treatises has yet to be compiled.
undercurrent of rationalism. The Brethren offered a new po-
S
litical program under the aegis of an EAlid imam, and their
OURCES OF THE EPISTLES. The Epistles draw on a variety of
sources. The Greek element has been dominant throughout;
utopia, referred to as al-mad¯ınah al-fa¯d:ilah al-ru¯h:a¯n¯ıyah
for example, Ptolemy in astronomy, Euclid in geometry,
(“the spiritual, virtuous city”) or dawlat ahl al-khayr (“the
Hermes Trismegistos in magic and astrology, Aristotle in
government of virtuous people”), was to be governed by a
logic and physics, Plato and Neoplatonists in metaphysics.
lawgiving philosopher-prophet. The organization and ar-
Another pervading influence is that of the Pythagoreans, es-
rangement of the Epistles and their classification of the sci-
pecially in arithmetic and music. Of the Neoplatonists, Plo-
ences reflect this ultimate objective.
tinus and Porphyry exercised the strongest influence. In as-
God is described as absolutely transcendent, beyond all
trology there are traces of Babylonian and Indian elements.
thought and all being. He is the One, the originator and the
There are also stories of Indian (Buddhist) and Persian (Zo-
cause of all being. He is unique in every respect, and nothing
roastrian and Manichaean) origin, and quotations from the
can be predicated of him. The universe, which is quite dis-
Bible. Despite these diverse sources the authors have
tinct from the divine unity, is related to God by its existence
achieved a remarkable overall synthesis.
(wuju¯d), permanence (baqa¯ D), wholeness (tama¯m), and per-
PARABLES AND THE ANIMAL STORY. The Brethren employ
fection (kama¯l). The universe is derived by emanation (fayd:),
fables, parables, and allegories to illustrate and prove their
whereas creation, when it is spoken of, is understood as a
doctrine while concealing their own identities; as a result,
form of adaptation to theological language.
much of their doctrine remains hidden from the careless
The superstructure of the hierarchy of beings originates
reader. The reason they give for hiding their secrets from the
with the intellect emanating from God. The intellect, there-
people is not their fear of earthly rulers, but a desire to pro-
fore, is described as the first existent being that emanates
tect their God-given gifts. To support their contention they
from God’s munificence (ju¯d). It is a simple spiritual sub-
invoke Christ’s dictum not to squander the wisdom by giv-
stance with the qualities of permanence, wholeness, and per-
ing it to those unworthy of it.
fection. It contains the forms of all things and is in fact the
The dispute between humans and animals (part of the
cause of all causes. Second in the hierarchy is the soul, which
twenty-second epistle, entitled “On How the Animals and
emanates from the intellect. It is a simple spiritual substance
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IKKYU
¯ SO¯JUN
4377
with the qualities of permanence and wholeness but lacking
noblest of all creation, and the rest of the three kingdoms
the quality of perfection. Third in the hierarchy is prime
have been made subservient to it. The unity and complexity
matter, which emanates from the soul. It is a simple spiritual
of the human being’s soul and body make him or her a mi-
substance that has permanence but lacks wholeness and per-
crocosm. Humans, by virtue of their position, are the central
fection. It is also susceptible to form.
link in the long chain of beings; below them is the animal
kingdom and above them is the world of angels, and they
The cause of the intellect’s existence is God’s munifi-
are connected to both. In the Perfect Human Being, who has
cence, which emanates from him. The intellect accepts God’s
realized his divine origin, the process of generation in de-
munificence and virtues (permanence, wholeness, and per-
scending order comes to an end and the reverse journey in
fection) instantaneously, without motion, time, or exertion,
ascending order starts. The human being, therefore, fulfills
on account of its proximity to God and its utmost spirituali-
the purpose of creation.
ty. Because of its perfection it overflows with munificence
and virtues into the soul. But as its existence is through the
The Epistles occupy a unique position in the history of
intermediacy of the intellect, the soul is deficient in receiving
Islamic thought and exercised a great influence on the Mus-
the virtues, and thus its status is below that of intellect. To
lim elite. The existence of a large number of manuscript cop-
procure goodness and virtue, it turns sometimes to intellect
ies of the text scattered throughout the Muslim countries is
and at other times to matter. Consequently, when it turns
an eloquent witness to their popularity and influence.
to intellect for goodness, it is distracted from doing good to
matter, and vice versa. Being imperfect, the soul becomes at-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tached to matter, which lacks not only the virtues but also
To the extensive bibliography provided by Yves Marquet in his ar-
the desire to receive them. The soul, therefore, turning to
ticle “Ikhwa¯n al-S:afa¯D,” in The Encyclopaedia of Islam, new
matter, takes special care in its advancement by acting on the
ed. (Leiden, 1960–), the following studies should be added:
Abbas Hamdani’s “Abu¯ H:ayya¯n al-Tawh:¯ıd¯ı and the
matter and by making manifest the virtues inherent in it.
Brethren of Purity,” International Journal of Middle East
Hence the soul is afflicted with exertion, hardship, and mis-
Studies 9 (1978): 345–353, and “An Early Fatimid Source
ery in reforming and perfecting matter. When matter accepts
on the Time and Authorship of the Rasa Dil Ikhwa¯n al-
the virtues, it attains wholeness, while the soul achieves its
S:afa¯ D,” Arabica 26 (February 1979): 62–75; Hamid Enayat’s
own perfection. When the soul turns to the intellect, is at-
“The Political Philosophy of the Rasa¯ Dil Ikhwa¯n al-S:afa¯ D,” in
tached to it and united with it, it attains tranquillity.
Ismaili Contributions to Islamic Culture, edited by Seyyed
Hossein Nasr (Tehran, 1977); and Ian R. Netton’s Muslim
The process of emanation terminates with matter. As
Neoplatonists (London, 1982).
the soul acts on matter, the matter receives its first form—the
three dimensions (length, breadth, and depth)—and thereby
ISMAIL K. POONAWALA (1987)
becomes absolute body (al-jism al-mut:laq) or universal mat-
ter (hayu¯la¯ al-kull). Thenceforth begins the realm of the
composite ( Ea¯lam al-murakkaba¯t). Next, absolute body takes
IKKYU
¯ SO¯JUN (1394–1481) was a poet, calligrapher,
its first form, which is circular because that is the best form.
Zen eccentric, and revitalizer of the Daitokuji line of Rinzai
Thus, the spheres and the stars are formed from absolute
Zen. Ikkyu¯ was likely, as legend suggests, the unrecognized
body. Subsequently come the nine spheres beginning with
son of the hundredth emperor of Japan, Gokomatsu (1377–
the outermost sphere, which encompasses all spheres. Next
1433; r. 1392–1412), by a rather low-ranking court lady. At
to it is the sphere of fixed stars, followed by the spheres of
an early age, perhaps for lack of any other option, his mother
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the sun, Venus, Mercury, and the
placed him in the Gozan temple of Ankokuji, in Kyoto. He
moon. The higher the position of the sphere, the purer and
spent the rest of his childhood in Ankokuji and in Tenryu¯ji,
finer its matter. The spiritual force that directs and manages
yet another Gozan establishment. A quick student, Ikkyu¯
each sphere is called the particular soul of that sphere.
was precocious in both scriptural studies and in the literary
Under the sublunar world comes the physical matter
arts that had become a focus of the aesthetically oriented
(hayu¯la¯ al-t:ab¯ı Eah) of the four elements, fire, air, water, and
Gozan movement.
earth. The earth, being farthest from the One, is the coarsest
In 1410 Ikkyu¯ left Tenryu¯ji to live in the streetside her-
and darkest kind of physical matter. The active force of the
mitage of the eremetic monk KenDo¯ So¯i (d. 1414). KenDo¯ be-
soul that operates on the four elements through heat, cold,
longed to the Daitokuji-Myo¯shinji lineage of Rinzai. Because
dryness, and wetness is known as “the nature of generation
these two temples had long been out of the Gozan orbit pa-
and corruption.” It moreover produces the generated beings
tronized by the shoguns, and because KenDo¯ lacked formal
that form the three kingdoms of minerals, plants, and ani-
certification of enlightenment from his own master, Ikkyu¯’s
mals. The active force operating on each of these generated
decision to take him as spiritual master left the young monk
beings is called the particular soul. Thus, the process wherein
doubly removed from the orthodox Zen establishment and
the soul mixes the elements to various degrees and thereby
clearly illustrates his desire to reach the substance of the Zen
produces the generated beings terminates with man, who is
tradition rather than grasping for the formal honors offered
the culmination of that process. Humanity is therefore the
by the power brokers of his day.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4378
ILLUMINATIONISM
Ikkyu¯’s devotion to the rigors of meditative life in pref-
ed collection the Jikaishu¯ (Self-admonitions). He was also the
erence to the aesthetic glory and institutional pomp of estab-
author of six prose works on Buddhist themes: the prose
lishment Zen led him, after KenDo¯’s death in 1414, to leave
poem Gaikotsu (Skeletons); Amida hadaka (Amida laid bare);
Kyoto to join the circle of the demanding master Kaso¯ So¯don
Bukkigun (The war of the buddhas and demons); Mizu-
(1352–1428), twenty-second abbot of Daitokuji, at his small
kagami me-nashi gusa (Mirror for the sightless), which in-
hermitage at Katada on the shores of Lake Biwa. There, in
cludes the sometimes separated Futari bikuni (Two nuns);
1420, Ikkyu¯ attained satori but following the example of his
Kana ho¯go (A vernacular sermon); and Maka hannya hara-
early master, KenDo¯, refused to accept Kaso¯’s certification.
mitta shingyo¯ kai (Explication of the Heart Su¯tra). Two no¯
librettos, Yamamba (Old woman of the mountains) and
Shortly thereafter, apparently following an extended
Eguchi, are also ascribed to Ikkyu¯, but these attributions are
squabble with Kaso¯, Ikkyu¯ left Katada to spend several years
doubtful. A fair number of examples of his extraordinary cal-
in Sakai, a booming port town on the Inland Sea. There he
ligraphy survive, as do a number of forgeries.
gained a reputation for wild eccentricity, in part due to his
repeated bouts of tavern and brothel hopping. These estab-
SEE ALSO Calligraphy; Gozan Zen.
lishments, he claimed, were far better sources of enlighten-
ment than the corrupt temples of Kyoto and Kamakura.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Even Daitokuji came under his criticism, and although he
The fullest, though by no means either complete or perfect, treat-
was briefly appointed abbot of Daitokuji’s Nyoi-an subtem-
ment of Ikkyu¯ in English is my own Zen-Man Ikkyu¯ (Chico,
ple in 1440, he soon stormed out in disgust at the temple’s
Calif., 1981). Also useful are Donald Keene’s biographical
general pretentiousness and in particular at the role taken
sketch, “The Portrait of Ikkyu¯,” most easily available in his
there by Kaso¯’s chief disciple, Yo¯so¯ So¯i (1376–1458).
Landscapes and Portraits (Tokyo and Palo Alto, Calif., 1971),
Sonja Arntzen’s annotated translations of several dozen
By the 1440s Ikkyu¯ had once again taken up practice
poems from the Kyo¯unshu¯, Ikkyu¯ So¯jun: A Zen Monk and His
of the arts. He was eventually to become known for his un-
Poetry (Bellingham, Wash., 1973), and her Ikkyu¯ and the
conventional poetry and his powerful, at times even unset-
Crazy Cloud Anthology (New York, 1986). The best study of
tling, calligraphy. He was, as well, the confidant and friend
Bokusai’s critical biography of Ikkyu¯ is Hirano So¯jo¯’s “Ikkyu¯
of a number of key figures in the development of the new
osho¯ nempu” no kenkyu (Kyoto, 1977), which includes the
urban middle-class arts—the no¯ playwright Komparu
whole of Bokusai’s original text. The best, though still in-
Zenchiku (1405–1468); the early tea master Murata Shuko¯
complete, study of Ikkyu¯’s poetry is Hirano’s Kyo¯unshu¯ zen-
(1427–1502); the painters Bokkei Saiyo (dates unknown)
shaku, 2 vols. (Tokyo, 1976–). Ikkyu¯’s prose pieces can be
and Motsurin Sho¯to¯, also known as Bokusai (d. 1492), who
found in Ikkyu¯ osho¯ zenshu¯, edited by Mori Taikyo (Tokyo,
1913). The fullest representation of his calligraphy is Taya-
wrote the earliest biography of Ikkyu¯; and the renga poet
ma Ho¯nan’s Zenrin bokuseki kaisetsu (Kamakura, 1965) and
So¯cho¯ (1448–1532)—and was thus an important conduit
Zoku Zenrin bokuseki kaisetsu (Kamakura, 1965). Serviceable
for Zen ideas and attitudes geographically outward from
modern biographies on Ikkyu¯ in Japanese include Furuta
Kyoto and socially downward to the largely nouveau riche
Sho¯kin’s Ikkyu¯ (Tokyo, 1946), Ichikawa Hakugen’s Ikkyu¯:
audience for these emerging arts.
Ransei ni ikita zenja (Tokyo, 1971), and Murata Taihei’s
Ningen Ikkyu¯ (Tokyo, 1963). For general background on the
In his later years, Ikkyu¯ made peace with the hierarchy
age in which Ikkyu¯ lived, Japan in the Muromachi Age, edited
of Daitokuji and was appointed abbot of the temple in 1474,
by John Whitney Hall and Toyoda Takeshi (Berkeley,
at a time when the temple was but a shell, its buildings hav-
Calif.,1977), and Martin Collcutt’s fine Five Mountains: The
ing been almost entirely destroyed in the early battles of the
Rinzai Zen Monastic Institution in Medieval Japan (Cam-
O
¯ nin War (1467–1477). It was, indeed, in no small part
bridge, Mass., 1981) are especially valuable.
Ikkyu¯’s connections with the upwardly mobile merchant
New Sources
class of Sakai that provided the funds for the rebuilding and
Ikkyu. Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu. Translated by John Ste-
revitalization of Daitokuji and laid the foundation for it and
vens. Boston, 1995.
its sister temple, Myo¯shinji, to fill the spiritual vacuum left
Stevens, John. Three Zen Masters: Ikkyu, Hakuin, Ryokan. Tokyo,
by the intertwined collapse of the Ashikaga shogunate and
1993.
the Gozan establishment. Ikkyu¯’s final years were also
marked by his famous autumnal affair with a blind woman
JAMES HUGH SANFORD (1987)
singer called Mori. He died in 1481 at the age of eighty-
Revised Bibliography
seven. Popular fiction of the Tokugawa period made much
of Ikkyu¯’s eccentricities and transformed him from a serious
historical figure into an amusing, but stereotypical, folk
ILLUMINATIONISM SEE ISHRA¯Q¯IYAH
image, an image whose most recent manifestation was as the
hero of a cartoon show on Japanese television.
Several literary works are attributed to Ikkyu¯. The most
ILMARINEN. According to the list of pagan Finnic gods
important of these are his collection of more than a thousand
compiled in 1551 by Michael Agricola, who introduced the
poems, the Kyo¯unshu¯ (Crazy-cloud anthology), and the relat-
Reformation to Finland and established the Finnish literary
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IMAGES: VENERATION OF IMAGES
4379
language, Ilmarinen was the creator of both wind and calm
Krohn, Kaarle. Kalevalastudien, vol. 3, Ilmarinen, and vol. 4,
weather and controlled travel on water. There is no evidence
Sampo. Folklore Fellows Communications, nos. 71–72. Hel-
that Ilmarinen was ever worshiped, but what is probably the
sinki, 1927. Krohn’s six-volume work, although partially
oldest stratum of Kalevala-type poetry concerning the ex-
outdated, still gives the most thorough summary of the
ploits of Ilmarinen connects him with various cosmogonic
sources of the Kalevala.
acts. Elias Lönnrot’s redaction of the Kalevala includes mate-
New Sources
rial from this ancient folk tradition but increases the number
DuBois, Thomas A. Finnish Folk Poetry and the Kalevala. New
of his appearances, featuring him in twenty-seven out of the
York, 1995.
fifty divisions of the epic. Lönnrot also enhances Ilmarinen’s
MATTI KUUSI (1987)
personality with a human dimension.
Revised Bibliography
The name Ilmarinen is probably derived from the
Finno-Ugric word ilma, meaning “air,” and, by extension,
“weather” and “world.” The Udmurts (Votiaks), distant rela-
IMAGES
tives of the Finns and inhabitants of the region northeast of
This entry consists of the following articles:
Moscow between the Kama and Vyatka Rivers, called their
VENERATION OF IMAGES
sky god Ilmar or Inmar. A famous Saami (Lapp) witch drum,
IMAGES, ICONS, AND IDOLS
presented in 1692 as an exhibit in court, depicts a god named
Ilmaris as having the power to raise and calm storms at sea.
IMAGES: VENERATION OF IMAGES
Among the epithets applied to Ilmarinen in the epic tra-
The veneration of images involves humans or other subjects
dition is “shaper of the mysterious, luck-bringing sampo.”
showing respect and homage to objects that visually repre-
Sampo is a difficult term, and scholarly research has produced
sent, point to, or embody sacred beings or realities held to
more than sixty definitions for it, but according to the most
be especially worthy of honor. While such practices have
widely held view, the sampo is a support of the world. A close
been disputed in many religious traditions and decisively re-
derivative of the term is sammas, meaning “statue.” A fre-
jected by a few, the veneration of images has been a remark-
quent substitute or parallel for the term is kirjokansi, mean-
ably widespread form of ritual practice throughout history
ing “brightly worked cover,” which in other contexts stands
in many parts of the world.
for the sky. Certain Saami cult images in stone and wood are
The English terms used here, veneration and image, both
believed to be late representations of the sampo.
derive from Latin, but they may be adequately used to trans-
One folk poem places the forging of the sampo shortly
late such indigenous terms as the Indic mu¯rtipu¯ja¯. Deriving
after the genesis of the sky, earth, sun, moon, and stars, all
from the same etymological root as Venus, goddess of beauty
of which, the poem claims, were formed by the breaking of
and love, veneration refers both to feelings of deep respect
an eagle’s (in some versions, a waterfowl’s) egg. The poem,
and reverence toward some person or thing and to practices
which goes on to relate how Ilmarinen and his brother Väi-
by which that respect and reverence are demonstrated or en-
nämöinen steal the sampo, resembles the ancient Nordic
acted. These practices may be bodily gestures, physical offer-
sagas. But the epithet “shaper of the mysterious, luck-
ings, verbal expressions, emotional dispositions, or mental
bringing sampo” refers to the tradition in which Ilmarinen
presentations. The subjects making these acts of veneration
creates the sampo himself, as in the episode in which, as a re-
are most often humans but may also include animals, semidi-
sult of this act, he wins a competition against his brother for
vine beings, divinities, other images, or even nature itself. Re-
the beautiful maid of Pohjola. Together, Väinämöinen and
cipients may be venerable living persons like kings or reli-
Ilmarinen strike the primeval spark in the upper aerial
gious teachers, remains or relics of venerable persons, images
regions.
of divine or human beings, other objects considered particu-
larly sacred such as holy books, or invisible presences. The
Ilmarinen is also credited with forging a golden maid,
range of religious practices of veneration then is very broad,
who eventually proves no match for a real women. Ilmarinen
and the veneration of images is only one part of this larger
as smith-god later developed into a culture hero who makes
category.
useful objects for people and takes part in various adventures,
including love-quests.
The term image comes from Latin imago, which denotes
an imitation, a copy, a likeness, among several other mean-
SEE ALSO Finnish Religions; Lemminkäinen; Väinämöinen.
ings. In its earliest English usage, image referred to a fabricat-
ed imitation or representation of the external form of an ob-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ject and applied particularly to sculpted figures of saints and
Fromm, Hans. Kalevala. Munich, 1967. See the index, s.v. Ilma-
divinities that were treated as objects of religious devotion.
rinen.
As an ideal type, the veneration of images may be taken as
Honko, Lauri. “Ilmarinen.” In Wörterbuch der Mythologie, edited
venerative acts directed toward physical icons that represent
by H. W. Haussig, vol. 1, Gotter und Mythen im Vorderen
divinities or other sacred beings anthropomorphically. How-
Orient, pp. 309–311. Stuttgart, 1965.
ever, divine beings are notoriously multiform, and they are
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4380
IMAGES: VENERATION OF IMAGES
promiscuous in making themselves present in a great variety
ured lower on an evolutionary scale than aniconic forms of
of objects. Not just sculpted images but paintings and draw-
religiosity. Others developed what Peter Brown calls “two-
ings, abstract forms, diagrams, stones, trees, and other physi-
tiered” models, where intellectual elites allegedly detach
cal objects as well as mentally projected visualizations may
themselves from such popular practices as the worship of im-
serve as objects of veneration. More than simply signifying
ages. More subtly, as Leo Oppenheim noted in 1964, a
those beings, icons are often considered and honored as liv-
scholarly ambivalence toward “idols” has often led scholars
ing beings, animated by the actual presence of the beings
away from the serious investigation of image veneration in
they represent.
other religious traditions and toward the study of religious
practices considered more comprehensible and acceptable in
In every ritual culture that engages with images, venera-
Western terms.
tive practices take on a distinctive pattern in accord with the
broader practices and premises of that tradition. Some ritual
Only in the last two decades of the twentieth century,
cultures may specify, for example, who is eligible to perform
with calls to “rematerialize” the study of religion, did the ex-
image worship according to criteria of birth, gender, age, ini-
ploration of the veneration of images, in its great historical
tiatory status, or special training, whereas others leave the
and ethnographic variety as well as its history of dispute, be-
practice open to all devotees. Some may require that the wor-
come a more central topic in the history of religions and re-
shiper undertake special preparations, such as physical purifi-
lated disciplines. In his wide-ranging study The Power of Im-
cations or mental concentration, before entering into wor-
ages (1989), the art historian David Freedberg seeks to
ship, or that one wear special clothing. So too ritual cultures
identify and substantiate an innate human responsiveness to
may prescribe how the image is to be prepared: its concep-
the image. At the other pole, the intellectual historian Alain
tion, fabrication, consecration, and regular maintenance as
Besançon, in The Forbidden Image (2000), traces a common
a venerated object. Ritual cultures may differ from one an-
philosophical disposition toward the absolute underlying the
other as to the specific vocabulary of actions one should em-
history of Western opposition to images from the Greeks up
ploy in venerating images and in the degree to which they
to twentieth-century Russian painters. In between the
formalize a prescribed etiquette of veneration. Religious tra-
iconophilic and the iconoclastic, many scholars working in
ditions may develop distinctive theological understandings
particular religious traditions have begun to explore more
of the relationship of the image to the deity it represents, in-
deeply the multiplicity of image-venerating ritual cultures.
stantiates, or embodies. They may ascribe agency—moving,
Drawing on this scholarship, this article outlines several ex-
talking, miracle working—to the image or to the deity acting
amples of historical traditions that have practiced the venera-
through it. Finally, different ritual cultures understand the
tion of images. It is not intended as comprehensive, but
efficacy of venerative practices in varied ways.
it does aim to illustrate some of the variety this practice
takes in different settings and some of the ways it has been
Widespread and varied as it is, the veneration of images
disputed.
has been a fiercely disputed practice. Even within ritual cul-
MESOPOTAMIANS. Among the earliest known religious im-
tures strongly attached to the worship of images, adherents
ages are numerous female figurines, commonly called Ve-
debate not only proper methods and understandings of such
nuses, found in European, Asian, and Middle Eastern archae-
practices but also their ultimate value. Greek philosophers
ological sites and dating to the late Paleolithic and Neolithic
like Xenophanes and Heraclitus and Hindu ones like
periods. Some scholars have seen these as icons in a wide-
S´an˙kara sought to deprecate or delegitimate the venerative
spread cult of the “Great Goddess” linked to fertility and the
practices of their own societies. In some cases religious tradi-
emergence of agriculture. While they are intriguing as possi-
tions have defined themselves through a shared opposition
ble evidence for the ancient veneration of images, indications
to the worship of images. Around the sixth century BCE Isra-
of how or even if these objects were employed ritually re-
elite prophets began to articulate a critique of the image-
mains sketchy.
related practices of their Near Eastern neighbors, and this de-
cisive break with image veneration subsequently became a
The earliest full evidence for image veneration comes
defining feature of Judaism. Similar critiques were later de-
from the early urban civilizations of Mesopotamia. Archaeo-
ployed by the other Abrahamic monotheisms, Christianity
logical evidence, inscriptional records, and later texts all
and Islam, in their own moments of self-definition. Among
point to a ritual culture centered around images starting as
all religions, Christians have shown perhaps the most com-
early as the Sumerian period of circa 2500 BCE and continu-
plex historical ambivalence toward images, and this has led
ing for nearly two thousand years. Within the Mesopota-
to several episodes of intense internal controversy and icono-
mian ritual culture, images that represented the gods were
clastic destruction.
consecrated through a rite of “mouth opening,” then were
maintained inside temples with regular offerings, and were
Critiques of image worship originating with the Greeks
processed outside their temples for annual festival celebra-
and the Israelites have also had a decisive impact on the
tions. The best documented of these involve deities closely
scholarly study of religion, as many scholars have observed.
associated with city-states, such as Marduk in Babylonia and
Earlier generations of comparative religionists constructed
Anu in Uruk. Cults of these palladial deities were highly in-
teleological schemes in which the veneration of images fig-
stitutionalized and closely related to the political order.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IMAGES: VENERATION OF IMAGES
4381
In Mesopotamia the key ritual by which a human-made
Theano takes Hekabe’s robe and places it on the seated
wooden statue was transformed into an animate divine icon
image’s knees. The priestess petitions Athena. If the goddess
was known as “opening the mouth” (m¯ıs p¯ı). As cited by
favors the Trojans by “breaking the spear” of their fierce op-
Christopher Walker and Michael B. Dick in “The Mesopo-
ponent Diomedes, she prays, they will sacrifice twelve young
tamian m¯ıs p¯ı Ritual,” “The statue cannot smell incense,
heifers on her altar. Athena evidently does not agree to the
drink water, or eat food without Opening the Mouth.” Mo-
terms, for as Homer relates, she turns away her head. Deities
tifs of gestation and birth appear throughout the mouth-
may be swayed by offerings but remain ultimately autono-
opening rites, for the ritual sought to give birth to the living
mous in their powers.
presence of the deity. Moreover the ritual distances the image
itself from any suggestion of human fabrication. Artisans
From Homer’s time through the classical period (rough-
would have their hands symbolically cut off with a wooden
ly 800–300 BCE), the Greek gods and goddesses were present
sword, and they were required to swear that they had not cre-
in anthropomorphic forms in myriad temples throughout
ated the image. Rather, they averred, the patron deities of
the Greek world. Some ancient icons, like the famous olive
their guild had done so.
wood Athena Polias in Athens, were said to have “fallen from
the sky,” whereas others were explicitly associated with their
Once consecrated, the image took its place on a pedestal
human sculptors, such as the Athena Parthenos, also on the
in the temple, often located in an elevated part of the city.
Acropolis in Athens, made by the celebrated Pheidias (be-
The wooden image would be plated with gold, dressed in
tween 447 and 438 BCE). The purpose of images was to make
sumptuous clothing, and adorned with jewelry. It would be
the gods visible to humans and to facilitate interactions be-
surrounded by other images that composed the god’s family
tween them. As Pythagoras is supposed to have said, “People
and court, much as a king would sit in state surrounded by
who enter a temple and see the images of the god close up
attendants. The daily services for such divine rulers were car-
get a different mind” (Burkert, 1988). Greeks interacted
ried out by ritual specialists and consisted chiefly of elaborate
with their gods in three ritual ways: sacrifice, votive offerings,
feasts. At Uruk the god Anu ate twice a day. His meals, speci-
and prayer.
fied in detailed texts, included milk, beer, and other drinks;
meat; bread; cake; fruit; and sweets. Musicians played during
Of these, animal sacrifice was preeminent in Greek ritu-
the repast, and priests burned incense to perfume the sanc-
al culture. Sacrificial altars were placed before the images in
tum. After the god had eaten his fill of the offerings, the re-
their temples. However, sacrifice does not require image or
mainders were taken to the king as particularly potent nour-
temple. A sacrifice offered on an altar in the open air could
ishment. Receiving god’s leftovers was a definite marker of
just as easily reach the gods dwelling on Mount Olympus.
royal status.
Greeks also made offerings of more permanent objects in as-
sociation with vows. As Hekabe presented her brocaded
Kings were also present in the temples in the form of
gown to Athena, petitioners offered all sorts of valuable items
royal images. Starting around 2100 to 2000 BCE, consecrated
to the gods in their temples: garments, vessels, weapons ac-
images of ruling kings were introduced as both venerators of
quired as war booty, bronze tripods, gold bricks, statuettes,
the gods and recipients of veneration. A standing figure of
and votive tablets. Votive offerings (anathema) were show-
the king might offer worship to the seated image of the god,
pieces meant to delight the recipient deity as well as to im-
while a seated image of the king could receive worship from
press other human visitors to the temple. The gods and god-
his human acolytes.
desses evidently enjoyed seeing themselves, for many of the
In addition to the regular patterns of daily worship, the
tablets featured their representations along with the donor
divine images celebrated special festivals. Central to many of
in the act of prayer or sacrifice. Greek temples often filled
these were public processions. If cultic practices within the
up with these showpieces, so much so that it might become
temple were restricted to the religious and political elite, pro-
difficult to see the deity. The sumptuous wealth deposited
cessions were occasions for much broader participation. The
in the temples also made it necessary to protect them from
image-deities would leave their private temple-palaces and
thieves and looters. A common depiction of the temple
journey through the streets of the city to a festival temple in
priestess shows her holding a large key.
the countryside. On such occasions the more general public
Beyond these special acts of worship, scholars know
veneration reasserted the special relationship between deity
something about the ordinary etiquette of the Greek cult of
and city-state.
images. Water basins near the temple entry indicate that
GREEKS. In the Iliad, Homer describes Hekabe’s veneration
physical purification was a prerequisite to entering. Once in-
of an image. The Trojan warrior Hector, Hekabe’s son,
side, worshipers greeted the divine image by falling to their
leaves the battle to ask the women and elders of the city to
knees and sought physical contact by touching or kissing it.
solicit the aid of the gods. Hekabe calls together the women
Bodily acts of bathing and dressing the image were common
and then selects her most beautiful brocaded robe as a pre-
venerative practices. Ritual specialists mediated these acts of
sentation. The women process to the temple of the goddess
worship between humans and the gods, as the priestess
Athena, on the Troy acropolis. The temple priestess Theano
Theano did with Hekabe’s exchange with Athena. Unfortu-
allows them to enter, and while the women cry out aloud,
nately, however, Greek ritual specialists did not leave behind
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4382
IMAGES: VENERATION OF IMAGES
records of their priest craft. Scholars do not know exactly
Among Jains, the dominant understanding of these ven-
how they performed the ritual of installation for new images
erative practices is reflexive. Because the Jain T¯ırtham:karas
or the daily liturgical routines for maintaining deities in their
are fully liberated beings who do not engage in the world
livelihood. And while Greek authors copiously recorded the
after liberation, Jain worshipers do not expect them to inhab-
mythological deeds of their gods and goddesses, they wrote
it their icons, and they do not expect them actually to con-
little about the theological conception of the divine image.
sume food or fruit. Nor do they seek direct aid from the
Much of what is written moreover is the work of critics.
T¯ırtham:karas in their lives. Jains view the veneration of im-
ages as an act of renunciation that is valuable for a worshiper
To subvert the image worship of their fellow Greeks, the
in the shedding of karmic bondage. During each offering,
pre-Socratic philosophers Xenophanes (c. 560–478 BCE) and
worshipers recite verses that interpret the actions in terms of
Heraclitus (c. 540–480 BCE) presented two primary argu-
key Jain values and the worshipers’ own states. While offer-
ments. According to Xenophanes, humans project their own
ing food, worshipers identify the Jina as the “noneating one”
attributes, with all their human flaws, onto the gods. If
and express a wish that through renunciation they might also
horses had hands and could create images of the gods, he ar-
reach this state.
gued, gods would appear as horses. Images are projections
of humanity, not true representations of the divine. Heracli-
This austere conception of image veneration did not
tus focuses on the materiality of images. To pray to a sculpt-
prevent Jains from developing an opulent temple culture,
ed image is like trying to hold a conversation with a house;
which reached its apogee in the image-filled hilltop temple
the image does not hear and does not give. Later Greek sati-
cities of Shatrunjay and Mount Abu. Nor did it preclude
lively devotional practices, such as the Jain laywomen who
rists picked up on the theme of an image’s inanimate help-
sing hymns of praise to accompany rituals of worship.
lessness. So in parodies like “The Battle of the Frogs and
Mice,” Athena complains that mice are nibbling away at her
However, the issue of image worship was central to the
garments and fouling up her garlands. It is not possible to
primary sectarian split among the S´veta¯mbara Jains. Starting
say how broadly these critical views were shared among
from the critique of the fifteenth-century monk Lonka, the
Greeks of the classical period, though it is certain that many
faction that came to be called the Stha¯nakva¯sins argued that
continued to address prayers to images and to present new
image worship is a feature of a corrupt world age and advo-
robes to Athena.
cated instead mental worship and the veneration of living
ascetics. The majority group remaining loyal to their
JAINS. The earliest Indic inscription to refer to a venerative
image practices came to be called Murtipujakas, the image
icon, dating to the first century BCE, concerns an image of
worshipers.
Maha¯v¯ıra called the “Kalinga Jina.” The inscription reports
how this icon, evidently of political import, had previously
BUDDHISTS. Buddhist traditions often ascribe the first im-
been taken away by the Mauryan ruler and was now recov-
ages of the S´a¯kyamuni Buddha to the founder’s own lifetime.
ered and ritually installed by Kharavela, ruler of the Kalinga
When the Buddha left Kausambi to teach elsewhere, the
territory. In addition to inscriptional evidence, archeological
story goes, King Udayana requested that the monk
finds and early Jain texts indicate that the Jains developed
Maudgalya¯yana supervise the fabrication of a stand-in image
and maintained a flourishing culture centering around the
so that the king might continue to pay respects to the teacher
worship of Jina images in the early centuries CE.
during his absence. Thus was made the “Udayana Buddha.”
When S´a¯kyamuni returned to Kausambi, the animated
Early Jain texts prescribe worship practices similar to
image rose to honor its prototype. But the Buddha under-
those later classified as the eightfold pu¯ja¯, which is still the
stood the pedagogic value of the image, for he honored it in
central form of worship among the majority S´veta¯mbara Jain
return and predicted that it would play a great role in dis-
community. The eightfold pu¯ja¯ is an individual form of
seminating his teachings.
image veneration. After first purifying himself or herself, a
Modern historians of Buddhism have usually discount-
Jain worshiper enters the temple, approaches the image of
ed such claims. While the question of the “origin of the Bud-
worship, honors it with mantras, and circumambulates it in
dha image” has long been a topic of vigorous scholarly de-
a clockwise direction. Worshipers mark their foreheads with
bate, a general consensus ascribes the earliest three-
sandalwood paste and then offer the eight components of
dimensional images of the Buddha to the period of the
worship. The first three offerings are applied directly to the
Kushans, who ruled during the first through the third centu-
body of the image: worshipers pour bathing water over it,
ries CE. The innovative step of fabricating physical icons of
smear marks of sandalwood paste on its limbs, and adorn it
the Buddha was taken, more or less simultaneously, in two
with flowers. The following five offerings are made in front
centers of the Kushan dominion, the Gandhara region of
of the image, not onto it. Worshipers offer incense, lamps,
northern Pakistan and the city of Mathura.
broken rice grains, food, and fruit before the image. After
these physical offerings (dravya-pu¯ja¯) have been given, wor-
Whenever the Buddha image did appear historically, the
shipers should perform mental veneration (bha¯va-pu¯ja¯), an
etiquette of veneration was already well established within
inward contemplation of the exemplary qualities of the Jina.
Buddhist ritual culture. The earliest recipient of such honor
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IMAGES: VENERATION OF IMAGES
4383
was the S´a¯kyamuni Buddha himself. Early Buddhist texts are
ritual cultures of China, including Daoists and Confucians,
replete with accounts of humans, animals, semidivine Na¯gas
to integrate some aspects of image veneration.
andYaks:as, divinities like Indra and Bra¯hman:, and even na-
H
ture itself demonstrating veneration to the body (´sar¯ıra) of
INDUS. Modern Hinduism may well feature more venerat-
ed images per capita that any other religious tradition. This
the Buddha through acts of prostration, circumambulation,
was not always the case, though. In early India the primary
flower garlanding, gift giving, and reciting of verbal praises.
forms of public religion receiving elite patronage were ani-
With the Buddha’s parinirva¯n:a and cremation, Buddhist
conic. The Vedas (composed roughly 1500–300
venerative practices shifted to the Buddha’s physical remains
BCE) pre-
scribed an elaborate program of fire sacrifices to deities who
(also called ´sar¯ıra) and other objects or places associated with
remained invisible. The earliest images of recognizable
this life. His relics were interred in moundlike stupas. These
Hindu deities date from the Kushan period, contemporary
became flourishing cult centers of Buddhist veneration at
with the early Jain and Buddhist images, and the earliest texts
least by the time of the Mauryan emperor A´soka (r. 260–230
describing protocols for image worship appeared still later,
BCE). Worshipers honored the stupas, enlivened by the pres-
around the fifth and sixth centuries
ence of Buddha’s remains, much the same way they had once
CE. By the early medieval
period (700–1200
honored the teacher: with prostrations and circumambula-
CE), however, Hindu elites and ritual spe-
cialists had positively embraced the icon as an instrument of
tions, flowers and incense, banners and parasols, and food
religious practice, and the veneration of images became the
offerings. More ambitious donors might arrange to have the
normative ritual culture of the public sphere.
entire stupa decorated with lamps or to have musicians sere-
nade it. These appear to have remained relatively spontane-
In the early medieval period Hindu priests articulated
ous and unstructured practices, because there are few liturgi-
new theologies and elaborate ritual programs for their divine
cal prescriptions within the early Buddhist literature.
images, and their formulations have continued to be influen-
tial over many centuries. For these Hindus, images are un-
The introduction of the Buddha image offered another
derstood as one of the means by which a deity who is both
way of making the Buddha present. But there were debates
transcendent and immanent makes himself or herself present
over the degree of this presence. Worshipers might address
and accessible to human votaries. Vais:n:ava theologians speak
the image as if it were the living Buddha, but as with the
of Vis:n:u’s “incarnation as an image,” parallel to his other in-
Jains, they generally understood the efficacy of veneration to
carnations (avata¯ra). Just as Vis:n:u manifests himself in
reside not in the recipient but in the karmic benefits of the
human and animal bodies, so he can also enter into fabricat-
pious act itself. The image of the Buddha was a particularly
ed physical representations of himself.
fertile “field of merit” in which to sow the seeds of generous
acts, but the Buddha did not directly reward such acts.
Hindu image veneration places much emphasis on the
act of seeing, known as dar´sana. A physical representation
On the other hand, by the Gupta period in the fourth
enables worshipers to see their god, who might otherwise re-
and fifth centuries CE, inscriptions point to a greatly en-
main beyond their ken, and the beauty of the divine body
hanced sense of the Buddha’s presence. During this period
attracts their gaze and awakens their devotion. But the gaze
Indian monastic layouts regularly set aside a special cell, fac-
is reciprocal; the god looks back. The key moment in conse-
ing the entrance, where the Buddha image resided. Monks
crating a new Hindu image is not opening the mouth, as the
were assigned to tend to the needs of the Buddha, and en-
Mesopotamians would have it, but opening the eyes. So Hin-
dowments provided for the regular supply of flowers, in-
dus often refer to the act of worship as “taking dar´sana,” see-
cense, oil lamps, and other requisites to the Buddha. More-
ing and being seen by the deity present in the icon.
over the inscriptions speak of the Buddha as the owner of
the monastic property. Clearly the Buddha image became
Hindu image veneration is offered daily, both by devout
more fully established as a real living presence in the institu-
worshipers in private home shrines on their own behalf and
tional life of the monastery. This significant change in Bud-
by priests in public temples on behalf of the entire communi-
dhist ritual culture may correspond to the introduction of
ty. Prescriptions in medieval S´aiva priestly guides, for exam-
new, more expansive philosophical ideas about the nature of
ple, call for elaborate preparatory purifications. The worship-
Buddha’s personhood.
er, the place of worship, the icon, the substances to be
offered, and even the mantras to be used in worship must all
Buddhist image practices figured prominently in the
be purified. The priest approaches the primary icon, the ab-
spread of Buddhism from India to other parts of Asia. Ac-
stract S´iva linga. Though S´iva is considered to be already
cording to tradition, Emperor Ming (r. 58–75 CE) of the
present in the linga, the priest performs a detailed invocation,
Han dynasty had a dream of a radiant golden Buddha flying
such that S´iva becomes “specially present” there for the dura-
through the air and promptly sent emissaries to India to
tion of worship. At this point the offerings or services
bring back Buddhist Scriptures and the famous Udayana
(upaca¯ras) that are the core of Hindu image veneration may
Buddha. Images were so central to the early implantation of
begin.
Buddhism that the Chinese referred to Buddhism as the “re-
ligion of images.” The wealth of Buddhist imagery and ven-
Through these services, the worshiper treats the divine
erative practices appear to have stimulated other competing
person present in the icon as an especially esteemed guest or
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4384
IMAGES: VENERATION OF IMAGES
as the sovereign lord of the cosmos. Priestly guides suggest
Andean Highlands. Within this newly established empire the
that one may offer five, eight, sixteen, or as many as twenty-
Incas promoted a central state religion. They recognized a
five services, depending on one’s resources and ambitions.
hierarchy of gods, in which the highest were Viracocha, the
Among these services are many of the same offerings em-
creator, and the Sun, first descendent of Viracocha. This im-
ployed in Jain and Buddhist worship, such as flowers, in-
perial cult, however, coexisted uneasily with the ritual tradi-
cense, lights, prostrations, hymns, and food. If they share
tions of the conquered cultures, who had their own divine
some of the venerative vocabulary, though, Indic ritual cul-
figures and practices. Both the Incas and their subjects vener-
tures have different ideas about many details, such as food
ated images.
offerings. According to Vis:n:u worshipers, that god partakes
of the subtle portion of the food, and the substantive remains
In the center of Cuzco the Incas constructed a massive
of Vis:n:u’s meal, transfigured by contact with the divine, are
temple for the Sun, whom the Incas took as their own ances-
then distributed to the community of worshipers as a physi-
tor. Within the temple the Sun appeared in the form of a
cal manifestation of Vis:n:u’s grace, called prasa¯da. S´aiva
young boy made of pure gold. The image was put to bed at
Siddha¯ntins also believe S´iva eats the subtle portion of food
night and awakened in the morning. At noon women
offerings, but they consider food that has come into contact
brought him his meal: a dish of maize, a serving of meat, and
with S´iva too powerful for human consumption. In S´aiva
a cup of maize beer. After the Sun had consumed what he
temples leftovers are passed on to another image, one of
would of his meal, the remainders were burned in a silver
S´iva’s semidivine followers, who is better able to handle
cauldron, and the beer was poured into a drain through
them.
which it nourished the earth. Officiants then raised their
hands to the Sun and proclaimed their gratitude. Normally
In medieval India, with its great temples, image venera-
access to the inner sanctum was highly restricted, and ritual
tion became the most visible manifestation of Hindu religi-
officiants observed high degrees of personal purification be-
osity but not without opposition from other Hindus. Those
fore entering. On special occasions, however, the Sun image
loyal to the earlier Vedic practices of aniconic sacrifice fought
was brought out into the central square of the city and re-
a long discursive battle against the veneration of images.
ceived his meal in a more public setting.
Others, like the devotional V¯ıra´saivas, satirized the cult of
images in favor of more spontaneous and unmediated expres-
The Incas constructed new Sun temples in areas they
sions of devotion (bhakti). Still others, like the nondualist
brought under control, and they required their subjects to
philosopher S´an˙kara (c. 700–750 CE), advocated more “sub-
show veneration to the Sun. Often these Sun temples com-
tle” forms of practice as superior, such as “mental pu¯ja¯” of-
peted directly with the shrines of local deities, called huacas.
fered through meditation to a nonsubstantive and impercep-
In Cajamarca on the coast, for instance, one of the most
tible Supreme.
powerful of the huacas, named Pachacámac, occupied a mas-
sive pyramid temple. The Incas built a still taller temple to
Hindus have selectively adapted new technologies to
the Sun next to it. Local stories reflected the tension that sub-
their practices of image veneration. New print technologies
sisted between these two cult deities in which Pachacámac
were adopted in the late nineteenth century and the twenti-
reluctantly ceded his preeminent status.
eth century to enable the mass reproduction of inexpensive
lithographic “God pictures,” which pilgrims can purchase
Huacas had once been superhuman beings walking the
and incorporate into their home shrines. Large temples em-
earth, and they were responsible for creating the landscape.
ploy monitors to televise the venerated image so that a larger
But after completing their creative deeds or through conflict
audience may partake of dar´sana. And with the development
with another deity, the huacas turned into stone, sometimes
of the Internet, prominent Hindu temples in India have de-
in icon form and other times simply as prominent parts of
veloped websites so that far-flung worshipers can offer cyber
the natural landscape. In such physical forms they lived on
veneration.
and continued to play a role in human affairs. Huacas were
unpredictable. They were benevolently responsible for the
Over the centuries, despite internal and external cri-
health and prosperity of the community, but they might also
tiques, Hindus have maintained their practices of image ven-
bring disease, earthquakes, and crop failure. Therefore it was
eration, modifying and transforming them along the way.
wise to attend to their needs assiduously.
When Hindus emigrated from India in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, images traveled with them. The multi-
Pachacámac resided in his pyramid in the form of a
tude of new temples that Hindus constructed throughout the
wooden pole whose top was carved in the figure of a man.
United States and the United Kingdom in the late twentieth
Here too access was strictly limited. Priests fasted for a year
century demonstrate the flexibility and vitality of Hindu ven-
before they could enter the inner sanctum. Properly attended
erative practices.
and solicited, this deity, like many other huacas, could speak.
INCAS AND ANDEANS. In the fifteenth century and the early
Pilgrims from throughout the area brought him gifts of gold
sixteenth century the Incas of Cuzco (Peru) built a large em-
and textiles, conveyed their messages to Pachacámac through
pire, subordinating more than one hundred different ethnic
the priests, and hoped to receive an answer. In addition to
groups over an area along the Pacific Coast and through the
the local huacas, Andeans also venerated special lineage gods
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IMAGES: VENERATION OF IMAGES
4385
in icon form and household deities who appeared as small
God.” In Paul’s view this unrepresented divinity is the one
animal-shaped stones.
the Christians worship. God does not reside in human-made
shrines or images, because God is not dependent in any way
The Inca Sun, the more localized huacas and other dei-
on human hands. Following Paul, the early Christian writers
ties, and their icons were all part of the complex ritual culture
of the second and third centuries CE attacked image venera-
of the Andean region that the Spanish conquistadores en-
tion from several different angles. Justin Martyr (c. 100–165
countered in 1532. As Catholics, the Spaniards brought with
CE) argued that images are without souls and cannot repre-
them a different attitude toward images.
sent God. As essentially demonic forms, they constitute an
CRITICS OF THE IMAGE: JEWS, CHRISTIANS, AND MUSLIMS.
insult to God. Tertullian (c. 155–220 CE) focused on the so-
Most image-venerating ritual cultures coexist with their crit-
cial dangers of idolatry and held that image veneration could
ics, as shown, for the public worship of images seldom ap-
unleash unwelcome emotional outbursts. Moreover in Ter-
pears as an uncontested practice. It is possible also to trace
tullian’s view idolatry was an index of pagan culture, and it
a more sustained critique of images and their veneration in
was crucial for Christians to distinguish themselves from the
the West, deriving from both Greek and Israelite sources.
dominant Roman culture.
Early Christian critics of the image drew on Greek writings
A more complex attitude began to develop in the fourth
as well as the Hebrew Bible in formulating their positions,
century CE, as Christianity itself became the dominant cul-
and later the Islamic founders adapted them to their own
ture. With Emperor Constantine’s conversion around 313
theological vision.
CE, the Christian movement became an imperial religion.
Scholarship suggests that the strong monotheism and
Whereas early Christians had been criticized for their impov-
vigorous prohibition of image veneration in the Hebrew
erished ritual culture, with no altars and no temples, now
Bible may reflect the triumph of one group of “Yahweh-
Christians began to develop their own architecture and art.
alone” partisans among the Israelites in the wake of the disas-
They also destroyed competing pagan images, such as those
trous events of the sixth century BCE. After the destruction
of Zeus. The introduction of a Christian representational art
of Jerusalem in 586 BCE and the debilitating exile, this group
was also criticized from within. Augustine (354–430 CE) dis-
advanced its own vision of the Israelite past and its notion
approved of those who would look for Christ on painted
of a proper Israelite ritual culture by exercising a dominant
walls rather than in his written word. Other Christians
role in editing the Bible.
looked for ways to accommodate the didactic value of Chris-
tian institutional imagery with the negative attitude toward
The Hebrew Bible opposes the veneration of images in
images. Most influential was the distinction articulated by
two main ways. One is through direct prohibition. The Isra-
Pope Gregory I (r. 590–604 CE). Images are placed in
elites were surrounded by ritual cultures, such as those of
churches, he ruled, not for worship, but solely for instructing
Mesopotamia and Egypt, that represented their gods in
the minds of the ignorant. Christian images would be offi-
image form. In the second commandment Yahweh distin-
cially educational and not venerative in purpose.
guishes himself as the God who refuses to be so represented.
An insistence on Yahweh’s exclusive divinity in the first com-
Gregory’s distinction provided one important legitima-
mandment coupled with the prohibition of images defines
tion but did not finally resolve the issue for Christians. The
a distinctive identity for the Israelites and helps insure that
greatest debate, usually known as the Iconoclastic Controver-
they will not assimilate the cults of their neighbors. The sec-
sy, began in the next century. By the eighth century the ven-
ond method of articulating opposition was through prophet-
eration of icons—painted images of holy persons regarded
ic parody, such as those of Jeremiah and Isaiah. Jeremiah
as particularly powerful and efficacious—had become wide-
carefully describes all the steps in fabricating an icon: the cut-
spread throughout churches and monasteries. Worshipers
ting of the tree in the forest, carving the wood into an image,
prostrated before the images, kissed them, and solicited their
decorating it with silver and gold, and nailing it into place.
aid. During the same period the Byzantine Empire suffered
However, he asserts, these practices are false. With its materi-
political reversals at the hands of an expanding Ummayad
al roots, the image is “only wood.” There is no breath of life
Islamic polity, and this sense of threat from a more
in it. Like Heraclitus, the Hebrew prophets argued that an
iconophobic religious community contributed to the vigor
image of wood or stone, fashioned by human hands, neces-
of the debate. Some argued that God was using Islam to pun-
sarily remained inanimate and could not serve as a vehicle
ish Christians for having fallen into idolatry.
for a god like Yahweh.
Similar to the Israelites, early Muslims insisted first on
Early Christians, true to their Jewish legacy, maintained
the principle of tauhid, the exclusive divinity of Alla¯h. Im-
a critical attitude toward the use of images. Paul’s encounter
ages pose a threat to that divine hegemony, for there is always
with the Greek images of Athens, recorded in the Acts of the
a danger that humans may come to venerate those images
Apostles, serves as a paradigm. In Athens, Paul was revolted
rather than Alla¯h. Moreover Muslims identified Allah as sole
by the sight of “a city given over to idolatry.” However, in
creator. The h:ad¯ıth traditions therefore especially condemn
his speech to the Areopagus council, he did find one monu-
those who make images, because they seem to be laying claim
ment to praise: an empty altar inscribed “To an Unknown
to the creative prerogative of Allah. Later Muslims in some
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4386
IMAGES: VENERATION OF IMAGES
settings adopted more relaxed attitudes toward representa-
In the Andes region, when the Incas conquered their
tional art, but the Islamic prohibition on the veneration of
neighbors, they extended their state cult into the region, but
images remained firm.
this did not entail the suppression of local huaca cults. Both
groups of icons could live side by side, albeit in a hierarchical
Against this political background, Emperor Leo III ini-
relationship. When the Spanish arrived in 1532, however,
tiated the controversy in 726 CE with an effort to purge from
they proceeded along different lines. The public extinction
the church “the idolatry of image worship.” The iconodules,
of all prominent sites of indigenous idolatry was a key ele-
notably John of Damascus (675-749), responded by defend-
ment in the policy of conquest. In Cuzco they systematically
ing the “relative worship” of images without idolatry. As rep-
looted the Temple of the Sun, desecrated it, and converted
resentations of the material appearances of Jesus, Mary, and
it into a monastery. In Cajamarca, they broke down the door
saints in the flesh, their images could suggest or evoke for
that kept Pachacámac sequestered and erected a tall cross on
viewers spiritual realities that lay beyond. Leo’s next move
his shrine.
was more forceful. In 730 CE he ordered all holy images re-
moved from churches and all recalcitrant bishops removed
The Spanish victory in the Andes was rapid, and the
from their positions. This put Christians in a new position
Inca Sun images in their highly visible temples quickly suc-
altogether, for it required that they destroy not only pagan
cumbed. Many of the more deeply rooted local huacas were
images but also statues and paintings of Jesus Christ and re-
not so easy to conquer. By the seventeenth century the vener-
ation of huacas was still widely practiced, though now their
vered saints. The battle was joined for several decades, with
rites were performed in secret. Believing the process of Chris-
repeated episodes of iconoclasm and persecution. Finally, in
tianization incomplete, church authorities initiated a series
787 CE the iconodule Irene (acting as regent for her son Con-
of inquisitions to extirpate idolatry. Their task had become
stantine and later as empress) convened a council at Nice
complex, however, for the boundaries of what were initially
with monks sympathetic to her cause and issued a new de-
distinct ritual cultures had become permeable. Many Andean
cree. Holy images of Christ, Mary, and the saints may be set
peoples viewed Christianity not as an exclusive salvific mes-
up in churches and honored with relative worship, though
sage but as one new source of spiritual powers among many.
the highest form of veneration would be reserved for the im-
They incorporated Catholic practices with older local ones,
ageless divine nature alone.
even as the old ways were adapted to fit new circumstances.
The unstable position of “relative worship” did not pre-
Ritual healing specialists might maintain icons of Jesus
vent further debates among the Christians. However, it did
Christ and Mary along with those of huacas and lineage gods
provide a reasonable legitimation for the icon-veneration
to employ their powers in curing the sick. Christian cele-
practices as they developed in the Eastern Church, and it also
brants might venerate the local huacas with offerings of guin-
laid the groundwork for the main institutional position of
ea pig and llama blood at the start of the feast of Saint Peter.
Western Christianity during the medieval period. With the
To the inquisitors all this appeared as idolatry. They col-
Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth and seventeenth
lected the idols and publicly destroyed them. But even as
centuries, the battle of images surfaced once again. Starting
they did so, other churchmen recognized that the links their
in the 1520s Christians in many parts of Europe acted to re-
parishioners made between Catholic statuary and their long-
form their ritual culture by entering churches and cleansing
standing deities enhanced religious devotion. Statues of the
them of images and other sacerdotal objects.
Virgin Mary might take on characteristics of Pachacámac,
Andean goddess of the earth, and the Inca Sun might lend
CONQUEST, CENTRALIZATION, AND ACCOMMODATION. Im-
its rays to Jesus’ halo. Devotees believed that notable images
ages and the ritual practices of veneration do not exist in iso-
like the Virgin of Copacabana performed miracles and made
lation. They enter into larger religious debates about divinity
pilgrimages to solicit their help. The new venerative practices
and the world and into political struggles as well. In Kings
might not meet Pope Gregory’s principle concerning peda-
and Councillors (1936), the anthropologist A. M. Hocart ob-
gogic imagery only nor qualify with John of Damascus as rel-
served that religious iconoclasm and political centralization
ative worship. Yet out of these mutual accommodations
have gone hand in hand throughout history. In Hocart’s
Catholic churchmen and local Andean converts constructed
genealogy of iconoclasm, the Egyptian king Akhenaton
a new ritual culture in which the veneration of significant
(fourteenth century BCE) is the earliest recorded opponent of
Christian images played an important role.
image veneration and the first to seek a single unified divine
V
cult. This went with Akhenaton’s attempts to unite Egypt
ENERATION IN THE SECULAR WORLD. At first glance mod-
ern secular cultures might not seem hospitable to the reli-
politically. Hocart followed his observation into the twenti-
gious veneration of images. Yet scholars have persuasively ar-
eth century and British-ruled Fiji, where the centralizing
gued that venerative practices of a ritual character may be
agenda of the Colonial Office sought to suppress the dis-
found in many secular locations.
persed icons of the local spirit cults. Powers committed to
colonial control have often—though by no means always—
In the context of national struggle, a religious image like
opposed the image venerating ritual cultures of the
the Virgin of Copacabana in Bolivia may come to be revered
colonized.
as a popular icon of nationhood without leaving her cathe-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IMAGES: VENERATION OF IMAGES
4387
dral. Political elites in many secular polities generate their
mian m¯ıs p¯ı Ritual,” pp. 55–121. Also important are two es-
own iconographies of the nation in the form of flags, statues,
says by Irene J. Winter, “‘Idols of the King’: Royal Images
and monuments intended to symbolize or embody founders,
as Recipients of Ritual Action in Ancient Mesopotamia,”
leaders, and national ideals. Examples range from the ubiqui-
Journal of Ritual Studies 6 (1992): 13–42, and “Opening the
tous personal imagery and the extraordinary Victory Arch
Eyes and Opening the Mouth: The Utility of Comparing
erected by S:adda¯m H:usayn in Iraq to public monuments like
Images in Worship in India and the Ancient Near East,” in
Ethnography and Personhood, edited by Michael W. Meister
the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore in the United
(Jaipur, India, 2000), pp. 129–162.
States. Such national icons have their own venerative rites:
ceremonial dedications, pilgrimage itineraries, and on-site
An excellent brief introduction to Greek temple culture is Walter
guides who enforce proper decorum and instruct viewers on
Burkert, “The Meaning and Function of the Temple in Clas-
their meaning. Likewise acts of iconoclasm directed at these
sical Greece,” in Temple in Society, edited by Michael V. Fox
(Winona Lake, Ind., 1988), pp. 27–47. Burkert’s Greek Reli-
instantiations of the nation, from flag burning to the top-
gion, Archaic and Classical (Oxford, 1985), remains the stan-
pling of H:usayn’s statue during the U.S. invasion of 2003,
dard overview; whereas Jan N. Bremmer, Greek Religion (Ox-
take on an iconic significance of resistance or conquest.
ford, 1994), provides a valuable supplement to Burkert based
Visitors to modern art museums may also recognize that
on continuing research. For a detailed treatment of votive of-
they are entering settings for secular ritual. In these temples
ferings, see F. T. van Straten, “Gifts for the Gods,” in H. S.
Versnal, Faith, Hope, and Worship (Leiden, Netherlands,
viewers are asked to observe respectful conduct and to pay
1981), pp. 65–151.
close, contemplative visual attention to the images they en-
counter there. Indeed many of the objects—particularly
Earlier scholarship on the Jains most often viewed the worship of
those in the Mesopotamian, classical, medieval, and non-
Jina images as a borrowed and nonessential practice within
Western sections—formerly resided in religious institutions,
the Jain tradition. John E. Cort’s article, “Bhakti in Early
Jain Tradition,” History of Religions 42 (2002): 59–86, pro-
where some of them received their proper ritual offerings.
vides an important revision, demonstrating that venerative
Now relocated to the comprehensive institutions of the
practices were an integral part of the Jain tradition from an
West, these same images are understood by new audiences
early period. Valuable studies of Jain ritual culture utilizing
to embody the collective artistic accomplishment of their
both ethnographic and textual materials are those of Babb,
cultures and of humanity as a whole. Museum viewers may
cited above, and John E. Cort, Jains in the World: Religious
hope for a transformative experience not through the inter-
Values and Ideology in India (Oxford, 2001). Also notewor-
vention of Athena or S´iva but through a kind of communion
thy for its treatment of devotional practices among Jain
with the artists and cultures of the collective human past.
women is M. Whitney Kelting, Singing to the Jinas: Jain Lay-
women, Mandal Singing, and the Negotiations of Jain Devotion
SEE ALSO Icons; Idolatry.
(Oxford, 2001). For an overview of Jain disputes over image
worship, see Paul Dundas, The Jains (London, 1992).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
For Buddhist traditions concerning the earliest Buddha image, see
General comprehensive studies of image veneration are rare.
Martha L. Carter, The Mystery of the Udayana Buddha (Na-
David Freedberg, The Power of Images: Studies in the History
ples, Italy, 1990). The scholarly literature on the origins of
and Theory of Response (Chicago, 1989), is an ambitious at-
the Buddha image is vast. Works of John S. Strong are partic-
tempt to explore a broad panorama of image-related prac-
ularly valuable for their description of the ritual culture of
tices. Alain Besançon, The Forbidden Image: An Intellectual
early Indian Buddhism. See especially Strong’s “Gandakuti:
History of Iconoclasm (Chicago, 2000), represents an erudite
The Perfumed Chamber of the Buddha,” History of Religions
attempt to trace a Western genealogy for the critique of im-
16 (1977): 390–406. On the Buddhist cult of relics, a useful
ages. Among calls for the rematerializing of religious studies,
starting point is Kevin Trainor, Relics, Ritual, and Representa-
Joanne Punzo Waghorne, The Raja’s Magic Clothes: Re-
tion in Buddhism: Rematerializing the Sri Lankan Therava¯da
Visioning Kingship and Divinity in England’s India (Universi-
Tradition (Cambridge, U.K., 1997). Donald K. Swearer, Be-
ty Park, Pa., 1994), is broad and persuasive. Peter Brown,
coming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thai-
The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Chris-
land (Princeton, N.J., 2004), considers many issues sur-
tianity (Chicago, 1982) presents the notion of “two-tiered”
rounding the veneration of the Buddha image in the
models in the study of religion. The term ritual culture as
Therava¯da school and provides a detailed ethnographic ac-
used in this article is drawn from Lawrence Alan Babb, Ab-
count of an image consecration. The essays of Gregory Sch-
sent Lord: Ascetics and Kings in a Jain Ritual Culture (Berke-
open have significantly altered the study of Indian Buddhism
ley, Calif., 1996).
and its material practices. Many of these essays are in Sch-
open’s collection Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks: Collect-
A fine overview of image-veneration practices in Mesopotamia is
ed Papers on the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Texts of Monastic
A. Leo Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead
Buddhism in India (Honolulu, 1997). On the role of images
Civilization (Chicago, 1964), pp. 183–198. The volume ed-
in East Asian Buddhism, see the volume edited by Robert H.
ited by Michael B. Dick, Born in Heaven, Made on Earth:
Sharf and Elizabeth Horton Sharf, Living Images: Japanese
The Making of the Cult Image in the Ancient Near East (Wi-
Buddhist Icons in Context (Stanford, Calif., 2001).
nona Lake, Ind., 1999), contains valuable articles, including
a detailed study of the mouth-opening consecration, by
A good point of entry into the ritual cultures of Hindu image ven-
Christopher Walker and Michael B. Dick, “The Mesopota-
erators is the collection edited by Joanne Punzo Waghorne
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4388
IMAGES: IMAGES, ICONS, AND IDOLS
and Norman Cutler, Gods of Flesh/Gods of Stone: The Embod-
the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, the Marine Corps
iment of Divinity in India (Chambersburg, Pa., 1985). Diana
Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. In Civilizing Rituals:
L. Eck, Dar´san: Seeing the Divine Image in India (Chambers-
Inside Public Art Museums (London, 1995), Carol Duncan
burg, Pa., 1985), explicates this important underlying con-
analyzes art museums as ritual settings for the visual contem-
cept in Hinduism. For a more detailed explication of Hindu
plation of art objects. Richard H. Davis, Lives of Indian Im-
worship as practiced by the S´aiva Siddha¯nta school, see Rich-
ages (Princeton, N.J., 1997), follows Hindu religious objects
ard H. Davis, Ritual in an Oscillating Universe: Worshiping
as they are relocated and reinterpreted in Western museums
S´iva in Medieval India (Princeton, N.J., 1991). Among
and other settings.
many valuable ethnographic accounts of image worship in
RICHARD H. DAVIS (2005)
Hindu temples, one of the most comprehensive is Françoise
L’Hernault and Marie-Louise Reiniche, Tiruvannamalai: Un
lieu saint ´sivaïte du Sud de l’Inde, vol. 3, Rites et fêtes (Paris,
1999). On Hindu disputes over the veneration of images, see
IMAGES: IMAGES, ICONS, AND IDOLS
Richard H. Davis, “Indian Image-Worship and Its Discon-
One way to categorize religious traditions is whether or not
tents,” in Representation in Religion: Studies in Honor of
they accept or advocate the use of two- and/or three-
Moshe Barasch, edited by Jan Assmann and Albert I. Baum-
dimensional objects to symbolize or embody the divine.
garten (Leiden, Netherlands, 2001), pp. 107–132.
Some traditions, such as temple Hinduism, Buddhism, and
For the Andes, Kenneth J. Andrien, Andean Worlds: Indigenous
Orthodox and Catholic Christianity, see the use of such im-
History, Culture, and Consciousness under Spanish Rule, 1532–
ages as central to their theologies and rituals. In these tradi-
1825 (Albuquerque, N.Mex., 2001), offers a good starting
tions images can serve three functions. They can be under-
point. Sabine MacCormack, Religion in the Andes: Vision and
stood to be representations or likenesses of deities, symbols
Imagination in Early Colonial Peru (Princeton, N.J., 1991),
of deities, or the deities themselves. Other traditions, such
reconstructs Andean religion at the time of Spanish conquest
as some schools of Islam, Judaism, and Reformed Protestant
and offers a nuanced portrait of Spanish perceptions of in-
digenous ritual culture. Verónica Salles-Reese, From Vira-
Christianity, are iconoclastic or otherwise oppose the use of
cocha to the Virgin of Copacabana: Representation of the Sacred
images. Still others, such as Lutheran Christianity and the
at Lake Titicaca (Austin, Tex., 1997), stresses continuity in
Advaita Veda¯nta school of Hinduism, are ambivalent or in-
the complex interactions of the huacas and the inquisitors in
different to the use of images.
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. See also Kenneth
Scholars of art and religion generally prefer the use of
Mills, Idolatry and Its Enemies: Colonial Andean Religion and
the terms image and icon to idol, as they argue that the former
Extirpation, 1640–1750 (Princeton, N.J., 1997).
terms are more objective and less judgmental. For most En-
Moshe Barasch, Icon: Studies in the History of an Idea (New York,
glish speakers the word idol is inevitably associated with idol-
1992), provides an excellent brief account of Western cri-
atry or heathen idolatry, and so brings with it theological im-
tiques of the image, ranging from Greeks and Israelites
plications of the biblical and Protestant critiques of images.
through the iconoclastic controversy. For a more detailed ex-
Idolatry in this theological usage is just one of a number of
ploration of the biblical view, see Michael B. Dick, “Prophet-
ic Parodies of Making the Cult Image,” in Born in Heaven,
forms of false religion, so one finds actions, beliefs, and ideol-
Made on Earth, edited by Michael B. Dick (Winona Lake,
ogies as varied as market capitalism, warfare, violence, the
Ind., 1999), pp. 1–53. Two works reconsider early Christian
contemporary U.S. military and its budget, nuclear weapons,
art in light of disputes over the image, Thomas F. Mathews,
undue reliance on technology, an individualistic focus on self
The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art
rather than community, slavery, racism, apartheid, patriar-
(Princeton, N.J., 1993); and Paul Corby Finney, The Invisi-
chy, adulation of cultural heroes, contemporary mass media,
ble God: The Earliest Christians on Art (New York, 1997).
National Socialism, Communism, nationalism, and even sci-
Works on the iconoclastic controversy are too numerous to
entific objectivity decried by their critics as forms of idolatry.
mention. Among several works that explore iconoclastic
practices of the Protestant Reformation, a noteworthy study
Anthropologists, on the other hand, tend to be comfort-
is Lee Palmer Wandel, Voracious Idols and Violent Hands:
able using the word idol and argue that it more accurately
Iconoclasm in Reformation Zurich, Strasbourg, and Basel (New
reflects the theological and ritual understanding of Hindus,
York, 1995). David Morgan addresses the Christian ambiva-
Buddhists, and Jains who themselves use idol in English. Fur-
lence toward images in Visual Piety: A History and Theory of
thermore, they say not to use the term is to disrespect those
Popular Religious Images (Berkeley, Calif., 1998). A. M. Ho-
who in good faith do use it, by implying that their use of the
cart, Kings and Councillors: An Essay in the Comparative Anat-
term betrays an ignorance of the negative connotations of
omy of Human Society (Cairo, 1936, Chicago, 1970) discuss-
idolatry in Abrahamic theologies. Still other scholars of reli-
es iconoclasm and political centralization.
gion prefer to use idol on the grounds that image is too neu-
Among studies of secular iconography of the nation, Samir al-
tral a term. These scholars argue that image does not convey
Khalil, The Monument: Art, Vulgarity, and Responsibility in
adequately the depth of feelings aroused by idols in both dev-
Iraq (Berkeley, Calif., 1991), explores the significance of
otees and critics. Notwithstanding the good arguments in
S:adda¯m H:usayn’s Victory Arch; whereas Albert Boime, The
favor of using idol, this essay will use image.
Unveiling of National Icons: A Plea for Patriotic Iconoclasm in
a Nationalistic Era (Cambridge, U.K., 1998), traces the his-
TYPES OF IMAGES. The difference between an image and an
tory and interpretations of five key American icons: the flag,
icon is in many cases an arbitrary one. In Christian usage,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IMAGES: IMAGES, ICONS, AND IDOLS
4389
icon refers only to two-dimensional representations of Jesus
long-standing and heated ideological disagreements. Images
Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint, and so for many English-
and relics in particular have been the focus of extended cri-
speakers icon calls to mind a two-dimensional object. Many
tiques and defenses, since they are most clearly tied to theo-
scholars follow this theological distinction and use the term
logical understandings of the relationships among divinity
icon to refer only to two-dimensional objects. Most histori-
and humanity, and spirit and matter.
ans of art and religion use image to refer to any of many ma-
Images serve different functions in religious life. Some
terial objects, both of two and three dimensions, and restrict
of them are visual symbols. They can be visual tools in the
the use of icon to an image that is ritually consecrated and/or
meditation of specially trained religious practitioners, who
in some way participates in the divine substance of that
use two- or three-dimensional forms as props for visualiza-
which it represents.
tion of deities. Images, especially two-dimensional ones with
Three-dimensional images can be of stone, metal, wood,
narrative themes, serve to educate people concerning essen-
lacquer, or clay. An image can be a figurative likeness (iconic)
tial religious truths or the history of a religious community.
or abstract (aniconic). In India, the original image at a shrine
The Catholic pope Gregory the Great in the sixth century
is oftentimes an aniconic natural feature, understood to be
thus termed images “books of the illiterate.” This equation
a manifestation of divine power. As its popularity grows, pa-
of images with books is often found in elite criticisms of im-
trons build increasingly elaborate shrines around the image
ages as being suitable only for commoners or other more
and replace the original natural image with a humanly
childlike and less-educated members of a religious com-
crafted iconic one.
munity.
Two-dimensional images generally are iconic. They can
Images often appear on the outside of temples and
be on paper, wood, or cloth, and the figure can be painted,
shrines. Here they can serve as markers of sectarian identity.
woven, or embroidered.
On the outside and inside of temples images can also serve
an ornamental function, as they add to the grandeur of a
Some traditions, such as Buddhism and Catholic Chris-
building.
tianity, employ both two- and three-dimensional images.
Others, such as Hinduism and Jainism, exhibit a preference
CONSECRATION. When images function as visual markers,
for three-dimensional images over two-dimensional ones. In
there is usually no need to prepare the image through special
Eastern Orthodox Christianity only two-dimensional images
consecratory rituals. But many other functions do require
function as formal liturgical icons. Some objects, such as
such rituals. In particular, the Mesopotamian, Egyptian,
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain man:d:alas and yantras, are low-
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions developed complex rit-
relief carvings and castings that at the same time share visual
uals whereby images are infused with divine presence or oth-
features with two-dimensional icons.
erwise consecrated for ritual use.
Mesopotamian texts from the first half of the first mil-
Iconic images can be anthropomorphic and so represent
lennium
a human form. Other iconic images depict animals, divine
BCE describe in detail a two-day ritual sequence for
consecration that involved multiple mouth-washings (Baby-
beings that combine human and nonhuman traits, or inani-
lonian m¯ıs pî), each of which involved mouth-opening rites
mate symbols such as a cross, a book, or a throne. The multi-
(Babylonian p¯ıt pî). References to these rituals are found in
plication of images leads to issues of identity, as different
texts from as early as the twenty-second century
forms are used to depict the same deity. Traditions with
BCE. Egyp-
tian texts from the first half of the first millennium
iconic images therefore develop an iconography, a detailed
BCE de-
scribe a consecration ritual also known as the opening of the
formal canon of distinguishing features of anatomy, color,
mouth; some texts also describe these rituals as involving the
clothing, ornamentation, and attributes held in the hands
opening of the eyes, nose, and ears of the image. Hindu im-
that allow the viewer to identify which deity or saint is de-
ages are consecrated in multiday-festivals that both install
picted. The multiplication of images can also contribute to
vital breath in the image (Sanskrit pra¯n:a pratis:t:ha¯) and
understandings of divinity as plural and diverse. Complex
anoint the image with pure water and many other liquids
iconographies contribute to explicit polytheisms, with many
(abhis:eka). Jain consecration rituals distinguish between the
deities, such as we find in the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Shinto¯,
enlivening of the image through opening its eyes in a rite
Daoist, Egyptian, and Greco-Roman traditions. They also
called literally the “eye-needle” (Sanskrit añjana-´sala¯ka¯), and
contribute to implicit polytheisms of minor deities and/or
the establishment (Sanskrit pratis:t:ha¯) of the image on an altar
saints, such as we find in Catholic and Orthodox Christiani-
for worship. Buddhist rituals throughout Asia employ the
ty. In contrast, explicit monotheisms tend to employ a sim-
two ritual paradigms of opening the eye of the image
plified iconography or be iconoclastic.
(Sanskrit
netra-pratis:t:ha¯pana) and anointing it
The physical nature of images connects them to many
(Buddha-abhis:eka). In Tibetan Buddhist consecrations the
other objects in the material culture of religions, such as rel-
focus is on the establishment (Tibetan rab gnas) of the Bud-
ics, shrines, altars, clothing, staffs, scepters, ritual imple-
dha-nature (Tibetan ye shes sems dpa’, Sanskrit jña¯nasattva)
ments, and books. Only some of these objects, such as im-
in the image. Tantric Buddhist consecrations involve placing
ages, relics, books, and in some cases clothing, engender
consecrated objects such as scriptures and relics inside the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4390
IMAGES: IMAGES, ICONS, AND IDOLS
image. In East Asia, some images are consecrated by placing
sense. These traditions engage in more complicated explana-
the cremated ashes and other relics of a deceased Buddhist
tions of what, if anything, is present in the image, and tie
master in a cavity in the image. The periodic reconsecration
the presence to the intentions and actions of the Buddha or
of the wooden image of the Hindu deity Jaganna¯tha in Oris-
Jina several thousand years ago. Christian theology also de-
sa also involves transferring a sacred object from the old
nies the possibility of real presence in an icon or image, reserv-
image into a cavity in the back of the new one. These rituals
ing this (according to the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and
show the overlap between icons and relics.
some Protestant traditions) to the sanctified bread and wine
I
in the Eucharist. A careful analysis of rituals and stories in
MAGES AS DIVINE PRESENCE. All these rituals effect the
transformation of the image from a humanly manufactured
traditions that theoretically deny presence, however, shows
object into a receptacle or real presence of divinity. In the
that many people act as if there were a divine presence in the
Mesopotamian case the image is understood to have been
image, so scholars must beware placing too much emphasis
produced by the cooperation of humans and gods. In many
on theological arguments of absence.
traditions there are stories of images that either were created
Images and miracles. Stories of images frequently re-
by divine beings, or else were spontaneously material incar-
count miracles. Some miracle stories account for the exis-
nations of the deity him- or herself.
tence of the image itself, as the image or deity arranges for
This dual character of the image, as at once humanly
a person, animal, or deity to find or receive the image and
created and a body for the divine, is reflected in various ways
install it for worship in a shrine. For example, in the early
in the rituals. In the Mesopotamian ritual priests use a wood-
sixteenth century the image of S´r¯ına¯thj¯ı that had earlier ap-
en sword symbolically to cut off the hands of the artisans,
peared from within the sacred Mount Govardhan sum-
whereas the artisans themselves swear an oath that the image
moned the Vais:n:ava saint Vallabha¯ca¯rya (Vallabha, 1479–
was made not by them but by their craft deities. In the Bud-
1531) and revealed its true identity, and in 1672 the image,
dhist ritual in Sri Lanka the act of painting in the eye of the
which had been removed from the danger of spoilage by the
image to open it is considered so dangerous that no one can
Mughal rulers, indicated its eventual home in Nathdwara by
look at the image during this process, and even the craftsman
preventing the bullock cart carrying it from leaving that site.
who performs the act must do it with a mirror. This would
In 1531 in Guadalupe the Virgin Mary appeared to the
appear to indicate a powerful presence in the image, greater
Mayan Indian peasant Juan Diego and left an image of her-
than anything within normal human experience.
self on a cloth. In circumstances where there is extensive
iconoclastic opposition to and destruction of images, many
It is often not clear whether the image is a representation
miracle stories relate how images saved themselves from de-
of a particular deity, or is the deity itself. The language of
struction and thereby verified the theological correctness of
hymns and rituals, as well as stories concerning images, allow
the cult of images. Miracle stories also recount ways that im-
for both interpretations. Some paintings of images clearly de-
ages have saved cities and towns from hostile armies. The
pict an image in a temple. In others it is unclear if the painter
Hodegetria icon of the Virgin Mary was displayed by the em-
has depicted the deity or an image of the deity.
perors of Constantinople to help protect the city from invad-
A further ambiguity seen in consecration rituals is
ers. Politically and socially important images also become the
whether the image is the sole abode of a particular deity, or
source of attention for the state’s enemies. The Hodegetria
the abode of a deity who equally resides in other images.
was sought by the Venetian conquerors of Constantinople
While the language and actions of the consecration ritual
in 1204, and later cut into four pieces by the Turkish con-
usually indicate that the image has now become a permanent
querors of the city in 1453. While the Venetians were unable
abode of the divine, the language and actions of some daily
to locate and seize the Hodegetria icon, they did seize another
rituals simultaneously indicate an understanding that the rit-
icon of Mary, the Nicopeia, which had been on the chariot
ual practitioner invokes the deity into the image and then
of the defeated commander of the Greek army, and trans-
dismisses the deity at the conclusion of the ritual. Most im-
ported it and many other images back to Venice for installa-
ages are the subject of annual or periodic rituals of purifica-
tion in the cathedral of San Marco.
tion and renewal. In some cases these rituals consist of a set
Most miracle images come to have a distinct personality
of purifications; in others the image itself is repaired, reorna-
that is indicated by its name. Examples of these are the Emer-
mented, or even, as in the case of the Jaganna¯tha, entirely
ald Buddha in Thailand, the Zenko¯ji icon of Amida, Japan,
refabricated.
the Jain S´an˙khe´svara Pa¯r´svana¯tha in Gujarat, India, the In-
In some traditions, such as the Mesopotamian, Egyp-
fant Jesus of Prague, the Hodegetria icon of the Virgin Mary,
tian, Hindu, and Maha¯ya¯na Buddhist, there is little or no
and the Vladimir Mother of God icon now in Saint Peters-
theological problem caused by positing the presence of the
burg, Russia. These images are readily identifiable to mem-
deity, either in whole or as a partial incarnation, in the image.
bers of the religious community. Replicas of these images are
But other traditions deny this possibility. In Therava¯da Bud-
known by the same name, and the spread of such images
dhism and Jainism the Buddha and the Jina, respectively, are
creates a replication cult. Replication cults appear to be most
understood no longer to be present in this world in a tangible
prominent in Buddhism, Jainism, and Christianity. As Hin-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IMAGES: IMAGES, ICONS, AND IDOLS
4391
duism has spread outside of India in recent decades, many
directed toward a saint, and worship (Greek latreia, Latin la-
temples built in Europe and the United States represent a
tria), which is appropriate only toward Jesus as God. This
replication cult, such as the temple outside of Pittsburgh,
distinction was adopted by Catholic theologians, who added
Pennsylvania, that replicates the temple of Ven˙kate´svara in
an intermediate rite of special veneration (hyperdulia) in
Tirupati in southern India. Related to replication cults is the
which the Virgin Mary was named the Mother of God.
widespread practice of pilgrims obtaining inexpensive repli-
Image cults often involve processions, in which an im-
cas of icons to take home and place in a household shrine.
portant image is periodically taken out of the shrine and pro-
These reproductions tend to be two dimensional more often
cessed around the village or neighborhood. In some cases it
than three dimensional, and rarely undergo formal consecra-
is the central image of a shrine that is processed. In other
tion rites. Just as consecrated images exhibit an ambiguity
cases the main image remains permanently in the shrine, and
concerning whether they are the sole and unique abodes of
a portable image stands in for it in the procession. Proces-
particular deities, so also replication images at once share in
sions spread the power and blessings of the image throughout
the presence of the original and point away from themselves
the geographical area encompassed by the procession. In tra-
to that unique and easily identifiable original.
ditions such as Hinduism before Indian independence, in
Images and religious conversions. Images often play
which entry to many temples was prohibited to some lower
an important role in the spread of religions and in conver-
castes, the procession also allows access to the image on the
sions. Chinese texts call Buddhism “the teaching of the
part of the total population.
[Buddha] images” (xiangjiao). The introduction of Bud-
Vows taken before an image may have the same binding
dhism into the Korean kingdom of Silla in the early sixth
significance as those taken before the deity or a religious lead-
century was effected by a miracle, as the severed head of a
er. In the Jain tradition, for example, a person should be ini-
pro-image martyr spouted a fountain of pure white blood.
tiated into monkhood by another monk, but several twenti-
The introduction of Buddhism into Japan later in the same
eth-century Digambara monks initiated themselves in front
century was also effected by a miracle, as an image that oppo-
of Jina images. Shingon Buddhist monks in medieval Japan
nents had thrown into a canal arranged for a commoner to
also performed self-ordinations in front of Buddha images
rescue it and in return revived his dead son. Images have also
to start new monastic lineages. Buddhist monks in many tra-
proved to be bridges between different religious communi-
ditions perform rites of confession in front of Buddha
ties, such as the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe in Mexico, of
images.
whom there were different but overlapping understandings
by the indigenous Mayans and the conquering Spaniards.
COMMISSIONING AND MAKING OF IMAGES. The most obvi-
ous reason people commission images for installation in
RITUAL USES OF IMAGES. Consecrated images are the foci of
shrines is devotion to and faith in the deity represented by
many rituals. Viewing an image is itself an efficacious ritual
the image, although in the case of replication cults this devo-
in many traditions, which leads to the elaborate ornamenta-
tion may be directed to the particular icon as much as to the
tion of images. In many cases, such as Hindu, Jain, and
deity. This devotion may be a generalized response to the
Christian images, the ornamentation is so extensive that it
deity on the part of the donor, or it may be motivated by
almost totally covers the image, so the image’s identity is es-
a request from the deity or other miraculous event. In many
tablished more by the ornamentation than by the underlying
traditions the donation of images earns religious merit for the
“original” image. In Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism im-
donor. Images are donated as the result of vows, in which
ages are offered flowers, incense, lamps, edibles, and other
a person pledges to donate an image in response to the fulfill-
physical substances. In Hindu Vais:n:ava traditions the deity
ment of a particular desire for health, success, or other form
is understood to consume the subtle essence of the offerings
of well-being. Images can be donated to enhance the social
that are then returned to the person as prasa¯da, literally “di-
prestige of the donor. This intention is often underscored by
vine grace.” In contrast, Jain and Hindu S´aiva traditions ex-
an inscription or other testimonial, such as inclusion of a
plicitly restrict such transactions. Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain
portrait of the donor in the painting or sculpture, that pub-
rituals also involve the anointing of images with water, milk,
licly links the image to the donor’s name.
and other liquids in a ritual idiom that shares much with the
consecration of kings. In Christianity devotion to an image
In many cultures images are made by hereditary crafts-
is usually expressed through kissing it and praying in front
men. In India there is no requirement that the craftsmen be
of it.
of the same religious tradition, so the Vais:n:ava stone carvers
of Jaipur also make images for S´aivas, goddess worshipers,
Rituals can differ according to the deity symbolized or
and Jains, and in some places in India nonconsecrated images
embodied by the image. In Jainism, the eight-part ritual of-
are even made by Muslims. In other traditions there is an ex-
fering (Sanskrit as:t:apraka¯r¯ı pu¯ja¯) is done only to images of
pectation that the craftsman be within the same tradition,
the enlightened and liberated Jinas, whereas images of unlib-
for the making of a religious image, especially one to be con-
erated deities receive a different number of offerings. The
secrated, requires a higher degree of moral purity or spiritual
Eastern Orthodox theologian Saint John of Damascus distin-
insight than making a nonreligious image. In some Tibetan
guished between veneration (Greek proskinesis, Latin dulia)
Tantric esoteric traditions the painters of thangkas are expect-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4392
IMAGES: IMAGES, ICONS, AND IDOLS
ed to have taken formal initiation in the cult of the deity.
Bentor, Yael. Consecration of Images and Stu¯pas in Indo-Tibetan
Old Believers of the Russian Orthodox Church said that the
Tantric Buddhism. Leiden, 1996.
only way to be sure that an icon was not actually an icon of
Besançon, Alain. The Forbidden Image: An Intellectual History of
the antichrist was to insist that icon painters live in a state
Iconoclasm. Translated by Jane Marie Todd. Chicago, 2000.
of near-monastic spirituality and simplicity. Painters of
Camille, Michael. The Gothic Idol: Ideology and Image-Making in
Greek Orthodox icons are also expected to be in a condition
Medieval Art. Cambridge, U.K., 1989.
of heightened reverence, for icon painting is understood not
Cormack, Robin. Painting the Soul: Icons, Death Masks, and
as a form of artistic self-expression, but as an act in imitation
Shrouds. London, 1997.
of the first image of Christ, the icon “made without hands”
Cort, John E. Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in
(Greek acheiropoietos) or cloth true portrait (Greek mandy-
India. New York, 2001.
lion) made when Christ imprinted the features of his face on
Davis, Richard H. Lives of Indian Images. Princeton, N.J., 1997.
a cloth.
Davis, Richard H., ed. Images, Miracles, and Authority in Asian
ICONOCLASM AND JUSTIFICATIONS OF IMAGES. Traditions
Traditions. Boulder, Colo., 1998.
that devote extensive theological and ritual attention to im-
Dick, Michael B., ed. Born in Heaven, Made on Earth: The Making
ages almost always generate countermovements in criticism
of the Cult Image in the Ancient Near East. Winona Lake,
or opposition to images. The destruction of images (icono-
Ind., 1999.
clasm) is oftentimes accompanied by criticisms of other as-
Eck, Diana L. Dar´san: Seeing the Divine Image in India. 3d ed.
pects of the material culture of the religion, of priestly hierar-
New York, 1998.
chies with special prerogatives and extensive powers, and of
theological decentralizing through either polytheism or the
Eckel, Malcolm David. To See the Buddha: A Philosopher’s Quest
for the Meaning of Emptiness. Princeton, N.J., 1992.
development of cults of multiple subsidiary deities or saints.
In some cases, as in the critiques of the A¯rya Sama¯j in Hindu-
Eire, Carlos M. N. War against the Idols: The Reformation of Wor-
ism, the Stha¯nakava¯s¯ıs and Tera¯panth¯ıs in Jainism, and Lu-
ship from Erasmus to Calvin. Cambridge, U.K., 1986.
therans in Christianity, iconoclasm is nonviolent and aims
Faure, Bernard. Visions of Power: Imagining Medieval Japanese
at convincing people to ignore and eventually reject images.
Buddhism. Translated by Phyllis Brooks. Princeton, N.J.,
In other cases, such as the Christian Iconoclastic Controversy
1996.
of the eighth and ninth centuries and the Calvinist Reforma-
Freedberg, D. The Power of Images: Studies in the History and The-
tion, the iconoclasm was more violent, with extensive de-
ory of Response. Chicago, 1989.
struction of images. Iconoclastic movements also lead to the
Gombrich, Richard. “The Consecration of the Buddhist Image.”
development of self-conscious defenses of images and the
Journal of Asian Studies 26 (1966): 23–36.
cult of images. Saint John of Damascus and Saint Theodore
Halbertal, Moshe, and Avishai Margalit. Idolatry. Translated by
of Studion articulated the Orthodox Christian theology of
Naomi Goldblum. Cambridge, Mass., 1992.
the image during the Iconoclastic Controversy, the Council
Hiromitsu, Washizuka, and Roger Goepper. Enlightenment Em-
of Trent confirmed the Catholic theology of images in re-
bodied: The Art of the Japanese Buddhist Sculptor (7th–14th
sponse to the Protestant Reformation, and Mu¯rtipu¯jaka Jain
Centuries). Translated and edited by Reiko Tomii and Kath-
thinkers developed their philosophy of images in response to
leen M. Friello. New York, 1997.
the Stha¯nakava¯s¯ı critiques. Iconoclastic opposition to images
Humphrey, Caroline, and James Laidlaw. The Archetypal Actions
can also come from outside a tradition. It can be physically
of Ritual: A Theory of Ritual Illustrated by the Jain Rite of Wor-
nonviolent, as in the case of the Christian polemics against
ship. Oxford, 1994.
Hindu idols in nineteenth- and twentieth-century India, or
Image and Ritual in Buddhism. Thematic issue of History of Reli-
it can result in the violent overthrow of images as witnessed
gions 34, no. 3 (February 1995).
most recently in 2001 by the destruction of the Buddha im-
Kailasam, Bala, dir. Vaastu Marabu. Watertown, Mass., 1992.
ages at Bamiyan in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
Kieschnick, John. The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material
Culture. Princeton, N.J., 2003.
SEE ALSO Iconography; Icons; Idolatry.
Kinnard, Jacob N. Imaging Wisdom: Seeing and Knowing in the Art
of Indian Buddhism. Richmond, U.K., 1999.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The literature on images and icons is extensive, with significant
McCallum, Donald F. Zenko¯ji and Its Icon: A Study in Medieval
contributions from historians of religion, art historians, and
Japanese Religious Art. Princeton, N.J., 1994.
anthropologists. The following bibliography includes the
Miles, Margaret. Image as Insight: Visual Understanding in Western
most recent and authoritative sources, each of which con-
Christianity and Secular Culture. Boston, 1985.
tains further extensive bibliographies.
Morse, Anne Nishimura, and Samuel Crowell Morse, eds. Object
Barasch, Moshe. Icon: Studies in the History of an Idea. New York,
as Insight: Japanese Buddhist Art and Ritual. Katonah, N.Y.
1992.
1995.
Belting, Hans. Likeness and Presence: A History of the Image before
Ouspensky, Léonid, and Vladimir Lossky. The Meaning of Icons.
the Era of Art. Translated by Edmund Jephcott. Chicago,
Translated by G. E. H. Palmer and E. Kadloubovsky. 2d ed.
1994.
Crestwood, N.Y., 1982.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IMAMATE
4393
Padoux, André, ed. L’Image Divine: Culte et Méditation dans
preserving the unity and solidarity of the Muslim communi-
l’Hindouisme. Paris, 1990.
ty under a single imam and were prepared to compromise
Pelikan, Jaroslav. Imago Dei: The Byzantine Apologia for Icons.
on the ideal of his legitimacy and justice. Sunn¯ı theory gen-
Princeton, N.J., 1990.
erally held that the true and exemplary caliphate, meaning
Schopen, Gregory. Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks: Collected
the vicegerency of prophecy (khila¯fat al-nubu¯wah) was re-
Papers on the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Texts of Monastic
stricted to the first four, or “Rightly Guided” (Ra¯shidu¯n) ca-
Buddhism. Honolulu, 1997.
liphs, Abu¯ Bakr, EUmar, EUthma¯n, and EAl¯ı. This view was
Sharf, Robert H., and Elizabeth Horton Sharf, eds. Living Images:
embodied in a well-known h:ad¯ıth attributed to Muh:ammad,
Japanese Buddhist Icons in Context. Stanford, Calif., 2001.
according to which the caliphate was to last for only thirty
years after his death and to be followed by mere autocratic
Shepherd, Rupert, and Robert Maniura, eds. Depicted Bodies and
Present Souls. London, 2004.
kingship (mulk). Sunn¯ıs considered the first four caliphs to
be the most excellent of humankind after Muh:ammad and
Strickmann, Michel. Mantras et Mandarins: Le Bouddhisme Tan-
thus entitled to his succession as leaders of the community.
trique en Chine. Paris, 1996.
Swearer, Donald K. Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image
This judgment did not apply, however, to the later ca-
Consecration in Thailand. Princeton, N.J., 2004.
liphs, many of whom were seen as unjust and impious. While
Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja. The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and
the later caliphate was thus recognized to be imperfect,
the Cult of Amulets. Cambridge, U.K., 1984.
Sunn¯ı doctrine viewed it still as a divinely sanctioned and
Tarasov, Oleg. Icon and Devotion: Sacred Spaces in Imperial Russia.
indispensable institution and stressed the obligation of every
Translated and edited by Robin Milner-Gulland. London,
Muslim to obey and actively support the established imam,
2002.
be he just or oppressive, pious or immoral, except in viola-
Tripathi, G. C. “Navakalevara: The Unique Ceremony of the
tion of the religious law. Conservative traditionalist opinion,
‘Birth’ and the ‘Death’ of the ‘Lord of the World.’” In The
especially that of H:anbal¯ı jurists, virtually equated power
Cult of Jaganna¯tha and the Regional Traditions of Orissa, ed-
and legitimacy, affirming the validity of the imamate gained
ited by Anncharlott Eschmann, Hermann Kulke, and Gaya
by usurpation. In their view, the imamate could become
Charan Tripathi, pp. 223–264. New Delhi, 1978.
binding without any act of recognition by the Muslim com-
Waghorne, Joanne Punzo, and Norman Cutler, eds. Gods of Flesh/
munity. The only prerequisite for the rightful imam was that
Gods of Stone: The Embodiment of Divinity in India. Cham-
he be a Muslim of the Quraysh, the tribe of Muh:ammad.
bersburg, Pa., 1985.
A less radical view of the caliphate was taken by another
JOHN E. CORT (2005)
current of Sunn¯ı thought, represented in particular in the
legal school of al-Sha¯fiE¯ı. The Sha¯fiE¯ı jurists did not confine
the legitimate imamate to the most excellent of the commu-
IMAGINATION SEE AESTHETICS; ART AND
nity and allowed that a less excellent candidate might be cho-
RELIGION
sen, especially in order to avoid discord. They considered the
late caliphate essentially as a legitimate continuation of the
ideal rule of the four Rightly Guided caliphs, to be judged
by the standards they had set. On this basis they elaborated
IMAMATE. The Arabic term imam means in general
a comprehensive legal doctrine concerning the qualifications,
“leader” or “master.” In nontechnical usage it is often applied
election, rights, and duties of the imam. Their activity
to a leading authority in a field of scholarship or to the leader
reached its peak with al-Ma¯ward¯ı (d. 1058), whose book
of a community. As a technical term in Islamic law and the-
Al-ah:ka¯m al-sult:a¯n¯ıyah (The statutes of government) came
ology, it refers to the legitimate supreme leader of the Mus-
to be widely regarded as an authoritative statement of classi-
lim community and also to the leader of the ritual prayer
cal Sunn¯ı teaching on the imamate.
(s:ala¯t). The imamate, as the office of imam, will be dealt with
here in these two technical senses.
Classical theory. Classical Sunn¯ı theory considered the
imamate as an institution necessary for the legitimacy of all
SUPREME LEADERSHIP OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY. The
acts of government. Thus it held that the Muslim communi-
question of leadership, in theory and practice, has historically
ty was under the obligation to set up an imam as its supreme
evoked different responses within the different branches of
head at all times. It allowed for only a single imam at any
Islam.
time and considered rival caliphs, even if they were in clear
The Sunn¯ıs. Representing the great majority of Mus-
control of part of the Islamic world, to be illegitimate. The
lims, the Sunn¯ıs have generally viewed the historical caliph-
imam was to be of Quraysh¯ı descent, male, major, free, phys-
ate as the legitimate leadership of Islam after the prophet
ically fit, and capable to execute the political and military du-
Muh:ammad. For them, the imam is thus identical with the
ties of the office. He was to have the knowledge of the reli-
ruling caliph. Actual rule, even if reduced to a minimum, is
gious law required for the judgeship and probity as required
indispensable for the legitimacy of the imam. Throughout
for legal testimony. The imam could be either appointed by
history, however, the Sunn¯ıs were primarily concerned with
his predecessor or elected. These alternative modes of invest-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4394
IMAMATE
ment were based on the fact that the second caliph, EUmar,
principle of rule by consultation (shu¯ra¯), often seen to imply
was appointed by his predecessor, Abu¯ Bakr, but, before his
the need for an elected parliamentary council to advise the
death, set up an electoral council (shu¯ra¯) of six prominent
supreme ruler, and the principle of election rather than ap-
companions of the Prophet to choose his successor. The later
pointment by the imam’s predecessor.
caliphs in most instances appointed their successors, com-
The Sh¯ıEah. While Sunn¯ı Muslims were essentially mo-
monly their sons.
tivated to back the actual holder of supreme power as the
In the case of election, the law considered any Muslim
guarantor of the unity of the Muslim community, the Sh¯ıEah
of probity, discernment, and with knowledge about the na-
have primarily emphasized the principle of legitimacy of the
ture of the office qualified to act as an elector. The number
imam, which they see vested in the family of the prophet
of electors required to make the election binding on the
Muh:ammad. The majority of Sh¯ıE¯ı imams, except among
whole Muslim community was generally held to be small,
the Zayd¯ıyah, never held political power, though the Sh¯ıEah
and a common view considered a single elector sufficient.
considered them solely entitled to the supreme leadership of
The legal doctrine here reflected the fact that in the absence
the Muslim community and viewed the historical caliphs,
of an appointed successor a handful of powerful men were
with the exception of EAl¯ı, as illegitimate usurpers. Partly as
usually able to impose a successor of their choice. The elec-
a result of their lack of political power, the Sh¯ıEah have tend-
tion was not intended to be a free choice between candidates,
ed to endow their imams with great religious authority and
but a selection of the “most excellent” in religious terms. The
to place the imamate at the center of religion.
election of the “less excellent” was viewed as permissible only
Twelvers. Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı doctrine bases the imamate on
for proper cause.
the permanent need for a divinely guided, infallible ruler and
The imamate became legally invalid through loss of lib-
teacher of religion. This need was recognized through human
erty and of mental or physical fitness. Many Sha¯fiE¯ı authori-
reason rather than revelation. After the age of the prophets
ties also held it to be forfeited by loss of probity through im-
had come to a close with Muh:ammad, these divinely guided
moral conduct, injustice, or heterodoxy; this view was
leaders were the imams, beginning with Muh:ammad’s cou-
denied, however, by others and by H:anbal¯ı and H:anaf¯ı
sin and son-in-law, EAl¯ı. They were, like the prophets, fully
opinion in general. In practice there was no way to apply this
immune from sin and error and shared the same function
rule. Sunn¯ı law defined the duties of the imam as: guarding
and authority, though they would not bring a new divine
the faith against heresy, protecting the peace in the territory
scripture because the QurDa¯n was final. The imamate thus as-
of Islam, defending it against external enemies, conducting
sumed the same religious significance as prophecy. Ignorance
jiha¯d against those outside the territory of Islam resisting its
or disobedience of any of the imams constituted infidelity
supremacy, enforcing law and justice between disputants, ad-
equal to ignorance or disobedience of the Prophet. For the
ministering punishments (h:udu¯d) under the religious law,
Twelvers, the imamate is handed down by divinely directed
collecting legal alms and other taxes and the fifth of war
designation (nas:s:) of the successor. Thus the great majority
booty due to the imam, spending revenue according to the
of the companions of Muh:ammad and the Muslim commu-
provisions of the law, and appointing trustworthy and quali-
nity at large had become apostates when they recognized Abu¯
fied officials in delegating his authority.
Bakr as the imam in place of EAl¯ı, who had been publicly des-
ignated by Muh:ammad as his successor. After H:asan and
Subsequent developments. The overthrow of the Abbas-
H:usayn, the grandsons of Muh:ammad, the imamate was to
id caliphate in Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258 confronted
be transferred only from father to son among the descen-
Sunn¯ı legal theory with a new situation. The Abbasid shad-
dants of H:usayn.
ow caliphate set up by the Mamluk sultans in Cairo was gen-
In 874 the death of the eleventh imam without apparent
erally ignored. After the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in
son caused a crisis that was eventually resolved by the affir-
1516, the claims of the Ottoman sultans to the caliphate
mation that a son had been born to him and continued to
gained some popular support. Sunn¯ı jurists, however, mostly
live on earth, though in concealment (ghaybah) from human-
considered the imamate to be in abeyance. Relying on the
kind. The twelfth imam was identified with the eschatologi-
legal principle of necessity (d:aru¯rah), they maintained that
cal Mahdi or Qa¯Dim who is expected to appear before the end
because the actual exercise of power was essential to the
of the world and to rule it in glory. Because the twelfth imam
imamate, its functions had devolved upon the rulers of the
is present on earth and may show himself to some of the
Muslim world, whoever they were. The formal abolition of
faithful in person or in a dream, he is held to be essentially
the Ottoman sultanate (1922) and caliphate (1924) by the
still able to fulfill his supreme function of conveying infalli-
Turkish National Assembly has led to a renewed interest in
ble divine guidance. His more practical legal duties and
the question of a supreme and universal leader of Islam. Al-
rights have either been assumed gradually by the Sh¯ıE¯ı
though some modernists have denied the need for the imam-
Eulama¯D (religious scholars), who claim a general deputyship
ate, others among them, as well as fundamentalists, have ad-
of the imam during his concealment, or remain in abeyance.
vocated its restoration. Here the ideal model is the caliphate
of the four Rightly Guided caliphs rather than the later dy-
Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı tradition ascribes to the imams numerous
nastic caliphate. Modernists have stressed in particular the
miracles and supernatural powers. They are described as hav-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IMAMATE
4395
ing complete command of all crafts and languages, including
however, these eschatological expectations receded, and the
those of animals. Though they are not endowed with a natu-
Fatimid caliphs were viewed as a continuous line of imams
ral knowledge of the hidden, God gives them knowledge of
within the era of Islam.
anything they wish to know: “what has been and what will
be.” Because they inherit the knowledge of the prophet
After the fall of the Fatimid dynasty, the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah
Muh:ammad, they are perfectly informed of both the outer
survived mainly in two branches. The T:ayyib¯ıyah recognized
(exoteric) and the inner (esoteric) meaning of the QurDa¯n.
al-T:ayyib, an infant son of the Fatimid caliph al-A¯mir about
They are in possession of all revealed scriptures as well as
whose fate nothing is known, as their imam and denied his
books containing secret knowledge, including the Sah:¯ıfah,
death. They hold that al-T:ayyib, though in concealment, re-
Jafr, Ja¯mi Eah, and the Mus:h:af of Fa¯t:imah. They receive di-
mains in touch with his community and will return. He is
vine guidance from an angel who speaks to them and informs
not identified, however, with the eschatological Qa¯Dim. In
them, though unlike the messenger prophets, they do not see
later T:ayyibi gnostic thought, the imam is described as hav-
him.
ing both a human nature (na¯su¯t) and a divine nature (la¯hu¯t).
His human, physical nature, also called the “camphoric fig-
The imams are endowed with the Holy Spirit. In nu-
ure,” is composed of the vapors that arise from the souls of
merous passages of the QurDa¯n they are evoked by terms such
the faithful three days after their death. The divine nature
as “the light of God,” his “witnesses,” his “signs,” those “firm
is described as a light temple formed by the assembly of light
in knowledge.” They are the “vicegerents” of God on earth
points of the souls of the faithful and the teaching hierarchy.
and the “gates” through which he may be approached. In
This light temple will, after the death of the imam, rise to
popular piety the privilege of the imams to intercede with
the horizon of the Tenth Intellect, the demiurge, where it
God for the sinners of their community has always loomed
will assemble with the temples of the other imams to form
large and has inspired the frequent pilgrimages of the faithful
the immense light temple of the Qa¯Dim.
to their tombs. Later esoteric Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı teaching, influ-
enced by S:u¯f¯ı and Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı thought, defined the permanent
The Niza¯r¯ı branch recognized Niza¯r, a son of the Fati-
essence of the imamate as wala¯yah, the quality of a wal¯ı,
mid caliph al-Mustans:ir, as their imam and has continued
“friend of God,” and as the esoteric aspect of prophecy. The
to adhere to a line of present imams leading, for the great
imam was viewed as the initiator to the mystical truths.
majority, to the Aga Khans. The proclamation of the resur-
rection (qiya¯mah) in 1164 and the subsequent return to an
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah. When, after the sixth imam, JaEfar
age of concealment brought major reforms of the esoteric
al-S:a¯diq, the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah separated from the group develop-
doctrine of the imamate. The imams were now raised in rank
ing into the Twelver Sh¯ıEah, they retained the idea of a per-
above the prophets. As a potential Qa¯Dim, each imam was
manent need for a divinely guided, infallible leader and
held to have the authority to suspend or apply the religious
teacher but developed from it a cyclical view of the history
law as the circumstances required. The imam was in his spiri-
of the true religion. For the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah, prophetic revelation
tual essence defined as a manifestation of the divine word or
progresses through seven eras. Each of the first six is inaugu-
command, the cause of the spiritual world. The faithful at-
rated by a “speaker prophet,” who brings a scripture with a
tain spiritual birth, or resurrection, through recognition of
law and is followed by a “silent fundament.” The fundament
the essence of the imam. In the era of concealment, spiritual
reveals the esoteric truth concealed in the scripture and is fol-
union with the imam was restricted to his h:ujjah, who was
lowed by seven imams in sequence, the seventh of whom
his gate for the faithful and the sole dispenser of spiritual
rises in rank to become the speaker of the following era. The
truth.
imam takes the place of the speaker prophet in guarding and
applying the literal aspect of the revealed law, while his
Zayd¯ıyah. Unlike other Sh¯ıE¯ı Muslims, the Zayd¯ıyah
h:ujjah (“proof”), representing the rank below the imam in
do not consider their imams divinely protected from error
the hierarchy, succeeds the fundament in revealing the eso-
and sin and do not recognize a hereditary line of imams.
teric truths to the initiate.
They hold that after the first Sh¯ıE¯ı imams, EAl¯ı, H:asan, and
H:usayn, who were appointed by the prophet Muh:ammad
In the sixth era, that of Muh:ammad and Islam, EAl¯ı was
through a descriptive designation, the imamate belongs to
the fundament and JaEfar al-S:a¯diqEs grandson Muh:ammad
any qualified descendant of H:asan or H:usayn who rises
ibn Isma¯E¯ıl the seventh imam from H:asan. As such he was
against the illegitimate rulers. Apart from his descent, the
expected, after his imminent advent from concealment, to
legal qualifications of the imam are substantially the same as
rise in rank to become the seventh speaker prophet, who was
in Sunn¯ı law. Special emphasis is placed, however, on reli-
identified with the Mahdi and Qa¯Dim. This early Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı ex-
gious learning, competence to render legal judgment, moral
pectation was modified in the tenth century by the rise of
integrity, and courage. Zayd¯ı imams have generally been
the Fatimid caliphs, who claimed to be imams. Some
scholars of rank and authors of the most authoritative Zayd¯ı
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı backers of the Fatimid caliphate recognized the first
religious works. The imamate becomes legally binding upon
Fatimid caliph as the Mahdi, while others continued to ex-
the issuance of a formal call to allegiance (da Ewah) and rising
pect the early return of Muh:ammad ibn Isma¯E¯ıl and consid-
against illegitimate rule, not through election or appoint-
ered the Fatimids his lieutenants. As Fatimid rule continued,
ment by a previous imam. After his call to allegiance, recog-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4396
IMAMATE
nition and active backing of the imam is incumbent upon
live under the rule of the opponent and to practice dissimula-
every believer. The imamate is forfeited by loss of any of the
tion. Only the imam of the state of manifestation was enti-
qualifications, in particular by moral offenses. According to
tled to exercise all the functions of the imamate.
the prevalent doctrine, only the most excellent claimant is
L
entitled to the imamate, and if a more excellent candidate
EADERSHIP OF THE RITUAL PRAYER. The ritual prayer,
which is obligatory for every Muslim five times daily, may
arises to claim it, the excelled imam must surrender it to him.
be performed individually or in group with a leader who is
This has been disputed, however, by some later authorities.
called the imam. The same applies to several special prayers,
In practice rival claims to the imamate have often divided the
which are merely recommended, on the occasion of festivals
allegiance of the Zayd¯ı communities, both in Yemen and in
and solar or lunar eclipses, prayers for rain, and supererogato-
the coastal regions south of the Caspian Sea.
ry and funeral prayers. In most of these cases group prayer,
Although in Zayd¯ı legal theory there must always be a
preferably in a mosque, is the recommended form whenever
qualified candidate for the imamate, the Zayd¯ı imamate has
possible. The congregational Friday prayer, which is general-
often been in abeyance for prolonged periods. The list of rec-
ly obligatory for those in easy reach of a congregational
ognized imams has never been definitely fixed, though there
mosque (ja¯mi E), can only be performed in group with an
is consensus on many of them. Many Zayd¯ı EAl¯ıd rulers did
imam.
not claim the imamate or were not recognized as imams by
The imam must face the qiblah, the direction toward
later Zayd¯ı opinion because they did not fulfill the require-
Mecca. In the mosque he stands in front of the mih:ra¯b, or
ments, especially that of religious learning. These were often
prayer niche, which indicates this direction. In the early time
considered as “restricted” imams, or “summoners” (du Ea¯t),
of Islam a staff or lance was placed in the ground before him.
with limited authority.
The congregation stands in rows behind the imam; no one
Kha¯rij¯ıs. Whereas the Sh¯ıEah historically based their re-
is permitted to be in front of him. If there is only a single
pudiation of the Sunn¯ı caliphate on the principle of legitima-
worshiper following the prayer, he may stand at the imam’s
cy, the Kha¯rij¯ıs founded their opposition on an uncompro-
right, and a second one may stand at his left. The members
mising concept of the justice and moral integrity of the
of the congregation must strictly follow the imam in every
imam. In Kha¯rij¯ı doctrine the imam loses his legitimacy by
movement and recitation. While the imam recites in a loud
any violation of religious law and must be removed, by force
voice, however, they should generally not be heard. If the
if necessary. The unjust or immoral imam and his supporters
congregation is too large for everyone to see and hear the
are to be treated as infidels unless they repent. EUthma¯n and
imam, special “conveyors” (sg., muballigh) may be employed
EAl¯ı are viewed as initially legitimate imams who became in-
to repeat his takb¯ırs, marking the transition to the next phase
fidels by their illicit acts and thus were rightfully murdered.
of the prayer, for the worshipers in the back rows or outside
Any Muslim who does not dissociate himself or herself from
the mosque.
them and their supporters shares their state of infidelity.
The obligation to imitate strictly the movements of the
Likewise any Muslim who does not affirm solidarity with
imam applies even if a worshiper belongs to another legal
just imams such as Abu¯ Bakr and EUmar is an infidel. The
school prescribing different prayer rituals. While this rule has
Kha¯rij¯ıs also unanimously rejected the elitist Sunn¯ı doctrine
been generally accepted among the four Sunn¯ı schools, there
restricting the imamate to the Quraysh. They held that any
have at times been problems. Some H:anaf¯ı authorities held
qualified Muslim, even of non-Arab and slave origin, was eli-
that raising the hands during the bowing (ruku¯ E) and lifting
gible. An exceptional view extended this egalitarian principle
the head, as practiced by the Sha¯fiE¯ıyah and others, invali-
to women as well. The other qualifications and functions of
dates the prayer and ruled that a H:anaf¯ı must not pray be-
the imam were similar to Sunn¯ı doctrine, with special em-
hind a Sha¯fiE¯ı imam. This matter provoked friction between
phasis on the QurDanic duty of “commanding what is proper
the two schools for centuries.
and prohibiting what is reprehensible” and on the imam’s
leadership of the jiha¯d against non-Kha¯rij¯ı Muslims.
A group praying outside a mosque may generally choose
its own imam. Preferably he should be the most worthy
Only the most moderate sect of the Kha¯rij¯ıs, the
among them, with particular consideration given to probity,
Iba¯d:¯ıyah, survived the first centuries of Islam. The Iba¯d:¯ıyah
knowledge of QurDanic texts for recitation during prayer,
took a more accommodating view toward non-Kha¯rij¯ı Islam
knowledge of the ritual, and freedom from speech defects.
at large, and their doctrine came to recognize different types
While a woman may act as prayer leader only for other
of imams corresponding to the four states in which the com-
women, the imam may be a minor boy, a slave, or a moral
munity of the faithful could face its enemies. These include
offender among men and women alike. Prayer led by an
the state of manifestation, when the community was strong
imam with a speech defect is invalid. In a private home, the
enough to overcome the opponent; the state of defense,
owner is most entitled to lead the prayer even if otherwise
when it could merely hope to ward off the enemy; the state
more worthy men are present.
of self-sacrifice, when a small group of the faithful seeking
martyrdom would choose to attack a powerful enemy; and
Mosques have generally appointed official imams.
the state of concealment, when the faithful were forced to
Whenever the official imam or a substitute appointed by him
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
¯
IMA¯N AND ISLA¯M
4397
is present, he is entitled to lead the prayer. In the congrega-
Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı doctrine is described by Dwight M. Donaldson in
tional mosques or others maintained by the caliph, his gover-
The Shi Eite Religion (London, 1933), and later esoteric teach-
nors, or, in modern times, the government, the imam is ap-
ing by Henry Corbin in Histoire de la philosophie islamique,
pointed by them. In private mosques maintained by
vol. 1 (Paris, 1964), pp. 53–109. For T:ayyibi esoteric doc-
individuals or local communities, the imam is chosen by the
trine, see the analysis and annotated translation of a typical
T:ayyibi treatise on the subject in chapter 4 of Henry Cor-
neighborhood. Once chosen he cannot be removed except
bin’s Trilogie ismaelienne (Tehran, 1961). Niza¯r¯ı doctrine
for cause. The imam has usually the right to choose and di-
after the qiya¯mah is described by Marshall G. S. Hodgson in
rect the muezzin, who makes the call to prayer.
The Order of Assassins (1955; reprint, New York, 1980),
pp. 160–175. Rudolf Strothmann’s Das Staatsrecht der
The imam of the Friday congregational worship may be
Zaiditen (Strasbourg, 1912) discusses Zayd¯ı legal doctrine
appointed separately from the imam of the daily prayers. He
and practice. Kha¯rij¯ı doctrine is analyzed by Elie Adib Salem
is normally also the preacher (khat:¯ıb), who delivers the offi-
in Political Theory and Institutions of the Khawa¯rij (Balti-
cial sermon (khut:bah) with the prayer for the ruler before the
more, 1956), especially in chapter 4. For details of the legal
Friday prayer. In early Islam the Friday congregational
rules concerning the imamate of the ritual prayer, see chapter
prayer in particular was led by the caliph himself in the capi-
9 of al-Ma¯ward¯ı’s work cited above and Nawaw¯ı, Minhaj et
tal and by his governors in the provincial capitals. Later they
Talibin: A Manual of Muh:ammadan Law according to the
generally deputed imams. The Friday prayer remained close-
School of Shaf¯ı, translated by E. C. Howard (1914; reprint,
ly associated with government authority, however, and some
Lahore, 1977), pp. 42–69.
of the legal schools held it to be invalid without the presence
WILFERD MADELUNG (1987)
of the supreme imam (caliph) or his appointed representa-
tive. In Twelver Shiism, for instance, the Friday worship has
been generally held to be in abeyance in the absence of the
rightful supreme imam. Only when the Safavids established
¯
IMA¯N AND ISLA¯M. Isla¯m, a noun derived from the
a Sh¯ıE¯ı regime in sixteenth-century Iran did the matter be-
verb aslama (“to submit or surrender [to God]”), designates
come controversial, and some Sh¯ıE¯ı jurists maintained that
the act by which an individual recognizes his or her relation-
Friday worship was obligatory in the presence of a qualified
ship to the divine and, at the same time, the community of
legal scholar. Today the Friday prayer is performed among
all of those who respond in submission. It describes, there-
the Twelver Sh¯ıEah, though not as widely as among Sunn¯ıs.
fore, both the singular, vertical relationship between the
Sunn¯ı concern for maintaining the unity of Islam by backing
human being and God and the collective, horizontal re-
the established rulers, whatever their moral failings, found
lationship of all who join together in common faith and
expression in the affirmation contained in many Sunn¯ı
practice.
creeds that every Muslim must “pray behind every imam, be
he righteous or immoral.” The Sh¯ıEah and Kha¯rij¯ıs generally
In its communal aspect isla¯m has come to be the com-
reject this attitude and prohibit prayer behind an imam who
monly accepted term for the religion of the followers of the
is known to be either immoral or heterodox.
prophet Muh:ammad and today claims many millions of ad-
herents. As the personal act of response to the oneness of
God and his commands isla¯m often has been viewed as coor-
SEE ALSO Aga Khan; Caliphate; Ghaybah; EIsmah;
Nubu¯wah; Wala¯yah.
dinate with another term basic to Muslim theology. This is
¯ıma¯n, most commonly understood as faith, from the verb
amana (“to be secure, to place one’s trust [in God]”). While
BIBLIOGRAPHY
isla¯m as a verbal noun appears only eight times in the
There is no comprehensive study of the imamate. The institution-
QurDa¯n, ¯ıma¯n is found over five times as often in the sacred
al development of the caliphate is analyzed by Thomas W.
scripture.
Arnold in his The Caliphate (Oxford, 1924); the second edi-
tion contains a chapter on the abolition of the caliphate and
QURDANIC CONTEXT. The QurDa¯n as understood by Muslims
its aftermath by Sylvia G. Haim (New York, 1965). See also
is not a theological document per se, although it does reveal
Emile Tyan’s Institutions du droit public musulman (Paris,
something of the being and will of God. It is rather a record
1954–1957), volume 1, Le califat, and volume 2, Califat et
of the revelations to the prophet Muh:ammad that details the
sultanat. The most authoritative medieval treatise on the
ways in which men and women of faith are to respond to
Sunn¯ı (Sha¯fiE¯ı) legal doctrine of the imamate, al-Ma¯ward¯ı’s
the fact of divine oneness. It also sets forth the specific ways
Kita¯b al-ah:ka¯m al-sult:a¯n¯ıyah, has been translated into
in which they are to conduct their daily lives in preparation
French by Edmond Fagnan, as Les statuts gouvernementaux
for the reality of the final day of judgment and recompense.
(Algiers, 1915). Modernist views are discussed by Malcolm
Terms such as isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n therefore are not defined and
H. Kerr in his Islamic Reform: The Political and Legal Theories
of Muh:ammad EAbduh and Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯ (Berkeley, Calif.,
analyzed in the QurDa¯n. In some instances they are apparent-
1966) and by Henri Laoust in the introduction to his Le cali-
ly interchangeable in meaning, and in others QurDanic usage
fat dans la doctrine de Raˇs¯ıd Rid:a¯ (Beirut, 1938), which con-
seems to suggest that the two have different emphases, partic-
tains the translation of a major work on the subject by a con-
ularly as they relate to works. In one place only (sura 49:14)
servative modernist.
is a clear discrimination between isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n implied.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
¯
4398
IMA¯N AND ISLA¯M
Here a distinction is drawn between the verbal acknowledg-
Prophet says is the state of being perfected and serving God
ment of isla¯m by the tongue and the ¯ıma¯n that has entered
as if he were always before your eyes. From the structure of
the heart. The suggestion that isla¯m is the outward sign and
the narrative it is clear that the discussion was intended to
¯ıma¯n the inward, however, runs counter to the general un-
suggest degrees of religious response, with isla¯m as the first
derstanding of the QurDa¯n that they are essentially synony-
and most basic and ih:s:a¯n as the last and highest. This kind
mous and that they both designate the religious response by
of ranking is supported by another commonly cited narrative
which one heeds the message of God’s oneness and thereby
in which the Messenger of God says that isla¯m is external
escapes the eternal retribution of the Day of Resurrection.
while ¯ıma¯n belongs to the heart. For reasons that are not en-
H:AD¯ITH. Many kinds of references to isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n are to
tirely clear, scholastic theology (kala¯m) did not generally de-
be found in the collections of h:ad¯ıth, the narratives or “tradi-
velop the concept of ih:s:a¯n but centered its subsequent discus-
tions” that record the community’s memory of the sayings
sions primarily on the first two terms.
and actions of the prophet Muh:ammad and his companions.
Other h:ad¯ıths seem to suggest that faith is a component
Individual traditions often fail to suggest a distinction be-
element of isla¯m. When asked about isla¯m on one occasion
tween isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n. The Prophet is sometimes quoted as
the Prophet is said to have replied, “Witness that there is no
having indicated that the essentials of isla¯m are the
god but God and that I am the Messenger of God, and have
Shaha¯dah, the twin testimonies to the oneness of God and
faith in all foreordinations, their good and evil, their sweet-
the prophethood of Muh:ammad, as well as the other duties
ness and bitterness.” On another occasion, the Prophet says
constitutive of formal isla¯m, with no specification of the
that the more virtuous isla¯m is ¯ıma¯n, which consists of faith
components of faith. More often, however, the reports seem
in God, his angels, his books, his messengers, and the resur-
to imply that the terms connote at least different aspects of
rection. Here ¯ıma¯n becomes a kind of subdivision of isla¯m,
the same response, if not two separate kinds of responses.
with the most virtuous ¯ıma¯n said to be the emigration (Hij-
One particularly interesting narrative found in a range
rah) and so on through a series of subcategories. In several
of renditions presents the Prophet defining isla¯m as clearly
traditions isla¯m seems to consist of ¯ıma¯n plus works, as when
distinct from ¯ıma¯n. In the best-known version the story is
the Prophet says that one should say “I have faith” and walk
told about a stranger with a beautiful face, black hair, and
the straight path.
a white robe (usually understood to be the angel Gabriel)
THEOLOGY. The respective definitions of isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n be-
who joins the Prophet and a group of his companions and
came increasingly important in the early Muslim community
asks “What is isla¯m?” (or, in other versions, “Tell me about
as the nation of Isla¯m grew through great numbers of conver-
isla¯m”). The Prophet answers that isla¯m is the performance
sions, and its members early on began to struggle with the
of certain duties. The specifics of these duties differ in the
question of who was or was not a Muslim. In a variety of
various renditions of this h:ad¯ıth, but the most commonly
ways, and for political as well as theological reasons, sects,
cited are witnessing that there is no god but God and that
schismatic groups, individual thinkers, and schools of theol-
Muh:ammad is his Messenger (shaha¯dah), submitting to God
ogy adopted positions by which they tried to determine
with no association of anything else, performing the prayer
membership in the Islamic community. To this end clearer
ritual (s:ala¯t), paying the alms tax (zaka¯t), observing the
and firmer distinctions came to be drawn between isla¯m and
Ramad:a¯n fast (s:awm), and making the pilgrimage (h:a¯jj). If
¯ıma¯n, and the various groups in the young Muslim commu-
the first two of these are combined, the list then reflects the
nity often defined their positions according to those distinc-
elements that commonly have been accepted in Isla¯m as the
tions.
five duties that constitute the “pillars” (arka¯n) of the individ-
ual Muslim’s religious responsibilities.
Kha¯rij¯ıs. Theological speculation is often said to have
begun with the political movement of the Kha¯rij¯ıs, the earli-
After this enumeration the stranger assures the Prophet
est of the Muslim sects. It was, however, a movement not
that the definition is correct. He then goes on to ask about
of passive reflection but of active involvement in the effort
¯ıma¯n and is told that it consists of faith in the following
to purify Islam. As decades passed after the death of the
(again differing somewhat according to the several versions):
Prophet, some began to feel that those in power were betray-
God, his angels, his books (or book), his messengers (or mes-
ing the basic understanding of the faith. All the members of
senger), the resurrection, the garden and the fire, and other
the community were being called mu Dminu¯n (“persons of
eschatological realities. Though less commonly classified
faith”) regardless of the degree of their piety and their adher-
than the arka¯n, the elements in this list generally are identi-
ence to the essentials of Islam. The Kha¯rij¯ıs, in their zeal to
fied as the key components of the creeds that have been de-
ensure that the Muslim community was led by those most
veloped by members of the Muslim community. Several ver-
qualified in matters of faith and obedience, focused attention
sions indicate that after thus defining isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n the
on the question of who is a true muslim/mu Dmin and who is
stranger asks the Prophet, “If I do that am I a muslim and
a ka¯fir (best defined not as unbeliever or infidel but as one
a mu Dmin?” to which the Prophet responds “Yes.”
who actively rejects the will of God). ¯Ima¯n and isla¯m were
The continuation of the story includes commentary on
seen by the Kha¯rij¯ıs as essentially synonymous: Both include
ih:s:a¯n, a third element beyond isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n, which the
verbal and intellectual assent as well as works and are in abso-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
¯
IMA¯N AND ISLA¯M
4399
lute opposition to kufr (“rejection”). Rather than trying to
er, and the community began to stabilize after its initial
define the muslim/mu Dmin the Kha¯rij¯ıs concentrated on the
growth, a stage was reached in which these kinds of questions
ka¯fir and adopted often ruthless means of condemning
were seen less as issues requiring decisive action and more as
and in fact excommunicating such a person from the com-
matters of intellectual engagement and decision. Thus the
munity.
nature of isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n continued to be discussed by the
leading thinkers of the community.
MurjiDah. The sect known as the MurjiDah (lit., “those
who postpone”) was politically and, on this issue, theologi-
One way of treating the relationship of, or distinction
cally opposed to the Kha¯rij¯ıs. This group felt that it is wrong
between, submission and faith is to consider which is the
to condemn a member of the community as a ka¯fir, no mat-
broader category under which the other is subsumed. Not
ter what his or her actions. Judgment of human conduct and
surprisingly, different Muslim interpreters and schools of
final determination of one’s state of punishment or felicity
theology have reached different conclusions, often based on
must be left in the hands of God, they said, postponed until
traditions from the Prophet such as those cited above.
the Day of Resurrection.
If one understands isla¯m as consisting of the five pillars
Gradually, however, this doctrine came to mean for
or duties (the testimony, prayer, fast, alms tax, and pilgrim-
them not simply the postponement of judgment. In addi-
age) it is possible to argue that the first of these, witnessing
tion, they gave works a place of secondary importance be-
to God’s oneness and the prophethood of Muh:ammad, can
hind faith by saying that good works are not a necessary indi-
be considered an act of faith. In that way ¯ıma¯n is part of the
cation of faith. This was in distinction to the Kha¯rij¯ıs, who
larger category of isla¯m. Thus AshEar¯ı theologians such as
stressed the importance of outward acts of piety in conformi-
al-Ba¯qilla¯n¯ı (d. 1013), for example, concluded that all ¯ıma¯n
ty with God’s laws. The MurjiDah thus became the first in
is part of isla¯m, but not all isla¯m is part of ¯ıma¯n. Al-AshEar¯ı
the Muslim community specifically to address the question
(d. 935) himself said that isla¯m is wider than ¯ıma¯n and that
of the internal structure of ¯ıma¯n. While there clearly were
therefore not all the former is part of the latter.
different schools of MurjiDah (al-Khat:¯ıb al-Baghda¯d¯ı breaks
The later H:anbal¯ı thinker Ibn Taym¯ıyah (d. 1328)
them into three main groups, and al-AshEar¯ı identifies twelve
carefully developed another way of seeing this relationship
different strands), their overall contribution to Islamic theol-
in his analysis of the h:ad¯ıth in which the Prophet seems to
ogy was in their identification of the nature of faith as sepa-
rank isla¯m, ¯ıma¯n, and ih:s:a¯n. Because of the very ranking, he
rate from works and in their assurance for the mu Dmin of a
said, ih:s:a¯n, while characteristic of the most select number of
place in paradise despite his or her failure to observe the laws
the faithful, in fact connotes the most inclusive definition.
of God.
That is, the person of faith (mu Dmin) must by definition be
Virtually all of the succeeding theoretical discussions
a submitter (muslim), and the person of perfection (muh:s:in)
about the nature of faith took as their starting point the is-
must therefore be both of the former. ¯Ima¯n, therefore, con-
sues and problems raised by the various schools of the Mur-
tains isla¯m. Ibn Taym¯ıyah’s conclusion was more than aca-
jiDah. There was general acceptance of the MurjiD¯ı thesis that
demic. It is clear, he felt, that isla¯m is an external act while
the main elements to be considered in the understanding of
¯ıma¯n is a matter of the heart. For Ibn Taym¯ıyah the AshEar¯ı
¯ıma¯n are affirmation (tas:d¯ıq) and verbal acknowledgment
conclusion that isla¯m is wider than ¯ıma¯n implies that while
(iqra¯r) of that affirmation. (While most later thinkers
all those who submit are persons of faith, not all who profess
stressed the primary significance of tas:d¯ıq as heartfelt affir-
faith are muslims, a conclusion with which he totally dis-
mation, however, the MurjiDah rather understood affirma-
agreed. And in fact the majority AshEar¯ı view was that al-
tion as intellectual assent or knowledge.) While they assented
though faith can exist without isla¯m, failure to do the works
to the importance of tas:d¯ıq and iqra¯r as necessary constitu-
characteristic of isla¯m is a grave sin. For Ibn Taym¯ıyah, to
ents of ¯ıma¯n, the MurjiDah clearly rejected works.
have faith but not to do works of obedience is an impossible
contradiction.
As a consequence of this doctrine the MurjiDah, in clear
While some in the Muslim community continued to
opposition to the Kha¯rij¯ıs, did not believe that the quality
debate these and other theological issues, others turned to the
of one’s faith could be determined by the commission of sins,
task of systematizing the conclusions reached by thinkers
even major or grave sins. One school of the MurjiDah, the
within the various schools into creedal formulations. One of
Karra¯m¯ıyah, went so far as to maintain that ¯ıma¯n consists
the most popular of the creeds over the centuries has been
strictly of the saying of the two shaha¯dahs, the testimony of
the Sharh: al- Eaqa¯Did of the H:anaf¯ı jurist al-Nasaf¯ı
the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muh:ammad,
(d. 1143). The creed was later commented on by the AshEar¯ı
and involves neither affirmation nor works.
scholar al-Tafta¯za¯n¯ı (d. 1389). ¯Ima¯n, said al-Nasaf¯ı, is affir-
Later discussion. The debates between sects such as the
mation (tas:d¯ıq) of that which the Prophet brought from God
Kha¯rij¯ıs and the MurjiDah were based on crucial questions
and confession (iqra¯r) of it. While acts of obedience may in-
of membership in the Muslim community and were there-
crease, faith neither increases nor decreases. Then, in a very
fore far from strictly intellectual issues. They were, in fact,
interesting conclusion, he declares that ¯ıma¯n and isla¯m are
quite often matters of life and death. As time passed, howev-
one; they are so, al-Tafta¯za¯n¯ı explains, because obedience
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4400
IMMANENCE
(idh Ea¯n) is the essence of both isla¯m and tas:d¯ıq, which, in
Musnad, 6 vols. (1895; reprint, Beirut, 1969). The earliest
al-Nasaf¯ı’s definition, is ¯ıma¯n.
extensive QurDa¯n commentary that analyzes the relation of
the terms in their scriptural usage is Abu¯ JaEfar Muh:ammad
Despite the common element of obedience, al-
al-T:abar¯ı’s Ja¯mi E a-baya¯n Ean taDw¯ıl a¯y al-QurDa¯n, 30 vols.
Tafta¯za¯n¯ı did not completely identify the terms but rather
in 12 (Cairo, 1954–1968). Of the several creedal formula-
said that one cannot exist without the other. In the H:anaf¯ı
tions dealing the juxtaposition of faith and submission in the
creed Fiqh akbar II (Greater understanding II), attributed to
thinking of the early Muslim community, one of the most
Abu¯ H:an¯ıfah (d. 767) but probably written in the tenth cen-
popular is EUmar ibn Muh:ammad al-Nasaf¯ıyah’s Sharh:
tury, ¯ıma¯n and isla¯m share the common ingredient of sub-
al- Eaqa¯ Did, with commentary by SaEd al-D¯ın al-Tafta¯za¯n¯ı
mission and overlap so much that they are essentially inter-
(Cairo, 1974). A rich treatment of the meaning of faith and
changeable.
its relation to submission is found in the Kita¯b al-¯ıma¯n of
the fourteenth-century theologian Ibn Taym¯ıyah (Damas-
QurDa¯n commentators analyzing the eight verses in
cus, 1961).
which isla¯m is mentioned all have stressed the essential com-
Works in Western Languages
ponent of submission, usually in relation to God’s initiative.
Such basic works as A. J. Wensinck’s The Muslim Creed (1932;
To the extent to which they have dealt with faith in relation
reprint, New York, 1965) and Louis Gardet and M. M. An-
to submission they have made it clear that ¯ıma¯n (most com-
awati’s Introduction à la théologie musulmane, 2d ed. (Paris,
monly defined as tas:d¯ıq and iqra¯r) is identified in some clear
1970), are helpful for a general understanding of the signifi-
ways with isla¯m. The degree to which they have equated the
cance of the ¯ıma¯n/isla¯m discussions in the development of
terms, however, has varied considerably. In his monumental
Isla¯mic theology. More specific treatments such as Helmer
commentary on the QurDa¯n, Ja¯mi E al-baya¯n Ean taDw¯ıl a¯y
Ringgren’s Isla¯m, Daslama, and muslim, “Horae Soederblomi-
al-Qur Da¯n, al-T:abar¯ı (d. 923) suggests a kind of bipartite
anae,” vol. 2 (Uppsala, 1949), and “The Conception of Faith
in the Koran,” Oriens 4 (1951): 1–20, analyze QurDanic
isla¯m. On one level is the verbal acknowledgment of submis-
usage of the terms. Toshihiko Izutsu provides an extensive
sion by which one becomes part of the community of Islam,
study of the interpretation of ¯ıma¯n in the history of Islamic
and on a deeper level is that isla¯m that is in fact coordinate
thought, with a chapter on its relation to isla¯m, in The Con-
with the act of faith (¯ıma¯n) and that involves the complete
cept of Belief in Islamic Theology (Tokyo, 1965).
surrender of the body, the mind, and the heart. Fakhr al-D¯ın
al-Ra¯z¯ı (d. 1209), in the Mafa¯t¯ıh: al-ghayb (Keys to the mys-
JANE I. SMITH (1987)
tery), insists that while the two are different in generality they
are one in existence. If isla¯m is not of the heart, he said, it
cannot be called isla¯m. Muh:ammad Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯, the twenti-
IMMANENCE SEE TRANSCENDENCE AND
eth-century Egyptian author of the Mana¯r commentary, sug-
IMMANENCE
gested a similar interpretation when he said that the true
meaning of both isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n is what he calls ¯ıma¯n kha¯s:s:,
interiorized faith, which is the only means of salvation. In
IMMERSION SEE BAPTISM
this understanding isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n converge in a single reali-
ty (h:aq¯ıqah).
Most QurDa¯n commentators through the centuries,
IMMOLATION SEE SACRIFICE
however, have seen isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n as more distinct than
al-T:abar¯ı, al-Ra¯z¯ı, or Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯ have. They admit that
isla¯m can have a purely external meaning, while ¯ıma¯n always
involves confirmation of the heart. Although they differ in
IMPLICIT RELIGION. In the age of secularization
their attempts to interpret the distinctions between the
and debate within the social sciences on how to approach the
terms, in no instance have they seen them as irreconcilable.
religious factor, two trends have intersected. One proclaims
And despite the variety of responses reflected in the works
a progressive disenchantment with a decline of the religious
of theology, general usage of the terms isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n has
factor’s role and plausibility; within a wide range of social at-
revealed some common understanding both of their respec-
titudes, religion seems destined to social irrelevance or to oc-
tive definitions and of the ways in which these terms together
cupying a purely personal dimension. The second trend of
express the totality of the Muslim’s response to the being and
thought sees a recovery and renewal of the role of religion
will of God.
in contemporary society, after a period of neglect, with par-
ticular reference to ancient religions.
SEE ALSO Ummah.
The concept and problem of implicit religion is situated
within a different perspective. Beyond the oppositions that
BIBLIOGRAPHY
locate the religious factor amongst those “religious” institu-
Works in Arabic
tions balanced between death and resurrection, this concept
For a full collection of traditions from the prophet Muh:ammad
initiates the observation that there is a widespread separation
in which the terms isla¯m and ¯ıma¯n are used, see Ibn H:anbal’s
between believing and belonging, and in particular between
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IMPLICIT RELIGION
4401
the numerous paths of existentialism within a culture and the
Through the discussion of these relationships a number of
dimensions of daily life with specific intentionality and
questions relating to the meaning and application of the term
therefore specific dimensions of ultimate meaning.
implicit religion are raised. Wilhelm Dupré discusses various
areas in which the critical potential of implicit religion be-
The concept of implicit religion is recent, and arose as
comes obvious (Dupré, 1991). These areas appear in situa-
a result of semantic difficulties related to reflection on the
tions in which developments in implicit religion account for
meaning and value of religiousness itself. Dietrich Bonhoef-
considerable modifications in both the explicit religion and
fer, during his imprisonment, proposed that a supernatural
the cultural environment, and they extend as far as the many
deviation of the spiritualistic tendencies of Catholicism and
instances in which the concept of implicit religion has a criti-
Protestantism usually results in a tendency to make sacred
cal impact on the perception of reality. Through a consider-
the world. Both Catholicism and Protestantism achieve the
ation of the main criteria used to define such concepts, a sys-
same result, that is, conceiving Christian life as based on the
tematic but tentative typology is suggested.
idea of a separation from the world. Bonhoeffer’s proposal
becomes dramatic when he reaches the conviction that there
In attempting to locate implicit religion within this ty-
exists an insurmountable incompatibility between faith and
pology, it has been found that it might be equivalent to: (1)
religion.
a nonreligious meaning system; or (2) Thomas Luckmann’s
invisible religion; or it may include (3) generically both a
The evocation of implicit religion is therefore not mere-
nonreligious meaning system and invisible religion; or (4)
ly an academic expedient or a pleonastic concept. It is rather
even more generically nonreligious meaning systems, invisi-
an analytical occasion, an instrument of the less visible and
ble religion, para-religion, and quasi-religion. Some scholars
differentiated layers of the radical demand for meaning that
have appealed for a more appropriate conceptual tool kit and
exists in human life. Nor can it be interpreted as an indirect
terminology to deal with this range of phenomena (Hamil-
proof within the line of the resurgence of the religious factor.
ton, 2001, pp. 5–13). To this end, the 1980s saw the appear-
The term implicit religion is one among a number of
ance of sociologist Arnaldo Nesti’s Il religioso implicito
terms that have become familiar in the literature of sociology
(1985) and the first issue of the journal Religioni e Società,
of religion, including invisible religion (Luckmann, 1967)
both focusing on issues of implicit religion in society.
common religion (Towler, 1974, pp. 145–162), surrogate reli-
Although the notion of implicit religion is recent, one
gion (Robertson, 1970), quasi-religion, and para-religion
can find traces of it within the traditional social sciences.
(Greil, 1993). These terms have been introduced to help
Even though the term itself and its exact references are not
scholars deal with that which appears to be like religion, but
used in the socioreligious sphere, the problem and the dy-
is not actually religion, as well as that which does not appear
namics from which its meaning and form derive are perceiv-
to be religion, but actually is religion. Another such concept
able (Weber, 1920–1921; Schutz, 1932).
is civil religion, which refers primarily to a more integrated
set of values and symbols that is, to some degree, actually
Max Weber’s contributions, particularly regarding the
held in common by a group of people (Bellah, 1970).
polytheism of values, include the topic of intentionality in
Edmund Husserl, the social character of Lebenswelt in Alfred
The concept of implicit religion, according to Edward
Schutz (1932), and lessons connected to the dark side of per-
Bailey, refers to people’s commitments, whether or not they
sonality in C. G. Jung. As an example, it is advisable to re-
take a religious form. The study of implicit religion began
member that the “polytheism of values” implies that the an-
in earnest in 1968, in the context of debate about seculariza-
tagonism between different divinities has become “an
tion, and concentrated upon the spirituality and ethos of sec-
everyday reality,” depriving itself from any residual fascina-
ular expression. This focus was determined because religious
tion coming from the myth. “To know how to face such an
studies already generally concentrated on organized forms of
everyday life” is the difficult duty of modern humans, in op-
religious belief, ritual, and community. In his conclusion to
position between the ethics of conviction and the ethics of
three studies on implicit religion in contemporary society,
responsibility. For Weber, the meaning of the polytheistic
Bailey wrote:
experience marks the descending course of Jewish-Christian
monotheism and implies a viewpoint including the subject’s
Implicit religion which largely includes the empirical
Christianity as well as the secular face of contemporary
act, whose meaning cannot be traced back to an exclusive
society, unlike archaic religion, is neither ecstatic nor
theodicy (Weber, 1920–1921, pp. 264–265).
corporate; and unlike historical religion, it is neither
According to Nesti, implicit religion is a phenomenon,
segmented nor visionary. So for most men, religion in
an analytical cipher of the difficulties of existential indepen-
general, and implicit in particular, is, and is likely to re-
dence and of the symbolic-prescriptive transignification in
main, dimensional in character, with extensive influ-
ence, rather than relational, with specific power. Yet
progress in contemporary society, particularly in Western
moderation, or even inertia, can be held to as doggedly
Christianity. The extent of such religiousness involves three
as apocalyptic or eschatology is preached or conversions
factors. The first factor is connected to symbols and beliefs
are pursued. Belief may be fanatical, although still im-
and rules and practices characteristic of the explicit “religious
plicit (Bailey, 1983, p. 81).
factor.” Between the explicit morphology and the meaning
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4402
IMPURITY
dimension correlated to it, a level that is in itself ambivalent
nomena.” In The Handbook on Cults and Sects in America,
is wedged in: consider silence and voice phenomenology, as
edited by David G. Bromley and Jeffrey K. Hadden. Green-
well as the symbolicity of ritual dynamics.
wich, Conn., 1993.
The second factor must be traced among the “topoi”
Hamilton, Malcolm. “Implicit Religion and Related Concepts:
Seeing Precisions.” Implicit Religion 4 (2001): 5–13.
critical to the Christian “religious system” as a source of plau-
sibility. Thus, an implicit religiousness can be traced in: (1)
Luckmann, Thomas. The Invisible Religion: The Problem of Reli-
Christianity without faith; (2) Christianity without church;
gion in Modern Society. New York, 1967.
and (3) Christianity from an esoteric approach. A third fac-
Nesti, Arnaldo. Il religioso implicito. Rome, 1985.
tor must be reconstructed outside and in contrast to the “reli-
Nesti, Arnaldo. “Lo religioso hoy: Arquitectura de un Labirinto.
gious system” itself. There is, thus, an implicit hidden reli-
Primeros Apuntes.” Universidad de Mexico no. 610 (2002):
giousness outside the “sacred fence.” In particular, such an
11–22.
implicitness is acquired in: (1) agnosticism; (2) skepticism
Nesti, Arnaldo, ed. La religione implicita: Sociologi e teologi a con-
characterized by the art of living in the uncertainty of the
fronto. Bologna, Italy, 1994.
present; and (3) atheism as metaphor provided with a radical
Robertson, Roland. The Sociological Interpretation of Religion. Ox-
meaning.
ford, 1970.
The specific nature of implicit religion lies in the at-
Schutz, Alfred. Der Sinnhafte Aufbau der sozialen Welt: Eine Ein-
tempt to override prejudices and stereotypes with the mecha-
leitung in die Verstehende Sociologie. Vienna, 1932.
nism of forced repetition, so as to understand life and the
Towler, Robert. Homo Religiosus: Sociological Problems in the Study
world as experienced by people in the process of living. It is
of Religion. London, 1974.
necessary to go beyond such common schemes as the identi-
Weber, Max. Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Religions-soziologie. Tübing-
fication of the religious with churches, sects, and institutions,
en, Germany, 1920–1921.
or the dichotomy of secular and sacred, as well the antonyms
A
visible and invisible, sacred and profane.
RNALDO NESTI (2005)
The outlined survey, in all its diversity, refers to a pres-
ence, to a unifying principle. Even if the word and the exact
IMPURITY SEE PURIFICATION
reference is missing within the socioreligious tradition, the
perception of its issues and of the dynamic from which its
meaning derives, is not absent. By applying the concept of
implicit religion, we are induced to pass beyond convention-
INANNA. Inanna, the Sumerian astral deity representing
al representations of religion to a concept of religion that be-
the planet Venus, was known throughout the Mesopotamian
gins with the experience of the subject, and thus to a new
world. The Akkadians (and later the Assyro-Babylonians)
reading of the religious within the objective religious plu-
called her Ishtar. For both the Sumerians and the Akkadians
riverse.
she was the principal goddess in their respective pantheons.
Inanna-Ishtar’s closest counterparts to the west are the Ca-
SEE ALSO Invisible Religion; Popular Religion; Seculariza-
naanite Astarte and the later goddesses of Greece and Rome,
tion; Society and Religion.
Aphrodite and Venus.
When the Semitic Akkadians settled in the lower Tigris-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Euphrates Basin, they assimilated the preexisting, predomi-
Bailey, Edward. “The Implicit Religion of Contemporary Society:
nantly Sumerian culture. Comparative Semitic evidence sug-
An Orientation and Plea for Its Study.” Religion 13 (1983):
69–83.
gests that the Akkadian Venus deity was originally masculine
but became completely feminized when identified with the
Bailey, Edward. “The Implicit Religion of Contemporary Society:
female Sumerian deity Inanna. Because of the eventual syn-
Some Studies and Reflections.” Social Compass 37, no. 4
cretism of the Sumerian and Akkadian pantheons, the tradi-
(1990): 483–498.
tions concerning Inanna-Ishtar are extremely complicated.
Bailey, Edward. Implicit Religion in Contemporary Society. Kam-
By one such tradition she is the daughter of the sky god An,
pen, Netherlands, 1997.
by another the daughter of the moon god Nanna-Sin (and
Bellah, Robert N. Beyond Belief: Essays on Religion in a Post-
thereby the sister of the sun god Utu-Shamash), and by still
Traditional World. New York, 1970.
another the daughter of Enlil or Ashur. Similarly, Inanna-
Cipriani, Roberto, and Arnaldo Nesti. “Due interventi sul religio-
Ishtar was associated with more than one consort, alternately
so implicito.” Religioni e Società 14 (1992): 77–92.
Zababa of Kish, Ashur, An, and Dumuzi (called Tammuz
Dupré, Wilhelm. “Implicit Religion and the Meaning of the Reli-
by the Akkadians). Although her main cult center was Uruk,
gious Dialogue.” Studies in Interreligious Dialogue I, no. 2
she was worshiped in many other localities, each of which
(1991): 129–145.
gave her rather diverse epithets and characteristics.
Greil, Arthur L. “Exploration along the Sacred Frontier: Notes on
INANNA IN SUMERIAN AND AKKADIAN MYTHOLOGY. The
Para-Religions, Quasi-Religions, and Other Boundary Phe-
myth entitled “Inanna Takes Command of Heaven” tells the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INANNA
4403
story of how Inanna managed to bring down the Eanna, “the
Ereshkigal apparently agrees but orders that Inanna should
house of An,” from heaven and thus become “mistress of
observe all the rituals customary in the Kur. No one may
heaven.” Unfortunately the text has many lacunae, missing
enter her realm dressed in finery, as the mistress of heaven
many passages of this remarkable adventure. The narrative
had intended to do. So Inanna is allowed to enter, but at
begins with the decision of Inanna to take control of the
every gate she has to take off part of her clothing. When she
Eanna and her appeal to her brother Utu for help in this task.
comes before Ereshkigal, she is completely naked. Ereshkigal
The inner motives of the goddess, if her words are accurate,
has a fit of uncontrolled rage when she sees her sister and
are the result of her wounded pride at being raped and a
turns her into a “corpse.”
vague promise by An. However, no one knows where on
“Three days and three nights have passed,” and Ninshu-
earth the house of An is. Consequently, Inanna asks the assis-
bur carries out the orders Inanna gave her. Ninshubur goes
tance of a fisherman who has experience in sailing in the
to Nippur first and then to Ur, where she begs the gods of
marsh. He willingly agrees, and after repeated attempts Inan-
the two towns to save Inanna, who is being held in the Kur.
na finally finds the Eanna in the marsh. It is impossible to
But the two gods are unyielding. Ninshubur must go to
know what defenses An had set up so the house would not
Eridu. There the god Enki feels sorry for Inanna, although
be robbed, but certainly the scorpion with which Inanna
he criticizes the way she has behaved. Enki creates two sprites
fights must have been one. The text resumes with An’s hurt
and gives them the job of saving Inanna by bringing her “the
and regret for the theft that has occurred, but at the same
food of life and the water of life.” Galatur and Kurgarra, the
time he makes the prudent decision to leave things as they
two sprites, go down to the underworld, and after a detailed
are. The Eanna will from now on be the “most splendid tem-
discussion with Ereshkigal, they are allowed to take away the
ple in Sumeria.” A summary of the myth is given in lines
corpse of Inanna, which they bring back to life. But no one
159–163, where the theft that has taken place and the new
may break the unbending rules of the underworld, so Inanna
reality are once more emphasized. The Eanna will be the
must provide a substitute in her place. When she leaves the
abode of the rule of Inanna, who is praised as “the greatest
Kur, she is accompanied by demons ready to seize and take
of all the heavenly gods.”
back the one who is to replace her. On her return Inanna
Completely different in tone is the narrative better
meets Ninshubur first, then Shara her son, then Lulal, but
known as the “The Descent of Inanna to the Underworld.”
she refuses to allow the demons to take any of them because
It could be renamed “The Ascent of Inanna to the Land of
they had mourned the disappearance of the goddess. Contin-
No Return” because, on the basis of continuing scholarship
uing the journey, the group arrives in Uruk, where Inanna’s
and the recovery of less ambiguous epigraphic evidence, the
husband Dumuzi, instead of weeping, is amusing himself.
country to which the goddess goes is once again the Kur, “the
The goddess becomes angry and lets the demons take Du-
mythical mountain” located east of Sumer, in modern Iran.
muzi. However, Dumuzi asks the god Utu to transform him
As Silvia Chiodi (1994) has shown, there is no mention in
into a serpent to escape from the demons trying to capture
the Sumerian texts that the mythical Kur—from which life
him.
arose, including the gods and plants, and to which the spirits
In the variant from Ur, the demons are tired of the god-
of the dead return, as it were to return to the life-giving ele-
dess’s outbursts and ask her to return to the Kur, so Inanna
ment from which they originated—is located beneath the
hurries to have her husband seized. At this point the appeal
earth. Besides, the ambiguous verb e// (to go up and to go
to Utu and the request to be transformed into a serpent are
down) used in this myth has been greatly clarified in the
repeated, and Dumuzi takes refuge in the house of his sister
myth of Inanna and Shukalletuda by the variant verb íla,
Geshtinanna. The demons arrive at Geshtinanna’s house and
which can mean nothing except “to go up.” The myth,
ask for her brother, but she does not reveal that he has taken
which is written in an expansive, grandiose style and in high-
refuge with her. The demons nevertheless find Dumuzi in
ly poetic language, describes the attempt, on this occasion
the sheepfold, where they capture him. When the main text
unsuccessful, made by Inanna to expand her sphere of influ-
resumes, the fate of the fly is decided, for reasons that elude
ence by taking control of the Kur, the undisputed realm of
the reader, and Inanna decides that Dumuzi’s sister should
Queen Ereshkigal.
share his fate: “six months for him, six months for her.” The
concluding doxology sweetly praises the queen of the under-
After Inanna has decided upon this action, she leaves
world. Similar descriptions of the land of the dead are in the
earth and the sanctuaries dedicated to her, dresses in an ap-
myth of Nergal and Ereshkigal and the classic Epic of
propriate fashion with clothes and jewels that symbolize her
Gilgamesh.
divine power, and sets off on her journey. Before she leaves
she tells her faithful ambassador Ninshubur that if things go
Of the two Akkadian recensions of the myth, the Mid-
wrong she must go to Nippur, Ur, and Eridu to plead for
dle Assyrian version, because of its shortness (a mere eleven
the assistance of the gods on her behalf. Inanna presents her-
lines), does not provide new information of any importance.
self at the gates of the great palace, which is defended by
The New Assyrian recension is 138 lines long and is com-
seven walls, and asks Neti to allow her to come in. Neti asks
plete, but a comparison with the Sumerian version of the so-
her to wait so he can obtain permission from the queen.
called “descent” of Inanna to the underworld, over 400 lines
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4404
INANNA
long, is required despite their clearly different cultural mi-
combat with the Kur. She sends a torrent of water and a
lieus. The main events and divine characters are certainly
burning fire to subdue the lively spirits of the Kur, and she
similar if not identical. The queen of the underworld in both
reduces the mountain, previously an earthly paradise, to a si-
myths is the same, Ereshkigal, the Sumerian goddess who
lent desert. At this point the goddess describes the outcome
rules the realm of the dead. The heavenly goddess who goes
of the war and sets out the fate of the vanquished. She follows
to the other world is Inanna in the Sumerian myth, whereas
with a new, haughty auto-eulogy, in which she praises her
in the New Assyrian myth it is Ishtar. The two goddesses had
memorable victory over the Kur. The concluding doxology
been amalgamated by Mesopotamian religious tradition.
is addressed to Nisaba, the goddess of academia, from where
The other gods who become involved are mostly the same,
this text definitely originated.
starting with Dumuzi and ending with Sin and Ea (Nanna
and Enki, respectively). The herald is different, Ninshubur
In Sumerian literature the following myth is often called
in the Sumerian recension, Papsukkal in the New Assyrian
“Theft of the Divine Powers by Inanna from Enki.” In fact,
version.
nothing could be more inaccurate and inconsistent. On this
occasion Inanna has done nothing wrong to anyone, and
The New Assyrian account, though more condensed
what has been considered “theft” is in fact a completely vol-
and concise than the Sumerian version, still provides sub-
untary gift from the god of wisdom. As the myth begins the
stantial new elements. For example, the scribe stresses the di-
goddess of Uruk is standing in front of a mirror admiring
sastrous consequences for humanity and livestock caused by
her beauty, including her private parts. Inanna is not con-
Ishtar’s departure from the earth, described by Papsukkal
tent, however; she needs something further to complete her
when he tries to get first Sin and then Ea to secure the release
portrait. So she decides to go to Enki and ask him for some-
of the goddess from the underworld. He also describes the
thing related to sex. The god of wisdom foresees her visit and
far from pleasant nature of life in the underworld, not only
gives orders for Inanna to be received with full honors. When
for the dead but also for the queen of the underworld. In
Inanna arrives, Enki’s herald Isimud extends full hospitality
place of the two sprites, Galatur and Kurgarra, created by
and lays on a banquet for the guest, which Enki attends. But
Enki to save Inanna, here Ea creates “Asushunammir, the
Enki drinks too much and becomes drunk. At this point
court jester,” who is assigned the task of moving Ereshkigal.
Enki volunteers to give Inanna divine powers or the essence
The ending of the story is also different. In the New Assyrian
of all things, and she accepts them happily. She makes a list
version the return of Dumuzi from the underworld altogeth-
of all the good things she has received, loads the gifts on her
er with the dead is mentioned, albeit optatively, something
ship and sets off back to Uruk.
which is quite incomprehensible, as Wolfram von Soden
(1967) points out in his commentary on the passage.
When Inanna has left port, Enki becomes himself again
and, aware that he has been thoughtless, wants to recover the
Once again the Kur is the main focus of Inanna’s atten-
divine powers now heading to Uruk. After an interlude
tion in the following myth, which illustrates the fundamental
about a frog, whose fate is determined by Enki, the god sends
point that the Sumerians considered the “mythical moun-
Isimud on a mission to ask Inanna to return the gifts she has
tain” the source of life and all good things. Inanna turns to
been given. Six times Inanna, with the aid of Ninshubur’s
her brother Utu, the sun god, and asks if she can sail with
magic, manages to prevent the monsters sent by Enki from
him in his daily journey across the vault of heaven toward
taking control of her ship, which is sailing the arc of heaven.
the Kur to enjoy the wonderful plants there. She is particu-
The ship finally reaches Uruk, where it is welcomed joyfully.
larly interested in discovering the secret of female charms and
Enki still cannot take in what has happened and sends his
the techniques of love with man. Only after she has experi-
herald to Uruk with a list of the goods taken by Inanna.
enced what love may mean is she prepared to go back to the
Meanwhile, the joyous atmosphere at Uruk affects everyone.
city of her birth and resume her family role as mother, moth-
Inanna renames all the city districts and assures her people
er-in-law, and sister-in-law. The text concludes with a new
of all the benefits that will result from the arrival of the divine
hymn to the sun god that emphasizes his assistance to all
powers. At this point Enki has no choice but to accept the
those in trouble, from travelers to widows and orphans. The
loss and forecast the undoubted future greatness of Uruk.
final sentence expresses the joy and relief of all those who can
L
travel in his light.
OVE STORIES. Among the accounts of the lovers and love
stories of the goddess is the myth of “Inanna and Shukalletu-
Another interesting Sumerian text begins with a descrip-
da.” The main theme is the misfortune of Inanna when she
tion and a hymn to the goddess with clear warlike qualities.
is raped by a mortal man, who must be punished with death.
An auto-eulogy describes the activities of Inanna and ob-
The story begins with a description of the goddess Inanna
serves that only the Kur has refused to submit. The goddess
and her journey to the Kur, where she aims to enhance her
dresses suitably and appears before her father An, seeking jus-
divine powers. After the first break comes the story of the cre-
tice. She virtually asks him to agree to her interfering in the
ation of the palm tree by Enki and the raven. Now the sec-
Kur, but An strongly advises his daughter against such action
ond main character Shukalletuda is introduced, seen trying
because he is convinced that this is another of Inanna’s tan-
desperately to water a flowerbed. Then follows the key mo-
trums. Inanna remains implacable and engages in deadly
ment in the myth, the rape of the virgin Inanna while she
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INANNA
4405
is resting under the shade of the only poplar in the garden.
tainty to the Old Babylonian period, more accurately during
When Inanna realizes what has happened to her, she intends
the reign of Hammurabi, who is mentioned by name. At the
to punish the perpetrator. She sends plagues to the earth, first
beginning the goddess and all her qualities are described, es-
putting blood in the wells of the country, then she sends a
pecially the strength that makes her so cut out for war. But
hurricane and a sandstorm, in the end completely sealing off
the goddess certainly overdoes matters, because all the gods,
every road in the land.
particularly the god of wisdom Ea, find her behavior com-
pletely unacceptable. Ea decides to check the goddess’s reck-
Shukalletuda has been able to escape the anger of the
less behavior by creating a match for her. The new creature
goddess by hiding among his own people, so the goddess
is formed from the dirt underneath the nails of the god of
turns to Enki for help. Enki allows her to find Shukalletuda,
wisdom, and she is aggressive as well as beautiful. The god
who is condemned to death. The wrongdoer tries to excuse
Ea gives her the task of defeating Ishtar, along with useful
himself, explaining to the goddess that he was not really to
advice. Ishtar has learned of the changed situation, however,
blame, but this only angers her even more. Her only promise
and sends her herald Ninshubur to find out what Saltu
is that the name of Shukalletuda will be remembered in song
(meaning “strife”) is like and how powerful she is. The con-
after his death. After Shukalletuda’s fate has been settled
test between the two goddesses is fierce, but because they are
there is a hymn of praise for the holy Inanna.
evenly matched, neither wins or loses. Ishtar, at this point
The myth concerning the death of Dumuzi, the beloved
in the story, has a new name, Agushaya. She is unable to bear
husband of Inanna, on the other hand, is part of a series of
the shame of defeat, so she turns to Ea, asking him for an
stories about the strained relationship between Inanna, the
explanation of the changed situation and to eliminate her op-
mistress of heaven and of Uruk, and Dumuzi, the shepherd
ponent. Ea willingly agrees to what Ishtar asks, reconfirming
whom she loves, at least according to the love poems that
the function of the goddess on earth and inviting humanity
have survived. A completely negative view of the lovers of In-
to celebrate a feast to mark the creation of Saltu and the ulti-
anna is presented in the three redactions of the Epic of Gil-
mate victory of Ishtar. In the doxology Ishtar and her patron
gamesh that recount the episode when Ishtar falls in love with
Ea are praised for the defeat of Saltu.
the hero. The passage in which Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar’s
offer that he become her husband, completely enraging the
SEE ALSO Dumuzi; Gilgamesh; Goddess Worship, overview
goddess, who at once sets about punishing him for this insult
article; Hierodouleia; Hieros Gamos; Mesopotamian Reli-
by sending down to earth the Bull of Heaven, has no equiva-
gions, overview article.
lent in the Sumerian story of the same episode, where the rea-
son for the quarrel seems to be political rather than emotion-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
al. To find anything like what is described here, it is
Abusch, Tzvi. “Ishtar’s Proposal and Gilgamesh’s Refusal: An In-
necessary to resort to Sumerian literary texts on love concern-
terpretation of the Gilgamesh Epic, Tablet 6, Lines 1–79.”
ing the goddess Inanna.
History of Religions 26 (1986): 143–178.
The detailed list of the jilted lovers of Ishtar spans the
Abusch, Tzvi. “Ishtar.” In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the
Bible, edited by Karel van der Toom, Bob Becking, and
human and divine worlds and even includes the beasts of
Pieter W. van der Horst, pp. 847–855. Leiden, 1995.
the earth, who have all received scant reward for their love
of the goddess. Following is a list of the lovers and their re-
Attinger, Pascal. “Inana et Ebiæ.” Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 88
wards:
(1998): 164–195.
Chiodi, Silvia Maria. Le concezioni dell’Oltretomba presso i Sumeri.
Dumuzi year after year of mourning
Memorie dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Classe di
the bird Alallu broken wings
Scienze Morali, Storiche e Filologiche, ser. 9, vol. 4, fasc. 5.
Rome, 1994.
lion ditches dug
Farber-Flügge, Gertrud. Der Mythos Inanna und Enki unter be-
horse bridle, whip, and reins
sonderer Berücksichtigung der Liste der me. Studia Pohl 10.
Rome, 1973.
shepherd changed into a wolf
Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. In the Wake of the Goddesses. New York,
Ishullanu the gardener turned into a mole
1992.
It can be understood why Gilgamesh refuses her enticing
Groneberg, Brigitte. “Philologische Bearbeitung des Agushaya-
offer, especially when it becomes clear that the goddess is of-
hymnus.” Revue d’Assyriologie 75 (1981): 107–134.
fering the king of Uruk a kingdom in the underworld.
Harris, R. “Inanna-Ishtar as Paradox and a Coincidence of Oppo-
sites.” History of Religions 31 (1991): 261–278.
The myth of “Ishtar and Saltu” was intended to be sung
and includes notes on how it should be sung, as well as evi-
Heimpel, Wolfgang. “A Catalog of Near Eastern Venus Deities.”
dence of a refrain. It is reasonable to conclude that it was di-
Syro-Mesopotamian Studies 4 (1982): 9–22.
vided into more than ten songs that tell of the occasion when
Lambert, W. G. “The Cult of Ishtar of Babylon.” In Le temple et
the gods were forced to take strong measures to curb the high
le culte, pp. 104–106. Istanbul, 1975.
spirits of the goddess. Its composition can be dated with cer-
Pettinato, Giovanni. Mitologia Sumerica. Turin, Italy, 2001.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4406
INCANTATION
Sefati, Yitschak. Love-Songs in Sumerian Literature: Critical Edi-
of incantation, it must be remembered that, to the people
tion of the Dumuzi-Inanna Songs. Bar-Ilan Studies in Near
involved, the proper chanting of the formula itself has perfor-
Eastern Languages and Culture. Ramat Gan, Israel, 1998.
mative power. To them it does not express or symbolize
Soden, Wolfram von. “Kleine Beiträge zu Text und Erklärung ba-
some other action—it does it. When, for example, the incan-
bylonischer Epen.” Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 58 (1967):
tation experts of the Trobriand Islanders chant over the
189–193.
newly planted yam vines, “Raise thy stalk, O taytu. Make it
Van Dijk, J. J. A. “Inanna raubt den ‘grossen Himmel’: Ein My-
flare up, make it lie across!” (Malinowski, 1935, vol. 1,
thos.” In Festschrift für Rykle Borger zu seinem 65. Geburtstag
p. 146), the people know that the “hearing” of these com-
am 24. Mai 1994. Tikip santakki mala baˇsmu, edited by Ste-
mands by the tubers is what makes them sprout and grow.
fan M. Maul, pp. 9–38. Groningen, Netherlands, 1998.
It is not, however, just any words that have such power.
Volk, Konrad. Inanna und Sˇukalletuda: Zur historisch-politischen
Incantations are special verbal formulas that in a variety of
Deutung eines sumerischen Literaturwerkes. Wiesbaden, Ger-
ways, depending upon the particular cultural tradition, tap
many, 1995.
into sacred power. They may, for example, contain powerful
GIOVANNI PETTINATO (2005)
scriptural expressions, mantras, or sacred names. They are
Translated from Italian by Paul Ellis
usually rhythmically organized and chanted repeatedly. They
may use special devices such as foreign or unintelligible
words, “abracadabra” nonsense phrases. The Anglo-Saxon
INCANTATION.
medical-incantation treatise Lacnunga provides an example,
The practice of incantation (Lat., in-
using powerful names and impressive nonsense words:
cantatio, from incantare, “to chant a religious formula”) dif-
fers considerably from culture to culture. For the purposes
Sing this prayer over the black blains nine times: first,
of this cross-cultural overview, however, incantation can be
Paternoster. “Tigath tigath tigath calicet aclu cluel sedes
understood as the authorized use of rhythmically organized
adclocles acre earcre arnem nonabiuth aer aernem ni-
words of power that are chanted, spoken, or written to ac-
dren arcum cunath arcum arctua fligara uflen binchi
cutern nicuparam raf afth egal uflen arta arta arta
complish a desired goal by binding spiritual powers to act in
trauncula trauncula. [In Latin:] Seek and you shall find.
a favorable way.
I adjure you by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that
Since incantation uses words to move spiritual powers
you grow no larger but that you dry up. . . . Cross
and accomplish a desired result, this practice is related to
Matthew, cross Mark, cross Luke, cross John.” (Grattan
other uses of sacred language such as prayer, invocation,
and Singer, 1952, p. 107; my trans.)
blessing, and cursing. Verbal formulas associated with prayer
It should be noted that, although the primary power of an
beseech the spiritual powers for certain actions or maintain
incantation resides in its oral presentation, once these formu-
communication by praise and submission. However, verbal
las could be written down, the chirographic (handwritten)
formulas associated with incantation are designed to perform
text itself contributed to the potency of the incantation.
the desired result by “obliging” (Lat., obligare, “to bind”)
From before 600 CE come Jewish-related Aramaic incanta-
spiritual powers. Invocation, blessing, and cursing are used
tion texts written by experts on bowls and designed to ward
with both prayer and incantation.
off various sorts of evil. Such power could now be extended
THE POWER OF INCANTATION. Even though practices of in-
even into the realm of the dead, as in the case of Middle
cantation differ widely from culture to culture, its validity
Kingdom Egyptian incantations inscribed on the inside wall
or efficacy appears to depend on cultural consensus about a
of coffins, by which the various gods and demons encoun-
number of primary factors, namely, the power of the chanted
tered by the soul would be bound to act beneficially.
verbal formula, the authority of the incantor, the receptivity
The chanter’s authority. Closely connected to the
of spiritual forces both good and evil, the connection with
power of the verbal formula is the authority of the incantors.
the religious or mythological tradition, and the power of the
These may be experts in terms of learning or ecclesiastical au-
accompanying ritual.
thority, like Daoist priests or Christian monks; they may be
The power of the formula. Societies that use incanta-
people who have been specially initiated into the use of such
tions understand them to be performative, that is, they ac-
power, like various kinds of shamans; they may be charismat-
complish what they say. The act of chanting the verbal for-
ic holy ones who keep certain special observances or practices
mula itself has power. Scholars have put forth a variety of
that sanction their authority. In the incantation itself, the
explanations concerning the effect incantations have for peo-
chanter often clothes himself in the aura of divine authority
ple. Older theories considered incantation to be a form of
and power. A Malay shaman, drawing authority from both
magic, an attempt to control and manipulate the forces of
Hinduism and Islam, outroars a thunderstorm:
nature. More recent theories have suggested that incanta-
Om! Virgin goddess, Mahadewi! Om!
tions are expressive of needs and wishes or symbolize a de-
Cub am I of mighty tiger!
sired result, or that they have the psychological effect of re-
EAli’s line through me descends!
structuring reality in the minds of people. Although these
My voice is the rumble of thunder, . . .
explanations may provide certain insights into the meaning
By virtue of my charm got from EAli
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INCANTATION
4407
And of Islam’s confession of faith. (Winstedt, 1925, p. 59)
The accompanying ritual actions. While incantations
can be used alone without any accompanying actions, in
Receptivity of the spiritual forces. The power of the
most cultures the chanting of incantations is usually associat-
incantation further derives from the people’s shared under-
ed with the power of other ritual actions. The incantation
standing of the nature and receptivity of the spiritual powers
may be related to a ritual object that it empowers with sacred
to be moved and bound by the powerful words. That spiritu-
force. For treating a child with worms, the Javanese doctor
al entity may be simply an object or person that is to perform
chants over a special herb: “In the name of God, the Merci-
in a certain way. At other times, the incantation invokes,
ful, the Compassionate! Grandmother spirit, Grandfather
with careful mention of names, spirits, or gods who control
spirit. . . . The harmful worms—may they all die. The
aspects of nature and life, empowering or binding them to
good worms—may they stay for the whole length of the
act beneficially. Ritual specialists of Java, when burying the
child’s life” (Geertz, 1960, p. 93). Cherokee specialists al-
umbilical cord of a newborn baby, intone the following
most always chant their incantations over tobacco, “remak-
words: “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassion-
ing” or empowering the tobacco to perform the desired bene-
ate! Father Earth, Mother Earth, I am about to leave in your
fit. A Daoist priest chants this incantation over a small
care the birthcord of the baby. . . . Don’t bother the baby.
puppet as he rubs it over a patient: “Substitute, be thou in
This is necessary because of Allah. If you do bother him, you
place of the fore part of the body, . . . be thou in place of
will by punished by God” (Geertz, 1960, p. 46).
the back parts, . . . be thou in place of the left side, that
health may be ensured to him for year upon year” (de Groot,
A great many incantations are addressed to evil spirits
1967, vol. 6, p. 1260). Incantation texts are often accompa-
or demons, conjuring them to leave or stay away. It is ex-
nied by directions for ritual actions. For example, an ancient
tremely important that the incantor name and identify the
Mesopotamian incantation for potency commands: “Let the
origin and characteristics of the evil power in order to bind
ass swell up! Let him mount the jenny! Let the buck get an
it. Pre-Spanish Maya incantations, for example, list detailed
erection! Let him again and again mount the young she-
knowledge about the evil spirit of the disease, recounting its
goat!”; then the ritual directions follow: “Pulverized magnet-
parentage, its lustful impulses that inspired its shameful
ic iron ore you put [into] puru oil; you recite the incantation
birth, and all its characteristics; they then proceed to consign
over it seven times; the man rubs his penis, the woman her
the spirit to the foul-smelling underworld or to cast it into
vagina with the oil, then he can have intercourse” (Biggs,
the wind to fall behind the sky. An Aramaic incantation be-
1967, p. 33). Incantation and ritual together accomplish the
comes very specific in naming one of the many demons: “I
desired result.
adjure you, Lilith H:ablas, granddaughter of Lilith Zarnai,
FORMS OF ADDRESS. Within the great diversity of forms
. . . the one who fills deep places, strikes, smites, casts down,
taken by the incantation formulas in different cultures and
strangles, kills, and casts down boys and girls, male and fe-
even within the same culture, a number of standard types can
male foetuses,” while another text conjures by name nearly
be discerned in the way spiritual powers are addressed. Many
eighty demons and spirits of evils or sicknesses (Isbell, 1975,
operate with the command form, using imperatives or state-
pp. 61, 121–122), showing that, occasionally, an incantation
ments of obligation to bind the spiritual powers to the de-
will name a whole series of evil spirits and demons—just to
sired action. Other incantations use the declaratory mode to
be sure that the right one is included.
establish the hoped-for result. And there are other incanta-
Connection of the chant with tradition. The success-
tions that approach the prayer mode, beseeching or charm-
ful operation of the incantation depends on its connection
ing the spiritual powers to take the beneficial action. Many
with the religious or mythological tradition of the people. In
times, of course, incantations use a combination of these
one way or another, the incantation fits the specific human
three forms.
circumstance into the larger pattern of sacred existence and
The command form, at its simplest, consists in naming
power as known in the religion of the people. Incantations
the spiritual power and binding it to the desired action with
in which such patterns are made explicit can be called narra-
an imperative. The High German “Pro Nessia” incantation
tive incantations. For example, Scottish incantations are reg-
from the ninth century CE, driving out the worm spirit that
ularly grounded in stories or legends about Christ and his
causes disease, is pure command:
disciples, as in this example: “Christ went on an ass, / She
sprained her foot, / He came down / And healed her foot;
Go out, nesso,
with the nine little ones,
/ As He healed that / May He heal this, / And greater than
out from the marrow into the veins,
this, / If it be His will to do” (Carmichael, 1928, vol. 2,
from the veins into the flesh,
p. 17). An ancient Egyptian narrative incantation, relating
from the flesh into the hide,
at great length how Isis rescued her son Horus from a scorpi-
from the hide into this arrow.
on’s bite, concludes with the main point: “It means that
Three paternosters. (Hampp, 1961, p. 118; my trans.)
Horus lives for his mother—and that the sufferer lives for
his mother likewise; the poison is powerless!” (Borghouts,
In Burma, an exorcist addresses many powers of the super-
1978, pp. 62–69).
natural world in a general incantation in order to focus his
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4408
INCANTATION
powerful command on the ouktazaun (minor spirit) that is
I ask you to go and enter the body of this girl,
possessing his client: “To all the samma and brahma devas
Burning her heart as this sand burns,
of the sky heavens; to all the ghosts, monsters, and other evil
Fired with love for me. (Winstedt, 1925, p. 165)
creatures; to the ogres of the earth; to the master witches and
PURPOSES OF INCANTATION. Purposes for the use of incanta-
the wizards; to the evil nats and the ouktazauns: I command
tion differ widely and cover the whole gamut of life needs
you to leave. I command you by the glory of the Triple Gems
of individuals and societies. It is possible, however, to classify
[Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha]” (Spiro, 1967, p. 177).
incantations, according to their purpose, into three broad
Very often incantations use a declaratory mode to per-
categories: defensive, productive, and malevolent.
form the intended result of binding evil forces or compelling
Defensive incantations. Among defensive incanta-
the good, declaring the desired state to be a reality in the
tions, a major purpose is prophylactic or apotropaic, that is,
present or the future. A Cherokee incantation designed to
warding off evil spirits and their troubles, especially in the
break up a happily married couple, for the benefit of a forgot-
critical passages of life. Classic among apotropaic incanta-
ten lover, simply declares the result to be so:
tions are those widespread in the ancient Near East, directed
Now! Very quickly pillow your head upon the Soul of
against demonic powers called liliths—ghostly paramours of
the Dog, outside, where there is loneliness!
men, who attack women during their periods and at child-
birth and who devour children. An incantation bowl binds
Your name is ______.
these demons:
In the very middle of your two bodies loneliness has
I adjure you, every species of lilith, in the name of your
just come to think.
offspring which demons and liliths bore. . . . Woe,
You are to be broken in the Pathway.
tramplers, scourgers, mutilaters, breakers, disturbers,
squeezers, muzzlers, and dissolvers like water. . . . You
Now! Where the joining is has just come to be divided.
are fearful, terrified, and bound to my exorcism, you
Your two souls have just come to be divided somewhere
who appear to the sons of men—to men in the likeness
in the Valley.
of women and to women in the likeness of men—you
who lie with people during the night and during the
Without breaking your soul, I have just come to stupefy
day. (Isbell, 1975, pp. 17–18)
you with the Smoke of the Blue Tobacco. (Kilpatrick and
Kilpatrick, 1965, pp. 139–140)
Vedic incantation from ancient India is directed against the
fiends who cause pregnant women to abort: “The blood-
When the Trobriand sorcerer tours the gardens with their
sucking demon, and him that tries to rob health, Kanva, the
budding leaves, he intones, “The yam rises and swells like a
devourer of our offspring, destroy, O Prisniparni [medicinal
bush-hen’s nest. The yam rises and swells like a baking-
plant], and overcome!” (Atharvaveda 2.25.4, as cited in
mound. . . . For these are my yams, and my kinsmen will
Bloomfield, 1964, p. 22). The Egyptian Coffin Texts testify
eat them up. My mother will die of surfeit, I myself will die
to the need for incantations to ward off the evil powers who
of repletion” (Malinowski, 1935, vol. 1, p. 146). It is in this
feast on the soul in the passage of death.
declaratory mode that blessings and curses are often formu-
lated, focusing on the person or thing to be involved and de-
The other major use of defensive incantations is for the
claring the favorable or unfavorable state to be a reality.
expulsion of evil powers that have taken up abode. A Malay
Muslim shaman exorcises the demon of disease, reciting first
A third mode of expression in many incantations is that
the creation story and then chanting,
of beseeching or charming the sacred powers to act benevo-
lently. This form approaches that of prayer and, at times, is
Where is this genie lodging and taking shelter?. . .
indistinguishable from it. Yet the typical expressions, “May
Genie! if thou art in the feet of this patient,
you,” “Let God,” “I ask you,” and the like, can also be under-
Know that these feet are moved by Allah and His prophet;
stood as compelling or binding the spiritual powers, not just
If thou are in the belly of this patient,
beseeching them. A Burmese doctor chants a prayer-spell
His belly is God’s sea, the sea, too, of Muhammad. . . .
over a sick girl, repeating it three times as he empowers many
(Winstedt, 1925, pp. 62–63)
spiritual beings for action: “May the five Buddhas, the nats,
Sickness can also be seen as the result of attack by rival hu-
and the Brahmas rest on the forehead [of the patient]; may
mans, and then the appropriate measure is a counterincanta-
Sakka rest on the eyes and ears, Thurasandi Devi on the
tion. The Atharva priest of ancient India chants over a special
mouth, and Matali on the hands, feet, and body, . . . and
ritual plant: “The spell which they skillfully prepare . . . we
may they guard and protect me” (Spiro, 1967, p. 152). And
drive it away! . . . With this herb have I destroyed all
the Malay incantor turns even to Iblis (Satan) and the other
spells. . . . Evil be to him that prepares evil, the curse shall
spirits and devils and firmly requests direct action on behalf
recoil upon him that utters curses: back do we hurl it against
of his lovesick client:
him, that it may slay him that fashions the spell” (Atharvave-
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!
da 10.1.1, 4–5, as cited in Bloomfield, 1964, p. 72).
Friend of mine, Iblis!
Productive incantations. A second purpose of incanta-
And all ye spirits and devils that love to trouble man!
tion is beneficial, that is, it promotes growth, health, and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INCANTATION
4409
happiness either by urging on the responsible inherent pow-
CONCLUSION. Incantations, as rhythmic or formulaic words
ers or by causing beneficial interference by divine powers. A
of power used to accomplish a desired goal by binding spiri-
curer in Java uses a massage and a spitting ritual with this
tual powers, have sometimes been considered as magic rather
incantation:
than religion, or as a form of religious practice lower than
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!
prayer. It is true that incantations oblige the powers to per-
May the Prophet Adam repair [the person],
form the action rather than prayerfully request them for it.
May Eve order [the person].
And it is also true that incantations have to do with self-
Untangle the tangled veins,
interest, sometimes at the expense of others. Yet they do rep-
Right the dislocated bones,
resent a religious mode of being in the world, albeit a mode
Make the fluids of the body feel pleasant, . . .
of aggression rather than simple submission to spiritual pow-
Health falls with my white spittle,
ers. The power of chanted words fits the events of human
Well, well, well, by the will of God. (Geertz, 1960, p. 94)
life into the pattern of the sacred realities that underlie and
support human existence. Far from being trivial, incanta-
A great many incantations of the productive type have to do
tions provide help for whatever deeply troubles or concerns
with love and sexual attraction, marriage, home and family,
humans: health, birth, love, marriage, family, prosperity,
potency, successful birth, and the like. The Cherokee, for ex-
death. Human existence is understood as a drama involving
ample, have a large variety of love incantations, for creating
the interaction of many spiritual powers, and, through the
loneliness in the desired person, for retaining affection of a
power of the chanted formula, a restructuring of these pow-
wandering mate, for acclimatizing a newlywed wife, or com-
ers is performed so that life can become more healthy, secure,
pelling a runaway spouse to return. Cherokee men and
prosperous, and happy.
women can use incantations to “rebeautify” themselves and
thus become attractive to a potential mate:
SEE ALSO Magic; Mantra; Names and Naming; Spells.
Now! I am as beautiful as the very blossoms themselves!
I am a man, you lovely ones, you women of the Seven
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Clans! . . .
Among the many works that include incantations from all over
the world, the following provide a representative survey from
All of you have just come to gaze upon me alone, the
ancient, medieval, and modern cultures.
most beautiful.
Biggs, Robert D. Sà. zi. ga: Ancient Mesopotamian Potency Incanta-
Now! You lovely women, already I just took your souls! I
tions. Locust Valley, N.Y., 1967. Translations and textual
am a man!
studies of incantations used in Mesopotamian society for this
You women will live in the very middle of my soul.
universal sexual problem.
Forever I will be as beautiful as the bright red blossoms!
Bloomfield, Maurice, trans. and ed. Hymns of the Atharva-Veda.
(Kilpatrick and Kilpatrick, 1965, pp. 86–87)
Delhi, 1964. Reprint of “Sacred Books of the East,” vol. 42
(Oxford, 1897). Translations and interpretations of the most
At times, productive incantations are needed to bring about
important incantations and hymns of the fourth Veda from
pregnancy, as this one from ancient India: “Into thy womb
ancient India by one of the outstanding American Sanskrit-
shall enter a male germ, as an arrow into a quiver! May a man
ists of the nineteenth century.
be born there, a son ten months old!” (Atharvaveda 3.23.2,
Borghouts, J. F., trans. Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts. Leiden,
as cited in Bloomfield, 1964, p. 97).
1978. Translations of a representative range of incantations
Malevolent incantations. A third purpose of incanta-
from ancient Egypt, dealing with concerns of everyday life,
tion is related to the need to harm, punish, or take revenge
mostly from the Middle Kingdom and later.
on enemies or rivals. A jilted woman can target her erstwhile
Carmichael, Alexander. Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incanta-
lover with this fierce imprecation:
tions, vol. 2. Edinburgh, 1928. Various incantations collect-
ed orally in the highlands and islands of Scotland and trans-
As the best of the plants thou art reputed, O herb; turn
lated into English.
this man for me today into a eunuch that wears his hair
Geertz, Clifford. The Religion of Java. Glencoe, Ill., 1960. Exten-
dressed! . . . Then Indra with a pair of stones shall
sive information about incantations in this important study
break his testicles both! O eunuch, into a eunuch thee
of the Javanese religious system, which combines Islam and
I have turned; O castrate, into a castrate thee I have
native spirit beliefs.
turned! (Atharvaveda 6.138.1–3, as cited in Bloomfield,
1964, p. 108)
Grattan, J. H. G., and Charles Singer. Anglo-Saxon Magic and
Medicine. Oxford, 1952. Some incantations and healing ritu-
The Cherokee bent on revenge learns from the shaman to
als especially from the semipagan text Lacnunga, translated
recite the name of his adversary, repeating the following in-
into modern English.
cantation four times and blowing his breath toward him after
Groot, J. J. M. de. The Religious System of China (1892–1910). 6
each rendition: “Your Pathways are Black: it was wood, not
vols. Reprint, Taipei, 1967. Especially volume 6 of this mul-
a human being! Dog excrement will cling nastily to you. You
tivolumed work contains traditional Chinese rituals and in-
will be living intermittently. . . . Your Black Viscera will be
cantations against specters.
lying all about. . . . Your Pathway lies toward the Night-
Hampp, Irmgard. Beschwörung, Segen, Gebet: Untersuchung zum
land!” (Kilpatrick and Kilpatrick, 1967, p. 127).
Zauberspruch aus dem Bereich der Volksheilkunde. Stuttgart,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4410
INCA RELIGION
1961. A rich sourcebook for incantations from German cul-
the ancient Andean peoples may one day be shown to com-
tures, providing also a study of types and purposes.
prise a system of ideograms.) Aside from scattered archaeo-
Isbell, Charles D. Corpus of the Aramaic Incantation Bowls. Mis-
logical evidence—including figurative and abstract images
soula, Mont., 1975. Texts and translations of all the pub-
on stone and wood, funerary pieces, and some fresco frag-
lished Aramaic texts inscribed on incantation bowls, from
ments—we possess documents (written in Spanish and, less
Jewish-related societies in Babylon.
frequently, in Quechua) that were composed during the
Kilpatrick, Jack Frederick, and Anna Gritts Kilpatrick. Walk in
years following the Conquest and that detail the religious
Your Soul: Love Incantations of the Oklahoma Cherokees. Dal-
practices of indigenous Andean peoples. (The Inca were re-
las, 1965. Incantations used in situations of love and mar-
ported to have painted mythological scenes on canvas and
riage among the Cherokee.
wood, but these are now lost.)
Kilpatrick, Jack Frederick, and Anna Gritts Kilpatrick. Run to-
ward the Nightland: Magic of the Oklahoma Cherokees. Dallas,
Despite their separation in time and the contrasts be-
1967. Incantations of the Cherokee for use in various situa-
tween their ecological milieus, the Andes high cultures and
tions.
their religious systems manifested a common spirit. Religious
practices permeated all aspects of public and private life.
Malinowski, Bronislaw. Coral Gardens and Their Magic. 2 vols.
London, 1935. Texts of many incantations interspersed with
These religions for the most part included cults of the dead,
descriptions of the Trobriand Islanders to the east of New
of ancestors, of a founding culture hero, and of a divine king.
Guinea, with important interpretations by this famous an-
Offerings and sacrifices (often human) were performed, and
thropologist.
reflected beliefs in the needs of the “living corpse” and in the
Roys, Ralph L., trans. and ed. Ritual of the Bacabs. Norman,
exigencies of the cosmic powers on which the cycles of nature
Okla., 1965. Translations of healing incantations from the
depended. These deified powers were portrayed as mon-
pre-Spanish Maya culture.
strous beings that combined human, animal, and vegetable
Spiro, Melford E. Burmese Supernaturalism: A Study in the Expla-
traits. The images of the principal deity throughout these
nation and Reduction of Suffering. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,
cultures were basically variations on constant themes. This
1967. A careful study of the Burmese spiritual world, includ-
deity, which in images is variously characterized as an an-
ing translations of incantations used in this Buddhist culture.
thropomorphized feline (a puma or jaguar), a one- or two-
Winstedt, R. O. Shaman, Saiva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution
headed serpent, a condor, or an ear of maize, is often por-
of Malay Magic. London, 1925. Includes translations of
trayed brandishing weapons or other instruments.
many incantations in a study of religious practices in Malay
The temples of the urban centers of these civilizations
culture, which mixes Islamic, Hindu, and indigenous reli-
gious influences.
were built either in the form of truncated, stepped pyramids
or as series of enclosures. Some possessed underground
THEODORE M. LUDWIG (1987)
vaults, with or without labyrinths. In some locations, temple
architecture is suggestive of the structure of the cosmos, com-
prising three vertical levels. Elsewhere, rows or circles of
INCA RELIGION. The pre-Columbian Andean cul-
stones testify to astral observations and to cults connected to
tures, of which the Inca empire was the final heir, extended
the organization of sacred time and space, in which the
over a geographical area that the Inca believed corresponded
movements of the sun, moon, and stars, the alternations of
to the four quarters (tahuantinsuyu) of the world. At the time
day and night and dry and rainy seasons, the cycles of the
of the Inca empire’s fall to Spanish forces under Francisco
earth and sea, and human, animal, and vegetable fecundity
Pizarro in 1532, the Inca occupied large portions of present-
all seem to play a role. Calendars were based on the cycles—
day Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. The great Andean civ-
individually or in combinations—of the sun, the moon, the
ilizations flourished in this setting of contrasting ecosystems
planet Venus, and the Pleiades. The Sun and Moon pair of
(coastal desert ribbed with fertile valleys, arable highlands at
deities and the pair composed of this couple’s sons (often
altitudes of more than four kilometers, Amazonian and mon-
seen as enemy twins) were important pan-Andean deities.
tane rain forests) that offered resources for pursuing a variety
Among coastal groups, the Moon, represented in bird form
of means of subsistence, including fishing, hunting and gath-
and associated with the sea and the dead, was the preeminent
ering, agriculture, and the herding of llamas, guanacos, and
deity. Divine symbols and religious rites were not, however,
alpacas.
always directly related to the ecosystem within which the par-
ticular culture flourished, as is evident when one compares
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. The great pre-Inca civilizations
pre-Inca iconography with Inca mythology and with the
that flourished in what is now Peru were the Chavín (after
myths of present-day Amazonian peoples.
about 800 BCE), the Nazca and Moche (c. 100–800 CE), the
Tiahuanaco (c. 200–1000), the Huari (c. 800–1200), and
INCA COSMOLOGY. The Inca religious system is usually attri-
the Chimu (c. 1200–1400). None of these cultures, the Inca
buted to either the Inca Tupac Yupanqui or his predecessor,
included, appears to have possessed a written language,
the Inca Pachacuti, and dates to at most one hundred years
though this function was filled, to some extent, by the use
before the European conquest. The expansion of Cuzco, the
of quipus, or knotted strings. (The geometric plastic arts of
Inca capital, was carried out in the name of the superiority
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INCA RELIGION
4411
of its gods over those of other peoples who, once they were
(e.g., man-woman, the head and the two arms), biological
assimilated into the empire, left their principal idol (or its
and parental, or cultural (conqueror-conquered, interior-
replica) in the Inca capital. The colonization, or federation,
exterior, etc.)—expressed in the representation of cosmic
was founded on a system of reciprocity overseen by Cuzco.
forces. Similarly, certain numbers, probably the results of as-
Certain cults and temples were richly endowed by the Inca
tronomical calculations, gave order to the sacred.
(the title given the head of the empire); others were sup-
INCA GODS. The kings of Cuzco, reputed to be sons of the
pressed. The great social and religious leaders of the empire
Sun, formed a religious, cosmic, and territorial imperial
went regularly to the capital city, and the Inca brought colo-
structure in which the Sun reigned over the Andean high-
nies of collaborators (mitima) to the temples of the empire
lands and the heavens and the god Pachacámac ruled over
and sometimes had himself named priest of honor. The sanc-
the lowlands and the underworld.
tuaries of the provinces paid tribute in kind to Cuzco, con-
tributing, for example, young children to be sacrificed during
The Coricancha, the great Temple of the Sun in Cuzco,
the Capacocha ceremony, which was held to ensure the
was flanked by two golden pumas and its walls were covered
Inca’s health and prosperity. Rites of communion were held
with gold and silver plaques. The halls contained statues and
periodically to ensure the political and religious cohesion of
cosmic representations, and the mummies—or their repli-
the empire. Generally, these rites took place at the Temple
cas—of earlier kings and queens. There were three sculptural
of the Sun, in the center of the tahuantinsuyu, which center
triads of the Sun; each included a father and two sons, each
was located at the junction of the two rivers of Cuzco. Slow
triad symbolizing, respectively, the heavenly body, its light,
and its vital warmth. One of these statues, Punchao, depicts
processions or rapid messengers departed from and returned
two pumas between whom is seated a man with serpents at
to this center, traveling along the roads that divided the em-
his waist and rays emanating from his shoulders. It contained
pire into four regions (chinchaysuyu to the northwest, anti-
a reliquary filled with a powder made from the entrails of
suyu to the northeast, contisuyu to the southwest, and colla-
dead kings. The temple sheltered a large number of priests
suyu to the southeast) or along the forty-one ceque
(the first priest was a close relative of the Inca) and the “vir-
(theoretical lines radiating from the center, on which 428
gins of the Sun” (aclla), who dedicated themselves to making
shrines were placed), and returned. Although the Inca autho-
cloth and corn beer for the cult of the Sun, and who also
rized the conservation of certain regional religious structures
served as concubines to the Inca (who was himself the mani-
in the cities of the empire, they also reproduced Cuzco’s geo-
festation of the Sun) or to dignitaries.
metrical organization of sacred space and built replicas of the
capital’s principal temples in all the ceremonial centers. The
From the dark bowels of the cosmos, Pachacámac
bipartition of villages and adjacent territories—the distribu-
caused earthquakes and sent pestilence. With his wife Pacha-
tion in halves—was common throughout the Andes. In
mama (“mother of the earth”), he ruled the waters of the un-
Cuzco these halves were called hanan (which roughly means
derworld, and, with his daughters, he controlled the depths
“high, superior, right, masculine”) and hurin (“low, inferior,
of the sea. His temple was located at the seacoast. Although
left, feminine”). Other categories of opposition and comple-
represented by a golden fox, he was also worshiped in the
mentarity could intersect or be superimposed over this base,
form of a wooden pillar, which was sculpted in a dark cham-
determining various socioreligious complexes. Such halves
ber atop a truncated adobe pyramid.
(or moieties) were linked respectively with the cosmic powers
Illapa, who represented thunderbolts, lightning, rain,
of the lower and upper worlds, and with two cardinal points.
hail, snow, and frost, was venerated by a large cult in the
The inhabitants of the Andean region worshiped a great
highlands. He was conceived of as a triad (father, brother,
number of gods, idols, and spirits, which were designated by
and son). One of the three was represented by a man holding
the generic name huaca, a term that was also applied to the
a club in one hand and a sling in the other. It was said that
shrines. The oral traditions frequently related the adventures
the huacas, sons of Illapa from whom various tribes were de-
of the great huacas (gods or parents of gods), their births and
scended, had been thrown off a mountaintop and were raised
metamorphoses; the magical creation of wells, lakes, and irri-
by humans. They were identified with the mountain and be-
gation canals; hunts, rivalries, wars, and conquests of lands,
came masters of its animals and plants. The mountains were
waters, and women who were captured by force or trickery;
personified and arranged hierarchically and were the object
and the powers of the huacas over men and men’s duties to-
of a cult.
ward them. All this took place “in the time when the huacas
The serpent Amaru represented the striking thunderbolt
were men . . . afterward they were turned into stone.” Each
and also the animal or monster who, according to the myths,
family—and, at the higher level, each village and province—
rose from the lake and moved toward the upper world. With
claimed to descend from a given huaca (a particular man-
one head at each of his extremities, Amaru symbolized com-
god, conquering ancestor, founder, or civilizer), who repre-
munication between the upper and lower parts of the
sented a cosmic power and whom they venerated in the form
cosmos.
of a mummy, a stone, an animal, or a constellation of stars.
The codification of these beliefs was founded on the opposi-
Women were the principal participants in the cult of
tions and complementaries of nature—binary or ternary
Quilla, the Moon, who was the sister and wife of the Sun.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4412
INCA RELIGION
The Coya (“queen”) was believed to be the daughter of the
ated him with the rainy season, and others made him the rep-
Moon, just as the Inca was believed to be the son of the Sun.
resentative of the fire of the heavens and of the triumphant
The anthropomorphic statues of Quilla were silver, while
Sun. Under the name of Huari Viracocha (an androgynous
those of the Sun were gold. A lunar calendar was used along
being) he was able to draw to himself all the cosmic functions
with a solar calendar. Quilla was associated with the earth
of the upper and lower worlds. He had created the sun, the
and the dead. Traditionally, she pursued dead thieves into
moon, the stars, and the prototypes of the Andean tribes—
the underworld at night. One month of the year was especial-
including the Inca—thus separating night from day and ush-
ly sacred to her. Men also worshiped her, in Cuzco and else-
ering in the solar cosmic cycle, which he entrusted to the Inca
where, particularly in the temple of Nusta, which was located
Manco Capac. The latter, accompanied by his brothers and
on an island in Lake Titicaca.
sisters (the Ayars), was plunged into the earth by Viracocha
and reemerged from the central window of Pacaritambo, to
When they were not visible, the stars, like the sun and
the south of Cuzco, at dawn, in order to reflect the first ap-
the moon, were believed to go under the earth. The Milky
pearance of the sun. Viracocha’s sons, Imaymana and To-
Way—thought of as two rivers—may have inspired the con-
capu, taught the Andeans the names and virtues of the flora
struction of the Coricancha at the junction of the two rivers
and fauna. Their travels, like Viracocha’s, may have corre-
of Cuzco. Among the constellations, that of the llama, visible
sponded to astronomical observations.
during the dry season, was of special importance to cattle
raisers. The Pleiades were associated with the rainy season.
Some prayers to Viracocha have been preserved. Around
If they appeared clearly at the end of May, a good harvest
1575, a number of prayers were recorded by Fray Cristóbal
was augured.
de Molina (collected in Las crónicas de los Molinas, Lima,
1943). The first of these may be rendered in English as
After death, one of the two souls that were attributed
follows:
to a man returned to its place of origin, either before or after
a journey strewn with obstacles, and dwelt in the land of the
O Creator, you who are at the ends of the earth, peer-
souls, which was not unlike the world of the living. The kind
less, who has given being and force to men, who has
of afterlife enjoyed by this soul was conditional on the type
said, “Let this one be man and that one be woman.”
of death, social rank, and virtues of the dead. The other soul
You made them, you gave them shape, you gave them
remained in the body, which had to be preserved intact, and
being. Let them live in health, free from danger, in
which had the same needs as the living person. The bodies
peace. Wherever you may be, whether up in the heav-
ens, below with Thunder, or with the clouds of the
of nobles, kings, and queens were mummified, kept by their
storm, listen to me, answer me, grant me my prayer,
families, and often moved about. The mummies of ancient
give us eternal life. Keep us forever in your hand. This
kings—or their replicas—were set out hierarchically in paral-
offering, receive it, wherever you are, O Creator.
lel series (hanan and hurin) of four. At the head was the com-
INCA RITES. The Inca was considered to be the son of the
mon founding ancestor, theoretically androgynous, of whom
Sun and the Earth, Viracocha’s chosen one and equal. In this
the first was Manco Capac. The ancestors, associated with
world, between the two vertical halves of the cosmos, he was
the netherworld and germination, were considered oracles of
the synthesis of their opposition, acting as center and media-
the past, the future, and distant events, and they were con-
tor. A huaca himself, he had ambiguous powers over the hua-
sulted by expert priests.
cas, with whom he either negotiated or made war. He con-
Viracocha was the supreme god of the Inca. The Span-
tributed to the upkeep and vigor of the cosmic cycle in which
ish missionaries—monotheists and monogenists—would
he lived by seeing that the order of Pachayachachic was re-
have liked to make him or perhaps Pachacámac into a creator
spected. Specialized priests (for such matters as divination,
god who was unique, abstract, and infinite. But in Andean
interpreting oracles, making sacrifices, hearing confessions,
thought, each tribe had been transformed (rather than creat-
etc.) conducted the rites that measured the cycles of agricul-
ed) from water, earth, animals, and so forth, by a particular
ture and husbandry, which were spread throughout the year,
god at the beginning of a cosmic cycle, and the role of all
and which corresponded to the solstices and equinoxes, the
deities was to have given, and to continue to give, the breath
alternation of rainy (October to March) and dry seasons, and
of life and strength (cama) to humankind and to nature.
the alternation of day and night. Each month a particular
segment of Cuzco society dedicated itself to the prevailing
Viracocha was one of these personified gods. He was
cult. One of the most important festivals was Hanan Raymi
also a complex deity and was thought of as both one and
(held at seedtime in December), during which the initiation
many, the principle of transformation. Two others of his
rites of the young nobility took place, and after which the
names were Con-Ticsi-Viracocha and Pachayachachic (“he
Citua was celebrated to expel the illnesses brought on by the
who gives order to the world”) and he had a large family with
rains. Another important ceremony was Inti Raymi, which
several sanctuaries. Viracocha was associated with water and
took place at harvest time in June.
the foam of Lake Titicaca, whence he had come, and with
the foam of rivers and the surface of the ocean, where, ac-
The great religious ceremonies were publicly celebrated
cording to some myths, he (in human form) disappeared to
in Cuzco. The sacrifices were designed to nourish and placate
the northwest, walking on the waves. These attributes associ-
the gods, and offerings were selected from the great comple-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INCA RELIGION
4413
mentary ecosystems of nature (plants, birds, shells, the blood
to talk about theology in connection with Inca religion. One
of animals—particularly llamas—and humans) and culture
can, however, speak of a complex metaphysic in connection
(maize, coca, pepper, corn beer, cloth, statuettes). At the cen-
with the major god Viracocha, the conception of whom was
ter of the ceremonial place was the usnu, a small edifice on
forced to enrich and complexify itself during the final days
which the Inca sat enthroned and that was pierced at its base
of the empire.
by underground canals leading to the temples of Viracocha,
The religious spirit of the Andeans revealed its full in-
the Sun, and Illapa. Here the Sun was given “drink,” which
tensity after the Spanish conquest, especially in the cruel but
acted to placate and balance the powers of the lower and
vain attempts to make the indigenous priests confess the lo-
upper worlds. The usnu may also have served as an astronom-
cations of hidden treasures. After the official religion had
ical observatory. The golden statues of Viracocha, the Sun,
been forbidden and destroyed by the invaders, after it had
and Illapa, the silver statue of the Moon, and the mummies
disappeared with the empire, the rural religions, which in
of dead sovereigns—or their replicas—were set out on cere-
general antedated the Inca conquest, continued to be prac-
monial occasions.
ticed secretly despite the fierce assaults of the itinerant Inqui-
The performance of these ritual duties was also intended
sition upon the Indians. During the colonial centuries, the
to ward off cataclysms (pachacuti), especially those caused by
indigenous religions formed the core around that crystallized
excessive heat (“suns of fire”) or water (floods). Such cata-
the spirit of resistance and the preservation of the cultural
clysms were believed to result from the dissatisfaction of the
identity of the Andeans.
cosmic powers of the upper and lower worlds. They were be-
SEE ALSO Calendars, article on South American Calendars;
lieved to have occurred before, ushering in new cycles, and
Knots.
it was thought that they could happen again. These ideas,
which were based on the observation of the movements of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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INCARNATION
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flute. It is certain that the early hunters wore masks and skins
tion in Early Colonial Peru. Princeton, N.J., 1991.
of animals for the celebration of their magico-religious cere-
monies. These masked figures and many parallel examples
Salles-Reese, Veronica. From Viracocha to the Virgin of Copaca-
bana: Representation of the Sacred at Lake Titicaca. Austin,
were probably believed to be the incarnations of spirits or di-
Tex., 1997.
vine beings akin to the Lord of the Animals.
Sullivan, William. Secret of the Incas: Myth, Astronomy and the War
Wearing masks has been one technique for incarnating
against Time. New York, 1996.
souls or spirits in premodern societies. In Inner Asia, for ex-
Urton, Gary. The History of a Myth: Pacariqtamba and the Origin
ample, a shaman’s mask symbolizes the incarnation of a
of the Inkas. Austin, Tex., 1990.
mythical personage (ancestor, mythical animal, or god). For
Villoldo, Alberto, and Erik Jenresen. Journey to the Island of the
its part, the costume transforms the shaman into a spiritual
Sun: The Return to the Lost City of Gold. San Francisco, 1992.
being. In Polynesia and Melanesia, the souls or spirits of dead
ancestors are believed to come from the land of the dead at
PIERRE DUVIOLS (1987)
Translated from French by Erica Meltzer
certain fixed times, especially when the old year passes into
Revised Bibliography
the new year. They appear in disguise, wearing terrifying
masks and strange costumes; the “dead” call on villagers,
praising them for their good conduct and rebuking them se-
verely for any wrongdoing they have committed. The “dead”
INCARNATION. The concept of incarnation (Lat., in-
also perform the rites of initiation for young novices. Finally,
carnatio, “being in flesh”) has been applied in the Christian
they give blessings for a good crop in the coming months
community to the mystery of union between divinity and
and, after receiving hospitality from the villagers, return to
humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. More generally, the
their homeland far across the sea. In fact, the spirits of the
concept has been extended to take into account a variety of
dead are impersonated by members of secret societies (e.g.,
forms of incarnation that the history of religions has de-
the Dukduk of the Bismarck Archipelago, the Arioi of the
scribed in various lands and among different peoples. The
Marquesas Islands), but these awe-inspiring “sacred visitors”
term incarnation is broadly defined here as the act or state
wield such terror over the noninitiated that they are truly be-
of assuming a physical body (as a person, an animal, a plant,
lieved to be the incarnations of the ancestral spirits. Signifi-
or even an entire cosmos) by a nonphysical entity such as the
cantly, the arrival of the spirits from the world beyond an-
soul, the spirit, the self, or the divine being.
nounces the renewal of time, the advent of the new year, and
Typologically speaking, there are two sharply contrast-
the renovation of the entire universe. A similar belief in the
ing evaluations of incarnation. One of them is a tragic view,
sacred visitors (marebito) is also attested in Japan.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INCARNATION
4415
The belief in the preexistence and incarnation of souls
This Greek mythology of the soul, more or less hostile
is abundantly documented in the “primitive” world. Accord-
to the world of matter and the physical body, was incorporat-
ing to the Caribou Inuit (Eskimo), for example, the immor-
ed into Gnosticism, a set of doctrines characterized by anti-
tal soul of a dead person leaves his body, ascending to the
cosmic dualism. Humankind, as viewed by the Gnostics, is
supreme being Pinga in heaven who receives it. If the person
constituted by three components: the self, the soul, and the
lived properly according to the rules of life, Pinga lets the
body. The physical body belongs to the deficient world of
soul assume a bodily form, human or animal. Such a belief
nature (phusis), but the soul is also part of this evil world.
is also widespread among the North American Indians. Espe-
Psychic human activities arise from and are limited by the
cially noteworthy is the belief found among the Aranda in
continual flux of natural events. It is only the self that tran-
central Australia, according to which every human being has
scends the evil world. It is divine in nature, hence not subject
two souls: the mortal soul, which comes into being with the
to time and change; it is indestructible. Where is the original
fetus as a result of intercourse between the parents, and the
home of the divine self, the spiritual part of humanity? The
immortal soul, which predates and really creates the entire
Gnostic myth narrates, with manifold variations, the fate of
human personality. More concretely, the immoral soul is a
the self, its origin in the world of light, its tragic fall into the
particle of life of the totemic ancestor who unfolded his sa-
alien world, and its imprisonment in the physical body. Sal-
cred history in the beginning of mythical time; every individ-
vation consists, in the last analysis, in the emancipation of
ual is what he is today because of the incarnation in him of
the self from the dark world of matter and the physical body
the immortal soul, a spark of his primeval ancestor’s life. The
and its return to its genuine home, the world of light.
Aranda becomes aware of this mystery of life as he undergoes
India presents a doctrine similar to gnosticism, namely,
the rites of initiation, in which he learns the sacred history
Sa¯m:khya-Yoga, whose central message may be summed up
of his ancestors. It is a sort of anamnesis, a remembering of
as follows: (1) humanity’s destiny in the world is conditioned
the preexistence of his immortal soul in the mythical sacred
by the mysterious interplay between the self (purus:a), which
history—a recollection accompanied by the acute realization
is indestructible, eternal, and not subject to change, and mat-
of the immortal soul’s involvement in temporary, phenome-
ter (prakr:ti), which is subject to time and transformation and
nal existence.
which constitutes humankind’s psychophysiological com-
G
plex; (2) the self is essentially a stranger to the world of mat-
REECE, INDIA, IRAN. The ancient Greek doctrine of me-
tempsychosis presupposes the incarnation of preexistent and
ter, into which for unknown reasons it has fallen and been
immortal souls in successive bodies, human and animal, and
enslaved, resulting in the oblivion of its original, true identi-
even in inanimate substances. Pythagoras certainly believed
ty; and (3) deliverance (moks:a) begins when the self remem-
in the transmigration of souls (Xenophanes, frag. 7); accord-
bers its eternal freedom and tries to dissociate itself through
ing to him, the human soul, despite its immortality, has been
the practice of yoga from the world of matter.
imprisoned in the body and condemned to a cycle of reincar-
However, in India the tragic view of the incarnation co-
nation due to the fall from its original state of bliss. A similar
exists peacefully with another, more positive view. The
idea was held by Empedocles: The immortal human soul has
Hindu god Vis:n:u, out of his profound concern for the wel-
fallen from its proper abode into the world, into the physical
fare of the universe, has frequently embodied himself wholly
body, due to its primal sin. Condemned to the physical
or partially in the phenomenal world. According to one of
world, the fallen soul is destined to wander through a series
the earliest versions of the doctrine contained in the
of incarnations until it is restored to the primeval state of
Bhagavadg¯ıta¯, he incarnates himself in the person of Kr:s:n:a,
bliss from which it has fallen. Plato contrasts the immortal
but he is also able to manifest himself in other bodily forms,
part of the soul, which the Demiurge has created, with the
human and animal. “Whenever the law of righteousness
mortal part, including perception, which is added by the cre-
withers away,” Vis:n:u declares, “I come into being age after
ated deities at the moment of union with the body (e.g., Ti-
age for the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-
maeus 69c–d). Immediately before incarnation, the immortal
doers, and for the setting up of the law of righteousness”
soul drinks from the waters of Lethe (“forgetfulness”); “bur-
(Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ 4.7–8). While Hindu myths and rituals have
dened with a load of forgetfulness and wrongdoing,” the soul
concentrated attention on Vis:n:u’s ten primary incarnations,
“sheds her wings and falls to the earth” (Phaedrus 248c), that
in some formulations four saviors appear as his avata¯ras, or
is, it falls into the physical world, into the body that is a
incarnations, each ushering in one of the four cosmic ages
“tomb” (Gorgias 493c), imprisoned by the cycle of becoming
constituting a maha¯yuga, a complete cosmic cycle. In the
and incarnation. But, it is still possible for the immortal soul
kr:tayuga, which lasts 4,800 divine years (with one divine year
to learn, to recall its extraterrestrial experience of the perfect
corresponding to 360 human years), Vis:n:u makes his ap-
condition that existed prior to the fall (cf. especially Meno
pearance as the sage Kapila, while in the treta¯yuga, lasting
81c–d). For Plato, to live fully and meaningfully is, after all,
3,600 divine years, he appears as the universal monarch
to remember a discarnate, purely spiritual existence; it is an
Cakravartin. In the third cosmic age, dva¯parayuga, of 2,400
anamnesis of the soul’s true identity, that is, a recognition
divine years, the supreme being incarnates himself as the sage
of its heavenly origin.
Vya¯sa, and in the final cosmic age, kaliyuga, lasting 1,200 di-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4416
INCARNATION
vine years, he will manifest himself as Kalki, a sort of messi-
the belief in the emperor’s heavenly origin, and this belief
anic figure who will come in glory to establish the golden
was clearly expressed in the myths of Ninigi, the grandson
age, judging the wicked, rewarding the virtuous, and ruling
of the sun goddess Amaterasu. Ninigi is born in the heavenly
over the entire universe in peace and prosperity.
world and then descends onto the summit of Mount
Takachiho, carrying the three items of the sacred regalia as
The ancient Iranians of the Parthian period had an ar-
well as the heavenly mandate guaranteeing his eternal sover-
dent hope or expectation for Mithra incarnate, who would
eignty on earth. The emperor was identified with this mythic
come at the end of the world as the great universal monarch
figure at the annual harvest festival as well as on the occasion
and savior. This king and savior will descend on the Mount
of his enthronement festival.
of Victories in the form of a column of light or a shining star
to be born in a cave. He will be given birth by a human
In Islam, more particularly among the Sh¯ıEah, the imam
mother, but in truth he is of heavenly origin; he descends
enjoyed a truly exalted and significant status; while among
from above with the light, that is, he is the child of light.
the Sunn¯ıs an imam is no more than a leader of congrega-
There were, in fact, magi who lived near the Mount of Victo-
tional prayer at a local mosque, among the Sh¯ıEah the imam
ries; every year, at a certain fixed date, they climbed the
was endowed with a power at once political and religious.
mountain in which there was a cave, and quietly prayed to
Like the caliph, he was one who ruled the community in
the heavenly god for three days, waiting for the appearance
mercy and justice, but unlike the caliph, who had no legal
of the star.
authority, the imam was empowered to interpret the
h:aq¯ıqah, or esoteric meanings of the QurDa¯n and Islamic law.
KINGS, EMPERORS, IMAMS. The status of kings was often de-
This power was based on the Sh¯ıEah conviction that
fined in terms of God incarnate. In ancient Egypt, for exam-
Muh:ammad’s charisma, or spiritual gift, which he received
ple, the king was believed to be divine in essence. His corona-
from God, would be transmitted genealogically only within
tion, usually celebrated at the beginning of the new year,
his household. It was natural that the imam became the cen-
signified not an apotheosis but an epiphany, a self-
tral focus of Sh¯ıEah faith to such an extent that he was be-
manifestation of the god. As long as he ruled, the king was
lieved to be the embodiment of the divine light. Some ex-
identified with the god Horus; in fact, he was Horus incar-
treme sects of the IsmaE¯ıl¯ı movement went even further in
nate in his early existence, but upon his death he was mysti-
believing that the imam was the incarnation of the godhead
cally assimilated to Osiris, the god of rebirth and immor-
itself. The Druze of the Lebanon Mountains hold the Caliph
tality.
H:a¯kim (r. 996–1021) of the Fatimid dynasty in Egypt to be
The Greco-Roman world generally dissociated itself
the incarnation of the godhead, now in concealment but
from the notion that the king was the incarnation of a certain
with the promise of a return.
god, despite the fact that royal titles such as The Young
BUDDHISM. Buddhism was founded by Siddha¯rtha Gautama
Dionysos and Epiphanes were often used by kings in the Hel-
of the S´a¯kya clan in India, who left his home in quest of
lenistic period. According to Arthur Darby Nock, the only
truth, devoted himself to the practice of meditation, and fi-
exception was Ptolemy XIII of the mid-first century BCE,
nally attained enlightenment. Hence he is also called the
who demonstrably considered himself to be Dionysos incar-
Buddha, the Enlightened One. During the early centuries of
nate, probably under the influence of the pharaonic concep-
the history of Buddhism, this historical Buddha commanded
tion of the king as Horus incarnate.
the primary attention of Buddhists.
While the Chinese emperor was generally called Son of
However, as a new trend of the Buddhist movement
Heaven (tianzi) and as such was considered the earthly repre-
called the Maha¯ya¯na developed in the course of the second
sentative of Heaven or heavenly will, some emperors were re-
century BCE, a shift occurred in Buddhology; emphasis was
garded as incarnations of the Buddha. For example, the
now placed less on the historical Buddha than on the Eternal
founder of the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534), Taizi, was
Buddha. This Eternal Buddha is transcendent, absolute, and
regarded by the eminent monk Faguo as the Tatha¯gata in
infinite, embodying the universal and cosmic truth. Hence
person, an incarnation of the Buddha. This idea was icono-
he is called the dharmaka¯ya (“body of the law”), the essential
graphically represented in the caves of Yungang to the west
Buddha who is the ultimate reality as viewed by Maha¯ya¯na
of Datong, the capital of the empire until 494. Moreover,
Buddhism. The Eternal Buddha does not wish, however, to
toward the end of the seventh century the Empress Wu
hold himself aloof from the phenomenal world; out of his
Zhao, who was a strong supporter of Buddhism, was consid-
deep compassion for humanity in pain and suffering he has
ered to be the incarnation of Maitreya, the future Buddha.
incarnated himself in the person of Siddha¯rtha Gautama, as
Among the Tibetans, the Dalai Lama has been accepted as
the nirma¯n:akaya (“body of transformation”).
an incarnation of the bodhisattva Avalokite´svara.
This doctrine is elaborated, for example, in the
In ancient Japan, the emperor was explicitly called the
Saddharmapun:d:ar¯ıka Su¯tra, also known as the Lotus Su¯tra.
akitsumi kami (“manifest kami”), that is, the god who mani-
The scripture presents the Buddha in two aspects: his abso-
fested himself in human form in the phenomenal world. The
lute aspect in the form of the Eternal Buddha, which is dealt
essential part of the Japanese conception of sovereignty was
with in the section following chapter 15, while the section
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INCARNATION
4417
preceding this chapter is concerned with his relative aspect
humans. However, they rejected the idea that the Logos took
in the person of the historical S´a¯kyamuni Buddha, who as-
on human flesh, because to them the flesh was both evil and
sumed human form for the sake of benefiting all sentient be-
insubstantial. Characteristically, they denied the reality or
ings. According to the doctrine of the “Tendai school” in
historicity of the incarnation: The human life of Christ was
medieval Japan, the absolute and the relative are in essence
spiritual but not material; Christ hovered over mortal life,
qualitatively equal; they represent the two different aspects
never really participating in the birth, suffering, and death
of the Buddha but, in reality, are one and the same.
of the historical Jesus. The Christian church set itself against
Japanese Buddhism, more particularly, the Shingon
this docetic view in such affirmation of the Apostles’ Creed
school of Buddhism, has also unfolded what may be called
as “God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.”
a cosmotheism, a fascinating conception of the cosmos as the
By implication this was an affirmation of the goodness of all
embodiment of the Buddha Maha¯vairocana. The place of
God’s creation, material as well as spiritual. Similar affirma-
central importance in Shingon Buddhism is occupied no
tions concerning Jesus’ birth, suffering, and death were di-
longer by the historical Buddha but rather by the Cosmic
rected against the Gnostic denial of the incarnation of Jesus
Buddha Maha¯vairocana (Jpn., Dainichi, “great sun”); just as
Christ. Moreover, the assertion in the Apostles’ Creed of the
the sun is the source of light, illuminating the whole universe
resurrection of the dead affirmed the salvation of the whole
and giving life to all forms of existence, so Maha¯vairocana
person and not merely the discarnate soul, spirit, or self. It
is the Great Illuminator of all existence, both animate and
is thus significant that Christian orthodoxy affirmed the hu-
inanimate. He is transcendent, absolute, and eternal because
manity of Christ and the goodness and reality of the cosmos
he is identified with the dharmaka¯ya. However,
against Gnosticism and any form of the Gnostic view of man
Maha¯vairocana is not only transcendent but also immanent
and the universe. “After the Incarnation,” Mircea Eliade
in the universe. This Buddha is cosmic in nature because, ac-
states in his Myth and Reality (p. 172), “the World has been
cording to Shingon Buddhism, he embodies himself in the
reestablished in its original glory.” The phenomenal world,
six great elements constituting every form of existence in the
humanity’s world, the world as it is, is a sanctified cosmos be-
universe: earth, water, fire, wind, space, and mind. These six
cause Jesus Christ the Savior has dwelt in it.
elements are interfused and in a state of eternal harmony. In
The Christian church attempted to articulate the nature
fact, the whole universe is viewed as the “samaya (symbolic)
of the person of Jesus Christ as God incarnate at the First
body” of the Buddha Maha¯vairocana. When the universe is
Council of Nicaea (325). It adopted a creed that included
referred to as the Buddha’s samaya body, it means two things
such phrases to define Christ as “begotten not made,” “be-
at the same time: First, the cosmos symbolizes and points to
gotten before all ages,” and “of one essence with the Father.”
the ultimate reality, Maha¯vairocana identified with the
Thus Christ was declared to be homo-ousios, “consubstan-
dharmaka¯ya; and second, while the ultimate reality embodies
tial,” with God the Father, a doctrine that was to be formu-
itself in the cosmos, for its part the cosmos participates sub-
lated later by Augustine as una substantia tres personae (“one
stantially in the ultimate reality itself. Accordingly, the cos-
substance in three persons”); Christ was essentially divine
mos is a sanctified world endowed with the quality of the sa-
without being a kind of “second God.” Once this result was
cred, assuming profound soteriological value.
generally accepted, a further question arose: How are the di-
CHRISTIANITY. That God was incarnated in the person of
vine and human elements related to each other in the person
Jesus of Nazareth in order to save humankind is a basic tenet
of the historical Jesus? After apparently endless debates and
of Christianity. One of the earliest confessions of faith pro-
anathemas, the orthodox view was formulated at the Council
nounced by the primitive church (Phil. 2:6–2:11) speaks of
of Chalcedon (451): Two natures of Christ, divine and
the preexistent divine figure Christ Jesus, who condescended
human, are perfectly blended in one person; Jesus Christ is
to take on human form, won victory in his death over the
vere Deus vere homo (“truly God and truly man”).
cosmic forces of evil, and reigns now with God in heaven.
TWENTIETH-CENTURY VIEWS. While the affirmative view of
In the Gospel of John, dating from the end of the first century,
incarnation has apparently won the victory, the tragic view
Christ Jesus is presented as the incarnate Word (Logos) of
of the destiny of the soul, as it was classically expressed by
God (Jn. 1:1–1:14). In sharp contrast to the portrait of the
Plato, Gnosticism, and Sa¯m:khya-Yoga, is far from dead; on
life of Jesus in the synoptic Gospels, John identifies him as
the contrary, it has often asserted itself ever since. In fact, as
the preexistent divine being who, descending from heaven,
Martin Buber has aptly stated, human self-understanding has
moves mysteriously through human life, proclaiming heav-
gained “depth” in those crisis periods in history when hu-
enly messages and working miracles, and who even foretells
mankind has felt homeless in the physical world in which it
his ascension to heaven following his impending suffering
lives, becoming aware of its acute alienation from the world.
and death. John’s language may sound preeminently Gnos-
The twentieth century, one such crisis period, demonstrated
tic, but the content of his central message, namely, that the
a keen interest in the Gnostic outlook on life and the uni-
divine Logos had become human flesh, was certainly anti-
verse, as it is reflected in the writings of C. G. Jung, Her-
Gnostic.
mann Hesse, and Martin Heidegger. For Heidegger, for ex-
Christian Gnostics accepted the belief that Christ was
ample, the world is no longer a home for modern
the divine Logos, the chief intermediary between God and
humankind but an alien realm; humanity is homeless in the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4418
INCENSE
world. Moreover, humankind lives in a period of cosmic
in this connection, a brief but illuminating account of the
night, and the darkness of this cosmic night is to continue
doctrine of the “three bodies” (trika¯ya) of the Buddha by T.
for some time. According to him, the soul is not in its proper
R. V. Murti, The Central Philosophy of Buddhism, 2d ed.
place in this evil world; here, it is a stranger, imprisoned in
(London, 1970), pp. 284–287. On the conception of the
the physical body. The soul is destined to leave this world
cosmos as the embodiment of the Buddha Maha¯vairocana,
behind and, becoming “a blue soul,” to set out for the dark
see Ku¯kai: Major Works, translated, with an account of
Ku¯kai’s life and a study of his thought, by Yoshito S. Hakeda
wandering, journeying toward the land of the evening.
(New York, 1972), pp. 76ff.
SEE ALSO Avata¯ra; Docetism; Kingship; Masks; Reincarna-
On the history of the Christian doctrines of the incarnation, there
tion; Soul.
is an admirable account by Jaroslav Pelikan in The Emergence
of the Catholic Tradition, 100–600, volume 1 of his The
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Christian Tradition (Chicago, 1971).
There is no single book dealing with the problem of incarnation
New Sources
in the general history of religions. On masks and their reli-
Bassuk, Daniel. Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity: The
gious meaning in prehistory, see Johannes Maringer’s Vor-
Myth of the God-Man. Basingstoke, U.K., 1987.
geschichtliche Religion: Religionen im steinzeitlichen Europa
(Einsiedeln, Switzerland, 1956), pp. 184ff., edited and trans-
Cross, Richard. The Metaphysics of the Incarnation: Thomas Aqui-
lated by Mary Ilford as The God of Prehistoric Man (New
nas to Duns Scotus. New York, 2002.
York, 1960), pp. 146ff.
Davies, Oliver, and Denys Turner, eds. Silence and the Word: Neg-
Hutton Webster offers basic information on the periodic return
ative Theology and Incarnation. New York, 2002.
of the ancestral spirits in Polynesia and Melanesia in his
Kingston, Richard. God and One Person: The Case for Non-
Primitive Secret Societies (New York, 1980). On the Aranda
Incarnational Christianity. Basingstoke, U.K., 1993.
conception of the immortal soul, there is a fascinating ac-
count in Mircea Eliade’s Australian Religions: An Introduction
Luoma, Tapio. Incarnation and Physics: Natural Science in the The-
(Ithaca, N.Y., 1973), pp. 44–59.
ology of Thomas F. Torrance. New York, 2002.
The incarnation of the soul in the Greek philosophical tradition
Sheth, Noel. “Hindu Avatara and Christian Incarnation: A Com-
has been competently discussed by W. K. C. Guthrie in The
parison.” Philosophy East and West 52 (January 2002): 98–
Earlier Presocratics and Pythagoreans (pp. 306ff.) and The Pre-
126.
socratic Tradition from Parmenides to Democritus
Smith, James K. A. Speech and Theology: Language and the Logic
(pp. 249ff.), volumes 1 and 2 of his A History of Greek Philos-
of Incarnation. New York, 2002.
ophy (Cambridge, U.K., 1962 and 1965). The best single
book on the Gnostic view of the destiny of humankind and
MANABU WAIDA (1987)
Revised Bibliography
its immortal soul in the world remains Hans Jonas’s The
Gnostic Religion, 2d ed., rev. (Boston, 1963). On
Sa¯m:khya-Yoga, there is a concise account in Robert C. Zaeh-
ner’s Hinduism (London, 1962), pp. 67ff. Focusing his at-
INCENSE. The term incense (from Latin incendere, to
tention on the fate of the immortal self in the world, Mircea
burn or kindle) has the same meaning as the word perfume,
Eliade has compared Gnosticism with Sa¯m:khya-Yoga in his
essay “Mythologies of Memory and Forgetting,” now includ-
i.e., the aroma given off with the smoke (per fumar) of an
ed in his Myth and Reality (New York, 1963), pp. 114–138.
odoriferous substance when burned. Incense may then be as-
There is a fine comparative study of the avatar beliefs of India
sociated with the perfume arising from the burning of sub-
and the Christian doctrine of the incarnation in Geoffrey
stances that produce a pleasant odor. Aloe, camphor, cloves,
Parrinder’s Avatar and Incarnation (New York, 1970).
sandalwood, myrrh, frankincense, cedar, juniper, balsam,
The eschatological expectation of the birth of the savior Mithra
galbanum, and turpentine have been used as incense. Since
in ancient Iran has been elucidated by Geo Widengren in his
ancient times incense has been an important part of religious
Iranisch-semitische Kulturbegegnung in parthischer Zeit (Co-
rites and practices in various regions of the world. Incense
logne, 1960), pp. 62–86. See also Mircea Eliade’s Méphis-
has been used to appease the gods, sanctify a place or an ob-
tophélès et l’androgyne (Paris, 1962), pp. 60ff., translated by
ject, display reverence and respect, honor commitments, tie
J. M. Cohen as The Two and the One (Chicago, 1965),
bonds, and seal promises and friendships. Valued as a pre-
pp. 51–55.
cious commodity, it was offered as a gift to honored person-
Major problems of Greco-Roman kingship have been discussed
ages: Frankincense and myrrh were two of the gifts the wise
authoritatively by Arthur Darby Nock in volume 1
men of the East brought to the infant Jesus.
(pp. 134ff.) and volume 2 (pp. 928ff.) of his Essays on Reli-
gion and the Ancient World (Cambridge, Mass., 1972), with
In association with concepts of purity and pollution, in-
an introduction by Zeph Stewart. On the conception of
cense plays a major role in purification rites and customs. In-
kingship in ancient Japan, see my article “Sacred Kingship
cense smoke is used for these purposes because of the trans-
in Early Japan: A Historical Introduction,” History of Reli-
forming powers of fire, as well as the seemingly purificatory
gions 15 (1976): 319–342.
powers of sweet smells. Because its fragrance is thought to
Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism has attempted to explain the historical Bud-
be pleasing to the gods, incense has played an important role
dha S´a¯kyamuni as an incarnation of the Eternal Buddha. See,
in worship and is used in ceremonies of offering, prayer, in-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INCENSE
4419
tercession, or purification. It is used to attract the attention
used in ancestor worship as well; tablets containing the
of, or establish a connection with, a deity and is also used
names of the departed written in gilt and black characters are
to exorcise evil or harmful forces.
placed on every household altar, where sacrifices are offered
and incense burned.
THE FAR EAST AND INDIA. In Chinese, the word xiang can
mean both “aromatic” and “incense.” In China incense was
At least until the late nineteenth century, incense time-
sometimes burned in conjunction with aesthetic enjoyments
keepers were used in Japanese Buddhist temples to mark the
like reading, writing compositions, or performing music; in
intervals at which the priest struck the great bell to call the
Japan it was an important part of the tea ceremony. In Chi-
people to prayer. The use of incense to measure time was an
nese Daoism, incense was used to disperse evil and to appease
idea borrowed from China, and so in Japan these sticks were
the gods; it was also employed in rituals for the cure of dis-
called “Chinese matches.” In China the first literary mention
ease. Considered a punishment for evil deeds committed by
of incense being used as a time indicator appears in the sixth
the sufferer himself or by an ancestor, illness was regarded
century, although it may have been used much earlier. It was
as a punishment by the San Guan (Three Officials), the judg-
widely used from the tenth century on. To make the time-
es and officials of the dead. During the rituals for curing sick-
keepers, hardened-paste incense was prepared in sticks or spi-
ness, a formal appeal was made to mitigate and revoke the
ral coils and marked into hourly intervals. Depending on the
officials’ judicial severity. Using the rising flame and smoke
season, the burning time of the sticks was usually between
from the incense burner in the center of the oratory to trans-
seven to eleven ke, one ke being equivalent to about a half
mit a message borne by spirits exteriorized from within his
an hour of modern time. Sometimes a continuous trail of
own body, the Daoist libationer submitted petitions (zhang)
powdered incense was marked off into equal lengths and
to the appropriate bureau of the Three Heavens (San Tian),
burned to indicate how much time had passed. The legacy
where officials pronounced judgment on the appeal and mar-
of using incense sticks as timekeepers has been transferred to
shaled celestial forces against the offending demons responsi-
Hawai’i, where many Japanese and Chinese have migrated.
ble for the illness. Incense played a major role in another
In India, incense is used in both Hindu and Buddhist
Daoist ritual for fending off disease, the Mud and Soot Re-
rituals. In Hindu rites it is offered in temples as an act of
treat or Retreat of Misery. The ritual was usually performed
homage before the statue of the devity; in the a¯rat¯ı ceremo-
outdoors at a specially delimited sacred area, or altar (tan).
ny, for instance, the increase censer or stick is rotated before
It was a ceremony of collective contrition where the com-
the image of the deity in order to make an offering and evoke
bined effects of clouds of incense, the light of many lamps,
blessings. Fragrant incense was also used to waft prayers to
and the sound of the chanted liturgy produced a cathartic
the gods and to drive off foul-smelling demons.
experience in the participants.
THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST. In ancient Egypt, incense was fre-
Incense is also central to the Daoist Jiao liturgy, which
quently used in cultic rituals. According to Plutarch, the
renews the community through communication with the
Egyptians burned incense to the sun three times a day; Hero-
gods. Jiao rites may be held for the ordination of priests or
dotos recounts that incense was daily burned before an image
the birthdays of gods or may be held to ward off calamities.
of a cow. Sacrifices were offered to the pharaoh, and incense
For the Jiao ritual, a village feast is held outside the temple,
was burned before him in the coronation procession. The
and an esoteric liturgy is performed inside the closed temple.
importance of offering incense is evident from the title of a
In the temple ritual the main incense burner, the central ob-
courtly official, the “Chief of the House of Incense.” It was
ject in the temple, is the focus of the rite. A symbolic incense
also an important element of funerary practices, because the
burner is “lighted” inside the body of the main priest, whose
soul of the dead was considered to ascend to heaven by the
meditation transforms him into a mediator with the divine
smoke of the burning incense.
and makes possible the efficacy of the rite. Incense is em-
Incense also figures in Mesopotamian mythology. In the
ployed for the ecstatic symbolic journey to heaven performed
Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s mother Nin-
inside a sacred area demarcated by five buckets of rice. To-
suna supplicated the gods, asking them to protect and be-
gether with the burning incense, a document is burned (“sent
friend her son. She burned incense and offered it to the god
off to heaven”) as a “memorial to the throne” (zhang), which
of creation, Shamash, to show her reverence and receive his
announces to Heaven the performance of the liturgy.
blessings. As Gilgamesh embarked on his mission to kill the
Incense also forms an important part of the Buddhist
Evil One, Huwawa, he heard the words of his mother and
ritual ceremonies in Korea. When taking the vows of Bud-
remembered the fragrant aroma of the incense.
dhist priesthood, young initiates undergo a rite called Pul-
JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM. According to the Hebrew
tatta, or “receiving the fire.” In this ceremony a moxa, or
scriptures, in ancient Israel incense was considered a holy
cone of burning incense, is laid upon the arm of the novice
substance and was reserved for Yahveh; it was included with
after the hair has been shaved off; the ignited cone is then
the bread offered to him on the Sabbath (Lv. 24:7). Incense
allowed to burn slowly and painfully into the flesh. The re-
was placed in the Tent of Meeting (Ex. 30:34) and was used
maining scar is considered a mark of dedication and holiness
in the offerings of the first fruits (Lv. 2:15–16); it was offered
and commemorates the ceremony of initiation. Incense is
in censers on the Day of Atonement when the high priest
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4420
INCUBATION
appeared before the mercy seat (Lv. 16:12ff.). Its use as a per-
Thus, contemporary scholarship in Indian philosophy
fume is indicated in Song of Songs 3:6, which states that it
is divided between, on the one hand, Indological enquiry en-
was used to scent Solomon’s couch. In Psalm 141 incense
gaged in the clarification and preservation of an “authentic”
is likened to prayer.
classical Indian philosophy, in all its details, and, on the
Until the time of Constantine, incense was not used in
other hand, an orientalist interest in appropriating the tradi-
public worship ceremonies of the Christian church. Its use
tion to compare and compete with Western philosophy ac-
as an offering was severely condemned by the early Fathers
cepting the latter’s standards and parameters of philosophical
(e.g., Cyril of Alexandria and John Chrysostom) because of
discussion. For a thorough and comprehensive history of In-
its association with pagan practices. Christians were identi-
dian philosophy S. N. Dasgupta’s five volumes titled History
fied by their refusal to burn incense before a statue of the em-
of Indian Philosophy (1922–1955) still represent the most
peror; Saturninus and Sisinnius were martyred for their re-
systematic attempt. J. N. Mohanty’s Classical Indian Philoso-
fusal to do so. Those Christians who capitulated in order to
phy (2000) is a lucid and independent exposition based on
escape death were known as turificati, or burners of incense.
a classification according to issues in epistemology, ethics, or
However, by the ninth century incense was used in some
politics and religion. In Presuppositions of India’s Philosophies
churches for the dedication and consecration of the altar. In-
(1991) by Karl Potter, the reader will find a serious attempt
cense was later incorporated into the liturgical services of
to consider and articulate the technical aspects of Indian phi-
both the Eastern Orthodox and Western churches.
losophy in a manner in which they can address fundamental
issues in philosophy and not be restricted to discussions
In the Islamic tradition, incense is burned to create a
within the tradition itself. Nevertheless, since a discussion of
pleasant aroma in places of worship, although it does not
method and structure is lacking in these studies, even Pot-
have any specific religious significance. The Muslims of India
ter’s analysis does not ultimately succeed in bringing to bear
burn incense sticks on auspicious occasions such as wed-
the implications of what he himself characterizes as the spec-
dings, births, or religious festivals. Incense is frequently of-
ulative orientation of Indian philosophy towards the realiza-
fered at the tombs of saints, which people visit in order to
tion of freedom.
obtain blessings. In the S:u¯f¯ı sama¯ E incense is often burned
as the dhikr is chanted.
According to the Sangarva Su¯tra, the Buddha classified
his discussants into four categories—traditionalists, rational-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ists, metaphysicians, and experimentalists—and regarded
Atchley, E. G. C. F. A History of the Use of Incense in Divine Wor-
himself as an example of the class of experimentalists (see
ship. London, 1909.
Mohanty, 2000). It is this epistemological space for experi-
Lucas, A. “Cosmetics, Perfumes and Incense in Ancient Egypt.”
ment within the framework of tradition that this article will
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 16 (May 1930): 41–53.
attempt to trace.
Schoff, Wilfred H. “Aloes.” Journal of the American Oriental Soci-
ety 42 (1922): 171–185.
THE STRUCTURE OF ORTHODOX AND HETERODOX SYS-
Smith, G. Elliot. “Incense and Libations.” Bulletin of John Rylands
TEMS. Indian philosophy is generally thought to be com-
Library 4 (September 1917–January 1918): 191–262.
prised of six orthodox systems of thought—Nya¯ya,
Van Beek, Gus W. “Frankincense and Myrrh.” Biblical Archaeolo-
Vai´ses:ika, Sa¯m:khya, Yoga, M¯ıma¯m:sa¯, and Veda¯nta—and
gist 23 (September 1960): 70–95.
three so-called heterodox systems: Ca¯rva¯ka, Jainism, and
H
Buddhism. The orthodox schools are so described because
ABIBEH RAHIM (1987)
they accept the authority of the Vedas, whereas the hetero-
dox do not. However, the development of the schools is not
INCUBATION S
linear and is characterized by a dialectical relationship entail-
EE ASKLEPIOS; DREAMS
ing contradiction, correspondence, and complementarity,
for which reason they are better approached as mutual eluci-
dations rather than as a series of attempted improvements or
INDIAN PHILOSOPHIES. Over the past four hun-
revisions. Perhaps this is why they are called dar´sanas. Show-
dred years India has witnessed a break in its sociocultural and
ing and seeing are both a part of the meaning of the term
intellectual life with which it is still in the process of coming
dar´sana; therefore, the term revelation appropriately defines
to terms. It is not, contrary to general belief, the legacy of
it, implying the possibility of a plurality of revelations of the
colonialism that Indian philosophy and culture has had to
One.
contend with, but rather the compelling influence of the
structure, rationality, and method of the European Enlight-
Thus one may argue that the unity in plurality and plu-
enment and its modernity. Since the eighteenth century, aca-
rality in unity of all religious tradtions—Hindu, Muslim,
demic attempts at recovery of the classical tradition, efforts
Sikh, and Christian, vernacular and classical, and not merely
at translation, and philosophical analyses have all been main-
of the six orthodox and three heterodox schools—defines the
ly in the shadow of this modernity which separates as well
limit of Indian philosophy. The basis for this unity lies in
as differentiates the study of science, politics and religion/
the fact that they represent experiments with the method of
metaphysics or jña¯ a, karma and bhakti.
non-dualism of knowledge, praxis, and faith. Gandhi was
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDIAN PHILOSOPHIES
4421
not the first nor the last of the martyrs to testify to this in
The Ca¯rva¯kas are materialists representing the lay point
his writing and in his life. Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of
of view. Knowledge of their perspective is mainly derived
Shahajahan, the Mogul emperor of India, held guilty of
from representations made by philosophers who opposed
apostasy and martyred in 1609, wrote in the preface to his
them. They are characterized as infidels or sophists, or as pro-
Sirri-i-Akbar (1067; a translation of the Upanis:ads) that it
ponents of a form of nature lore. This last description sug-
was his conviction that “the utterances of God elucidate and
gests that Ca¯rva¯ka could be seen as representing a kind of
explain one another.”
metaphysical materialism that bridges the classical and ver-
The different systems represent attempts to understand
nacular traditions. Though Ca¯rva¯ka rejects moks:a (libera-
the epistemological, cosmological, and metaphysical presup-
tion) as a goal to be achieved outside and beyond this world,
positions that underlie the relation between the Origin and
it asserts its possibility in this world, without the usual associ-
the universe, the Unmanifest and the manifest, and the
ations of pain and penance, associating it with pleasure in-
Unity and the plurality. It may be argued that there is a divi-
stead. It is significant that the four elements—earth, water,
sion of focus between the schools: Nya¯ya and Vai´ses:ika ad-
air, and fire—are held to be eternal. The soul or conscious-
dress epistemological questions, the first from the point of
ness does not exist independently of the body. It springs
view of the subject or knower and the other from the point
from a mixing of the elements that is characterized by their
of view of the object of knowledge. Sa¯m:khya and Yoga are
individual potencies, and that forms a fifth element, as it
cosmological schools, the first addressing the question of the
were. Formulated this way, Ca¯rva¯ka philosophy can be seen
macrocosm and plurality, and the second, unity, the micro-
as presenting a counter-Advaitic point of view. If Advaita ar-
cosm, and humankind as witness. M¯ıma¯m:sa¯ and Veda¯nta
gues the ultimate identity of the individual soul with brah-
are primarily metaphysical systems, the former focusing on
man, the Unmanifest and transcendent principle of the uni-
praxis or means and the latter on the nature of the end. The
verse, the Ca¯rva¯kas argue the ultimate identity of the soul
three sets can be seen as different modes of understanding
and the body, in this world, thus presenting the other limit
the relation between God, man, and nature through jña¯na
of the spectrum. If the M¯ıma¯m:sa¯kas defend the potency of
(knowledge), karma (praxis), and bhakti (faith).
the Word, the Ca¯rva¯kas defend the potency of matter. They
The Ca¯rva¯ka school (founded prior to first millennium
together define the limits of the relationship between spirit
BCE), Jainism (founded in the sixth century BCE), and Bud-
and matter, the Word and the flesh, mantra (invocation) and
dhism (dating to the sixth century BCE) present vernacular
prasa¯da (consecrated offering/partaking).
critiques of the Vedic tradition. They consider the epistemo-
Thus Jainism, Buddhism, and the Ca¯rva¯kas represent
logical, cosmological, and metaphysical presuppositions of
principles of civil society in their respective engagements
civil society and material culture, and do so with an emphasis
with continence, the love of all creation being its positive
on the vernacular,which is seen as capable of expressing not
force, suffering and its overcoming, and pleasure and its pos-
merely the lay but also the sacred, on custom, and on the
crafts, as opposed to orthodox Hinduism’s focus on Sanskrit,
sibility in this world. All three schools are strongly critical of
tradition, and the sciences. Thus they lay the foundations for
the ritualism of Hindu society and its making a travesty of
the tradition of the saints and the modern religions of
the varna¯´srama classification of society, resulting in a rigid
V¯ıra´saivism (also known as Lin˙ga¯yatism; founded in the
social hierarchy between brahmans, ks:atriyas, vai´syas and
twelfth century
´su¯dras. The a¯´sramas refer to the different roles or stages that
CE; in using the term Lin
˙ga¯yatism we are
avoiding the usual orientalist opposition of Saivism versus
members of each of the varn:as pass through in life. Classical
Vaisnavism and drawing attention to the self description of
Hinduism talks of four a¯´sramas: brahmacha¯rya (of the nov-
the follower of this religion as the the wearer of the
ice), gr:hastha (of the householder), vanaprastha (of the re-
lin˙ga—which is the sign of the union of S´iva and S´akti),
cluse), and sannya¯sa (of the renouncer of society).
Sikhism (originating in the sixteenth century
Sam:nya¯sa¯´srama frees man from the laws that govern varn:a:
CE); and Gand-
hism (developed in the twentieth century CE). It may then
For the social system of caste was always surrounded in
perhaps be more apt to classify Indian philosophies accord-
India by a penumbral region, as it were, of non-caste,
ing to their relationship to either the S´ravan:a tradition (of
where flourished the renunciatory religious orders
the hearers of the Word) or the S´raman:a tradition (of the “la-
whose principles abrogated those of caste, lineage, and
boring” devotee), rather than on the basis of orthodoxy or
birth: and the fourth a¯´srama (sam:nya¯sa) constituted a
heterodoxy.
door through which the individual was recommended
The focal point of Jainism’s critique is the recognition
to pass from the world of caste to that of its denial. The
mutual relation of the two worlds, and I have no doubt
that the Truth is always relative to a point of view, even if
that it was mutual, is of the greatest significance to a full
it seems absolute from a particular perspective. The hegemo-
understanding of either of them. (Uberoi, 1996, p. 14)
ny of a single tradition as custodian of the Truth is thus bro-
ken. Buddhism characterizes reality as suffering, and thus
It may be argued that with the rejection of varn:a, Jainism
finds it essential to demonstrate the impermanence or mo-
and Buddhism followed a classification of society into only
mentariness (ks:an:abhan˙gava¯da) of this reality, as the condi-
two classes, the monastic (bhiks:u) and the householder
tion for the possibility of liberation (nirva¯n:a) from it.
(gr:hastha), mediated by the congregation or sam:gha. Signifi-
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4422
INDIAN PHILOSOPHIES
cantly, the tantric tradition also holds that only these two
the universe. In Swami Gambhirananda’s translation of
a¯´sramas characterize society in kaliyuga (Ka¯l¯ı age).
S´an˙kara’s Brahma-Su¯tra Bha¯s:ya, S´an˙kara writes:
UNITY, PLURALITY, AND THE TRINITY. The term referring
Nothing but Brahman can be different from name and
to the Unity or the One is Brahman. The conceptualization
form, since the whole of creation consists of a manifes-
of its nature and role and the theological issues that surround
tation of name and form. And the manifestation of
it make Brahman in many ways analogous to Yahveh in the
name and form in an absolute sense is not possible for
Judaic tradition, God in the Christian tradition, and Alla¯h
anything but Brahman; for the Upanishad mentions
that Brahman is the agent of their revelation: “Let me
in the Islamic tradition. Just as with these three traditions,
manifest name and form by Myself entering as the indi-
a central concern of Indian philosophies has been to relate
vidual soul.” (1972, p. 239)
the one to the plurality that characterizes the manifest world.
As with Christianity, Trinity mediates between Unity and
And S´an˙kara goes on to explain this further:
plurality. In place of the trinity of the Father, the Son, and
the intention here is to declare the identity of the indi-
the Holy Ghost, the Vedic tradition posits the trinity of
vidual soul and Brahman (and not agentship). From
Brahma¯, the Creator; Vis:n:u, the All Pervading (Spirit); and
this very declaration of the manifestation of name and
Mahe´svara/S´iva, the Destroyer. Brahma¯ is the eternal con-
form, creatorship etc., as the indicatory signs of Brah-
ceiver of name and form that constitute the very essence of
man become stated ipso facto. (1972, p. 239)
plurality in the universe. Vis:n:u is the breath of God, as it
It may be argued then that to know name and form is to
were, the Holy Spirit that pervades the universe and enables
know them in their relation to the Unity/Brahman, which
nature to reflect the attributes of its maker. Finally, S´iva is
is to say to know them as a sign, symptom, or symbol (lin˙ga)
the destroyer not of the plurality of the universe as is general-
of the relation between Unity and plurality. The name is a
ly believed, but of the duality of unity and plurality. Thus
sign of the covenant between God, humans, and nature.
he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last, mark-
ing at once the destruction of plurality and the realization
Depending on which type of relationship between the
of Unity—as well as the destruction of Unity and its mani-
Unity and the plurality is assumed, names may refer either
festation in the plurality. This is the theological role envis-
to substance, attribute, or relation. When plurality is seen to
aged for Christ and Muh:ammad who are in their respective
emerge from the Unity, names primarily refer to substance
religions mediator and intercessor, between God, humans,
and there can be no real separation of substance and attri-
and nature.
bute. S´an˙kara thus posits that the essential nature of Brah-
man is such that a distinction cannot be made between sub-
Three possible relations between the Unity and the plu-
stance and attribute, and for him the ultimate goal is the
rality emerge from this understanding of the Trinity, and
identity of the individual soul with Brahman. For those for
these three positions are reflected in the points of view of the
whom Unity and duality are conceived of as separate reali-
three major thinkers of the metaphysical schools of Veda¯nta,
ties, name and form may refer either to substance, to attri-
namely: (1) of the plurality emerging or being carved out of
butes of substance, or to relations between substance and at-
the Unity (the position held by S´an˙kara, of the Advaita
tributes. Thus Madhva sees the possibility of attaining to
school); (2) of the Unity and the plurality being independent
three types of goals—of gods, seers, and humans, according
realities, as it were, though bound by the Holy Spirit/pra¯n:a
to the merit of one’s actions. These correspond respectively
(the position held by Madhva, of the Dvaita school); and (3)
to the names of substance, of relations, and of attributes. For
of the Unity in the plurality (the position held by Ra¯ma¯nuja,
those for whom Unity exists in the plurality, all names and
of the Vi´sis:t:a¯dvaita school).
forms refer to a relation of the two. According to Ra¯ma¯nuja,
Brahman therefore has only auspicious attributes while the
The common reading of the Advaitic school is that it
name and form of other objects in the universe may refer
regards the universe constituted by name and form as a mere
both to good or evil attributes.
illusion (ma¯ya¯). This leads to the misconception by contem-
porary scholars that the reality of this world must be forsaken
Sa¯m:khya, which means “number,” characterizes the
to achieve identity of the individual soul (a¯tman) with Brah-
plurality of the universe as being constituted of lin˙gas (specif-
man. In fact S´an˙kara’s position is that Brahman projects
ic combinations of the constituents of matter—sattva, rajas,
himself in the universe only in name and form. This of
and tamas) that in their turn individually associate with
course implies that in reality He does not change or project
purus:a, the spirit that is witness, enjoyer, and seeker of libera-
himself but the statement has the added significance that
tion, thus giving rise to a plurality of purus:as/persons. The
Brahman, if he may be known in this universe, can be known
Sa¯m:khyaka¯rika¯ characterizes their relation thus: “From their
only through name and form. To consider the universe of
association, the non-intelligent lin˙ga becomes intelligent as
name and form as independent of Brahman is the illusion.
it were; and so too, though agency is of the constituents, the
Name and form are then neither real nor unreal, neither self
indifferent One (Purus:a) becomes agent as it were”(¯I´svara
nor not-self. Thus S´an˙kara effectively demonstrates the con-
Kr:s:n:a [¯I´svarakr:s:n:a], 1948, ch. 20, pp. 43–44). Prakr:ti and
tradiction and complementarity, the difference and corre-
purus:a come together so that prakr:ti (“nature”) may be con-
spondence, that exist in the relation between Brahman and
templated on through lin˙ga by purus:a and so that purus:a in
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INDIAN PHILOSOPHIES
4423
turn may be released from the three-fold misery that consti-
a unity of method amongst the different systems. They all
tutes the universe; this is the necessary condition for the pos-
attempt, with varying emphasis, a non-dualism which pre-
sibility of creation. Here the use of the term lin˙ga, indicating
supposes a necessary and systematic relation between jña¯na,
a particular form of the specific person evolving from this as-
karma, and bhakti. It is significant that etymologically bhakti
sociation, is significant since it points to the fact that it is
means “partaking,” referring to humanity’s share in Cre-
only through purus:a seeing himself in name and form that
ation, through labor in production and reproduction. Thus
liberation is possible. According to Yoga, then, it is lin˙ga that
humanity’s participation in this universe, in jña¯na, karma,
is the object of meditation. Unlike knowledge by inference
and bhakti, involves the principle of compassion for all crea-
or testimony, lin˙ga refers to the determinate object and the
tures. One may note therefore that according to the
individual soul, and not to something general. Such knowl-
Nya¯yasu¯tra, compassion is a necessary requirement for the
edge arising from the meditation upon the lin˙ga is “truth/
person who may bear witness—that is, for the speaker of
reality-bearing.”
truth (a¯pta). By inference, then, truth must itself be such that
it embodies this principle of compassion. If the trinity of
From this, one can argue that though it is a topic not
Brahma¯, Vis:n:u, and S´iva represents the conditions for the
given much attention in the secondary literature, the media-
possibility of the Unity translating itself into the plurality,
tion between Brahman and the universe—or between tran-
jña¯na, karma, and bhakti represent the means or conditions
scendence and empirical existence—is the crux of the issue,
for the possibility of the realization of the Unity in the plural-
and not the nature and reality or unreality of one or the
ity by humankind.
other. Such mediation is achieved through the specific exam-
ple (of lin˙ga) and its contemplation. Thus, knowledge of
TEXTS: S´RUTI, SMR:TI, AND ITIHA¯SA. Texts of the Vedic tra-
name and form as signs of this mediation is the basis of
dition are classified into three categories: (1) ´sruti, or revela-
knowledge (jña¯na), vocation (karma), and invocation (bhak-
tion, comprising a compendium of hymns found in the four
ti). It is not by accident then that the saints of the Bhakti
Vedas (R:k, Sa¯ma, Yajur, and Atharva), rituals in the
and tantric traditions, the new religions of Lin˙ga¯yatism
Bra¯hman:as, and interpretations of vedic sacrifice in the
(Virasairism) and Sikhism, and Mohandas Gandhi’s experi-
A¯ran:yakas, which include the Upanis:ads; (2) smr:ti, meaning
ments with Truth, share a recognition of the potency of the
remembrance; and (3) itiha¯sa, meaning history or proof.
name. Bhakti does not, as is generally believed, have its basis
merely in experience, or simple faith, but in an understand-
Etymologically, ´sruti refers to “that which is heard.” As
ing of the theory of names as the quintessence of the classical
has been said already, the orthodox systems of philosophy ac-
tradition and as crucial to the mediation between God, hu-
cept the authority of the Vedas, which are ´sruti texts. S´ruti
mankind, and nature—in other words, to the mediation of
is eternal and impersonal (apaurus:eya). Some interpret
religion, politics, and science. This mode of prayer is consid-
apaurus:eya to mean nonhuman and infer a transcendental
ered to be available to men and women of all varn:as.
author of ´sruti. As the etymology of the term ´sruti suggests
however, what is indicated is a “hearer” and not a transcen-
JÑA¯NA, KARMA, AND BHAKTI. Philosophers like Karl H. Pot-
dent speaker. Thus it is an eternal and universal revelation
ter and Jitendra Nath Mohanty have attempted to find unity
that may be heard by one who is chosen (or, that is, has the
in the variety of systems that comprise Indian philosophy by
capacity to “hear”), and the ones who hear may speak in dif-
claiming that they are all, with the possible exception of
ferent tongues (va¯n:i). Thus ´sruti and va¯n:i make a pair, the
Ca¯rva¯ka, metaphysical schools with the goal of achieving lib-
one ineffective without the other. This is demonstrated by
eration or moks:a. However, not all schools articulate such an
the fact that the M¯ıma¯m:saka, who believe in the eternalness
engagement with moks:a explicitly, nor are they all necessarily
of the Word, deny the possible contradiction to this assump-
theistic. Other scholars attempt to make a distinction be-
tion posed by the fact that a variety of sounds may associated
tween the schools on the basis of whether a particular system
with a single letter, by explaining that the modification of
follows the path (ma¯rga) of jña¯na, karma, or bhakti. Here the
letter sounds is only in the hearing.
specific meaning these terms take on in a particular system
is of importance. For instance, it is often said that S´an:kara
The philosophical systems and treatises in science, poli-
Veda¯nta accepts jña¯na ma¯rga and is of the view that all karma
tics, medicine, art, architecture, and so on are classified as
ceases when the identity of Brahman and a¯tman is achieved.
smr:ti. Smr:ti etymologically means remembrance (of ´sruti),
It is only a sense of agency that assumes the distinction of
and refers to the invocation of the name, which, as has been
subject and object that is denied here and not action. So,
said, is the sign of the covenant between God, humankind,
there may be action but it is as if there is none. Thus the di-
and nature. Thus smr:ti in conjunction with ´sruti refers to the
chotomization of the question of jña¯na, karma, and bhakti
law that governs religion, politics, and science and identifies
in contemporary readings is a forced one. Failure to under-
the law of God as the law of nature. Each discipline works
stand their unity and method arises from an incomplete real-
out the laws in their specific determination in that specific
ization of the implications of the fact that Indian philoso-
science in such a way that the application of the law is at once
phies do not separate the scientific or cognitive from the
the invocation of God/Unity by that specific name and the
spiritual, nor do they separate theory from practice or means
means to the realization of Unity through that calling and
from ends. Furthermore, it may be argued that there exists
discipline. This presumes therefore the love of the All (cre-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4424
INDIAN PHILOSOPHIES
ation) and makes necessary the principle of nonviolence in
The V¯ıra´saiva initiate wears a lin˙ga around his neck as
the constitution and application of all laws whether in sci-
a sign of being in a constant state of worship; the an˙ga being
ence, religion, or politics.
incomplete without the lin˙ga, they are witness, each to the
other. Ka¯yaka, the orderly conduct of life in this world, is
Itiha¯sa, or “history,” includes the Pura¯n:as and the two
itself “heaven” (kaila¯´sa). The Lin˙ga¯yat is at once household-
great Indian epics, the Ra¯ma¯yan:a and the Maha¯bha¯rata.
er and renouncer, as S´iva himself is. Thus the division of so-
They embody the dialogic and dramatic defense of and at-
ciety into the monastic and householder’s way of life estab-
tack on the truth of the ´sruti and smr:ti in the history and
lished by Jainism and Buddhism is overcome. The potency
living experience of man in his relation to God, society, and
(S´akti) of the One (S´iva) has two modes—S´akti and bhakti.
nature.
Though bhakti is a modification of S´akti, paradoxically it is
EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH: RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY, AND
the former that is considered superior since the latter is the
CIVIL SOCIETY. This section will deal with Lin˙ga¯yatism
impulse towards separation and plurality, veiling herself and
(Virasaivism), Sikhism, and Gandhism as examples of re-
her Lord, while bhakti is the impulse towards unity with the
ligio-philosophical schools that experiment with truth, and
Lord. Men and women, high and low, all without exception
thus herald the modern period of Indian philosophy and his-
have equal access to salvation in and through their respective
tory. Like Jainism, Buddhism, and Ca¯rva¯ka philosophy, they
vocation and station in society.
also represent the vernacular tradition and the strength of
civil society with regard to religion and the state. They cri-
Sikhism carries further the experiment to bridge the di-
tique Hindu dogma and ritualism, and its rigid and alienat-
chotomy between religion and civil society and between the
ing social stratification. Without denying the essential truth
householder and the renouncer by taking into account their
of the Vedas, they emphasize the importance of experiment
relation with a third category, the political, represented by
and of a living faith. Their example serves as proof of the ex-
the state. As J. P. S. Uberoi comments:
istence of a principle of motion within Indian philosophy,
The new departure of Sikhism, in my structural inter-
society, and history.
pretation, was that it set out to annihilate the categori-
It is not often noticed that the critique of varn:a¯-
cal partitions, intellectual and social, of the medieval
world. It rejected the opposition of the common citizen
´sramadharma, in whatever form, is accompanied by a realiza-
or householder versus the renouncer, and of the ruler
tion of the necessary relation between the theory of the name
versus these two, refusing to acknowledge them as sepa-
and bhakti. This is significant because the social stratification
rate and distinct modes of existence. It acknowledged
along lines of varn:a was based on a division of labor and of-
the powers of the three spheres of ra¯jya, sannya¯s
fice. The theory of the name and bhakti together bring into
[sam:nya¯sa], and gr:ihasta [gr:hastha], but sought to invest
focus the relation between vocation and invocation, labor
their virtues conjointly in a single body of faith and
and sacrifice, and service and office in the “partaking” of the
conduct, religion-in-society-and-history, inserted by
creative and reproductive aspect of the universe. It may be
grace and effort as mediation between heaven and the
said, then, that they announce for the modern age a theory
world, or the a¯tma and Parama¯tma, the individual and
and method of following one’s calling and conscience,
the All, as the modern Indian form of non-dualism of
self, the world and the other. (1996, p.16)
which, while breaking away from medieval class hierarchy
and rigidity, does not lapse into dichotomies of opportunism
Uberoi argues that the five, along with an unstated sixth,
and idealism, or of individualism and communism.
symbols of Sikhism—the k¯e´s (unshorn hair) and kan˙ga
(comb) of Sam:nya¯sa yoga, the uncircumcised state which is
Lingayatism was founded by Basava (also known as
not stated but structurally indicated and the kachh (tailored
Basavan:n:a or Basave´swara) in South India in the twelfth cen-
loin garment) of gr:hastha yoga, and the kirpan (sword) and
tury CE. It proposed a system of thought called
kar:a (band of ritual constraint) of ra¯jya yoga—signify the as-
S´akti-vi´sis:t:a¯dvaita, which argues that the principles of Unity
sumption of the offices of these three spheres, by an “ordered
(S´iva) and the potency (S´akti) to become plurality are in-
renunciation of renunciation,” and not as opposed to one an-
alienably and necessarily united in the lin˙ga (sign). The trini-
other
ty that forms the conditions for the possibility of the transfig-
uration of the plurality through the realization of the Unity
The five symbols of Sikhism may be fruitfully compared
consists of sthala (substance/substratum), lin˙ga (sign/
with the eight a¯varn:as (“sheaths”) of the V¯ıra´saiva, which
relation), and an˙ga (part/attribute of the body of S´iva). Lin˙ga
form four pairs of symbols—guru¯ (example) and lin˙ga (sign
and an˙ga are in a relation of complementarity and correspon-
of the unity of S´iva and S´akti), jan:gama (the j¯ıvanamukta
dence, as the object of service or worship is to the one who
“moving”/living in this world) and vibhu¯ti (“ashes,” symbol-
offers service or worship, as the macrocosm is to the micro-
izing renunciation), rudra¯ks:a (S´iva’s eye, indicating the status
cosm, and as the whole is to the part. One may read Lingaya-
of being witness) and pa¯dodaka (the water that has cleansed
tism as referring to a theory of signs and the trinity above
the feet of guru¯, lin˙ga, and jan:gama, indicating service), and
as referring to the names of substance, relation, and attribute.
prasa¯da (“grace”; the potency of that which we partake of
Since the sign itself mediates between Unity and plurality,
through one’s vocation in the presence of the congregation)
it refers to the category of relation.
and mantra (invocation/potency of the name). These pairs
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDIAN PHILOSOPHIES
4425
reflect the juxtaposition of form and name, being in the
of life with the self as the subject and the object of study in
world and renunciation, through self-restraint and self-
its relation of service to God, humankind and nature; it is
denial with respect to the world and the other, the inner and
new as much to the idea of the Indian tradition as it is to
outer aspects of worship, and grace and potency in the world
the modernity of the Enlightenment. Without deferring to
and the word respectively. Though it is perhaps right to
either, it establishes the conditions for the possibility of true
argue that V¯ıra´saivism, unlike Sikhism, does not oppose reli-
swaraj (svara¯j) or self-rule of individual, society, and nation
gion and society to the state, the two traditions are nonethe-
through labor, service, self-denial, and self-sacrifice in reli-
less united in assigning primacy to the worship of the name,
gion, politics, and science. The satya¯grahi, the nonviolent
the life of renunciation in (and not “of”) this world, and wor-
seeker after truth, equipped with fearlessness and a spirit of
ship through sacrifice and service.
self-sacrifice, and invoking the name of God (Ra¯mana¯ma),
is at once devotee, community/political worker, and scien-
With Sikhism is introduced the notion of the sam:gha
tist, combining service and experiment in faith, experiment
(or congregation) as a society of the saved, membership of
and faith in service, and faith and service in experiment.
which is the condition for the reception of service and wor-
ship. This may be compared with Lin˙ga¯yatism, which em-
Denying that varn:a and a¯´srama had anything to do
phasizes the service and worship of the Ishtalinga (a personal
with caste, Gandhi drew attention to the fact that
deity) and the union of S´iva and S´akti symbolizing the possi-
varn:a¯´srama asserts the law governing one’s being in in soci-
bility of creation, production, and reproduction of the spe-
ety, refers to the calling by which we earn our bread, defines
cies as the condition for the possibility of its reception The
one’s duty not right, and emphasizes that all callings must
notion of the congregation also plays a significant role in
necessarily be conducive to the welfare of all humanity. From
Gandhi’s philosophy.
this he concludes: “It follows that there is no calling too low
and none too high. All are good, lawful and absolutely equal
The trinity that forms the foundation of Gandhian phi-
in status. The callings of a Brahmana—spiritual teacher—
losophy is comprised of truth, nonviolence, and experiment.
and a scavenger are equal, and their due performance carries
Gandhi demonstrates through example and experiment that
equal merit before God and at one time seems to have carried
the study of the self cannot be separated from the study of
identical reward before man” (1987, pp. 12–13).
the other and the world, in religion, politics, and science, and
therefore that the truth of the one can not be independent
According to Gandhi individual prayer is only a prelude
of that of the other. According to him the adherence in spirit
to collective prayer and is ineffective without the latter. It is
and practice to the principle of nonviolence, based on a love
a necessary means to the realization of the brotherhood of
that embraces the meanest of God’s creatures, alone can be
man and the fatherhood of God, and to the realization of
the method of investigation by which one may arrive at the
membership in society, and is necessary training for the use
truth. Thus he was as much against vivisection as a means
of the “weapon” of satya¯graha (“soul force”). Congregational
of scientific study and progress as he was against the evil of
prayer lays the foundation for the unity in plurality and the
untouchability as a social institution:
plurality in unity of religions, which is achieved through
equality and difference, and complementarity and competi-
I abhor vivisection with my whole soul. I detest the un-
pardonable slaughter of innocent life in the name of sci-
tion between them:
ence and society so-called, and all the scientists’ discov-
It becomes man to remember his Maker all the twenty-
eries stained with innocent blood I count as of no
four hours. If that cannot be done we should at least
consequence. If the circulation of blood theory could
congregate at prayer time to renew our covenant with
not have been discovered without vivisection then hu-
God. Whether we are Hindus or Musalmans, Parsis,
mankind could well have done without it. And I see the
Christians or Sikhs, we all worship the same God. Con-
day clearly dawning when the honest scientist of the
gregational worship is a means for establishing the es-
West will put limitations upon the present methods of
sential human unity through common worship. (1987,
pursuing knowledge. Future measurements will take
pp. 194–195)
note not only of the human family but of all that lives
and even as we are slowly but surely discovering that it
CONCLUSION. The method of the non-dualism of jña¯na,
is an error to suppose that Hindus can thrive upon the
karma, and bhakti, in Indian philosophy, is based on a pre-
degradation of a fifth of themselves or that people of the
supposition of the necessary relation between theory and
West can rise or live upon the exploitation and degrada-
practice, fact and value, means and ends, and the individual
tion of the Eastern and African nations, so shall we real-
and the collective. This method therefore defines the nature
ize in the fullness of time, that our dominion over the
and scope of both the dialectic within the scriptural tradi-
lower order of creation is not for their slaughter, but for
tions and between them and the vernacular traditions. The
their benefit equally with ours. For I am as certain that
specific examples of issues and of religions discussed above
they are endowed with a soul as that I am. (Collected
demonstrate, albeit not exhaustively, the existence of a prin-
Works, vol. 29, pp. 325–326)
ciple of motion within Indian philosophy that inspires the
Thus Gandhi presents a new theory of experiment as the dis-
direction and development of its problematic in history and
covery of nonviolent means of realizing truth in every aspect
society.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4426
INDIAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
In method, spirit, and project Indian philosophies pres-
patterns, and by a great diversity in mental character and so-
ent a species of modernity diametrically opposed to the mo-
cioreligious customs, cults, beliefs, practices, and ways of life
dernity that derives from the European Enlightenment. The
varying widely both regionally and, within the same region,
former presents a systematic working out of experiments to
from class to class. Indian culture gives free scope to the emo-
consider the necessary relation between religion, politics, and
tional and imaginative sides of human nature, to speculative,
science in philosophy, history, and society, whereas, the proj-
more or less visionary thinking and modes of apprehension,
ect of the latter is to separate, systematically, their study in
and it has long preserved the cohesion of its provinces: reli-
theory and practice.
gion, art, literature, and social organization.
VEDISM. The religious life reflected in the oldest Indian liter-
SEE ALSO Buddhist Philosophy; Ca¯rva¯ka; Jainism;
ature in preclassic Sanskrit, the Veda (from about the thir-
M¯ıma¯m:sa¯; Nya¯ya; Sa¯m:khya; Vai´ses:ika; Veda¯nta; Yoga.
teenth century BCE), is that of a predominantly ritual and
sacrificial system (Vedism) developing, almost in seclusion,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
at first in the Punjab, later in the Ganges Plain, among the
Dasgupta, Surendranath. A History of Indian Philosophy. 5 vols.
Cambridge, U.K., 1922–1955.
immigrant Aryans (Indo-Europeans), whose ideas and repre-
sentations of the divine constitute an almost unified synthe-
Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand. The Essence of Hinduism. Ah-
sis embodied in an elaborate mythology partly paralleled by
madabad, India, 1987.
ritual equivalences. Vedic thought was based on the belief in
Gandhi, Mahatma [Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi]. Collected
an inextricable coordination of nature, human society, ritual,
Works. 100 vols. New Delhi, 1956–1994. A CD-ROM ver-
and the sphere of myth and the divine; it was also founded
sion has also been released in 98 volumes (New Delhi, 1999).
on the belief that these spheres influence one another contin-
¯
I´svara Kr:s:n:a [¯I´svarakr:s:n:a]. The Sa¯m:khyaka¯rika¯. Edited and trans-
uously and that men have, by means of ritual, an obligatory
lated by S. S. Suryanarayana Sastri. Madras, India, 1948.
part to play in the maintenance of universal order and the
Mohanty, Jitendra Nath. Classical Indian Philosophy. Lanham,
furtherance of their common interests. In later times also, In-
Md., 2000.
dians have constantly sought correspondences between ob-
Potter, Karl H. Presuppositions of India’s Philosophies. Delhi, 1991.
jects and phenomena belonging to distinct spheres of nature
Sakhare, M. R. History and Philosophy of Lin˙ga¯yat Religion. Bel-
and conceptual systems. Many hymns and individual stanzas
gaum, 1942. Includes an introduction to and translation of
of the oldest literary corpus (the R:gveda Sam:hita¯, an antholo-
Lin˙gadha¯ranachandrika¯ by Nandikesvara.
gy drawn from family traditions) were intended for the cult
S´an˙kara¯ca¯rya [S´an˙kara]. Brahma¯-Su¯tra Bha¯s:ya. Translated by
and used in the liturgy of spectacular solemn (´srauta) cere-
Swami Gambhirananda. Calcutta, 1972.
monies, which gradually increased in number, length, and
complexity. These ceremonies were to ensure the orderly
Uberoi, Jitendra Pal Singh. Religion, Civil Society, and the State:
A Study of Sikhism. Delhi and New York, 1996. A compara-
functioning of the world for the benefit of noble or wealthy
tive study of the traditions of Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam
patrons. The rites were performed in the open on a specially
from the point of view of what he identifies as Sikhism’s as
prepared plot—there were no temples or idols—by special-
well as Gandhi’s problematic—that of forging an Indian mo-
ized officiants. Part of this literature was employed, along
dernity out of medievalism based on pluralism and principles
with texts from the Atharvaveda Sam:hita¯, in the domestic or
of contradiction, correspondence and complimentarity.
magic ritual performed by a householder or single priest to
A
ensure an individual’s health, safety, success, prosperity, and
NURADHA VEERAVALLI (2005)
longevity. These texts and the ritual formulas of the Yajurve-
da, which invariably fulfill some ritual function, are collec-
tively called mantras. They are believed to be revelations of
INDIAN RELIGIONS
aspects of the divine, the product of the exalted experiences
This entry consists of the following articles:
of sages (r:s:is) and hence constitute sacred and inherently
AN OVERVIEW
powerful verbal formulas for producing a desired result.
RURAL TRADITIONS
MYTHIC THEMES
Some Vedic mantras remained in Hinduist rites, which,
HISTORY OF STUDY
however, generally require other ones.
No definite chronology can be established for Vedic lit-
INDIAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
erature or the development of religious ideas and ritual prac-
The Indians, anthropologically a mixture of immigrant Ary-
tices. It is known that the collections of hymns were suc-
ans and partly autochthonous peoples, gradually elaborated
ceeded by the Bra¯hman:as, texts that discuss rites and rituals
a many-sided, highly developed culture rooted in the archaic
and explain their origin, meaning, and validity. These sacral
structure of the human mind. This culture is characterized
acts, being the counterpart of the cosmic drama, are in fact
by an often almost complete integration of heterogeneous el-
also the symbolic expression of speculations about the origin
ements, by unity in diversity, by homogeneity despite the ut-
and functioning of the universe and the significance, activity,
most variety and complexity of its ethnic and social composi-
and operation of the powers, personal and impersonal, pre-
tion, by a multitude of languages and different cultural
siding over its provinces and manifesting their presence and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDIAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4427
influence. Thus the ceremonious construction of a special
may have been amulets or votive offerings should prevent
place for the ritual fire is believed to reintegrate the creator
one from hastily regarding their occurrence in Hinduist reli-
god, enabling him to continue his creative activity and to
gions as an uninterrupted continuance of a function suppos-
bring about a transformation and higher existence of the pa-
edly attributed to certain Indus objects.
tron of the sacrifice, who in and through this ritual is identi-
fied with the creator and delivered from death. Mainly based
General characteristics. The main current of Hindu-
on the Bra¯hman:as are the S´rauta-su¯tras, manuals in which
ism, the so-called great tradition, is a remarkably continuous
the rites are for practical purposes systematically and au-
whole. The tendency to maintain continuity has always been
thoritatively described. No information is given on the earli-
deep-rooted but did not exclude the constant accretion and
er, prehistoric cult, which cannot be reconstructed. These
integration of further elements derived from non-Aryan peo-
works arrange the solemn rites in three classes: the partly in-
ples, extraneous sources (invaders on the northwestern fron-
herited bloodless sacrifices, the more elaborate animal sacri-
tier may have contributed to the custom of sat¯ı, the self-
fices, and the typically Indian soma ceremonies. In the course
immolation practiced by widows, for example), and the ac-
of time these elite ´srauta rituals fell largely into disuse and
tivities of individual religious leaders. While continuity and
were superseded by Hinduist rites performed at the expense
change have been the prevailing patterns, incorporation and
of and for the benefit of much larger parts of the population.
synthesis between the new and the traditional usually were
more obvious than the often almost imperceptible elimina-
HINDUISM. Some prehistoric forms of Hinduism—the civi-
tion of those elements that no longer had a useful and recog-
lization of the Hindus, consisting of their beliefs, practices,
nizable function. Nevertheless, it is more common to draw
and socioreligious institutions—must have existed at the
upon the past than to invent anew, and apparently original
Vedic period, especially in the unrecorded religion of the
ideas may be foreshadowed by concepts apparent centuries
lower classes, and probably earlier. Domestic ritual, which
earlier. Thus many features of Hinduism have their roots in
is entirely different from the solemn rites, consists of many
the Vedic past, and some characteristic ideas inherited from
rites that, though described and systematized by brahman au-
that past and developed in a few main currents—primarily
thorities in the Vedic Gr:hyasu¯tras, are in essence not typical-
doctrines of salvation—have up to the present largely deter-
ly Vedic, or rather constitute Vedic varieties of widespread
mined the Indian view of life and the world.
rites of passage, rites of appeasement, cult of the dead, and
so on. Later chapters of this literature show markedly non-
The older Upanis:ads are the first recorded attempts at
Vedic and post-Vedic influences, such as strong leanings to-
systematizing Indian philosophical thought. They are esoter-
ward Vais:n:ava ritualism, which attest to the gradual incorpo-
ic supplements to the Bra¯hman:as, intended for advanced pu-
ration of non-Vedic rites and substitution of extra-Vedic ele-
pils with a bent for reflection, abstract speculation, and
ments for those recognized by the original compilers of
philosophical discussion rather than ritual theory, and there-
Hindu rites and practices. Gradually these elements became
fore answering the needs of ascetics and anchorites. Few In-
more prominent.
dians are inclined to reject the contents of these Upanis:ads,
with which every subsequent philosophy had to show itself
Non-Aryan influences. How much influence was ex-
in accord. While emphasizing the philosophical value of the
erted by the religions of the non-Aryan inhabitants of India
Vedic tradition, they are essentially concerned with describ-
on the formation and development of Hinduism is a matter
ing the nature of what is alternately called brahman (the Ab-
of dispute. Although aborigines may have contributed some
solute) or a¯tman (universal soul), and its relation with the in-
elements, their religion is generally different in many respects
dividual soul (often called j¯ıva). The realization of the
(e.g., they do not venerate the cow, and they allow their wid-
identity of the latter with the former came to be substituted
ows to remarry). The Vedic religion had no demonstrable re-
for the ritual method of conquering death and attaining inte-
lation with the great civilizations of Harappa, Mohenjo-
gral life, the ultimate goal of all speculation. Being compila-
Daro, and vast regions to the east of the Indus Valley
tions, the Upanis:ads do not present a homogeneous philo-
(c. 2500–1500 BCE). As long as the graphic symbols on seals
sophical theory, but there was a move to reconcile the
from these sites are not convincingly deciphered and the lan-
references to the dualistic and evolutionistic doctrines of
guage is not identified (that it was Dravidian—the name of
what was to become the influential Sa¯m:khya school of phi-
non-Aryan languages of southern India—is still unproved
losophy with the prevailing monistic doctrines. Hinduism,
conjecture), most of the conclusions drawn from archaeolog-
directed by these works toward monism, has largely sought
ical material and argumentation regarding links with ele-
its inspiration in them.
ments or characteristics of older and even contemporary
Hinduism remain as speculative as the hypothesis of a pre-
There are a number of more or less constant elements
dominantly influential Dravidian substratum. Do the clay
of Hinduism. The central focus of India’s spiritual life is the
figurines of women really attest to some form of worship of
belief in and search for an uncreated eternal, fundamental
a mother goddess that continued in the historical period, or
principle (brahman), the ultimate source and goal of all exis-
to the existence of a prehistoric S´aiva ´sakti cult? Is the figure
tence. Brahman is the One that is the All and the sole reality,
of a male dancer identical with the dancing S´iva? The wide
which transforms itself into the universe, or causes all exis-
distribution in various countries of, for instance, objects that
tence and all beings to emanate from itself, and which is the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4428
INDIAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
self (a¯tman) of all living beings. Brahman may also be con-
fy the various representatives of the Highest Person with the
ceived of as a personal “high god” (usually as Vis:n:u or S´iva),
Primeval Person (Purus:a), whose self-limitation, according
characterized by sublime and adorable qualities. Further ele-
to a R:gvedic hymn, inaugurated the era of creation. Prefer-
ments are the confidence that one’s own existence and the
ence for an avata¯ra is mainly traditional; in the North, Kr:s:n:a
culture of one’s community are founded on an eternal and
is more often worshiped; in the South, it is Ra¯ma, Vis:n:u
infallible basis, and the craving for building one’s life and
himself, or Vis:n:u’s consort, S´r¯ı. In many myths the versatile
ideals on this firm foundation; the recognition of a pristine
Vis:n:u performs, often in well-known Indian places, great
body of religious literature (the Veda) as an eternal and abso-
and miraculous deeds to confirm the dharma, protect hu-
lute authority considered to be brahman appearing as words,
manity, and preserve the world. The Bhagavadg¯ıta¯, an epi-
however unknown its contents; and acknowledgment of the
sode of the Maha¯bha¯rata and the most seminal of all
spiritual supremacy by birth of the brahmans, another mani-
Vais:n:ava works, founded Vais:n:ava ethics: Fulfilling their du-
festation of brahman, who are regarded as representing the
ties disinterestedly, humans should realize God’s presence in
norm of ritual purity and who enjoy social prestige. The key-
themselves, love him and their fellow beings devotedly, and
stone of Hinduist ethics is the belief in the unity of all life
dedicate all their actions to him so as to earn the prospect
and its corollary respect for life and fellow feeling with all liv-
of final emancipation.
ing beings (ahim:sa¯); the doctrine of transmigration and re-
The Hinduist worship, in many different groups and
birth (sam:sa¯ra, a post-Vedic term), first adumbrated in one
currents, of S´iva in his various manifestations results from
of the oldest Upanis:ads (c. 600 BCE), and its complement,
a complex development to which the often malevolent out-
the belief in karman (previous acts) as the factor determining
sider god Rudra of the Vedas has contributed much. (There
the condition into which a being is reborn, a consequence
may also have been Dravidian influences.) Rudra, primarily
of a cyclic view of all worldly processes and existence. These
representing the untamed aspects of uncultivated nature, was
doctrines encourage the opinion that mundane life is not
called S´iva (“the mild one”) when the benevolent and auspi-
true existence (the so-called Indian pessimism) and hence re-
cious aspects of his nature were emphasized. S´aivism is an
late to the conviction that human endeavor should be direct-
unsystematic amalgam of pan-Indian S´aiva philosophy, local
ed toward final emancipation (moks:a) from the mechanism
or folk religion, mythological thought, and popular imagery.
of karman and transmigration, the only goal of this effort
S´iva’s many-sided character, to which accreted features of
being the One (brahman) that is beyond all phenomenal ex-
great gods as well as demoniac powers, is split up into many
istence. In view of the above, Hinduism exhibits a natural
partial manifestations representing aspects of his ambivalent
tendency to speculation hand in hand with religion as well
nature. As ¯I´svara he is the unique and almighty Supreme Per-
as to a monistic philosophy and mysticism that has left intact
son, representing an abstract, sole principle above change
traditional mythology and common beliefs. Finally, it is
and variation, less human than Vis:n:u, and much less active,
characterized by a complex polytheism subsumed in a funda-
although elsewhere, in his role as Na¯t:ara¯ja the dancer, he
mental monotheism and by a propensity to ascribe the attri-
originates the eternal rhythm of the universe. He is both mild
butes of other gods to the deity one is worshiping.
and terrible, a creator and destroyer, an ascetic and a sexual-
Early history. The history proper of Hinduism begins
ist. Thus S´iva represents a composite god who is a unity to
with the emergence of the great works on dharma, the totali-
his devotees, and he plays many apparently contradictory
ty of traditional custom and behavior that, agreeing with
roles in myths, which, on various levels, resolve logically ir-
standards considered to derive their authority from the
reconcilable contradictions.
Vedas, manifests and maintains order and stability. This is
BUDDHISM AND JAINISM. The same period saw the spread
also the age of the epics, especially the Maha¯bha¯rata (c. 300
of two heterodox soteriologies, heterodox because they reject
BCE–300 CE), that “encyclopedia of Hinduism” that shows,
the authority of the Veda and the social prejudices of the
even then, what appears to be a varied and confused con-
brahmans, although they scarcely attack the fundamentals of
glomerate of beliefs and practices. However, there are two
Hindu belief and practices. The way in which the early Bud-
main currents, soteriologies when viewed from their doctri-
dhists presented their doctrines has much in common with
nal aspect and religions from the viewpoint of their adher-
the oldest Upanis:ads, which must antedate the spread of the
ents: Vais:n:avism and S´aivism. Neither current is in itself a
Aryan culture to the south and the activity of Gautama
unity. Yet all Vais:n:avas are essentially monotheistic, believ-
(c. 560–480 BCE). Gautama, the Buddha, first gave an expo-
ing in Vis:n:u as their immanent high god (¯I´svara), although
sition of his basic doctrine in Banaras. He taught that those
in many contexts he appears as one of the divine polytheistic
who wish to be delivered from sam:sa¯ra and the automatism
figures (devas). In the Vedas, Vis:n:u represents universal per-
of karman, which does not rely upon a permanent transmi-
vasiveness; his beneficent energy, in which all beings abide,
grating soul (whose existence the Buddha denied), should re-
reaches the world through the axis mundi, the central pillar
alize four basic truths: (1) earthly existence is pain; (2) the
of the universe. Vais:n:avas often worship him through his
cause of pain is craving for existence, leading to rebirth; (3)
manifestations or incarnations (avata¯ras), such as Ra¯ma or
cessation of that craving is cessation of pain; (4) an eightfold
Kr:s:n:a. These and other originally independent figures had
path leads to that cessation. Final deliverance is realized only
fused with Vis:n:u mainly as a result of the tendency to identi-
in an ascetic and monastic life by those who, after having suc-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDIAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4429
cessfully observed definite rules of life and reached complete
altar”), always the material expression of the doctrine of rein-
meditation (sama¯dhi), experience the undefinable state of
tegration. At the temple the god is worshiped through his
nirva¯n:a, the cessation of all becoming. The daily activities
image (mu¯rti), whose beauty contributes to its force as a sa-
of Buddhist monks were recitation, meditation, instruction,
cred instrument. In elaborate ceremonies the god, as an exalt-
and collecting alms from the laity (who largely continued ad-
ed personage and royal guest, is offered food, flowers, and
hering to Hindu belief and observing Hindu practices). As
incense. His iconography, consecration (introduction of the
the number of adherents increased, the Buddhist order re-
god’s spirit), and installation, as well as the mantras used, the
ceived large gifts that led to the establishment of monasteries.
significance of the material and requisites, and the spirit ani-
The multiplying order spread to different parts of India, in-
mating the execution of temple and images, are all meticu-
cluding the south and Sri Lanka (third century BCE). In the
lously described. This daily worship (pu¯ja¯) probably contin-
beginning of the fourth century BCE the community began
ues many non-Aryan elements that were gradually received
to be split by successive schisms, each of which made its own
by the higher classes and incorporated into the Brahmanical
collection of canonical texts. After about 500 CE, Indian
literature. Pu¯ja¯ is also performed at home by the household-
Buddhism began to decline.
er. As far as the uncomplicated older private cult survived,
The Buddha was not the only illuminated teacher who,
it was supplemented by the traditional (sma¯rta) cults of
after renouncing the world, organized his initiates into a
Vis:n:u, S´iva, and other gods, morning and evening rites,
community. In Bihar one of his contemporaries,
oblations in the consecrated fire, recitation, and mental
Vardhama¯na Maha¯v¯ıra, reformed an existing community
adoration.
and founded the predominantly monastic Jainism, which
During many centuries after about 300
spread to northern and central India, Gujarat, and the Dec-
CE there arose
can, and in the last few centuries
an enormous body of mainly Vais:n:ava and S´aiva literature.
BCE split into two groups,
not on philosophic disagreement but on points of rules for
The Puran:as, stemming from various circles and regions, but
the monks. Jainism is systematic and has never changed in
significantly all attributed to the redactor of the Vedas and
its basic ideology. Its philosophy is dualistic: It posits nonliv-
the Maha¯bha¯rata and claiming to be inspired, deal with cos-
ing entities (including space and time) pervaded by (partly
mogony, cosmology (the universe exists cyclically, its eternal
transmigrating, partly emancipated) immaterial and eternal
return implying the eternal return of souls to bondage and
souls; the world, eternal and changeless, is not governed by
suffering), mythology and legends, principles and philoso-
a supreme being; the system is characterized by the absence
phy, religious practices and ceremonies, local cults and sanc-
of gods (devas); karman is the central power that determines
tuaries, sacred rivers and places of pilgrimage. The many,
the destiny of unemancipated souls. Humans have to perfect
still-influential A¯gamas, also in Sanskrit, mainly teach the
their souls and those of their fellow creatures; ahim:sa¯ and
practical realization of religious truths, while largely govern-
universal tolerance are the main duties and cardinal virtues.
ing temple and household ritual and the traditional religious
Whereas the adherents of Buddhism were from a variety of
life and behavior of Hindus. Their subject matter is theoreti-
social classes, Jainism attracted the wealthy and influential.
cally divisible into four categories: higher knowledge, which
The Jains erected beautiful temples with statues of their per-
gives access to final emancipation; physical, mental, and psy-
fect souls (siddhas) and produced an enormous body of
chic concentration, that is, complete control of all corporeal
moral and narrative literature. Nowadays they often tend to
and mental functions, leading to the same goal (yoga); meri-
return to Hinduism, against whose social order they have
torious works; and rites, including the many socially and reli-
never revolted.
giously important festivals that are believed to stimulate and
H
resuscitate the vital powers of nature. The A¯gamas favor vari-
INDUISM AFTER ABOUT 300 BCE. When Buddhism and
Jainism enjoyed royal protection, they could extend their in-
ous philosophical doctrines. A feature of the Vais:n:ava¯gamas,
fluence. However, the masses doubtless always remained
usually called Sam:hita¯s, is bhakti, “participation (of the soul
Hinduist, even under the Maurya dynasty (c. 326–c. 187
in the divine),” devout and emotional worship and adoration
BCE), from which time the epigraphical records left by kings
of a personal deity in a spirit of deep affection, amounting
create the impression of a Buddhist supremacy, and in the
to surrender to God. Because these works also teach non-
first and second centuries of the common era, when foreign
Vedic tenets, they are often considered heterodox, in that
rulers accorded Buddhists protection. Until the fourth cen-
they deviate from the Hindu dharma. Some religions, such
tury, inscriptional and numismatic evidence of Vais:n:avism
as the northern S´aiva Pa¯´supatas, have propagated consciously
and S´aivism is scanty, but the period of the Gupta dynasty
divergent rites and practices. Most Vais:n:avas, among them
(320–c. 500 CE), which patronized the brahmans and the
the Pa¯ñcara¯tras, however, deny that they deviate from the
Hinduist communities, saw the full development of classical
generally accepted tradition; many southern S´aivas regard
Sanskrit and the rise of a non-Buddhist architectural style.
their A¯gamas (although with no certain proof) as the san-
The construction of a temple, a rite based on mythical reali-
skritization of an originally Dravidian tradition; some as-
ty, a sacrifice leading to a higher level of self-realization for
sume the influence of oral esoteric doctrines. In fact, numer-
the builder, is, like the construction of the great Vedic sacrifi-
ous elements are, notwithstanding argumentation to the
cial fire-place (usually, though inaccurately, called “fire
contrary, non-Brahmanical in origin.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4430
INDIAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
S´AIVA RELIGIONS AND TANTRISM. Some religions of India
ments that still have many adherents. The tradition known
do deviate from common Hinduist traditions and institu-
as the S´r¯ı Vais:n:avas was inaugurated between about 900 and
tions. In contrast to the S´aiva Siddha¯ntins of the Tamil-
1130 by Ya¯muna, the first apologist of Vais:n:ava theology,
speaking South—who, basing themselves also on the mysti-
and consolidated by the great philosopher Ra¯ma¯nuja
cism of the S´aiva Tamil saint-poets (Na¯yana¯rs), teach that
(c. 1017–1137). The S´r¯ı Vais:n:avas introduced into their
¯
God in the shape of a spiritual guide, or guru, graciously per-
temple ceremonies the recitation of Tamil hymns of the
mits himself to be realized by the purified soul—the
A¯lva¯rs, which evince a passionate belief in and love of God.
V¯ıra´saivas, or Lin˙ga¯yats, in southwestern India (not men-
¯
Considering these poets and their great teachers (a¯ca¯ryas) in-
tioned before the twelfth century) abandon many traditional
tegral parts (am:´sas) of God’s nature, they often worship im-
elements (e.g., caste, image worship). Doctrinal dissent is al-
ages of them in their temples. According to Ra¯ma¯nuja, brah-
ways possible. The religio-philosophic idealist and monist
man is as a “person” (purus:a) the sole cause of his own
Kashmir school of S´aivism disagrees in certain important re-
modifications (emanation, existence, and absorption of the
spects with the teaching of S´an:kara (eighth century), the
universe), immaterial, perfect, omnipotent, the soul of all
founder of Advaita monism, derived from the Upanis:adic
being, the ultimate goal of all religious effort, to which God
Veda¯nta as a system of absolute idealism that is mainly fol-
induces the devotee who wishes to please him. The purifica-
lowed by the intellectual elite. S´an:kara, a native of Malabar
tory significance of the ritual, meritorious works, disinterest-
who resided in Banaras and traveled throughout India, was
ed discharge of duties, and bhakti are emphasized.
a superb organizer; he established a monastic order and
monasteries (mat:has), which, like the many hermitages
The influential Bha¯gavata Pura¯n:a (c. 900?), also com-
(a¯´sramas) and the great shrines, became centers of religious
posed in Tamil Nadu, teaches that God through his incom-
activity and contributed to the realization of his ideal of
prehensible creative ability (ma¯ya¯) expands himself into the
Hindu unity.
universe, which is his outward appearance. On the basis of
this teaching, Bengal Vais:n:avism developed the theory of a
From about 500 CE, Tantric ritual and doctrines mani-
relation of inconceivable difference in identity and identity
fest themselves more or less frequently in Buddhism, S´aiva
in difference between God and the world, as well as the belief
Siddha¯nta, and Pa¯ñcara¯tra. Tantrism, primarily meant for
that God’s creative activity is his sport (l¯ıla¯). The emotional
esoteric circles, yet still an important aspect of Hinduism, is
and erotic description of young Kr:s:n:a’s sport with the milk-
a systematic quest for spiritual excellence or emancipation
maids (gop¯ıs), who represent souls pervaded by bhakti who
through realization of the highest principle, the bipolar, bi-
yearn for God, enjoys lasting popularity. In this Pura¯n:a,
sexual deity, in one’s own body. The possibilities of this
bhakti religiosity was expanded, deepened, and stimulated by
microcosmos should be activated, sublimated, and made to
singing, meditation, and looking at Kr:s:n:a’s image. As the saf-
exert influence on the macrocosmos, with which it is closely
est way to God, bhakti, a mystical attitude of mind involving
connected (physiological processes are thus described with
an intuitive, immediate apprehension and loving contempla-
cosmological terminology). Means to this end, partly magi-
tion of God, often overshadows the devotee’s aspirations to
cal, partly orgiastic, include recitation of mantras, contem-
final emancipation and assumes a character of uncontroll-
plation of geometrical cosmic symbols (man:d:alas), leading
able enthusiasm and ecstasy, marked by tears, hysteria, and
the performer of the rites to the reintegration of conscious-
fainting.
ness; appropriate gestures (mudra¯s), and meditation. Tantric
pu¯ja¯ is complicated and in many respects differs from con-
In northern and central India the bhakti movement
ventional ceremonies. Especially in Bengal, Tantrism has
flourished from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century,
tended to merge with the S´a¯kta cult. The term Tantra com-
producing a vast and varied literature in vernacular lan-
monly applies to S´aiva or S´a¯kta works of the Tantric tradi-
guages. Even today these areas feel the influence of a long
tion. S´a¯ktism, not always clearly distinguishable from
succession of saint-poets, passionate itinerant preachers
S´aivism, is the worship of the Supreme as divine creative en-
(among them Caitanya, in Bengal, 1485–1533), and gurus.
ergy (´sakti), a female force that creates, regulates, and de-
These mystics and religious (rather than social) reformers
stroys the cosmos; when regarded as a person, she usually is
propagated public singing of their devotional songs and
S´iva’s spouse, often the dreadful goddess Durga¯ or Ka¯l¯ı. In
k¯ırtana (the praise of God’s name and glory), and preached
contrast to the so-called right-hand Tantrists, who emphasize
a nonextremist way of life. While so addressing the masses,
yoga and bhakti, the left-hand Tantrists seek to realize the
bhakti influenced almost all religious communities and
union of the male and female principles in the One by com-
contributed as a unifying force considerably to a revival of
bining control of the senses with the sexual act; in addition,
Hinduism.
they make sacramental use of what is forbidden (e.g., meat)
REACTION TO FOREIGN RELIGIONS. The revival of Hindu-
to the brahmans.
ism in the south and the spread of the bhakti movement also
VAIS:N:AVA RELIGIONS AND BHAKTI. Although Vais:n:avism,
prepared the Indians to withstand the proselytizing of exter-
less coherent than S´aivism, had, in the sixth century, spread
nal religions, particularly Islam. From 1000 CE onward, the
all over India, it reached predominance in Tamil Nadu,
Muslims conquered the Northwest, made Delhi their capital,
which became the cradle of important schools and move-
and extended their influence to Bengal, the Deccan, and the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDIAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4431
South, destroying temples and idols and making many con-
cated absolute adherence to the religion of the Vedic hymns,
verts, particularly among the untouchables. But Islam scarce-
which he regarded as a continually misinterpreted source of
ly affected the Hindu way of life; rather, it provoked a coun-
pure monotheism, moral and social reform, and guidance to-
terreaction in the form of increased adherence to the Hindu
ward the right way to salvation; however, most of the doc-
dharma and the Hindu religions and stricter observance of
trines Sarasvati accepted (e.g., karman) were post-Vedic. Op-
rites and ceremonies. Nevertheless, the presence of Islam in
posed to foreign religions, the A¯rya Sama¯j propagates a
India involved an age-long conflict between strict monothe-
refined nationalist and democratic Hinduism without sym-
ism and the various manifestations of Hinduism. In one
bols and local cults but including the worship of God with
field, however, Islam and Hinduism could draw near to each
praise, prayer, meditation, and daily ceremonies. The main
other: Muslim and Hindu mystics have in common the idea
object of Ramakrishna (1836–1886), perhaps the best-
of an all-embracing unity. To be sure, the S:u¯f¯ıs made this
known modern Hindu saint, was the propagation of the
idea a channel of Islamization, but some Indian spiritual
Veda¯nta as a superior and comprehensive view of life that
leaders tried to bridge the gulf between Islam and Hinduism.
synthesizes all faiths on a higher level of spiritual conscious-
Kab¯ır (c. 1450–1525), an itinerant ascetic, mystic, and
ness. A devotee of Ra¯ma and later of Kr:s:n:a, he practiced the
strictly monotheist poet and eclectic teacher and preacher,
Vais:n:ava form of love; convinced that Hinduism, Islam, and
rejected traditional ritual and Brahmanical speculation but
Christianity all lead to the same God, he also adopted Chris-
retained the belief in basic concepts such as karman and
tian methods. Under his disciple Vivekananda (1862–1902),
sam:sa¯ra. In the course of time his syncretistic religion became
who turned the trend of Veda¯nta philosophy toward new
largely Hinduized. Na¯nak (1469–1539) was likewise a strict
values, the Ramakrishna Mission (founded 1897) became, in
monotheist who stated that any pluralistic and anthropo-
India, an important force for spiritual regeneration and uni-
morphous idea of the Supreme should dissolve in God’s only
fication.
form, the really existent. An opponent of caste and idolatry,
SEE ALSO A¯j¯ıvikas; Bengali Religions; Bra¯hman:as and
he organized his followers, the Sikhs, in an exclusive commu-
A¯ran:yakas; Buddhism; Ca¯rva¯ka; Durga Hinduism;
nity, an amalgam of Islam and Hinduism, which gradually
Ga¯n:apatyas; Hindi Religious Traditions; Hinduism; Indo-
was transformed into an armed brotherhood hostile to Islam
European Religions, overview article; Indus Valley Religion;
but separated from the Hindus. Supreme authority resides
Jainism; Kr:s:n:aism; Marathi Religions; Parsis; S´aivism; Saura
in their holy scripture (Granth), the reading of which is their
Hinduism; Sikhism; Sinhala Religion; Tamil Religions;
main form of worship.
Vaisnavism; Vedas; Vedism and Brahmanism.
India’s contact with the West, Christianity, and modern
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INDIAN RELIGIONS: RURAL TRADITIONS
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Larson, Gerald James. India’s Agony over Religion. Albany, N.Y.,
in their case revered the animals and wild plants of the forest
1995.
rather than of the domestic arena. They, too, knew the earth
Lopez, Donald S., Jr., ed. Religions of India in Practice. Princeton,
intimately and understood her to whisper her secrets to them
N.J., 1995.
as long as they did not wound her breasts with the plough.
Madan, T. N., ed. Religion in India. Delhi and New York, 1992.
The third cultural stream was comprised of nomadic
Perrett, Roy, ed. Indian Philosophy of Religion. Dordrecht and Bos-
peoples, wanderers across the lands who have bequeathed to
ton, 1989.
their descendants a racial memory of ancient migrations
across wild deserts, over rugged mountains, and through lush
Sharma, Arvind, ed.Women in Indian Religions. New Delhi and
valleys. These were cattle herders and horse riders who first
New York, 2002.
entered India, the land of rivers, seeking water for their stock.
Young, Katherine K., ed. Hermeneutical Paths to the Sacred Worlds
They had a penetrating visual vocabulary based on an astute
of India: Essays in Honour of Robert W. Stevenson. Atlanta,
appreciation of color and light. Their rituals and art forms
1994.
share in this vibrant experience of the world. Their bards and
JAN GONDA (1987)
dancers were vigorous drinkers who lived a free and sponta-
Revised Bibliography
neous life full of the passion of war and love.
India’s rural religious traditions arose from the conflu-
ence of these three cultural streams. These ancient societies
INDIAN RELIGIONS: RURAL TRADITIONS
are the predecessors of the rural people today whose farming
The religious beliefs and practices of rural India reflect the
techniques, arts, and rituals give form to primordial tribal
influence of three general cultural traditions that throughout
myths. When women today paint ceremonial drawings,
history have mingled and mixed in varying degrees. Grouped
when artisans create fecundative images, when singers and
generally, these traditions are those of agricultural cultures,
performers tell of epic conquests, they concretize the legends
food-gathering communities, and nomadic societies.
and mysteries of these ancient groups. From this archaic un-
conscious come rural myths of cosmic power, of cyclical de-
Since the third millennium BCE the most stable groups
struction and creation, of natural processes in which human
within these three traditions have been those of the agricul-
beings live their lives.
tural cultures, which are typified by their development of
written script and by their emergent sophistication in the
Women of today’s higher castes in northern Mithila re-
production of artifacts reflecting a pervasive consciousness of
count a myth that is identical both in form and meaning to
the earth and its vegetation. The myth-bound lives of people
a legend sung by autochthonous women of the deep south
in these cultures have long been linked to the cycles of time
who worship the goddess Pedamma¯. The long history of the
experienced in the circular movement of the seasons and in
myth indicates a substratum of powerful and energetic fe-
the resulting change in the earth’s character. The fundamen-
male memories, the unconscious source of which is transmit-
tal energy that gave life to sprouting seeds was commonly un-
ted through feminine culture and given form in the act of
derstood to be feminine and was represented in female im-
communication between mother and daughter. In this myth
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INDIAN RELIGIONS: RURAL TRADITIONS
4433
are to be found remnants of ancient wisdom regarding cre-
Candraka¯la¯ Dev¯ı molds images of A¯di S´akti out of clay
ative power that carries the germ of its own destruction. Out
and paper pulp to which has been added methi (cumin seed),
of this tradition arises values that are deeply understood by
ground to a paste. The image of the goddess has many arms,
the women of Mithila, who say with great simplicity that
an elongated body, and hollow eyes. She is reminiscent of
“these insights come from a time without beginning; we
the ancient and universal Ma¯talas, the earth mothers. Their
carry this wisdom in our wombs.”
gaunt, passionless, masklike faces have crater-deep eyes, stark
with the secrets of death and life.
Candraka¯la¯ Dev¯ı, a traditional artist of Mithila, narrates
the following myth:
Images of A¯di S´akti, the primeval mother, are made at
harvest time. Also known as As:t:abhuja (“eight armed”), she
First there was A¯di S´akti (“primordial power”), another
holds in her hands the cosmic egg as well as a cup that holds
name for whom was Maha¯ma¯ya¯ (“great creator”). She
the seed or blood to fertilize the fields; she also holds the sun
was the one, alone. She desired [a partner] and, display-
and moon, the earth (depicted as a flat plate and covered
ing her ma¯ya¯, created the manifest world out of the
with grass and sprouts of other plants), two bullocks pulling
void. A cosmic egg appeared and the new male gods
a plow, a plowshare, a flower, and a sword.
Brahma¯, Vis:n:u, and S´iva emerged when it hatched. As
these gods grew to young manhood, A¯di S´akti turned
By the beginning of the second millennium (no one
with fiery passion to Brahma¯ and sought to marry him.
knows exactly how early), groups of peoples migrated into
Brahma¯ recoiled, saying, “You are our mother!” The
India from the Northwest. They were not of one tribe, nor
goddess laughed at him and reduced him to ashes. The
had they all reached the same levels of cultural development
same thing happened to Vis:n:u: He, too, retreated, filled
or of artistic abilities. The best-known of these migrating
with horror and he, too, was consumed by fire. The lu-
minous goddess then approached S´iva, the young,
groups were the Vedic Aryans. Strong, heroic, and proud of
beautiful, long-limbed youth who, hearing her de-
their identity, these people had wandered the steppes for gen-
mands, smiled and accepted her as his bride.
erations, never settling long enough to establish any cities.
The story’s versions as told in the South and the North are
The Vedic Aryans were warriors who brought with
the same to this point. But now they diverge. In the legend
them into the river valleys of northern India the songs and
as told in Mithila (in the North), S´iva responds to the god-
poems that came to be included in the mantras (hymns) of
dess A¯di S´akti by asking her to accept him as her disciple.
the Vedic religious textual tradition. Their songs were ro-
She agrees to his request, and S´iva learns from her the secrets
bust, loud, and full of life: hymns to the awesome processes
of life and various incantations for raising the dead. Having
of nature; invocations to Aditya, the sun god; praises to
mastered these mysteries and ancient secrets of power, S´iva
Va¯yu, the wind, and to Us:as, the maiden of the dawn. Mov-
then destroys the primordial A¯di S´akti by engulfing her with
ing into the decaying or destroyed Harappan urban areas, the
flame and reducing her to ashes, promising to her as he does
Vedic Aryans introduced to those agricultural peoples the in-
so that he will marry her again after many aeons when she
struments of war, new dimensions of language, new volumes
is reborn as Sat¯ı, the daughter of Daksa. The story acknowl-
of sound, new relationships with nature, and pulsing vitality.
edges that this second marriage did, indeed, eventually take
In successive waves through the centuries the Vedic Ary-
place.
ans moved on their horse-driven chariots along the densely
The Dravidian variant—one in which passionate youth
forested banks of the Indus, Ganges, and Yamuna¯ rivers. It
is said to lead irrevocably to old age and decrepitude—is
took a thousand years for them to reach the Narmada River
darker and more archaic. As in the northern version, S´iva
in central India (in modern Madhya Pradesh), by which time
agrees to marry A¯di S´akti after the goddess has reduced
they had merged into the cultures of the vast hinterland
through intermarriage and by adopting local customs, skills,
Brahma¯ and Vis:n:u to ashes for refusing to do so. In the
and tools.
southern account S´iva is then said to ask A¯di S´akti if he may
have as a gift from her the brilliant jewel that shines as bright-
It is likely that the Vedic Aryans found the original in-
ly as ten thousand suns and that rests on her forehead. Infat-
habitants of India living at various levels of technological cul-
uated, she agrees to the request and hands the jewel to her
ture, those groups living within the walled cities of Mohenjo-
young lover. As he takes it from her hand the goddess ages
Daro and Harappa contrasting vividly with the Paleolithic
frightfully, as if centuries had just elapsed in the moment’s
societies living in the dense forests along the banks of the
duration. Formerly a beautiful goddess who lived unhin-
Ganges or in the caves of the Vindhya Mountains. Five-
dered by time, she is now suddenly a bent and undesirable
thousand-year-old ruins scattered throughout the Harappan
old woman. Time, the devourer of all things, has entered the
sites indicate that the people of the Indus Valley had estab-
world. S´iva merely smiles; for he is Ka¯la¯, the lord of time.
lished a highly developed society: They had discovered the
With this action, the new gods have taken over. The primor-
wheel, with which they transformed their methods of trans-
dial primacy of female power is reduced to ashes, its bril-
portation and increased the sophistication with which they
liance usurped. The female takes second place in the Puranic
molded their clay pots; they had developed simple tools with
pantheon to the male.
which they could measure angles and with which they could
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4434
INDIAN RELIGIONS: RURAL TRADITIONS
build structures with precision and accuracy; they had
searched for the couple, only to be killed by Lorik when he
learned to grow and spin cotton, to weave and dye cloth, to
found them. The young couple then approached the master
mold clay, and to cast bronze into figurines.
gambler Maha¯patra Dusadh and engaged him in a game of
dice. Lorik lost Chan:d:a and all his wealth to Maha¯patra Du-
Intense intellectual and psychological activity accompa-
sadh. But Chan:d:a argued with Dusadh that the stakes in-
nied the tremendous revolution in technology and the pro-
volved in the game did not include her clothing and de-
duction of tools brought about by these early city dwellers.
manded that the gambling continue. On resumption of the
They had developed a script to illumine their pictographs,
game she sat down in front of Dusadh and exposed her beau-
and they practiced yoga and other meditative techniques to
tiful body. Intoxicated by the sight of Chan:d:a’s nakedness,
expand their minds.
Dusadh lost control of the game and was defeated by Lorik,
With the fall of the cities to natural and martial forces,
who later killed him. This legend finds expression in paint-
large numbers of people took refuge in the wilds of central
ings, theater, and song.
India, traveling all the way to the banks of the Narmada and
The tribal kings of central India also had an ancient
Tapti rivers and even farther south. They carried with them
bardic tradition. The Gond ra¯jas included in their courts of-
into the inner lands of the subcontinent their knowledge of
ficial tribal genealogists and musicians known as Pardhans,
agriculture, technology, ritual, and magic. The influence of
who recounted to the royal household the ancient stories of
these urban skills and perceptions appear in their symbols,
the Gond hero-kings and warriors. Serving also as priests and
worship, and magical practices.
diviners, in time the Pardhans absorbed Hindu legends,
The migrations of nomadic peoples onto the fertile
gods, and even ethics into their tribal epics, ballads, and
plains of India were to continue through the centuries. One
other expressions of folklore.
of the most important of these tribes to the development of
A Pardhan today worships his musical instrument, the
Indian culture and its rural traditions were the Ahirs, who
bana, as the god Bara Pen. “As his sacred books [are] to a
came to be known in the epic Maha¯bha¯rata as the “snake-
Brahmin, as his scales [are] to a Bania, as his plough [is] to
loving” Abhiras.
a Gond, so is the bana to the Pardhan” (Hivale, 1946,
The figure of Kr:s:n:a also was known as Ma¯yo¯n or
p. 66).
¯
Ma¯yavan in ancient Tamil samgam literature; the dark-
It is said that the original Pardhan was timid when he
skinned, non-Aryan god emerged in the culture of Mathura¯
first played his wonderful new music in the house of the
and reflects a mixture of elements from Ahir and tribal back-
Gond brothers. But he played so divinely that all those resid-
grounds. The name itself, Kr:s:n:a (“dark one”), is pregnant
ing in the heavenly as well as earthly worlds were enchanted.
with early Aryan scorn; but it was Kr:s:n:a who was to supply
Even the supreme god, Na¯ya¯yan: Deo, stood watching in
the generative vitality that transformed Indian arts and
amazement. Then the Pardhan forgot his shyness and com-
culture.
pletely lost himself in his music. He danced ecstatically with
Stories about the personalities and affairs of Kr:s:n:a, of
his bana, with which he produced sounds the world had
the Goddess, and of other local heroes were collected by the
never heard before. On that day, it is said, three new pars
compilers of the epic poems the Maha¯bha¯rata and the
(sounds or combination of sounds) known as Sarset¯ı Par,
Ra¯ma¯yan:a. These tales, as well as myths and legends recount-
Na¯ya¯yan: Par, and Pujan Par were first created.
ed in the various Pura¯n:as, traveled by word of mouth
Pa¯buj¯ı is a folk hero who is especially popular among
through the vast lands of India. Transmission of these stories
the Bhils, a tribal group living in Rajasthan. According to
was enhanced by their widespread multifaceted use of song,
legend, Pa¯buj¯ı was suckled as an infant by a lioness and grew
dance, mime, drama, and iconography. These various media
to be a brave warrior. He was given a powerful black mare
allowed all kinds of people, particularly members of those
named Ka¯lm¯ı by Deval:, a ca¯ran: woman of a pastoral com-
tribal groups living outside the mainstream of society, to ex-
¯
munity. In return for this gift Pa¯buj¯ı promised to protect
perience the sensory nature of the divine presence and to ex-
Deval:’s life and cattle, and he eventually died in the attempt
press the immediacy of that presence through an active, per-
to keep his promise. Among the Bhils are a group of bardic
sonal, and contemporaneous participation.
musicians (bhopa¯s) who travel through the countryside with
Rural painters and balladeers drew their inspiration and
a fifteen-foot long painted scroll known as the Pa¯buj¯ı-ka-Pad
source material from Ahir love songs, accounts of brave and
(Pa¯buj¯ı’s scroll). In its center lies the main figure, a portrait
victorious heroes, and tales of the Puranic gods and their
of Pa¯buj¯ı himself, painted in vibrant red, black, olive, and
erotic adventures. The most famous of these ballads was the
yellow ocher. Surrounding this main figure are depictions of
Lorikagan, which was composed in Avadhi (a dialect of
warriors engaged in battle, images of horses, lions, and tigers,
Hindi) and which recounts the love held by Lorik, an Ahir
and scenes of heroic incidents that serve to illustrate the leg-
from the Mithila country, for Chan:d:a, the wife of S´r¯ıdhara.
end of Pa¯buj¯ı. Performers reenact stories based on that leg-
According to the tale, S´r¯ıdhara had become impotent as a
end at night. The scroll is stretched out, oil lamps are lit, and
result of a curse placed on him by the goddess Pa¯rvat¯ı.
the bhopa¯ sings his story. As he sings, a woman lifts the lamp
Chan:d:a then fell in love and eloped with Lorik. S´r¯ıdhara
to the cloth in order to illumine for the crowd the figures
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INDIAN RELIGIONS: RURAL TRADITIONS
4435
of warriors on horseback, animals, birds, and other elements
known as the ks:etrapal (guardian of the field and womb),
of the tales. She joins with the bhopa¯ in singing the refrain
Thakur Dev. The ks:etrapal protected and fecundated the
and, at times, dances.
earth and field, the body of the goddess. In the religious rites
the people expressed their search for cosmic transformation,
The bards of the Santa¯ls in Bengal and Bihar are known
embodied in the act of sexual union between the God and
as ja¯du pat:ua¯ (“magic-painters”), who carry from village to
Goddess. Agricultural magic fused with alchemical and Tan-
village their painted pat:s depicting scenes from the Puran:as
tric practices.
as well as their own tribal cosmogonic and anthropogonic
myths.
Either the aboriginal magician-priest known as the baiga
or a priest from the potter, the barber, or the cama¯r commu-
The fundamental assumptions of male supremacy in
nity presided at ceremonies worshiping trees and river-
Brahmanic culture were established by the time of the classi-
washed stones held at the village or forest shrines honoring
cal law books such as the Manusmr:ti (c. 200 BCE–100 CE)
the primeval mother, the Goddess, various deities, or the
and the various Dharma´sa¯stras. According to these and other
tribal hero. The potency of his magic was recognized and ac-
texts, a girl was dependent on her father and then, as a
cepted by the villagers and householders living in the shel-
woman, was inferior to her husbands and sons. Such ideals
tered rural societies. The Tantric doctrines outlined in the
of Indian womanhood as obedience and faithfulness to the
A¯gama and Nigama textual traditions, the frenzied ecstatic
male were embodied in the images of the goddesses S¯ıta¯ and
worship of S´akti through ritual performance and mantra-
Savitr¯ı.
recitation, had pervaded the Indian psyche to the depths of
Vedic learning was closed to women by the time of the
the cultural subconscious. In prosperous villages the Puranic
smr:ti (“remembered”) literatures. However, in the vast and
gods were worshiped; but along with this praise, and at a
flat countryside that encircled the cities and in the rural life
deeper level, a worship of the pre-Vedic deities continued
of the village and fields surged a powerful, flexible, ancient,
and the practice of Tantric rituals remained.
and secret undercurrent among women, wandering yogins,
One of the attributes of the Goddess was ja¯garitr: (wake-
Tantric adepts, and magician-priests, who focused their reli-
fulness). Through practicing such vrata (“vow”) rites as fast-
gious sensibilities on the primeval female, S´akti, and on S´iva,
ing, meditative concentration, and other observances, the
the mysterious god of the autochthonous tribes.
woman votary directly invoked the power of the goddess by
The earliest, almost primordial, images of the earth
awakening her power (´sakti) inherent in various symbols,
mother glorified a feminine creative principle made manifest
stones, trees, and water pots. She drew geometric shapes
by the image itself, which often celebrated the secrets of birth
(man:d:alas) on the ground and on the wall of houses, wor-
and death. The dark earth-bound goddess was a mother, yet
shiped the interlocking triangle known as the yantra dedicat-
a virgin, for “no father seemed necessary to the society in
ed to the Goddess, and performed in the darkness various
which she originated” (Kosambi, 1962, p. 90). Originally
rituals accompanying the sprouting of corn. Songs, dance,
represented aniconically through hieroglyphs and vegetation
and image-making flourished as part of the ceremonies. The
symbols, through the centuries the primeval mother came to
worshiper hoped through creative expression, vrata, and ritu-
be represented in animal and finally in anthropomorphic im-
al song and dance to awaken S´akti and to ensure that, once
ages of S´akti, who had a thousand names and forms. Potent
awakened, that primal energy was not dissipated or
with the energy of life itself, and holding within herself the
dispersed.
essence of her earlier incarnations, she had the capacity to
Unlike the temporary clay images of the gra¯ma ma¯tr:ka¯s
heal and transform. Such earlier forms find expression in the
(“village mothers”), which have mysterious links with the
hieroglyphic triangle resting on her heart or generative or-
earth and its cyclical patterns of creation and destruction, the
gans. Her vegetal nature appeared in the plants she held in
images of the v¯ıras (deified “heroes”) and the ks:etrapals are
her hands. Her animal incarnations were transformed into
shafts embodying virility and power carved in stone and
the various beasts on which she rode. As the primary physical
wood. Rising as pillars to the sky and toward the sun and
and spiritual essence of the universe, S´akti was alive in the
yet rooted in the earth, the harsh simplicity of the flat visual
experience of color, form, taste, and fragrance. In her final
planes thus gives to the images a heroic dimension represent-
form she was Durga¯—the holder of all life, brighter than a
ing the sanctity of the immovable and the eternal divine
thousand suns.
presence.
Tantric texts describe Durga¯’s symbols: “The Goddess
The term v¯ıra (“hero”) is often used to refer to the val-
of renowned form assumes in times of protection the form
iant ancestors killed in battle while protecting women, fields,
of a straight line. In times of dissolution, she takes the form
and cattle. It also is used to describe the alchemists, yogins,
of a circle. Similarly for creation she takes the brilliant ap-
magicians, and enlightened ones who gained control over
pearance of a triangle” (Sastry, 1906, p. 280).
and conquered the ways of their bodies and minds. Both
A new priesthood and new relationships with the gods
types of v¯ıras were deified and worshiped in the form of the
became inevitable with the rise of the male godhead into the
v¯ıraka¯l and pa¯lia¯ stones. The v¯ıra cult itself is an ancient
Puranic pantheon. The emergent potent male deity was
¯
¯
one that centers on an admixture of ancestor worship, vener-
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4436
INDIAN RELIGIONS: RURAL TRADITIONS
ation of the heroic protectors and guardians as well as of ma-
At the Nila¯ Gajan or Gambhira festivals S´iva is wor-
gicians and seers, and praise of such figures as the Hura¯ Pura¯
shiped as Nila¯kan:t:ha (nila¯ is an indigo cloth worn by low-
(deified heroes) or the A¯yi Vad:il (deified ancestors) of the
caste devotees of S´iva who worship the planets and for whom
Bhil tribes. The cult also includes the worship of a wonder-
the Gambhira is a key harvest ritual). Singing abounds in
fully rich symbolic complex associated with the yaks:as, spirits
these rites. One song describes S´iva as a cultivator of cotton
of the forests and rivers known by the compilers of the Athar-
and as one who loves Koch tribal girls:
vaveda and the Pura¯n:as. Depicted as having tall male bodies
(which they are mysteriously able to transform), the yaks:as
The month of Baisakh came,
were regarded at first as malevolent beings, but underwent
The farmer ploughed the field;
a significant change at some point when they became associ-
The month of A¯s:a¯d:h came,
ated and identified with the ks:etrapals and the v¯ıra¯s, with
God S´iva planted cotton seeds,
whom they protected and watched over the welfare of the
As the planting was over,
earth and the Goddess.
S´iva went to the quarter of the Koch women.
He stayed and stayed on there,
India’s most powerful symbol of the hero is a rider on
Until he knew that cotton had grown.
a horse. Carved in memorial stones or cast in metal icons and
S´iva returned to gather cotton,
amulets, the image displays the vitality and energy of the he-
He placed the stuff in the hands of Gan˙ga¯,
roic male.
She spun yarn out of it.
Elements of the v¯ıra cult evolved through time into the
S´iva wove a piece of cloth,
worship of S´iva, the supreme god of rural India. S´iva is de-
The washerwoman Neta¯ washed it clean,
scribed as late as the third century CE as a yaks:a who is to
She washed it by water from the ocean of milk.
be propitiated in the wild regions beyond the village walls.
(Bhattacharya, 1977, pp. 60–61)
Rural customs still exist in India that reflect S´iva’s autoch-
Having become the central deity in rural areas, S´iva then be-
thonous origins. In the Punjab and in Himachal Pradesh, for
came the figure from which all of the minor rural gods
example, women are not permitted the worship of S´iva.
emerged. The elephant-headed Gan:e´sa (“lord of the folk”),
Women in Uttar Pradesh can worship S´iva in the form of
for example, is regarded as the son of S´iva, though no legend
the lin˙ga, but they must carry their offerings to the god in
specifically relates the nature of his birth. Originally wor-
the corner of their sa¯r¯ıs and must never allow their hand to
shiped as a malevolent spirit and the creator of obstacles,
touch the phallic form as they circumambulate it.
Gan:e´sa underwent a transformation during the time of the
The tribal Bhils worship S´iva as their first ancestor. The
composition of the Pura¯n:as and assumed the role of protec-
Gonds of Bastar sing an epic, Lingo pen, in which they de-
tor of the people and the remover of obstacles. Hanuma¯n (or
scribe the appearance of S´iva in human form:
Ma¯ruti), the devotee of Ra¯ma, is also known to be an incar-
nation of Maha¯bhairav, who, in turn, is one of S´iva’s many
There the God Maha¯dev was ruling from the upper sea
to the lower sea. What was Maha¯dev doing? He was
manifestations. No forest or village masculine deity is free of
swimming like a rolling stone, he had no hands, no feet.
an intimate association with S´iva, the central personality of
He remained like the trunk [of a tree]. Then Maha¯dev
the cosmos and locus of the processes of creation and de-
performed austerities for twelve months. And Bhagava¯n
struction.
[i.e., S´iva] came and stood close to Maha¯dev and called
to him. “Thy devotion is finished, emerge out of the
Deep within the religious practices and ideologies of
water.” He said, “How shall I emerge? I have no hands,
rural India lie the recognition of cosmic transformation
no feet, no eyes.” Then Maha¯dev received man’s form.
marked by the flexive flow of creation and destruction, the
Thus man’s form complete was made in the luminous
appreciation of the vital forces of life, and the longing to be
world. (Hislop, 1866, pp. 2–3)
protected from the powers of the physical and spiritual
Next to their drawings of the corn goddess the Warlis of Ma-
worlds. The gods fuse and merge, or they are transformed,
harashtra often display an image known as Pa¯ñc Sirya¯ Dev,
or they vanish with the receding forests and disappearing
a headless male figure with five sheaves of sprouting corn
tribes. New gods come into being and new rituals emerge,
emerging from his body. Among the Bhils of Gujarat a five-
bringing with them changes in the form and content of reli-
headed figure with an erect penis is cast in metal and is called
gious expressions. But the sacredness and the mystical power
Pa¯ñc Mukhi Dev. Both images are linked to S´iva and to cul-
of rural religious sensibilities survive the many changes in de-
tic fertility rites.
ities and rituals throughout history.
In some regions of West Bengal the roles and personali-
SEE ALSO Alchemy, article on Indian Alchemy; Bengali Re-
ties of S´iva and the sun god fuse into the worship of Dharma
ligions; Goddess Worship, article on the Hindu Goddess;
Tha¯kur. The man:d:ala (village headman) performs rituals
Hindi Religious Traditions; Horses; Indus Valley Religion;
centered on the marriage of S´iva and Gaur¯ı at which
Kr:s:n:a; Maha¯bha¯rata; Man:d:alas, article on Hindu Man:d:alas;
Kalighat painters used to congregate in order to sell their
Marathi Religions; Pura¯n:as; Ra¯ma¯yan:a; S´a¯stra Literature;
paintings to pilgrims.
S´iva; Tamil Religions; Tantrism; Yantra.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDIAN RELIGIONS: MYTHIC THEMES
4437
BIBLIOGRAPHY
or on themes that simply do not exist outside of India. One
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PUPUL JAYAKAR (1987)
Revised Bibliography
birds (and eggs) are symbols of creation; their wings make
them part of the kingdom of heaven, where they come to
function as symbols of God (in Christianity) or of the magic
woman from the other world (the swan-maiden of European
INDIAN RELIGIONS: MYTHIC THEMES
folklore). Snakes slough their skin to become symbols of re-
India, like other civilizations, has myths that deal with
birth, or bite their tails to become symbols of infinity (the
themes shared by all human beings—the great themes of life
Uroboros); they bring about the loss of innocence (as in the
and death, of this world and the world beyond—which she
Book of Genesis) or the loss of immortality (as in the Epic of
inflects with her own personal colorations and thus makes
Gilgamesh). Together, birds and snakes symbolize the ele-
different from the myths of other civilizations. Moreover, In-
ments of air and subterranean water, spirit and matter, good
dians have been inspired to create myths on themes that have
and evil, or simply the principle of opposition, through the
not appealed to other civilizations with the same intensity,
observed natural enmity of the two species.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4438
INDIAN RELIGIONS: MYTHIC THEMES
All of this symbolism is found in Indian mythology, to-
has the head of an elephant, the source of his cunning and
gether with more narrowly Indo-European themes: the kill-
of his ability to remove obstacles. At the other end of the In-
ing of the dragon-serpent (Indra killing Vr:tra, Kr:s:n:a subdu-
dian animal spectrum is the dog, already maligned in Indo-
ing Ka¯liya); the battle between birds and snakes (the quarrel
European mythology (Kerberos, the dog of Hades, appears
between Vinata¯, the mother of snakes, and Suparn:a¯, the
in the R:gveda as the two Sa¯rameyas, the four-eyed brindled
mother of birds, in the opening books of the Maha¯bha¯rata).
dogs of Yama, the king of the dead). In India, the dog be-
Also found in the Maha¯bha¯rata are traces of the more subtle
came a vehicle for all the negative values of the caste system;
Indo-European theme of the battle between the snake and
he was regarded as unclean, promiscuous both in his eating
the horse (of which is found echoes in paintings of Saint
habits and in his (or, more often, her) sexual habits; dogs are
George, always mounted on his white horse, killing the drag-
said to be the food of untouchables (who are called “dog-
on): In the course of the quarrel between Vinata¯ and
cookers,” ´svapakas, in Sanskrit). Yet Yudhis:t:hira, the righ-
Suparn:a¯, the black snakes form the hairs of the tail of the sa-
teous king in the Maha¯bha¯rata, refused to enter heaven until
cred horse, a trick that leads eventually to a great sacrifice in
the gods allowed to enter with him the dog that had followed
which snakes are killed in place of the usual stallion. But as
him faithfully through all his trials, a dog who turned out
might be expected in a country as snaky as India, snake sym-
to be none other than the god Dharma himself, incarnate.
bolism is more luxuriant than it is elsewhere. The na¯gas, half
serpent, half deity, who inhabit the waters of the lower
In addition to these individual animals, Indian mythol-
world, participate in many myths and adorn most temples;
ogy teems with animals of a more miscellaneous sort. Every
Vis:n:u sleeps on Ananta, the serpent of eternity, and S´iva
Indian god has an animal for its vehicle (va¯hana). This asso-
wears snakes for his bracelets, his necklaces, his sacred thread,
ciation means not only that the god is literally carried about
and (with occasionally embarrassing results) his belt. Birds
on such an animal (for the elephant-headed Gan:e´sa is awk-
of a rich mythological plumage are equally pervasive; Vis:n:u
wardly mounted on a bandicoot, or large rat) but also (and
rides on the garud:a bird (a descendant of the Vedic sun-
more importantly) that the animal “carries” the god in the
bird), Skanda on a peacock (an appropriate emblem for the
way that a breeze “carries” perfume, that the god is always
general of the army of the gods), and Brahma¯ on a royal
present in that animal, in all of its manifestations (the bandi-
goose or swan (the ham:sa that is also a symbol of the transmi-
coot, for example, shares Gan:e´sa’s nimbleness of wit and
grating soul).
ability to get past anything, and so is indeed an appropriate
vehicle for the god). This is the only sense in which animals
Another important Indo-European pair of animals, the
(including cows) are sacred in India; the tendency not to kill
horse and the cow, remain essential to the mythology of the
them (which does not, unfortunately, generally extend to a
Vedas and to that of later Hinduism. The stallion loses in
tendency not to ill-treat them) arises from something else,
India some of his ancient power as a symbol of royal, martial,
from the concept of noninjury (ahim:sa¯) that discourages the
and fertile functions (the Indo-European triad), although he
taking of any life in any form. In addition to these official
remains an important figure on the local, village level, where
vehicles, many gods appear in theriomorphic or semitherio-
one still encounters many minor horse deities and equine he-
morphic forms; Vis:n:u becomes incarnate as the man-lion
roes, as well as charming terra-cotta horses, some of enor-
Narasim:ha, but he also is often represented with the head of
mous size. The mare became in India a symbol of the vora-
a boar and the body of a man in his avata¯ra as the boar.
cious female who must be tamed (like the submarine fire in
When S´iva makes war on Vis:n:u the boar, he takes the form
the form of a mare held in check by the waters of the ocean,
of a ´sarabha, a beast with eight legs, eight tusks, a mane, and
until the moment when she will emerge at doomsday to de-
a long tail.
stroy the universe). But the animal who truly usurped the
stallion’s place of honor is the cow, which became symbolic
More generally, whether or not people get the gods they
of all the values of the society of the newly settled Ganges
deserve, they tend to get the gods that their animals deserve;
Valley (in contrast with the nomadic, warring Indo-
the natural fauna of any country has a lot to do with the ways
European society that was so well symbolized by the stallion);
in which the people of that country perceive their gods. For
the cow represented motherhood, nourishment, chastity,
example, two animals that play an important role in Indian
and noninjury (the cow being an animal able to furnish food
mythology are the monkey and the tiger. Although neither
without having to be slaughtered). The bull plays a relatively
of these animals is the vehicle of a god, the monkey is a cou-
minor role, primarily as Nandi, the vehicle of S´iva.
sin of Hanuman, the monkey ally of Ra¯ma, the divine hero
of the Ra¯ma¯yan:a, and the tiger sometimes replaces the lion
A more purely Indian symbol is the elephant, represent-
as the vehicle of the goddess Dev¯ı (especially in places where
ing royalty, power, wisdom, fertility, longevity, and much
lions have long been extinct). But the influence of monkeys
else. The mother of the future Buddha dreamed, upon con-
and tigers extends far beyond their recorded roles in the my-
ceiving him, that a white elephant had entered her womb;
thology. The ingenious mischievousness of the monkey and
Laks:m¯ı, the goddess of good fortune, is lustrated by two ele-
the uncanny cruelty and beauty of the tiger are qualities that
phants; elephants support the earth and the quarters of the
have found their way into the images of many Hindu gods
sky; the god Gan:e´sa, patron of scribes and of all enterprises,
and goddesses. If Judaism has a mythology of lions, and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDIAN RELIGIONS: MYTHIC THEMES
4439
Christianity a mythology of sheep, India has a mythology of
is seen as the result (often apparently a mere by-product) of
monkeys and tigers.
a cosmic battle, such as the victory of Indra over Vr:tra, or
as the consequence of the seemingly unmotivated act of sepa-
THE TREE AND THE MOUNTAIN AT THE CENTER OF THE
rating heaven and earth, an act that is attributed to several
EARTH. Many, if not all, of the mythologies of the world
different gods. These aspects of creation are woven in and
have located a tree or a mountain, or both, at the center of
out of the hymns in the older parts of the R:gveda (books
the world. In India, the sacred mountain is Mount Meru,
2–9). But in the later, tenth book one encounters for the first
the golden mountain, wider at its peak than at its base. The
time hymns that are entirely devoted to speculations on the
sacred tree, too, is inverted, the banyan with its roots in
origins of the cosmos. Some of these hymns seek the origins
the air. The particularly Indian variants of this myth begin
in the R:gveda, where the sacred soma plant, which bestows
of the existence of existence itself, or of the creator himself,
immortality on the gods, functions as the axis mundi, or cos-
the golden womb or golden embryo (later to become the gol-
mic pillar, in propping apart heaven and earth. The same
den egg or the golden seed of fire in the cosmic waters).
soma plant is said to have been stolen from heaven by Indra,
Other hymns speculate upon the sacrifice as the origin of the
mounted on an eagle, who carried the plant down to the
earth and the people in it, or upon the origins of the sacrifice
mountains of earth. This is the Indian variant of the Indo-
itself. Sacrifice is central to many concepts of creation, partic-
European myth of the theft of fire; Prometheus carried fire
ularly to those explicitly linked to the sacrificial gods or even
down to earth in a hollow fennel stalk, while Indra (who also
sacred speech itself, but it also appears as a supplement to
embodies the lightning bolt) carries the fiery liquid of soma
other forms of creation, such as sculpture or the spreading
in its own hollow stalk. The association of the mountain, the
out of dirt upon the surface of the waters.
sacred plant, and the theft continued to produce offshoots
In more anthropomorphic conceptions, creation takes
in later Hindu mythology. In the Ra¯ma¯yan:a, Hanuman is
place through a primeval act of incest. In the Bra¯hman:as, the
sent to fetch a magic plant that will revive the fallen hero;
incestuous father is identified as Praja¯pati, the lord of crea-
he flies to the magic mountain and, unable to decide which
tures; his seed, cast into the fire in place of the usual oblation
plant it is that he wants, uproots the entire mountain and
of clarified butter or soma juice, was distributed into various
brings it to the battlefield. Elsewhere in the Ra¯ma¯yan:a, and
life-forms, ritually creating the living world. Later Indian
in the Maha¯bha¯rata, the gods and demons join forces to use
cosmogonies in the epics and Pura¯n:as continue to combine
the sacred mountain Mandara as a churn with which they
the abstract with the anthropomorphic. Sometimes the uni-
churn the waters of the ocean to obtain the soma. As soon
verse is said to arise out of the waters of chaos, from a flame
as they get it, the demons steal the soma from the gods, and
of desire or loneliness that expresses itself in the creation of
the gods steal it back again.
living forms as well as such abstract entities as the year, logic,
Snakes are also associated with the mountain and the
grammar, and the thirty-six musical scales. Sometimes a sin-
magic plant (as is the serpent in Eden) and with the cosmic
gle god (Brahma¯, the creator, or S´iva or Vis:n:u, according to
waters: When the serpent Vr:tra has wrapped himself around
the sectarian bias of the text, or even an undifferentiated sort
a mountain, holding back the waters (which are homologous
of Vedantic godhead) arises out of the primeval waters and
both with the soma juice that Indra loves and with the rains
begins to create, more precisely to emit, the world from with-
that he controls), Indra pierces him so that the waters flow
in himself; this emission (prasarga) is the act of projecting his
again; it is a snake, Vasuki, who is used as the rope for the
mind onto formless chaos to give it the form that is its sub-
churn when the gods and demons churn the ocean for soma;
stance. In this latter case, the god usually continues to create
and when Vis:n:u sleeps on the serpent of eternity in the midst
by taking the form of an androgyne or by producing a
of the cosmic ocean, a lotus plant grows up out of his navel—
woman out of his own body. From there creation proceeds
the navel of the universe. This web of associations forms the
through anthropomorphic methods, often by a combination
framework for the many local myths about particular trees
of sexual intercourse and the generating of ascetic heat, or
(banyan trees, coconut palms, the sacred mango tree in the
tapas.
temples of South India) and particular plants sacred to par-
The link between abstract cosmogony and highly in-
ticular gods (the tulsi of Vis:n:u, the rudra¯ks:as of S´iva).
flected anthropogony is made explicit in the Pura¯n:as, which
COSMOGONY, THEOGONY, AND ANTHROPOGONY. Most In-
are traditionally expected to deal with five basic topics: the
dian mythologies seem to agree about the way in which the
primary creation (of the universe) and the secondary creation
universe is arranged: It has a sacred mountain in the center,
(of gods and humans and all the other living creatures); the
and concentric oceans and continents around the center; the
dynasties of the sun and of the moon (that trace their lineage
sacred mountain connects the earth with heaven above and
back to those divine celestial bodies and forward to the rulers
the underworld below. This is the basic Indian cosmology.
at the time of the recension of the text that contains the list);
But there are many different explanations of how the uni-
and the ages of the Manus or ancestors of humans, generally
verse came to be the way that it is; these are the Indian cos-
said to be fourteen (the present time is the seventh Manus
mogonies. The earliest source, the R:gveda, refers glancingly
age). A different sort of cosmogony-cum-anthropogony be-
to many different theories of creation. Sometimes the world
gins back in the R:gveda. This is the Indo-European theme
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4440
INDIAN RELIGIONS: MYTHIC THEMES
of the dismemberment of a cosmic giant or primeval man
a theory of four ages of declining goodness; where the Greeks
(Purus:a), a theme that also appears, outside of India, as the
named these ages after metals, the Indians called them after
dismemberment of the primeval androgyne. In the R:gveda,
throws of the dice, the first and best being the kr:ta-yuga,
this man is the victim in a sacrifice that he himself performs;
which is followed by the trata¯, the dva¯para, and finally the
the moon is born from his mind, the sun from his eye, the
present age, or kaliyuga (the equivalent of snake-eyes in dice).
gods from his mouth, and so forth. Moreover, from this dis-
The choice of the metaphor of dice, with its implication of
memberment there arise the four classes, or varn:as, of ancient
a fortuitous, impersonal controlling mechanism (which is,
Indian society: the brahmans from his head, the rulers and
moreover, a negative one—the house always wins), is not it-
warriors from his chest, the workers from his arms, and the
self fortuitous; it expresses a basic Indian belief in the inevita-
servants from his feet. The Indian text thus extends the three
ble loss of goodness and happiness through the fault of no
original Indo-European functions that Georges Dumézil
conscious agent, but just “through the effects of time.” The
taught researchers to recognize (priest-kings, warriors, and
Indian version of the loss of Eden (which appears in Bud-
producers of fertility) by adding a fourth class that is “out-
dhist and Jain as well as Hindu texts) further emphasizes a
side” the original three, for these three alone receive the epi-
change in quality between the first three ages and the fourth:
thet “twice-born” (that is, reborn at the time of initiation)
The first three are the mythic ages, while the last is real, hap-
throughout Indian social history.
pening now. And the “end” that comes after the fourth age
But the myth of the dismembered man says little about
is not the end at all; the linear decline is combined with the
theogony, and the R:gveda contains no systematic narration
circular pattern of cosmogony and eschatology that has al-
of the birth of the gods as a whole, although the births of
ready been seen, and the end becomes the beginning. Time
various gods are described in some detail: Indra, kept against
spirals back in on itself like a Möbius strip.
his will inside his mother’s womb for many years, bursts
This eternal circularity of time is further developed in
forth out of her side and kills his own father; Agni, the god
India within the context of the unique Indian mythology of
of fire, is born of the waters; and so forth. One important
karman, according to which there is a substance that is in-
late hymn does speak of the birth of the gods in general, from
trinsic to all action (karman, from the Sanskrit verb kr:, cog-
a female called Aditi (Infinity), who is more particularly the
nate with the Latin creo, “to do, to make”) and that adheres
mother of the sun and who remains the mother of the solar
to the transmigrating soul throughout its life and across the
gods or adityas (who are contrasted with the daityas, or de-
barrier of death, determining the nature of the next rebirth.
mons, the sons of Diti) throughout later Indian mythology.
There are many assumptions embedded in this theory: that
In the epics and Pura¯n:as, the creation of the gods (and,
there is a transmigrating soul; that one’s positive and negative
in turn, of humankind and the animals) is usually attributed
actions are tallied up and carried across the bottom of the
to whichever god is regarded by the text in question as the
ledger page at the end of each life. But the mythology of kar-
supreme god; thus the Vedic tendency to worship several dif-
man reveals a hidden ambivalence in the values expressed by
ferent gods, but to regard the god one is addressing at the
the theory of karman. That is, in many myths of karman,
moment as God (a kind of theological serial monogamy that
people want to go on being reborn, in better and better con-
F. Max Müller dubbed henotheism or kathenotheism, “one
ditions of life, and ultimately in the heaven of the gods.
god at a time”) continues into post-Vedic theogonies and an-
These are the myths within the Vedic and Puranic corpus
thropogonies.
that exalt pravr:tti, or active involvement in worldly life
ESCHATOLOGY AND DEATH. At the end of each aeon comes
(sam:sa¯ra). But there are many other myths in which people
doomsday, or pralaya, when the universe is destroyed by a
want to escape from the wheel of rebirth, to cease from all
combination of fire and flood until at last the primeval wa-
activity (nivr:tti), to find release (moks:a); these are myths in-
ters of chaos close back over the ashes of the triple world. In
fluenced by Veda¯nta and by Buddhism and Jainism. In this
anthropomorphic terms, this is regarded as the moment
latter view, the universal eschatology is replaced by the indi-
when God, whose waking moments or whose dream has
vidual eschatology (or soteriology), the ultimate dissolution
been the source of the “emission” of the universe from his
of the individual soul (a¯tman) in its final release from the
mind, falls into a deep, dreamless sleep inside the cosmic wa-
universe itself.
ters. And at the end of that sleep, at the end of the period
A parallel development took place in the mythology of
of quiescence, the universe, and the consciousness of the god,
death. In the R:gveda, death is vaguely and uneasily alluded
is reborn once more out of the waters of chaos.
to as the transition to a place of light where the ancestors live,
Thus, eschatology is necessarily the flip side of cosmog-
a place ruled by Yama, the primeval twin and the first mortal
ony; the wave set in motion by the act of creation is already
to die. Much of the subsequent mythology of the Bra¯hman:as
destined to end in a certain kind of dissolution. The particu-
is an attempt first to explain the origin of death and then to
lar Indian twist on the Indo-European model, which added
devise means by which death may be overcome, so that the
a fourth class to the original three in the anthropogony,
sacrificer will be guaranteed immortality. The Upanis:ads
places its stamp on the Indo-European eschatology, with its
then begin to speak of the terrors of re-death, and to begin
twilight of the gods. First of all, India developed, like Greece,
to devise ways of obtaining not immortality but release from
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDIAN RELIGIONS: MYTHIC THEMES
4441
life altogether, moks:a. And in medieval Hinduism, bhakti, or
myths about kings and untouchables. Even in the Vedic peri-
the passionate and reciprocated devotion to a sectarian deity
od, the ritual of royal consecration included a phase in which
(S´iva, Vis:n:u, or the Goddess), was thought to procure for the
the king had to experience symbolically a kind of reversal,
worshiper a kind of combination of the Vedic heaven and
renunciation, or exile before he could take full command of
the Vedantic release: release from this universe into an infi-
his kingdom. In the later mythology of the epics, this theme
nite heaven of bliss in the presence of the loving god. In this
is crucial: Both the heroes of the Maha¯bha¯rata and Ra¯ma in
way, the mythology of bhakti resolved the conflict between
the Ra¯ma¯yan:a are forced to dwell in exile for many years be-
the Vedic desire for eternal life and the Vedantic desire to
fore returning to rule their kingdoms. In several of the early
be free of life forever.
forms of this myth, the period of exile is spent in association
HOUSEHOLDER AND RENOUNCER, DHARMA AND MOKS:A. A
with untouchables; thus Hari´scandra, Vi´sva¯mitra, and other
similarly irreconcilable conflict of values is addressed in the
great kings are “cursed” to live as untouchables among un-
Hindu mythology of the householder and the ascetic. Again,
touchables before being restored to their rightful kingship.
one can, if one wishes, see this simply as the Indian version
In terms of world (or at least Indo-European) mythology,
of the widespread theme of the conflict between involvement
one can see this theme as the Indian variant of the motif of
in the world and a commitment to otherworldly, spiritual
the true king who is kidnapped or concealed for his own pro-
values, the conflict between God and mammon. But one can
tection at the time of his birth (the slaughter of the inno-
still view the development of this theme within the particular
cents) and raised among peasants before returning to claim
context of Indian intellectual history, more particularly as
his throne. This theme is well known through such figures
another instance of the pattern that adds a (transcendental)
as Moses, Jesus, Oedipus, Romulus, or even Odysseus, and,
Indian fourth to an older, Indo-European societal triad.
in India, Kr:s:n:a. But the particularly Indian aspect of this
Originally, there were three stages of life, or a¯´sramas, in an-
theme emerges from two special applications of the phenom-
cient India: student, householder, and forest dweller. That
enon of renunciation or exile.
this was in fact the original triad is substantiated by the three
First, this experience happens not only to kings but also
“debts” that all Hindus owe: study (the first stage), the debt
to brahmans, many of whom are cursed or otherwise con-
owed to the Vedic seers, or r:s:is; the oblation (performed by
demned to live as untouchables for a period before they are
all married householders) to the ancestors; and sacrifice (of-
ultimately restored to their brahmanhood. This adventure is
fered by the semirenunciatory forest dweller) to the gods.
neither politically necessary nor psychosexually expedient (in
And there were three goals of life: (purus:a¯rthas): success
the Freudian mode); it is simply an aspect of the initiation
(artha), social righteousness (dharma), and pleasure (ka¯ma).
into suffering and otherness that is essential for the fully real-
At the time of the Upanis:ads and the rise of Buddhism, Jain-
ized human being in Indian myths. For the king, at the top
ism, and other cults of meditation and renunciation, a fourth
of the political scale, the experience among the untouchables
stage of life was added, that of the renouncer (sam:nya¯sin),
is a descent from power to impotence; for the brahman, at
and a fourth goal, moks:a. Although these fourth elements
the top of the religious scale, it is a descent from purity to
were basically and essentially incompatible with the preced-
defilement. The experience of impotence is regarded as just
ing triads, revolutionary negations of all that they stood for,
as essential for the wise execution of power as the experience
the dauntless eclecticism of Hinduism cheerfully embraced
of defilement is essential for the dispassionate achievement
them as supplements or complementary alternatives to the
of purity.
other three. (Similarly, the Atharvaveda, a text wholly incom-
Second, the Indian development of the myth of renun-
mensurate to the other three Vedas in style and purport, was
ciation and exile does not always end with the resumption
tacked on as the fourth Veda during roughly the same peri-
of political power. The most famous example of this alterna-
od.) This conjunction of opposites inspired many ingenious
tive denouement is the myth of Gautama, the Buddha
responses in the mythology. In some myths, the covert, an-
S´a¯kyamuni, who dwelt among the Others not by actually
cient, antiascetic bias of worldly Hinduism was expressed
leaving his palace to live as an untouchable but by seeing and
through tales of hypocritical, lecherous, and generally carnal
empathizing with the quintessential “other” from the stand-
renouncers; in others, the self-deceptive aspirations of other-
point of a young king who had been sheltered from every
worldly householders were dashed or ridiculed. In yet others,
form of weakness or sadness: the vision of an old man, a sick
the uneasy compromise of the forest dweller—half house-
man, a dead man, and a renouncer. As a result of this vision,
holder, half renouncer, and the worst half of both—was ex-
the Buddha left his palace, never to return again. This myth
posed as a double failure; the myths in which S´iva mocks the
served as a paradigm not only for many Buddhist (and Bud-
sanctimonious sages of the Pine Forest and their sex-starved
dhist-influenced) myths of renunciant kings but also for
wives, or the myths in which the impotent and jealous sage
many local, sectarian myths about saints and the founders
Jamadagni curses his lubricious wife, Re:nuka¯, are important
of heterodox traditions, who left the comfort of orthodoxy
examples of this genre.
to dwell among the Others—not necessarily true untouch-
The mythology of renunciation, particularly as it inter-
ables, but non-brahmans, even women, people who did not
acted with the mythology of the ancient, nonrenunciatory
know Sanskrit and had no right to sacrifice—and who never
orthodox caste system, gave rise to an important cycle of
returned.
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4442
INDIAN RELIGIONS: MYTHIC THEMES
A final cycle within the corpus of myths of renunciation
in order to allow life to recirculate; those who were virtuous
is the series of myths in which “good” demons “renounce”
had to be balanced by others who were evil in a world of lim-
the canons of demonality in order to become ascetics or dev-
ited good. This reciprocity was further facilitated by the kar-
otees of the sectarian gods. The myth of the demon Pra¯hlada,
man theory, which held that one’s accrued good and bad kar-
who loved Vis:n:u and was saved from the attacks of his truly
man could be transferred, particularly through exchanges of
demonic father by Vis:n:u in the form of the man-lion, is the
food or sexual contact, from one person to another; if one
most famous example of this genre. One could view these
gained, the other lost. Thus, if there are to be saints, there
myths as covert attacks on the threat posed by the ideal of
must be sinners. Nor may the sinners refuse to sin, or the
asceticism to the worldly basis of conventional Hinduism:
demon to rape and pillage, if the saint is to be able to bless
Anyone who strove for renunciation, instead of remaining
and meditate. (Or, in another part of the forest, the house-
within the bourgeois, sacrificial Hindu fold, was “demonic.”
holder must not refuse to sacrifice and produce food if the
To this extent, the myths of good demons can with profit
renouncer is to be able to remain aloof from sacrifice and yet
be related to other, non-Indian myths about conscientious
to go on eating.) Yet the renouncer wished, ideally, to leave
devils and saintly witches, myths in which religious innova-
this universe altogether; the good demon wished to abandon
tors or inspired misfits are consigned by the religious estab-
demondom forever. The bhakti mythology of good demons
lishment to the ranks of the ungodly. But, as always, the In-
was thus inspired to create a series of liminal heavens in
dian variant is peculiarly Indian; here, these myths become
which the devotee, or bhakta, demonic or human, could sat-
myths about caste, and although there are many systems that
isfy the absolute demands of universal dharma while disquali-
may resemble caste, there is nothing outside India that dupli-
fying himself from, rather than defying or explicitly renounc-
cates the caste system.
ing, the demonic demands of his own svadharma.
GODS VERSUS DEMONS. But it is a mistake to view demons
The myths of the good demon are myths in which the
as merely the symbolic expression of certain human social
overarching, absolute, pan-Indian values of universal dharma
paradoxes. Demons exist, and are the enemies of the gods.
(sana¯tana dharma, which includes truthfulness, generosity,
Indeed, in India that is what demons primarily are: non-
and noninjury) are pitted against the specific, relative, mutu-
gods. In the earliest layer of the R:gveda, which still shares cer-
ally contradictory, and localized values of “one’s own dhar-
tain important links with Avestan mythology and looser ties
ma” (svadharma), which is peculiar to each caste. Thus, some
with the Olympian gods and Titans, gods and demons were
castes may be enjoined to kill animals, to kill people in battle,
not different in nature or kind; they were brothers, the chil-
to execute criminals, to carry night soil, or even to rob. As
dren of Praja¯pati, the lord of creatures. The demons were the
the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ relates, it is better to do one’s own duty
older brothers, and therefore had the primary claim on the
well (even if it violates absolute dharma) than to do someone
kingdom of heaven; the gods were the usurpers. The gods
else’s duty (even if it does not violate absolute dharma). The
triumphed, however, and post-Vedic mythology (beginning
good demon—good in relativistic, demonic terms—would
with the Bra¯hman:as) began to associate the divine victors
be good at killing and raping, not good at telling the truth.
with a cluster of moral virtues (truthfulness, piety, and all the
Thus, in the mythology of orthodox Hinduism, the gods
other qualities of universal dharma) and the demonic losers
send Vis:n:u in the form of the Buddha to corrupt the “good”
with the corresponding moral flaws. The “good” demons of
demons, to persuade them (wrongly) to give up Vedic sacri-
the medieval pantheon, therefore, were not so much upstarts
fices in favor of noninjury and Buddhist meditation.
as archconservatives, reclaiming their ancient right to be as
Stripped of their armor of absolute goodness, the demons are
virtuous as the gods of the arriviste establishment.
destroyed by the gods, while the demons who remain safely
These palace intrigues in heaven had interesting reper-
within the fold of their relative goodness survive to contrib-
cussions on earth, in the relationship between humans and
ute their necessary leaven of evil to the balance of the uni-
gods. In the R:gveda, humans and gods were pitted against
verse. In the later mythology of bhakti, however, which suc-
demons. Humans and gods were bound to one another by
cessfully challenged caste relativism, the “good” demons are
the mutually beneficial contract of sacrifice: The gods kept
not destroyed; on the contrary, they are translated out of the
humans prosperous and healthy in return for the offerings
world entirely, forever absolved of the necessity of perform-
that kept the gods themselves alive and well and living in
ing their despicable duties (despicable in absolute terms), to
heaven. The demons were the enemies of both gods and hu-
dwell forever with the God for whom caste has no meaning.
mans; the major demons or asuras (the ex-Titans) threatened
These myths may also express the conflict between life-
the gods in heaven, while the minor demons, or ra¯ks:asas
affirming Vedic values (which, traditionally, have included
(more like ghouls or goblins), tormented people, both in
killing one’s enemies in battle as well as killing sacrificial ani-
their secular lives (killing newborn children, causing diseases)
mals) and life-renouncing Vedantic values (of which ahim:sa¯,
and in their sacred offices (interfering with the sacrifices that
the ideal of noninjury, is the most famous if not the most
maintained the all-important bond between heaven and
important). They may also be viewed as conflicts between
earth).
contradictory cosmogonies. The traditional Hindu universe,
But with the rise of the ideal of renunciation as a chal-
or “world egg,” was closed; those who died must be reborn
lenge to the sacrificial order, these simple lines were broken.
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INDIAN RELIGIONS: MYTHIC THEMES
4443
For demons might offer sacrifice, but if they sacrificed to the
state of unity with the godhead is closer to dreaming sleep
gods they strengthened their enemies, which went against
than it is to waking life (and closest of all to dreamless sleep)
their own interests, while if they offered the libations into
paved the way for the concept, already encountered in the
their own mouths (as they were said to do in the Bra¯hman:as)
myths of cosmogony, that the universe is merely a projection
they exposed their innate selfishness, and the powers of truth
or emanation from the mind of a (sleeping) god, that hu-
and generosity abandoned them, taking with them their
mankind is all merely a dream of God. The belief that the
power to overcome the gods in battle. But if demons amassed
gods are seen most closely in one’s dreams is encountered
ascetic power they could not be faulted on traditional moral
widely outside of India and accounts, in part, for the univer-
grounds—for they had, in effect, renounced traditional
sal value set on premonitory dreams. But just as Indian phi-
moral grounds—and their power could not be neutralized
losophy, particularly Maha¯ya¯na Buddhist philosophy, devel-
by the powers of the gods. In this situation, demons were like
oped the doctrine of illusion to a pitch unknown in other
human ascetics, who could bypass the entire Brahmanic sac-
forms of idealism, so too Indian mythology played countless
rificial structure and strike out as religious loners, outside the
imaginative variants on the theme of dreams and illusion.
system, with powers that, although gained by nonsacrificial
methods, could nevertheless challenge the sacrificial powers
In its simplest form, the theme could transform any
of the gods on equal grounds, because the heat (tapas) gener-
myth at all into a myth of illusion: At the end of any number
ated by the ascetic was of the same intrinsically sacred nature
of complex adventures, the god appears ex machina to say
as the heat generated by the sacrificial priest. In the myths,
that it was all nothing but a dream. All is as it was at the be-
this challenge is expressed by the simple transfer of heat: The
ginning of the story—all, that is, but one’s understanding of
tapas generated by the demonic or human ascetic rises, as
what the situation was at the beginning of the story. This is
heat is wont to do, and heats the throne of Indra, the king
a motif that is known from other cultures (although not, one
of the gods; Indra immediately recognizes the source of his
suspects, from any culture that could not have borrowed it
discomfort (for it recurs with annoying frequency) and dis-
from India). But in its more complex form, the theme of illu-
patches from heaven a voluptuous nymph (an apsaras) to se-
sion is combined with the folk motif of the tale within a tale,
duce the would-be ascetic by siphoning off his erotic heat in
the mechanism of Chinese boxes, with the peculiar Indian
the form of his seed. In this middle period, therefore, the epic
Möbius twist: The dreamers or tellers of tales are dreaming
period in which Indra ruled in heaven, humans and demons
of one another, or the dreamer of the first in a series of nested
could be pitted against the gods.
dreams, one within the other, turns out to be a character in-
side the innermost dream in the series. Ultimately, the wor-
A further realignment took place with the rise of the
shiper is dreaming into existence the god who is dreaming
great sectarian gods, Vis:n:u and S´iva. The mythology of the
him into existence.
“good” demon brought into play a mythology of the “good”
untouchable or the good non-brahman in local and vernacu-
THE PANTHEON. This article has left until last the theme that
lar traditions; one aspect of this development has been seen
is usually regarded as the meat and potatoes of mythology:
in the myths of the king among the untouchables. For in
the pantheon of gods and goddesses. These will all be treated
bhakti mythology the devotional gods are on the side of good
separately elsewhere in this encyclopedia, so for this author
humans and good demons alike; they are against only evil
it remains only to remark upon their interrelationships and
humans and evil demons. The straightforward lines of Vedic
the patterns of their interactions. The basic structure of the
allegiance are thus sicklied o’er with the pale cast of morality.
Indian pantheon might be viewed, appropriately enough in
While in classical orthodox Hinduism, it was one’s action
the home of homo hierarchicus, in terms of a decentralized
that mattered (orthopraxy), now it was one’s thought that
hierarchy. At the center of the pantheon is a single god, or
mattered (orthodoxy). Thus, devotional Hinduism can be
a godhead, recognized by most Hindus. They may refer to
generous to untouchables, and even to Buddhists and Mus-
it (him/her) as the Lord (¯Isvara), the One, the godhead
lims, whose ritual activities made them literally anathema to
(brahman), or by a number of other names of a generally ab-
orthodox Hinduism, but it can be bitterly intransigent to-
solute character. This godhead is then often identified with
ward wrong-thinking Hindus (and, of course, to wrong-
one of the great pan-Indian gods: S´iva, Vis:n:u, or the God-
thinking Muslims, Buddhists, and untouchables), no matter
dess (Dev¯ı). The concept of a trinity consisting of Brahma¯
how observant they might be of caste strictures governing be-
the creator, Vis:n:u the preserver, and S´iva the destroyer is en-
havior. In this view, what one is (demon or untouchable) or
tirely artificial, although it is often encountered in the writ-
what one does (kill, tan leather) is not so important as what
ings of Hindus as well as Western scholars. If there is any
one thinks, or, even more, feels (love for the true God).
functional trinity, it is the triangle of S´iva, who is married
to Dev¯ı, who is the sister of Vis:n:u.
ILLUSION. This emphasis on what is thought or felt in con-
trast with what is done or brought into existence is basic to
On the third level of differentiation, Vis:n:u may be wor-
all of Indian mythology. Its roots go back to the Vedas,
shiped in the form of one of his avata¯ras (of which Ra¯ma
where the gods use their powers of illusion (maya) not merely
and Kr:s:n:a are by far the most popular), and S´iva may be wor-
to delude the demons (themselves masters of illusion) but to
shiped in one of his “manifestations” or “playful appear-
create the entire universe. The Upanisadic doctrine that the
ances” on earth. Dev¯ı is often identified with a local goddess
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4444
INDIAN RELIGIONS: MYTHIC THEMES
who brings as her dowry her own complex mythology. In
1970); a fine new translation by J. A. B. van Buitenen, termi-
general, local gods are assimilated to the pan-Indian pan-
nated by his death when he had completed only five of the
theon through marriage, natural birth or adoption, or blatant
eighteen books (Chicago, 1973–1978), is in process of com-
identification: Durga¯ marries S´iva; Skanda is the natural son
pletion by the University of Chicago Press at the hands of
of S´iva; the demon Andhaka becomes Bhr:ngin, the adopted
a team of translators. The Ra¯ma¯yan:a has been completely if
son of S´iva; and Aiyanar is Skanda, a god by another name.
clumsily translated by Hari Prasad Shastri, 3 vols. (London,
1962), and is now being properly translated by Robert P.
These assimilations work in the upstream direction as well;
Goldman and others and published by Princeton University
the pan-Indian concept of the dancing S´iva probably origi-
Press.
nated in South India, and the erotic liaison of Kr:s:n:a and
Ra¯dha¯ in Bengal. Such cross-fertilizations result in gods and
The Pura¯n:as, which are the main sources for the study of Hindu
mythology, are now becoming available in English transla-
goddesses who are truly and literally multifaceted; their
tions in several different series: “Ancient Indian Tradition
many heads and arms reflect not merely the many things that
and Mythology” (AITM), published by Motilal Banarsidass
they are and can do, but the many places they have come
in Delhi; the “All-India Kashiraj Trust” (AIKT), in Varanasi;
from—and are heading toward.
and two older series that have recently been resurrected, the
At this point, the pantheon splinters into a kaleidoscope
“Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series” (CSS), in Varanasi, and the
of images and tales that demonstrate how the one God be-
“Sacred Books of the Hindus” (SBH), originally published
in Allahabad and now republished in New York by AMS
came manifest right here, in Banaras or Gujurat or Madurai,
Press. These are the Pura¯n:as that have emerged so far:
how this particular temple or shrine became the center of the
earth. For, like a hologram, the entire Indian mythological
Agnipura¯n:am. 2 vols. Translated by M. N. Dutt. CSS, no. 54.
panorama is always present in its entirety in every single spot
Calcutta, 1901; reprint, Varanasi, 1967.
in the Indian world.
Bha¯gavata. 4 vols. Translated by Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare. AITM,
nos. 7–10. Delhi, 1976.
SEE ALSO Avata¯ra; Bhakti; Birds; Cosmology, articles on
Brahma¯n:d:a. 5 vols. Translated by Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare.
Hindu Cosmology, Jain Cosmology; Dharma, article on
AITM, nos. 22–26. Delhi, 1983.
Hindu Dharma; Elephants; Horses; Karman; Maha¯bha¯rata;
Brahma-vaivarta Pura¯n:am. 2 vols. Translated by Rajendra Nath
Ma¯ya¯; Monkeys; Na¯gas and Yaks:as; Pura¯n:as; Ra¯ma¯yan:a;
Sen. SBH, no. 24. Allahabad, 1920–1922; reprint, New
Sam:nya¯sa; Snakes; Tapas; Varn:a and Ja¯ti.
York, 1974.
B
S´rimad Dev¯ı Bha¯gavatam. Translated by Swami Vijnanananda.
IBLIOGRAPHY
SBH, no. 26. Allahabad, 1922–1923, issued in parts; reprint,
There are several good introductory collections of Indian myths.
New York, 1973.
Both my own Hindu Myths (Harmondsworth, U.K., 1975)
and Cornelia Dimmitt and J. A. B. van Buitenen’s Classical
Garud:apura¯n:am. Translated by M. N. Dutt. CSS, no. 67. Calcut-
Hindu Mythology (Philadelphia, 1978) give translations of se-
ta, 1908; reprint, Varanasi, 1968.
lected central texts. The latter inclines more to folkloric and
Ku¯rma Pura¯n:a. Translated by Ahibhushan Bhattacharya and ed-
localized Sanskrit traditions; the former leans more toward
ited by Anand Swarup Gupta. Varanasi, 1972.
the classical themes and includes a detailed bibliography of
primary and secondary sources. The available surveys are use-
Lin˙ga Pura¯n:a. 2 vols. Edited by Jagdish Lal Shastri and translated
ful as reference works: Sukumari Bhattacharji’s The Indian
by a board of scholars. AITM, nos. 5–6. Delhi, 1973.
Theogony (Cambridge, U.K., 1970), Alain Daniélou’s Hindu
Markandeya Pura¯n:a. Translated by F. Eden Pargiter. Bibliotheca
Polytheism (London, 1964), V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar’s
Indica. Calcutta, 1888–1904, issued in parts; reprint, Delhi,
The Pura¯n:a Index (Madras, 1955), E. Washburn Hopkins’s
1969.
Epic Mythology (1915; reprint, New York, 1969), A. A. Mac-
Matsya Pura¯n:am. 2 vols. Translated by a taluqdar of Oudh. SBH,
donell’s Vedic Mythology (1897; reprint, New York, 1974),
no. 17. Allahabad, 1916–1919.
Vettam Mani’s Puranic Encyclopaedia (Delhi, 1975), and
Sören Sörensen’s An Index to the Names in the Maha¯bha¯rata,
S´iva Pura¯n:a. 4 vols. Edited by Jagdish Lal Shastri and translated
13 pts. (London, 1904–1925).
by a board of scholars. AITM, nos. 1–4. Delhi, 1970.
Most of the primary sources for Indian mythology in Sanskrit are
Va¯mana Pura¯n:a. Translated by Satyamsu M. Mukhopadhyaya
now available in English translations of varying reliability.
and edited by Anand Swarup Gupta. Varanasi, 1968.
For the R:gveda, see my The Rig Veda (Harmondsworth,
Vis:n:u Pura¯n:a. Translated by H. H. Wilson. London, 1940; 2d
U.K., 1982); for the Bra¯hman:as, see Arthur Berriedale
ed., Calcutta, 1961.
Keith’s Aitareya and Kaus:¯ıtaki Bra¯hman:as (Cambridge,
Mass., 1920); Julius Eggeling’s The S´atapatha Bra¯hman:a, 5
For a complete list of Sanskrit editions of the Pura¯n:as, see my
vols., “Sacred Books of the East,” vols. 12, 26, 41, 43, and
Hindu Myths, cited above.
44 (Oxford, 1882–1900; reprint Delhi, 1966); Willem Ca-
There are also several useful studies of selected Indian mythic
land’s The Pañcavim:s:a Bra¯hman:a (Calcutta, 1931); and
themes. Still the best introduction is Heinrich Zimmer’s
A. A. Macdonell’s The Br:haddevata¯ Attributed to S´aunaka
Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization, edited by
(Cambridge, Mass., 1904). The Maha¯bha¯rata has been com-
Joseph Campbell (1946; reprint, Princeton, 1972). Also
pletely if awkwardly translated by Pratap Chandra Roy and
helpful is Arthur Berriedale Keith’s Indian Mythology, vol. 6,
K. M. Ganguli, 12 vols. (1884–1896; 2d ed., Calcutta,
pt. 1, of The Mythology of All Races, edited by Louis H. Gray
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDIAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
4445
(1917; reprint, New York, 1964). There are also a number
growing. More than other religions, Indian religions and spe-
of books devoted to particular gods or mythic themes: for
cifically Hinduism are integrated into the totality of forms
Tamil mythology, David Dean Shulman’s Tamil Temple
of culture and life, and to that extent, Indian studies in gen-
Myths (Princeton, N.J., 1980); for gods and demons, my The
eral have a direct or indirect bearing upon the religion of
Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology (Berkeley, Calif., 1976);
Hinduism. In such broad and comprehensive application,
for cosmology, Richard F. Gombrich’s “Ancient Indian Cos-
the term religion itself has become subject to questioning and
mology,” in Ancient Cosmologies, edited by Carmen Blacker
reinterpretation.
and Michael Loewe (London, 1975); for Kr:s:n:a, John Strat-
ton Hawley’s Krishna, the Butter Thief (Princeton, N.J.,
BEGINNINGS OF INDOLOGICAL RESEARCH. Although institu-
1983) and At Play with Krishna (Princeton, N. J., 1981); for
tionalized Indological research and systematic and organized
S´iva, my S´iva, the Erotic Ascetic (Oxford, 1981); for Dev¯ı,
study of Indian religions are not older than two centuries
The Divine Consort: Ra¯dha¯ and the Goddesses of India, edited
(initiated in part by the foundation in 1784 of the Asiatic
by John Stratton Hawley and Donna M. Wulff (Berkeley,
Society of Bengal and by the establishment in 1814 of the
Calif., 1982) and my Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythi-
first chair for Indian studies at the University of Paris), the
cal Beasts (Chicago, 1980); for the myths of illusion, my
Western encounter with the Indian religious tradition was
Dreams, Illusion, and Other Realities (Chicago, 1984). Final-
by no means an unexpected and unprepared event. Since the
ly, no study of Indian mythology can fail to take into account
the writings of Madeleine Biardeau, particularly her Clefs
days of classical Greece, and in particular since the Indian
pour la pensée hindoue (Paris, 1972); Études de mythologie hin-
campaign of Alexander the Great (327–325 BCE), there has
doue, 4 vols. (Paris, 1968–1976); and her essays in the Dic-
been interest in and speculation about Indian wisdom and
tionnaire des mythologies, edited by Yves Bonnefoy (Paris,
religion. On the one hand, such interest was nurtured by the
1981).
idea that the origins of the Greek religious and philosophical
tradition were to be found in the East; on the other hand,
New Sources
Coomaraswamy, Ananda Kentish. Yaksas: Essays in the Water Cos-
it may also have reflected a search for alternatives and correc-
mology. New York, 1993.
tives to the Greek tradition. In spite of this interest, however,
verifiable contacts between West and East were rare; the lin-
Doniger, Wendy. Splitting the Difference: Gender and Myth in An-
guistic and cultural barriers were usually insurmountable.
cient Greece and India. Chicago, 1999.
Even Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador at the Maurya
Flueckiger, Joyce Burkhalter. Gender and Genre in the Folklore of
court in Pataliputra (today Patna, Bihar) from 302 to 291
Middle India. Ithaca, N.Y., 1996.
BCE, was unable to explore Indian religion in its original tex-
Jamison, Stephanie. The Ravenous Hyenas and the Wounded Son:
tual sources. The rise of the Sassanid empire and then of
Myth and Ritual in Ancient India. Ithaca, N.Y., 1991.
Islam virtually precluded direct contacts between India and
Kinnard, Jacob N. Seeing and Knowing in the Art of Indian Bud-
Europe for many centuries, and there was little more than
dhism. Richmond, U.K., 1999.
a repetition and rearrangement of the materials inherited
Leslie, Julia. Myth and Mythmaking. Collected Papers on South
from Greek and Roman antiquity. However, a highly origi-
Asia, 12. Richmond, U.K., 1996.
nal and thorough study of India, based upon textual sources
as well as travel experiences and accompanied by an unprece-
Sherer, Alistair. The Hindu Vision: Forms of the Formless. London,
1993.
dented hermeneutic awareness, was produced in Arabic by
the great Islamic scholar al-B¯ıru¯n¯ı (973–1051). But his work
Vaudeville, Charlotte. Myths, Sins, and Legends in Medieval India.
remained unknown in contemporary Europe, and even in
New York, 1996.
medieval Islam it was a unique and somewhat isolated
WENDY DONIGER (1987)
phenomenon.
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The Portuguese explorers who reopened direct Western
access to India (a development marked by Vasco da Gama’s
arrival in 1498 in the South Indian port city of Calicut) were
INDIAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
motivated not by any interest in Indian religion or philoso-
As is the case with other great traditions, the study of and
phy but by trade and missionary interests. Yet, the urge to
interest in Indian religions cannot be described in terms of
teach and to proselytize turned out to be a powerful incentive
academic research alone; nor is it confined to the accumula-
to explore the contexts and conditions for spreading the
tion of factual information. It also involves questions of mo-
Christian message. For several centuries, missionaries were
tivation, hermeneutic conditions, religious commitment,
the leading pioneers in the study of Indian languages and of
philosophical reflection, and interaction and dialogue be-
Indian religious thought. Their greatest representative, Ro-
tween India and the West. It reflects the work and attitudes
berto de Nobili (1577–1656; active in Madurai, South
of missionaries and philologists, travelers and philosophers,
India), learned Tamil and Sanskrit and acquired and un-
anthropologists and theologians. It has roots and repercus-
equaled knowledge of the Indian tradition. But his writings
sions in the general trends and developments of Western sci-
remained unpublished during his lifetime and were only re-
ence, religion, and philosophy. Its impact upon Indian as
cently rediscovered. The work of another missionary, Abra-
well as Western self-understanding is undeniable and still
ham Roger’s Dutch-language De opendeure tot het verborgen
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4446
INDIAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
heydendom (The open door to the hidden heathendom),
CLASSICAL INDOLOGY. Textual and historical scholarship of
published in 1651, was translated into other European lan-
the nineteenth century has laid the foundations for the cur-
guages and widely used as a sourcebook on Indian religion.
rent access to ancient and classical Indian sources. Dictionar-
The works of travelers like François Bernier and Jean-
ies prepared during this period as well as catalogs of manu-
Baptiste Tavernier provided additional information.
scripts and editions and translations of religious texts are still
considered indispensable. Throughout the nineteenth centu-
The ideological movements of Deism and the Enlight-
ry there was a particular fascination with the Vedas, the old-
enment opened new perspectives on India and on non-
est religious literature of Hinduism, and especially with the
Christian religions in general. One characteristic argument
R:gveda. The first complete editions of the R:gveda were pre-
(used, for example, by Voltaire) was that the basic ideas con-
pared by F. Max Müller (1849–1874) and Theodor Aufrecht
cerning God and religion are older, more original, and less
(1861–1863). Müller saw in it the origins and early develop-
deformed in the ancient cultures of Asia than in the Chris-
ments of religion as such; his contemporary Rudolf Roth
tian West. Similarly, a certain deistic openness toward a uni-
took a more philological approach. Interest in the vast ritual-
versal religion can be found in the works of two eighteenth-
istic literature of the Bra¯hman:as remained more limited, and
century British pioneers of the study of Hinduism, Alexan-
pioneering work was done by Albrecht Weber (1825–1901)
der Dow and John Z. Holwell. Like them, the French
and Willem Caland (1859–1932). For earlier scholars the
scholar A.-H. Anquetil-Duperron (1731–1805) did not have
Vedas had been primarily a record of Indo-European antiq-
direct access to Sanskrit; instead, his Latin version of fifty
uity, and at the core of its religious impulse they had seen
Upanis:ads, published in two volumes in 1801–1802 under
a mythology of natural forces. Subsequently, other dimen-
the title Oupnek Dhat and of seminal importance for the ap-
sions of the Vedas were emphasized, and they were interpret-
preciation of Indian religious thought in continental Europe,
ed more specifically in their Indian context and with refer-
was based upon a Persian translation (Sirr-i Akbar, 1657).
ence to later developments. Moreover, Western interest in
Even William Jones (1746–1794), founder of the Asiatic So-
the Vedic and Upanis:adic texts further enhanced their repu-
ciety of Bengal and one of the most influential pioneers of
tation in India. Between 1816 and 1819 the Bengali reform-
modern Indology, initially studied Persian before gaining ac-
er Ram Mohan Roy published Bengali and English transla-
cess to the Sanskrit language. Charles Wilkins (1749–1836),
tions of some of the Upanis:ads, which in Anquetil-
the first English translator of the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ (1785), and
Duperron’s Latin version had already impressed European
Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765–1837), whose wide-
thinkers, most conspicuously Arthur Schopenhauer; Roy is
ranging studies set new standards for Indian studies, contin-
an early example of an Indian author who contributed to the
ued the work of Jones. The general British attitude toward
modern exploration and dissemination of ancient Indian re-
India was, however, under the impact of more practical inter-
ligious documents. Toward the end of the nineteenth centu-
ests, and, accordingly, it viewed Indian religion most often
ry, Schopenhauer’s admirer Paul Deussen (1845–1919)
in its association with social, administrative, and political
made further significant contributions to the study of the
issues.
Upanis:ads and to the Veda¯nta system, which is built upon
the interpretation of the Upanis:ads.
The situation was significantly different in continental
Europe, and specifically in Germany, where the Romantic
The great epics the Maha¯bha¯rata and the Ra¯ma¯yan:a
movement produced an unparalleled enthusiasm for ancient
were studied as both religious and literary documents. In par-
India, celebrated as the homeland of the European languages
ticular, the most famous episode of the Maha¯bha¯rata, the
and of true religion and philosophy. German scholars con-
Bhagavadg¯ıta¯, which was first translated into English by
trasted the original spiritual purity and greatness of India
Charles Wilkins (1785) and has since appeared in numerous
with a progressive degeneration and obscuration in more re-
new translations and editions, has become in the present
cent times. In several cases, this enthusiasm led to a serious
time the most popular piece of Indian religious poetry in the
study of the original sources and to a more sober assessment;
West. The Pura¯n:as, by contrast, attracted much less interest
a certain disenchantment, for example, is documented in
in spite of the outstanding efforts of H. H. Wilson (whose
Friedrich Schlegel’s classic Über die Sprache und Weisheit der
English translation of the Vis:n:u Pura¯n:a was published in
Indier (On the language and wisdom of the Indians, 1808).
1840) and Eugène Burnouf (whose edition and French trans-
August Wilhelm Schlegel, who shared his brother’s early en-
lation of the Bha¯gavata Pura¯n:a was published 1840–1847;
thusiasm, became the first professor of Indology in Germany
a French version based upon a Tamil version had been pub-
(at the University of Bonn in 1818) and a pioneer in the
lished in 1788). A full exploration of this vast literature has
philological treatment of Indian texts. The Romantic influ-
begun only in the twentieth century. Serious scholarly work
ence persisted to the time of F. Max Müller (1823–1900),
on the Tantras has lagged behind still further and is still in
a German-born leader of nineteenth-century Indology and
its infancy. The collection and description of Tantric manu-
at Oxford University an influential advocate of comparative
scripts begun by Rajendralal Mitra and others, and the edi-
religion and mythology. In general, the discovery of the Indi-
tions and studies done in this area by John George Woodrof-
an materials had a special, often decisive impact upon the de-
fe (pseudonym, Arthur Avalon), the chief justice of Bengal,
velopment of comparative studies in the humanities.
broke new ground. R. G. Bhandarkar’s Vais:n:avism, S´aivism
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INDIAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
4447
and Minor Religious Systems (1913) gave an authoritative
Hegel sees as inseparable) is the orientation toward the unity
summary of the information on sectarian Hinduism available
of one underlying “substance.” God is conceived of as pure
at the time it was written.
substance or abstract being (brahman), in which finite beings
are contained as irrelevant modifications. The individual
Apart from his extensive Vedic studies and his contribu-
human person has to subdue and extinguish individuality
tions to other fields such as Brahmanic literature, Albrecht
and return into the one primeval substance. In this light,
Weber laid the foundations for modern Jain studies, an area
Hegel tries to give a comprehensive and coherent interpreta-
in which he was followed by scholars like Georg Bühler and
tion of all phenomena of Indian life and culture and to estab-
Hermann Jacobi, who established the distinctive and extra-
lish the basically static, ahistorical character of the Indian tra-
Vedic character of the Jain tradition. Another representative
dition. Whatever the deficiencies of this interpretation may
Indologist of the nineteenth century, Monier Monier-
be, it has had a significant impact upon the treatment of
Williams (1819–1899), tried to combine textual learning
with an understanding of living Hinduism and of practical
India in the general histories of religion, and it has largely
missionary and administrative problems; this effort was visi-
contributed to the long-lasting neglect of Indian culture in
ble, for example, in his work Modern India and the Indians
the historiography of philosophy.
(1878). By and large, popular Hinduism and the practical,
Schopenhauer’s association with Indian thought is
institutional, or social dimensions of Indian religions were
much more familiar to Western readers than that of Hegel,
not among the topics of classical Indological research. Up to
and his attitude is conspicuously different. He does not ac-
the beginning of the twentieth century, these phenomena
cept any directedness or progression in history, and he can
were recorded principally by missionaries in accounts such
recognize insights and experiences of foreign and ancient tra-
as the controversial yet very influential report of Jean-
ditions without having to subordinate them to the European
Antoine Dubois entitled Hindu Manners, Customs and Cere-
standpoint. In the religious metaphysics of Veda¯nta and
monies (1816, a translation of a French manuscript complet-
Buddhism he rediscovers his own views concerning the
ed in 1805–1806). Further valuable information on social
“world as will and representation” and the undesirability of
and religious life was provided by various gazetteers of India.
existence, and he claims these traditions as allies against what
Missionaries or scholars with missionary background also
he considers to be the errors and evils of the Judeo-Christian
contributed richly to the study of religious literature in ver-
tradition, such as the belief in historical progress and in the
naculars, especially in South India, where they compiled
uniqueness of the human person. He sees the Old Testament
most of the early dictionaries of Dravidian languages; and
as a worldly book without the genuine sense of transcen-
they produced as well the first accounts of the tribal religions
dence and of final liberation that he discovers in the Indian
of India, which are more or less outside the great scriptural
religious documents. In the New Testament he finds more
traditions. The missionary J. N. Farquhar covered the whole
to appreciate; his speculations that its teachings were influ-
range of Hindu religious literature in his still useful Outline
enced by Indian sources are not uncommon in the nine-
of the Religious Literature of India (1920); his Modern Reli-
teenth century. He hopes that the Indological discoveries will
gious Movements in India (1915) is one of the first surveys
initiate a “New Renaissance.” While in fact this may not have
of neo-Hinduism and related phenomena.
happened, Schopenhauer’s ideas nevertheless have stimu-
PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHES TO INDIAN RELIGIONS. The
lated much interest in Indian and comparative studies,
results of Indological research have affected the thought of
though largely outside the academic world. Among the fol-
various Western theologians and philosophers. In turn,
lowers of Schopenhauer who contributed to the textual ex-
Western systems of thought have provided motivations and
ploration of Indian religion and philosophy Paul Deussen re-
interpretive frameworks for the study of Indian religions or
mains the most outstanding example.
have even influenced Indological research directly. These in-
Comte does not show any noticeable interest in Indian
fluences are exemplified by three important nineteenth-
thought, but his conception of “positive philosophy” and his
century philosophers, namely, G. W. F. Hegel (1770–1831),
programmatic ideas about transforming philosophy into so-
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), and Auguste Comte
ciology and anthropology (i.e., the systematic study of the
(1798–1857).
human phenomenon) have set the stage for important devel-
Hegel rejects the Romantic glorification of India. None-
opments in European, specifically French intellectual and
theless, he is a careful witness of the beginnings of Indologi-
scholarly life, such as the work of Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, Émile
cal research and deals with Indian religious thought and life
Durkheim, and Marcel Mauss in ethnology, sociology, and
in considerable detail. In Hegel’s view, the way of the Welt-
religious studies. In general, these writings have provided a
geist (“world spirit”) leads from East to West. Eastern and in
broad ideological background for the anthropological and
particular Indian thought represents an introductory and
sociological study of religion. Paul Masson-Oursel’s La philo-
subordinate stage of development that has been transcended
sophie comparée (1923; translated as Comparative Philosophy,
(aufgehoben, i.e., canceled, conserved, and exalted all at once)
1926) reflects this tradition in its own way. By juxtaposing
by the Christian European stage. The inherent and distinc-
and comparing the “facts” of philosophical and religious
tive principle of Indian religion and philosophy (systems that
thought in India, China, and Europe, Masson-Oursel tries
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4448
INDIAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
to explore the full range of human potential and to discover
the ritual aspects of hierarchy in village life; the structure of
the basic regularities of its development. Indeed, he presents
the village pantheon; the links between social mobility and
himself as a disinterested cartographer of the human mind,
changed religious practices; the Hindu grammar of purity
an observer no longer attached to one particular cultural tra-
and pollution; indigenous ideas about power and authority;
dition or metaphysical viewpoint.
Indian explanations of fate, misfortune, and determinacy;
and Hindu conceptions of space and time, death and libera-
The three approaches just outlined remain exemplary
and influential. There are, of course, numerous variants, as
tion. Although much of this investigation has been conduct-
well as other, genuinely different approaches. Among the lat-
ed and communicated within the village framework, there
ter is a wide spectrum of attempts to find a common core
has been throughout this period a concomitant countertradi-
or horizon of religiosity or a “transcendent unity of religions”
tion of synthetic works that aim to capitalize on and general-
(as proposed by Frithjof Schuon) or to approach the Indian
ize from these many local studies. The four decades after
tradition in the name of “religious experience” or “compara-
1945 can, for expository convenience, be divided into three
tive mysticism” (as proposed by Rudolf Otto); another ap-
phases, which are sequentially discussed below. The follow-
proach, with a psychological and agnostic emphasis, was
ing discussion focuses on major or representative works, ap-
taken by William James. Again, instead of Hegel’s European
proaches, and authors, rather than on more specialized, pe-
self-confidence or the rigid Christian absolutism of such
ripheral, or transient trends.
theologians as Karl Barth, there is now found a variety of
The first phase, which began in 1945, was dominated
more or less far-reaching ideas about encounter and dialogue,
by the publication of Religion and Society among the Coorgs
adaptation, and even synthesis. Among Catholic theologians,
of South India by M. N. Srinivas (1952). In this study,
Karl Rahner has set new standards of openness toward other
Srinivas used the term Sanskritization to characterize a gener-
religions. Psychological or psychoanalytic methods and view-
al mobility strategy that enabled Coorgs, and many other
points have repeatedly been applied to the study of Indian
groups, either to enter the social fold of Hinduism or to rise
religions, most conspicuously and influentially in the works
within its hierarchy. This concept, which has been much in-
of C. G. Jung and some of his followers. Other methodolo-
voked, debated, and refined since then, rested on the as-
gies or ideologies, too, have had an explicit or implicit bear-
sumption of a critical historical, linguistic, and conceptual
ing upon the study of Indian religions; in particular, struc-
gap between local religious beliefs and customs and those of
turalist orientations have gained momentum. A Marxist
what Srinivas called “Sanskritic Hinduism,” that is, the Hin-
interpretation of the Indian tradition exists as well, represent-
duism of esoteric texts, literate priests, and cosmopolitan
ed by Walter Ruben and others.
centers. This approach dovetailed very fortuitously with the
SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS. The study of Indian religions
ideas of the American anthropologist Robert Redfield re-
by anthropologists and other social scientists is largely a phe-
garding the difference between “great” and “little” traditions
nomenon of the period after 1945. These studies rely princi-
in peasant civilizations. Subsequently, an influential group
pally on field investigations of living communities to gener-
of anthropologists centered at the University of Chicago set
ate their descriptions and models of Indian religions, and
themselves to refining, synthesizing, and operationalizing the
only indirectly on historical works or classical textual sources.
ideas of Redfield and of Milton Singer as they applied to In-
From their predecessors in the study of Indian religions,
dian religions and society. A collection of essays edited by
social scientists have inherited the following major questions
McKim Marriott and titled Village India (1955) signals the
about Indian religions. What is the nature and structure of
beginning of this trend, and Singer’s When a Great Tradition
the dominant religious traditions of India? What is the rela-
Modernizes (1972) marks its zenith. This latter work also
tionship between the legacy of norms, concepts, and beliefs
contains the most thorough anthropological critique avail-
contained in the great textual traditions of India and the day-
able of Max Weber’s influential thesis about the antagonism
to-day religious lives of its people? In what way does religion
between caste ideology (with its Hindu assumptions) and
in India affect social structure (and, in particular, the caste
modern capitalistic enterprise. This first phase, rooted in the
system)? To what degree do the religions of India inhibit its
empirical study of village religion, was dominated by the
economic development and vigor? Social scientists have in-
problem of reconciling village-level diversities with what
herited also a tendency to focus on Hinduism, the majority
were perceived as pan-Indian uniformities in religious belief
religion of the subcontinent, so that minority religions, in-
and practice.
cluding Islam, have till recently not been the focus of sus-
In the second phase, inaugurated by the publication of
tained research except insofar as they support or refute ideas
Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications by
about Hindu social forms.
Louis Dumont (1966; first English translation, 1970), this
In the period since 1945, social scientists trained princi-
problem was largely replaced by a concern to analyze the
pally in India, England, France, and the United States have
conceptual core of Hinduism. Dumont, whose intellectual
translated these overarching questions into a series of more
starting point was the opposition of pure and impure in
manageable ones about the functioning of religion at the vil-
Hindu thought (an opposition first remarked by Celestin
lage level of Indian society, addressing the following subjects:
Bougle, 1908), denied the conceptual gap between “great”
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INDIAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
4449
and “little” traditions on the grounds of a shared conceptual
nineteenth century, research interests have focused on Bud-
scheme that animated Indian religious systems at all levels.
dhism, but much significant work has been done also on the
He argued that the Hindu religious understanding of hierar-
other religious traditions of India, primarily in the field of
chy was the philosophical basis of the caste system, and sug-
textual studies (by Ui Hakuju, Nakamura Hajime, and oth-
gested that there was a radical incompatibility between ap-
ers). From the beginning of modern Indology, the participa-
proaches appropriate to the analysis of Western societies,
tion of Indians as collaborators in the process of research and
which assume the axiomatic importance of equality and the
as interpreters of their own tradition has been indispensable.
individual, and those appropriate to the study of Indian soci-
In the twentieth century, particularly since India’s indepen-
ety, with its cultural axiom of hierarchy—based on religious-
dence (1947), their role has become more active, and their
ly defined purity—and its assumption of the priority of the
growing presence at Western universities, specifically in
social group. Dumont’s work, in spite of its controversial
North America, has had a significant impact upon the explo-
qualities, has generated two decades of anthropological and
ration and teaching of Indian religions. Indian scholars have
sociological writing on India characterized by a concern with
not traditionally been attracted by historical and philological
hierarchy, an almost exclusive focus on Hinduism, and a tilt
methods; yet certain massive projects necessitating such
toward the conceptual rather than the behavioral aspects of
methods could be executed properly only in India. Such a
religious life in India.
project was the critical edition of the Maha¯bha¯rata, which
Starting approximately in 1975, there has been a turn-
was inspired by Western philologists but actually produced
ing away from some of these larger debates and a return to
in India (by V. S. Sukthankar and others). More recently,
more focused ethnographic and thematic investigations. Re-
Indians have begun a systematic textual exploration of the
cent approaches have included anthropological analysis of
Pura¯n:as, A¯gamas, and Tantras, and of the vast devotional
both specific Hindu texts and textual traditions in an effort
and philosophical literature of the sectarian movements.
to learn of their cosmological assumptions; more systematic
Still, there is on their part some reluctance to devote serious
effort to investigate the local incarnations and involutions of
scholarly attention to religious literature considered to have
dominant civilizational concepts; and a rediscovery of oral
lesser theoretical status (such as the ma¯ha¯tmya literature) or
traditions, which, together with local performance genres, re-
written in a vernacular language. The wide field of connec-
veal important variations on civilizational themes and motifs.
tions between religious texts on the one side and art, archi-
This most recent phase continues to explore traditional prob-
tecture, and iconography on the other also remains an im-
lems in the study of Indian religions, but makes more explicit
portant area for further studies; scholars like Ananda K.
and self-conscious use of methods and theories developed re-
Coomaraswamy and Stella Kramrisch have made stimulat-
cently in folklore, linguistics, and philosophy. But perhaps
ing, though to some extent controversial, contributions in
the most promising recent trend has been the turn toward
this area.
historical analyses of religious institutions, processes, and
Much work remains to be done in the study of Indian
symbolic forms, a shift that has involved renewed dialogue
religions. A new area of research (and speculation) was
between historians and anthropologists. This trend has pro-
opened during the 1920s by the archaeological discovery of
duced a number of studies reminding researchers that Indian
the pre-Vedic Harappan civilization; the religious practices
religions are not unchanging ways of expressing timeless
of this civilization and its connection with Vedic India are
truths.
still open to question. The Vedas themselves are being ap-
RECENT TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS. There is no single
proached in new and unorthodox ways, for example, in the
spectacular work separating modern from traditional In-
soma studies of R. Gordon Wasson. The vastness of classical
dology; instead, there is continuation and expansion, com-
and later Sanskrit materials available for study is made evi-
bined with gradual changes in orientation. The tradition of
dent by the New Catalogus Catalogorum (edited since 1949
classical Vedic scholarship has been continued by Heinrich
by V. Raghavan, continued by K. Kunjunni Raja), a compre-
Lüders, Louis Renou, Jan Gonda, and others; these scholars
hensive listing of extant Sanskrit texts. In addition, the mate-
have also reexamined the problems of continuity and change
rials in Prakrit (specifically in Jainism) and numerous South
between Vedic and Hindu India. The quantity of available
and North Indian vernaculars still await comprehensive cata-
source materials has increased rapidly, and more scholars of
loging and exploration. These are particularly relevant for the
different geographical, cultural, and religious origins and
study of sectarian and theistic movements, such as the South
disciplinary backgrounds participate now in the process of
Indian S´aiva Siddha¯nta or S´r¯ı Vais:n:ava traditions; moreover,
research, which is no longer a primarily European affair. In
the increasing awareness of the details and inner differentia-
the United States, the tradition of classical Indology (first
tions of the Hindu tradition leads to new questions concern-
represented by scholars such as William Dwight Whitney
ing its identity and coherence and its manifold and ambigu-
and Maurice Bloomfield) continues to some extent; but the
ous relations to Buddhism and Jainism, but also to Islam,
study of Indian religion is pursued more vigorously in the
which has been present in India for more than a thousand
context of other disciplines and of so-called area studies in
years, and finally to Christianity. This emergent complexity
the university curriculum. In Japan, which adopted Western
has been an occasion for discussions concerning the meaning
academic institutions and methods of research in the late
and applicability of the idea of tolerance in the Indian con-
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4450
INDIAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
text. Furthermore, because of the pervasive role of religion
resent clearly distinguishable types of scholarly interest and
in India, its study has to be based upon a wide variety of
orientation.
sources, including, for example, the Dharma´sa¯stras (law
books); the work of such Dharma´sa¯stra scholars as P. V.
Finally, the development of Indological studies in the
Kane is immediately relevant for the study of Indian religion.
West has had a remarkable influence on India’s interpreta-
More specifically, philosophical literature supplements reli-
tion of its own traditions. Not only do Indians now partici-
gious literature because it is, with few exceptions, built upon
pate in the Western study of their religious past, but they also
religious foundations or motivated by religious goals; it also
respond to it and to the challenge of Western thought in gen-
provides religious practices and ideas with a theoretical
eral, thus opening a religious dialogue with potentially far-
framework that at times challenges conventional Western
reaching implications. Traditional Indian thought had not
understanding of such theological concepts as revelation,
previously sought such dialogue or shown interest in non-
grace, or creation. Such interdependence gives the work of
Indian traditions, and yet it has produced a rich heritage of
historians of Indian philosophy—for example, Surendranath
debate and refutation, as well as of coordination and harmo-
Dasgupta—obvious importance for the study of Indian
nization of different standpoints. But foreign religions, in-
religion.
cluding Islam and Christianity, did not become part of this
process until the beginning of the nineteenth century, when
In the past few decades, the relationship of textual
Hinduism opened itself to the impact of Western ideas and
norms and theories to actual religious life has become an in-
entered into a fundamentally new relationship with the non-
creasingly significant issue. A variety of nontextual approach-
Indian world. At that time, Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833)
es have been suggested to correct or supplement the under-
and others initiated a movement of reform and moderniza-
standing that can be gained from the texts alone.
tion of Hinduism that combines apologetics and self-
Combinations of textual and nontextual methods have been
affirmation with reinterpretation, adaptation, and universal-
applied to such topics as the caste system, world renuncia-
ization.
tion, religious devotion (bhakti), and the doctrine of karman
and rebirth in order to clarify not only their theoretical
Thus, Western ideas and terms have been used not only
meaning but also their practical functions in the life of the
to interpret the Indian religious tradition to foreigners but
Indian people. By means of such combined methods, local
also to articulate a new Indian self-understanding. Modern
cults are correlated and contrasted with the standards of the
reinterpretations of such key concepts as dharma exemplify
great traditions; precept and practice, text and social context
the ambiguity of India’s reaction to the Western challenge
are investigated in their mutual relations. The pioneering
and specifically to the Christian notion of religion. In re-
works of Max Weber (1864–1920) continue to have an im-
sponse to missionary activities, Christianity and other reli-
pact upon the sociological study of Indian religion. Anthro-
gions have been readily incorporated into traditional Hindu
pologists and other specialists have tried to construe theoreti-
schemes of concordance, where they appear as different ap-
cal frameworks to be applied to the textual-contextual
proaches to the same goal or as preliminary stages on a path
continuum and to provide heuristic models for further re-
often seen as culminating in the philosophical religion of Ad-
search in this direction.
vaita Veda¯nta. In this context, “comparative religion” has
In a general and inevitably simplifying sense, it may be
found many advocates in India; similarly, against the Hegeli-
said that three basic attitudes dominate the current study of
an subordination of Asian thought to that of the West, Bra-
Indian religion:
jendranath Seal (1864–1938) formulated his program of
“comparative philosophy.” In general, there has been a ten-
(1) the historical and philological approach, which derives
dency to respond to science and technology and to Western
its data and its direction from the Indian texts them-
political domination by invoking religion and spirituality,
selves and is primarily interested in historical recon-
which have been presented as genuinely Indian phenomena
struction;
by such successful advocates of neo-Hinduism as Vivekanan-
(2) the sociological and anthropological approach, which
da (1863–1902; represented Hinduism at the World Parlia-
tries to understand religious life in a functional manner,
ment of Religions, Chicago, 1893). The concept of religious
with reference to—or even directly in terms of—social,
experience plays a crucial role in the modern self-
economic, ethnographic, political, and behavioral phe-
presentation of Hinduism in the West. In increasing num-
nomena; and
bers, Indian scholars, teachers, gurus, and founders of syncre-
tistic movements have come to the West and contributed to
(3) the more existentially or ideologically involved ap-
a growing awareness of the Indian religious tradition. At the
proaches, which find in the Indian religious tradition a
same time, these developments are themselves continuations
genuine religious, philosophical, or theological chal-
and transformations of the tradition, and they are a legiti-
lenge and which respond to it in the name of specific
mate topic of study and research. Among those who have
worldviews or religious convictions.
contributed to the scholarly and critical evaluation of Neo-
These three approaches are not mutually exclusive; they can
Hinduism, Paul Hacker (1913–1979) ought to be men-
be and have been combined with one another. Still, they rep-
tioned especially.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDIAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
4451
The hermeneutic and religious position of neo-
Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli. The Hindu View of Life (1927). Lon-
Hinduism is still problematic and tentative and has had diffi-
don, 1968. Not a contribution to the academic study of Hin-
culties in finding an adequate language for presenting the In-
duism, but one of the most eloquent and successful state-
dian religious tradition to the modern world. Accordingly,
ments of neo-Hinduism, exemplifying its basic patterns of
the situation of the religious dialogue between India and the
reinterpretation and modernization.
West is still precarious. Nonetheless, the fact that the Indian
Renou, Louis. Bibliographie védique. Paris, 1931. An exemplary
religious tradition is no longer just an object of Western
bibliography of scholarly literature on the Vedas. A sequel to
study but now speaks back to the West, questioning some
this work is R. N. Dandekar’s Vedic Bibliography, 3 vols.
(Bombay and Poona, 1946–1973).
of the very basic presuppositions of Western historical re-
search, is in itself a highly significant event. It affects not only
Schwab, Raymond. La renaissance orientale. Paris, 1950. Translat-
the modern Western perception of India but also the reli-
ed by Gene Patterson-Black and Victor Reinking as The Ori-
gious and philosophical situation of the modern world.
ental Renaissance (New York, 1984). A comprehensive and
richly documented account of the seminal period between
1770 and 1850, when the foundations were laid for modern
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Indology and for a new appreciation of Indian religion and
Dandekar, R. N., and V. Raghavan, eds. Oriental Studies in India.
philosophy; equally detailed on academic and nonacademic
New Delhi, 1964. A survey of Asian, primarily Indian,
developments; analyzes thoroughly the intellectual back-
studies with sections on Vedic, Dravidian, and Islamic
ground of Indian and Oriental studies. The translation is not
studies, philosophy and religion, archaeology, and so on, in-
always reliable.
cluding a list of centers of teaching and research in India.
Smith, Bardwell L., ed. Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Re-
Dell, David, et al. Guide to Hindu Religion. Boston, 1981. A gen-
ligions. Leiden, 1976. A collection of eight contributions, ex-
erously annotated bibliography of studies of Hinduism, cov-
emplifying recent approaches to the study of Hinduism, in-
ering such areas as history of Hinduism, religious thought,
cluding structuralism.
sacred texts, rituals, sacred locations, soteriology; emphasis
on more recent contributions; not always fully reliable.
Windisch, Ernst. Geschichte der Sanskrit-Philologie und indischen
Gonda, Jan, et al. Die Religionen Indiens. 3 vols. Stuttgart, 1960–
Altertumskunde. 2 vols. Strasbourg, 1917–1920. Though in-
1963. One of the most comprehensive surveys of research on
complete, somewhat obsolete, and not extending beyond
the religions of India, primarily from the standpoint of textu-
1900, this remains the most thorough and comprehensive
al and historical studies. This survey is further extended in
survey of the history of Indology and of the textual explora-
Gonda’s Vis:n:uism and S´ivaism: A Comparison (London,
tion of Indian religion.
1970).
Zimmer, Heinrich. Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civiliza-
Hacker, Paul. Kleine Schriften. Wiesbaden, 1978. A comprehen-
tion (1946). Edited by Joseph Campbell. Princeton, 1972.
sive collection of articles in German and English by a scholar
A somewhat idiosyncratic, yet stimulating and influential
whose studies of Indian religion combine a thoroughly philo-
study of Hindu religion and mythology, with particular ref-
logical orientation with theological and philosophical com-
erence to its visual illustrations.
mitment; important methodological discussions and refer-
New Sources
ences to neo-Hinduism.
Baird, Robert D. Essays in the History of Religions. New York,
Halbfass, Wilhelm. Indien und Europa: Perspektiven ihrer geistigen
1991.
Begegnung. Basel, 1981. A study of the intellectual and spiri-
Bhargava, Rajeev. Secularism and Its Critics. New York, 1998.
tual encounters between India and Europe, of the patterns
of mutual understanding in the areas of religion and philoso-
Bosch, Lourens van den. Friedrich Max Müller: A Life Devoted to
phy, and of the beginnings of Indological research.
Humanities. Boston, 2002.
Holland, Barron. Popular Hinduism and Hindu Mythology: An An-
Gilmartin, David, and Bruce B. Lawrence, eds. Beyond Turk and
notated Bibliography. Westport, Conn., 1979. A useful bibli-
Hindu: Rethinking Religious Identities in Islamicate South
ographical guide (including sections on “sacred literature,”
Asia. Gainesville, Fla., 2000.
etc.), although the annotations are extremely short and often
Jones, Kenneth W., ed. Religious Controversy in British India. Al-
not very helpful.
bany, 1992.
Mandelbaum, David G. Society in India. 2 vols. Berkeley, Calif.,
Lopez, Donald S., ed. Religions of India in Practice. Princeton,
1970. This general introduction to the anthropological study
N.J., 1992.
of Indian civilization also contains (in chapters 28–31 of vol-
Madan, T. N., ed. Religion in India. New York, 1991.
ume 2) the best introduction, for the nonspecialist, to the so-
cial and historical dynamics of Indian religions.
Young, Katherine K. Hermeneutical Paths to the Sacred Worlds of
O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger, ed. Karma and Rebirth in Classical
India: Essays in Honor of Robert W. Stevenson. Atlanta, 1994.
Indian Traditions. Berkeley, 1980. A collection of essays, by
WILHELM HALBFASS (1987)
authors with varied backgrounds, on one of the most funda-
ARJUN APPADURAI (1987)
mental ideas in Indian religious thought.
Revised Bibliography
Otto, Rudolf. Mysticism East and West: A Comparative Analysis of
the Nature of Mysticism (1932). New York, 1960. Although
somewhat obsolete, still an exemplary approach to the Indian
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS
religious tradition by a liberal Christian theologian.
This entry consists of the following articles:
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4452
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
AN OVERVIEW
ed in other terminology that identifies them as “mortals” and
HISTORY OF STUDY
“immortals” respectively.
This relatively simple example reveals some of the possi-
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
bilities and some of the pitfalls of research into Indo-
The study of Indo-European religion has a relatively recent
European religion. Careful examination of lexical items pro-
origin, for the very existence of the Indo-European language
vides insight into the nature of thought on religious topics.
grouping was not recognized until a celebrated lecture given
But each of the separate Indo-European families differs from
by Sir William (“Oriental”) Jones in 1786. Speaking to the
the other families in important regards, and just as Latin
Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Jones first observed that
phonology differs from Iranian phonology for all that they
there were striking philological similarities between Greek,
are related (to cite but one example), so Roman religion is
Latin, Sanskrit (the ancient language of India), and Persian,
not identical to Iranian: a deus is not the same thing as a
too numerous and precise to be explained by simple borrow-
da¯eva.
ing or chance. Going further, he suggested that the Celtic
Reconstruction that proceeds along linguistic lines is
and Germanic languages exhibited many of the same features
relatively safe, however, compared to research that seeks out
and argued that all of these geographically and historically
correspondences in the myths, rituals, laws, cosmologies, and
far-flung languages were best understood as separate deri-
eschatologies of the various Indo-European peoples and that
vates of a common parent language, a language nowhere pre-
attempts to recover their hypothetical antecedents. Such re-
served in written form, but which might be reconstructed
search is possible, to be sure, but in all instances it is extreme-
through systematic comparison of the derivate stocks.
ly risky and difficult, involving the adducement of parallel
Later research has confirmed the relations among these
phenomena (usually called “correspondences” or “reflexes”)
languages, adding not only Germanic and Celtic firmly to
attested in the religions of several different Indo-European
the family now known as Indo-European but also Baltic,
families; the study of each reflex in its cultural specificity; the
Slavic, Armenian, Albanian, Anatolian (chiefly Hittite), and
isolation of those features that the scattered reflexes hold in
Tokharian (an obscure language found in western China and
common; the explanation of those features that diverge
Turkestan). Rigorous and systematic comparison of words
(often called “transformation”); and the positing of a hypo-
in these various languages has permitted scholars to posit nu-
thetical prototype that is capable of accounting for evident
merous prototypes as a means to explain the systematic re-
similarities, along with a train of historical development that
semblances that have been adduced. As a simple example of
explains the forces producing each transformation. Finally,
how this is done one might consider certain words for “god,”
the reconstructed prototype ought to be set within a plausi-
assembling a set of correspondences (to which other reflexes
ble set of assumptions regarding the nature of Indo-
might be added) as shown in table 1.
European culture in general.
From these correspondences, along with the knowledge
Based on linguistic and archaeological research, the an-
of Indo-European phonetics gained from hundreds of other
cient Indo-European peoples are generally considered to
such comparisons, linguists can reconstruct a prototype
have been semisettled pastoralists, whose wealth consisted of
*deywo-s (the asterisk denotes a reconstructed form unattest-
relatively large herds, including domesticated sheep, pigs,
ed in any written source), which means “god, deity.” Phonet-
goats, and, most important, cattle. Horses were also highly
ic rules explain the various sound shifts in each language, but
significant, especially when yoked to chariots and used in
one must also note semantic changes in certain stocks, each
warfare, but cattle remained the normal draft animals for
of which is instructive for the history of the corresponding
peaceful purposes, the source of most foods, and the funda-
religion. Thus, for instance, the old word for “god” has be-
mental measure of wealth. Some agriculture seems to have
come the most important word for demonic beings in Aves-
been practiced, although this was much less important and
tan (the Iranian language in which the most ancient Zoroas-
prestigious an activity than herding or war. The pursuit of
trian scriptures were composed), a transformation that seems
warfare, especially the raiding of livestock from neighboring
to originate in the prophet Zarathushtra’s renunciation of
peoples, was facilitated not only by use of chariots but also
the old Indo-Iranian pantheon.
by an elaborate weaponry built on a single metal, probably
copper or bronze.
The Greek reflex of *deywo-s has also lost its sense as
“deity,” being replaced in this usage by theos. The older term
Linguistic data are insufficient to posit the existence of
survives as an adjective, however, which reveals one of the
either a homeland or a proto-Indo-European community,
fundamental attributes of deity in Indo-European thought:
and it is possible to view the similarity of the various Indo-
gods are celestial beings, characterized by light, for the word
European languages as the cumulative result of complex bor-
*deywo-s (whence the Greek dios, “celestial”) is derived from
rowings, influences, and cultural interrelations between mul-
a verb that means “to shine.” In contrast, one of the most
tiple social and ethnic groups over many centuries. Some
important words for “human” identifies people as “terrestri-
scholars have sought to employ archaeological evidence to
al” beings (note the relation of the Latin homo, “man,” and
demonstrate a specific point of origin for proto-Indo-
humus, “soil”), while humans and deities are further contrast-
European society. Of such theories, the most widely accepted
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4453
is that of Marija Gimbutas, who has delineated what she calls
the Kurgan culture, dating to the middle of the fifth millen-
Language
Phonetic Form
Semantic Sense
nium BCE and located in the southern Russian steppes, in the
Latin
deus
“deity”
area that stretches from the Urals to the land north of the
Lithuanian
dievas
“deity”
Black Sea, and including such groups as the Jamna culture
Greek
dios
“celestial”
Hittite
dSius
“deity”
of the Ural-Volga region north of the Caspian and the Sred-
Sanskrit
devah
“deity”
nii Stog II culture north of the Black Sea.
Avestan
daeva
“damon”
MYTHIC LEGITIMATIONS OF SOCIETY, ECONOMY, AND
POLITY. Comparison of texts in which are described the pat-
terns of social organization among the Indian, Iranian, and
T ABLE 1 . Indo-European words for “God”
Celtic peoples reveals a common structure, which is also pre-
served in the ideal republic envisioned by Plato. This system
is characterized by the distinction of three hierarchically dif-
From the holy knee of Adam.
ferentiated classes—or “functions,” as they are called by
Although this article shall return to the cosmic dimensions
Georges Dumézil (1958), who was first to recognize their
of this myth, it is its social contents that are of concern now.
importance. Moreover, it is possible to reconstruct a number
Among these, the following four should be noted:
of myths that describe the origin of these classes, their nature,
(1) Society consists of vertically stratified classes, with
and their sometimes problematic interrelationships.
priests or sovereigns in the first position, warriors in the
Most important of these is the creation myth, a com-
second, and commoners—those entrusted with the bulk
plex, polyphonic story that told how the world was created
of productive labor—in the third. To these, a fourth
when the first priest (often bearing the name Man, *Manu)
class of relative outsiders—servants, or the like—was
offered his twin brother, the first king (often named Twin,
sometimes added, as in the Indian example cited above.
*Yemo), in sacrifice, along with the first ox. From Twin’s
(2) The characteristic activity of each of these classes is ex-
body, the world was made, in both its material and social
plained and chartered by the part of Twin’s body from
components. Portions of two reflexes of this myth may con-
which they originated. Thus, the intellectuals who di-
veniently be cited: the first, from the Indic “Song of Purusa”
rect society by exercise of thought and speech come
(R:gveda 10.90.11–14) dates to about 900 BCE; the second,
from his head; those who defend society by their physi-
the Old Russian Poem on the Dove King, is mentioned in
cal prowess come from his chest (heart) and arms; those
sources dating to the thirteenth century CE and was still cir-
who produce food, reproduce, and provide material
culating orally in the nineteenth century:
support for the other classes come from the lower body,
When they divided Purusa, how many pieces did they
including belly, loins, legs, and feet.
prepare?
What was his mouth? What are his arms, thighs, and feet
(3) The priest, following the model of Man, has as his
called?
prime responsibility the performance of sacrifice, sacri-
The priest was his mouth, the warrior was made from his
fice being the creative act par excellence.
arms;
(4) The king, following the model of Twin, combines with-
His thighs were the commoner, and the servant was born
in himself the essence of all social classes and is expected
from his feet.
to sacrifice himself for the good of the whole.
The moon was born of his mind; of his eye, the sun was
born;
Another myth, which has as its central character the first war-
From his mouth, Indra and fire; from his breath, wind
rior, whose name was Third (*Trito), provided an analysis
was born;
of the warrior class. Within this story, it was related that cat-
From his navel there was the atmosphere; from his head,
tle originally belonged to Indo-Europeans but were stolen by
heaven was rolled together;
a monster, a three-headed serpent who was, moreover, spe-
From his feet, the earth; from his ears, the directions.
cifically identified as a non-Indo-European. Following this
theft, it fell to Third to recover the stolen cattle, and he began
Our bright light comes from the Lord,
his quest by invoking the aid of a warrior deity to whom he
The red sun from the face of God,
offered libations of intoxicating drinks. Having won the
The young shining moon from his breast,
god’s assistance, and himself fortified by the same intoxicant,
The bright dawn from the eyes of God,
Third set forth, found the serpent, slew him, and recovered
The sparkling stars from his vestments,
the cattle, which had been imprisoned by the monster.
The wild winds from the Holy Spirit.
From this our little Tsars are on earth—
This myth, which is attested in more reflexes than any
From the holy head of Adam;
other (its traces are still apparent in countless fairy tales),
From this princes and heroes come into being—
speaks to the eternal themes of wealth and power. It asserts,
From the holy bones of Adam;
first, that cattle—the means of production and of exchange
From this are the orthodox peasants—
in the most ancient Indo-European societies—rightly belong
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4454
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
exclusively to Indo-Europeans, falling into other hands only
Speculation on the nature of the cosmos also forms an
as the result of theft. Theft is condemned here because of its
important part of the creation myth, the social contents of
reliance on stealth and treachery, and it is set in contrast to
which was touched on above. It must be noted, however,
raiding, which—far from being condemned—is heartily en-
that beyond this social discourse, the myth established a se-
dorsed. Raiding emerges as a heroic action sanctioned by the
ries of homologic relations between parts of the human body
gods, hedged with ritual, and devoted to regaining what
and parts of the physical universe—that is to say, an extend-
rightfully belongs to the Indo-European warrior or his peo-
ed parallelism and consubstantiality was posited between the
ple. Throughout Indo-European history, Third in his vari-
microcosm and the macrocosm. Many texts thus tell of the
ous reflexes has remained the model for warriors, who repeat-
origin of the sun from the eyes of the first sacrificial victim,
edly cast themselves in his image—raiding, plundering, and
stones from his bones, earth from his flesh, wind from his
killing their non-Indo-European neighbors, convinced all
breath, and so forth, while others invert the account—as for
the while that they were engaged in a sacred and rightful
instance, in the following medieval accounts, the first Ger-
activity.
manic and the second Slavic:
Yet another myth emphasized the importance of the
God made the first man, that was Adam, from eight
commoner class to the social totality, although no individual
transformations: the bone from the stone, the flesh
heroic figure was provided as a model for commoners. Rath-
from the earth, the blood from the water, the heart
er, the myth begins with separation and even hostility exist-
from the wind, the thoughts from the clouds, the sweat
ing between the generalized representatives of the upper
from the dew, the locks of hair from the grass, the eyes
from the sun, and he blew in the holy breath. (from the
classes and those of the commoners. After an inconclusive
Old Frisian Code of Emsig)
struggle, however, members of all classes recognize their need
for one another, and they merge into a larger, all-
And thus God made man’s body out of eight parts. The
encompassing society. Thereafter the classes are expected to
first part is of the earth, which is the lowliest of all parts.
cooperate and live harmoniously, although the commoners
The second is of the sea, which is blood and wisdom.
continue to occupy a subordinate position, a considerable
The third is of the sun, which is beauty and eyes for
portion of their labor being diverted for the support of the
him. The fourth is of the celestial clouds, which are
thought and weakness. The fifth is of the wind—that
noble classes of priests, warriors, and kings. At the level of
is, air—which is breath and envy. The sixth is of stones,
mythic ideology, however, if not of actual social process,
that is, firmness. The seventh is of the light of this world
commoners were assured of their superiority to even the
which is made into flesh, that is humility and sweetness.
most privileged members of society, for an important set of
The eighth part is of the Holy Spirit, placed in men for
myths, recently studied by Cristiano Grottanelli, focused on
all that is good, full of zeal—that is the foremost part.
the conflict of a humble woman who was the mother of twins
(from the Old Russian Discourse of the Three Saints)
(thus signifying abundant reproductive power) with a king’s
horses (the emblem of martial and royal power), in which
In these and other texts the elements of the physical universe
the lowly woman emerged victorious.
are converted into the constituent parts of a human body,
as cosmogony (a story of the creation of the cosmos) becomes
COSMOLOGY AND THE GODS. While Georges Dumézil and
anthropogony (a story of the creation of humankind). In
his followers have consistently argued that the Indo-
truth, cosmogony and anthropogony were regarded as sepa-
European pantheon mirrored the organization of social class-
rate moments in one continuous process of creation, in
es, other scholars have at times been skeptical of this view.
which physical matter eternally alternates between microcos-
Chief among its difficulties is the fact that Dumézil’s propos-
mic and macrocosmic modes of existence. Bones thus be-
als include none of the gods for whom names can be linguis-
come stones and stones become bones over and over again,
tically reconstructed, all of whom are personified natural
matter and change both being eternal, while the body and
phenomena—Shining Sky (*Dyeus), Sun (*Swel), Dawn
the universe are only transient forms, alternate shapes of one
(*Ausos), and so forth—while reconstructible names exist for
another.
none of the deities he proposes.
RITUAL ACTION. The myths that have been under consider-
In general, as noted above, deities were characterized as
ation were closely correlated with and regularly represented
radiant celestial beings. In addition to the *deywo-s, however,
in numerous ritual forms. Thus, the creation myth was inex-
there was another class of divinities associated with the wa-
tricably connected to sacrifice, the most important of all
ters beneath the earth’s surface and with darkness. These dei-
Indo-European rites. Insofar as the first priest created the
ties—whose names were regularly formed with the preposi-
world through the performance of a sacrifice in which a man
tion signifying downward motion (*ne-, as in Latin
and an ox were the victims, so each subsequent priest recreat-
Neptunus, Greek N¯ereus, Germanic Nerthus, Sanskrit
ed the cosmos by sacrificing humans or cattle. This was ac-
Nirr:ti)—figure in myths that are nothing so much as medita-
complished through manipulation of the homologies of mac-
tions on the interconnections between “above” and “below,”
rocosm and microcosm, such that when the victim was
involving immergence into and emersion out of the world
dismembered, its material substance was transformed into
ocean, as has recently been demonstrated by Françoise Bader.
the corresponding parts of the universe. Thus, for example,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4455
an Indic manual of ritual practice, the Aitareya Bra¯hman:a
While the use of intoxicants was an important part of
(2.6), provides instructions for the sacrificial dismember-
warrior ritual, these had other applications as well. The old-
ment of an animal victim in terms drawn directly from the
est Indo-European intoxicating beverage was mead, later fol-
creation myth:
lowed by beer, wine, and a pressed drink known as soma to
the Indians and haoma to the Iranians; the symbolism and
Lay his feet down to the north. Cause his eye to go to
ideology surrounding all of these remained relatively cons-
the sun. Send forth his breath to the wind, his life-force
tant. In all instances, the drink appears as a heightener of
to the atmosphere, his ears to the cardinal points, his
flesh to the earth. Thus, the priest places the victim in
abilities and activities. When consumed by a priest, it in-
these worlds.
creases his powers of vision and insight. Similarly, it makes
a poet more eloquent, a warrior more powerful, a king more
Without this matter drawn from the bodies of sacrificial vic-
generous and just.
tims all the items of the material world—earth, stones, sun,
wind, water, and the like—would become depleted; it is only
A large group of rituals served to forge bonds of commu-
because they are replenished in sacrifice that the cosmos con-
nity and to cement important social relations. Extremely im-
tinues to exist.
portant in this regard were certain formalized reciprocal obli-
gations, including hospitality and gift exchange, whereby
If sacrifice is thus a sort of “healing” of the cosmos based
individuals, lineages, and even larger units were brought into
on principles articulated in the creation myth, medical prac-
repeated contact and friendly interchange. Marriage also
tice was also based on the same principles and bears a curious
must be considered as a prolonged exchange relationship be-
relation to sacrifice. For if in sacrifice the priest shifted matter
tween social groups, given the predominant preference for
from the body to the universe, then in the healing of a bro-
exogamy. An individual marriage was thus as much a part
ken limb—as attested in the famous Second Merseberg
of an ongoing exchange between lineages or clans as it was
Charm and corresponding materials throughout the Indo-
a permanent bond between two individuals.
European world—the healer took matter from the universe
and restored it to a broken body, creating new flesh, bones,
Verbal rituals—including those of vow, oath, and trea-
blood, and the like out of earth, stones, and water.
ty—played a highly important part in the establishment and
preservation of social bonds; accordingly, truth and fidelity
Royal investiture was based on yet another elaboration
were cardinal virtues. Initially, this must be related to the
of ideas contained within the creation myth, as is suggested
lack of literacy among the most ancient Indo-European peo-
by the researches of Daniel Dubuisson. Investigating ac-
ples, a state of affairs that also contributed to the high devel-
counts of ancient “coronation” rituals in Ireland and India,
opment of verbal art (epic poetry, for instance) and mne-
he has shown that a king was ritually constructed by having
monic techniques. But even after the introduction of writing
the essential properties of the three Indo-European social
among the scattered Indo-European peoples, a marked pref-
classes placed within his body, symbolic gifts, clothing, unc-
erence for the oral transmission of religious lore remained,
tions, and the like being employed toward this end.
for the spoken word was perceived as a live vehicle, in
contrast to the dead written letter, and was preferred accord-
Other rituals were closely related to the myth of Third.
ingly.
Embarking on cattle raids—which were raised to the status
of a sacred act as a result of this mythic charter—Indo-
If verbal rituals could serve to establish social connected-
European warriors invoked the assistance of martial deities,
ness, they could also be used to sunder unwanted connec-
poured libations, partook of intoxicating drinks, and aspired
tions, as is attested in a formula of outlawry that survives in
to states of ecstatic frenzy. Moreover, each young warrior had
Hittite and Germanic reflexes, the former dating to 1600
to pass through certain initiatory rituals before he attained
BCE. Here, particularly disreputable individuals (an abductor
full status as a member of the warrior class. Regularly his first
and murderer in the first instance, a grave robber in the sec-
cattle raid was something of a rite of passage for the young
ond) are told “You have become a wolf” and “May he be a
warrior, and other initiations were consciously structured on
wolf” respectively, the wolf being the most feared predator
the myth of Third and the serpent. It appears that in some
of pastoral societies, a dangerous outsider ever to be kept at
of these, a monstrous tricephalous dummy was constructed,
bay. Ironically, however, it was not only outlaws who were
and the initiand was forced to attack it. If able to summon
regarded as wolves, for Indo-European warriors also styled
up the necessary courage to do so, he discovered that his
themselves wolflike beings, as is attested by the many ethnic
seemingly awesome opponent was only a joke, with the im-
names derived from the word for “wolf” (thus the Luvians,
plicit lesson that all of his future enemies, however fearsome
Lykians, Hirpini, Luceres, Dacii, Hyrcanii, and Saka Hau-
they might seem, would be no more formidable than this
mavarka), personal names so formed (Wolfram, Wolfhart,
dummy. Those enemies, of course, were to be cast in the role
Wolfgang), and the Greek term lussa (“rabies, wolfish rage”),
of the serpent—a monster, a thief, and, what is most impor-
which denotes the highest pitch of fury attained by heroes
tant, an alien (i.e., a non-Indo-European)—the plunder and
such as Achilles and Hector in the Iliad. Apparently what le-
murder of whom was established by myth as not only a right-
gitimated the wolfish violence of these heroes is that it was
ful but also a sacred act.
directed outside the community of Indo-Europeans, in con-
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4456
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
trast to that of outlaws, which was directed internally, an in-
world age, there is an apocalyptic collapse, followed by the
ference that is supported by the fascinating name of a heroic
creation of a new, pure, and regenerated world. One of the
warrior attested in the R:gveda: Dasyave Vr:ka, “wolf to the
cardinal features of the eschatological destruction of the cos-
Dasyu,” that is, to the non-Indo-European.
mos, however, is the resurrection of the dead, their bodies
DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND ESCHATOLOGY. A central
being formed out of the material substance freed when the
issue in Indo-European religions, as in most religions, was
cosmos falls apart. The new creation that follows is then in
what becomes of an individual after death. Although several
most versions accomplished with an initial act of sacrifice.
scholars have devoted attention to certain details of funerary
Descriptions of the resurrection are preserved, inter alia, in
ideology, the full nature of Indo-European thought on this
the Pahlavi Riva¯yat Accompanying the Da¯dista¯n i d¯ın¯ıg, a Zo-
topic remains to be worked out. Among the major contribu-
roastrian text of the ninth century CE, and in Plato’s Politicus:
tions thus far are the studies of Hermann Güntert (1919),
[In order to accomplish the resurrection] Ohrmazd
who showed that there was a goddess *Kolyo (“the coverer”)
summons the bone from the earth, the blood from the
whose physical form incarnated the mixture of fascination
water, the hair from the plants, and the life from the
and horror evoked by death, for she was seductively beautiful
wind. He mixes one with the other, and in this manner,
when seen from the front, while hiding a back that was repul-
he keeps on creating. (Pahlavi Rivayat 48.98–107)
sive—moldy and worm-eaten—in the extreme. Paul Thieme
When the transition of the old people to the nature of
(1952) has also contributed an important study of the view
a child is completed, it follows that those lying [dead]
of death as a reunion with departed ancestors, and Kuno
in the earth are put back together there and brought
Meyer (1919) has shown that in Ireland as in India it was
back to life, the process of birth being reversed with the
the first mortal (*Yemo, the twin) who founded the other-
reversal of the world’s rotation. (Politicus 271b)
world.
Behind these formulations stand several very simple, yet very
If ideas regarding the fate of the soul are unclear—no
profound, principles: (1) matter is indestructible; (2) matter
reconstructible word approximates the semantic range of the
is infinitely transmutable; (3) living organisms and the physi-
English soul, the nearest equivalent being a term for “life-
cal universe are composed of one and the same material sub-
breath”—those on the fate of the body are extremely precise
stance; (4) time is eternal. While change is thus constant, it
and reveal a remarkable religious content. For death is seen
is also meaningless, for nothing that is essentially real is ever
as the last sacrifice that an individual can offer, in which his
created or destroyed. Worlds come and go, as do individuals
or her own body is itself the offering. Moreover, that body
of whatever species, but being—material being—is always
is transformed into the elements of the physical universe, just
there.
as were those of Twin at the time of creation, each death
The gods are also subject to the same rhythms of disso-
being not only a sacrifice but a representation of the cosmo-
lution and reemergence, but in truth the gods seem to have
gonic sacrifice. Such a view is preserved, for instance, in Eu-
been of much less concern than mythic ancestors such as
ripides’ The Suppliant Women:
Man, Twin, and Third. Certain statements made above,
however, must be corrected in light of what has just been said
Let the corpses now be covered with the earth,
about the nature of time and the cycles of creation and de-
From which each of them came forth to the light
struction. For whereas this article initially called these figures
Only to go back thither: breath to the air
the “first” king, priest, and warrior respectively, it must now
And body to earth. (531–534)
be concluded that they were merely the first of the current
Or in the funeral hymn of the R:gveda:
world age, time and the world receding infinitely into the
past as well as stretching eternally into the future.
Your eye must go to the sun. Your soul must go to the
wind. You must go to the sky and the earth, according
BIBLIOGRAPHY
to what is right.
Among the most interesting and important general studies of
Go to the waters, if you are placed there. You must
Indo-European religion are (in chronological order): Joseph
establish the plants with your flesh. (10.16.3)
Vendryes’s “Les correspondances de vocabulaire entre l’indo-
This is not a final fate, however, for it would seem that noth-
iranien et l’italo-celtique,” Mémoires de la Société de Linguis-
ing within the cosmos was perceived as final. Just as cosmog-
tique de Paris 20 (1918): 265–285; Hermann Güntert’s Der
arische Weltkönig und Heiland (Halle, 1923); Paul Thieme’s
ony was seen to alternate with anthropogony, so also death
Mitra and Aryaman (New Haven, 1957); Georges Dumézil’s
and resurrection. That matter that assumes its cosmic form
L’idéologie tripartie des Indo-Européens (Brussels, 1958);
when one specific human body dies will once again assume
Émile Benveniste’s Indo-European Language and Society,
bodily form when that specific cosmos itself dies, as must in-
translated by Elizabeth Palmer (Coral Gables, Fla., 1975);
evitably happen. Greek, Germanic, and Indo-Iranian evi-
Franco Crevatin’s Ricerche d’antichità indeuropee (Trieste,
dence permits reconstruction of a temporal scheme involving
1979); and my own Priests, Warriors, and Cattle: A Study in
four world ages, the first of which is most pure and stable,
the Ecology of Religions (Berkeley, Calif., 1981).
followed by ages in which human virtue and the very order
Specialized studies of particular merit are Marija Gimbutas’s nu-
of the cosmos gradually break down. At the end of the fourth
merous articles on the archaeological record of the Indo-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
4457
Europeans, most complete of which to date is “An Archaeol-
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF
ogist’s View of PIE in 1975,” Journal of Indo-European
STUDY
Studies 2 (Fall 1974): 289–308; Georges Dumézil’s three-
Strictly speaking, the history of comparative Indo-European
volume Mythe et épopée (Paris, 1968–1973), in which he
studies begins in the late eighteenth century as a direct result
demonstrates the ways in which many myths were trans-
of the momentous discovery that the ancient languages now
formed into epic, pseudohistory, and other genres; Stig Wi-
kander’s Der arische Männerbund (Lund, 1938) and Lily
classified as “Indo-European” (e.g., Latin, classical Greek,
Weiser’s Altgermanische Jünglingsweihen und Männerbunde
Sanskrit, Old English, Old Persian, Old Icelandic, Old
(Baden, 1927) on warriors; Wilhelm Koppers’s “Pferdeopfer
Church Slavonic, Old Irish, Hittite, etc.) all stemmed ulti-
und Pferdekult der Indogermanen,” Wiener Beiträge zur Kul-
mately from a common source, that is, Proto-Indo-
turgeschichte und Linguistik 4 (1936): 279–411, and Kasten
European. As shall be seen, it soon became apparent that the
Rönnow’s “Zagreus och Dionysos,” Religion och Bibel 2
speakers of these languages, which can be considered along
(1943): 14–48, on sacrifice (both to be used with caution,
with their progeny as members of a grand “family” of lan-
however); Daniel Dubuisson’s “Le roi indo-européen et la
guages, shared more than simply a common linguistic heri-
synthèse des trois fonctions,” Annales économies sociétés civili-
tage, and that among the most important features of this ex-
sations 33 (January–February 1978): 21–34, on kingship;
tralinguistic, Indo-European heritage was a common body
Hermann Güntert’s Kalypso (Halle, 1919); Kuno Meyer,
“Der irische Totengott und die Toteninsel,” Sitzungberichte
of religious beliefs and practices.
der preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (1919):
To be sure, the taproots of the discipline can be traced
537–546; and Paul Thieme’s Studien zur indogermanischen
back to classical antiquity, to the theories of Euhemerus (fl.
Wortkunde und Religionsgeschichte (Berlin, 1952) on death
300 BCE) and other Greek and Roman scholars who attempt-
and the otherworld; and my own Myth, Cosmos, and Society:
ed to come to grips with the origin and meaning of myth.
Indo-European Themes of Creation and Destruction (Cam-
bridge, Mass., 1986) on the creation myth.
It is also possible to trace the immediate source of the ideas
that flowered in the nineteenth century to the ideas of such
Two papers presented at a panel on Indo-European religion held
eighteenth-century precursors as Bernard de Fontenelle
during the Ninth International Congress of Anthropological
and Ethnographic Sciences (Vancouver, 1983) were of con-
(1657–1757), Giovanni Battista Vico (1668–1744), and
siderable importance: Françoise Bader’s “Une mythe indo-
Charles de Brosses (1709–1777), who first suggested that a
européene de l’immersion-émergence” and Cristiano Grotta-
search for natural metaphors might be preferable to the tradi-
nelli’s “Yoked Horses, Twins, and the Powerful Lady: India,
tional euhemeristic and allegorical approaches that had here-
Greece, Ireland and Elsewhere.”
tofore been the rule. These ideas may also be traced as well
On the problems and insecurities of research in this area in gener-
to that curious (albeit all-pervasive) philosophical, literary,
al, see Ulf Drabin, “Indogermanische Religion und Kultur?
and artistic movement called Romanticism, adumbrated in
Eine Analyse des Begriffes Indogermanisch,” Temenos 16
the works of J. G. Herder (1744–1803), which profoundly
(1980): 26–38; Jean-Paul Demoule, “Les Indo-Européens
influenced most of the scholars who first began to conceive
ont-ils existé?” L’histoire 28 (1980): 108–120; and Bernfried
of a distinctly Indo-European religious tradition in the early
Schlerath, “Ist ein Raum/Zeit Modell für eine rekonstruierte
nineteenth century. But these ideas belong properly to the
Sprach möglich?” Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachwissen-
general history of comparative mythology and religion; for
schaft 95 (1981): 175–202.
the purposes of this article, the survey begins with the discov-
New Sources
ery of the Indo-European language family.
Ballantyne, Tony. Orientalism and Race: Aryanism in the British
Empire. New York, 2002.
DISCOVERY OF THE INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY.
Until the last quarter of the eighteenth century, most theo-
Berry, Ellen E., and Anesa Miller Pogacar. Re-Entering the Sign:
ries about the nature and origin of language were grounded
Articulating New Russian Culture. Ann Arbor, 1995.
in philosophical speculation, much of it centering on the
Davidson, H. R. Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scan-
idea of degeneration. Thus, the primordial language was
dinavian and Celtic Religions. Syracuse, N.Y., 1989.
often held to be Hebrew, since it must have been spoken in
Davidson, H. R. The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe. New York,
the Garden of Eden. Following the ancient notion of degen-
1993.
eration from an assumed “Golden Age,” many writers on the
Green, Miranda. Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art. New
subject maintained that Greek was a degenerate form of He-
York, 1989.
brew, Latin a degenerate form of Greek, and that the modern
Mallory, J. P. In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeol-
languages of Europe were all degenerate offspring of Latin.
ogy and Myth. London, 1991.
However, thanks to the voyages of discovery and the
Siebers, Tobin. Religion and the Authority of the Past. Ann Arbor,
rapid expansion in European awareness of the range and di-
1993.
versity of human languages, and impelled by the romantic
Winn, Shan M. M. Heaven, Heroes, and Happiness: The Indo-
emphasis on national origins, which effectively precluded the
European Roots of Western Ideology. Lanham, Md., 1995.
notion that all languages were necessarily descended from
BRUCE LINCOLN (1987)
Hebrew, scholars had begun to suspect that the degeneration
Revised Bibliography
hypothesis, whether secular or religious, was inadequate to
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4458
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
explain the historical relationships among languages. No-
developed, that is, the comparative method, which is predicat-
where was this more obvious than in India, which, by the
ed on the assumption that anterior stages and/or prototypes
latter part of the eighteenth century, had become in effect
can be systematically reconstructed from attested evidence,
the private preserve of the British East India Company. As
linguistic or otherwise. Thus, comparative mythology, and
European awareness of this vastly complex region deepened,
especially comparative Indo-European mythology, rapidly
it became clear that Sanskrit, the ancient language of the
took its place as a sister discipline of comparative philology.
Hindu sacred texts, occupied a position in religious and liter-
E
ary affairs similar to that occupied by Latin in Europe during
ARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY. As might be expected, many
early nineteenth-century scholars, even those who were not
the Middle Ages. Indeed, several scholars, beginning with
directly concerned with Indo-European linguistic studies,
Filippo Sassetti in 1600, had remarked on the curious simi-
had something to say about various aspects of the newly dis-
larities between Latin and Sanskrit, but these similarities de-
covered parallels among the several Indo-European panthe-
fied explanation in terms of the “degeneration hypothesis,”
ons. This was especially true in Germany, where romantic
as Sanskrit was patently as ancient as either Latin or classical
concern with the origins of the Volk (German and otherwise)
Greek. Furthermore, the modern languages of North
had become almost a national passion. Thus, Karl O. Müller
India—Hindi, Bengali, and the rest—seemed to bear the
(1797–1840) and G. F. Creuzer (1771–1858) drew heavily,
same immediate relationship to Sanskrit as French, Spanish,
albeit selectively, upon the linguistic evidence in their at-
Italian and other members of what later came to be called
tempts to reconstruct the prototypes of Greek and other
the Romance languages did to Latin.
Indo-European gods and heroes. Even the philosopher
The problem was finally solved in 1786 by William
G. W. F. Hegel (1770–1831), in whose works Romantic ide-
Jones (1746–1794), who is generally considered the founder
alism reached the apex of its development, seems to have
of scientific linguistics. An amateur philologist (he was reput-
been strongly influenced by the new comparativism, and, as
ed to have been fluent in some twenty-two languages), Jones
Richard Chase puts it, “longed for a ‘polytheism in art’ and
had recently been appointed chief justice of the East India
imagination, a plastic and mythological philosophy” (Quest
Company’s establishment at Calcutta, and in his off-hours
for Myth, 1949, p. 39).
he immediately set about learning Sanskrit. In September
Most of the pioneer philologists, among them Franz
1786, at a meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal,
Bopp (1791–1867), Friedrich Schlegel (1772–1829), and
he gave an after-dinner speech in which, for the first time,
Rasmus Rask (1787–1832), also made important contribu-
the idea of the language family was first clearly articulated.
tions to comparative Indo-European mythological and reli-
As Jones saw it, the relationship among Sanskrit and the an-
gious studies. In many respects, the most distinguished
cient languages of Greece and Rome, as well as those spoken
member of this group was Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), who,
by the ancient Germans and Iranians, was that of a set of or-
with his brother Wilhelm (1786–1859), was responsible for
phaned siblings: all were descended from a common parent
amassing the great collection of tales that bears their name.
language that had long since disappeared. That parent lan-
However, Jacob Grimm was more than a mere collector of
guage, however, might be reconstructed by rigorously com-
folk tales; he was also a preeminent philologist, and in 1823
paring the grammars and lexicons of these attested languages.
he articulated the principle that later came to be known as
The whole ensemble could be described as a family tree, one
“Grimm’s law,” which firmly established the phonological
to which Hebrew, Arabic, and other Semitic languages did
connections among Latin, Greek, and the ancient Germanic
not belong, for they were members of another, wholly dis-
languages. His most important single contribution to Indo-
tinct language family.
European religious studies was a two-volume work entitled
Thus was born both comparative philology and the idea
Deutsche Mythologie (1835). In it he developed the thesis that
of the Indo-European language family. Although Jones him-
the Märchen he and his brother had collected were the detri-
self never followed up his monumental discovery, others
tus of pre-Christian Germanic mythology. This argument is
soon did, and by the beginning of the third decade of the
bolstered by a host of etymologies, as well as comparisons to
next century the science of comparative philology, together
other Indo-European traditions. A good example of the latter
with the discipline now referred to as comparative Indo-
is Grimm’s suggestion that the ancient Scandinavian account
European religious studies, was well under way.
of a war between the gods (Óðinn, Vili, and Vé) and an earli-
er generation of giants (Ymir et al.) is cognate to the Greek
Almost from the outset, the practitioners of this new sci-
Titanomachy, or the war between the Olympians and the Ti-
ence, almost all of them steeped in romantic idealism, found
tans (that is, between Zeus and his siblings and the supernat-
themselves confronted by more than simply a set of linguistic
ural beings of the previous generation, led by Kronos).
similarities. The primary source materials—the R:gveda, the
Maha¯bha¯rata, the Iliad, the Iranian Avesta, the Icelandic
Elsewhere in Europe and in America interest in mythol-
Eddas, and so forth—were religious and/or mythological
ogy, if not exclusively Indo-European mythology, also ran
texts, and it soon became apparent that the gods, heroes, rit-
high. In Britain, for example, most of the Romantic poets—
uals, and events described in these texts could be compared
Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake, Shelley, Keats, Byron, and
using the same basic methodology that Jones and others had
others—drew extensively upon mythological themes; and
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INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
4459
Thomas Bulfinch’s The Age of Fable (1855) popularized the
François Dupuis (1742–1809) had suggested that Jesus
study of mythology like no other work before it. Thus, by
Christ was a solar metaphor and that the twelve apostles
the middle of the nineteenth century, the science of compar-
could be interpreted as the signs of the zodiac. But it was
ative philology had reached maturity, interest in mythology
Müller who escalated the notion into a full-blown paradigm,
and the history of religions had become widespread, and the
one that had special relevance to the ancient Indo-European-
stage was set for the appearance of the first grand paradigm
speaking domain. Moreover, as a philologist, Müller insisted
in the history of Indo-European religious studies.
that the key to understanding these solar metaphors lay in
T
the etymologies of divine names.
HE FIRST GRAND PARADIGM: F. MAX MÜLLER AND THE
NATURISTS. In his seminal book, The Structure of Scientific
Müller asserted that language, including Proto-Indo-
Revolutions (1970), the eminent philosopher of science
European, which he identified in effect with the earliest form
Thomas S. Kuhn makes a persuasive case for the proposition
of Sanskrit, was in its pristine state eminently rational. Ob-
that all scientific knowledge expands in what amounts to an
jects such as the sun, the moon, stars, and other natural phe-
ascending and ever-widening spiral. In its earliest stages a
nomena were labeled without reference to any divine beings
new discipline necessarily finds itself groping for a central
or concepts, as the earliest dialects were incapable of express-
focus, for an overarching model in terms of which theories
ing abstractions. But as time went on, Müller concluded, a
can be generated. Eventually, however, thanks to the efforts
curious malady set in, a “disease of language,” the prime
of a few scholars, a breakthrough is made, and there emerges
symptom of which was metaphor. What had begun as sim-
a grand paradigm, which not only organizes the knowledge
ple, descriptive terms gradually evolved into increasingly
heretofore gained, but by its very nature generates a host of
complex and abstract metaphors, and these in turn came to
new discoveries and/or interpretations. The emergence of
take on a life of their own. In short, by the time the earliest
such a paradigm is revolutionary in its impact, and consti-
religious texts (e.g., the R:gveda and Hesiod’s Theogony) were
tutes a quantum leap forward in the history of a discipline.
composed, the disease of language had become terminal;
Kuhn, of course, focuses his attention upon the growth
myth and religion had replaced reason and rationality. By ju-
of the physical sciences, which so far have known at least two
dicious use of the comparative method, however, one could
grand paradigms—Newtonian mechanics and quantum me-
cut through the layers of metaphoric accretion and arrive at
chanics/relativity—and which may well be on the verge of
the root meanings underlying divine and heroic names.
a third. But the model applies generally. For example, in the
Thus, for example, the equation between Zeus and the Indi-
history of linguistics, William Jones’s discovery led to that
an figure Dyauh, which clearly stemmed from a Proto-Indo-
discipline’s first grand paradigm, which indeed precipitated
European conception of the sky god, could be traced back
the study of Indo-European religions. However, it was not
to a series of abstract conceptions relating to light, bright-
until the 1850s, almost sixty years after Jones’s death, that
ness, dawn, and so on, which, in turn, ultimately derived
Indo-European religious studies finally achieved its own
from metaphors for various solar attributes. Although he ad-
grand paradigm.
mitted that other natural phenomena play a part in generat-
ing mythical metaphors, Müller constantly emphasized the
The person most responsible for this “revolution” was
sun as the prime source of Indo-European religious inspira-
F. Max Müller (1823–1900), a German-born Sanskrit schol-
tion: “I am bound to say that my own researches have led
ar, philologist, and student of Indian religions who had stud-
me again and again to the dawn and the sun as the chief bur-
ied with Bopp and the eminent French Sanskritist Eugène
den of the myths of the Aryan race” (Lectures on the Science
Burnouf. Shortly after completing his formal studies, Müller
of Language, 1864, p. 520).
accepted a position at Oxford University as a lecturer in San-
skrit and Indian religions; as it turned out, he spent the rest
Müller’s solar mythology rapidly began to gain adher-
of his career there, eventually becoming one of the Victorian
ents, both in Great Britain and abroad. Perhaps the most im-
era’s most distinguished men of letters.
portant of these was the English classicist George W. Cox
(1827–1902), author of The Mythology of the Aryan Nations
In 1856, seven years after arriving at Oxford, Müller
(1887). Despite his obsession with “pan-Aryanism” and with
published a long essay entitled simply “Comparative My-
solar and other natural metaphors, Cox added a new and im-
thology” (published in Oxford Essays, 1856), and the revolu-
portant dimension to comparative Indo-European mytholo-
tion was launched. Although he went on to publish a verita-
gy through his emphasis upon structural as well as etymolog-
ble library of books, as well as innumerable collections of
ical equations. As shall be seen, this prefigured more recent
essays, articles, introductions, and so forth, most of his basic
theories about the nature of the Indo-European religious tra-
ideas were laid out in “Comparative Mythology.”
dition. Another major disciple was the Semitist Robert
Solar mythology and the “disease of language.” First
Brown (b. 1844), who extended the paradigm far beyond the
and foremost among Müller’s ideas was the notion that the
Indo-European domain and used it to explain the ancient
gods and heroes of the “Aryan” (i.e., Indo-European) peoples
Near Eastern divinities as well as those of the R:gveda. Two
were basically metaphors for the sun, in all its aspects. To
American scholars, John Fiske (1842–1901) and Daniel G.
be sure, this was not a brand-new idea. In 1795, Charles-
Brinton (1837–1899), also made significant contributions to
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INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
the literature of solar mythology. In Myths and Mythmakers
drew Lang (1844–1912). A sometime disciple of Tylor, Lang
(1888) Fiske attempted to reconcile the meteorological and
set about to destroy naturism in general and the theories of
solar varieties of naturism, and Brinton, in The Myths of the
Max Müller in particular. In a series of books, essays, and
New World (3d ed., 1896), sought to demonstrate the paral-
popular articles he hammered at Müller’s assumptions and
lels between North American Indian and Indo-European
etymologies, and by the end of the century had effectively
mythological figures.
demonstrated the weaknesses in the naturistic paradigm so
effectively that it did not long survive the death of its chief
It should be pointed out that Müller’s was by no means
proponent in 1900.
the only naturistic school of comparative Indo-European
mythology to flourish in the late nineteenth century. Indeed,
It would be impossible here to trace all of the thrusts
the “first paradigm,” as it has been termed here, actually in-
and counterthrusts that marked this famous scholarly debate,
cluded several rather distinct subparadigms, all of which
but Lang’s principal objections can be summed up as follows:
shared essentially the same methodology and basic assump-
(1) Müller’s theory—and, by extension, the theories of
tions. For example, in 1859 Adalbert Kuhn (1812–1881)
Kuhn, Cox, Fiske, and the rest—was implicitly based on the
published his famous Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göt-
fallacious linkage of “degradation” to Original Sin, which,
tertranks, in which thunderstorms and their attendant bolts
although the chosen people in this instance were the so-
of lightning, rather than the sun, were conceived to be the
called Aryans (i.e., Indo-Europeans) rather than the Jews,
prime source of Indo-European (and other) mythological
was modeled on traditional Judeo-Christian historiography
and religious metaphors. Kuhn’s most famous onomastic
and did not take into account the comparative data from
equation, later shown to be totally incorrect, was the as-
contemporary non-Western cultures; (2) too much emphasis
sumed etymological connection between Prometheus and
was placed upon language and linguistic processes, especially
the Indian figure Pramantha. Both were seen as archetypal
metaphor and etymology, and too little on the differential
“fire bringers,” and Kuhn and his followers were as assiduous
effects of the social, cultural, and physical setting wherein
in discovering other Indo-European fire gods as Müller and
myths and religious concepts originated; and (3) there was
others were in discovering their solar divinities. Another
too much concern with origins and not enough with the his-
prominent naturist was the Italian philologist Angelo de
torical development of myths and mythmaking, nor was
Gubernatis (1840–1913), who emphasized animal meta-
enough attention paid to the universal, evolutionary stages
phors; thus, where Müller and Kuhn saw the sun and the
evident in the Indo-European tradition. Needless to say,
lightning bolt, Gubernatis saw wild beasts, especially beasts
Müller attempted to answer these charges as best he could,
of prey. Still others sought to find lunar and/or stellar meta-
and indeed his criticisms of unilineal evolutionism are re-
phors in the Indo-European and other ancient mythological
markably similar to those of later critics. But in the end Lang
traditions.
was triumphant, and solar mythology, together with the
other varieties of naturism that had flourished since the mid-
Collapse of the first paradigm. While Müller, Kuhn,
dle of the century, went into a permanent eclipse.
Cox, and the rest were developing their naturistic models,
another scholarly approach to myth and religion per se was
EMPIRICAL REACTION AND EMERGENCE OF NEW MODELS:
quietly taking a shape that would ultimately prove to be the
1900–1920. Thus passed the first grand paradigm in com-
undoing of these models. This approach was fostered by the
parative Indo-European religious studies. As the new century
pioneer anthropologists, such as E. B. Tylor (1832–1917),
dawned, the majority of scholars working in the field—
John Lubbock (1834–1913), and John McLennan (1827–
classicists, Indologists, Germanists, Celticists, and so forth—
1881), who, as might be expected, came to focus their atten-
rapidly abandoned the naturistic/etymological approach in
tion not on the Indo-European tradition, but rather on the
favor of more intense efforts to explain the various Indo-
vast corpus of data that had come to light relative to the be-
European religious traditions on their own terms. As in other
liefs and practices of contemporary “primitive” peoples. In
disciplines at this time, including anthropology, a new spirit
his Primitive Culture (1871), for example, Tylor laid the
of empiricism came to the fore, marked by a growing distrust
foundations for the theory of animism, that is, the notion
of comparativism. Most of these specialists, as they may be
that all religious beliefs are rooted in the concept of the
termed (e.g., the Celticist Joseph Vendryes), relied heavily on
human soul. The anthropologists were for the most part not
the methods of textual criticism, phrasing their analyses in
trained philologists—although they did, of course, make use
terms of new translations, new specific etymologies, and the
of the comparative method in its broadest sense—and there-
like. Indeed, save for the purposes of linguistic reconstruc-
fore were not as attuned to etymologies and the metaphoric
tion, the idea of a common Indo-European religious and/or
significance of names. The result was a profoundly different
mythological heritage was rarely mentioned in the first two
conception of the origin and evolution of human religious
decades of the twentieth century.
beliefs.
At the same time, unrelated, for the most part, to Indo-
By the late 1880s the naturists and the anthropologists
European studies, several new theoretical models for the
found themselves on a collision course. The anthropological
study of religion emerged, two of which were to have an im-
attack was led by a brilliant and iconoclastic Scotsman, An-
portant impact on the future development of this discipline.
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INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
4461
In his massive survey of primitive religion, The Golden Bough
among the several ancient Indo-European pantheons re-
(3d ed., 12 vols., 1911–1915), James G. Frazer (1854–1941)
mained, and in the early 1920s the pendulum began to swing
came to the conclusion that religion everywhere was rooted
once again in the direction of what can best be labeled neo-
in magic, and that all belief systems, including those of the
comparativism. For example, Albert Carnoy began to speak
ancient Indo-European-speaking communities, were predi-
in no uncertain terms about a “religion indo-européenne,”
cated on a sacrificial ritual wherein a god was killed and re-
and shortly thereafter, although they differed widely in inspi-
placed so as to renew the world. Among Frazer’s prime exam-
rations and orientation, a number of German scholars,
ples was the death of Baldr, the Apollo-like son of the chief
among them Walter F. Otto, Hermann Güntert, Friedrich
Norse god, Óðinn, who, thanks to the machinations of Loki,
Cornelius, and F. R. Schröder, came to the same general con-
was unintentionally killed at the peak of his youthful vigor
clusion: that it is impossible to understand any single ancient
by his sibling, the blind god Hoðr. Thus, through a form of
Indo-European religious system without reference to a com-
E
“sympathetic magic” the gods, and the forces they incarnat-
mon set of deities, rituals, and myths, and that it is indeed
ed, were periodically manipulated so as to keep them perpet-
possible to conceive of such a common Indo-European tradi-
ually vigorous and fertile. Although largely rejected by subse-
tion without reference to the discarded theories of Müller
quent generations of anthropologists, Frazer’s influence
and Kuhn. Another driving force in this new effort was pro-
lingered on in the so-called ritualist school of mythology as-
vided by Meillet, who, although he himself never attempted
sociated with Jane E. Harrison, Francis M. Cornford, Jessie
with Indo-European mythological materials the kind of
L. Weston, Gilbert Murray, F. R. S. Raglan, and H. J. Rose,
broad synthesis that characterizes his Introduction à l’étude
all of whom drew heavily on Greco-Roman beliefs and prac-
des langues indo-européennes (1922), encouraged his students
tices in the formulation of their theories (indeed, most were
to undertake such studies. One of these students was Georges
classicists by academic training).
Dumézil (1898–1986), a young philologist and historian of
religions who took his doctorate under Meillet in 1924.
A second theoretical development occurred in France
under the aegis of Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), one of the
Like the other neo-comparativists, Dumézil sought to
founding fathers of contemporary social science. In 1903, in
find a viable theoretical basis upon which to build a new par-
collaboration with his principal student and disciple, Marcel
adigm for comparative Indo-European mythology. In his
Mauss (1872–1950), Durkheim published a short mono-
early studies, for example, Le festin d’immortalité (1924), Le
graph entitled “De quelques formes primitives de classifica-
crime des Lemniennes (1924), and Le problème des Centaures
tion: Contribution à l’étude des représentations collectives”
(1929), which focused on what he came to call the “ambrosia
(Année sociologique 6, 1903, pp. 1–72), which argued that so-
cycle,” that is, the common Indo-European traditions sur-
cial classification systems are necessarily “collectively repre-
rounding the preparation and consumption of a deified bev-
sented” in a society’s belief systems. This was followed in
erage (soma, mead, ambrosia, and so forth), he drew heavily
1912 by his magnum opus, Les formes élémentaires de la vie
on Frazer’s theory of death and rebirth and of the ritual sacri-
religieuse (translated as The Elementary Forms of the Religious
fice of the king. But as he himself later observed, the Frazeri-
Life, 1917), in which he persuasively demonstrated that soci-
an model ultimately proved to be insufficient for his pur-
ety itself is the stuff of the divine and that humans necessarily
poses; it simply could not explain the multitude of common
fashion their gods as collective representations of fundamen-
motifs that pervaded the several Indo-European traditions.
tal “social facts.” To be sure, Durkheim’s prime examples
were drawn from the belief systems of the Australian Aborigi-
After a decade of grappling with the problem, Dumézil
nes, but the implications for the study of religion per se were
took an extended leave from his academic duties in the early
clear: a new primary source of religious metaphors had been
1930s and undertook the study of ancient Chinese religion
identified, and the immediate implications for the study of
under the guidance of Marcel Granet (1884–1940), an emi-
Indo-European belief systems were also clearly present from
nent Sinologist who had also been one of Durkheim’s most
the outset, as Durkheim’s ideas themselves were in some
devoted disciples. Yet although the project began as an at-
measure influenced by the demonstration (1907) of Antoine
tempt to gain a perspective on the Indo-European tradition
Meillet (1866–1936) that the Iranian god Mithra (equiva-
by coming to grips with a wholly different ancient belief sys-
lent to the Vedic god Mitra) was the personification of the
tem, it ended by providing Dumézil with the framework he
idea of “contract.” Indeed, as shall shortly be demonstrated,
had been searching for and that he came to call la méthode
Meillet, perhaps the most eminent Indo-European philolo-
sociologique. Thus, in 1938, not long after he had completed
gist of his time, had more than a little to do with the develop-
his studies with Granet, Dumézil achieved the breakthrough
ment of the second grand paradigm in Indo-European
he had been seeking, and the second grand paradigm in
studies.
Indo-European studies was born.
NEO-COMPARATIVISTS AND THE SEARCH FOR A NEW PARA-
THE SECOND GRAND PARADIGM: DUMÉZIL AND THE NEW
DIGM: 1920–1938. Although comparative Indo-European
COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY. Although the breakthrough it-
religious studies suffered a marked decline in the generation
self came in 1938, the first hint of what Dumézil now refers
following Müller’s death, the basic questions he and his col-
to as the tripartite ideology actually surfaced shortly before
leagues had addressed regarding the fundamental similarities
he began his Chinese studies. In 1930 he published an article
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4462
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
comparing the three divisons of ancient Scythian society—
and cultivators upon whom the other two classes depended
the “Royal Scyths,” the “Warrior Scyths,” and the “Agricul-
for nourishment.
tural Scyths,” each of which was believed to have descended
Dumézil’s discovery was in large measure confirmed by
from one of the sons of the primeval figure Targitaus (Hero-
his Swedish colleague Stig Wikander’s conclusive demonstra-
dotos, 4.5–4.6)—with the three varn:as, or classes (later to
tion that among the most prominent features of ancient
become full-fledged castes) of Vedic India: the Bra¯hmas
Indo-European social organization was the comitatus (“war
(priests), the Ks:hatriyas (warriors), and the Vai´shiyas (her-
band”), which typically formed itself around the person of
ders and cultivators, that is, the food producers). He also rec-
a chief. According to Wikander, the comitatus was mytholog-
ognized that the sovereignty of the Royal Scyths was based
ically reflected by such otherwise diverse phenomena as Indra
on the myth that their ancestor, Targitaus’s youngest son,
and his Marut (i.e., the Rudriyas) and the war bands that fol-
had managed to recover three fiery golden objects, a cup, an
lowed Irish heroes like Cú Chulainn and Finn (see Der aris-
ax, and a yoked plow, each symbolic of one of the social divi-
che Männerbund, 1938). Thus, thanks to Wikander, who be-
sions, that had fallen from the sky, although the full import
came one of Dumézil’s earliest and most productive
of this symbolism did not become apparent until the new
supporters (see below), a major piece of the puzzle had fallen
paradigm had fully crystallized. Two years later, in 1932, the
into place.
linguist Émile Benveniste arrived independently at a similar
A preliminary statement of the new model appeared in
conclusion relative to the parallels not only between the
Les dieux des Germains (1939), which was based on the lec-
Scythian and Indian situations, but also among these two
tures Dumézil had given in Sweden, and for the next decade
and the social classes of ancient Iran. However, all of the so-
the discoveries came thick and fast. Dumézil rapidly came
cieties concerned belonged to the Indo-Iranian substock, and
to the conclusion that the sovereign level, shortly to be la-
at the time there seemed to be no reason to conclude that
beled the “first function,” was in fact represented by two
this tripartite hierarchy of priests (or priest-kings), warriors,
complementary divinities: Varun:a, Jupiter, and Óðinn were
and cultivators was necessarily pan-Indo-European.
primarily concerned with the maintenance of cosmic order
Nevertheless, in the years that followed, Dumézil began
(e.g., the Vedic concept of r:ta), while Mitra, Ty´r, and the
to pick up hints of an analogous structure in the Roman tra-
otherwise obscure Roman divinity Dius Fidius were con-
dition (see, for example, Flamen-Brahman, 1935), especially
cerned with social and juridical sovereignty. This idea of the
in the makeup of the most ancient of the Roman priestly col-
“joint sovereignty” formed the major focus of Mitra-Varuna:
leges, the flamines maiores. Could the distinctions between
Essai sur deux représentations indo-européennes de la souverai-
the flamen Dialis, or chief priest of Jupiter, the flamen Mar-
neté (1940). The first comprehensive statement of the new
paradigm appeared a year later in a book entitled Jupiter,
tialis, who presided over the cult of the war god Mars, and
Mars, Quirinus (1941). Although Dumézil here focuses on
the flamen Quirinalis, who served the popular divinity
Rome and its mythological origins, this book spelled out in
Quirinus, an incarnation of the mass of Roman society, re-
detail for the first time the concept that came to be known
flect the same structure he and Benveniste had discovered in
as the “three functions” of social organization, that is, the
the Indo-Iranian tradition, especially in light of the probable
“first function” (cosmic and juridical sovereignty in all its
etymological connections between the two terms flamen and
manifestations), the “second function” (the exercise of mili-
brahman? It was not until he had focused his attention upon
tary prowess), and the “third function” (the provision of
the ancient Germanic pantheons in the course of giving a se-
nourishment, health, physical well-being, wealth, the welfare
ries of lectures at the University of Uppsala in Sweden in the
of the masses, etc.).
fall of 1938 that he finally came to the realization that this
threefold hierarchy was in fact pan-Indo-European, and that
In short, by the end of the 1940s, in a remarkable series
it was reflected in both the structure of the pantheons and
of books, monographs, and shorter works, Dumézil had fully
the structure of society itself, especially in the system of social
articulated the basic elements of the second grand paradigm
stratification. And here, of course, his recent exposure to
in comparative Indo-European religious studies. The Iranian
Durkheimian theory in the course of his studies with Granet
and Celtic traditions had been brought into the picture, and
served him well. The Old Norse gods Óðinn, Thórr, and
a great many secondary themes had been discovered; for ex-
Freyr reflected the same basic type of social organization,
ample, the recognition that the juridical sovereign (e.g.,
even though the priestly, or Brahmanic, level had long since
Mitra and Ty´r) typically had two ancillary manifestations,
disappeared as a viable social entity by the time the myths
each of whom was concerned with an aspect of this function.
were transcribed by Snorri Sturluson and Saxo Grammati-
In the Vedic texts, these were the figures Aryaman and
cus. Óðinn (Odin), like Jupiter and the Vedic god Varun:a,
Bhaga, who represented, respectively, the Aryan community
was a collective representation of ultimate sovereignty; Thórr
itself, along with its most basic social relationship, marriage;
was the incarnation of the warrior stratum and thus was cog-
and the equitable distribution of goods and rewards. This
nate to Mars and Indra; while Freyr (together with his father
idea was first enunciated in Le troisième souverain (1949).
Njorðr), like Quirinus and the Vedic Asvins (“divine horse-
In his first articulations of the new paradigm Dumézil
men”), represented the producing classes, that is, the herders
had relied heavily on the previously mentioned Durkheimian
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INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
4463
proposition that “social facts” give rise to “supernatural
through his discovery that Indo-European warrior figures
facts,” or “collective representations.” However, as he himself
such as the Vedic character S´i´supa¯la are in the final analysis
observed, around 1950 his orientation began to shift, and he
but counters in a game played by the gods, and that the gods
took what amounted to a long step beyond strict Durkheimi-
themselves can be sorted into “dark” and “light” categories—
anism and “la méthode sociologique.” Adopting what in re-
that is, those who represent the chaotic forces of nature and
trospect may be called a more structuralist perspective, he
those who seek to control these forces. In the Indian tradi-
began to conceive of the three functions as expressions of a
tion this dichotomy is reflected in the difference between the
deep-seated, tripartite ideology that was manifest in both so-
“dark” divinity Rudra and the “light” divinity Vis:n:u; in an-
cial and supernatural contexts, but which ultimately lay out-
cient Scandinavia it appears in that between Óðinn and
side either sphere. Thus, the functions were gradually rede-
Thórr. The full implications of this discovery are being
fined as “un moyen d’analyser,” a method of analysis, and
probed by several of Dumézil’s disciples, among them Udo
this revised orientation is, in some respects, not dissimilar to
Strutynski and the author of this article.
the structuralist vision espoused by Claude Lévi-Strauss (b.
1908). There is, however, a major difference between the two
In the course of what may be termed his phase de bilan,
French scholars: Lévi-Strauss (in such works as Le cru et le
Dumézil’s remarkable scholarly output continued unabated.
cuit, 1964) is concerned primarily with the “deep structure”
Among his subsequent books were a reexamination of the
of the human mind per se, while Dumézil remains commit-
Indo-European concept of sovereignty (Les dieux souverains
ted to the proposition that the tripartite ideology is uniquely
des Indo-Européens, 1977) and a disquisition on Indo-
Indo-European, and that other major language families, such
European attitudes toward marriage (Mariages indo-
as the Sino-Tibetan, the Hamito-Semitic, and the Uto-
européens, 1979). He also published several collections of ear-
Aztecan, are probably characterized by their own unique ide-
lier writings, all of which bear on one or another aspect of
ologies. Perhaps the best way to describe this approach is to
the tripartite ideology. Dumézil’s career was capped in 1979
label it “structural relativism.”
when he was elected to the Académie Française.
In the course of the next three decades more important
This is not to imply that the “new comparative mythol-
discoveries were made, not only by Dumézil himself, but also
ogy” has become universally accepted by Indo-Europeanists.
by the scholars who have come to adopt the paradigm. One
Indeed, almost from the outset it has been the subject of in-
of the earliest of these was Stig Wikander, who in 1947 dem-
tense and persistent criticism from a variety of scholars, many
onstrated the extent to which the heroes of the Maha¯bha¯rata
of whom have suggested that Dumézil imposed the tripartite
(Yudhis:t:hira, Arjuna, Bh¯ıma, Nakula, and Sahadeva) were
model on the data, and that it has no existence save in the
at bottom transpositions of the major Vedic divinities
minds of the researchers concerned. Among the most persis-
(Mitra, Varun:a, Indra, and the Na¯satya) and showed that the
tent of these critics was Paul Thieme, an Indologist, who as-
tripartite ideology could be detected at the epic as well as the
serted on numerous occasions that Dumézil’s interpretation
mythological level. Other early followers of Dumézil were
of the Indic pantheon, especially the role played by the god
Lucien Gerschel, Jan de Vries, Edgar Polomé, Robert Schil-
Aryaman, was wholly incorrect. Thieme interpreted the San-
ling, Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin, François Vian, and
skrit root ari- to mean “stranger” rather than “the people”
Marie-Louise Sjoestedt.
(or “the shining ones”), the common meaning of most ethnic
self-identification terms, modern as well as ancient—for ex-
In the late 1950s and early 1960s a new generation of
ample, Hopi, Diné (Navajo), and so forth. Other prominent
scholars was attracted to the Dumézilian model, including
critics have included H. J. Rose (who took Dumézil to task
Jaan Puhvel, Donald J. Ward, Françoise Le Roux, and my-
for ignoring the “manaistic” basis of Roman religion), Jan
self, and the paradigm was extended even more broadly.
Gonda, Angelo Brelich, the Germanist E. A. Philippson, and
Among the major subthemes discovered by Dumézil and his
John Brough, a Sanskrit scholar who claimed to have discov-
colleagues over the years, in addition to Wikander’s 1947
ered the tripartite ideology in the Bible and therefore asserted
breakthrough, were (1) the “three sins of the warrior,” that
that it was not uniquely Indo-European.
is, the recognition that Indo-European warrior figures (e.g.,
Indra, Herakles, and the Norse figure Starkaðr) typically
Dumézil vigorously responded to these and other criti-
commit three canonical “sins,” one against each of the func-
cisms, and to date no single critic has emerged as a potential
tions, and (2) the “war between the functions,” manifested
“Andrew Lang” as far as this paradigm is concerned. Indeed,
principally in the Roman and Germanic traditions, wherein
it is fair to say that the majority of contemporary scholars in
representatives of the first two functions defeat representa-
the field of comparative Indo-European mythology and reli-
tives of the third and incorporate them into the system, ren-
gion continue to make effective use of the general theoretical
dering it complete (e.g., the Sabine war and the conflict be-
and methodological framework developed by Dumézil and
tween the Æsir and Vanir).
his colleagues in the course of the last five decades. A good
example is Joël Grisward, whose brilliant analysis of the me-
In the early 1970s Dumézil pushed the paradigm in yet
dieval French legends of Aymeri de Narbonne and the extent
another important direction (see Mythe et épopée, vol. 2,
to which they have Indo-Iranian counterparts (see his Ar-
1971, especially “L’enjeu du jeu des dieux: Un héros”)
chéologie de l’épopée médiévale, 1981) is, as Dumézil himself
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4464
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
noted, perhaps the most important contribution to the new
studies have involved matters that transcend the tripartite
comparative mythology since Wikander’s discovery of epical
ideology. One of these is the matter of “dark” and “light” di-
transposition in 1947. Another excellent example can be seen
vinities mentioned earlier. Indeed, Dumézil himself suggest-
in Udo Strutynski’s convincing demonstration that the En-
ed that this dichotomy cuts across the three functions, and
glish weekday names, at least from Tuesday through Friday,
perhaps reflects a more fundamental binary structure that
and their cognates in other modern Germanic languages,
underlies social and supernatural tripartition. If this proves
represent a persistence of a tripartite ideological formula—
to be the case, it may well be that the ideological model
that is, “Ty´r’s day,” “Óðinn’s day,” “Thórr’s day,” and
Dumézil first detected some fifty-odd years ago is but a spe-
“Frigg’s day” (see his “Germanic Divinities in Weekday
cial case of a broader and more deep-seated mental template,
Names,” Journal of Indo-European Studies 3, 1975,
as it were, that is shared by homo religiosus as a whole. Such
pp. 363–384).
a template, if it exists, would closely parallel the presumably
It would be impossible in the space of this brief article
universal “deep structure” of the human psyche posited by
even to mention, let alone discuss in any detail, all of the sig-
Lévi-Strauss.
nificant research that has been pursued since the late 1960s
Another extremely significant development involves the
by specialists in comparative Indo-European religion and
nature of the common Indo-European cosmology, some-
mythology who have oriented their work around the
thing Dumézil never really came to grips with and which,
Dumézilian paradigm. For example, Atsuhiko Yoshida, a
heretofore, had defied all attempts at elucidation via the tri-
Japanese Hellenist who studied with Dumézil for the better
partite ideology. In 1975, Puhvel and Lincoln, working inde-
part of a decade, has demonstrated the strong probability
pendently, reached compatible conclusions; they agreed that
that the development of Japanese mythology was profoundly
the elusive cosmology was in fact embedded in a theme, pres-
influenced, either directly or indirectly, by Indo-European
ent in the Roman, Indo-Iranian, and Norse traditions,
themes in the late prehistoric period (that is, the fourth and
wherein a primeval being kills his twin and makes the world
fifth centuries CE), and that the most likely source of this in-
from the latter’s remains. This theme closely approximates
fluence was one or another tribe of North Iranian-speaking
the nearly universal concept of what Adolf E. Jensen calls the
steppe nomads (Scythians, Alans, etc.) that managed to reach
“dema deity,” that is, a sacrificial victim whose body parts
East Asia during this period (Yoshida, 1977). The late
provide the materia prima of either the world itself or some
O
¯ bayashi Taryo¯, an anthropologist at the University of
important part thereof (as in the Ceramese myth of Hainu-
Tokyo, and the author of this article subsequently joined
wele; see Jensen, Myth and Cult among Primitive Peoples,
Yoshida in this effort. Bruce Lincoln has published a book
1963).
comparing Indo-Iranian and contemporary East African reli-
gious attitudes toward cattle (Priests, Warriors, and Cattle,
For Puhvel, the point of departure was the pseudo-
1981). David Cohen has expanded the understanding of the
historical account of Romulus and Remus, in which the lat-
“three sins” typically committed by the Indo-European war-
ter is killed shortly after the founding of Rome. Underlying
rior (see above) in a penetrating analysis of the Irish hero
the names Romulus and Remus, Puhvel suggests, are *Wironos
Suibhne (“Suibhne Geilt,” Celtica 12, 1977, pp. 113–124).
(“man”) and *Yemo(no)s (“twin”), to which may be com-
pared Yama (Skt.), Yima (Av.), and Ymir (ON), as well as
In France, Daniel Dubuisson, who took his doctorate
Mannus and Tuisto, mentioned in Tacitus’s Germania. Al-
under Dumézil in 1983, has attempted to develop a quasi-
though Romulus/*Wironos did not explicitly “make the
mathematical approach to Indo-European myth, based in
world” from Remus/*Yemos’s remains, Remus’s death seems
large part on his Indological research. More recently, in
clearly to have been somehow essential to the building of the
1994, he published a major overview of the current status
city, like a sacrificial offering, and the fact that Remus’s
of comparative Indo-European mythology. Bernard Sergent
“crime” consists of jumping over the newly dug foundation
has illuminated the dual kingship at Sparta by judicious ap-
for the city wall implies that the victim’s essence was in one
plication of the Dumézilian paradigm (“La représentation
way or another mixed with the mortar that eventually filled
spariate de la royauté,” Revue de l’histoire des religions 189,
the ditch. Lincoln’s point of departure was the Indic mani-
1976, pp. 3–52). And in 1984 Dean A. Miller investigated
festation of the theme and its implications as they relate to
the trifunctional implications of the “three kings” in Sopho-
the dema-deity concept, that is, the account in R:gveda 10.90
cles’ Oedipus at Colonus from what can best be termed a neo-
wherein Manu (i.e., “man”) sacrifices Yama (or Purus:a, as
Dumézilian standpoint. Other scholars who have extended
he is called in the Vedic text) and creates the world from his
the paradigm in a variety of new and potentially important
corpse. (Unlike Remus/*Yemos, Purus:a was a willing victim,
directions include Steven O’Brien, Miriam Robbins, Alf
and Manu is credited with originating the institution of reli-
Hiltebeitel, David B. Evans, and Jean-Claude Rivière.
gious sacrifice; however, the basic context of the two ac-
SOME RECENT DEVELOPMENTS. Like all grand paradigms
counts is remarkably similar.) As luck would have it, Lincoln
that have been pushed to their effective limits, the Dumézili-
sent a draft of his manuscript to Puhvel for comment and
an paradigm is fraying a bit at the edges, and several of the
criticism, and the result was a pair of seminal articles that in
most important recent advances in Indo-European religious
1975 appeared back-to-back in History of Religions.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS: HISTORY OF STUDY
4465
The paradigmatic implications of this discovery are still
traditions dating as far back as the Upper Paleolithic (that
under investigation, and various questions have been raised
is, prior to 10,000 BCE), has begun to be recognized (see Lit-
by scholars. Does the ideology itself spring from this primor-
tleton 2002). Indo-European religion is thus beginning to
dial sacrifice? Is it possible that the account of Romulus and
be grounded in the broader context of the Eurasian tradition,
Remus, who began life as the foster children of a shepherd,
which took shape in Central Asia millennia before anything
became warriors, and finally went off to found a city, is a eu-
identificable as Proto-Indo-European appeared on the scene.
hemeristic survival of an ontological myth wherein the three
In sum, as the field of Indo-European religious studies
functions emerge successively after a primeval fratricide? And
enters its third century it remains a vigorous and intellectual-
is there a connection between the dramatis personae of this
ly viable discipline. In the course of the last two hundred-
primeval drama and the dark/light dichotomy (see above)?
plus years it has managed to develop and then transcend one
Or does the theme in question lie totally outside the parame-
grand paradigm (naturism) and is currently dominated by a
ters of the paradigm? As yet no clear answers have been pro-
second (the new comparative mythology). How long this
vided to these questions.
second paradigm will continue to reign is uncertain; as has
Yet another extremely significant discovery relating to
been indicated, there are already signs that it may have begun
Indo-European religion was N. J. Allen’s 1987 compelling
to outlive its usefulness. But whatever may be the ultimate
case for the existence of a “fourth” ideological function (or
fate of the Dumézilian model—and one suspects that it will
“F4,” as he labels it) that lies outside the tripartite paradigm
eventually become a “special case” of a much broader para-
per se and can thus be described as “other.” A good exmaple
digm, the outlines of which cannot yet be clearly perceived,
of a “fourth function” phenomenon in the Indic tradfition
although Allen’s aforementioned seminal discovery of a
the Shurdra caste, that is, the non-Aryan outisders, who are
fouth function does provide a glimpse of what may lie
“other” to the three twice-born Aryan varna (that is, the
ahead—the discipline itself will almost certainly persevere,
Bra¯hman:s, Ks:hatriyas and Vai´shiyas, who reflect “F1,” “F2”
and will continue to contribute important insights not only
and “F3,” respectively). This concept adds a new and ex-
into a fundamental aspect of the heritage shared by all Indo-
tremely important dimesion to the Dumézilian paradigm,
European speakers, but also into the nature of religion
the implications of which are only just beginning to be ap-
per se.
preciated.
SEE ALSO Comparative Mythology.
The common denominators among the the several
Indo-European epic traditions have also been the subject of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
some important recent research. For example, Dean A. Mil-
Allen, N. J. “The Ideology of the Indo-Europeans: Dumézil’s
ler’s book The Epic Hero (2000) has materially advanced the
Theory and the Idea of a Fourth Function.” International
understanding of this most important aspect of the Indo-
Journal of Moral and Social Studies 2 (1987): 23–39. A signif-
European worldview, while Julian Baldick’s (1994) convinc-
icant discovery that adds an important new dimension to the
ing demonstration that the Iliad is fundamentally cognate
study of Indo-European religion.
not to the Maha¯bha¯rata, as has long been held, but rather
Baldick, Julian. Homer and the Indo-Europeans: Comparing My-
to the Ra¯ma¯yana, has led some scholars, including the author
thologies. London, 1994. The author contends that the Iliad
of this article, to the conclusion that the two epics in ques-
is cognate to the Ra¯ma¯yana in that both reflect an “abducted
tion are, at bottom, reflexes of a common Indo-European
bride” mythologem, while the Maha¯bha¯rata is cognate to the
concern with abducted brides and their rescurers. Other re-
Odyssey. An important reassessment.
flexes of this concern may include the medieval European
Dorson, Richard. “The Eclipse of Solar Mythology.” In Myth: A
tale of Tristan and Isolde and the Middle High German Ku-
Symposium, edited by Thomas A. Sebeok, pp. 25–63.
drun epic, both of which involve figures broadly similar to
Bloomington, Ind., 1965. The definitive study of the Mül-
Helen, S¯ıta¯, Ra¯ma, Menelaus, Agamamnon, and the rest.
ler-Lang controversy.
Moreover, Baldick has gone on to suggest that the
Dubuisson, Daniel. Mythologie du xxeme siecle (Dumézil, Lévi-
Maha¯bha¯rata is cognate to the Odyssey, in that they both in-
Strauss, Eliade). Lille, 1993. An important overview of con-
volve accounts of exiled kings who eventually return to re-
temporary comparative Indo-European mythology and reli-
gion by one of Dumézil’s chief students.
claim their thrones after a climactic battle (e.g., the Battle of
Kurukshetra in the Maha¯bha¯rata, in which the Pa¯ndava de-
Dumézil, Georges. L’idéologie tripartie des Indo-Européens. Brus-
feat their enemies and restore Yudhisthira to his rightful
sels, 1958. Remains the most succinct overview of Dumézil’s
throne, and Homer’s account of the slaying of Penelope’s
thesis.
suitors by Odysseus and Telemachus).
Dumézil, Georges. Camillus. Berkeley, Calif., 1980. A translation
by Annette Aronowicz and Josette Bryson of the “Camillus”
Finally, the importance of binarism in the Indo-
sections from Mythe et épopée, vol. 3 (Paris, 1973) and related
European tradition, that is, the all-pervasive difference be-
passages from Fêtes romaines d’été et d’automne (Paris, 1975).
tween “light” and “dark,” which, as has been noted, Dumézil
Includes a definitive introduction by Udo Strutynski.
came to recognize late in his career, is something that may
Dumézil, Georges. The Stakes of the Warrior. Berkeley, 1983. A
link it to far older Nostratic and even, perhaps, Eurasiatic
translation by David Weeks of the “L’enjeu du jeu des dieux:
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4466
INDRA
Un héros” section of Mythe et épopée, vol. 2 (Paris, 1971). In-
(Innsbruck, 1981), pp. 300–311. Together with the article
cludes a masterful introduction by Jaan Puhvel, which puts
by Lincoln listed above, this paper probes the Indo-European
the “dark/light” dichotomy into its proper perspective.
cosmogonic myth and concludes that it is based on a prime-
Feldman, Burton, and Robert D. Richardson, eds. The Rise of
val sacrifice of “Twin” by “Man.” An extremely significant
Modern Mythology, 1680–1860. Bloomington, Ind., 1972. A
contribution to the new comparative mythology.
comprehensive anthology of the major eighteenth- and early
Puhvel, Jaan, ed. Myth and Law among the Indo-Europeans. Berke-
nineteenth-century contributions to comparative mythology,
ley, 1970. A symposium on the new comparative mythology.
from Vico and Fontenelle to F. Max Müller.
Includes papers by Puhvel, Littleton, Strutynski, Donald
Grisward, Joël H. Archéologie de l’épopée médiévale. Paris, 1981. A
Ward, Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin, Edgar Polomé, Calvert
brilliant application of the tripartite model to a medieval
Watkins, James L. Sauvé, Robert L. Fisher, and Stephen P.
French epic, the saga of Aymeri de Narbonne.
Schwartz.
Larson, Gerald James, C. Scott Littleton, and Jaan Puhvel, eds.
Rivière, Jean-Claude, ed. Georges Dumézil à la découverte des Indo-
Myth in Indo-European Antiquity. Berkeley, 1974. A sympo-
Européens. Paris, 1979. A symposium marking Dumézil’s
sium on various aspects of the Dumézilian model and related
election to the Académie Française in 1979. Includes essays
subjects. Includes papers by Littleton, Puhvel, Strutynski,
by several of his colleagues and former students, including
David Evans, Mary R. Gerstein, Steven E. Greenebaum,
Rivière, Robert Schilling, François-Xavier Dillmann, Jean
Edgar Polomé, Marija Gimbutas, Jeannine Talley, Matthias
Varenne, Joël Grisward, Georges Charachidzé, and Alain de
Vereno, and an essay by Dumézil entitled “‘Le Borgne’ and
Benoist, editor of Nouvelle école. Original versions of some
‘Le Manchot’: The State of the Problem.” This essay con-
of these essays were published, together with other materials,
cerns yet another Indo-European subtheme: the loss of an
in a 1973 issue of Nouvelle école devoted to Dumézil.
eye and a hand, respectively, by the cosmic and juridical rep-
Vries, Jan de. Perspectives in the History of Religions. Translated by
resentatives of the first function, for example, Óðinn, who
Kees W. Bolle. Berkeley, 1977. A succinct survey of the his-
gives up an eye in exchange for wisdom, and Ty´r, who loses
tory of religious and mythological thought from classical an-
a hand while swearing what amounts to a false oath, as well
tiquity to modern times. De Vries was an early disciple of
as the Roman figures Horatius Cocles, who is one-eyed, and
Dumézil, and he includes an interesting section on his theo-
Mucius Scaevola, who also loses a hand while swearing
ries (pp. 182–186).
falsely.
Ward, Donald. The Divine Twins: An Indo-European Myth in Ger-
Lincoln, Bruce. “The Indo-European Myth of Creation.” History
manic Tradition. Berkeley, 1968. An important contribution
of Religions 15 (1975): 121–145. A seminal contribution to
to the study of the “third function” and the role played in
the understanding of the Indo-European cosmogonic myth;
dioscurism in the Indo-European ideology.
see the article by Puhvel listed below.
Wikander, Stig. “Pandava-sagan och Mahabharata’s mytiska
Littleton, C. Scott. The New Comparative Mythology: An Anthro-
förutsättningar.” Religion och Bibel (Lund) 6 (1947): 27–39.
pological Assessment of the Theories of Georges Dumézil. 3d ed.
Demonstrates that the heroes of the Maha¯bha¯rata reflect the
Berkeley, 1980. A comprehensive review of the origins and
tripartite ideology and were derived from the Vedic divini-
current state of the “second paradigm,” that is, the Dumézili-
ties. Wikander’s essay was a major step forward in the devel-
an model. Includes a discussion of the major criticisms that
opment of the new comparative mythology.
have been directed against the model, as well as an essay com-
Yoshida, Atsuhiko. “Japanese Mythology and the Indo-European
paring Dumézil and Lévi-Strauss, and an extensive bibliogra-
Trifunctional System.” Diogenes 98 (1977): 93–116. Sum-
phy of works by Dumézil and other contributors to the new
marizes the evidence suggesting that Japanese mythology, as
comparative mythology.
expressed in the Kojiki (712 CE) and the Nihonshoki (720 CE),
Littleton, C. Scott. “Gods, Myths and Structures: Dumézil.” En-
was influenced by the tripartite Indo-European ideology at
cyclopedia of Continental Philosophy, edited by Simon
some point in the late prehistoric period.
Glendinning, pp. 558–568. Edinburgh, 1999. A recent
C. S
overview.
COTT LITTLETON (1987 AND 2005)
Littleton, C. Scott. “The Binary ‘Spine’ of Dumézil’s Tripartite
Indo-European Ideology: A Pan-Nostratic/Eurasiatic Fea-
ture?” Cosmos 14 (2001): 69–84. Discusses the extent to
INDRA. In India the worship of the god Indra, king of
which Indo-European binarism has deep Eurasian roots.
the gods, warrior of the gods, god of rain, begins properly
Meillet, Antoine, “Le dieu indo-iranien Mitra.” Journal asiatique
in the R:gveda, circa 1200 BCE, but his broader nature can be
9 (1907): 143–159. A seminal article on the Vedic god
traced farther back into the proto-Indo-European world
Mithra and the extent to which he is a “collective representa-
through his connections with Zeus and Wotan. For although
tion” of the idea of “contract”; had an impact on Durkheim
the R:gveda knows a sky father called Dyaus-pitr:, who is liter-
and later on the development of Dumézil’s theory.
ally cognate with Zeus-pate¯r and Jupiter, it is Indra who
Miller, Dean A. The Epic Hero. Baltimore, 2000. An important
truly fills the shoes of the Indo-European celestial sovereign:
contribution to the understanding of the Indo-European
He wields the thunderbolt, drinks the ambrosial soma to ex-
warrior figure as manifested in epics.
cess, bestows fertility upon human women (often by sleeping
Puhvel, Jaan. “Remus et frater.” History of Religions 15 (1975):
with them himself), and leads his band of Maruts, martial
146–157. Reprinted in Puhvel’s Analecta Indoeuropaea
storm gods, to win victory for the conquering Indo-Aryans.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDRA
4467
In the R:gveda, Indra’s family life is troubled in ways that
but now he becomes badly hungover and has to be restored
remain unclear. His birth, like that of many great warriors
to health by the worshiper. Similarly, the killing of Vr:tra
and heroes, is unnatural: Kept against his will inside his
leaves Indra weakened and in need of purification. In the
mother’s womb for many years, he bursts forth out of her
epics, Indra is mocked for weaknesses associated with the
side and kills his own father (R:gveda 4.18). He too is in turn
phallic powers that are his great glory in the R:gveda. His no-
challenged by his own son, whom he apparently overcomes
torious womanizing leads, on one occasion (when the sage
(R:gveda 10.28). But the hymns to Indra, who is after all the
Gautama catches Indra in bed with Ahalya¯, the sage’s wife),
chief god of the R:gveda (more than a quarter of the hymns
to Indra’s castration, though his testicles are later replaced
in the collection are addressed to him), emphasize his heroic
by those of a ram (Ra¯ma¯yan:a 1.47–48); in another version
deeds. He is said to have created the universe by propping
of this story, Indra is cursed to be covered with a thousand
apart heaven and earth (as other gods, notably Vis:n:u and
yonis or vaginas, a curse which he turns to a boon by having
Varun:a, are also said to have done) and finding the sun, and
the yonis changed into a thousand eyes. When Indra’s excess-
to have freed the cows that had been penned up in a cave
es weaken him, he becomes vulnerable in battle; often he is
(R:gveda 3.31). This last myth, which is perhaps the central
overcome by demons and must enlist the aid of the now su-
myth of the R:gveda, has meaning on several levels: It means
preme sectarian gods, S´iva and Vis:n:u, to restore his throne.
what it says (that Indra helps the worshiper to obtain cattle,
Sometimes he sends one of his voluptuous nymphs, the ap-
as he is so often implored to do), and also that Indra found
saras, to seduce ascetic demons who have amassed sufficient
the sun and the world of life and light and fertility in general,
power, through tapas (“meditative austerities”), to heat
for all of which cows often serve as a Vedic metaphor.
Indra’s throne in heaven. And when the demon Nahus:a
usurps Indra’s throne and demands Indra’s wife, S´ac¯ı, the
It was Indra who, in the shape of a falcon or riding on
gods have to perform a horse sacrifice to purify and strength-
a falcon, brought down the soma plant from heaven, where
en Indra so that he can win back his throne. Even then Indra
it had been guarded by demons, to earth, where it became
must use a combination of seduction and deceit, rather than
accessible to humans (R:gveda 4.26-27). Indra himself is the
pure strength, to gain his ends: S´ac¯ı goads Nahus:a into com-
soma drinker par excellence; when he gets drunk, as he is wont
mitting an act of hubris that brings him down to a level on
to do, he brags (R:gveda 10.119), and the worshiper who in-
which he becomes vulnerable to Indra.
vites Indra to share his soma also shares in the euphoria that
soma induces in both the human and the divine drinker
Old Vedic gods never die; they just fade into new
(R:gveda 9.113). But Indra is a jealous god—jealous, that is,
Hindu gods. Indra remains a kind of figurehead in Hindu
of the soma, both for lofty reasons (like other great gods, he
mythology, and the butt of many veiled anti-Hindu jokes in
does not wish to allow mortals to taste the fruit that will
Buddhist mythology. The positive aspects of his person are
make them like unto gods) and for petty reasons (he wants
largely transformed to S´iva. Both Indra and S´iva are associat-
to keep all the soma for himself). His attempts to exclude the
ed with the Maruts or Rudras, storm gods; both are said to
A´svins from drinking the soma fail when they enlist the aid
have extra eyes (three, or a thousand) that they sprouted in
of the priest Dadhyañc, who disguises himself with a horse’s
order to get a better look at a beautiful dancing apsaras; both
head and teaches them the secret of the soma (R:gveda
are associated with the bull and with the erect phallus; both
1.117.22).
are castrated; and both come into conflict with their fathers-
in-law. In addition to these themes, which are generally char-
But Indra’s principal function is to kill enemies—non-
acteristic of fertility gods, Indra and S´iva share more specific
Aryan humans and demons, who are often conflated. As the
mythological episodes: Both of them seduce the wives of
supreme god of the ks:atriyas or class of royal warriors, Indra
brahman sages; both are faced with the problem of distribut-
is invoked as a destroyer of cities and destroyer of armies, as
ing (where it will do the least harm) certain excessive and de-
the staunch ally of his generous worshipers, to whom Indra
structive forces that they amass; both are associated with anti-
is in turn equally generous (Maghavan, “the generous,” is
Brahmanic, heterodox acts; and both lose their right to a
one of his most popular epithets). These enemies (of whom
share in the sacrifice. And just as Indra beheads a brahman
the most famous is Vr:tra) are often called Da¯sas or Dasyus,
demon (Vr:tra) whose head pursues him until he is purified
“slaves,” and probably represent the indigenous populations
of this sin, so S´iva, having beheaded Brahma¯, is plagued by
of the subcontinent that the Indo-Aryans subjugated (and
Brahma¯’s skull until he is absolved in Banaras. Thus, al-
whose twin cities, Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, in the Indus
though Indra comes into conflict with the ascetic aspect of
Valley, may have been the citadels that Indra claims to have
S´iva, the erotic aspect of S´iva found new uses for the discard-
devastated). But the Da¯sas are also frequently identified with
ed myths of Indra.
the asuras, or demonic enemies of the gods themselves. The
battles thus take place simultaneously on the human and the
SEE ALSO Jupiter; Praja¯pati; S´iva; Vedism and Brahmanism.
divine levels, and are both political and cosmogonic.
Indra’s reputation begins to decline in the Bra¯hman:as,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
about 900 BCE, where his supremacy is preempted by
For a detailed summary of the mythology of Indra, see pages 249–
Praja¯pati, the primordial creator. Indra still drinks the soma,
283 of Sukumari Bhattacharji’s rather undigested The Indian
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4468
INDUS VALLEY RELIGION
Theogony (Cambridge, U.K., 1970). For a translation of a se-
and 6000 BCE, combining the herding of goats, sheep, and
ries of myths about Indra, and a detailed bibliography of sec-
cattle with the cultivation of wheat and barley, and gradually
ondary literature, see pages 56–96 and 317–321 of my
separating into two branches: a proto-Dravidian branch that
Hindu Myths (Harmondsworth, U.K., 1975). For the sins of
settled eastward in Afghanistan and Baluchistan, and a
Indra, see Georges Dumézil’s The Destiny of the Warrior
proto-Elamite branch that continued westward across south-
(Chicago, 1970) and The Destiny of the King (Chicago,
ern Iran to the Zagros Mountains. The broadly based set of
1973), and my The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology
common cultural features established throughout western
(Berkeley, Calif., 1976). For the relationship between Indra
and S´iva, see my S´iva: The Erotic Ascetic (Oxford, 1981),
Asia in this early period and reinforced by later interregional
originally published as Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythol-
contacts is reflected in similar patterns of proto-urban devel-
ogy of S´iva (1973).
opment and urbanization between 3500 and 2500 BCE in the
various localized regions.
New Sources
Jamison, Stephanie W. The Ravenous Hyenas and the Wounded
Because the Indus civilization’s script has not been deci-
Sun: Myth and Ritual in Ancient India. Ithaca, N.Y., 1991.
phered, the proto-Dravidian identification of the Indus lan-
guage remains uncertain. There is broad scholarly consensus,
WENDY DONIGER (1987)
Revised Bibliography
however, that a form of proto-Dravidian was the dominant
language of the Indus urban culture, and this is substantiated
by parallels between cultural and religious features of the
Indus civilization and later Dravidian village culture. These
INDUS VALLEY RELIGION is the goddess-
parallels, in conjunction with the pre-urban cultural affinities
centered religious system of the urban civilization that
with Elam and Turkmenistan, provide a framework for in-
emerged in the Indus Valley of western India around 2500
terpreting the evidence from village and urban sites in the
BCE and declined into a series of successor posturban village
Indus Valley region and constructing a hypothetical picture
cultures after 1750 BCE. The antecedents of this religion lie
of Indus Valley religion.
in the village cultures of Baluchistan and Afghanistan, which
The single most significant religious feature in all of the
were part of a larger regional cultural system in western Asia
western Asian village cultures is the importance of female
that also included the village cultures of southern Turkmeni-
powers or goddesses, as evidenced by stylized clay and terra-
stan and the Elamite culture of southwestern Iran. Common
cotta female figurines in a variety of types that appear—often
religious patterns within this larger region continued into the
in conjunction with figurines of bulls or rams—from the
early stages of urbanization in Elam, Turkmenistan, and the
early levels of village culture on into the urban periods in
Indus Valley, after which the unification of the local regions
Turkmenistan, Elam, and the Indus Valley. Whether they
and subsequent historical changes led to separation: Elam
represent specific goddesses or powers is impossible to deter-
was drawn into the orbit of Sumerian and Akkadian culture;
mine without more information, and the villages are mute.
Turkmenistan was settled by new groups from the northern
Evidence of coherent mythologies only appears in the richer
steppes; and Indus settlement shifted eastward into the Gan-
range of artifacts at the urban level, and by then, in all of the
ges-Yamuna Valley in the North and Gujarat and the Dec-
urban regions, clearly defined goddesses had become part of
can Plateau in the South as the original cities in the Indus
complex urban cultic systems that reflect at least in part dif-
Valley were abandoned. After the entry of Aryan tribes into
ferences in regional urbanization. Enough affinities remain,
northern India around 1500 BCE, the continuity of Indus
however, to provide clues to the Indus Valley system.
Valley religion is found mainly in the Dravidian cultures of
South India, although various elements were also preserved
Turkmenistan, where extensive excavation has been car-
in the village cultures of North India and in the synthesis of
ried out, provides a valuable point of reference for parallel
Aryan and non-Aryan cultures that marked late Vedic and
developments in Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and the Indus
post-Vedic developments in the Ganges-Yamuna Valley.
Valley. Turkmenistan village sites show four millennia of
T
clay and terracotta goddess figurines and figures of male ani-
HE WESTERN ASIAN SETTING. The evolution of the Neo-
mals, most often rams and bulls. The goddesses appear in a
lithic cultures of western Asia that preceded the Indus civili-
variety of styles and are often marked with painted stripes,
zation cannot yet be reconstructed in detail, but a pattern is
dot-centered circles, or clusters of pocked depressions; most
emerging from current evidence that sheds new light on the
have concentrated attention on the breasts, thighs, and but-
basic features of the Indus Valley religious system. Archaeo-
tocks, and they often have either no arms or vestigial stumps.
logical research in southern Turkmenistan has revealed a
One distinctive type, the so-called foot profile style, shows
continued sequence of village cultures north of the Kopet
the truncated legs and torso of a female in a semireclining
Dagh Mountains from at least 6000 BCE onward, culminat-
posture.
ing in a regional urban culture at Namazga and Altin around
2500 BCE. Research on the proto-Elamite and proto-
Evidence from early sites indicates that special areas
Dravidian languages points to a common proto-Elamo-
were set aside as shrine rooms for a likely domestic cult. En-
Dravidian ancestry among a pastoral people moving south-
closed village shrines appear by the fifth or fourth millenni-
ward from Central Asia into Iran sometime between 8000
um along with a new type of Namazga III “foot profile” figu-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDUS VALLEY RELIGION
4469
rines with elaborate hairdos. The Bronze Age Namazga IV
dence for the transfer of writing during this period, because
culture, concurrent with developments in early Elam and the
the proto-Elamite script had been replaced by cuneiform by
pre-Indus village cultures of Baluchistan and Afghanistan,
the middle of the third millennium; there is, however, no ev-
has evidence of more elaborate shrines and a range of figurine
idence of direct Elamite influence on Indus urbanization. Yet
types. Finally, around 2500 BCE, a full urban culture ap-
if Elam cannot be assigned a significant causal role in the cre-
peared in the Namazga V period that was contemporary for
ation of Indus civilization, it nonetheless provides an impor-
several centuries with the early phases of the Indus cities.
tant model for understanding Indus Valley religion because
of the many evident parallels between the two traditions.
Urbanization in Turkmenistan brought not only greater
complexity but also dramatic new religious forms. A massive
Pre-urban cultural levels at Persepolis and Susa reveal a
brick platform, with three stepped tiers reaching forty feet
familiar pattern of female figurines and goddess worship, and
in its final height, was built on the edge of the Namazga V
painted pottery at these sites reveals a related concern for ser-
site of Altin. This was certainly a center for public rituals,
pents as objects of religious veneration—a combination
and implies a class of professional priests or priestesses. A
found also in the Dravidian villages of South India, and fur-
richly endowed burial of a woman holding two female figu-
ther evidence for an earlier common culture. Terracotta fe-
rines in her hands has been tentatively named a “priestess’s
male figurines from Susa and other sites in the early third
grave.” Namazga V figurines are in a new and highly abstract
millennium show that goddess worship survived the transi-
style: flat fiddle-shaped cutouts with no legs, stylized triangu-
tion from agricultural villages to urbanization in Elam as in
lar arm extentions, pinched maskedlike faces usually without
Turkmenistan. The religious data from urban proto-Elamite
a mouth, conical breasts, and a stippled pubic triangle with
sites such as Susa, however, are much richer than that of
a vaginal line. There is evidence of a more standardized ico-
Turkmenistan and reveal not only the importance of god-
nography and a clearer identification of individual figurines,
desses in urban religious life but also an elaborate system of
including the use of different hair styles and engraved mark-
myths, symbols, and cultic practices.
ings that resemble signs found in the Elamite and Indus writ-
ing systems.
Cylinder seals in a distinctive proto-Elamite style pro-
vide the most valuable evidence for the symbolism of this pe-
Goddess worship in Turkmenistan clearly survived the
riod. Many of the motifs in the proto-Elamite seals can be
transition from Neolithic to Bronze Age culture and subse-
traced back to painted designs on earlier village pottery, but
quent urbanization. The styles of representation changed,
the more elaborate seal designs reflect a new urban sophisti-
the identities and meanings of individual goddesses may have
cation: complex mythic or ritual scenes; symbolic designs in-
varied, and the form of cultic practice certainly differed dra-
volving mountains, trees, and animals (bulls and rams most
matically at the urban level from that in early villages, but
often, but also lions and other felines); and an androgynous
the goddesses and their powers remained the central focus
bovine in a variety of humanlike poses characteristically
of religious life throughout the millennia. Much the same
found in the figurines of goddesses. This latter figure is most
pattern can be seen also in the Elamite culture of southwest-
likely the animal form or surrogate of the main Elamite fertil-
ern Iran.
ity goddess, a moon goddess who was born from the Prime-
The foundation of Elamite culture was laid by proto-
val Bull and was both the protector and soul of cattle—roles
Elamite-speaking settlers who brought wheat and barley cul-
certainly consistent with the symbolism of the seals. None
tivation and the herding of sheep, goats, and cattle into the
of the other figures can be identified with any certainty, and
southern Zagros Mountain region of Iran sometime after
the meaning of individual symbols and scenes remains ob-
7000 BCE. By 4000 BCE, cultivation had been carried into the
scure in the absence of explanatory myths. In general, howev-
lowlands of Khuzistan at the western base of the Zagros, pro-
er, the symbolism reflects a developed fertility religion with
viding an agricultural base for urbanization. Sumer, across
its roots in the village past—probably a mountain past—but
the Tigris in southern Mesopotamia, achieved urbanization
with new dimensions and new meanings in the urban cul-
around 3500 BCE. By 3200 BCE, Khuzistan and the Zagros
ture: a religion in which the village goddesses have become
highlands had been united in the rival urban civilization of
patron deities of the city as well.
Elam, with a highland capital at Anshan near later Persepolis
Cylinder seals, supplemented by other data, allow at
and a lowland capital at Susa. Within the next two centuries,
least a partial reconstruction of proto-Elamite cultic prac-
a proto-Elamite script had been developed and Elam had ex-
tices. One seal shows a goddess or priestess being drawn in
tended its influence eastward along a trade network that
procession in a chariot flanked by moon symbols and horned
passed through Tepe Yahya in southern Iran as far as the Nal
cattle; another shows a tree in procession in a similar chariot,
village culture of southern Baluchistan.
also with horned cattle and moon symbols; another shows
The expansion of Elamite urban culture was limited to
an image or shrine on a palanquin flanked by attendants car-
the early third millennium, and its eastern trading centers
rying moon symbols and what are either snakes or snake
had been abandoned several centuries before the first Indus
symbols in their hands. The goddess being honored in all of
cities emerged. The similarity between the later Indus script
these scenes is almost certainly the moon goddess, whose
and the proto-Elamite script provides circumstantial evi-
connection with trees, serpents, and horned animals is indi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4470
INDUS VALLEY RELIGION
cated on a seal from the late third millennium that shows
for at least a millennium prior to urbanization in the Indus
priests wearing belts or girdles of snakes around their waists
Valley, and there must have been some degree of contact
and a device on their heads that combines the symbolism of
with Elam during the late stages of Indus urbanization to ac-
crescent-shaped horns and trees.
count for the similar scripts. Indus urbanization may have
been stimulated by these contacts, just as trade and interre-
Ritual processions and pilgrimages to sacred sites were
gional contacts stimulated urbanization throughout western
apparently important features of Elamite religion. Elamite
Asia. The similarities between Indus urban culture and other
reliefs from around 2000 BCE depict long lines of worshipers
western Asian cultures, however, were general family resem-
in procession, confirming the evidence from earlier proto-
blances, like those between the Elamite and Dravidian lan-
Elamite seals. Sumerian texts from the same period describe
guage systems. Indus urban culture was both unique and
similar practices associated with the moon goddess Inanna,
uniquely Indian, as much a product of the regional setting
whose characteristics closely match those of the main Elamite
as of the common western Asian heritage, with characteristic
goddess with whom she was later assimilated. A hymn to In-
features that were deeply rooted in the pre-urban cultures of
anna vividly describes a parade of priestesses, musicians with
Afghanistan and Baluchistan.
harps, drums, and tambourines, and a priest who sprinkles
blood on the goddess’s throne, and notes that men in the
The groundwork for Indus urbanization was laid by a
procession “adorn their left side with women’s clothing”
series of village cultures in the highlands west of the Indus
while women “adorn their right side with men’s clothing”
Valley, the earliest of which dates from around 6000 BCE. Ar-
(Wolkstein and Kramer, 1983, p. 99).
chaeological research since the 1950s has revealed several
early aceramic settlement sites with subsequent pottery de-
The centers of Elamite worship were the shrines and
velopment and domestication of local plants and animals,
temples erected for the goddess, usually in high places and
proving that the Indus region contributed to the Neolithic
with an associated sacred grove. In Susa, temples to the major
revolution and was not just a recipient of imported culture.
deities were located on an elevated sacred area on the western
By the early fourth millennium local village cultures had
edge of the city between the river and the royal establish-
been established in northern and central Baluchistan, and by
ment. The main ritual activity in the temples was animal sac-
the mid- to late fourth millennium these cultures had been
rifice, and raised altars with drains attest to the emphasis on
linked by trade with the Namazga III culture of southern
blood in these sacrificial rites. The major sacrificial festival
Turkmenistan.
to the goddess at Susa was descriptively called a “day of the
flowing sacrifice” in tribute to the quantity of blood offered
By around 3000 BCE, when Elam was extending its in-
on this occasion.
fluence eastward, the Nal culture had emerged in southern
T
Baluchistan and the Nal-related Amri culture had expanded
HE ELAMO-DRAVIDIAN PATTERN. The significance of these
features of Elamite religion for comparative purposes is the
into the southern Indus Valley. By early in the third millen-
light they shed on those aspects of Indus Valley religion for
nium another related culture known as Kot Dijian had ex-
which there is no available Indus evidence. Indus seals and
panded northward along the Indus from the region of later
votive figurines, for example, suggest that Indus religion was
Mohenjo-Daro as far as the later sites of Harappa and Kali-
based on some form of animal sacrifice centered around god-
bangan. These new developments laid the foundation for ur-
desses, but there is no direct evidence of ritual practice. Indus
banization.
stamp seals, however, depict goddesses, trees, tigers, and
Goddess worship was an integral part of Indus village
horned animals such as rams, bulls, and water buffaloes in
culture, as can be seen from the example of Mehrgarh, the
various combinations in mythic or cultic scenes. In other
oldest known continuous settlement site within India prop-
symbolic settings snakes appear as sacred animals. One scene
er. Discovered in the 1970s at the eastern end of the Bolan
portrays a line of androgynously appareled worshipers parad-
Pass, Mehrgarh spans the range from aceramic settlement
ing before a buffalo-horned goddess in a tree. This is the
around 6000 BCE to the brink of urbanization around 2600
same basic set of symbols—goddesses, trees, lions/tigers,
BCE. Goddesses in the form of female figurines appear at
horned animals, snakes, and androgynous figures—found on
every cultural level, and their evolution is intertwined with
Elamite cylinder seals, and indicates a significant body of
the development of the Indus region.
shared religious concepts that reflect the common proto-
The earliest figurines from Mehrgarh date from the
Elamo-Dravidian ancestry and presuppose a common ritual
sixth and fifth millennia, a period when pottery was being
practice. The relevant ritual in Elamite religion was blood
developed, cultivation was expanding, and local animals—
sacrifice to the goddess, as it was also, along with many of
especially humpbacked cattle (zebus)—were being domesti-
the same symbols, in later Dravidian village religion. It is
cated to replace the earlier reliance on hunting. The style of
thus highly likely that Indus Valley religion followed the
these first Indian village goddess figurines was the “foot pro-
same Elamo-Dravidian pattern.
file” style found also in Turkmenistan, and this style contin-
This is not a case of wholesale borrowing of Elamite reli-
ued essentially unchanged down to around 3000 BCE. At that
gion or of basing Indus urban culture on external models.
point, reflecting Mehrgarh’s greater involvement in regional
There are well-documented influences from Turkmenistan
trade, there was a convergence toward the pinched-faced,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDUS VALLEY RELIGION
4471
goggle-eyed “Zhob mother goddesses” from the Zhob cul-
Mohenjo-Daro, both seem to go back to the civilization’s be-
ture in northern Baluchistan. During the village’s final cen-
ginnings. Their founding was no doubt decisive in setting
tury, from 2700 to 2600 BCE, nude goggle-eyed female figu-
the new political, economic, and religious styles. To the
rines were being produced commercially by the thousands
north, Harappa was built over an earlier Kot Dijian farming
at Mehrgarh and are for the first time in a standing position
village, while to the south, Mohenjo-Daro’s new urban cul-
like Zhob figurines. Nude male figures, also standing, with
ture dominated and soon replaced the neighboring village of
shoulder-length hair and Zhob-like goggle eyes, suggest for
Kot Diji and the local culture of Amri farther south. Similar-
the first time the possibility of a divine couple.
ly, at the smaller Indus city of Kalibangan farther east, the
imposition of the new urban culture included construction
The end of Mehrgarh’s final century marks the begin-
of an Indus style ritual platform on the mound of an earlier
ning of urbanization. As in Turkmenistan, the new iconogra-
fortified Kot Dijian agricultural settlement.
phy of female figurines and the appearance of male figurines
coincided with the building of monumental ritual platforms.
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were both built on a simi-
At Mehrgarh, the platform was a massive structure of brick
lar plan, one that smaller sites replicate. The cities were divid-
faced with plaster with a colonnade of square mud-brick col-
ed into two basic components: a lower city, about three miles
umns in front. This was contemporary with others in the
in circumference with rectangular grid streets, and an upper
larger contiguous area, one of which, near Quetta, had drains
area on each city’s western edge formed by a brick-walled
in the center and a stone-built hollow containing a jawless
platform on an artificial mound that leveled some twenty feet
human skull, perhaps evidence of a “building sacrifice” in the
above the surrounding plain. The massive exterior walls of
platform’s construction. Near this platform were found figu-
the two major cities, over forty feet thick at the base, served
rines of females and cattle with painted stripes.
to protect against flooding: Mohenjo-Daro from the Indus
Other platform structures of note belonged to the Kulli
River, Harappa from the Ravi. Mohenjo-Daro was the larger
culture, which gradually replaced the Nal culture in southern
of the two, and in most matters preserves the best evidence,
Baluchistan after about 3000 BCE and was still flourishing
as most of the Harappa mound was destroyed either by ero-
when the Indus civilization emerged on its eastern bounda-
sion or by its dismantling in 1856 by British engineers to
ries about five centuries later. Near the fertile stretches of the
provide ballast for a railroad. It was not until the early 1920s
Porali River elaborate ceremonial centers were built on a new
that the antiquity of Indus sites was recognized.
vast scale: At one typical site are two stone-built platforms
The lower city’s residential and commercial character is
about thirty feet high with ramps to the top and, nearby, a
evident at Mohenjo-Daro. The exterior baked-brick walls
complex of over forty buildings. The Kulli ceremonial cen-
ters are set apart from the nearby agricultural villages with
lining the main street were for the most part without adorn-
which they share common artifacts such as pottery and figu-
ment or direct street access. Residences range from barrack-
rines. As the latter include both goddess figurines and striped
like dwellings to multistoried complexes, two of which have
cattle, it is likely that the cattle were votive offerings to the
been dubbed a palace or hostel, but the typical residence was
goddess. The whole combination, with platforms, wells, and
of a still-common South Asian type: small rooms around a
drains, clearly suggests a ritual pattern involving sacrifice and
central courtyard. Interspersed among residences were vari-
ablution. The goddess figurines show a combination of origi-
ous shops and ateliers, and a large area with threshing floors
nally Elamite postures with other styles (Zhob, Mehrgarh)
has been found at Harappa. The lower city shows no clear
developed regionally in western India. Although the Indus
evidence of dominant religious structures. In continuation
Valley civilization synthesizes elements from all these cultural
of village patterns, there probably was a domestic cult cen-
styles, Kulli figurines and ceremonial centers provide its most
tered in the home, perhaps connected with the terracotta fe-
direct prototypes.
male figurines and the elaborate drainage system that sug-
gests a concern for hygiene and purity. But for the culture’s
HARAPPA AND MOHENJO-DARO. The Indus civilization has
larger religious patterns one must turn elsewhere, and first
been widely noted for its rapid development and continued
of all to the raised platform mound on the western edge of
stability over a seven-hundred-year period from around 2500
the urban complex.
to 1750 BCE. Over an estimated 500,000 square miles, the
same basic cultural features recur from the cities to the sever-
The standardization of the urban plan suggests that
al hundred towns and villages so far discovered. Such unifor-
dominant political and religious sanctions lay behind the civ-
mity is striking, because unlike the concentrated settlement
ilization’s conservatism. It is noteworthy that the two major
patterns in Mesopotamia, Indus sites were often well over
cities show none of the gradual growth that occurred in Mes-
fifty miles apart. It was the long-established base of village
opotamian cities, but were built from the very beginning
agriculture—wheat and barley cultivation along with cattle
with their dominant platform mounds. One may assume
herding—that by the mid-third millennium provided the
from this that the civilization’s basic values were set and pre-
base for urbanization. The new cities, however, also broke
served by those who established these structures, and that
with traditional village cultural patterns, and imposed new
their functions were connected with the architectural emi-
developments upon them. The two largest, Harappa and
nences they created.
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4472
INDUS VALLEY RELIGION
These platform structures—often misleadingly called
nature so evident in the nearby rivers, herds, and fields of
citadels—did not have a primarily defensive purpose.
grain.
Though the heavily walled mounds at some of the more de-
One representation of divinity in Indus sites has been
centralized locations like Harappa and Kalibangan may have
met: the terracotta female figurine, a surviving type from pre-
been used defensively, and the Mohenjo-Daro platform had
urban village cultures, with the closest analogues being from
watchtowers fortified with pellets, it is noteworthy that at a
Kulli and Zhob. Similar figurines also reappear in classical
time when Mesopotamian rulers had for several centuries
periods of Hinduism and serve as models for the yaks:¯ıs on
raised large armies to extend their power, the Indus cities
early Buddhist stupas. The basic Indus type has bare breasts,
leave no traces of arrows, spears, or swords.
tapered or full-length legs, a girdle, heavy pendant necklaces,
Rather than citadels, the monumental platforms are
and an elaborate hairdo. Whether one or more goddesses is
thus no doubt continuations of the structures found at pre-
represented is uncertain, but parallel evidence from Elam
urban village sites, but on a far grander scale, with a surface
suggests an iconographic differentiation. A few male figu-
area large enough for several big buildings. With such struc-
rines have also been found. While human figurines are pre-
tures, they differ from unoccupied platforms elsewhere (most
dominantly female, animal figurines are invariably male.
notably Altin in Turkmenistan). But they bear a resemblance
Most common are various bovines: zebu, short-horned bulls,
to the “acropolis” at Elamite Susa, also on the west of the
and water buffalo. Most likely different kinds of potency
city, and the purpose is clearly similar: to give prominence
were represented: that of the female in the form of the an-
to the institutions and activities set apart and above. It is even
thropomorphic goddess, that of the male in animal form,
possible, with the Kulli culture as an intermediary, that Elam
perhaps linked with symbols of civic power.
provided the model for the Indus platforms, as for its script.
INDUS VALLEY SEALS. For further insights into the religious
But in specific features the Indus platform reflects an inde-
conceptions of the Indus Valley civilization, however, one
pendently emergent tradition with its own cultural dy-
must turn to a new iconography that has no precedent in the
namics.
pre-urban village cultures. This comes from the controversial
Most of the structures on the Mohenjo-Daro mound
evidence of the Indus Valley seals. Here again, however, one
have been variously identified. A large columned building
must reckon with prior developments in Sumer and Elam,
was probably an assembly hall; another has been dubbed a
which produced cylinder seals earlier than the flat steatite
college. Definite is a granary; with grain as the primary mea-
(soapstone) stamp seals—measuring about ¾–1¼ inches per
sure of wealth and medium of exchange, the control of grain
side—of Indus sites. Although Elamite seals are linked typo-
distribution was tied to civic authority. Yet most distinctive
logically to Sumer, their subjects are distinctively Elamite,
was a structure called the Great Bath.
and in certain cases present images with Indus counterparts,
indicating the likelihood of iconic cross-fertilization. Thus,
The Great Bath itself was both literally and no doubt
two cylinder seals from Susa seem to draw on familiar Indus
also symbolically the center of this complex. A large rectan-
motifs: one a series of bulls eating from a manger, and the
gular bitumen-lined tank in a colonnaded courtyard, it had
other a composite bull-antelope with long wavy horns facing
steps leading down into its water from both ends. Clearly the
a stylized pipal tree.
steps were for bathing, and possibly for crossing from one
end to the other. Moreover, the trouble taken to build such
It is not, however, only the older urban civilizations that
an elevated bath probably reflects an intensified concern for
shed light on the Indus seal iconography, but also the likely
purification already evident in the lower city. In later Indian
continuities from Indus urban culture to the Dravidian vil-
notions, higher waters are purer. Quite likely the whole com-
lage culture of South India. For not only is there the likeli-
plex—with wells, bathing rooms, and bath—served for the
hood of linguistic continuities, but there is also archaeologi-
performance of purification rites supervised or enacted by
cal evidence of cultural continuities from the Indus
priests. And because it was situated adjacent to the granary,
civilization, through Gujarat, to the Dravidian culture of the
such concerns probably also tied in conceptually with an in-
Deccan Plateau. Moreover, the urban models that the Indus
terest in agricultural fertility.
cities provided during the Indus period not only reshaped
village life in Indus times, but transmitted patterns that long
In all this one is faced with a combination of concerns
outlived the Indus cities.
similar to those that underlay the practices connected with
the platform mounds of pre-Indus villages. There is a new
The Indus Valley stamp seals, found by the hundreds,
assertion of political, economic, and religious authority in
confirm impressions gained from the terracotta figurines,
the building of such massive structures in the heart of the riv-
most notably the tendency to accentuate female power in
erine plain. The platforms themselves, however, must have
human form and male power through animal forms. But the
been more than assertions of power by a new urban elite; they
situation with the seals is also more complex, as there are also
must also have been intended as sources of power: not because
humanized males and human-animal and even human-
they were dominant physically, but because they provided a
animal-plant composites of apparently both genders. Of sin-
stage for rituals that would bring the ascendant cultural
gle animals, many are drawn from nature: short-horned
forces into harmony with the divinely empowered order of
bulls, zebu, buffaloes, rhinoceroses, tigers, elephants, ante-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INDUS VALLEY RELIGION
4473
lopes, crocodiles. Composite human-animal forms reach
from a circular platform base or altar. The goddess has cres-
such complexity as one with tiger hind quarters, ram fore-
cent buffalo-like horns and a pony tail like the goddess who
part, bull horns, elephant trunk, and human face. Others
descends toward the tiger from the neem. But her horns have
show animal heads radiating from a central trunk.
a third central peak, and she does not have the hind legs or
The most frequently depicted seal animal is a “unicorn”
hoofs of the buffalo. Standing at rest, her bangled arms loose
bull or ox of generalized bovine traits with a single erect horn
at her sides, she observes a horned and pony-tailed figure
that faces an apparently sacred object, perhaps a brazier or
much like herself kneeling at the base of the pipal in the same
incense burner. The unicorn’s horn is sometimes shown as
“suppliant” posture that the goddess in the neem adopts to-
a thin curved shaft crossed by lines that taper toward the tip,
ward the tiger. The kneeling suppliant has led before the
suggesting an affinity between animal and plant forms. Some
goddess in the pipal a composite animal with buffalo hind
of the naturally drawn animals also sometimes face simpler
quarters, ram horns and forepart, and a large masklike
brazier or manger type objects. It is thus likely that “real” ani-
human face. Seven figures in thigh-length tunics, single
mals were linked with ritual symbols as well, and mythologi-
backward-curving horns, pigtails, and bangled arms stand or
cally marked no less than the more clearly “mythic” figures
possibly file before this scene, which clearly depicts the essen-
like the composites, multicephalics, and unicorns.
tials of a sacrifice. The horned goddess is the recipient of an
offering, its composite nature no doubt representing some-
It is the seals with humanoid figures, however, that take
thing of the range of victims she receives: the ram, buffalo,
one beyond the general sense of mythic and ritual markers
and the human face. Whether all are real offerings, or the
to evidence for a cult with a complex of sacrificial symbols.
human face solely symbolic, cannot be ascertained.
Females appear in various such scenes, but the most impor-
tant are a series of scenes that portray a recurring ensemble
The kneeling figure making the offering in the “ritual
involving goddesses, trees, tigers, and water buffaloes. Three
seal” has an intermediate status between the horned goddess
seals show these interrelationships most dramatically. In one,
whose dress he affects and the composite human-animal he
a slender goddess with a crescent-shaped headdress kneels on
offers. The precise nature of his sacrificial role eludes re-
a branch of a neem (margosa) tree, her arm outstretched to-
searchers. But it is striking that the combination of elements
ward a tiger below that turns its neck around to face her. The
that the seals configure remain coherent in the setting of still-
goddess’s position replicates a worshiping pose in other seals
current South Indian village rituals. In that Dravidian con-
and suggests that she beckons the tiger with her outstretched
text, the neem, a female tree, is itself a form of the goddess.
arm. In the second seal, the goddess, now descended from
It is linked to her fierce side, and more specifically to the
the neem tree, stands behind the tiger about to seize it from
forms she takes to “cool” and thus overcome violent forces
the back. Yet both goddess and tiger are strikingly trans-
like smallpox, fevers, and various demons. The pipal, on the
formed. The goddess has assumed multiple traits of the water
other hand, is the male tree the goddess marries, so the two
buffalo: Along with filling out the stylized crescent horns, her
trees will be planted to actually intertwine. It is highly sug-
legs and feet have become flanks and hoofs and her ears
gestive that while the seal goddess on the neem branch de-
pointed and flapped. Meanwhile, the tiger has sprouted
scends to overcome the fierce and wild tiger, the goddess in
horns that replicate the serrated V branch and leaf pattern
the pipal stands tranquilly in a position to receive as a sacri-
of the neem, which now stands behind the goddess.
fice the composite of human and domesticated animals that
These two seals seem to suggest that the goddess has her
would seem to reflect the range of her regular cult.
primary affinity with the buffalo, and an opposition to the
Since the discovery of the Indus civilization, the one seal
tiger. But a third seal shows a fusion of the goddess and the
most central to a succession of different interpretations of the
tiger, joined together so that the goddess retains a standing
religion has been the so-called proto-S´iva seal from Mohen-
human form as the forepart of a tiger’s body that extends
jo-Daro. This designation, however, now appears to have
back from her hips and rear. Here, where the goddess’s affini-
been based on a combination of misattributions: most nota-
ty is with the tiger, she has wavy ram’s horns rather than buf-
bly the “three heads” that actually outline the dewlap of a
falo-like horns. There is thus the suggestion that while the
buffalo face, and the “trident” headdress that actually con-
goddess has affinities with both the tiger and the buffalo, the
sists of buffalo horns enclosing a central fan-shaped and styl-
two animals themselves remain in an oppositional and un-
ized tree or sheaf of grain reminiscent of the tree-and-horns
fused tension.
headpiece worn by Elamite and Sumerian priests. Moreover,
This sense of a tiger-buffalo opposition is further rein-
above this “mitre” is what looks like a stylized pipal tree. The
forced in the so-called proto-S´iva seal from Mohenjo-Daro.
main figure is thus a humanlike water buffalo with a buffalo
But before discussing this seal, one should observe the prima-
head and horns, axially centered on representations of a plant
ry seal evidence for a connection between the transforma-
and/or tree. He sits with his knees out to the side and his
tional themes that link the goddess to these and other ani-
feet drawn in below an erect phallus. The posture has usually
mals and to a sacrificial cult. Clearest in this regard is the so-
been identified as yogic, though it is also reminiscent of the
called ritual seal from Harappa depicting a goddess in the U-
posture of the androgynous bovine seated in the pose of the
shaped twin branches of a stylized pipal tree, which rises
goddess on an Elamite seal. Possibly the series of V-shaped
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4474
INDUS VALLEY RELIGION
stripes that end at his waist—sometimes regarded as neck-
What kind of authority—priestly, political, econom-
laces—represent tiger stripes, making him a figure in whom
ic—this figure represented still remains uncertain. The urban
the tiger-buffalo tension finds a resolution in a yogic or more
background of the ritual complex on the platform mound
likely regally dominant self-discipline.
leaves all these possibilities open, and the distinctively Indian
features of Indus symbolism make it risky to explain the
The central buffalo figure in the “proto-S´iva” seal seems
Indus civilization on the basis of other urban cultures, even
to be the male counterpart to the goddess, who herself com-
the closely related proto-Elamite culture. There is little
bines both tiger and buffalo attributes in various transforma-
doubt, however, that Indus Valley religion played a major
tional modes. But in this male figure, what remains tense and
role in establishing and maintaining that authority, and there
dynamic in the goddess seems to find poise, dominance, and
is even less doubt that sacrifices to the goddess were the pri-
resolution. This is especially suggestive in view of the four
mary form of cultic practice. All of the external evidence—
animals that surround him, for the tiger and buffalo appear
earlier village cultures, contemporary and related western
among these along with the elephant and rhinoceros. By
Asian urban cultures, and later Dravidian culture—points to
analogy with later Indian iconographies, the four together are
this conclusion, and the Indus evidence seems to confirm it.
likely to have had a directional symbolism: the elephant
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. Taking the evidence as a
linked with the east, the rhino with the west, the tiger with
whole, it is possible to construct a model of Indus Valley reli-
the north, and the buffalo with the south. Most strikingly,
gion that explains its major known features and its place in
while the elephant and rhinoceros appear indifferent to each
the Indus civilization. The central element was certainly wor-
other, both facing east, the tiger and buffalo, which most di-
ship of the goddess at both the domestic and public levels,
rectly flank the buffalo-man’s horns, face each other in a state
with corresponding levels of cultic practice. At the domestic
that has the look of combative arousal. Furthermore, a stick
level, votive sacrifices involving figurines were the likely form
figure appears over the back of the charging tiger: possibly
of worship, with a related emphasis on bathing and ritual pu-
a form of the goddess herself.
rity. At the public level, represented by the raised platform
mounds, worship must have involved more powerful blood
Of the four “wild” animals on the seal, two—the ele-
sacrifices.
phant and water buffalo—are susceptible to some degree of
domestication even though they retain their “wild” traits.
Mohenjo-Daro seems to have been the major cultic cen-
There is some evidence that elephants were captured and
ter for the system as a whole and the site for the most impor-
trained for heavy forest work during the Indus period, and
tant sacrifices. Indus symbolism and later Dravidian practice
it is likely that domestication of the water buffalo for agricul-
point toward water buffalo sacrifices as the most important
tural use in the river valley was one of the major achieve-
cultic rituals. The buffalo is the husband of the goddess in
ments of the Indus civilization, complementing the village
Dravidian cult sacrifices, and on Indus seals he appears as
cultures’ earlier domestication of the zebu in the highlands.
both the goddess’s surrogate and the symbol of centralized
It is significant that the water buffalo played the main sym-
rule; it is likely that Indus cultic practice involved these ele-
bolic role in Indus urban culture instead of the zebu, despite
ments, at least on major ceremonial occasions, but there is
the latter’s longstanding economic importance. This suggests
no direct evidence for how this might have been conceptu-
that the buffalo had a critical role in the riverine agriculture
alized.
on which the Indus system was based, and that it symbolized
The interpretation of Indus Valley religion cannot pro-
the control of both nature and culture that made urban civi-
ceed beyond such speculation at the present time. Much has
lization possible.
been learned about the Indus civilization since its discovery
in the 1920s, and the pattern of Indus Valley religion is be-
The central water buffalo figure on the proto-S´iva seal
ginning to emerge from the growing body of data, but there
seems to have the same general symbolic meaning of power-
are still many gaps to fill. The major task, moreover, has
under-control as does the bull in Mesopotamian symbolism,
hardly begun: to trace the contributions of the Indus system
and like the latter it probably also represents the king or rul-
to later Indian religious developments and to understand the
ing authority. Because the figure is male, it may be assumed
place of the Indus system in the larger pattern of religious
that the Indus rulers also were male, as the few examples of
history.
protrait sculpture at Mohenjo-Daro suggest. There is little
doubt, however, that the Indus people considered the god-
SEE ALSO Goddess Worship; Hinduism; Indian Religions,
dess to be the real power and the ruler only her surrogate,
articles on Mythic Themes, Rural Traditions; Iranian Reli-
empowered by her and thus responsible to her and for her.
gions; Na¯gas and Yaks:as; Prehistoric Religions, article on
This is certainly consistent with the symbolism of the seal,
The Eurasian Steppes and Inner Asia; Tamil Religions; Ve-
where the central figure seems to bring into a regulated and
dism and Brahmanism.
authoritative image the various forces that the goddess over-
sees: agriculture, animal sacrifice, and the dangerous forces
BIBLIOGRAPHY
associated with the truly wild regions beyond the domain of
The most useful single source on village cultures and urbanization
civilization.
in Turkmenistan and western India is S. P. Gupta’s Archaeol-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INITIATION: AN OVERVIEW
4475
ogy of Soviet Central Asia and the Indian Borderlands, vol. 2
Understanding Indus Valley religion has been a concern of inves-
(Delhi, 1979), which presents a judicious overview of the ar-
tigators since Marshall and Mackay offered their first tenta-
chaeological evidence and current interpretive theories. An
tive interpretations, and the issue receives significant atten-
assessment of the archaeological data from Turkmenistan
tion in the cited works by Wheeler and Fairservis. Indus seals
sites is provided by the Soviet prehistorians V. M. Masson
in particular have been studied for clues to Indus religious
and V. I. Sarianidi in Central Asia: Turkmenia before the Ac-
concepts, with the so-called proto-S´iva seal receiving the
haemenids (London, 1972), edited and translated by Ruth
greatest interest. A major new interpretation of the symbol-
Tringham and published initially in English as volume 79 of
ism on this seal is found in Alf Hiltebeitel’s “The Indus Val-
the “Ancient Peoples and Places” series. The best and most
ley ‘Proto-S´iva,’ Reexamined through Reflections on the
comprehensive survey of cultural development in India from
Goddess, the Buffalo, and the Symbolism of vahanas,” An-
earliest times through the establishment of Indus urban cul-
thropos 73 (1978): 767–797. Earlier interpretations of this
ture is Walter A. Fairservis, Jr’s. The Roots of Ancient India,
seal and of other supposedly related Indus data are chal-
2d rev. ed. (Chicago, 1975), which examines the relevant evi-
lenged in Doris Srinivasan’s “Unhinging S´iva from the Indus
dence from all of the regional village cultures, discusses the
Civilization,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1984 pt. 1):
factors that led to urbanization, and describes the basic fea-
77–99. New insights into the meaning of Indus seals, espe-
tures of the Indus civilization. The most accessible summary
cially those dealing with goddess-and-tiger motifs, are pres-
of the evidence from Mehrgarh is Jean-François Jarrige and
ented in Pupul Jayakar’s The Earthen Drum: An Introduction
Richard H. Meadow’s “The Antecedents of Civilization in
to the Ritual Arts of Rural India (New Delhi, 1980), a beauti-
the Indus Valley,” Scientific American 243 (August 1980):
fully illustrated book that interprets Indus religious data by
122–133.
drawing comparisons with the art and religious practices of
later Indian folk traditions.
A variety of data on proto-Elamite religion is available in A Survey
of Persian Art, edited by Arthur U. Pope and Phyllis Acker-
New Sources
man (1938–1939; reprint, London, 1964–1965), especially
Allchin, Bridget. Origins of a Civilization: The Prehistory and Early
in the sections by Phyllis Ackerman on cult figurines and
Archaeology of South Asia. New Delhi, 1997.
early seals (vol. 1, chaps. 11 and 14, and accompanying
Bryant, Edwin. The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The
plates in vol. 7). A summary of Elamite history, culture, and
Indo-Aryan Migration Debate. New York, 2001.
religion is provided in Walther Hinz’s The Lost World of
Kennedy, Kenneth A. R. God-Apes and Fossil Men: Paleo-
Elam: Recreation of a Vanished Civilization (New York,
anthropology of South Asia. Ann Arbor, Mich. 2000.
1973). Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer’s Inanna:
Queen of Heaven and Earth (New York, 1983) supplements
McIntosh, Jane. A Peaceful Realm: The Rise and Fall of the Indus
what is known of Elamite goddesses with a comprehensive
Civilization. Boulder, Colo., 2002.
portrait of the closely related Sumerian goddess Inanna. The
Possehl, Gregory L. The Indus Age: The Writing System. Philadel-
argument for a common origin of the proto-Elamite and
phia, 1996.
proto-Dravidian languages is presented in David W. McAl-
Possehl, Gregory L. The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Per-
pin’s Proto-Elamo-Dravidian: The Evidence and Its Implica-
spective. Walnut Creek, Calif., 2002.
tions (Philadelphia, 1981). The significance of the Elamite
trading center at Tepe Yahya for understanding interregional
Ratnagar, Shereen. Understanding Harappa: Civilization in the
contacts in West Asia is discussed in Carl C. Lamberg-
Greater Indus Valley. New Delhi, 2001.
Karlovsky and Martha Lamberg-Karlovsky’s “An Early City
Sharma, A. K. The Departed Harappans of Kalibangan. New Delhi,
in Iran,” Scientific American 224 (June 1971), and in Carl C.
1999.
Lamberg-Karlovsky’s “Trade Mechanisms in Indus-
Thapar, Romila. Early India: From the Origins to
Mesopotamian Interrelationships,” Journal of the American
AD 1300. Berke-
ley, Calif., 2003.
Oriental Society 92 (1972).
T
Data from the early excavations at Mohenjo-Daro are contained
HOMAS J. HOPKINS (1987)
ALF HILTEBEITEL (1987)
in John Marshall’s Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization,
Revised Bibliography
3 vols. (London, 1931), and E. J. Mackay’s Further Excava-
tions at Mohenjo-daro, 2 vols. (New Delhi, 1938). A valuable
synthesis and interpretation of Indus evidence is presented
in Mortimer Wheeler’s The Indus Civilization, 3d ed. (Cam-
INITIATION
bridge, U.K., 1968), and in his Civilizations of the Indus Val-
This entry consists of the following articles:
ley and Beyond (London, 1966). A survey of Indus data up
AN OVERVIEW
to the mid-1970s is provided in Walter A. Fairservis, Jr’s.
MEN’S INITIATION
The Roots of Ancient India (Chicago, 1975), supplemented by
WOMEN’S INITIATION
his Allahdino I: Seals and Inscribed Material (New York,
1976). Many of the most important contributions to the on-
INITIATION: AN OVERVIEW
going study of the Indus civilization are found in two vol-
umes edited by Gregory L. Possehl: Ancient Cities of the Indus
The term initiation in the most general sense denotes a body
(New Delhi, 1979) and Harappan Civilization: A Contempo-
of rites and oral teachings whose purpose is to produce a radi-
rary Perspective (New Delhi, 1982). Possehl’s own initial
cal modification of the religious and social status of the per-
work on Indus culture in Gujarat is presented in his Indus
son to be initiated. In philosophical terms, initiation is
Civilization in Saurashtra (Delhi, 1980).
equivalent to an ontological mutation of the existential con-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4476
INITIATION: AN OVERVIEW
dition. The novice emerges from his ordeal a totally different
structor, interdiction against eating certain vegetable or ani-
being: he has become “another.” Generally speaking, there
mal foods, knocking out of an incisor, circumcision (fol-
are three categories, or types, of initiation.
lowed in some cases by subincision), scarification, and so
forth. The sudden revelation of sacred objects (bull-roarers,
The first category comprises the collective rituals whose
images of supernatural beings, etc.) also constitutes an initia-
function is to effect the transition from childhood or adoles-
tory test. In many cases, the puberty initiation implies a ritu-
cence to adulthood, and which are obligatory for all mem-
al “death,” followed by a “resurrection” or a “rebirth.”
bers of a particular society. Ethnological literature terms
Among certain Australian tribes the extraction of the incisor
these rituals “puberty rites,” “tribal initiation,” or “initiation
is interpreted as the neophyte’s “death,” and the same signifi-
into an age group.”
cance is even more evident in the case of circumcision. The
The other two categories of initiation differ from puber-
novices isolated in the bush are likened to ghosts: they can-
ty initiations in that they are not obligatory for all members
not use their fingers and must take food directly with their
of the community; indeed, most of them are performed indi-
mouths, as the dead are supposed to do. Sometimes they are
vidually or for comparatively small groups. The second cate-
painted white, a sign that they have become ghosts. The huts
gory includes all types of rites of entering a secret society, a
in which they are isolated represent the body of a monster
Bund, or a confraternity. These closed societies are limited
or a water animal: the neophytes are considered to have been
to one sex and are extremely jealous of their secrets. Most of
swallowed by the monster, and they remain in its belly until
them are male, constituting secret fraternities (Männer-
they are “reborn” or “resuscitated.” The initiatory death is
bünde), but there are also some female societies. However,
interpreted either as a descensus ad inferos or as a regressus ad
in the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world, such
uterum, and the “resurrection” is sometimes understood as
sites, or “mysteries,” were open to both sexes. Although they
a “rebirth.” In a number of cases, the novices are symbolically
differ somewhat in type, we can still classify the Greco-
buried, or they pretend to have forgotten their past lives,
Oriental mysteries as secret confraternities.
their family relations, their names, and their language, and
must learn everything again. Sometimes the intiatory trials
Finally, there is a third category of initiation, the type
reach a high degree of cruelty.
that occurs in connection with a mystical vocation. On the
S
level of archaic religions, the vocation would be that of the
ECRET CULTS. Even on the archaic levels of culture (for ex-
ample, in Aboriginal Australia), a puberty initiation may en-
medicine man or shaman. A specific characteristic of this
tail a series of stages. In such cases sacred history can be re-
third category is the importance of personal experience. Initi-
vealed only gradually. The deepening of the religious
ation in secret societies and those of the shamanic type have
experience and knowledge demands a special vocation or an
a good deal in common. What distinguishes them in princi-
outstanding intelligence and willpower. This fact explains
ple is the ecstatic element, which is of greatest importance
the emergence both of the secret cults and of the confraterni-
in shamanic initiation. Despite their specialized uses, there
ties of shamans and medicine men. The rites of entrance into
is a sort of common denominator among all these categories
a secret society correspond in every respect to those of tribal
of initiation, with the result that, from a certain point of
initiations: seclusion, initiatory tests and tortures, “death”
view, all initations are much alike.
and “resurrection,” bestowal or imposition of a new name,
PUBERTY RITES. The tribal initiation introduces the novice
revelation of a secret doctrine, learning of a new language.
into the world of spiritual and cultural values and makes him
A few innovations are, however, characteristic of the secret
a responsible member of society. The young man learns not
societies: among these are the great importance attached to
only the behavior patterns, techniques, and institutions of
secrecy, the particular cruelty of initiatory trials, the predom-
adults but also the myths and the sacred traditions of the
inance of the ancestors’ cult (the ancestors being personified
tribe, the names of the gods, and the history of their works;
by masks), and the absence of a supreme being in the cere-
above all, he learns the mystical relations between the tribe
monial life of the group. In the Weiberbünde, or women’s so-
and supernatural beings as those relations were established
cieties, the initiation consists of a series of specific tests, fol-
at the beginning of time. In a great many cases, puberty rites,
lowed by revelations concerning fertility, conception, and
in one way or another, imply the revelation of sexuality. In
birth.
short, through initiation, the candidate passes beyond the
Initiatory “death” signifies both the end of the “natu-
“natural” mode of being—that of the child—and gains ac-
ral,” acultural man and the passage to a new mode of exis-
cess to the cultural mode; that is, he is introduced to spiritual
tence, that of a being “born to the spirit,” that is, one who
values. Often, on the occasion of the puberty rites the entire
does not live exclusively in an immediate reality. Thus the
community is religiously regenerated, for the rites are the
initiatory “death” and “resurrection” represent a religious
repetitions of operations and actions performed by supernat-
process through which the initiate becomes “another,” pat-
ural beings in mythical time.
terned on the model revealed by gods or mythical ancestors.
Any age-grading initiation requires a certain number of
In other words, one becomes a real man to the extent that
more or less dramatic tests and trials: separation from the
one resembles a superhuman being. The importance of initi-
mother, isolation in the bush under the supervision of an in-
ation for the understanding of the archaic mind centers es-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INITIATION: AN OVERVIEW
4477
sentially in the fact that it shows that the real man—the spiri-
gamesh at once falls asleep, and Utnapishtim wakes him on
tual one—is not automatic, is not the result of a natural
the seventh day. Indeed, not to sleep is not only a victory
process. He is “made” by the old masters, in accordance with
over physical fatigue but is above all a demonstration of will
the models revealed by divine beings in mythical times.
and spiritual strength; to remain awake is equivalent to being
These old masters form the spiritual elite of archaic societies.
conscious, present in the world, responsible.
Their main role is to transmit to the new generations the
deep meaning of existence and to help them assume the re-
Another puberty initiation ordeal is the interdiction
sponsibility of real men, and hence to participate actively in
against eating for a few days, or against drinking water except
the cultural life of the community. But because culture
by “sucking it through a reed” (Australia, Tierra del Fuego).
means, for archaic and traditional societies, the sum of the
Among some Australian tribes, the dietary prohibitions are
values received from supernatural beings, the function of ini-
successively removed as myths, dances, and pantomimes
tiation may thus be summarized: it reveals to every new gen-
teach the novices the religious origin of each kind of food.
eration a world open to the transhuman; a world, one may
But most puberty ordeals are cruel and terrifying. In Africa,
say, that is transcendental.
as in Australia, circumcision is equivalent to death; the oper-
ators, dressed in lion and leopard skins, attack the novices’
SHAMANS AND MEDICINE MEN. As for shamanic initiations,
genital organs, indicating that the intention is to kill them.
they consist in ecstatic experiences (e.g., dreams, visions,
In the Kongo or the Loango coast, boys between ten and
trances) and in an instruction imparted by the spirits or the
twelve years old drink a potion that makes them uncon-
old master shamans (e.g., shamanic techniques, names and
scious. They are then carried into the jungle and circum-
functions of the spirits, mythology and genealogy of the clan,
cised. Among the Pangwe, the novices are taken to a house
secret language). Sometimes initiation is public and includes
full of ants’ nests and are badly bitten; meanwhile, their
a rich and varied ritual; this is the case, for example, among
guardians cry, “You will be killed; now you must die!” (See
the Buriats of Siberia. But the lack of a ritual of this sort in
examples in Eliade, 1958, pp. 23ff., 30ff.) Excesses of this
no way implies the absence of an initiation; it is perfectly
kind sometimes result in the death of the boy. In such cases
possible for the initiation to be performed in the candidate’s
the mother is not informed until after the period of segrega-
dreams or ecstatic experiences. In Siberia and Central Asia
tion in the bush; she is then told that her son was killed by
the youth who is called to be a shaman goes through a psy-
the spirit, or that, swallowed by a monster with the other
chopathic crisis during which he is considered to be tortured
novices, he did not succeed in escaping from its belly.
by demons and ghosts who play the role of the masters of
intiation. These “initiatory sicknesses” generally contain the
The assimilation of initiatory tortures to the sufferings
following symbolic elements: (1) torture and dismember-
of the novices in being swallowed and digested by the mon-
ment of the body, (2) scraping of the flesh and reduction to
ster is confirmed by the symbolism of the cabin in which the
a skeleton, (3) replacement of organs and renewal of blood,
boys are isolated. Often the cabin represents the body or the
(4) a sojourn in the underworld and instruction by demons
open maw of a water monster, a crocodile, for example, or
and the souls of dead shamans, (5) an ascent to heaven, and
of a snake. In some regions of Ceram the opening through
(6) “resurrection,” that is, access to a new mode of being, that
which the novices pass is called the snake’s mouth. Being
of a consecrated individual capable of communicating per-
shut up in the cabin is equivalent to being imprisoned in the
sonally and directly with gods, demons, and souls of the
monster’s body. On Rooke Island (Umboi), when the nov-
dead. A somewhat analagous pattern is to be found in the
ices are isolated in a cabin in the jungle, a number of masked
initiations of Australian medicine men.
men tell the women that their sons are being devoured by
a terrifying, demonic being. In New Guinea, the house built
The little we know about Eleusis and the initiations in
for the circumcision of the boys has the form of the monster
the Hellenistic mysteries there indicates that the central ex-
Barlun, who is believed to swallow the novices; that is, the
perience of the initiand (must¯es) depended on a revelation
building has a “belly” and a “tail.” The novice’s entrance into
concerning the death and resurrection of the divine founder
the cabin is equivalent to entering the monster’s belly.
of the cult. Thanks to this revelation, the must¯es acceded to
Among the Nor-Papua the novices are swallowed and later
another, superior mode of being, and concurrently secured
disgorged by a spirit whose voice sounds like a flute. The ini-
for himself a better fate after death.
tiatory cabin represents not only the belly of the devouring
monster but also the womb. The novice’s “death” signifies
THE MEANING OF INITIATORY ORDEALS. In many puberty
a return to the embryonic state.
intiations, the novices must not go to bed until late in the
night (see some examples in Eliade, 1958, pp. 14–15). This
It is in the interval between initiatory “death” and “res-
initiatory ordeal is documented not only among nonliterate
urrection” that the Australian novice is gradually introduced
cultures (e.g., Australia, coastal California, Tierra del Fuego)
to the sacred history of the tribe and is permitted to witness,
but even in highly developed religions. Thus, the Mesopota-
at least in part, its pantomimes and ceremonial dances.
mian hero Gilgamesh crosses the waters of death to find out
Learning the myths of origins, that is, learning how things
from Utanapishtim how he can gain immortality. “Try not
came into existence, the novice discovers that he is the cre-
to sleep for six days and seven nights!” is the answer. But Gil-
ation of supernatural beings, the result of a specific primordi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4478
INITIATION: AN OVERVIEW
al event, the consequence of a series of mythological occur-
monies derive historically from a single center. In West Afri-
rences, in short, of a sacred history. Such revelations, received
ca, we find a similar phenomenon: the secret societies derive
through the ordeals of a ritual “death,” characterize most of
from the puberty initiations. (For other examples, see Eliade,
the age-grading initiations. The “resurrection,” or “rebirth,”
1958, pp. 73ff., 153.)
proclaims the coming into being of a new person: an adult
The socioreligious phenomenon of secret male cults and
aware of his religious condition and of his responsibilities in
masked confraternities is especially widespread in Melanesia
the world.
and Africa. As in the tribal initiations, the rites for entrance
FROM TRIBAL INTIATION TO SECRET CULT. Female puberty
into men’s secret cult societies present the well-known pat-
initiations are less widespread than boys’ initiations, al-
tern: seclusion, initiatory ordeals and tortures, revelation of
though they are documented in the ancient stages of culture
a secret doctrine, bestowal of a new name, instruction in a
(Australia, Tierra del Fuego, and elsewhere). The rites are less
special language.
developed than those for boys’ initiations. Furthermore,
In the two American continents, the climbing of a tree
girls’ initiations are individual; that is, they begin with the
or a sacred pole plays an important role not only in puberty
first menstruation. This physical symptom, the sign of sexual
initiations (as, for example, in the north of the Gran Chaco,
maturity, compels a break—the young girl’s separation from
and among the Mandan, the Kwakiutl, and the Pomo) but
the community. The length of the girl’s segregation varies
also in public festivals (the Festival of the Sun held by the
from culture to culture: from three days (in Australia and
Ge; various festivals among the Tupi, the Plains Indians, the
India) to twenty months (New Zealand), or even several
Salish, the Delaware, the Maidu), or in the ceremonies and
years (Cambodia). Consequently, in many parts of the
healing séances of shamans (Yaruro, Araucanian, Maidu).
world, the girls do in the end form a group, and then their
The climbing of the tree or of the sacred pole has the same
initiations are performed collectively, under the direction of
goal: to meet with the gods or heavenly powers in order to
their older female relatives (as in India) or of other old
obtain a blessing, whether a personal consecration, a favor
women (Africa). These tutors instruct them in the secrets of
for the community, or the cure of a sick person.
sexuality and fertility and teach them the customs of the tribe
and at least some of its religious traditions—those accessible
MARTIAL AND HEROIC INITIATIONS. In ancient Greece,
to women. The instruction is general, but its essence is reli-
some heroic scenarios can be identified in the saga of The-
gious: it consists in a revelation of the sacrality of women.
seus; for example, his ritual descent into the sea (an ordeal
The girl is ritually prepared to assume her specific mode of
equivalent to a journey into the beyond) or his entering the
being, that is, to become a “creator of life,” and at the same
labyrinth and fighting the monster. Other initiatory ordeals
time is taught her responsibilities in society and in the
survived in the famous Spartan discipline of Lykurgos, under
world—responsibilities that are always religious in nature.
which an adolescent was sent away to the mountains, naked,
to live for a full year on what he could steal, being careful
Among some peoples, there are several degrees of female
to let no one see him. In other words, Lacedaemonian youths
initiation. Thus, among the Yao of Thailand initiation be-
led the life of a wolf for a whole year.
gins with the first menstruation, is repeated and elaborated
during the first pregnancy, and is only concluded with the
Among the ancient Germans, a young man had to con-
birth of the first child. There are also a number of women’s
front certain ordeals typical of the initiations of warriors.
cult associations, most probably created under the influence
Tacitus tells us that among the Chatti the candidate cut nei-
of the male secret societies. Some African female secret asso-
ther his hair nor his beard until he had killed an enemy. A
ciations include masculine elements (for instance, the direc-
Taifali youth had to bring down a boar or a wolf; among the
tress, symbolizing a leopard, attacks and “kills” the novices;
Heruli, he had to fight unarmed. Through these ordeals, the
finally they “kill” the leopard, and free the novices from its
young man took to himself a wild animal’s mode of being;
belly). Among the Mordvins of Russia there existed a secret
he became a dreaded warrior in the measure in which he be-
women’s society whose emblem was a hobbyhorse and whose
haved like a beast of prey. Such warriors were known as ber-
members were called “horses.” But such masculine influences
serkers, literally, “in shirts (serkr) of bear,” or as úlfheðnar,
have been exercised chiefly on the external organization of
“men with the skin of a wolf.” They thought that they could
female societies. (On female intiations, see Eliade, 1958,
metamorphose themselves into wolves by the ritual donning
pp. 44ff., 78ff., and especially Lincoln, 1981.)
of a wolfskin. By putting on the skin, the initiand assimilated
the behavior of a wolf; in other words, he became a wild-
The morphology of men’s secret societies is extremely
beast warrior, irresistible and invulnerable. “Wolf” was the
complex, and their origin and history are still obscure. But
appellation of the members of the Indo-European military
there is a continuity between puberty rites and rites of initia-
societies.
tion into men’s secret societies. Throughout Oceania, for ex-
ample, both initiations of boys and those requisite for mem-
The martial initiatory ordeal par excellence was the single
bership in the men’s secret societies involve the same ritual
combat, conducted in such a way that it finally roused the
of symbolic death through being swallowed by a sea monster,
candidate to the “fury of the berserkers.” The ancient Ger-
followed by resurrection—which indicates that all the cere-
mans called this sacred force wut, a term that Adam of Bre-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INITIATION: AN OVERVIEW
4479
men translated as furor; it was a sort of demonic frenzy,
seems to prolong an authentic tradition. Most other secret
which filled the adversary with terror and finally paralyzed
groups are recent creations, and their initiation rites were ei-
him. The Irish ferg (lit., “anger”) is an almost exact equiva-
ther constructed by their founders or inspired by certain eso-
lent of this same terrifying sacred experience, specific to hero-
teric literature. The same phenomenon of improvising secret
ic combat.
associations with more or less complicated initiatory ordeals
continued into the twentieth century (see Eliade, 1976,
The initiation of the youthful hero Cú Chulainn admi-
pp. 58ff.).
rably illustrates such tumultuous and burning “fury.” While
still a little boy, Cú Chulainn asked his uncle, the king of
But such pseudo-initiatory improvisations have a reli-
Ulster, for arms and a chariot, and set off for the castle of
gious significance. In recent times, literary critics have recog-
his uncle’s three famous adversaries. Although those heroes
nized initiation themes in much modern European and
were supposed to be invincible, the little boy conquered
American literature; Nerval (Aurélia), Jules Verne (Voyage au
them and cut off their heads. But the exploit heated him to
centre de la terre, L’ïle mystérieuse), T. S. Eliot (The Waste
such a degree that a witch warned the king that if precautions
Land), and many other contemporary writers, such as Sher-
were not taken, the boy would kill all the warriors in Ulster.
wood Anderson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, and
The king sent a troop of naked women to meet Cú
William Faulkner, have made use of this notation (see
Chulainn, and the lad hid his face, that he might not see their
Eliade, 1969, pp. 123ff.). Other authors have deciphered ini-
nakedness. Thus they were able to lift him from the chariot
tiatory scenarios in contemporary plastic arts and especially
and place him in successive vats of cold water to extinguish
in cinema. Thus, in the modern Western world, initiatory
his wrath (ferg). The first vat burst its staves and its hoops;
symbols have survived on the unconscious level (i.e., in
the next boiled with big bubbles; “the third vat into which
dreams and imaginary universes). It is significant that these
he went, some men might endure it and others not. Then
survivals are studied today with an interest difficult to imag-
the boy’s ferg went down, and his garments were put on him”
ine sixty or seventy years ago. In the desacralized Western
(Táin Bó Cuailnge, trans. Joseph Dunn, London, 1914,
world, the sacred is present and active chiefly in the realms
pp. 60–78).
of the imaginary. But imaginary experiences are part of the
total human being, no less important than his diurnal experi-
INITIATION IN THE CHRISTIAN AND WESTERN WORLD. Ini-
ences. This means that the nostalgia for initiatory scenarios,
tiatory scenarios can be recognized in many medieval and
a nostalgia deciphered in so many literary and artistic cre-
postmedieval religious, mystical, and esoteric groups, some,
ations, reveals modern man’s longing for a total and defini-
but not all of them, considered heretical by the ecclesiastical
tive renewal, for a renovatio capable of radically changing his
authorities. The matter is too complex, and as yet insuffi-
existence.
ciently researched, to permit a brief summary. Still, through-
out almost all of rural Europe, and down to the end of the
SEE ALSO Berserkers; Frenzy; Mystery Religions; Ordeal;
nineteenth century, the ceremonies marking the passage
Shamanism.
from one age class to the next still reproduced certain themes
characteristic of traditional puberty initiations. Furthermore,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the symbols and rituals of a secret society can be recognized
The important critical literature published through the late 1950s
in the military organizations of youth: the ordeals of their en-
is noted in my Birth and Rebirth: The Religious Meanings of
trance, their peculiar dances (for example, the Scottish sword
Initiation in Human Culture (London, 1958), pp. 137ff., re-
dance), and even their costumes. Also, the ceremonial of the
printed under the title Rites and Symbols of Initiation (New
York, 1965). See also the more recent critical bibliographies
artisans’ guilds has an initiatory pattern, especially among
cited in “Initiation and the Modern World” in my The
the blacksmiths and masons. Finally, the closed milieus of
Quest: History and Meaning in Religion (Chicago, 1969),
the alchemists contained many recognizable elements; in-
pp. 112–126.
deed, the opus alchymicum implies the well-known pattern
Angelo Brelich’s Paides e parthenoi (Rome, 1969) is invaluable for
of initiation: tortures, “death,” and “resurrection” (Eliade,
its rich documentation and insightful analyses. Frank W.
1978, pp. 142ff.).
Young presents a sociological interpretation in his Initiation
It is significant that in medieval and postmedieval times,
Ceremonies: A Cross-Cultural Study of Status Dramatization
some initiatory patterns were conserved in the oral as well
(Indianapolis, 1965). The best monograph on female initia-
tion is Bruce Lincoln’s Emerging from the Chrysalis: Studies
as written literatures, for instance, in folk tales, in the Arthu-
in Rituals of Women’s Initiation (Cambridge, Mass., 1981).
rian cycle, in the neo-Greek epic Digenis Akritas, in the ec-
static poems of Fedeli d’amore, and even in certain children’s
On secret cults, see M. R. Allen’s Male Cults and Secret Initiations
in Melanesia (London, 1967), an exemplary analysis of initia-
games (see some examples in Eliade, 1958, pp. 124ff.; Eliade,
tion ceremonies in New Guinea; Secret Societies, edited by
1969, pp. 120ff.). No less significant is the survival of initia-
Norman MacKenzie (New York, 1967); Classes et associations
tory scenarios in many pre-Romantic and Romantic novels,
d’âge en Afrique de l’Ouest, edited by Denise Paulme (Paris,
from Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister to Balzac’s Séraphita. With
1971); and Robert S. Ellwood Jr.’s Religious and Spiritual
regard to the initiatory rituals practiced by the various secret
Groups in Modern America (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1973).
associations of the same period, only that of Freemasonry
On the initiation pattern among alchemists, see my The
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4480
INITIATION: MEN’S INITIATION
Forge and the Crucible, 2d ed. (Chicago, 1978). For a discus-
cern universal patterns in initiation per se. As a consequence
sion of initiatiory ordeals among secret societies improvised
this approach is more concerned with cross-cultural symbols
in this century, see my Occultism, Witchcraft, and Cultural
than it is with either the varying social frameworks in which
Fashions: Essays in Comparative Religions (Chicago, 1976).
those symbols appear or the structure of the rite as such.
MIRCEA ELIADE (1987)
By comparison, structure is a primary concern for the
anthropologist. Beginning with Arnold van Gennep’s Rites
of Passage (1909), the “career” of the initiand has been ana-
lyzed from the perspective of its three basic stages: “separa-
INITIATION: MEN’S INITIATION
tion” from one social status, “transition,” and “incorpora-
The word initiation implies a new beginning, as the Latin
tion” into another social status. Like Eliade, van Gennep
initium suggests. By means of a rite of passage or transition,
clearly recognized the religious dimension of initiation in
a person is separated from one social or religious status and
primitive society. Developing the views of van Gennep and
incorporated into another. From a religious perspective, ini-
Bronislaw Malinowski, contemporary anthropology con-
tiation may be seen as an encounter with the sacred. The
cerns itself primarily with how the rite “functions” in primi-
transition is therefore a profound one, with the initiand
tive society. Its emphasis is, therefore, on how rites reinforce
emerging from the passage changed not only socially but ex-
social values, maintain social stability, promote group soli-
istentially and spiritually as well. This radical transformation
darity, and provide needed instruction and psychological
is almost universally symbolized by images of death and re-
support for the individual.
birth. One is not simply changed; one is made new.
Unlike Eliade and van Gennep, however, the contem-
The study of initiation in general, particularly in primi-
porary social sciences regard initiation as an essentially secu-
tive society, has been almost synonymous with the study of
lar activity. Concerning themselves almost exclusively with
men’s initiation in particular. This situation exists, in part,
male initiation, they suggest that adolescent boys, because of
because the vast majority of ethnologists, anthropologists,
their increasing prowess, strength, and sexual capacities,
and even untrained observers were male and, therefore, had
threaten the order of society and its social equilibrium. Pu-
greater access to the secret rituals of their own sex. More ger-
berty rites help socialize these individuals, thereby allaying
mane, however, is the fact that male initiations are frequently
their socially disruptive potential. Although theories that
given more importance, both social and religious, than fe-
stress group solidarity are applicable in a primitive context,
male initiations. They are, in any event, usually more elabo-
they often shed little light on individual initiations in post-
rate and therefore more conspicuous than their female coun-
primitive society.
terparts. Men’s initiation may be divided into three
Psychoanalytically oriented schools of psychology have
categories: puberty rites; specialized initiations into secret so-
shown great interest in men’s puberty rites. In fact, it is only
cieties or confraternities; and specialized initiations into reli-
this particular aspect of primitive society that has attracted
gious vocations or mystical careers.
their attention. Using Freudian theory, particularly oedipal
PRIMITIVE PUBERTY RITES: METHODOLOGICAL AP-
conflict and castration anxiety, as a starting point, most ex-
PROACHES. These invariably obligatory rituals effect the tran-
ponents of these schools concern themselves not with puber-
sition from childhood or adolescence to manhood. The boy
ty rites in general but rather with ritual details such as cir-
is separated, often quite literally, from the world of women
cumcision.
and children, emerging from his seclusion a man in the com-
PUBERTY RITES: PATTERNS AND ISSUES. From a cross-
pany of men. For the male, the arrival of biological puberty
cultural standpoint, three comprehensive traits characterize
is not as punctuated an event as it is for the female. Male ini-
male puberty rites in primitive society. First, as noted, is the
tiations are therefore largely cultural rather than biological
structure of separation, transition, and incorporation. This
transitions. Relatedly, boys are usually initiated in groups.
scenario is frequently correlated with images of death and re-
The nature and purpose of male puberty rites have been
birth. Second is the disclosure of sacred knowledge, particu-
interpreted from three primary perspectives: history of reli-
larly mythical paradigms. Third is the performance of ritual
gions, anthropology, and psychoanalytically oriented schools
operations on the body and the often related presence of
of psychology. Although they emphasize different aspects of
ordeals.
the ritual, these approaches often complement rather than
Separation and incorporation/death and rebirth. As
conflict with one another.
illustrated by Eliade, separation from childhood and the fe-
Historians of religion, most notably Mircea Eliade, are
male realm is often dramatic and symbolized by death. In
essentially concerned with interpreting the meaning of the
Australia, for example, mythical beings in the form of
ritual, particularly its symbols of transformation, such as
masked men snatch the boys from their mothers and “de-
death and rebirth. Historians of religion seek to make intelli-
vour” them. The mothers mourn for the novices just as one
gible the existential moment experienced by the initiand
mourns for the dead.
himself. Their inquiry ranges well beyond primitive society
The transitional period between separation and incor-
in general and puberty rites in particular in an effort to dis-
poration is often prolonged, particularly in the elaborate ritu-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INITIATION: MEN’S INITIATION
4481
als afforded the male. This period, referred to as one of “limi-
Although van Gennep regarded genital operations as
nality,” has attracted increasing attention. The social
simply another form of bodily modification with no unique
anthropologist Victor Turner draws particular attention to
significance, circumcision in particular has attracted uncom-
the “liminal persona” as one that is neither this nor that, nei-
mon interest and generated great controversy. Circumcision
ther here nor there, but rather betwixt and between. The pe-
of males at puberty is a widespread, if not universal, practice
riod of liminality is one of ambiguity and paradox. The init-
among archaic tribes. Many societies see it as equivalent to
iand may be seen as neither living nor dead, but as both at
initiation itself and regard uncircumcised men as children.
the same time. Much of the symbolism accompanying this
Mythologies and rituals of circumcision are generally dra-
rite is accordingly bivalent. The hut in which the secluded
matic; death symbolism is often conspicuous. The masters
initiand dwells, for example, symbolizes both devouring
of initiation frequently portray mythical animals that seize
monster and generative womb, that is, both death and re-
and symbolically destroy the genitals of the novice. Like
birth. During this period, the initiand is seen as pure possi-
Freud himself, many psychoanalytically oriented scholars see
bility or primal totality. Males are often dressed as females,
in male puberty rites a ritual confirmation of Freudian theo-
thus representing androgyne. Again, they are neither male
ry. They regard circumcision as a symbolic form of castration
nor female, but both. The liminal persona is in many ways
and a primary means of generating castration anxiety within
“invisible,” living beyond the norms and categories of soci-
the adolescent male. The ritual act is seen as an ongoing repe-
ety. Traditional taboos and moral injunctions do not apply
tition of a primal punishment imposed by a primal father on
to him. Liminal personas are sacred, even dangerous. It is
his rebellious sons. The ritual produces submission to the fa-
therefore often necessary that they be purified before reenter-
ther’s will and reinforces the taboo against incest. Adherents
ing society.
of this school regard ordeal as the essential aspect of the ritual
and see instruction as insignificant or peripheral.
Disclosure of knowledge and mythical paradigms.
Far less prevalent than circumcision is the practice of
Some scholars, particularly the psychoanalytically oriented,
subincision, whereby the undersurface of the penis is slit
have suggested that little, if any, significant knowledge is im-
open. The initial cut is made some time after circumcision,
parted during initiation. Most other scholars, however, sug-
but may be subsequently lengthened until the incision ex-
gest that instruction is, in fact, central to the primitive rite.
tends along the entire penile urethra. The wound is periodi-
A more significant issue concerns the type of knowledge im-
cally opened and blood is drawn. Various explanations and
parted. Sociologists emphasize instruction in behavior that
interpretations have been offered. In certain cases, particular-
will be appropriate to the new social status of the person.
ly where the incision is explicitly equated with a vulva, the
Historians of religion tend to emphasize the revelation of sa-
intent of the rite is apparently to provide the male, in sym-
cred myths and the true meaning of ritual objects. To a cer-
bolic fashion, with both sex organs. The initiand takes on a
tain degree these two forms of knowledge are interrelated;
bisexual or androgynous character, thereby emulating a di-
it is through the myth that the initiand learns who he is and
vine totality. Relatedly, the blood periodically drawn from
what he is to be. It is, however, the revelation of sacred myth
the reopened wound may symbolize menstrual blood. In
and, relatedly, divine-human relations that require the ritual
Australia and elsewhere, blood is sacred, and males are often
to be kept secret from women and the uninitiated. Almost
anointed with it during the initiation ritual.
always, it is the men only who receive instruction in these
The psychologist Bruno Bettelheim offers interpreta-
matters. Male initiation frequently takes place on a secluded
tions of both circumcision and subincision in primitive soci-
and sacred ground to which women have no access. Accord-
ety. He observes that adolescent boys experience anxiety be-
ing to the myths in many cultures, it is on this very ground
cause they lack a clear biological confirmation of sexual
that the first initiation took place. Among the Kamilaroi of
maturity such as the female’s first menstruation. Departing
Australia, the sacred ground is the first camp of the All-
from mainstream Freudian theory, Bettelheim sees circumci-
Father, Baiame. The novices not only learn of mythical
sion as a means of allaying rather than increasing anxiety.
events, they reexperience them, returning to the primordial
Circumcision, in effect, demonstrates to the boys their sexual
time when the first initiation took place.
maturity. Subconsciously at least, they desire it. Their anxi-
Ritual operations and ordeal. Ritual operations on the
ety alleviated, they can more easily adjust to their new social
body are widely performed during primitive puberty rites.
roles. Subincision, for Bettelheim, is rooted in the male’s
The body may be cut, scarred, pierced, branded, or tattooed
subconscious envy of the female, her sexual organs, and her
in innumerable ways, often with great ingenuity and artistic
reproductive ability. Such envy may be seen as the male
skill. The operation symbolizes differentiation from uniniti-
counterpart of “penis envy” experienced by females, accord-
ated individuals as well as permanent incorporation in a new
ing to Freudian theory. The ritual of subincision creates a
group. Particularly painful operations, along with harsh
vagina; its periodic opening recreates menstruation; and the
treatment, tests of endurance, and other imposed hardships
ritual, according to Bettelheim, helps the male master his
are common in all but the most archaic of male initiations.
envy of the opposite sex.
Invariably, such an ordeal symbolizes ritual death and has a
Despite evident differences, ritual homologues of the
mythological model.
primitive puberty rite are found in every major religion: con-
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4482
INITIATION: MEN’S INITIATION
firmation in Christianity, Upanayana in Hinduism, and bar
secret initiation during which sacred objects were revealed
mitzvah in Judaism, to name a few. This last-named rite will
that this rebirth took place. Invariably, too, the triumph or
serve as a representative illustration. Properly speaking, the
rebirth of the initiand found its model in the paradigmatic
term bar mitzvah refers not to the ritual but rather to the init-
victory of a god or celestial hero.
iand. On the day following his thirteenth birthday, the Jew-
Although most Hellenistic “mysteries” were open to
ish male becomes a “son of the commandments,” as the term
both sexes, there was one major exception. Mithraism, the
suggests. Separated from religious and moral childhood, he
secret cult surrounding the celestial Mithra, was open only
is incorporated into a life of ethical responsibility and ritual
to men. This confraternity, with its evidently masculine and
obligation. He is incorporated, too, into the minyan, the ten
austere emphasis, had a particular appeal for the soldiers of
persons necessary for the recital of public prayer. Of great
Rome. The paradigmatic myth relates how the lord Mithra
importance is the first public reading of the Torah (the Pen-
sacrificed the primal bull. From its dying body and shed
tateuch) by the initiand. This simultaneously demonstrates
blood issued the bread and wine of a fecund earth. Plants and
his religious knowledge and his place in the adult world. In
animals, too, sprang forth as new life issued from death. Re-
many communities an examination was given prior to the
latedly, at the initiation rite, the new member was baptized
ceremony. In certain traditional communities the boy is ex-
in the blood of the dying bull, after which he shared a sacred
pected to present a derashah, or scholarly discourse on the
meal of bread and wine. This ritual feast found its model in
Talmud (the collection of Jewish law and tradition), at the
the original banquet celebrated by Mithra after the ritual
celebration that follows. The initiand’s investiture with sa-
slaying.
cred objects is also central to the rite, as it was for the primi-
tive youth. Having become a bar mitzvah, the male is obli-
Just as Mithra ascended to heaven, passing through the
gated and permitted to wear the tefillin, two cubical leather
seven planetary spheres, so too does the initiand pass through
boxes containing four biblical passages, expressing four basic
seven stages or grades of initiation. The seven ritual grades
precepts. The two containers, connected to leather thongs,
correspond also to the planetary journey of the initiand’s
are ritually bound to the arm and the forehead during recita-
own soul after death, winning for him immortality beyond
tion of the morning prayers. These boxes contain passages
the grave.
from the Pentateuch (Dt. 6:4–9; 11:13–21) requiring the
The initiatory process was characterized by test and or-
Jew to “bind” the Law as a sign between the eyes and on the
deal, befitting the military and austere constituency of the
hand (arm). This the bar mitzvah now does literally and for
confraternity. Although information here is obscure, it ap-
the first time.
pears that the initiand was branded, subjected to extremes
SPECIALIZED INITIATIONS. Religious man (homo religiosus)
of heat and cold, and, with hands bound, possibly hurled
seeks an ever-increasing participation in the sacred. Initia-
across a pit. The use of crypts and tombs as sites of initiation
tions of a specialized nature are therefore appropriate. These
clearly reinforced the death imagery. Initiation at the myster-
rites are invariably voluntary. Particularly in primitive soci-
ies, including the Mithraic rite, was essentially concerned
ety, puberty rites enable the novice to fully enter the human
with effecting a personal transformation of the initiand rath-
condition. Specialized initiations, by comparison, enable the
er than simply imparting information.
individual to transcend that condition. In primitive, classical,
In the modern world, initiations into secret societies
and modern society, specialized initiations for men may be
have become semireligious vestiges of their archaic counter-
divided into two categories: (1) initiation into secret societies
parts. Although the actual experience of transcendence, sa-
or male confraternities and (2) initiations into religious voca-
crality, and renewal has become rare, the desire for it often
tions or mystical careers. These specialized initiations are
remains. This is clear in modern Freemasonry. Initiation to
morphologically similar to puberty rites. Patterns and motifs
the level of master mason will serve as a representative exam-
characteristic of primitive puberty rites reappear in special-
ple. Although Freemasonry began as an institution in the sev-
ized initiations, even those in classical and modern society.
enteenth century, it has generated a mythology, or legendary
Initiation into secret societies. Initiations into primi-
history, according to which its origins are to be found in the
tive secret societies or male confraternities tend to be more
biblical reign of Solomon and the building of his temple. Ac-
selective, more severe, more dramatic, and more secretive
cording to this mythology, the master architect, Hiram
than puberty rites. Again, however, we find the ubiquitous
Abiff, was slain by assailants just before the completion of
symbols of death and rebirth or resurrection. The “mystery”
the temple, because he refused to divulge the secrets of a mas-
cults of the ancient Greco-Roman world may clearly be re-
ter mason. His actions at that time constitute the paradig-
garded as secret societies. The Greek word must¯erion indi-
matic gestures now reiterated and explained during the ritual
cates a rite performed only for initiates. Unlike the formal-
of initiation. As he died, so now dies the initiand. A coffin,
ized state religions of the time, the “mysteries” afforded the
an open grave, or the depiction of a grave on the floor make
worshiper a highly personal experience. Invariably the mys-
this symbolically clear, as do the skull and crossbones sur-
teries promised a resurrection or rebirth beyond the grave.
rounding it. The initiand is “lowered” into the grave from
This posthumous resurrection found its temporal equivalent
which he is, however, “resurrected,” symbolizing his rebirth
and precondition in ritual rebirth. It was, in fact, at a highly
and incorporation into the circle of master masons who assist
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INITIATION: MEN’S INITIATION
4483
in the resurrection. The ordeal accompanying the ritual is es-
The Roman Catholic rite (sacrament) of ordination to
sentially symbolic rather than real. Just as Hiram Abiff re-
the priesthood also illustrates many traditional initiatory mo-
fused to divulge the secrets of a master mason to the uniniti-
tifs. The rite is, however, public, as are its ritual equivalents
ated, so does the initiand now swear himself to secrecy under
(e.g., Buddhist ordination) in most modern religions. After
penalty of death. Not only are his knowledge of myth and
a period of candidacy, the ordinand is examined, declared
symbol tested at this level, but higher levels of knowledge
worthy, and presented to the bishop for election. Just as Jesus
and interpretation are disclosed. The tools of the stonemason
selected priests for his ministry, so is the ordinand now se-
assume a sacred significance as ritual objects. Their symbolic
lected. The paradigmatic Jesus serves as model throughout
significance, which invariably contains a moral message, is
the rite. He is referred to not only as teacher and shepherd,
now disclosed.
but also as priest. His paradigmatic death and rebirth-
resurrection are continually evident. The bishop states in the
Initiation into a religious vocation. A representative
revised rite: “In the memorial of the Lord’s death and resur-
illustration is afforded by the Buddhist monk. Prior to the
rection, make every effort to die to sin and to walk in the
ordination proper, initiation into a probationary period takes
new life of Christ.”
place. This step, the pravrajya¯, or “going out,” literally im-
plies a “departure” or separation from the normal world.
Central to the rite is the “laying on” or “imposition of
This initiation often takes place at the age of eight and, like
hands” by the bishop. Already in the Old Testament (Nm.
the Upanayana in Hinduism, is a homologue of primitive
8:5–11), the tribe of Levi is “set apart” for service to God
puberty rites. In some Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia,
by this gesture. As the Latin ordo (a social body separate from
the people at large) originally made clear, the priest is set
the novice is sometimes so cut off from the world that no
apart or separated from the people by this rite. Yet, following
woman, not even his mother or sister, may approach him.
the laying on of hands by the bishop, all the priests present
Having attained the age of twenty and completed the proba-
lay their hands upon the ordinand. This ancient ceremonial
tionary period, the novice undergoes ordination proper, or
is a symbol of incorporation, homologous to the Buddhist
upasam:pada¯. Here again, separation from the world and
monks surrounding their new member. Like the Buddhist
symbolic death are evident. In Laos, the women of the house
initiand, the Roman Catholic ordinand is “received into” an
ritually weep on the eve of the ordination, reminiscent of
order.
primitive practice. It is frequently the Buddha himself, leav-
ing behind his world of pleasure, who provides the mythical
After being anointed on the palms, the new priest is em-
and paradigmatic model for the ritual activity. In Cambodia,
powered to offer Holy Communion (the Eucharist) for the
for example, the future monk, dressed in princely robes to
first time. The sacred objects are given him: a chalice of wine
represent the Buddha’s preascetic life, rides toward the mon-
and a paten (silver plate) with the host (bread). Just as Jesus
astery amid the joyous cries of friends and relatives who rep-
offered bread and wine, so now does the ordinand. In the
resent the gods in their praise of the future Buddha. Others
Mass they become the body and blood of Christ; thus the
attempt to hinder the initiand’s progress, just as Ma¯ra, the
last supper becomes a contemporary event and the Lord’s
Buddhist devil, attempted to impede the future Buddha.
death and resurrection are shared by the congregation.
Ordination, or upasam:pada¯ is, however, literally an “ar-
SEE ALSO Blood; Circumcision; Mithraism; Ordeal; Rites of
rival.” The initiand is very clearly “incorporated” into the
Passage.
body of monks, the Buddhist order, as is evident at the com-
pletion of the rite when the monks surround the newly or-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
dained member, symbolizing refuge in the Buddha, his
A pioneering work, now dated but still useful and interesting as
teachings, and the order itself. The exact moment at which
an introduction, is Arnold van Gennep’s Les rites de passage
the monks close in around the novice is carefully recorded,
(Paris, 1909), translated by Monika B. Vizedom and Gabr-
as his rebirth takes place and his new life begins at this time.
ielle L. Caffee as The Rites of Passage (Chicago, 1960). Hut-
The assumption of a new name is commonplace.
ton Webster’s Primitive Secret Societies, 2d ed., rev. (1932; re-
print, New York, 1968), is also a pioneering work, first
Many of the ordination activities find their model in the
published in 1908. It views secret societies from the perspec-
events that transpired at the council of Ra¯jagr:ha shortly after
tive of their political power. Written by the noted historian
the Buddha’s death. The participants at this council and
of religions, Mircea Eliade, Rites and Symbols of Initiation:
their activities demonstrate a mythical quality. Just as
The Mysteries of Birth and Rebirth (New York, 1958) is the
A¯nanda, the Buddha’s favorite disciple, was tested by the
best overview of initiation in general and male initiation in
early arhats or “enlightened ones,” so now is the novice tested
particular. It confines itself largely but not exclusively to
primitive society. Initiation, edited by C. Jouco Bleeker (Lei-
and subjected to ordeal. Just as A¯nanda did then, so must
den, 1965), is a collection of essays in several European lan-
the initiand now confess his sins, be banished from the gath-
guages, including English. It represents various methodologi-
ering, and then be permitted to return. In Tibet and else-
cal approaches and deals with ritual in numerous religious
where the initiand is presented with certain sacred objects
traditions. The article by Eliade contains an excellent, even
such as robes and books.
if now slightly dated, bibliography. John W. M. Whiting,
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INITIATION: WOMEN’S INITIATION
Richard Kluckhohn, and Albert Anthony’s “The Function of
ceived the degree of attention directed toward men’s corre-
Male Initiation Ceremonies at Puberty,” in Readings in Social
sponding rituals. In part, this unfortunate state of affairs may
Psychology, edited by Eleanor E. Maccoby et al. (New York,
exist because male fieldworkers have been unable to gain ad-
1958), is a frequently cited and stimulating article combin-
mission to these ceremonies, or they may simply have been
ing sociological and psychological theory. Frank W. Young’s
uninterested in making the attempt. Thus, only a few exam-
Initiation Ceremonies: A Cross-Cultural Study of Status Dram-
ples have been reported in any real detail, and still fewer sub-
atization (Indianapolis, 1965) views the primitive rite from
jected to thorough analysis. Some attempts have been made
the perspective of its social function. Michael Allen’s Male
Cults and Secret Initiations in Melanesia (Melbourne, 1967)
to draw conclusions from statistical surveys based on the
combines sociological and psychological perspectives and
Human Relations Area Files (New Haven), but the findings
sees the rite as a means of reinforcing sexual identity. Bruno
proposed—correlating performance of women’s initiation
Bettelheim’s Symbolic Wounds: Puberty Rites and the Envious
with matrilocal residence patterns, for instance—have been
Male (Glencoe, Ill., 1954) is a little classic. It is readable, con-
called into serious question. The field remains largely unex-
troversial, even provocative, and in many ways superior to
plored, and more work is urgently needed.
the sociological and psychological works that have followed
it. For further information on Buddhist initiation, see Paul
Among the examples that have been most thoroughly
Lévy, Buddhism: A “Mystery Religion”? (New York, 1968).
reported and studied is the NkangDa ritual of the Ndembu,
witnessed by Victor and Edith Turner. This ceremony,
WALTER O. KAELBER (1987)
which is performed for each Ndembu girl at the time when
her breasts begin to develop, but before her menarche, con-
sists of three stages that lead up to the initiand’s marriage.
INITIATION: WOMEN’S INITIATION
The first of these phases, KwingDija (“causing to enter”), be-
Although rituals of women’s initiation resemble in numerous
gins when the prospective bridegroom of the initiand ex-
ways those celebrated for men, there are also highly signifi-
changes arrows with the mother of his bride-to-be and also
cant differences that reflect the biological and—more impor-
gives an arrow to a specially selected woman who will serve
tantly—the social distinctions between men and women. For
as the girl’s instructress and who presides over her initiation.
instance, it has often been noted that whereas males are usu-
On the next day, dances are held for the girl by the women
ally initiated as a group, women’s initiation is quite frequent-
of her village (men being for the most part excluded) at a
ly performed separately for each individual. In part, this may
consecrated mudyi tree just outside the village. The mudyi
result from the fact that a dramatic individual physiological
tree, which is the focus of this day’s rituals, has strong sym-
event—the onset of menstruation—marks the moment at
bolic associations to numerous referents; among these are the
which women’s initiation is to take place in many cultures.
central Ndembu principle of matrilineal descent, the relation
But one should also note that whereas strong sociopolitical
of mother and child, female breasts and their milk, and,
solidarity is established among those males who are initiated
more broadly, life, learning, the tribe as a whole, and tribal
together as a corporate group or age-set, the isolation of
custom in general. Throughout the day’s dancing, the init-
women in initiation reflects and helps perpetuate a situation
iand lies motionless and naked in a clear regressus ad uterum,
in which females are not integrated into any broadbased,
tightly wrapped within a blanket. Meanwhile, another im-
powerful, or effective sociopolitical unit.
portant symbolic item is introduced to the ceremonial appa-
ratus: After the bridegroom’s (phallic) arrow has been insert-
The task of initiatory rituals is the making of an adult:
ed into the roots of the mudyi tree, a string of white beads,
the transformation of a child into a productive, responsible
representing the emergent fertility of the initiand, the chil-
member of society, prepared to assume the rights and obliga-
dren she will bear to her husband, and the continuity of her
tions of the particular status marked out for him or her by
matrilineage, is draped over the arrow. Shortly before this,
tradition. Within any ritual of women’s initiation, one may
the women sing:
thus expect to find encoded the expected norms of female
existence as defined by a given society, for it is in that ritual
They are giving you NkangDa.
that girls are led to adopt those norms, or—to put it differ-
You have grown up, my child,
ently—that those norms are imposed on each girl by society
When you have passed puberty you will be pregnant.
as a whole. Here, the observations of Simone de Beauvoir in
Late in the day, a seclusion hut is prepared for the initiand
The Second Sex (New York, 1961) are particularly appropri-
on the side of the village opposite the mudyi tree; at sunset
ate: “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. No bio-
she is taken there, carried through the village on the back of
logical, psychological, or economic fate determines the figure
the instructress. Here she will spend some weeks or even
that the human female presents in society; it is civilization
months, in the second stage of the rite, Kunkunka
as a whole that produces this creature, intermediate between
(“seclusion in the hut”). During this time, she is subjected
male and eunuch, which is described as feminine” (p. 249).
to numerous ritual interdictions and is given detailed in-
Although women’s initiation is widely practiced—
struction, primarily in dance and in sexual technique. Men
statistical studies show it to be current among more of the
may not enter the seclusion hut, with one significant excep-
world’s peoples than its male counterpart—it has rarely re-
tion: When the girl is first placed within, her future bride-
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INITIATION: WOMEN’S INITIATION
4485
groom enters to light a new fire for her, representative of
uate through the birth of her children. Thus, in the ritual
their impending marriage. The white beads with which the
she is first systematically separated from her mother and then
initiand was earlier presented are now wrapped around a
gradually handed over to her husband through the interme-
miniature bow (the female counterpart to the male arrow)
diary of the instructress; at the same time, the mother is reas-
and placed at the apex of the seclusion hut, where an arch
sured that her daughter’s children—represented by the string
is formed of two poles from the mudyi tree, symbolic of the
of white beads—will be returned to her and will ensure the
female thighs spread in the position of intercourse. The apex
continuity of her matrilineage, as well as the continuity of
thus represents the genitals, and the beads, once again, the
the Ndembu people as a whole.
children the initiand will bear. Throughout her period of se-
clusion, however, the initiand is forbidden to look up and
Beyond this, one must also consider the effects of the
see this mystery that rests over her.
NkangDa ritual on the initiand herself, for her fertility—what
makes her a woman and no longer a girl—is symbolically and
The final phase of the ritual, Kwidisha (“bringing out”),
ceremonially created within the course of the ritual through
begins with a number of mock confrontations between the
her association with the mudyi tree, with the apex of the se-
kinship group of the initiand and that of her bridegroom,
clusion hut, and, above all, with her string of white beads.
in which the latter group is expected to prevail. At dawn,
But for all that a woman’s creative power in fertility is cele-
after a night of dancing, the initiand, once again wrapped in
brated, her position of sociopolitical subordination is also
a blanket, is carried from her seclusion hut to a place outside
unambiguously asserted: After a brief flirtation with power
the village. There she is washed, shaved, rubbed with oil and
as she carries the eland-tail badge of authority, she is quickly
red earth, adorned with rattles, and dressed in a skirt, al-
forced to kneel before the men’s drums.
though her now more fully developed breasts remain ex-
posed. Most importantly, her hair is carefully coiffed, leaving
The ways in which traditional social definitions of ideal
a central part into which the string of white beads is placed.
female nature are effectively impressed upon successive gen-
The entire coiffure is then covered with densely packed oil
erations of women through initiation rituals are given strik-
and earth. Many of the women present also remove their
ing expression in the Kinaaldá (“first menstruation,” or per-
beads and place them on the head and shoulders of the nov-
haps “house sitting”) ceremony of the Navajo, as reported
ice, so that she bears upon her the fertility of all womankind
by Charlotte Johnson Frisbie (1967) and others. A major
while hiding her own personal fertility as a secret within.
part of this four-night, five-day ceremony is the repeated
massaging of the initiand by older women of known good
Once adorned, the initiand is led to the village dance
character. Known as “molding,” this practice has as its explic-
place, where she dramatically exhibits the dance skills she has
it goal the definitive reshaping of an individual woman, both
acquired while in seclusion, receiving compliments and gifts
in terms of bodily form and moral character: for it is stated
from all assembled. In these dances, she is at the height of
that at the time of her initiation, a girl’s body becomes soft
her power, as is evident from the fact that at a certain mo-
again, as it was at birth, so that she is susceptible to the pres-
ment she is given the eland-tail switch, emblem of the village
sures exerted on her by the hands, minds, and speech of those
headman’s authority, to carry. Shortly thereafter, however,
around her.
she must kneel before the drums of the men of the village,
dance kneeling, and then spit before the drums “in blessing
The events of the Kinaaldá are all patterned upon the
and thanksgiving.” When the dance is concluded, the init-
first Kinaaldá, performed for the goddess Changing Woman
iand is led to her bridegroom’s hut, where the marriage is
(also known as White Shell Woman), recounted at length in
consummated. If all goes well, on the following morning the
the blessingway, one of the longest and most important of
newly married woman, her initiation complete, washes and
Navajo sacred chants. The initiand is dressed as Changing
takes the white beads from her hair in the presence of her
Woman, and she is systematically identified with her
husband, shaking the red earth—perhaps signifying the
through sacred songs, just as the girl’s family dwelling, where
blood of parturition or menstrual blood—from her hair. The
the ritual is celebrated, is identified with that occupied by
beads are then carried to her mother, who will keep them
the goddess at the dawn of time.
until the rituals for her daughter’s first pregnancy are per-
formed, at which time the beads are returned to her.
Changing Woman, in the opinion of many the most
important of Navajo deities, is an enormously complex fig-
In assessing this complex and fascinating ritual, Victor
ure who defies easy categorization. In part the paramount
Turner (1968) has called attention above all to the way in
representative of the abstract principle hózhó (lit., “beauty,”
D
which it serves to adjust the Ndembu social field when it has
but also “harmony,” “balance,” “goodwill,” etc.), the Navajo
been temporarily disrupted by the emergence of a female
summum bonum, she is also identified with the earth, vegeta-
member from childhood to adult status. This transition calls
tion, fertility, growth, abundance, and ideal womanhood.
into focus the deep-seated contradiction in Ndembu social
Moreover, as recounted in the blessingway, having become
organization between matrilineal descent and virilocal resi-
pregnant by the Sun, she gave birth to the twin culture he-
dence: When a girl reaches maturity and marries, she is lost
roes of Navajo mythology, who rid the world of monsters
to her lineage, the very lineage that she is expected to perpet-
and established civilization as humans know it.
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INITIATION: WOMEN’S INITIATION
For the first four days of the Kinaaldá, the initiand’s ac-
avoided. The Chisungu—which is somewhat unusual in that
tions are quite restricted. Most of her time must be spent in
it is a corporate ritual in which a group of girls are secluded
the family hogan grinding corn, and through her vigorous
together for a month or more—thus involves considerable
labor at this time it is expected she will come to be industri-
instruction in the mysteries of sexuality, pollution, and puri-
ous—industry being a highly prized female virtue for the
fication. By the application of those principles that are
Navajo—for the rest of her life. Repeatedly she is “molded,”
learned during initiation, and through the pot that is con-
and three times each day she must run eastward from the
ferred only upon those who have been initiated, women are
hogan in pursuit of the Sun. Ultimately, this pursuit seems
able to bring the dangers of sexuality under control. But the
to be successful, and it is implied that the initiand will con-
tensions, anxiety, and aggression implicit in male-female re-
ceive by the Sun, as did Changing Woman. But this will not
lations are emphatically dramatized in the culminating acts
happen until the initiand is thoroughly assimilated to the
performed on the final night of the ceremony, when mock
goddess in the course of an all-night sing held for her on the
bridegrooms appear at the Chisungu hut, singing loudly, “I
fourth night of the ritual. In the songs chanted at that time,
have tracked my game, / Now I have speared my meat,” after
the family hogan is identified with that of Changing
which they symbolically carry off their “brides.”
Woman, located at Gobernador Knob, the sacred mountain
where she was born out of the union of Sky and Earth. Fur-
Such ambivalence toward emergent female sexuality is
ther, all those who attend the sing take on the identity of the
not particularly common among agricultural populations,
gods who participated in the initiation of Changing Woman;
who regularly associate a woman’s fertility with the desired
most important, the initiand is herself thoroughly identified
fertility of the land. But among peoples whose means of sub-
with the goddess, as in the following song:
sistence is hunting and/or fishing, the situation is different,
for there it is often perceived that an excess of human fertility
I am here; I am White Shell Woman, I am here.
results in overpopulation that threatens a fragile ecosystem.
Now on the top of Gobernador Knob, I am here.
Such considerations clearly affect the cultural norms of ideal
In the center of my white shell hogan I am here.
womanhood as they are transmitted—or better, continually
Right on the white shell spread I am here.
recreated—in initiatory rituals. Thus, for instance, the init-
Right at the end of the rainbow I am here.
iand in the Tucuna Festa das Moças Novas (Festival of the
At dawn on the fifth day, as an all-night sing comes to a
New Maiden) is menaced by a variety of demons (the noo)
close, the initiand runs to the east for the last time, toward
who, according to the myths of this fishing people of the
the rising sun that has just cast its light on her through the
northwest Amazon, avenge themselves mercilessly on those
hogan’s eastern door. Shortly thereafter, the participants in
who disrupt the delicate balance of humans and game. Isolat-
the sing move outside to eat a sweet circular corn cake that
ed within the large familial residence (maloca) in a chamber
has been baking in an earth oven overnight. Compressed
that bears the name of the underworld of the noo, the init-
within this cake are symbols of the sun and earth, male and
iand is told these spirits will kill her, suck the viscera from
female, vegetation, pregnancy, birth, the four cardinal
her body, and carry off her empty corpse, should she violate
points, and the zenith and nadir. All partake of this cake ex-
any of her ritual prescriptions; each night she hears the
cept the initiand, who offers it to the others as if she herself
“voices” of the noo in the form of sacred trumpets hidden
has given birth to it and to all it represents. The Kinaaldá
from women’s view by men. Upon emerging from her seclu-
is expected to ensure universal rebirth consequent upon a
sion chamber—like a butterfly from a cocoon, according to
woman’s initiation, for as Changing Woman was told at the
Tucuna metaphor—the initiand is again assaulted by the
first such ritual, as a result of its proper performance, “there
noo, now represented by a host of masked dancers, who only
will be birth. Vegetation, as well as all without exception who
in the course of a wild night of drink and dancing shed their
travel the surface of the earth, will give birth; that you will
costumes and resume human identity. Should the girl survive
have gained.”
this ordeal, she is taken on a symbolic tour of heaven, earth,
and multiple underworlds, and is finally bathed in a contra-
Emergent sexuality is celebrated as the means for the re-
ceptive solution passed upward from her feet to her head, “to
newal of life, society, and the cosmos in both the Kinaaldá
prevent her becoming prematurely pregnant.” Only when
and the NkangDa rituals, although ceremonies of female initi-
these magico-ritual checks upon her potentially excessive fer-
ation celebrated within cultures that hold a more ambivalent
tility have been established is the Tucuna woman accorded
attitude toward sex can be expected to treat things quite dif-
adult, marriageable status.
ferently. Thus, for example, as Audrey I. Richards reported
in her 1956 study of the Bemba of Northern Rhodesia,
In general, specialized initiatory rites for women tend
among the Bemba sexual intercourse is considered a “hot”
to disappear in urban and later in industrial societies; often
activity that can pollute domestic and ritual fires by which
they blend into marriage ceremonies or into those lacking
approach ought be made to the ancestral spirits central to all
gender specificity, such as graduation from school. Still, it
cultic activity. Only if a man and wife purify themselves after
is sometimes possible to recognize the traces of older
sex, using a small secret pot conferred upon the wife at the
women’s initiation rituals within a new context and dramatic
time of her initiation (Chisungu), may these dangers be
program. Thus, for example, such scholars as Angelo Brelich
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INITIATION: WOMEN’S INITIATION
4487
and Walter Burkert have been able to show how, within the
ence and activity has been restricted in virtually all human
Greek polis, broader rituals of women’s initiation came to be
societies to the home. In light of this, it appears a reasonable
narrowed so that only a few individuals, drawn always from
hypothesis that the exorbitant claims of cosmic transforma-
wealthy, prominent families, passed through a series of initia-
tions wrought by women’s initiation and of the cosmic sig-
tory schemata, serving perhaps as representatives of all
nificance of an adult female life offer a form of false con-
women in general. In his Lysistrata (lines 641ff.), Aristopha-
sciousness that deflects women’s attention and lives from the
nes preserves a list of the age-grades through which these
sociopolitical arena, offering a religio-cosmic ground of
women passed: arr¯ephoros, aletris, arktos, and kan¯ephoros,
meaning and action in place of the sociopolitical one re-
each status conferred by ritual means. While the details of
served—and preserved—for men.
each grade are complex, it may be noted briefly that the last
two of these were celebrations and consecrations of a young
SEE ALSO Feminine Sacrality.
girl’s virginity prior to marriage: As an arktos (lit., “bear”) she
took up residence with Artemis in the wilds; as a kan¯ephoros
BIBLIOGRAPHY
she carried a basket holding sacred objects for the Pana-
The chief attempts to draw theoretical generalizations regarding
thenaia festival celebrated in honor of Athena. (Artemis and
rituals of women’s initiation are D. Visca’s “Le iniziazioni
Athena were the goddesses most protective of virgins and vir-
feminili: Un problema da riconsiderare,” Religioni e Civiltà
ginity.) Having played the role of kan¯ephoros, however, a girl
2 (1976): 241–274; my Emerging from the Chrysalis: Studies
in Rituals of Women’s Initiation (Cambridge, Mass., 1981);
was considered eligible for marriage; in myths such as that
and Judith K. Brown’s “A Cross-Cultural Study of Female
of Oreithyia women are abducted and raped while or shortly
Initiation Rites,” American Anthropologist 65 (1963): 837–
after appearing as kan¯ephoros.
853. The last of these, however, has been subjected to severe
Although they may appear in combination in any spe-
criticism by Harold E. Driver in his “Girls’ Puberty Rites and
Matrilocal Residence,” American Anthropologist 71 (1969):
cific ritual complex, four general “ideal types” of women’s
905–908.
initiation have been recognized. These are (1) rituals of bodi-
ly mutilation, involving such operations upon the initiand’s
Among the finest anthropological case studies of specific data are
physical self as tattooing, scarification, clitoridectomy, or
Victor Turner’s The Drums of Affliction: A Study of Religious
Processes among the Ndembu of Zambia (London, 1968),
other genital surgery as well as such processes as the Navajo
pp. 198–268; Charlotte J. Frisbie’s Kinaaldá: A Study of the
“molding”; (2) rituals involving identification with a mythic
Navaho Girl’s Puberty Ceremony (Middletown, Conn.,
heroine, whether goddess, culture heroine, primordial ances-
1967); Audrey I. Richards’s Chisungu: A Girls’ Initiation
tress, or some other prototypical figure; (3) rituals involving
Ceremony among the Bemba of Northern Rhodesia (London,
a cosmic journey, in which the initiand is symbolically con-
1956); Kathleen E. Gough’s “Female Initiation Rites on the
veyed to heavens, underworlds, the four quarters, and other
Malabar Coast,” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
places of cosmologic significance, as a means of lifting her
85 (1955): 45–80; and Judith Modell’s “Female Sexuality,
beyond her normal locus and identity; (4) rituals focused
Mockery, and A Challenge to Fate: A Reinterpretation of
upon the play of opposites, wherein such normally exclusive
South Nayar talikettukalyanam,” Semiotica 50 (1984):
categories as male/female, human/divine, above/below,
249–268. Classicists have also made considerable progress in
right/left, black/white, and wild/tame are somehow united
the reconstruction of women’s initiations as practiced in the
ancient world. Among the best of these studies are Angelo
within the initiand, establishing her as a being who tran-
Brelich’s Paides e Parthenoi (Rome, 1969) and Walter Bur-
scends the dualities of fragmented mundane existence.
kert’s “Kekropidensage und Arrephoria: Vom Initiationsritus
In all of these types, three interrelated levels of transfor-
zum Panathenäenfest,” Hermes 94 (1966): 1–25.
mative action are regularly claimed to be accomplished. First,
New Sources
it is claimed that rituals of women’s initiation transform a
Beidelman, T. O. The Cool Knife: Imagery of Gender, Sexuality,
girl into a woman, conferring upon her marriageable status.
and Moral Education in Kaguru Initiation Ritual. Washing-
Second, it is claimed that they renew society, providing it
ton, D.C., 1997.
with new members ritually empowered to play productive
Dodd, David B., and Christopher A. Faraone, eds. Initiation in
and reproductive roles for the good of the social totality,
Ancient Greek Rituals and Narratives: New Perspectives. New
whether lineage, tribe, or other corporate entity. Third, it is
York, 2003.
claimed that they renew the cosmos, by virtue of the homolo-
Dowden, Ken. Death and the Maiden: Girls’ Initiation Rites in
gy between the initiand’s fertility and that of nature at large.
Greek Mythology. New York, 1999.
This last claim is the most audacious and fascinating of all.
Gruenbaum, Ellen. The Female Circumcision Controversy: An An-
It must be emphasized, however, that in contrast to
thropological Perspective. Philadelphia, 2001.
male initiations, women’s rites do not usually advance those
Kratz, Corinne Ann. Affecting Performance; Meaning, Movement,
who have completed them toward political offices of power
and Experience in Okiek Women’s Initiation. Washington,
and prestige. For while the status of a woman may be ritually
D.C., 1994.
changed from that of child to adult (from unmarriageable to
Lutkehaus, Nancy C., and Paul B. Roscoe, eds. Gender Rituals: Fe-
marriageable or even married), the woman’s sphere of influ-
male Initiation in Melanesia. New York, 1995.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4488
INNER ASIAN RELIGIONS
Vida, Vendela. Girls on the Verge: Debutante Dips, Gang Drive-bys,
Major problems arise in dealing with the history of
and Other Initiations. New York, 1999.
Inner Asia. Indigenous written material is extremely scant,
B
existing only from the eighth century
RUCE LINCOLN (1987)
CE. Much of the Inner
Revised Bibliography
Asian tradition was preserved only orally, transmitted by sto-
rytellers, singers, shamans, and priests. Most often the early
history of Inner Asia was recorded by the surrounding civili-
zations, eager to protect their own ways of life and highly
INNER ASIAN RELIGIONS. Inner Asia, essentially
critical of different customs and manners. Because the writ-
a historical concept, was that great land mass surrounded by
ten records are in a variety of nonindigenous languages, the
the civilized worlds of Rome, Greece, Arabia, Persia, India,
correct identification of names in Inner Asia presents prob-
and China. Central Eurasia, the more scholarly term for the
lems. Ethnonyms and toponyms, not to mention personal
region, should not be confused with Central Asia, which, in
names and titles, that appear, for example, in Chinese
the strict sense, comprises the modern-day Uzbek, Turkmen,
sources are extremely difficult to equate with names or terms
Kirghiz, Kazakh, and Tajik republics; or, in a broader sense,
given in Greek or Arabic sources. When a name such as
adds Chinese Turkistan (Sinkiang). Until modern times, the
Scythian or Hun or Turk first appeared, it meant a specific
boundaries that separated Inner Asia from the rest of the
people; later, the name would often become a generic term
Eurasian land mass were in constant flux, expanding or con-
applied to any barbarian people. Imprecise geographical
tracting according to the relations of the peoples within
knowledge only added to the problems; distances were exag-
Inner Asia toward the surrounding sedentary states.
gerated, and few people from the surrounding sedentary civi-
Inner Asia is a vast area with a multitude of peoples,
lizations had actually visited Inner Asia. The history of the
speaking a variety of languages, possessing distinct religious
region therefore must be filtered from ideas and ways hostile
practices, yet culturally united in a unique civilization. The
to its peculiar civilization and drawn from the precious scraps
languages spoken in Inner Asia belong to a number of lin-
of indigenous material—written fragments, archaeological
guistic families, the largest of which is Altaic (comprising the
data, art—often literally scraped out of the desert sands or
Turkic, Mongol, and Tunguz languages), followed by Uralic
the frozen soil of the tundra.
(the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed languages), Paleosiberian or
To most peoples from other parts of the world, Inner
Paleo-Asiatic, Indo-Iranian, and the isolated languages of the
Asia was seen as one vast zone. The world, from the time of
Caucasus. The noninstitutionalized forms of religion in
Homer (c. tenth century BCE) until the beginning of the Rus-
Inner Asia, as reported by early travelers and recorded by his-
sian expansion into Asia in the late sixteenth century, saw
torians, were most evident in their myths of origin, in the
Inner Asia as a land shrouded in mystery and myth, defined
ceremonial activities present in daily life, such as rituals per-
only by its barbarousness. It was the inhospitable land of the
formed before hunting or connected with funerals, and in
north, unfit for man or beast.
art. Tolerance of outside religions was the norm, rather than
ANCIENT VIEWS OF INNER ASIA. Early Chinese and Classical
the exception, and Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity all ex-
Greek sources spoke of Inner Asia, but many of the peoples
erted great influence on the region.
mentioned were imaginary and showed the civilized world’s
Ecologically, Inner Asia is divided into four great longi-
lack of real knowledge about the region. To the Greeks these
tudinal belts: the tundra in the far north, the forest (taiga),
were the peoples who inhabited such places as the City of
the steppe, and finally the desert in the south. The existence
Perpetual Mist or the Rhipaean Mountains. These regions
of these four separate zones has led to the inaccurate stereo-
and the peoples who lived there were removed, beyond the
typing of the economic activity practiced in the north by the
pale of Greek civilization, their barbarous nature, according
Finno-Ugric, Samoyed, and Tunguz peoples as hunting,
to Hippocrates (460?–377? or 359? BCE), directly deter-
fishing, and gathering, and that practiced in the south by the
mined by the environment in which they lived. The Greek
Turkic and Mongol peoples as exclusively nomadic herding.
geographer and historian Strabo (c. 63 BCE–24 CE) reminded
However, just as hunting and limited agriculture were a part
his readers that before the Black Sea was navigable the barba-
of Turkic and Mongol economies, so was animal husbandry
rous tribes surrounding it as well as the fierce storms on it
a part of the economy of the more northern peoples. The
caused it to be called Axine (“inhospitable”); not until the
prevailing climatic conditions severely limited agricultural
Ionians established cities on its shores did it become known
potential without manmade changes in the environment,
as Euxine (“hospitable”). This case is an example of one of
giving rise to one of the most important unifying features of
the myths perpetuated about Inner Asia by external histori-
Inner Asia: the relationship between horse and pasture. As
ans: the lack of cities was equated with a lack of civilization.
the mainstay of Inner Asian economy, the horse, dependent
On the other side of Inner Asia, the Chinese held similar
only on pasture, was either traded for basic necessities, partic-
views. The Inner Asian lived in the “submissive wastes,” the
ularly armaments that could only be manufactured by the
“great wilderness,” the region of the “floating sands,” in the
surrounding sedentary civilizations, or used for military con-
barren lands “where frost came early.” The “five grains”
quest. It thus became the key to the rise of the great nomadic
would not grow there. Chinese emperors were often chal-
civilizations.
lenged by their ministers on the wisdom of trying to expand
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INNER ASIAN RELIGIONS
4489
Chinese territory into these wastelands. This attitude perpet-
warriors was recognized when Darius I (r. 521–486 BCE),
uated another myth: the lack of agriculture meant the people
king of Persia, led a campaign against the Scythians north
were uncivilized.
of the Black Sea from 516 to 513. These Scythian mounted
E
archers soon frustrated Darius by seemingly fleeing before
ARLY MEDIEVAL JUDAIC, CHRISTIAN, AND ISLAMIC VIEWS.
In the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, the peoples of
him, attacking when and where he least expected, all the
Inner Asia had been driven into the barren, desolate lands
while drawing him farther and farther into their land. In the
of the north, to the hidden, dark regions of the world—to
end, Darius was forced to retreat to Persia. This type of war-
the land of Gog and Magog. When Jeremiah was asked by
fare and the ability of the skilled horseman to turn and shoot
the Lord what he saw, he answered, “I see a seething pot; and
behind him—the Parthian shot—became a trademark of the
the face thereof is toward the north” (Jer. 1:13). Within this
Inner Asian warrior.
“seething pot” were the unknown kingdoms of the north,
In Persian sources these people were called Saka, and
which, at the end of time, would rise and the contents spill
three kinds were enumerated: the Saka beyond the sea, the
upon the land, bringing death and destruction. Classical
pointed-hat Saka, and the Saka who revered Hauma. The
Arab and Persian geographers (ninth to eleventh century) lo-
Scythians of Herodotos lived north of the Black Sea, while
cated Gog and Magog in the fifth and sixth climes and
the Saka of Persian sources lived beyond the Oxus River (the
warned of their cold, bestial nature, but others recognized
modern Amu Dar’ya) and south of this area in Iran. The so-
their brave, warriorlike qualities. To al-Ka¯shghar¯ı (fl. elev-
cial structure of the Scythians was tripartite: agriculturists,
enth century) they were an army, the army of the prophet
warriors, and priests. They had cities, centers of metallurgy,
Muh:ammad, to be sent out when he was angry with a peo-
and a highly developed, stylized animal art.
ple. This army, called Turk, would come at the end of time.
Animals, particularly horses and cattle, as well as hu-
The fear that medieval man had regarding the peoples of the
mans were sacrificed as offerings to the gods. Herodotos list-
north was also manifest in the Roman d’Alexandre, in which
ed the Scythian gods with what he thought were their Greek
the hordes of Gog and Magog are sealed off behind an iron
equivalents, the supreme deity being Tabiti (Vesta). Images,
gate.
altars, and temples were used. Scythian soothsayers were
The armies of Inner Asia did not exist in myth alone;
called into service when the king was ill; Enarees, womenlike
the fears of medieval man had been justified by repeated in-
men among the Scythians, practiced divination; elaborate fu-
vasions from the steppe lands. Walls—such as the Roman
neral and burial rites, a strong will to protect the tombs of
limes or the Great Wall of China—were monuments of the
their ancestors, and prescribed ceremonies for oath taking ex-
civilized world’s futile attempt to contain the encroaching
isted. By the late second century BCE, the ethnically and lin-
and often unknown peoples from Inner Asia. When the
guistically related nomadic tribes of the Sarmatians began to
hordes of Inner Asia broke through, they did bring death and
replace the Scythians, who had reached a degree of civiliza-
destruction with a terrible swiftness. It was because of such
tion perhaps unparalleled by any other Inner Asian empire.
invasions that the peoples of Inner Asia first entered recorded
Xiong-nu. On the eastern edge of Inner Asia, the
history in some detail and accuracy.
Xiong-nu were the first clearly identifiable and important
THE HISTORY OF INNER ASIA. The peoples of Inner Asia
steppe people to appear on the borders of China, constantly
who lived in the tundra and taiga were widely dispersed in
menacing the frontier with raids that sometimes penetrated
small communities and posed no threat to their neighbors.
deep into Chinese territory. Their center of power was the
It was the peoples of the steppes, formed in large tribes with
Mongolian steppe. Appearing in Chinese sources around
vast herds of sheep, goats, camels, cattle, and horses, who
230 BCE, an account of the Xiong-nu was provided by the
were highly mobile and had the organizational ability to lead
grand historian of China, Ssu-ma Qian (c. 145–86 BCE). By
military excursions against their sedentary neighbors. When
about 56 BCE internal revolts had begun to rack the Xiong-
these peoples first appear in historical sources, they come
nu empire and some tribes moved to the west; in 48 CE the
from two great steppe regions: the south Russian (or Pontic)
Xiong-nu finally split into two major groups: the Southern
steppe and the Mongolian steppe.
Xiong-nu and the Northern Xiong-nu. The former contin-
ued to be a serious threat to China and finally faded from
Scythians. The first important Inner Asian people, the
the historical scene around 400
Indo-Iranian Scythians, appeared on the south Russian
CE, while the Northern
Xiong-nu remained on the original homeland of the Mongo-
steppe in the eighth century BCE and began to fade out of
lian steppe. The Northern Xiong-nu never regained their for-
the historical scene around 175 BCE, although some rem-
mer power, however, and about 155
nants survived until the third century
CE they were destroyed
CE. While little is
by another steppe people, the Xianbei.
known about their origin, a detailed description of their
mode of life and some remarks on their history are given by
The language of the Xiong-nu is unknown. Long
Herodotos (c. 480–420 BCE) in book 4 of his Histories. The
thought to be Mongol or Turkic, more recent studies seem
Scythians were the first historically known people to use iron,
to indicate that it comprised some elements of the Yenisei
and having defeated the Cimmerians, they assumed full com-
branch of the Paleosiberian languages. Since the eighteenth
mand of the south Russian steppe. Their greatness as steppe
century, it has been popular to equate the Xiong-nu of the
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4490
INNER ASIAN RELIGIONS
east with the Huns of the west: at best the theory is contro-
The Yuezhi tribes that settled in Bactria were later unit-
versial.
ed under one tribe, the Kushans, probably in the first century
BCE. Besides Bactria, their kingdom included extensive do-
The military power of the Xiong-nu, like that of the
mains in Central Asia and large portions of Northwest India,
Scythians, lay in their remarkable skill as highly disciplined
where centers of Greco-Buddhist art were established at
mounted archers. In fact, Ssu-ma Qian considered warfare
Gandha¯ra and Mathura¯. The Kushan period is extremely
their main occupation. Made up of numerous tribes, the
controversial, and the dates and order of kings are widely dis-
Xiong-nu confederation was most highly organized in its re-
puted. But it was during the reign of Kanis:ka, a patron of
lations with foreign states, depending upon the horse for
Buddhism, that this Indian religion began to spread into
both military superiority and for economic gain. The Chi-
Central Asia and China, heralding a new era for the region.
nese set up border markets in an attempt to weaken the
Xiong-nu by supplying them with luxuries and fostering a
Chinese monks began to travel to India and Sri Lanka to ob-
dependence on Chinese goods. Even though there was a he-
tain the Buddhist su¯tras, passing through Dunhuang, Kho-
reditary aristocracy within the Xiong-nu confederation, in-
tan, and Turfan on the edge of the Tarim Basin, as well as
ternal organization was loose, each tribe having its own pas-
Ferghana and Sogdiana. Most notable are the accounts left
tures. A son would marry his stepmother when his father
by the monks Faxian (traveling from 399 to 413 CE) and
died; a brother would marry a deceased brother’s widow—
Xuanzang (traveling from 629 to 645). Buddhist texts had
both practices aimed at preventing the extinction of the clan.
to be translated into Turkic languages; the routes used by pil-
grims were destined to become active trade routes, linking
At set times of the year, sacrifices were offered to ances-
east and west.
tors, gods, heaven and earth, while auspicious days were cho-
sen for major events, and the stars and moon were consulted
Huns. With the appearance of the Huns toward the end
for military maneuvers. Burials were elaborate, particularly
of the fourth century CE, a new movement began on the
for the ruler, with many of his concubines and loyal ministers
south Russian steppe. Rumors of invasions spreading fear
following him in death. Although condemned by the Chi-
and panic reached Jerome (c. 347–420) in Palestine, where
nese for lacking in morals, not understanding court ritual,
he wrote that these “wolves of the north”—the Huns—
and not showing respect for the aged, the Xiong-nu had laws,
spared neither religion nor rank nor age.” It was with this
customs, and manners of their own that contradicted the
turmoil on the steppe north of the Sea of Azov that the
ethnocentric views of the Chinese.
Völkerwanderung, or migration of the peoples, began. The
name Hun first appears in the writings of Ptolemy (fl. second
Yuezhi, Wusun, and Kushans. The Xiong-nu greatly
century CE), but later historians of the Huns such as Ammi-
affected the history of Inner Asia to the west and south of
anus Marcellinus (c. 322–400), Priscus (fl. fifth century),
their domains where, in 160 BCE, they inflicted a terrible de-
and the less reliable Jordanes (fl. sixth century) portray a cul-
feat on the Yuezhi, an Indo-European people located on the
ture typical of Inner Asian society and very different from
Chinese border of modern Gansu province. This caused the
Roman civilization. Aided by civil wars in Italy that occupied
Yuezhi to divide; the Lesser Yuezhi moved to the south while
the Roman army, some Hun tribes had established them-
the Greater Yuezhi began moving west. As the latter migrat-
selves by 409 on the Roman limes and in the Roman prov-
ed through the Ili River valley, they abandoned the Mongo-
ince of Pannonia (on the right bank of the Danube). When,
lian steppe to the complete control of the Xiong-nu, while
in 434, a Hun king named Rua died, he was succeeded by
they themselves displaced the Sai (or Saka) tribes. The major-
his nephews, Bleda and Attila.
ity of the Yuezhi continued to move west into the Greek state
of Bactria. At about the same time, the Chinese emperor
Hun penetration into Europe and the displacing of ex-
Wudi (r. 140–87 BCE) sent Chang Qian to the Greater
isting tribes were instrumental in the formation of modern
Yuezhi to form an alliance against the Xiong-nu. Leaving in
Europe. Aetius, the great fifth-century general and power
139, Chang Qian had to pass through Xiong-nu territory,
broker of the Western Roman Empire, provoked some Hun
where he was detained and held prisoner for more than ten
tribes to attack the Burgundians in 437 in order to shatter
years. Chang Qian’s account, made to the Chinese emperor
Germanic power and to strengthen Roman rule in Gaul. The
on his return, brought the first real knowledge of the western
Visigoths, who had been pushed from the east into the Tou-
regions to China, information that would allow China to ex-
louse area, forced the Vandals into Spain and North Africa,
pand westward and become actively involved in Central Asia.
an event that caused great consternation to the entire Roman
Although his mission to the Yuezhi failed, he was sent again
Empire. However, Aetius’s attempt to use the Huns to defeat
in 115 to try to form a different alliance against the Xiong-
the Visigoths failed in 439. Turmoil continued, this time in
nu, this time with the Wusun, another people probably of
the Eastern Roman Empire with the Persian decision to at-
Iranian origin, who accepted the gifts that Chang Qian
tack Byzantium; at the same time, Attila attacked the Byzan-
brought as well as an imperial princess to become the wife
tines from the north, gaining new treaty concessions. Then
of their ruler, but who also refused to cooperate. It was not
in 445 Attila murdered Bleda, thus becoming the sole ruler
until the Xiong-nu empire was disintegrating that the
of the Hun tribes of Pannonia. In the end, a nervous Aetius
Wusun inflicted serious defeats on them.
allied himself with the Visigoths to meet Attila in the Battle
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INNER ASIAN RELIGIONS
4491
of the Catalaunian Plain (451) near Troyes, France, where
White Huns) on the borders of Persia. The Türk made an
the Visigoth king Theodoric II lost his life and the Romans
alliance with Sasanid Persia (226–655), encircled and de-
withdrew in a battle that left neither Hun nor Roman the
stroyed the Ephthalites, establishing thereby a common bor-
victor. With Attila’s death in 453, Hun influence on Europe
der with Persia, but also obtaining control of the lucrative
rapidly crumbled.
silk trade. Because of its commercial interests—represented
Where the Huns had originated is unknown, but writ-
mainly by Sogdian merchants—the Western Türk empire
ten sources leave no doubt on their physical appearance,
then found itself embroiled in the conflict between Persia
which was clearly mongoloid. No text in the Hun language
and Byzantium. Persian attempts to stop silk from reaching
has been found; archaeological finds from Hun areas remain
Byzantium forced the Türk to go directly to Byzantium by
controversial. What is certain is that despite their impact on
a northern route. It was for this reason that embassies were
the formation of Europe, the Huns never attained the power
first exchanged between Türk and Byzantium, opening up
of the great Inner Asian states such as those of the Türks or
entire new horizons for Romans as well as for the Chinese.
the Mongols.
The first Türk embassy, headed by a Sogdian named
Maniakh, reached the court of Justin II (r. 565–578) in 567.
Xianbei and Ruanruan. As already mentioned, the
The Türk embassy remained in Constantinople, then part
Northern Xiong-nu state was replaced around 155 CE by that
returned to the Türk with the Byzantine ambassador Ze-
of the Xianbei, who probably spoke a Mongol language.
markhos. A later Greek ambassador arrived at a Türk camp
Through this victory, the Xianbei became the dominant trib-
at the death of the ruler and witnessed the funeral rites,
al confederacy on the Mongolian steppe. With other nomad-
which included laceration of the faces of the mourners and
ic peoples, including the Southern Xiong-nu and the Wuh-
the sacrifice of horses and servants. The Western Türk em-
uan, they continued attacks on China but were repulsed,
pire disintegrated around 659.
particularly by the famous Chinese general Cao Cao. When
the Xianbei first appeared, during the Wang Mang interreg-
The Eastern Türk empire, in a semipermanent state of
num (9–23 CE), they had no supreme ruler; unified leader-
war with China and plagued by internal dissension, was fi-
ship is not ascribed to them until just before their defeat of
nally defeated in 630. Chinese rule then lasted until 682
the Xiong-nu. Oral tradition embellished this first leader,
when the Türk revolted and again seized power, forming a
Tanshihuai (d. between 178 and 183), with a “miraculous
second Türk empire that was overthrown in 743 by the re-
birth,” heroic qualities, and the wisdom to be a chief, yet the
volt of three Turkic tribes: the Basmil, the Karluk, and the
Xianbei failed to create a lasting empire in this fragmented
Uighur. It was from the period of the second Türk empire
period of steppe history.
that the first indigenous texts from Inner Asia—as stated
From approximately 400 to 550 a new power emerged
above, written in a Turkic language—have been found. The
on the Mongolian steppe: the Ruanruan (or Jou-jan). Their
most famous of these are funeral-stela inscriptions written in
origins are uncertain but future research may clarify their re-
a runiclike alphabet found in the area of the Orkhon River
lation to the Hua and to the Avars who appeared in Europe
and dedicated to the Türk ruler, Bilge Kaghan (r. 716–734),
in the fifth century. According to a widely accepted but yet
his brother Kül Tegin, and the prime minister Tonyuquq.
unproven theory, the Ruanruan in the east are identified
These texts give not only a history of the Türk people but
with the Avars in the west. Personal names, as given in Chi-
also provide valuable insight into Türk society and customs,
nese, do not appear to be either Turkic or Mongol, but it
including their belief in tengri (“heaven, sky”), in the sacred
is with the Ruanruan that the title kaghan is first used for
mountain of Ötükän, and in the erection of balbal (stone pil-
the ruler. In 546 the last ruler, A-na-kui, was approached by
lars) on the tomb of a warrior inscribed with the name of an
a man named Bumin (Tumen), whom he called a blacksmith
enemy he had killed. Chinese sources recorded three Türk
slave, and who had the audacity to request the hand of one
legends of origin quite different from one another: the child
of A-na-kui’s daughters. He was rudely refused—so the story
raised by a wolf, the child born of the spirit of wind and rain,
goes—whereupon Bumin and his followers revolted, over-
the child born of the spirit of the lake. Such a multiplicity
threw the Ruanruan, and established their own Türk empire.
of ancestral traditions would suggest that the Türk empire
was most likely a confederation of tribes of diverse origin.
Türk. The appearance of the Türk—the first Inner
Asian people whose language is known and the first also to
Avars, Khazars, and Bulgars. The Greek historian
use with certainty a Turkic idiom—marks a turning point
Priscus wrote of a migration of peoples taking place from 461
in the history of the steppe. According to Chinese sources
to 465 on the south Russian steppe. An embassy from the
they were metallurgists employed by the Ruanruan, but it is
Oghur, Onoghur, and Saroghur had arrived in Byzantium,
not clear whether the revolt led by Bumin (d. 552) was social
reporting that they had been pushed by the Sabir, who in
in character or a minority uprising. After Bumin’s death the
turn were being displaced by a people in Central Asia called
empire split, one group, led by his son, establishing itself on
Avar. For almost a century there was no news of them, but
the Mongolian steppe, while the other group, under the lead-
in 558 the Avars, now in the Caucasus, sent an embassy to
ership of his brother Ishtemi, ruled over the more western
the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) requesting
part of the empire. They encountered the Ephthalites (or
land in exchange for military protection. Fleeing from the
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4492
INNER ASIAN RELIGIONS
Western Türk, the Avars were given asylum in the Byzantine
been propagated in China by the Sogdians. A description of
Empire by Justin II, an act that infuriated the Türk, who
his conversion appears on the trilingual inscription (in Ui-
considered the Avars their own, fugitive subjects. It is a well-
ghur, Sogdian, and Chinese) of Karabalghasun, the Uighur
documented Inner Asian concept that ruling tribes owned
capital city. When Mouyu returned home he took
the peoples whom they had conquered. Settled in the Carpa-
Manichaean priests with him and made Manichaeism the
thian Basin, the Avars remained there for some two and a
state religion. Thus, the Uighurs became the first Inner Asian
half centuries, becoming an effective wedge between the
people to adopt an institutionalized, major religion. Many
northern and southern Slavs. When they had arrived in the
Uighurs disliked the influence gained by Sogdians in Uighur
Carpathian Basin, the Avars found two Germanic tribes, the
affairs and an anti-Sogdian faction, led by the uncle of
Gepids, whom they destroyed, and the Lombards, who fled
Mouyu, revolted and killed the kaghan and his family. There
and settled in northern Italy. The Avars also menaced the By-
followed a succession of rulers embroiled in family intrigues,
zantines and the Franks. In 626 the Avars and the Persians
plagued by assassinations and suicide. Even so, Sogdian and
jointly attacked Constantinople and were defeated only
Manichaean influence remained in a kingdom dominated by
when the Byzantine forces destroyed the Persian fleet as it
Buddhism. An Arab traveler, Tam¯ım ibn Bah:r, visited Kara-
attempted to cross the Bosphorus.
balghasun in 821 and left an account of what he saw. Of par-
ticular interest are his remarks about the flourishing town of
Meanwhile, the south Russian steppe continued to be
Karabalghasun and other small settlements, located in richly
a place of turmoil. The Turkic-speaking Khazars became in-
cultivated areas. The picture he draws contradicts the stereo-
creasingly powerful with the weakening of the western Türk,
typed image of the incompatibility of Inner Asian civilization
and by the mid-seventh century achieved independence.
and urban development. In 840 the Uighurs were attacked
Christian and Islamic missionaries had already had some in-
by a new Turkic power, the Kirghiz, who lived north and
fluence among the Khazars, but in 740 the Khazar ruler and
west of the great Mongolian steppe.
his entourage adopted Judaism. Not an empire bent on con-
quest, but practicing a settled, mixed economy based on cat-
Not absorbed into the new ruling Kirghiz confederacy,
tle breeding, agriculture, and trade, the Khazars nevertheless
the Uighurs moved. Some went to China, settling in today’s
caused some movement on the steppe and prevented Arab
Gansu province, where some of their descendants can still
and Islamic penetration into eastern Europe. Pushed by the
be found; the majority moved to the Tarim Basin and creat-
Khazars, the Bulgars (a Turkic-speaking people who had
ed a new state centered on the city of Kocho (850–1250),
lived on the Pontic steppe from the late fifth century) split
where a sophisticated, multilingual, and multiethnic civiliza-
around 680. One group, moving north to the Volga-Kama
tion developed. A cultured leisure class in the refined society
region, was, in 921, visited by an Arab embassy described by
supported Buddhism, Manichaeism, the arts and letters, and
one of its members, Ibn Fad:la¯n, who left an invaluable ac-
lavish entertainments. Here, the Uighurs adopted a com-
count of both the Khazars and the Volga Bulgars. A Chris-
pletely sedentarized life based on agriculture supported by
tian Bulgar prince, Kovrat, and his son Asparukh led other
extensive irrigation works. As Kocho was a main stop on the
Bulgar tribes, mostly Turkic, to the lower Danube region
east-west trade route, economic prosperity played a major
where Asparukh created a Bulgar state between 679 and 681.
role in the growth of Uighur civilization. When the Kitans,
Some of the Bulgars settled with the Avars in the Carpathian
a Mongol people who overthrew the Kirghiz in 924, offered
Basin, but the formation of this Bulgar buffer state between
to let the Uighurs return to their former steppe lands, the
Uighurs declined to move, preferring their life in Kocho. In
the Avars and Byzantium effectively ended Avar-Byzantine
1250, the kingdom of Kocho voluntarily submitted to the
relations by 678. As a result, the Avars led a reasonably quiet
Mongols. Uighur script was adopted by the Mongols and
life for over a century until they were attacked and greatly
many Uighur scribes became skilled administrators for the
weakened (although not defeated) in 791, 795–796, and 803
Mongols. The famous German Turfan expeditions of 1902–
by Charlemagne. The Avars slowly disappeared over the next
1903, 1904–1905, and 1905–1907, led by A. Grünwedel
eighty years until Hungarian (Magyar) tribes filled the vacu-
and Albert von Le Coq, unearthed from the dry sands of the
um and maintained the non-Slavic wedge in central Europe.
Tarim Basin the glories of the kingdom of Kocho: unparal-
Uighurs. The final blow to the Türk empire was deliv-
leled art treasures including Manichaean and Buddhist fres-
ered by the Uighurs who, as we have seen, had been a part
coes and manuscripts in many languages, illuminating the
of the Türk confederacy. Their language was basically the
splendor of Uighur civilization.
same as that of the Türk, with some of their texts written in
Mongols. The rise of Mongol power and the domina-
runic script and some in a script borrowed from the Sogdi-
tion of the Chinggisid states brought unification to Inner
ans, one that would become a major script used in Inner
Asia in a way that had not existed since prehistoric times.
Asia. Unlike the Türk, whom they overthrew in 743, the Ui-
ghurs often allied themselves with China; thus, during the
Central Asia before the Mongol conquest. Arab penetra-
reign of Mouyu the Uighurs helped China to quell the An
tion into Central Asia began in 652 and culminated in the
Lushan rebellion (755–757). When Mouyu visited Luoyang
Battle of Talas (751), thus permitting the spread of Islam
in 762–763, he was converted to Manichaeism, which had
into Central Asia. Wars with the Uighurs had forced the Kar-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INNER ASIAN RELIGIONS
4493
luk west and in 999 they seized Bukhara, an act that brought
famous Mongol generals Jebe and Sübetei had spilled into
strong Turkic influence to the region. Farther to the west on
Georgia, across the Caucasus, and into Russian territory,
the steppe north of the Black and Caspian seas lived the
where the Russian forces and their Cuman allies were defeat-
Turkic tribes of the Kipchaks (known also as Cumans or
ed in the Battle of Kalka in the late spring of 1223. The
Polovtsy), whose move to these regions is shrouded in mys-
Mongols advanced as far as the city of Bulgar where they
tery. To the south of them, the Oghuz tribes—mentioned
were turned back at the very end of the year 1223. With the
in the Orkhon inscriptions—were steadily moving west-
death of Chinggis, the Mongol empire was to be divided
ward, into Anatolia, where they were to form the basis of the
among his four sons. But the eldest son, Jochi, predeceased
Ottoman state.
Chinggis and his appanage of the westernmost Mongols, the
so-called Golden Horde, went to his son, Chinggis’s grand-
The rise of Inner Asian powers in Manchuria. A mixture
of forests rich in game, agricultural land made fertile by
son, Batu. Of the remaining sons, C
ˇ agadai’s domains were
abundant rainfall, and pastures suitable for horse and cattle
in Central Asia, Tolui remained on the homeland, and
breeding determined the basic economy of Manchuria. The
Ögedei was elected great khan in 1229.
settled way of life also made pig raising an important feature
The Mongols in Europe. Defeating Bulgar in the winter
of all Manchurian civilizations. In the fourth century, the
of 1237–1238, the Mongols then swept into eastern and cen-
Mongol-speaking Kitan began to gain dominance in the re-
tral Europe with a great offensive begun in the winter of
gion, entering into relations with China in 468, but by the
1239–1240: Kiev fell on December 6, 1240, German forces
sixth century, they came under Türk domination. A new
were defeated at the Battle of Liegnitz on April 9, 1241, and
Kitan rise to power was signaled by their attack and defeat
the Hungarian army fell two days later. Suddenly, in 1242,
of the Kirghiz ruling over the Mongolian steppe in 924; they
the Mongols withdrew from Europe and returned to the rich
then expanded their rule over North China, adopting the
pastures of the south Russian steppe. All of Europe now ac-
Chinese dynastic title of Liao (927–1125). In 1125 Kitan
cepted the Mongol threat as real, however, an attitude that
domination was replaced by that of the Jurchen, a Tunguz-
opened a period of rapprochement in Mongol-Western rela-
speaking Manchurian people who had been Kitan subjects.
tions, begun by Pope Innocent IV (r. 1234–1254) at the
The Jurchen assumed the Chinese dynastic title of Chin
Council of Lyons (June 1245). Three groups of papal emis-
(1125–1234) and maintained their rule over northern China
saries were sent to the Mongols: the Dominican Ascelinus,
until the Mongol conquest. When the Jurchen moved into
the Dominican Andrew of Longjumeau, and the Franciscan
North China, some Kitan tribes, with the permission of the
Giovanni da Pian del Carpini, who brought back the first ex-
Uighurs, moved west across the Tarim Basin through the
tensive accounts of the Mongols, as did the later Franciscan
kingdom of Kocho to Central Asia, where a third Kitan state
missionary William of Rubrouck, who journeyed to the
was founded (after those of Manchuria and China), that of
Mongols from 1253 to 1255.
the Karakitai (Black Kitan or Kitai) centered at Bala-sagun
in the Chu River valley.
The Golden Horde and the Il-khanids. With Batu’s
death in 1256, his brother Berke (r. 1257–1267) became
Chinggis Khan and the Mongol conquest. Between Cen-
ruler of the Golden Horde. He converted to Islam, thus plac-
tral Asia and Manchuria, two major mongolized Turkic
ing the Golden Horde at odds with the Il-khanids of Persia.
tribes, the Naiman and the Kereit, were vying for power in
The Il-khanids came to power under Hülegü, who sacked
the eleventh century. Both tribes had been strongly influ-
Baghdad in 1258 and ended the Abbasid caliphate. The
enced by Nestorianism; the conversion of the Kereit around
Mamluk sultan Baybars (r. 1259–1277), powerful foe of the
1000 was related by the Syriac chronicler Bar Hebraeus (fl.
Crusaders but also of the Mongols, defeated the Il-khanid
thirteenth century). The first united Mongol kingdom ended
forces in the Battle of Ain Jalut (1259), thereby stopping the
in the late eleventh century, followed by a period of interne-
Mongol conquest of the Arab world. During the reign of the
cine warfare between Mongol tribes and against the neigh-
Il-khan Arghun (r. 1284–1291), Buddhism was declared the
boring Tatar tribes. It was not until Chinggis (known as Te-
state religion and close contact was maintained with Europe,
müjin before he was elected khan) had defeated all of his
particularly with the Vatican and the kings of France and En-
rivals that a new and powerful Mongol state emerged. These
gland. Under severe economic pressure, Il-khanid Persia de-
events, chronicled in The Secret History of the Mongols (mid-
clined and religious tension forced Gazan (r. 1295–1304) to
thirteenth century), were only the first shadows of what was
proclaim Islam the official religion. With the death of Abu
to come as the Mongol empire spread over the Eurasian con-
SaE¯ıd in 1335, Il-khanid Persia fragmented. Meanwhile, the
tinent.
power of the Golden Horde reached its apogee under Özbeg
Chinggis, angered by the Naiman leader Küchlüg, who
(r. 1313–1341), but attempts to expand its territory brought
had defeated the Karakitai in Central Asia, began the great
it into military conflict with ambitious Muscovite princes
push west, defeating the Naiman in 1218, and then led a pu-
and the great military leader Timur (Tamarlane; 1336–
nitive campaign against Khorezm aimed at avenging the
1405) in Central Asia. Finally, the Golden Horde split into
murder of Mongol envoys. Before Chinggis’s death in 1227,
three successor states: the khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and
Central Asia had been devastated, and the campaigns of the
the Crimea.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4494
INNOCENT I
The Mongols in China. It was Khubilai (r. 1260–1294),
excellent introduction plus ample illustrations both in black
the last great Mongol khan, who brought China under Mon-
and white and in color. The best book on the epic in Inner
gol rule (the Yuan dynasty, 1264–1368). With the extended
Asia is Nora K. Chadwick and Victor Zhirmunsky’s Oral
visit of Marco Polo to Khubilai’s court (1271–1292) the first
Epics of Central Asia (Cambridge, U.K. 1969), but it con-
reliable information about China came to the West. After the
cerns only the Turkic-speaking peoples.
death of Khubilai, Mongol rule in China began to weaken
For a discussion of the early Arab penetration into Inner Asia,
until they were overthrown in 1368 by the Chinese. What
which opened the region to Islam, H. A. R. Gibb’s The Arab
remained of Mongol power returned to the steppe where the
Conquests in Central Asia (London, 1923) remains a useful
account. In a similar vein, Owen Lattimore’s The Inner Asian
western Mongols (Oirats, Dzungars, Kalmuks) became a fac-
Frontiers of China (New York, 1940) and Studies in Frontier
tor in Central Asia, with two successive Oirat states menac-
History: Collected Papers 1928–1958 (Oxford, 1962) are
ing the territory between the western Mongolian steppe and
unique in that much of Lattimore’s life has been spent in the
the Caspian Sea from the mid-fifteenth century until their
region.
final defeat in 1758 at the hands of the Chinese.
The most extensive portrayal of the life of the Scythians can be
With the decline of the Mongol empire, the patterns of
found in Ellis H. Minn’s Scythians and Greeks: A Survey of
Inner Asian civilization were well established. The develop-
Ancient History and Archeology on the North Coast of the Eux-
ment of firearms eliminated the advantages of the Inner
ine from the Danube to the Caucasus (Cambridge, U.K.
Asian warrior: the economic structure of Inner Asia could
1913). The most detailed account of the Huns is J. Otto
Maenchen-Helfen’s The World of the Huns: Studies in Their
not technologically advance. The change from land routes
History and Culture, edited by Max Knight (Berkeley, 1973).
to sea routes considerably diminished Inner Asia’s role as an
Annemarie von Gabain’s work on the Uighur kingdom of
intermediary between east and west. Even though the last
Kocho, Das Leben im uigurischen Königreich von Qoˇco: 850–
Chinese dynasty, the Qing (1644–1911) was Manchu,
1250, in “Veröffentlichungen der Societas Uralo-Altaica,”
founded by Tunguz-speaking peoples from Manchuria, it
vol. 6 (Wiesbaden, 1973), is unparalleled.
rapidly became sinicized, losing much of its Inner Asian
For the Mongols there is an abundance of material. René Grous-
character at a very early date. The simultaneous penetration
set’s Conqueror of the World, translated by Denis Sinor in col-
by Russia and China had profoundly changed the structure
laboration with Marian MacKellar (Edinburgh, 1967), is the
of Inner Asian civilization. The history of these later periods,
best book on the life of Chinggis. For the Mongol Il-khans
not typically Inner Asian, does not shed light on what made
and the Golden Horde, Bertold Spuler’s The Muslim World:
the civilization of Central Eurasia unique.
A Historical Survey, vol. 2, The Mongol Period (Leiden,
1960); Die Goldene Horde: Die Mongolen in Russland, 1223–
SEE ALSO Buddhism, article on Buddhism in Central Asia;
1502, 2d ed. (Wiesbaden, 1965); and Die Mongolen in Iran
Chinggis Khan; Hun Religion; Hungarian Religion; Islam,
(Leipzig, 1939) are by far the most useful in this complex pe-
article on Islam in Central Asia; Manichaeism, overview ar-
riod of Mongol history.
ticle; Missions, article on Buddhist Missions; Mongol Reli-
New Sources
gions; Nestorian Church; Prehistoric Religions, article on
Dani, Ahmad Hasan, V. M. Masson, J. Harmatta, B. A. Lit-
The Eurasian Steppes and Inner Asia; Sarmatian Religion;
vinovskii, and Clifford Bosworth. History of Civilizations of
Scythian Religion; Tengri; Turkic Religions.
Central Asia. 4 vols. Paris, 1992–2000.
Elverskog, Johan. Uygur Buddhist Literature. Turnhout, Belgium,
B
1997.
IBLIOGRAPHY
The classic definition of Inner Asia can be found in Denis Sinor’s
Foltz, Richard. Religions of the Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cul-
“Central Eurasia,” in Orientalism and History, 2d rev. ed., ed-
tural Exchange from Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century. New
ited by Denis Sinor (Bloomington, Ind., 1970),
York, 1990.
pp. 93–119, and expanded in textbook form in his Inner
Frank, Andre. The Centrality of Central Asia. Amsterdam, 1992.
Asia: History, Civilization, Languages; A Syllabus (Blooming-
Heissig, Walther. The Religions of Mongolia. Translated by Geof-
ton, Ind., 1969). Sinor’s Introduction à l’étude de l’Eurasie
frey Samuel. London, 1980.
Centrale (Wiesbaden, 1963) is the basic bibliographic work
for the study of Inner Asia and is invaluable for the author’s
Klimkeit, Hans-Joachim. Gnosis on the Silk Road: Gnostic Parables,
opinion on research in a field dominated by French, Ger-
Hymns & Prayers from Central Asia. San Francisco, 1999.
man, Russian, and Hungarian scholarship. Other histories of
Lieu, Samuel. Manichaeism in Central Asia and China. Leiden,
Inner Asia that can be consulted with profit include René
1998.
Grousset’s The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central
Sinor, Denis, ed. The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia. New
Asia, translated by Naomi Walford (New Brunswick, N.J.,
York, 1990.
1970); Wilhelm Barthold’s Turkestan down to the Mongol In-
vasion, 3d ed. (London, 1968); and the collection of essays
RUTH I. MESERVE (1987)
in the Handbuch der Orientalistik, vol. 5.5, Geschichte Mit-
Revised Bibliography
telasiens, under the general editorship of Bertold Spuler (Lei-
den, 1966).
For the art of Inner Asia, Karl Jettmar’s The Art of the Steppes,
INNOCENT I (r. 401–417) was a bishop of Rome.
translated by Ann E. Keep (New York, 1967), provides an
Nothing is known about Innocent’s early life save the fact
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INNOCENT III
4495
that, according to Jerome, he was the son of his predecessor,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anastasius I (r. 399–401). His episcopacy took place during
Innocent I’s letters can be found in J.-P. Migne’s Patrologia La-
the period of Rome’s decline and witnessed some important
tina, vol. 20, Epistolae et decreta (Paris, 1845), cols. 457–637.
events, namely, the displacement of Milan by Ravenna as the
Not all are genuine; see Eligius Dekkers’s Clavis Patrum Lati-
seat of imperial administration in the West (c. 404) and the
norum (Bruges, 1961), vol. 1, no. 1641. Only the letter to
sack of Rome in 410 by Alaric the Goth. Only thirty-five of
Decentius exists in a good critical edition, with commentary:
La lettre du pape Innocent Premier à Décentius de Gubbio, 19
Innocent’s letters survive, in a variety of sources. A few are
mars 416, edited and translated by Robert Cabié (Louvain,
short administrative documents, but others are more person-
1973). On the emergence of new papal claims and Inno-
al and reveal a vigorous personality with decided views. The
cent’s role in that development, see Myron Wojtowytsch’s
severe proscriptions against heretics issued at Rome in 407
Papsttum und Konzile von den Anfängen bis zu Leo I, 440–
by the emperor Flavius Honorius and later incorporated into
461: Studien zur Entstehung der Überordnung des Papstes über
book 16 of the Theodosian Code were probably inspired by
Konzile (Stuttgart, 1981), especially pages 205–264. Woj-
Innocent.
towytsch (p. 205, n. 1) stresses that a new study of Innocent
I is needed, although Erich Caspar’s chapter on Innocent in
In ecclesiastical matters Innocent took a strong stand
his Geschichte des Papsttums, vol. 1, Römische Kirche und Im-
with regard to the prerogatives of his see, which he viewed
perium Romanum (Tübingen, 1930), pp. 296–343, still re-
as the ultimate court of appeal in all important ecclesiastical
mains important. Gerald Bonner’s review of Wojtowytsch’s
cases, claiming Roman supremacy over church councils and
Papsttum und Konzile in the Journal of Ecclesiastical History
church courts. Through his letter to Decentius, bishop of
34 (July 1983): 451–453 suggests some added reasons for the
Gubbio, Innocent was the first pope to voice such a claim
fourth-century shifts in papal attitudes.
of dominion in the realm of liturgy as well. The church at
For Jerome’s letter identifying Anastasius I as Innocent’s father,
Gubbio was considering using some liturgical rites (probably
see Epistle 130, sec. 16, of Isidor Hilberg’s edition in Corpus
deriving from Gaul) that deviated from Roman practice. In-
Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, vol. 56 (Vienna,
nocent asserted that Decentius should not depart from the
1918), p. 196.
Roman norm—an understandable attitude, because Gubbio
PAUL MEYVAERT (1987)
was a suffragan see—but went on to censure all other church-
es in the West (Spain, Gaul, Sicily, and Africa) for not fol-
lowing Roman usage. This stand of Innocent’s was without
precedent. The letter to Decentius remains a precious histor-
INNOCENT III (Lothar of Segni, 1160?–1216) was a
ical source on the Roman liturgy of this period.
pope of the Roman Catholic church (1198–1216). Innocent
Innocent’s letters to Victricius and Exsuperius, bishops
was the son of Trasimund of Segni, a count of Campagna,
of Rouen and Toulouse, deal with numerous points of eccle-
and Clarissa Scotti, daughter of a distinguished Roman fami-
siastical discipline. His statement (to Exsuperius) that marital
ly. He was educated first in Rome, possibly at the Schola
relations are forbidden to married men from the time of their
Cantorum; then in Paris, where he studied theology; and fi-
ordination may indicate that his own birth occurred early in
nally in Bologna, where he probably studied law for a short
the career of his father, Anastasius I. Other groups of letters
time. Clement III elevated him to the cardinal diaconate of
show Innocent’s involvement with events in Africa and the
Saints Sergius and Bacchus in 1190. Before becoming pope,
East. His correspondence with the bishops of Africa deals
Innocent was active in the Curia Romana and took part in
with the Pelagian controversy; five bishops, including Augus-
a number of legal cases as an auditor. As cardinal, he wrote
tine, had appealed to Innocent for a condemnation. He de-
three theological tracts, De miseria humane conditionis (Mis-
nounced the error but did not contest the decision of the Pal-
ery of the human condition), De missarum misteriis (Myster-
estinian bishops, who had pardoned Pelagius. In the East,
ies of the Mass), and De quadripartita specie nuptiarum (Four
Innocent intervened as a supporter of John Chrysostom, the
typologies of marriage), in addition to sermons. De missarum
persecuted and exiled bishop of Constantinople, and of Je-
misteriis and De miseria humane conditionis enjoyed enor-
rome in his struggle with John, bishop of Jerusalem. Inno-
mous popularity until the sixteenth century. Innocent was
cent also brought the churches of eastern Illyria, which had
not a profound theological thinker. His thought was deriva-
been part of the Eastern Empire since 388, back into West-
tive and conventional, even a little old-fashioned.
ern jurisdiction.
When Innocent became pope in January 1198, the po-
The principles and precedents established by Innocent
litical situation in Italy and the German empire was very un-
became the foundation for many of the claims later made by
stable. Emperor Henry VI had died in 1197 after subjecting
the medieval papacy. Innocent’s policies reflect both his own
most of the Italian peninsula to imperial authority. He left
strong personality and the ecclesio-political situation of the
a young son, the future Frederick II, and two rival claimants
time, when the ascendancy of a new Rome at Constantino-
for the imperial throne, his brother, Philip of Hohenstaufen,
ple, and the decline of the old Rome, helpless before Alaric,
and Otto of Brunswick. Innocent skillfully extracted prom-
invited the consolidation and assertion of power by the in-
ises from both candidates that they would respect the integri-
cumbents of the see of Peter, the only apostolic see in the
ty of the papal states. He regained control over the city of
West.
Rome and gradually reasserted papal hegemony over the Pat-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4496
INNOCENT III
rimony of Saint Peter. Although he eventually turned to
In 1218 he summoned another crusade, for which he
Henry VI’s young son Frederick in 1212, Innocent used the
made final arrangements at the Fourth Lateran Council
rivalry of Philip and Otto to establish the pope’s right to
(1215). Although he died before the Fifth Crusade (1217–
judge a disputed imperial election in an important decretal,
1221) departed, it bore his imprint. Financed by the church
Venerabilem. He also indicated the importance of imperial
and directed by the papacy, this crusade was a more sophisti-
affairs for the church by entering many letters, papal and sec-
cated attempt to elaborate the policies Innocent had con-
ular, in a special register, the Regestum super negotio imperii.
ceived in 1198. It was the last attempt of the papacy to orga-
nize a crusade without strong secular leadership.
Lack of imperial leadership during his pontificate per-
mitted Innocent to strengthen papal prerogatives outside the
Innocent also turned his attention to the proliferation
papal states and inside the church. He received the kingdom
of heretics, especially in the papal states. In 1199 he issued
of Sicily as a fief and was regent to young Frederick. In the
Vergentis, which decreed that condemned heretics should be
Roman church he reorganized the Curia and managed the
dispossessed of their lands because heresy is treason. In effect,
complex administrative and judicial affairs with consummate
he defined the church as a state that the heretics had be-
skill. He developed a new vision of papal monarchy, using
trayed. This new conception of heresy led to his calling a cru-
earlier traditions, but with a powerful change of emphasis.
sade against the heretics of southern France, the Albigensian
An ingenious biblical exegete who cleverly used the Bible to
crusade (1208–1229). An army was gathered together under
support his vision of papal monarchy, he exalted the pope
the leadership of a papal legate, Arnold Amalric, and at a
and his authority within the church as no earlier pope had
heavy cost in lives the crusade was successful in extirpating
done, and also attempted to mediate the affairs of secular rul-
heresy in Languedoc.
ers. He extolled the pope’s status as Vicar of Christ, placing
PASTORAL CARE AND REFORM. Innocent exalted the author-
him above man but below God. The pope exercised divine
ity of the pope but also had a profound understanding of his
authority granted by Christ only to him and held fullness of
pastoral duties. His ability to balance power and solicitude
power (plenitudo potestatis) within the church.
marks him as the greatest pope of the Middle Ages. In No-
vember 1215, some 412 bishops convened in Rome to take
Innocent formulated most of his ideas about ecclesiasti-
part in the Fourth Lateran Council. The council’s seventy-
cal government early in his pontificate. His theories had
one canons reflect Innocent’s concerns. Heresy and the cru-
practical consequences of strengthening the judicial hierar-
sade were important items on the agenda—canon 8 estab-
chy of the church, underlining the pope’s position of su-
lished the foundations for the Inquisition—but the canons
preme judge, and, at the same time, fundamentally destroy-
covered a wide range of other topics. Canon 18 forbade the
ing the last vestiges of the decentralized church of the early
participation of clerics in ordeals, which necessitated changes
Middle Ages. He demanded the subordination of the bishops
of judicial procedure in secular courts; canon 21 dictated that
to the pope and insisted that all episcopal translations, resig-
all Christians should confess their sins and receive Commu-
nations, and depositions fall entirely under papal jurisdic-
nion once a year; canon 50 changed the limits of consanguin-
tion. His anonymous biographer and other chroniclers drew
ity and affinity for marriage from seven to four degrees. In-
a picture of a pope with enormous capacity and skill in judi-
nocent also promulgated a number of canons regulating the
cial affairs, who frequently participated in the cases before
lives of the clergy and the administration of churches.
the papal court and enjoyed the exercise of authority.
The Fourth Lateran Council was the most important
During Innocent’s pontificate, law became a central
general council of the Middle Ages and provided a fitting end
concern of ecclesiastical government. He authenticated a col-
to Innocent’s pontificate. Its canons are a measure of Inno-
lection of his decisions and sent them to the law school in
cent’s strengths and serve as a guidepost for his policies. In-
Bologna in 1209–1210. This collection, the first officially
nocent may have, in the words of the thirteenth-century
promulgated code of canon law, signaled Innocent’s aware-
Franciscan Salimbene, involved the church too much in
ness that the papacy was an institution with many of the
worldly affairs, but he was a militant pastor and a great mon-
same concerns as secular states. He heard appeals from all
arch.
parts of Christendom, issued rulings on disputed points of
law, and established a professional cadre of trained men in
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rome to carry out his policies.
Ernest F. Jacob’s chapter on Innocent in the Cambridge Medieval
C
History, vol. 6, edited by J. R. Tanner et al. (1929; reprint,
RUSADES. Innocent called for a new, papally led crusade in
August 1198 and imposed a special tax on the clergy to sup-
Cambridge, U.K., 1957), pp. 1–43, though dated, is still
readable and full of insights. For a longer treatment, Helene
port it. Although the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) lacked
Tillmann’s Pope Innocent III (1954), translated by Walter
strong leadership and sufficient money, Constantinople, cap-
Sax from the German (New York, 1980), is sympathetic but
ital of the Byzantine Empire, was successfully assaulted in
not uncritical, and sprinkled with keen observations. Chris-
1204. Innocent hoped that the conquest of Constantinople
topher R. Cheney’s Pope Innocent III and England, “Päpste
would result in the reunification of the Latin and Greek
und Papsttum,” vol. 9 (Stuttgart, 1976), is a brilliant study,
churches, but his hopes were in vain.
the sum of a lifetime’s work, and broader than its title might
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INNOKENTII VENIAMINOV
4497
indicate. Three German scholars have recently discussed In-
sionary service, he returned to Russia to oversee the printing
nocent’s thought and policies: Helmut Roscher’s Papst Inno-
of his Aleutian translations. When his wife died, he entered
cenz III. und die Kreuzzüge (Göttingen, 1969) examines all
the monastic ranks, taking the name Innokentii. He was then
aspects of Innocent’s crusades; Manfred Laufs’s Politik und
made bishop of the newly created Diocese of North America
Recht bei Innocenz III. (Cologne, 1980) describes the dispute
and Kamchatka (1840).
between Philip of Hohenstaufen and Otto of Brunswick, and
Innocent’s handling of this complex problem; Wilhelm Im-
Innokentii returned to Sitka in 1841, but was not con-
kamp’s Das Kirchenbild Innocenz’ III., 1198–1216, “Päpste
tent to direct affairs from his episcopal residence. He traveled
und Papsttum,” vol. 22 (Stuttgart, 1983), explores the theo-
widely over his scattered diocese, visiting areas that had rarely
logical basis of Innocent’s ecclesiology. Brian Tierney gives
seen a priest. He changed his episcopal residence three times
a masterful analysis of Innocent’s ideas on the relationship
to be on the front line of the missionary expansion of his dio-
of church and state in “‘Tria quippe distinquit iudi-
cia. . . .’: A Note on Innocent III’s Decretal Per venera-
cese. As the result of his efforts, the synod enlarged his dio-
bilem,” Speculum 37 (1962): 48–59. Innocent’s vision of
cese and elevated him to archbishop in 1850.
papal monarchy is studied in my book Pope and Bishops: The
Papal Monarchy in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries
In 1868, at the age when he normally would have re-
(Philadelphia, 1984). Editions of Innocent’s works cited at
tired to a monastery, Innokentii was elected primate of the
the beginning of the article can be found in Cheney and
Russian church. This honor was truly a crown to his life’s
Imkamp.
work, as it enabled him to submit new plans and to press for
reforms in the Orthodox church. The most far-reaching
KENNETH PENNINGTON (1987)
project was the establishment of the Orthodox Missionary
Society (1870), which put Russian missionary activity on a
sound financial footing for the first time. The society was an
INNOKENTII VENIAMINOV (John Popov
attempt to mobilize the whole church by the formation of
Veniaminov, 1797–1879), known in English as Innocent,
local diocesan committees, and its work continued into the
was a Russian Orthodox missionary to Alaska, bishop of Si-
twentieth century.
beria and Alaska, and metropolitan of Moscow. Born into
Innokentii’s influence extended beyond his own dio-
a poor clerical family in the village of Anga, near Irkutsk
ceses. He encouraged Nikolai Kasatkin, Orthodox chaplain
(south-central Siberia), John Popov received his early educa-
to the Russian consulate in Hakodate, Japan, to learn Japa-
tion from his father, the church sacristan. From 1806 to
nese. Kasatkin credited Innokentii’s advice and example as
1818 he attended the seminary in Irkutsk, where he was an
part of the impetus that resulted in the establishment of the
outstanding student. During this period, his surname was
Japanese Orthodox church. Innokentii worked toward the
changed to Veniaminov.
establishment of an independent Diocese of North America
After his marriage, Veniaminov served as a priest in Ir-
with the episcopal see to be located in either San Francisco
kutsk. When the Russian-American Company called for vol-
or New York. He was canonized on October 6, 1977, by the
unteers to serve as missionary priests, he at first refused, but
Holy Synod of the Church of Russia and honored with the
changed his mind after hearing of the zeal of the Aleuts for
title Evangelizer of the Aleuts and Apostle to America.
the Christian message. In 1823 he set out with his wife, son,
brother, and mother for the fourteen-month journey to Un-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
alaska in the Aleutian chain. His first task there was to build
his own house and a church.
Innokentii’s writings and a biography are available in seven vol-
umes in Innokentii Mitropolit Moskovskii i Kolomenskii,
Veniaminov studied the Aleutian language, creating an
Tvoreniia (Writings) and Pis Dma (Letters), edited by I. P.
alphabet and teaching the Aleuts to read and write. One of
Barsukov (Moscow, 1883–1888; Saint Petersburg, 1897–
the books he wrote in Aleut, A Guide to the Way to the Heav-
1901). The only full-length biography in English is Paul D.
enly Kingdom, was translated into Russian and went through
Garrett’s Saint Innocent, Apostle to America (Crestwood,
forty-six editions. Veniaminov was also an outstanding scien-
N.Y., 1979). Valuable information is found in Josef Glazik’s
tist and anthropologist. A series of his articles, published in
Die russisch-orthodoxe Heidenmission seit Peter dem Grossen
(Münster, 1954), Hector Chevigny’s Russian America: The
Russia, aroused so much interest that they also were pub-
Great Alaskan Venture, 1741–1867 (New York, 1965), and
lished in French and German journals. His three-volume
Gregory Afonsky’s A History of the Orthodox Church in Alas-
Notes on the Islands of the Unalaska District remains a basic
ka, 1794–1917 (Kodiak, Alaska, 1977). Two articles in Saint
reference work. Veniaminov’s main interest, however, was in
Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly refer to materials in the U.S.
the conversion of the Aleuts. His careful work in evangelism
Library of Congress: Vsevolod Rocheau’s “Innocent
and teaching left an established church.
Veniaminov and the Russian Mission to Alaska, 1820–
1840,” 15 (1971): 105–120; and Dmitry Grigorieff’s “Met-
After ten years in the Aleutians, Veniaminov was trans-
ropolitan Innocent: The Prophetic Missionary,” 21 (1977):
ferred to Sitka in southeast Alaska and commenced work
18–36; they are excellently researched introductions.
among the Tlingit, a tribe previously hostile to both Russian
culture and religion. Upon completing fourteen years of mis-
JAMES J. STAMOOLIS (1987)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4498
INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN THE OLD WORLD
INQUISITION, THE
were baptized Muslims, who outnumbered converted Jews
This entry consists of the following articles:
and Protestants combined.
THE INQUISITION IN THE OLD WORLD
MEDIEVAL INQUISITIONS: ORIGINS AND PROCEDURES. Un-
THE INQUISITION IN THE NEW WORLD
like Byzantium, the Latin church felt no need to develop any
special proceedings against heretics until the twelfth century.
INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN
Two separate but almost simultaneous developments created
THE OLD WORLD
the preconditions for a revived and intensified investigation
of religious dissenters. The first development was the great
The long history of the Inquisition divides easily into two
increase in heresy in several parts of western Europe. By the
major parts: its creation by the medieval papacy in the early
twelfth century, the Cathars appeared to form the most dan-
thirteenth century, and its transformation between 1478 and
gerous group. However, their political strength was broken
1542 into permanent governmental bureaucracies—the
after 1209 by a new type of crusade, directed against internal
Spanish, Portuguese, and Roman Inquisitions, all of which
rather than external enemies of the church. As Catharism was
endured into the nineteenth century. What unites both
gradually eliminated during the thirteenth century, it was re-
phases is the struggle of the Roman church to suppress vari-
placed by other, more widespread, forms of organized heresy,
ous forms of heresy, which ecclesiastical authorities believed
not imported from the East but indigenous. Consequently,
posed serious threats to proper worship in Christian commu-
defining and condemning heretical beliefs and practices oc-
nities. It is worth stressing that, for more than five centuries,
cupied much of the papacy’s attention at the time of the
the average European Christian approved of the activities of
third and fourth Lateran councils in 1179 and 1215.
the Inquisitions. Inquisitions had no coercive powers and de-
pended upon the cooperation of local people to denounce
Ever since the conversion of Constantine and the Chris-
heretics and upon local secular authorities to punish them.
tianization of the Roman Empire, heresy had been a punish-
Interestingly, the inquisitors never composed written justifi-
able crime. The primary responsibility for disciplining here-
cations for their activities because their basic purpose seemed
tics rested with the hundreds of bishops scattered across
self-evidently beneficial to good Christians. Until the mid-
Christian Europe, who had the authority to use the ancient
eighteenth century, inquisitors almost never encountered se-
Roman procedure of inquisitio, involving ex officio investiga-
rious opposition, except in rare situations where heretics ei-
tions. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, each bishop
ther formed a majority or were deeply embedded among the
had the right to name an inquisitor for his diocese or even
local ruling class. For example, in the sixteenth century the
perform the duty himself. The most famous medieval inquis-
Spanish Inquisition was perceived as an instrument of for-
itorial register, describing the elimination of the last Cathar
eign tyranny by both Catholic Neapolitans and heretical
heretics in the Pyrenean village of Montaillou, was kept by
Netherlanders; in both cases an ultimately successful “popu-
an early fourteenth-century French bishop who later became
lar” opposition was manipulated by local magnates.
pope. Subsequently, the trial of a famous German mystic,
Meister Eckhardt (1328), was begun by the archbishop of
Originally directed primarily against the Cathars of
Cologne, but it was later transferred to the papal court.
southern France, inquisitors spread to many other regions of
Moreover, although much inquisitorial history has been
continental Europe; only places that rarely used canon law,
written as though papally appointed inquisitors were the
such as the British Isles or Scandinavia, never had them.
only zealous pursuers of heretics in medieval Europe, the in-
After eliminating the Cathars, papally appointed inquisitors
quisitors were always less violent, and often less zealous, than
targeted primarily Waldensians, but they also investigated a
secular judges in dealing with heretics. The Albigensian Cru-
variety of other heretics, including the Spiritual Franciscans
sade, with its powerful (if apocryphal) slogan “Kill them all!
and the antinomian “Brethren of the Free Spirit” (who never
God will know his own!” offers vivid testimony of just how
existed as an organized sect) as their activities spread into
bloodthirsty ordinary Christians could be.
northern Italy, Germany, the Low Countries, Switzerland,
Bohemia, and northeastern Spain. After 1430, inquisitors in
However, the spread of heresy led the medieval papacy,
Switzerland and Germany further broadened their range of
whose power had increased steadily since the Investiture con-
activity by helping define and punish the newly defined of-
troversy, to substitute its own central authority for local epis-
fence of diabolical witchcraft (it was a “mixed” crime, pun-
copal inquisitions, especially during the pontificate of Inno-
ishable by either inquisitors or secular courts). Meanwhile,
cent III (1198–1216). Like most major medieval popes,
in a different kind of extension, King Ferdinand and Queen
Innocent had been trained in the relatively new discipline of
Isabella created the Spanish Inquisition to punish Jewish be-
canon law; it was a fateful coincidence that church law, based
havior among Spain’s large and influential communities of
largely on Roman precedents, developed simultaneously
converted Jews; a generation later, another state-run Inquisi-
with heresy in twelfth-century western Europe. With his de-
tion was created in Portugal for the same purpose. After 1520
cretal of 1199, Vergentis in senium, Innocent III took the cru-
the spread of Protestantism gave fresh business to inquisitors
cial step of combining heresy with the Roman-law doctrine
wherever the institution survived or was rebuilt, as in Italy.
of lèse-majesté, thereby accusing heretics of treason against
After 1540 the largest group of heretics arrested in Spain
God and enabling both ecclesiastical and secular authorities
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN THE OLD WORLD
4499
to apply the full force and procedure of Roman law against
Eymeric and the nineteenth century. Nearly always, inquisi-
them. In 1207, Innocent III also ordered that the houses of
torial procedure followed normal rules of canon law. The
convicted heretics be torn down and their property (like that
newly appointed inquisitor, normally assigned to a particular
of convicted traitors) confiscated: one part of the proceeds
region for a specified number of years, began with a sermon
went to the accuser, one part to the court, and the remainder
that urged his listeners to denounce suspected heretics and
was invested in building prisons. After the murder of a papal
announced a grace period, during which voluntary confes-
legate in 1208, Innocent III proclaimed the Albigensian cru-
sions that implicated fellow heretics would be accepted with-
sade, a twenty-year campaign that decisively tilted the long-
out legal consequences. Officially, repentance rather than
term trend of the Western Christian clergy away from per-
punishment of heretics remained the primary purpose of the
suasion of unbelievers in favor of coercion.
inquisitors: they wanted heretics to abjure their errors, accept
whatever penance was imposed upon them, and assist the In-
Besides the growth of heresy and canon law, one must
quisition. Hearings were held in private, but the penances
also consider the role of the new Dominican order, founded
were always pronounced in public, with all physical punish-
in 1220, before one can understand the thirteenth-century
ments carried out by local secular officials.
papal Inquisition. Saint Dominic did not intend to punish
heretics but to convert them—his order, founded in the old
Inquisitorial punishments emphasized shaming and hu-
Cathar capital of Toulouse, was (and is) named the Order
miliating heretics rather than killing them. No first offender
of Preachers. But the founder’s stress on proper theological
who confessed at any stage of the trial was executed; only ob-
training, together with the fact that the new order was direct-
durate heretics and repeat offenders were “relaxed to the sec-
ed by a minister-general responsible only to the pope, made
ular arm.” Most offenders were therefore punished with
the Dominicans uniquely valuable in Rome’s ongoing strug-
some mixture of monetary fines, whippings, and imprison-
gles against heresy, and they quickly became inquisitors as
ment (a sentence of “perpetual” imprisonment generally
well as preachers. In 1231, Gregory IX commissioned a Ger-
meant seven years and could be reduced for good behavior).
man Dominican monk as a judge-delegate under papal au-
Many penitents were also forced to wear special garments in
thority with orders to go anywhere he wished to preach and
public. Like secular courts under Roman law, inquisitors
also to “seek out diligently those who are heretics or reputed
could also condemn heretics who were already dead or ab-
as heretics.” Although medieval inquisitors included Francis-
sent, after which they might burn a skeleton or an effigy and
cans and other clerics, Dominicans dominate medieval in-
confiscate property from their heirs.
quisitorial history, from the diary-like notices of the early
Dominican Pelisso describing the activities of inquisitors at
Much ink has been shed, especially in Protestant coun-
Toulouse in the 1230s to the careers of Tomás de Torquema-
tries, about the legal iniquities of the Inquisition. However,
da and the German authors of the Malleus maleficarum in
in many ways it provided a fairer form of justice than most
the 1480s. It is certainly no accident that both major four-
secular courts or jury trials. Because inquisitors, unlike secu-
teenth-century codifiers of inquisitorial procedure, a French-
lar courts, were ultimately concerned with saving the soul of
man and a Catalan, were Dominicans.
the accused, their prisons were better run than secular jails
(clever prisoners tried to be transferred from secular to in-
Between 1230 and 1260, such legally trained popes as
quisitorial jurisdiction, but never the reverse). Inquisitors
Gregory IX and Innocent IV completed the process of trans-
discounted the truthfulness of confessions wrung out under
forming their delegated judges into papal inquisitors of he-
torture, and generally employed torture only against heretics
retical pravity. The process was piecemeal; no single papal
who had already been convicted in order to discover their as-
bull or other document provides an exact official date of
sociates and leaders. Although defendants had no right to
birth for the medieval papal Inquisition, but some bench-
choose their own lawyers, inquisitors provided prisoners
marks do emerge. Besides his commission to the German
ample opportunity to name and discredit all of their personal
Dominican prior, in 1231, Gregory IX also issued the decre-
enemies and provided a free “public defender” to avoid for-
tal Excommunicamus, clarifying that death was the appropri-
mal miscarriages of justice. In terms of procedure, inquisitors
ate punishment for unrepentant heretics. A short manual for
were unusual in only one significant respect: as their earliest
papally delegated inquisitors, produced at Toulouse around
guide of 1248–1949 insisted, “we do not deviate from estab-
1248 or 1249, outlined the correct procedures they should
lished legal procedure except that we do not make public the
follow, from their original appointment through the pronun-
names of witnesses.” They did this in order to protect the
ciation and implementation of final sentences against con-
well-being of their informers, employing a simpler and
victed heretics. In 1252, Innocent IV’s bull Ad extirpandum
cheaper method than the current witness-protection pro-
legalized the use of torture to detect heretics and compel con-
gram used in the contemporary United States. This famous
fessions, although inquisitors could not apply it themselves.
provision served the Inquisition well: for six hundred years,
there was no serious effort to change it.
The basic procedures of medieval inquisitors changed
relatively little between the short guide of 1248–1949 and
Another common misconception about both the medi-
the far more elaborate manual of Nicolas Eymeric a century
eval and modern Inquisitions is their role in the ugly record
and a quarter later, and they changed even less between
of European witchcraft. It is undeniable that fifteenth-
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4500
INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN THE OLD WORLD
century inquisitors in the Swiss and northern-Italian Alps
stitution that functioned identically in both Isabella’s Castile
contributed heavily to transferring the notion of a satanic
and Ferdinand’s Aragon. With few and insignificant excep-
conspiracy from secret nocturnal meetings of heretics to
tions, the papacy exercised no supervision or control over its
gatherings of old women who cast harmful spells on their
operations.
neighbors. Moreover, a German inquisitor produced the
Malleus maleficarum, Europe’s first and most famous practi-
The overall pattern of its activities falls into four stages.
cal guide to conducting a witch trial. However, theory is one
A bloodthirsty first half-century was directed almost exclu-
thing and practice is another. Even in the fifteenth century,
sively against Spain’s numerous and influential communities
most “witches” were executed by secular rather than inquisi-
of baptized Sephardic Jews (conversos). Incomplete records
torial courts. After 1530, fewer than fifty were executed by
suggest at least two thousand of them were burned, along
all Inquisitions combined, a tiny number compared with the
with an approximately equal number of cadavers and effigies
nearly forty thousand burned by Europe’s secular courts.
(one of Torquemada’s earliest rules insisted that “trials of the
Around 1615 the Spanish Inquisition, not usually consid-
living must never take precedence over trials of the dead”).
ered an example of “enlightened” justice, pioneered the skep-
Although the scale of its public slaughter of “Judaizers” was
tical investigation of material evidence and confessions of
unprecedented in the annals of the medieval Inquisition,
witchcraft.
such numbers appear small by modern standards; the num-
ber of Jews killed at Nazi gas chambers in one August day
THE “MODERN” INQUISITIONS: SPAIN, PORTUGAL, ROME.
of 1944 probably surpassed the number of officially Chris-
Two major limitations of the thirteenth-century inquisitorial
tian conversos executed by Spain’s Holy Office across three
system should be stressed. One was institutional: papally ap-
and a half centuries.
pointed inquisitors lacked any permanent organization or
central direction. The other limitation was geographical: in
Afterwards, between 1530 and 1630, the Spanish Inqui-
several parts of medieval Europe, including places with nu-
sition greatly extended the range of its investigations while
merous heretics, such as England or northern France, heresy
reducing its relative severity: about ten people were executed
cases were tried by secular rather than inquisitorial courts.
each year throughout the entire system. Spanish conversos
In its long history, the papally appointed Inquisition eventu-
now accounted for barely 10 percent of those arrested or exe-
ally managed to partially overcome the first difficulty, but it
cuted, while Protestants (mostly foreigners) and especially
never overcame the second. In fact, after the Protestant Ref-
Moriscos (baptized Muslims) comprised its principal heretical
ormation, the Inquisition’s sphere of activity shrank consid-
prisoners. The following century (1630–1730) saw a greatly
erably: a generation after a German Dominican inquisitor
reduced rate of activity—annual executions dropped from
gave Europe its first detailed guide for trying witches in
ten to two—and Judaizers, now principally immigrants from
1486, the Inquisition disappeared from the Holy Roman
Portugal, again became its primary victims, especially during
Empire and Bohemia after Martin Luther’s successful defi-
a final and little-explored surge of cruelty in the 1720s. In
ance of papal inquisitors. In 1539 a former inquisitor was
the final century of its activities, the Spanish Inquisition did
himself burned for heresy by a secular court at Toulouse, the
relatively little damage to anyone before Napoleon abolished
Inquisition’s original birthplace in southern France. After the
it in 1808; it was restored twice, once after Spanish liberals
mid-sixteenth century, the Inquisition’s history was essen-
abolished it in 1821.
tially reduced to Mediterranean Catholic Europe, south of
The range of the activities of the Spanish Inquisition
the Alps and Pyrenees, where it had been reshaped into three
from 1530 to 1630 is indeed remarkable. During this centu-
government-controlled permanent institutions—the Span-
ry every tribunal held regular autos de fe with a variety of pris-
ish, Portuguese, and Roman Inquisitions.
oners, and submitted annual reports to the Supreme Council
The oldest and most famous of the “big three” was the
(enabling historians to follow their activities with remarkable
Spanish Inquisition. Chartered by the papacy in 1478 at the
precision). Most of its forty thousand prisoners were ordi-
request of Spain’s “Catholic kings,” Ferdinand and Isabella,
nary Spaniards, often charged with blasphemy or infringing
in order to discipline and punish crypto-Jewish behavior
the requirements of the Council of Trent; the Holy Office
among their uniquely large and prominent population of
became the coercive arm of Spanish confessionalization.
conversos, or baptized Jews, the Spanish Inquisition held its
Many were charged with “mixed” crimes, like bigamy or
first auto-de-fe at Seville in 1480 and lasted until its third and
witchcraft, which could be tried in either royal or inquisitori-
final abolition in 1836. The most important departure sepa-
al courts. Men accused of homosexual or bestial “sodomy,”
rating Spain’s Holy Office from its medieval predecessors is
another “mixed” crime, which inquisitors judged in only
that its inquisitor-general (Torquemada was the first) was
three northeastern tribunals, accounted for 170 burnings, al-
named and paid by the king and merely approved by the
most as many as Protestantism or Islam. However, the Span-
pope. Since the inquisitor-general appointed all of his local
ish Inquisition executed only two dozen witches—a smaller
subordinates, the Spanish Inquisition became effectively a
number than those killed for “opposition to the correct and
branch of the royal government (in Spanish court protocol,
proper functioning of the Holy Office” (e.g., by murdering
the Supreme Council of the Inquisition occupied fifth place
its witnesses, reminding us again why their names were con-
in the hierarchy). The Inquisition was also the only royal in-
cealed). In a truly bizarre extension of inquisitorial logic, sev-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN THE OLD WORLD
4501
eral dozen prisoners were charged with heresy for smuggling
eighteenth century and suffered greatly from Napoleon; but
horses to French Protestants.
unlike them, it revived quickly and held jurisdictional power
The Spanish Inquisition developed extremely long
until the unification of Italy in 1861. The Roman Inquisi-
arms, both geographically and socially. During the reign of
tion continues to exist in toothless form, being renamed the
Philip II, it expanded to the Americas, establishing tribunals
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1965. Because
in Mexico City, Lima, and later Cartagena (Colombia). Al-
Italy remained politically divided until 1861, the Roman In-
though most subjects of the Aztec and Inca empires were
quisition was far more complicated than either Iberian
converted to Catholicism before the Inquisition was intro-
model. The Congregation of the Holy Office, a standing
duced, the Holy Office cannot be considered a form of “co-
committee of cardinals, often presided by the pope in person,
lonial” exploitation; Philip II had ruled that native Ameri-
regulated a network that eventually included forty-six tribu-
cans were not “reasonable people” (gente de razón) and thus
nals; a few of them (e.g., Malta) lay outside Italy, while large
not subject to the Inquisition, although mestizos and bap-
parts of modern Italy (e.g., the entire south plus Sicily and
tized African slaves were subject to it. Meanwhile, its reach
Sardinia) avoided it. Within Italy, the Inquisition resembled
in Spain was boundless; almost nobody was exempt from the
a governmental agency only in the ten tribunals of the papal
Spanish Inquisition, one of the few European institutions
states. The Roman Inquisition’s largest single cluster (fifteen
that—then or now—overrode all social privileges. The In-
tribunals) belonged to the Venetian Republic, which im-
quisition imprisoned and punished numerous powerful con-
posed various restrictions on its standard operations; minor
versos holding important offices; it also punished some high-
restrictions affected the Inquisition elsewhere. Whereas al-
ranking “pure-blooded” Spaniards, including an archbishop
most all inquisitors in Spain or Portugal after 1550 were sec-
of Toledo, Philip II’s most trusted private secretary, and the
ular clerics trained in canon law, the Roman Inquisition fol-
grandee who headed the crusading order of Montesa. In such
lowed medieval precedents by appointing only Dominican
cases, the Spanish Inquisition did not take lives, but it most
(or sometimes Franciscan) monks.
certainly ruined careers.
Unlike the Spanish and Portuguese tribunals, the ori-
When Ferdinand and Isabella expelled Spain’s remain-
gins of the Roman Inquisition had nothing to do with bap-
ing practicing Jews in 1492, many of them took the short
tized Jews; perhaps not coincidentally, there is enough evi-
and easy route across the Portuguese border. Five years later,
dence to affirm that the Roman Inquisition seems far less
when Portugal’s king wanted to marry a Spanish heiress,
bloodthirsty than either Iberian tribunal. The likeliest guess
Spanish diplomatic pressure provoked forcible Christian
is that the Roman Inquisition put only about 125 people to
baptisms of thousands of these Jewish religious refugees. It
death, the vast majority being Italian Protestants; about half
was only a matter of time before Portugal’s extremely uncon-
of its victims were burned in Rome and two dozen others
verted “New Christians” encountered a virtual carbon copy
were drowned secretly in Venice. The Roman Inquisition
of the Spanish Inquisition, which the papacy chartered in
succeeded in its original purpose of controlling Protestantism
1536 and reinforced in 1547.
on the Italian peninsula, but it did so through suffocation
The Portuguese Inquisition was even more closely con-
rather than burning it out. The most convincing explanation
nected to the crown than the Spanish model. Portugal’s first
for the Roman Inquisition’s success is the co-optation of
inquisitor-general was the son of a king and eventually be-
confessors, who were required to denounce to the Holy Of-
came king himself. During the Spanish occupation of Portu-
fice any penitent admitting any unorthodox behavior.
gal (1580–1640), his second successor combined the offices
Public knowledge of the operations of the Roman In-
of viceroy and inquisitor-general. Because Portugal was
quisition was hampered until 1997 by the closing of its cen-
much smaller than Spain, the Portuguese Inquisition had
tral archive and the disappearance of the records of its trials,
only three European tribunals, but it expanded overseas even
which were mostly destroyed in Napoleon’s time. To some
sooner, establishing a tribunal in India by 1560. Although
extent, the lack of quantitative information about the Inqui-
relatively harmless after 1774, Portugal’s Holy Office lasted
sition’s operations has been offset by the exceptional richness
until 1821. Its remarkably well-preserved records show a te-
of a few famous trials that have been studied in exemplary
nacious obsession with Judaizing by descendants of the New
depth. The Roman trial of the Florentine mathematician and
Christians of 1497: they accounted for almost 80 percent of
astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1634, which ended with the
all trials in mainland Portugal and for almost all of its thou-
condemnation of Copernican astronomy and the perpetual
sand-plus public executions between 1540 and 1761. In
house arrest for this aged prisoner, surely constitutes the sin-
India, Asian Christians formed the majority of the Portu-
gle most famous case in the history of any Inquisition. Its
guese Inquisition’s thirteen thousand prisoners, but even
execution in 1600 of another Copernican and renegade Do-
here most of those burned were Sephardic New Christians.
minican monk, Giordano Bruno, is known to all Italians.
In 1542, frightened by the Protestant movement in
The Inquisition’s two trials of Domenico Scandella, better
Italy, Pope Paul III created the Roman Inquisition with the
known as “Menocchio,” an obstinate and argumentative mil-
bull Licet ab initio. Like its Iberian counterparts, it was re-
ler in a remote village of northeastern Italy who was finally
stricted by some “enlightened” princes after the mid-
executed in 1599, have made him almost as famous.
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INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN THE NEW WORLD
DID THE INQUISITIONS SUCCEED? Both the medieval and
New World. Initially organized under papal authority in
modern forms of the Inquisition compiled a mixed record
Italy, France, and Germany during the thirteenth century,
with respect to their principal purposes. Dominic saw Cath-
inquisitions emerged under royal auspices in the Iberian
ars as the most dangerous heretics of his day, and a century
kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal in the late fif-
after his death they had been eliminated. However, the Wal-
teenth and mid-sixteenth centuries. They became part of the
densians, who constituted the principal targets of the four-
colonial apparatus in Spanish and Portuguese America from
teenth- and fifteenth-century inquisitors, outlasted their per-
the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century. Although its
secutors and still exist today. The record of the early modern
procedures and goals were essentially the same in both hemi-
state-run Inquisitions is comparably mixed. It is difficult to
spheres, the institution confronted several unique and chang-
deny that the Roman and Iberian Inquisitions played a major
ing circumstances in the New World and adapted its organi-
role in eliminating all serious traces of native Protestantism
zation, jurisdictions, and operations accordingly. Beginning
in Mediterranean Europe. But the baptized Muslims of
with the delegation of authority to a series of bishops and
Spain could not be coerced into behaving like Tridentine
missionaries, the Holy Office of the Inquisition (as the insti-
Catholics, and their expulsion in 1609 constituted a major
tution was known in both Spain and Portugal and their do-
defeat for the Spanish Holy Office.
minions) expanded its presence with periodic visitations,
The Spanish Inquisition’s record with Sephardic conver-
networks of operatives, and, in Spanish America, autono-
sos remains controversial. One could assert, however, that the
mous tribunals, alongside related episcopal activity that ad-
relative scarcity of prosecutions after 1530 implies that most
dressed heterodoxy among the indigenous inhabitants. Over
of them, like the ancestors of Saint Teresa of Avila or the Je-
the course of three centuries, the institution went from being
suit general Diego Laynez, became proper Catholics. Al-
a modest instrument for rooting out heresy to facilitate evan-
though Portuguese New Christians resisted Tridentine Ca-
gelization, to an elaborate bureaucratic organization attempt-
tholicism far more stubbornly, part of the explanation is
ing to control moral, spiritual, and intellectual life in the col-
surely the circumstances of their 1497 “conversion,” and
onies. But it experienced a long period of decline before its
Portuguese historians claim that their persecution across
final dissolution in the face of Enlightenment ideas and inde-
eight or nine generations has social rather than religious
pendence movements.
roots.
OLD WORLD ORIGINS. Although the Spanish and Portu-
guese Inquisitions functioned as separate entities in the New
SEE ALSO Heresy, article on Christian Concepts; Marranos;
World, they shared similar and somewhat related origins.
Persecution, article on Christian Experience; Torquemada,
The Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella
Tomás de.
of Castile, initially brought the institution to the Iberian
peninsula to help effect the political and religious consolida-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tion of what would become Spain, an area in which three
Much useful material can still be found in Henry Charles Lea’s
faiths—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—had co-existed for
three-volume History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages,
first published in 1887, and his four volumes on the Spanish
several centuries. Responding to growing public anti-
Inquisition, but they must be supplemented by more recent
Semitism and allegations that certain “New Christians” or
scholarship. Edward Peters’s Inquisition (Berkeley, 1988)
conversos (recent converts to Roman Christianity from Juda-
provides an excellent introduction to the long-term history
ism or Islam) were still practicing their old religion, the mon-
and mythology of this institution, while the best survey of
archs secured a series of papal bulls, between 1478 and 1483,
the modern state-run Inquisitions is Francisco Bethencourt,
authorizing the appointment of inquisitors and the establish-
L’Inquisition à l’époque moderne: Espagne, Italie, Portugal,
ment of tribunals and a Supreme Council (known as the Su-
XVe-XIXe siècle (Paris, 1995). Both have extensive bibliogra-
prema) under royal control. By the summer of 1492, the In-
phies. The standard English-language history is Henry
quisition had executed many wealthy conversos and
Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision (New
confiscated their assets, while Isabella and Ferdinand had
Haven, Conn., 1997). By far the most interesting case study
given Jews the ultimatum of conversion or expulsion. Tens
of the medieval Inquisition is Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie,
Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error, translated by Barba-
of thousands went to Portugal, only to face a similar order
ra Bray (New York, 1978), and for the modern Inquisitions,
to convert in 1497 from King Manuel. After a series of nego-
Carlo Ginzburg, The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of
tiations and papal concessions between 1531 and 1547, the
a Sixteenth-Century Miller, translated by John Tedeschi and
Portuguese Holy Office came into being, along the lines of
Anne Tedeschi (Baltimore, 1980).
the neighboring Spanish model, with regional tribunals and
W
a General Council under the monarchy’s control. Both
ILLIAM MONTER (2005)
countries would integrate the institution into the ecclesiasti-
cal and political machinery of their colonial empires.
INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN
The inquisitorial procedures employed in the New
THE NEW WORLD
World had already taken their general form in the peninsula
The institution developed by the Roman Church to combat
before crossing the Atlantic. When an inquisitor first came
heresy in the Old World operated in several forms in the
to an area or embarked upon a new campaign, the populace
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN THE NEW WORLD
4503
was assembled in the main church for a solemn ceremony.
sion of the indigenous population to Christianity. When Co-
In a display of unity between the temporal and spiritual
lumbus returned to the Caribbean in 1493 on his second
realms, the civil and ecclesiastical authorities offered their
voyage, he brought a missionary contingent led by Bernardo
deference and support to the inquisitor, who issued an “edict
Buyl, an apostolic delegate who, some have speculated, may
of faith” or monitory, warning of the iniquities of heresy and
have possessed and exercised inquisitorial authority during
outlining the various offenses that the Holy Office then con-
his brief stay in the hemisphere. In 1510, Columbus’s son
sidered to be heretical or otherwise unorthodox or immoral.
Diego Colón, as governor of Hispaniola, asked the king for
Confessions and denunciations were solicited and duly re-
the authority to name an inquisitor on the island. Bartolomé
corded during a prescribed grace period, after which the in-
de las Casas, in turn, called for the introduction of the Inqui-
quisitor summoned additional testimony about those impli-
sition to help protect Indian neophytes and mentioned that
cated in the information gathered.
two heretics already had been burned in a report he ad-
dressed to Cardinal Francisco Ximénez de Cisneros in 1516.
Three credible denunciations judged sufficiently culpa-
Ximénez, who was then inquisitor general as well as regent
ble by examiners (theologians and canonists) could lead to
of Castile, responded the following year with an order grant-
an individual’s arrest and the initiation of proceedings. The
ing bishops “in the Indies” apostolic powers to deal with her-
identity of accusers and witnesses was kept secret, although
etics and apostates observing the “sects of Moses and
a list of enemies provided by a suspect could bring about the
Muh:ammad.” Many years later, Henrique, the king and in-
nullification of denunciations thought to stem from enmity.
quisitor general of Portugal, would likewise extend apostolic
Defendants had the benefit of legal counsel and the opportu-
authority to the bishop of Salvador da Bahia in Brazil.
nity to address the charges and testimony against them.
Those who confessed to offenses were assigned penance,
These delegations of apostolic inquisitorial authority to
while those who denied the charges were incarcerated and
bishops in the Americas were expressly granted in addition
often had their assets sequestered to cover their maintenance
to the episcopal authority they already held, as ecclesiastical
while in custody. Inquisition officials sometimes employed
judges or ordinaries, to conduct inquisitions within their
prison informants and torture to obtain additional informa-
own dioceses. Along with bishops, the Holy Office also se-
tion or confessions before or after conviction or sentencing.
lected monastic superiors to be inquisitors, thus the first two
Penalties for minor offenses included fines, flogging, and var-
appointed in the New World in 1519 were Alonso Manso,
ious lighter forms of penance aimed at publicly humiliating
the bishop of San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Pedro de Córdo-
the offender. Those convicted of major heresies usually had
ba, the Dominican vice-provincial in Hispaniola. In 1522,
their assets confiscated and could receive exile, imprison-
as the activity of Spanish conquistadores and missionaries
ment, galley service, or even death in the case of an obstinate
moved farther away from the established dioceses and sees
or repeat offender. The Inquisition’s goal was to get convicts
in the Caribbean, Charles V obtained the Omnímoda, a papal
to admit their guilt, receive absolution, and then be recon-
concession extending episcopal powers to monastic prelates
ciled with the Church. Unreconciled heretics were turned
more than two days’ travel from a bishop, which allowed
over or “relaxed” to the secular authorities for civil execution,
them to try inquisitorial cases as ordinaries. These apostolic,
usually by fire at the stake, although last-minute confessions
episcopal, and monastic forms of inquisitorial authority and
normally entitled the condemned to strangulation before
jurisdiction would be variously combined at different times
burning.
and places, as the Holy Office and church officials tried to
adapt to rapidly changing developments in the New World.
The procedural process culminated with another sol-
emn ceremony, in this case an auto-da-fé (act of faith), in
Regarding the first two inquisitors, Córdoba died in
which the authorities announced and implemented the sen-
1521, but Manso continued to execute his charge in the Ca-
tences of all the recent offenders, who appeared in penitential
ribbean until 1539. In 1524 the Holy Office attempted to
garb before the entire community. The public humiliation
erect a Tribunal of the Indies under the San Juan bishop. It
of penitents in these elaborate and dramatic affairs served as
was expected to support itself, as the peninsular tribunals did,
a deterrent against heterodoxy and an effective form of social
from penitential fines and the assets confiscated from here-
control. Although these general procedures stayed remark-
tics, which in the Americas then, and for some time to come,
ably constant throughout the colonial period, several changes
were meager at best. Manso nevertheless managed to appoint
in terms of organization, jurisdiction, and the delegation of
auxiliaries in the islands and conduct various cases against the
authority occurred during the early decades of colonization,
colonists, although contemporaries complained to the
as the Holy Office experimented with ways to extend its
Crown that the activities of the bishop and his delegates were
reach across the Atlantic.
often arbitrary, despotic, and in excess of their authority.
EARLY DEVELOPMENT IN THE AMERICAS. Inquisitorial activ-
As the Spanish colonial project advanced onto the conti-
ity initially arrived in the Americas to assist in Spain’s evan-
nent, inquisitorial activities expanded alongside the conquest
gelical mission. From the Church’s perspective, Spanish do-
and conversion effort. After the 1521 fall of Tenochtitlan,
minion in the New World derived from a papal donation
the great Mesoamerican urban center in the Basin of Mexico,
that required the monarchs of Castile to oversee the conver-
priests accompanying the conquistador Fernando Cortés
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4504
INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN THE NEW WORLD
tried various cases, the earliest known involving an Indian
when appointing the Dominican theologian Alonso de Mon-
accused of concubinage. A short time later, Franciscan mis-
túfar, who had been an examiner for the Holy Office in
sionaries began arriving to convert the millions of native in-
Spain, as the new archbishop of Mexico. For the next two
habitants in what would become the viceroyalty of New
decades episcopal activity increased throughout Spanish
Spain. Their superior Martín de Valencia served as inquisitor
America, but during these years of the Counter-Reformation
and apparently was the first to condemn Indians to the stake
and the Council of Trent (1545–1563), it focused primarily
for practicing idolatry. Beginning in 1526, a series of Do-
on the growing presence of Protestants and on maintaining
minican prelates exercised the charge, including Domingo de
orthodoxy among the clergy, leaving the Indians relatively
Betanzos, who tried several cases of blasphemy among the
unmolested.
conquistadores and settlers, and Vicente de Santa María,
This was not the case, however, in the wave of monastic
who held the first auto-da-fé in Mexico and relaxed two New
activity in New Spain during the 1560s that climaxed with
Christians for “Judaizing.”
a brutal inquisition directed by Diego de Landa in Yucatan.
The next apostolic inquisitor was Juan de Zumárraga,
Claiming authority from the Omnímoda, the Franciscan pro-
a Franciscan who became the first bishop of Mexico and
vincial unleashed a reign of terror upon thousands of Maya
whom the Holy Office authorized to organize an episcopal
Indians after finding some “idols” in a cave. Many were tor-
tribunal. Between 1536 and 1543 he conducted at least 152
tured, harshly disciplined, or committed suicide to avoid in-
cases involving European, Indian, black, and mestizo (mixed
terrogation, before the first bishop of Yucatán, Francisco de
European and Indian) men and women, whose range of of-
Torral, intervened and sent Landa back to Spain to answer
fenses included blasphemy, bigamy, heretical propositions,
for his actions. Although Landa eventually was exonerated,
Judaism, Protestantism, idolatry, sorcery, and superstition.
this episode was influential in Philip II’s decision to establish
He initiated several proceedings against Indian practitioners
permanent tribunals of the Holy Office in Spanish America
and elites he considered impediments to the evangelization
and to remove the Indians from its jurisdiction.
campaign. The most notable of these cases culminated in the
In 1569, after an accumulation of petitions complaining
1539 execution of Carlos Ometochtzin, a prominent native
of abuses against both Spaniards and Indians, increased pen-
leader accused of being a “dogmatizing heretic,” and earned
etration of foreign Protestants and Protestant literature, and
Zumárraga a reprimand from the Suprema and the removal
a general concern about unorthodox and immoral behavior
of his inquisitorial authority.
in the colonies, the Crown authorized the creation of two au-
VISITATIONS AND AUTONOMOUS TRIBUNALS. The activities
tonomous tribunals, directly subordinate to the Suprema, in
of both Zumárraga and Manso prompted a reexamination
the capitals of the American viceroyalties. The Mexico City
of inquisitorial organization in Spanish America at a time
tribunal had jurisdiction over all of New Spain, from New
when the Crown was attempting to implement the reforms
Mexico to Panama to the Philippines, while the Lima tribu-
lobbied for by Las Casas in the “New Laws” of 1542. Faced
nal in the viceroyalty of Peru covered all of Spanish South
with these excesses and economic realities in the New World,
America until 1610, when a third tribunal was established
the Holy Office abandoned the idea of tribunals in favor of
in Cartagena to monitor New Granada (roughly Colombia
the inquisitorial visita, an official visitation or inspection
and Venezuela) and the Caribbean islands.
conducted for a given amount of time. In 1544, the Spanish
Although numbers varied over time and by location, the
crown sent Alonso López de Cerrato to the Caribbean and
bureaucracy of these tribunals consisted of inquisitors, prose-
Francisco Tello de Sandoval to New Spain to inspect all colo-
cutors, secretaries, notaries, examiners and consultants, de-
nial institutions and enact various reforms. The Holy Office
fense advocates, constables, jailers, and guards, as well as trea-
made them both apostolic inquisitors and assigned Tello,
surers and accountants to manage the revenue and property
who had served as an inquisitor in Toledo, to review the fi-
acquired in fines and confiscations. The vast territorial juris-
nances and cases of Zumárraga’s tribunal (especially the trial
dictions of the American tribunals also required establishing
of Carlos Ometochtzin), and Cerrato to do the same with
provincial branches, each run by a commissary, who initiated
Manso’s record. In 1546, Pedro de la Gasca, of the Suprema,
investigations and proceedings, transferred serious cases to
was sent to the new viceroyalty of Peru to put an end to the
the main tribunal, and was assisted by a notary, a constable,
civil unrest among the colonists and to reassert royal authori-
and a jailer. Inquisitors and commissaries additionally relied
ty. While the institution clearly had become an important
on a network of lay officials known as familiars, dispersed
tool in the monarchy’s strategy to consolidate colonial rule,
throughout the empire, who supplied intelligence and assist-
it would be nearly another quarter-century before the Inqui-
ed in investigations and arrests. The Holy Office also main-
sition would achieve its definitive form and presence in
tained inspectors in the ports to prevent prohibited books
Spanish America.
and suspected heretics from entering the colonies and fugi-
tives from leaving.
Within a few years, the visitadores had left and inquisito-
rial authority reverted back to the bishops and monastic prel-
In contrast to the experience in Spanish America, the
ates acting as ordinaries. In New Spain, at least, it seems that
Portuguese never created an autonomous tribunal in the
the Crown made a conscious effort to avoid further abuses
New World. Although the Crown in 1560 established an
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INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN THE NEW WORLD
4505
overseas tribunal at Goa (India) whose jurisdiction extended
ther,” the inquisitors made little distinction between Luther-
from the Cape of Good Hope to the Far East, Portugal’s At-
ans, Anglicans, Calvinists, and other sectarians and usually
lantic holdings, including Brazil, remained under the author-
dealt with them all quite harshly. The condemned offenders
ity of the Lisbon tribunal. In 1579, Cardinal-King Henrique
included pirates, smugglers, and shipwreck victims captured
invested apostolic inquisitorial authority in the bishop of Sal-
on Iberian-American shores, French Huguenot interlopers
vador da Bahia, António Barreiros, to act in consultation
(notably in Florida and Brazil), and English and German
with a group of Jesuit theologians, just one year before Philip
merchants who ventured, legally or illegally, into Spanish
II consummated his claim to the Portuguese throne and ush-
and Portuguese ports and cities in the New World. By the
ered in sixty years of Spanish rule. Although the Holy Office
mid-seventeenth century, however, prosecutions of foreign
of both countries maintained their autonomy in the “Iberian
Protestants had declined because of treaty obligations and
Union,” the Spanish Crown nevertheless pressured the Por-
pragmatic commercial concerns.
tuguese institution to proceed against conversos suspected of
“Judaizing” in the colonies. Until that time inquisitorial ac-
Inquisition officials also worried about blasphemy and
tivity in Brazil had been minimal and many New Christians
the spread of various “heretical propositions” associated with
and Jews emigrated there to avoid persecution in Portugal,
Protestantism or other Old World movements. Common ex-
or paradoxically were exiled there by the Holy Office. From
amples were denying the virginity of Mary, criticizing the
the very beginning of colonization, they had been instrumen-
veneration of saints and images, questioning the existence of
tal in providing capital and developing enterprises, first in
Purgatory or the notion of original sin, claiming that the
brazilwood, then sugar production, and finally gold mining
Mass had no significance or that excommunication offended
in the eighteenth century. In 1591, the General Council of
God, or rejecting the sacrament of confession or the Eucha-
the Inquisition appointed Heitor Furtado de Mendonça to
rist. Blasphemy cases, ubiquitous throughout the colonial pe-
conduct the first Holy Office visitation (visitaça˜o) and he
riod, also included slaves who renounced their faith in the
spent five years dispatching cases in the northeast provinces.
heat of being punished or mistreated by their masters. In
In 1622, Philip IV ordered the creation of an autonomous
terms of Old World movements, in addition to Erasmians,
tribunal in Brazil that never materialized, most likely because
the Inquisitors were especially concerned with adherents of
of opposition from Flemish interests in Pernambuco and
Spanish Illuminism and Quietism, who aspired to spiritual
Bahia, the Jesuits, and even the Holy Office itself, which pre-
perfection through mystical reflection and direct union with
ferred to maintain peninsular control over inquisitorial activ-
God, because they often counseled others to forsake the
ity in the colony. Thus the Lisbon tribunal continued its vig-
Church’s intercessory role. Moreover, believing they were in-
ilance through a combination of periodic Holy Office
capable of sin in that direct union sometimes led to sexual
visitations, diocesan visitations conducted by bishops and or-
transgressions. These alumbrados, many of them pious
dinaries, and a network of commissaries and familiars, who
women (beatas and nuns), included mystics and visionaries,
identified and forwarded suspects to Portugal. Although in-
who issued prophecies and claimed to receive divine revela-
quisitors investigated a wide variety of offenses, most of the
tions. They were steadily prosecuted well into the eighteenth
cases originating in Brazil involved New Christians, many of
century, along with their followers and supporters, many of
whom were denounced by “Old Christians” for purely eco-
whom were members of the regular clergy. Inquisitors also
nomic or political reasons.
tried clerics for other theological errors and a variety of of-
INQUISITIONAL ACTIVITIES AND OFFENSES. Pursuing “Ju-
fenses related to church discipline and the sacraments, such
daizing” conversos was also a priority for the new tribunals in
as improperly celebrating the Eucharist, marrying while in
Spanish America, as many Portuguese New Christians had
the consecrated state, or soliciting sex in the confessional.
entered Peru, New Spain, and New Granada during the peri-
The Holy Office also began to monitor familial and sex-
od of the Iberian Union (1580–1640). In Mexico, there were
ual morality, especially after the Council of Trent’s pro-
two periods of heightened activity against conversos. The first
nouncements upholding the dissolubility of monogamous
came between 1585 and 1601, and was dominated by the
marriage and the prohibition of deviant moral behavior that
prosecutions of members and associates of the Carvajal fami-
was quite common in the New World. Bigamy, for example,
ly. The second occurred from 1642 to the great autos-da-fé
was one of the most frequently tried offenses, surely reflect-
of 1647 and 1649, when the Holy Office arrested and tried
ing the long distances, poor communications, and personal
hundreds of New Christians, fearing their subversion after
mobility in the Americas. Concubinage also thrived in the
Portugal’s extrication from Spanish hegemony in 1640. In
colonial environment, between conquistadores and Indian
Peru, such activity steadily increased until peaking with the
women, masters and slaves, native elites and subjects, and
“Great Conspiracy” and the extraordinary 1639 auto-da-fé
others preferring cohabitation to marriage. Although juris-
in Lima.
diction over adultery, fornication, and sodomy (at this time
Protestantism, since the beginning of the Counter-
meaning any sexual activity not destined for procreation) tra-
Reformation, was considered especially dangerous and had
ditionally resided with the civil authorities, the Holy Office
been one of the primary reasons for establishing the Ameri-
increasingly intervened in cases it deemed to have heretical
can tribunals. Generically referring to it as the “heresy of Lu-
implications because they contradicted Tridentine decrees.
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4506
INQUISITION, THE: THE INQUISITION IN THE NEW WORLD
Thus inquisitors were often more interested in disciplining
hicería/feitiçaria), or witchcraft (brujería/bruxaria), which in-
offenders for certain commonly held beliefs—such as forni-
volved male and female practitioners of all racial back-
cation was not a sin, or living together was better than being
grounds. This activity included astrology, fortunetelling,
in a bad marriage—than for the acts themselves.
necromancy, and other forms of divination, the healing prac-
tices of curanderismo, the use of magic, spells, curses, charms,
Other inquisitorial activity related to the indigenous in-
bundles, talismans, and potions for protection or to elicit de-
habitants and their Christian conversion. The evangelization
sired effects, and the use of peyote, mushrooms, coca, and
of the Indians in the New World was uneven at best and
other psychoactive substances to induce visions, revelations,
often involved “guided syncretism,” indigenization, and
and prophecies. Early on, the inquisitors vigorously pursued
transculturation, which incorporated many native beliefs and
such offenses as true heresies thinking they were dealing with
practices, and “relapses” were common. When establishing
supernatural powers linked to the devil, but years later when
the American tribunals, the Spanish Crown decided that the
this activity had grown beyond all control, their interest
transgressions of these neophytes should not elicit the Holy
waned as they increasingly attributed these cases to chicanery
Office’s harsh sentences for heresy or apostasy, but rather
and ignorance among the lower classes.
more lenient responses from episcopal authorities acting as
ordinaries. The Holy Office, nevertheless, continued to in-
By the late seventeenth century, inquisitional activity
had already peaked and was in a state of decline. In Spanish
vestigate Indian heterodoxy to gather evidence against the
America, a shift occurred around mid-century as cases of
rest of the population who were under its jurisdiction. It
major heresies such as “Judaizing” and Protestantism gave
turned its findings over to the episcopal courts, which had
way to lesser offenses among the clergy and the masses, re-
established their own special tribunals under various names
sulting in diminishing revenue in fines and confiscations for
(Provisorato de Indios, Tribunal de Naturales, Inquisición
the Holy Office and fewer and less elaborate autos-da-fé.
Ordinaria). Headed by the provisor or vicar general of the di-
During the eighteenth century, although bigamy and solici-
ocese, these Indian tribunals also employed inquisitorial
tation still dominated the docket, the institution started to
methods, issued edicts of faith, held autos-da-fé, and meted
take on a more political character as Spain’s Bourbon mon-
out penitential sentences that included haircutting, flogging,
archs sought to defend royal absolutism from liberal republi-
incarceration, forced labor, and exile for offenses such as big-
canism. The Index of Prohibited Books, begun in 1559, was
amy, concubinage, idolatry, superstition, and sorcery. In
now burgeoning with works from the Enlightenment, which
Peru, successive Lima archbishops, especially Pedro de Villa-
inquisitors tried to suppress by monitoring imports, presses,
gómez (1641–1671), augmented these tribunals with sys-
booksellers, and private collectors. In the latter half of the
tematic extirpation campaigns in indigenous communities
century, cases citing “disloyalty to the Crown,” sedition,
conducted by a visitador of idolatries. Throughout their exis-
Freemasonry, materialism, or republicanism as heretical of-
tence, these episcopal tribunals often clashed with the Holy
fenses began to appear and during the turbulent years of pop-
Office over jurisdictional matters, which became even more
ular uprisings and independence wars the Holy Office sided
complicated when cases of Indian bigamy and polygamy
with the royalists. Nevertheless, after years of bitter financial
were returned to its authority in 1766. In Brazil, baptized
and jurisdictional disputes, even the local royal authorities
Indians had always remained under the Portuguese institu-
showed little sympathy when the Spanish Inquisition was
tion’s jurisdiction. During the first visitation in Bahia, the
suppressed in 1813 and definitively abolished in 1820. In
visitador Furtado investigated a Tupi millenarian sect called
Brazil, after some late activity involving conversos in Minas
Santidade that integrated elements of Catholicism, prophe-
Gerais, the last Holy Office visitation occurred in 1763, sev-
sied the end of slavery and the Portuguese, attacked colonial
eral decades before the liberal Portuguese Constituent As-
interests, and astonishingly enjoyed the protection of a pow-
sembly dissolved the institution in 1821.
erful planter and sugar mill owner. In both Spanish and Por-
tuguese America, however, the vast majority of inquisitorial
cases concerned whites, blacks, mestizos, and other racial mix-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There is no comprehensive, combined treatment of Spanish and
tures rather than the Indians.
Portuguese inquisitorial activity in the New World. Most
By the seventeenth century, the population was becom-
scholarship, with the notable exception of The Inquisitors and
ing more diverse with increasing European immigration,
Jews in the New World (Coral Gables, Fl., 1974) and other
works by Seymour B. Liebman, focuses on one or the other
continued importation of African slaves, and a rising number
empire.
of American-born whites, mestizos, and other miscegenation-
al combinations. In this dynamic biological and social envi-
For Spanish activity, the pioneering works of Chilean historian
ronment a vibrant and fluid popular culture emerged in
José Toribio Medina should still be consulted. His Historia
del Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición de Lima (Santi-
which African, American Indian, and European beliefs and
ago, 1887), . . . en Chile (Santiago, 1890), . . . de Cartage-
practices were creatively combined in ways that deviated
na de las Indias (Santiago, 1899), . . . en las provincias del
from the orthodoxy that the Holy Office was entrusted to
Plata (Santiago, 1899), and . . . en México (Santiago, 1905)
maintain. This was especially apparent in the genre of cases
represent the first systematic treatments of the Inquisition in
the inquisitors variably classified as superstition, sorcery (hec-
these areas and have reappeared in subsequent editions with
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INSECTS
4507
useful retrospective introductions by leading scholars. An-
Carvacho. The extirpation campaigns in Peru are examined
other important early synthesis is found in Henry Charles
by Kenneth Mills in Idolatry and Its Enemies: Colonial Ande-
Lea’s The Inquisition in the Spanish Dependencies (New York,
an Religion and Extirpation, 1640–1750 (Princeton, N.J.,
1908), which emphasizes the institution’s jurisdictional con-
1997).
flicts, financial corruption, and inhibiting effect on intellec-
For Brazil, Sonia A. Siqueira’s A inquisiça˜o portuguesa e a sociedade
tual development. The apostolic, episcopal, and monastic ac-
colonial (Sa˜o Paulo, Brazil, 1978) provides a good institu-
tivities before the arrival of the first permanent tribunals are
tional overview. Denunciations and confessions from the
covered in Medina’s La primitiva inquisición americana,
first visitation have appeared in several editions, the most re-
1493–1569 (Santiago, Chile, 1914), a topic that Álvaro
cent being Denunciaço˜es e Confisso˜es de Pernambuco, 1593–
Huerga has reexamined in “La pre-inquisición hispano-
1595, edited by José António Gonsalves de Mello (Recife,
americana, 1516–1568,” in Historia de la Inquisición en Es-
Brazil, 1984), and Confisso˜es da Bahia, edited by Ronaldo
paña y América, edited by J. Pérez Villanueva and B. Escan-
Vainfas (Sa˜o Paulo, Brazil, 1997). Vainfas reconstructs a na-
dell Bonet (Madrid, 1984–2000), vol. 1, pp. 662–700. This
tive millenarian movement from inquisition documents in A
three-volume set contains other useful essays concerning gen-
heresia dos índios: catolicismo e rebeldia no Brasil colonial (Sa˜o
eral historiography, documentary sources, administrative and
Paulo, Brazil, 1995) and looks at sexual morality and the in-
economic structures, and regional activities of the Holy Of-
stitution in Trópico dos pecados: moral, sexualidade e
fice in the Spanish colonies. Additional scholarship along
Inquisiça˜o no Brasil (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1997). Regional
these and other lines is found in Cultural Encounters: The Im-
studies of New Christians and the Inquisition include José
pact of the Inquisition in Spain and the New World, edited by
Gonçalves Salvador’s Crista˜os-novos, Jesuítas e Inquisiça˜o: as-
Mary Elizabeth Perry and Anne J. Cruz (Berkeley, Calif.,
pectos de sua atuaça˜o nas capitanias do Sul, 1530–1680 (Sa˜o
1991), and Women in the Inquisition: Spain and the New
Paulo, Brazil, 1969), Anita Novinsky’s Crista˜os novos na
World, edited by Mary E. Giles (Baltimore, Md., 1998).
Bahia (Sa˜o Paulo, Brazil, 1972), and Neusa Fernandes’s A
Within Spanish America, New Spain has received the most atten-
Inquisiça˜o em Minas Gerais no século XVIII (Rio de Janeiro,
tion owing to the survival of nearly all the records generated
Brazil, 2000). Geraldo Pieroni provides an interesting study
by the Mexico City tribunal. Richard E. Greenleaf’s “Histo-
of Portuguese penitents exiled to Brazil in Os excluídos do
riography of the Mexican Inquisition: Evolution of Interpre-
reino: a Inquisiça˜o portuguesa e o degredo para o Brasil colônia
tations and Methodologies,” in Cultural Encounters,
(Sa˜o Paulo, Brazil, 2000).
pp. 248–276, provides a good overview of this scholarship,
SCOTT SESSIONS (2005)
and his Zumárraga and the Mexican Inquisition, 1536–1543
(Washington, D.C., 1961) and The Mexican Inquisition in
the Sixteenth Century (Albuquerque, 1969) cover early activi-
ty. Inga Clendinnen examines Landa’s monastic inquisition
INSECTS appear in mythology not only as the gods, often
in Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan,
as the creators of the world, but also as messengers to the
1517–1570 (Cambridge, U.K., 1987). On Mesoamericans,
gods. They serve sometimes as the agents of creation and fre-
the Holy Office, and the Provisorato, see Greenleaf’s “The
quently function as symbols of the human soul. Moreover,
Inquisition and the Indians of New Spain: A Study in Juris-
some insects, such as cicadas, beetles, and scarabs, often sym-
dictional Confusion,” The Americas 22, no. 2 (1965): 138–
166. Solange Alberro offers a broad synthesis and statistical
bolize rebirth, resurrection, or eternal life.
analysis of the most active phase of the Mexican tribunal in
According to the Lengua, a South American tribe of the
Inquisition et société au Mexique, 1571–1700 (Mexico City,
Gran Chaco, a god in the shape of a huge beetle created the
1988), also available in a Spanish translation of the same
world and peopled it with mighty spirits. He holds aloof,
year. For the later period, see “The Inquisition in Eigh-
however, from his creation and is not invoked in prayer. The
teenth-Century Mexico,” The Americas 22, no. 2 (1965):
butterfly is often worshiped as a god, sometimes as the cre-
167–181, by Lewis A. Tambs, and Ruth Behar’s “Sex and
Sin, Witchcraft and the Devil in Late-Colonial Mexico,”
ator. In Madagascar and among the Naga of Manipur, some
American Ethnologist 14, no. 1 (1987): 34–54. The two-
trace their ancestry to a butterfly. According to the Pima of
volume Inquisición novohispana, edited by Noemí Quezada,
North America, at the time of beginning the creator, Chio-
Martha Eugenia Rodríguez, and Marcela Suárez (Mexico
wotmahki, assumed the form of a butterfly and flew over the
City, 2000), presents a diverse sampling of research at the
world until he found a suitable place for humankind.
close of the millennium.
It is, however, the spider that plays a prominent part in
Concerning other Spanish-American areas, Carlos Esteban Deive
the myths of North American Indians; it appears as the cre-
studies Caribbean activity in Heterodoxia e inquisición en
ator (e.g., among the Sia Pueblo Indians) or culture hero, or
Santo Domingo, 1492–1822 (Santo Domingo, Dominican
at least as the trickster (among the Dakota Indians). The Ji-
Republic, 1983). For the Cartagena tribunal, see Fermina Ál-
carilla Apache believe that at the time of beginning, when
varez Alonso’s La Inquisición en Cartagena de Indias durante
creatures lived in the underworld, the spider spun a web in
el siglo XVII (Madrid, 1999) and Anna María Splendiani’s
four-volume Cincuenta años de Inquisición en el Tribunal de
the hole leading up to the earth and, together with the fly,
Cartagena de Indias, 1610–1660 (Bogotá, Colombia, 1997).
came up on it before the people emerged. The spider and the
On the Lima tribunal, see the three-volume La Inquisición
fly were told by the Holy Ones to make a web and extend
de Lima, 1569–1820 (Madrid, 1989–1998) by Paulino Cas-
it to the sky in order to bring down the sun. According to
tañeda Delgado, Pilar Hernández Aparicio, and René Millar
the Navajo, Spider Man and Spider Woman are supernatural
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4508
INSECTS
beings who instructed their mythical ancestors in the art of
While bees, ants, and dragonflies often symbolize the
weaving and established the four warnings of death. The spi-
souls of the dead, the image of the butterfly as the human
der is also conspicuous in West African myths. In some
soul is widely diffused in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific is-
myths, he is creator of the world; in others, he plays the role
lands. The early Greeks sometimes depicted the soul as a di-
of culture hero, as in the stories in which he steals the sun.
minutive person with butterfly wings, and later as a butterfly.
However, his usual role is that of a crafty and cunning trick-
A similar belief was shared by the Romans. The Maori of
ster who prospers by his wits.
New Zealand believe that the soul returns to earth after death
as a butterfly, and in the Solomon Islands a dying person,
In Hindu mythology, ants are compared to a series of
who has a choice as to what he will become at death, often
Indras. One day Indra in his palace receives a visit from a
chooses to become a butterfly. In Japan, the motif has been
boy dressed in rags, who is Vis:n:u in disguise. While the boy
incorporated into no¯ dramas, and in the world of Islam, it
speaks of the innumerable Indras who people the innumera-
is one of the favorite images of Sufism: The moth that immo-
ble universes, a procession of ants appears in the great hall
lates itself in the candle flame is the soul losing itself in the
of the palace. Noticing them, the boy suddenly stops and
divine fire.
bursts into laughter. “What are you laughing at?” asks Indra.
The boy replies, “I saw the ants, O Indra, filing in long pa-
The cicada, on account of its metamorphosis, was well
rade. Each was once an Indra. Like you, by virtue of pious
known in ancient China as a symbol of rebirth or renewal
deeds each one ascended to the rank of a king of the gods.
of life. According to the Arawak of Guyana, at the time of
But now, through many rebirths, each has become again an
beginning the creator came down to earth to see how hu-
ant. This army is an army of former Indras.”
mankind was getting along. But humans were so wicked that
they tried to kill him; so he deprived them of eternal life and
In West Africa, ants are often viewed as the high god’s
bestowed it instead on animals that renew their skin, such
messengers. In the Romanian creation myth, the bee serves
as serpents, lizards, and beetles. In ancient Egypt the scarab,
as God’s messenger. It also helps God to complete his cre-
a beetle of the Mediterranean region, was identified with the
ation with advice that it overhears from the hedgehog. Al-
sun god Khepri and thus became a symbol both of the force
though the angry hedgehog puts a curse on it, condemning
that rolled the sun across the heavens and of the rising sun,
it to eat only ordure, God blesses the bee so that the filth it
self-generated. Scarab amulets made of green stone set in
eats may become honey.
gold were placed over the heart of the dead during the funeral
ceremony as a sign that just as the sun was reborn, so would
The bee is still an important symbol in Islam. The
the soul of the deceased be born again.
QurDa¯n explicitly mentions it as a model of an “inspired” ani-
mal, and both Muh:ammad and, even more, EAl¯ı are connect-
Insects are not always viewed as beneficent creatures.
ed in folklore with the pious and useful bee. Honey becomes
According to Northwest Coast Indians such as the Tlingit,
sweet, it is said, because the bees hum blessings for the
the Haida, and the Tsimshian, mosquitoes are pests that
Prophet as they go about their work.
originated from the ashes of an ogre’s burned body. The
same motif is found among the Ainu and in southern China.
In some earth-diver myths, which speak of the origin of
In Japanese mythology, spiders appear as a symbol of the evil
the earth from the primordial waters, insects serve as agents
forces that were subjugated by the heavenly gods before the
of creation. According to the Garo of Assam, the goddess
imperial dynasty—and with it, Japan—was established.
Nosta-No¯pantu was to carry out the work of creation on be-
half of the god Tattaro-Robuga. To get a particle of soil from
SEE ALSO Tricksters.
the bottom of the primeval ocean, she sent in turn a large
BIBLIOGRAPHY
crab, a small crab, and a dung beetle. Only the dung beetle
On insects playing a role in cosmogonic myths, see Mircea
succeeded in bringing up a little clay, and from this
Eliade’s Zalmoxis, the Vanishing God: Comparative Studies in
Nosta-No¯pantu formed the earth. The Semang Negritos of
the Religions and Folklore of Dacia and Eastern Europe (Chica-
the Malay Peninsula (such as the Menik Kaien, Kintak Bong,
go, 1972), pp. 76–130. See also Charles H. Long’s Alpha:
and Kenta tribes) similarly believe that the earth was brought
The Myths of Creation (New York, 1963), pp. 44ff. There is
up from the primeval ocean by a dung beetle, although in
a fine study of scarab symbolism in the Greco-Roman world
this version the insect seems to have dived on its own initia-
in Fish, Bread, and Wine, volume 5 of Erwin R. Goode-
tive. Among the Shan of Burma, the divers are ants. In North
nough’s Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period (New
America, too, insects are known as earth divers among the
York, 1956), pp. 172ff. Schuyler Cammann discusses the
Cherokee. In contrast to earth-diver myths are stories that
symbolism of the cicada in his very useful essay “Types of
Symbols in Chinese Art,” in Studies in Chinese Thought, ed-
speak of the celestial origin of the earth—as in the Indone-
ited by Arthur F. Wright (Chicago, 1953). On the origin of
sian and Micronesian cosmogonies—and in these myths,
mosquitoes, see Gudmund Hatt’s Asiatic Influences in Ameri-
too, insects play an important role. The Toba and the Batak
can Folklore (Copenhagen, 1949), pp. 89–90. On the Islamic
of Sumatra, for example, have preserved the tradition that
symbolism of insects, there is an admirable study in Annema-
a swallow and a large dung beetle brought down a handful
rie Schimmel’s The Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of
of earth from the sky.
Jalaloddin Rumi, rev. ed. (London, 1980), pp. 108ff.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INSPIRATION
4509
New Sources
and to set their songs in motion. The verbs used in these con-
Cherry, R. H. “Insects in the Mythology of Native Americans.”
texts convey a sense of power: cud- (“to impel, animate”); tuj-
Entomology 39 (1993): 16–21.
(“to strike, instigate”); hi- (“to set in motion, urge on”). One
Gosling, David L. Religion and Ecology in India and Southeast Asia.
of the most famous verses in the R:gveda (3.62.10), the so-
New York, 2003.
called Ga¯yatr¯ı, is in fact a prayer addressed to the god Savitr:,
Hoyt, Erich. The Earth Dwellers: Adventures in the Land of Ants.
asking for such inspiration, a verse that is recited daily by tra-
New York, 1996.
ditional Hindus. This example of the inspiration of the
Hoyt, Erich, and Ted Schulz. Insect Lives: Stories of Mystery and
Vedic seers may be taken as representative of the phenome-
Romance from a Hidden World. New York, 1999.
non of inspiration among the ancient Indo-European peo-
Lauck, Joanne Elizabeth. The Voice of the Infinite in the Small: Re-
ples generally. This is illustrated most clearly by the Indo-
Visioning the Insect-Human Connection. Boston, 2002.
European root *vat- (“to blow,” or more figuratively, “to in-
spire”). This root not only appears in the R:gveda and Avesta
MANABU WAIDA (1987)
but also underlies the Latin word vates (“seer, prophet, poet”)
Revised Bibliography
and the Old Irish term fáith (“prophet, seer”).
The Vedic seers also sought inspiration by drinking a
INSPIRATION.
special beverage called soma, which was used in the Vedic
As it appears in the general history of
sacrifice. Here again one finds Indo-European parallels, both
religions, inspiration may be defined very broadly as a spiritu-
in the haoma found in ancient Iran, and in the legendary
al influence that occurs spontaneously and renders a person
mead of the ancient Scandinavians, a drink that was believed
capable of thinking, speaking, or acting in ways that tran-
to make anyone who drank it a poet or a visionary.
scend ordinary human capacities. Taken in this general
sense, the term refers to a form of religious experience that
Whatever its exact source, inspiration is experienced as
is widely distributed and found in a great variety of forms.
an impulse that either comes from without, or, if it arises
Taken more narrowly, the actual term (which derives from
within, does so spontaneously, in independence of the indi-
the Latin inspirare, “to blow or breath upon”) implies the ex-
vidual’s will. In principle this trait distinguishes it from the
istence of a spiritus, or “breath,” that is breathed into the soul
ecstatic experience that is the defining characteristic of sha-
and enlivens it. Although inspiration may often be conceived
manism, because once initiated the shaman is capable of act-
in this way, its specificity as a religious phenomenon should
ing on his own and controlling the inhabitants of the spirit
not be located in an explicit notion of spiritual breath or di-
world for his own ends. This autonomy is what gives sha-
vine spirit, because such a notion may be absent in cases
mans their importance as “technicians of the sacred.” The in-
where one would still wish to speak of inspiration. In such
spired person is by contrast much more dependent upon a
cases, inspiration may be attributed to the direct action of
continuing source of inspiration.
a god, or even to the effects of a particular kind of food or
In classical India an experience of spontaneous inspira-
drink. What is common to most forms of inspiration is its
tion was sometimes referred to as pratibha¯, a “flash” of in-
efficacy as an influence that motivates or facilitates action,
sight that arose in an inexplicable way, free of any intentional
very often in the form of inspired speech or song. An under-
cognitive act on the part of the subject. In Indian poetics,
standing of inspiration is thus closely related to questions of
pratibha¯ became a common term for poetic inspiration. In
human agency and its transcendence.
early Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism, it took on a distinctly religious
The use of the term inspiration should probably be re-
value, referring to the inspired speech uttered spontaneously
stricted to those cases where human agency is transformed
by a disciple in praise of the Buddha. It is, however, in later
but not totally displaced. This would make it possible to con-
Hindu devotionalism (bhakti) that are found the most strik-
trast inspiration with trance, because in the latter, human
ing Indian examples of inspiration. In inspired states that are
agency is simply canceled out, to be replaced in most cases
often hard to distinguish from states of possession, the devo-
by the action of a possessing god, spirit, or ancestor. The no-
tees of Vis:n:u and S´iva (the A¯lva¯rs and Nayanars) composed
tion of possession itself, however, which need not always
¯
thousands of hymns in honor of their god. One of the great-
imply a state of trance, can sometimes be used to account
est of these, the Vais:n:ava poet-saint Namma¯lva¯r (9th–10th
for particularly intense experiences of inspiration. The essen-
¯
century CE), spoke of being taken over by Vis:n:u, such that
tial point is that inspiration never leads to a state of complete
Vis:n:u himself sang through his mouth (Tiruva¯ymoli 7.9.1).
dissociation of the personality and subsequent amnesia, as is
¯
The connection of inspiration with poetry and song was
the case with trance.
also recognized in ancient Greece, where poets sought the in-
One of the earliest historical forms of inspiration is that
spiration of the Muses, much as their Indian counterparts
experienced by the r:s:is, or poet-seers, of the R:gveda. In com-
might pray to Sarasvat¯ı, the goddess of eloquence. Plato de-
posing their liturgical hymns, the r:s:is often invoked their
scribes the inspiration of the Muses as a form of mania
gods to inspire their songs. The gods Mitra and Varun:a, the
(“madness or frenzy”) and makes the poet’s art wholly de-
A´svins, and in particular the god Agni were asked to stimu-
pendent upon it. It is because the poet’s mind is “taken
late the visions of the seers, to animate or impel their speech,
away” by the gods that the reader knows that it is the gods
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4510
INSPIRATION
who speak and not the poet himself. Poets are “simply in-
can tribal prophets who have appeared since the end of the
spired to utter that to which the Muse impels them” (Ion
nineteenth century in struggles against foreign domination.
534).
Prophetic inspiration, in one form or another, has historical-
ly been an important factor in a large number of nationalis-
Poetic inspiration was not the only type of mania that
tic, nativistic, and resistance movements.
Plato recognized, however. In the Phaedrus (265a–b) he dis-
tinguishes four different types: Besides the poetic mania of
The experience of inspiration in the early Christian
the Muses there are also prophetic, telestic (ritual), and erotic
communities was interpreted as the outpouring of the Spirit
forms of mania. All save the telestic are described as forms
predicted by the prophet Joel, and was dramatically symbol-
of inspiration (epipnoia). In many respects the most impor-
ized by the descent of the Holy Spirit in a rush of wind and
tant of these was prophetic or mantic inspiration, the type
in tongues of fire at Pentecost (Acts 2). The inspiration of
given by Apollo for purposes of divination, and most impor-
the Spirit brought with it a variety of ecstatic experiences,
tant in connection with the Delphic oracle. Although the
which included speaking in tongues and a revival of prophe-
famed “frenzy” of the Pythia at Delphi has been shown to
cy. In the light of such experiences, and given the Christian
be largely a product of the literary imagination (Lucian’s in
belief in the divinity of the Holy Spirit, it is not surprising
particular), there is no doubt that she was at all periods be-
that some early Christians found theories of inspiration con-
lieved to be genuinely inspired by the god Apollo. Mention
genial that were hardly distinguishable from theories of pos-
should also be made of those enigmatic, quasi-legendary fig-
session. Thus the apologist Athenagoras could say that the
ures of antiquity, the sibyls. Their inspired oracles were col-
Spirit made use of the prophet as a flute player makes use
lected and consulted at Rome, while many later Christians
of a flute. Justin Martyr also seems to have had a “mantic”
looked upon some of them as pre-Christian prophecies of
view of inspiration. Such theories may well have derived
Christ.
from Philo Judaeus, who explicitly ascribed scriptural proph-
ecy to divine possession, in this undoubtedly being influ-
The fact that Plato classified both poetic and prophetic
enced by Plato. As a whole, however, the Christian tradition
inspiration as forms of madness is indicative of the Greek
resisted such notions, and from the time of Origen on af-
tendency to view inspiration in terms of possession, a ten-
firmed the importance of the active involvement of the in-
dency already noted in South India, and which is very wide-
spired subject.
spread among tribal cultures the world over. Inspiration as
a form of mania is conceived of as a manifestation of enthou-
The Christian theological concept of the Holy Spirit as
siasmos, literally the presence of a god within the inspired
a divine person gave the concept of inspiration a theological
person, that is, possession. It shall be seen that this theory
importance that it could not have in either Judaism or Islam,
exerted an important influence on some early Jewish and
where the strong sense of divine immanence implied in such
Christian theories of inspiration, only later to be rejected.
a notion was viewed with suspicion. This is made clear by
the role ascribed to inspiration in the constitution of the
In the ancient Near East inspiration was closely associat-
scriptures of these three religions. While affirming the su-
ed with the phenomenon of prophecy. In its earliest form,
preme authority of the Torah, the rabbis denied that it was
the Near Eastern prophet served primarily as a counselor of
inspired. Rather it was given directly to Moses by God verba-
the chief or king, giving advice in the form of inspired ora-
tim. The intervention of an inspired author would have
cles. His role was distinguished from that of the cultic priest
served only to weaken its authority. Only the Prophets and
by the fact that the latter employed technical means of divi-
the Writings could properly be described as inspired. Simi-
nation while the prophet relied primarily on inspiration. The
larly in Islam, a clear distinction is drawn between revelation
more familiar figure of the prophet as the inspired critic of
(wah:y), which is applied to the verbatim transmission of the
both king and cult derives from the later history of prophecy
QurDa¯n to Muh:ammad through the angel Gabriel, and inspi-
in Israel, where the prophet became the divinely elected
ration (ilha¯m), which is restricted to the inspiration of indi-
spokesman of Yahveh. The ecstatic behavior and utterances
viduals on matters that are of primarily personal concern. In
of prophets such as Saul, Elijah, and Elisha were the effect
Christianity, by contrast, it is precisely the concept of inspi-
of the powerful spirit (ruah:) of God. In the later, so-called
ration that is traditionally invoked to account for the author-
classical prophets the experience of inspiration is less violent
itativeness of scripture.
and takes on the character of a close personal encounter.
This should not be taken to mean, however, that the
In general the role of the prophet in this more familiar
concept of inspiration is unimportant in either Judaism or
noncultic sense and the nature of inspiration as a religious
Islam. The rabbinical notion of the ruah: ha-qodesh (lit.,
phenomenon seem to be very intimately connected. The
“holy spirit”), while not to be confused with the Christian
spontaneity and dynamism that characterizes inspiration
notion, nevertheless fulfills some of the same functions. It
achieve an almost paradigmatic realization in the figure of
was used by the rabbis to explain prophetic inspiration, and
the itinerant prophet, who feels free to confront the estab-
was also believed to be present to holy souls, and in particular
lished centers of power in the name of his god. It is surely
to those who taught the Torah in public. According to a
not by chance that some of the clearest instances of inspira-
Midrash, “All that the righteous do, they do with the power
tion among the peoples of Africa are found among the Afri-
of ruah: ha-qodesh” (Tanh:umaD Va-yeh:i 13).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INTELLECTUALS
4511
In Islam the fact that the revelation made to
For a general view of inspiration among the Greeks, see E. R.
Muh:ammad is distinguished from the inspiration received
Dodds’s The Greeks and the Irrational (Berkeley, Calif.,
by the individual believer should not prevent anyone from
1951). A more recent work by Joseph Fontenrose, The Del-
recognizing in Muh:ammad an inspired prophet. Nor can
phic Oracle (Berkeley, Calif., 1978), proposes a fundamental
one fail to note the similarity between the oracular structure
revision of traditional views of the inspiration of the Pythia
at Delphi. On the inspiration of the Muses, one may consult
of some of the earliest su¯rahs of the QurDa¯n and the inspired
Eike Barmeyer’s Die Musen: Ein Beitrag zur Inspirationstheo-
oracles encountered elsewhere in the history of religions, in
rie (Munich, 1968).
particular among the ka¯hin, or soothsayers, of pre-Islamic
A wealth of information on inspiration among the Greeks, He-
Arabia.
brews, and early Christians can be found in the article on
The later S:u¯f¯ıs recognized the validity of another type
pneuma in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament,
of ecstatic utterance, called shat:h:, which they believed to be
edited by Gerhard Kittel (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1968). Jo-
divinely inspired. The saying of al-Halla¯j, “Ana¯ al-h:aqq” (“I
hannes Lindblom’s Prophecy in Ancient Israel (Philadelphia,
am the Truth”), is probably the most famous of such utter-
1962) is also a rich resource. Johannes Pedersen’s short
study, “The Role Played by Inspired Persons among the Isra-
ances, but one that unfortunately encouraged misunder-
elites and the Arabs,” in Studies in Old Testament Prophecy
standings that eventually led to his death. Inspiration did not
(Edinburgh, 1950), is helpful for the attention it gives to
always take such a dramatic form, however. The experience
early Arabic sources. For rabbinical theories of inspiration,
of ilha¯m remained an essentially inner experience that was
see Paul Billerbeck’s “Der Kanon des Alten Testaments und
believed to be authoritative only for the saintly soul who re-
seine Inspiration,” excursus 16 of the Kommentar zum Neuen
ceived it as a gift from God.
Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch, by Hermann L. Strack
and Paul Billerbeck (Munich, 1928). For inspiration in
These few examples must suffice to illustrate the variety
Islam, see Fazlur Rahman’s Prophecy in Islam: Philosophy and
of ways in which inspiration has been experienced from the
Orthodoxy (London, 1958), Annemarie Schimmel’s Mystical
earliest times down to the present day. Throughout human
Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1975), and the arti-
history are found such examples of men and women who are
cles on wah:y, ilha¯m, and shat:h: in the Shorter Encyclopaedia
open to a form of experience that ultimately defies any at-
of Islam, edited by H. A. R. Gibb and J. H. Kramers (Leiden,
tempts to explain, or even understand. Friedrich Nietzsche
1974).
put it beautifully, in describing his own personal experience
Friedrich Nietzsche’s account of his own experience of inspiration
of inspiration: “One hears—one does not seek; one takes—
while engaged in writing his Thus Spake Zarathustra was in-
one does not ask who gives: a thought suddenly flashes up
cluded by his sister in her introduction to that work and is
like lightning, it comes with necessity, unhesitatingly—I
reproduced in the Modern Library edition of Nietzsche’s
have never had any choice in the matter” (Nietzsche, 1954).
major works, The Philosophy of Nietzsche (New York, 1954),
pp. xix–xxxiii.
SEE ALSO Beverages; Enthusiasm; Glossolalia; Oracles;
New Sources
Prophecy; Shamanism; Sibylline Oracles; Spirit Possession.
Alexander, Anna, and Mark Roberts. High Culture: Reflections on
Addiction and Modernity. Albany, N.Y., 2003.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anthony, Brian Patrick. “Nature’s Cathedral; The Union of The-
A broad view of inspiration in its variety of forms in the history
ology and Ecology in the Writings of John Muir.” Eco-
of religions is provided by N. Kershaw Chadwick’s Poetry
theology 7 (July 2002): 74–81.
and Prophecy (Cambridge, U.K., 1942) and Edwyn Robert
Berger, Michael S. Rabbinic Authority. New York, 1998.
Bevan’s Sibyls and Seers: A Survey of Some Ancient Theories of
Pearce, Joseph. Literary Converts: Spiritual Inspiration in an Age of
Revelation and Inspiration (London, 1928). A more recent
Unbelief. San Francisco, 1999.
work by Gilbert Rouget, Music and Trance: A Theory of the
Schniedewind, William Michael. The Word of God in Transition:
Relations between Music and Possession (Chicago, 1985),
From Prophet to Exegete in the Second Temple Period. Shef-
while dealing primarily with possession trance, does have
field, U.K., 1995.
some interesting things to say about inspiration and is to be
recommended.
DAVID CARPENTER (1987)
Revised Bibliography
Much information on inspired poets among Indo-European peo-
ples can be found in Indogermanische Dichtersprache, edited
by Rüdiger Schmitt (Darmstadt, 1968), although this book
is aimed at the trained philologist. For a more accessible sam-
INTELLECTUALS are persons who produce or inten-
pling of the hymns of the Vedic r:s:is, see Wendy Doniger
sively study intellectual works. Intellectual works are coher-
O’Flaherty’s The Rig Veda (Harmondsworth, U.K., 1981).
ent complexes of symbolic configurations that deal with the
The inspired speech of the Maha¯ya¯na Buddhists is discussed
serious or ultimately significant features of the cosmos, the
by Graeme MacQueen in “Inspired Speech in Early
earth, and human beings. An intellectual work is unified by
Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism,” Religion 11 (1981): 303–319 and 12
logical connectedness and the substantive identity of its sub-
(1982): 49–65. On Namma¯lva¯r, see A. K. Ramanujan’s
¯
ject matter, and it is set forth in a conventional form.
Hymns for the Drowning: Poems for Vis:n:u by Namma¯lva¯r
¯
(Princeton, N.J., 1981), especially the very helpful after-
Religious intellectual works are those that deal with
word.
transcendent powers and their verbal, physical, and inspira-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4512
INTELLECTUALS
tional manifestations. They deal with the relations of tran-
Both in theory and in fact, however, the line dividing
scendent powers to texts that are regarded as sacred, and with
primordial religions from “world” or “universal” religions,
the influence of transcendent powers in the genesis and
that is, doctrinal religions that have acquired their doctrines
working of the cosmos, in human life and destiny, and in the
through the work of religious intellectuals, cannot be precise-
norms that guide human action.
ly delineated. A primordial religion could in principle ac-
Religious activities, both intellectual and practical (i.e.,
quire an intellectual constituent. Its mythological pantheon
religious practices), have as their objective the engendering
could be rationalized and its rituals given a more pro-
or maintaining of a state of belief that comprises a relation-
nouncedly transcendent reference; its magical procedures
ship to transcendent powers. Religious intellectual activities,
could be given a more explicit symbolic interpretation.
embodying this particular state of mind or belief, aim at at-
World religions contain much that has been taken from the
taining and transmitting knowledge or understanding of
primordial religions that were indigenous to the territories
transcendent powers and their manifestations. The attain-
from which they emerged or into which they entered. Yet no
ment of a religious state of mind encompasses practices such
primordial religions that were indigenous to the territories
as the performance of prescribed rituals, the incantation of
from which they emerged or into which they entered can be
sacred songs, the reiteration of sacred words, and the inges-
turned into world religions without sacred or canonical texts
tion, handling, and bearing of sacred objects. Such practical
and without intellectuals to construct doctrine from these
religious activities are infused with symbolic components
texts.
and are hence intimately related to the intellectual religious
DOCTRINE. The world religions have been primarily doctri-
activities that have constructed their underlying symbolic
nal religions in which articles are defined and ritual obser-
configurations. The intellectual elucidation of the meaning
vances prescribed; belief and observance are required of
of practical religious activities and objects creates an intimate
members. Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam are unquali-
bond between the intellectual and practical spheres of reli-
fiedly such religions. Confucianism has no primordial quali-
gious activity.
fications: It is open to all who can study the classical texts.
Bodies of religious beliefs and practices differ, however,
In Hinduism, one is in principle a Hindu by being born into
in the degree to which beliefs and practices have been elabo-
a Hindu caste, but it is also a religion centered around sacred
rated and rationalized. Religions that are built around sacred
writings and the rituals prescribed in the sacred writings. In
texts are more susceptible to an elaborate variety of interpre-
this respect, Judaism is also in a marginal position. It is cer-
tations than are those that have no sacred texts. These elabo-
tainly a religion of doctrines insofar as it has a tradition con-
rate interpretations are possible only on the basis of pro-
tained in a sacred text and elaborated by commentary, but
longed and intensive study by religious intellectuals who
it is also a primordial religion: A Jew is one who is born of
study the religious intellectual works that are central to the
Jewish parents. Nevertheless, both of these world religions,
complex of beliefs espoused by the religious community and
despite this primordial element, have allowed prominent
who produce works of their own.
places to religious intellectuals.
“PRIMORDIAL” AND “WORLD” RELIGIONS. Not all religious
Although the world religions, once established, recruit
communities, that is, communities with common religious
their members from among the offspring of their existing
beliefs and practices, cultivate or depend upon intellectuals.
members, in order for transmission and expansion to occur,
The majority of these religions without intellectuals are pri-
there must be a doctrine that is susceptible to simplification
mordial religions, that is, the religions of societies that define
and exposition. Even if the founder of the religion is, in Max
themselves by locality and lineage and in which no written
Weber’s terms, an “exemplary” rather than an “ethical”
texts contain their fundamental ideas. Such religions have be-
prophet, this exemplification has to be transformed into ex-
liefs and ritual practices, but they do not have doctrines.
poundable and teachable doctrine as a condition of its expan-
Their religious beliefs remain centered on local, occasional,
sion. The doctrine is precipitated into intellectual works; the
and functional deities. Their rituals often have been codified,
construction of this doctrine is the accomplishment of reli-
as was the case with Roman religion, and they sometimes
gious intellectuals.
have developed priesthoods as distinct professional strata;
Primordial religions have expanded territorially with the
but, having no sacred books, they generally have no religious
movement of their adherents, but they have not expanded
intellectuals to construct doctrines that could become inte-
to become the religions of entire societies to which they were
grally connected with their ritual observances. The larger,
not indigenous. Having no doctrines, they could not become
differentiated, and literate societies that continue to adhere
world religions.
to their primordial religions have produced intellectuals, in-
cluding religious intellectuals, but the latter have had no ec-
The combination of the written works, commentary,
clesiastical role. In these societies, such as those of ancient
and systematic speculations of religious intellectuals has
Greece and Rome, the construction of theological-
given to the world religions an influence in world history that
philosophical theories has been left to laymen whose theories
the fragmentary, unwritten, and inchoate beliefs of the devo-
remained outside the realm of religious practice and in-
tees of primordial religions could not achieve. The self-
fluence.
confidence of the propagators of the world religions within
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INTELLECTUALS
4513
and outside the societies of their origin has rested, in part,
the most fundamental objects of the religion, breaks out of
on the collective consciousness of participation in a system
the constraints of rationalized theological doctrine and rou-
of beliefs that answers urgent ultimate questions. It was diffi-
tine ritual.
cult for the devotees of doctrineless religions to stand up
Religious intellectuals are not less creative or less origi-
against the forceful proclamations and denunciations of a
nal than secular intellectuals who produce works of science,
world religion that possessed an elaborated and rationalized
literature, and art that are appreciated for their creativity or
doctrine. To the charismatic force of the prophetic founder
originality. Because the meaning of a sacred text is not self-
and his sacred text was added the derivative charismatic force
evident, interpretation is necessary. Interpretation is intend-
of an elaborated doctrine that expanded the concentrated
ed to discern the “true,” or preexistent, meaning of a sacred
and intense charisma of the founder. Local primordial reli-
text. The successful discovery of this “true” meaning is per-
gions fell before the expansion of the world religions pushing
ceived to be not an addition to existing knowledge but a re-
outward from their centers of origin.
assertion and confirmation of an already existent truth. Nev-
In contrast, world religions have been resistant to one
ertheless, a considerable degree of originality within the
another’s expansion. The Chinese, for example, were forti-
tradition might in fact be attained.
fied by the intellectually elaborated outlooks of Confucian-
When intellectuals elaborate doctrines that are based on
ism and Buddhism against the intellectual argument of
inherently problematic sacred texts, divergent and hence
Christian missionaries. The expansion of world religions has
conflicting doctrinal currents of belief appear. Such conflicts
been made primarily at the expense of primordial religions
have occurred in every world religion and have led to intense
that have had no significant intellectual rationalization to re-
disputes until one current has become prevalent over the oth-
sist attacks from an intellectually elaborated world religion.
ers and has been established as the orthodox position. There
As world religions have expanded, the primordial religions,
is, however, an important difference between a prevailing
as visible collective entities, have been all but obliterated.
doctrine that is orthodox solely through a substantial intel-
They have survived within this expansion only through their
lectual consensus and a prevailing doctrine that is promulgat-
unacknowledged assimilation. Their traditions were power-
ed as orthodox by an authoritative institution. An authorita-
ful enough to survive in fragmentary form, but they were not
tively promulgated doctrine is a dogma. Where there is
sufficiently rationalized to be able to survive as recognizable
dogma, heterodoxies are proscribed, and their intellectual
wholes.
proponents are suppressed.
TRADITION AND ORIGINALITY. An affirmative attitude to-
ward a particular tradition is inherent in the activities of reli-
The authorities that the religious intellectuals must con-
gious intellectuals, because they claim to carry forward sets
front are the authority of the sacred writings and the doc-
of beliefs that rest on the revelations of a founder, or a divine-
trines formed from them, the authority of the religious intel-
ly engendered sacred text, or both. Religious intellectuals are
lectual community, and that of ecclesiastical institutions. In
committed to a tradition that continues, with some attenua-
principle, the authority of the sacred writings is inviolable.
tion, the sacrality of the founding moment or period in the
In fact, however, the authority of these writings is the author-
past. All subsequent truths must be demonstrably continu-
ity of the prevailing doctrinal tradition and of those who es-
ous with that sacred past event or sequence of events.
pouse it within the institution. Critical interpretation of sa-
cred texts is thus perpetually a potential threat to the effective
Originality in the world religions is admitted only for
“official” authority of the religious institution.
the founder of the religion or for the sacred scriptures in
Within more complex societies, even those of very re-
which the founder serves as the voice of a transcendent
stricted literacy, there have been some self-taught laypersons
power. This conception of the originating sacredness of a
different in their occupation and status from the majority of
body of scriptures does not acknowledge any subsequent
religious intellectuals in their society. They may be called lay
originality by the religious intellectuals who take upon them-
or amateur religious intellectuals. Sometimes they have been
selves the responsibility for expounding and interpreting
merchants or craftsmen, sometimes scribes, officials, or sol-
them.
diers. These laymen have studied the texts zealously and
Prophetic—charismatic, founding, and renewing—
sometimes arrived at conclusions different from the prevail-
originality is acknowledged in most world religions. Inter-
ing doctrines. They have also resented the pretensions of the
pretative rationalizing originality is not acknowledged as
officially acknowledged and self-assertive priestly, academic,
originality. Yet originality does occur within the traditions
or monastic religious intellectuals. Their dissenting interpre-
of Buddhism and in the work of Jewish rabbis, Roman Cath-
tations of sacred writings have occasionally broken into pas-
olic and Protestant theologians, Islamic theologians and
sionate public dissent from the prevailing doctrines and from
Hindu philosophers. It is not, however, regarded as originali-
the priestly and academic representation of those doctrines.
ty. It is treated either as clarification of unchanging doctrine
These autodidactic intellectuals, sometimes reinforced by
or it is rejected as heretical. In addition to rationalizing inter-
renegades from the more established stratum of religious in-
pretative originality, there is in the world religions the origi-
tellectuals, have often furiously denounced the main body of
nality of the mystic who, while affirming his acceptance of
the priesthood as departing fundamentally from the “true”
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4514
INTELLECTUALS
meaning of the sacred texts. The priests, and especially the
increased differentiation of objects of intellectual activity,
higher level of the priestly hierarchy, have been accused of
and the increased specialization of intellectuals in dealing
excessive subservience to the ruling house and to the power-
with aspects of the world (which is now thought to be rela-
ful landowning families.
tively independent of transcendent powers) have been associ-
ated with a great increase in the proportion of secular intel-
Heterodox or dissenting doctrines have occasionally
lectuals and a recession of the jurisdiction of religious
been the work of intellectuals within the priesthood itself.
intellectuals.
Such interpretations at first lived an “underground” life.
Some of them were cultivated in seclusion by dissenting, au-
In territories where autonomous intellectual tradi-
todidactic religious intellectuals. The latter have often been
tions—both religious and secular—were well developed, reli-
subtle, learned, and ingenious.
gious intellectuals often assimilated intellectual traditions
that lay outside their own religious tradition. This occurred,
Among the greatest of these intellectuals who were criti-
for example, in Christianity and later in Islam when they be-
cal of the priestly or orthodox interpretation have been those
came established in the territory of Hellenistic civilizations.
prophets who were founders of new religions, that is, reli-
Christian intellectuals found affinities between their own
gions that declared themselves to be distinct from the hither-
Christian beliefs and Platonic, and later Aristotelian, philoso-
to prevailing body of religious belief and its proponents. The
phy. Islamic intellectuals quickly absorbed the Hellenistic
Buddha, Jesus, and Muh:ammad were such prophets. They
philosophical and scientific knowledge that had been culti-
were the beneficiaries of new revelations or illuminations.
vated in Syria and other parts of the Middle East under the
Jesus said he was divinely chosen to fulfill the mission
Seleucids and the Romans. By the end of the European Mid-
of earlier prophets. The Buddha was a profoundly original
dle Ages, Christian religious intellectuals drew knowledge di-
prophet, but he too was a continuator of Hinduism.
rectly from ancient secular Western sources. By the seven-
Muh:ammad claimed to be not only the recipient of a new
teenth century, both the quantity and the intellectual
revelation but to have realized more truly the religion of
authoritativeness of secular intellectual works gained the as-
Abraham and Jesus. In contrast, Confucian scholars in China
cendancy. Religious intellectuals absorbed some of this secu-
claimed no authority from revelation, and they did not bring
lar knowledge and attempted to render it compatible with
forth prophets from their ranks.
Christian belief.
There have also been prophets who have claimed to real-
The humanistic intellectuals of the Renaissance, taking
ize the true intentions of long-accepted doctrines against
up the traditions of the secular cultures of Greece and Rome,
those who had falsified them. The Hebrew prophetic intel-
continued to be Christians, but their attention moved to-
lectuals did not claim at any time to found a new religion.
ward the study of earthly things. After the Reformation this
They demanded the restoration of the religion of the Jews
differentiation and multiplication of secular intellectuals
to its prior condition of purity. Martin Luther, John Wyclif,
continued. Religious intellectuals also declined more and
and the monastic reformers of Christian religious orders
more in status in comparison with secular intellectuals.
must be placed in the same category as the prophetic intellec-
Religious intellectuals now constitute a small minority
tuals who thought that their religious community had de-
of the intellectuals of European and American societies.
parted from its original meaning and had succumbed to the
Many of them have made very far-reaching concessions to
ways of the earthly world.
the substantive and technical standards of secular intellectu-
als. They have accepted the findings of the research of physi-
Religious intellectual traditions alter as they pass from
cal and biological scientists and the approaches and analyses
region to region and from generation to generation. The
of secular historians and social scientists.
world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Ju-
daism, Christianity, and Islam—have experienced numerous
In modern times, religious intellectuals have confined
doctrinal vicissitudes and variations. They have survived
their intellectual activities to religious objects in a restricted
largely because their doctrines have been received and retran-
sense: theological studies, textual and historical analysis of sa-
smitted with modifications and increments by religious intel-
cred writings and their commentaries, the archaeology of sa-
lectuals. Without the constant reaffirmation and modifica-
cred sites, church history and the history of religious doc-
tions of doctrinal traditions by religious intellectuals, there
trines, and closely related topics. But even within some of
could be no religious communities with more or less uniform
these restricted spheres of religious study, a secular criterion
practices and beliefs over extended periods and large geo-
of validity has prevailed. Secular modes of study in the analy-
graphical areas.
sis of religious phenomena have become predominant, and
S
in certain fields, such as church history, the history of doc-
ECULAR AND RELIGIOUS INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITIES. In no
large societies have religious intellectual activities been the
trines, and the sociological and anthropological study of reli-
only intellectual activities. Yet except in ancient Greece and
gion, the techniques of research and the interpretations of
Rome, most intellectual activities in the societies of the an-
secular intellectuals have come to predominate.
cient world were carried on by religious intellectuals. In the
For centuries, religious intellectuals were an integral
modern age, the increased volume of intellectual works, the
part of the political life of their respective societies. The
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
4515
earthly centers of power could not claim the legitimacy of
James, E. O. The Nature and Function of Priesthood. London,
their ascendancy without its attestation by religious intellec-
1955.
tuals. It was thought that social order could be assured only
Le Bras, Gabriel. Institutions ecclésiastiques de la chrétienté médi-
if the earthly center was properly aligned with the transcen-
évale. Paris, 1959.
dent center. The earthly centers called upon religious intel-
Marrou, Henri Irénée. A History of Education in Antiquity. New
lectuals for administrative services. The education of young
York, 1956.
persons and children was entrusted to religious intellectuals.
Moore, George Foot. Judaism in the First Centuries of the Christian
There was, by and large, a relationship of mutual support be-
Era, the Age of the Tannaim. 3 vols. Cambridge, Mass.,
tween religious intellectuals, princes, and great landowners.
1927–1930.
In the bourgeois age, religious intellectuals became more crit-
Nilsson, Martin P. Geschichte der griechischen Religion. 2 vols. 3d
ical of the new plutocratic elite and of the bourgeois order
ed. Munich, 1967–1974.
of society. In Western European countries and North Ameri-
Ryan, John. Irish Monasticism: Origins and Early Development.
ca religious intellectuals increasingly joined with secular in-
Dublin, 1931.
tellectuals in oppositional political activities.
Schacht, Joseph. The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Ox-
In the once-colonial territories, now sovereign states,
ford, 1950.
“traditionalistic,” revivalistic religious intellectuals have be-
New Sources
come more active. In these countries, during the period of
Belief in God and Intellectual Honesty. Ruurd Vuldhuis, Andy F.
foreign rule, traditional religious intellectuals had been main-
Sanders and Heine J. Siebrand, editors. Assen, Netherlands,
ly passive toward the foreign rulers. Indigenous rulers en-
1990.
joyed the same submission of intellectuals in Asian societies
Christian Faith and Greek Philosophy in Late Antiquity: Essays in
that remained independent. Such passivity among tradition-
Tribute to George Christopher Stead, 9th April 1993. Lionel
al religious intellectuals is no longer so common. In Iran, for
R. Wickham and Caroline P. Bammel, editors. Leiden,
example, they have succeeded in establishing a theocracy. In
Netherlands, 1993.
a few other Islamic countries, they have been influential
Enlightenment and Religion: Rational Dissent in Eighteenth-Century
enough to compel secular military and civilian rulers to des-
Britain. Knud Haakonssen, editor. New York, 1996.
ignate their states as “Islamic” and to install “Islamic consti-
Exchange of Ideas: Religion, Scholarship and Art in Anglo-Dutch Re-
tutions.” Christian religious intellectuals in the formerly co-
lations in the Seventeenth Century. Simon Groenveld and Mi-
lonial societies have not been so active politically; in their
chael Wintle, editors. Zutphen, Netherlands, 1994.
religious intellectual activities, they have sought to overcome
their “alien” situation by reinterpreting Christianity to ren-
Meeting of Minds: Intellectual and Religious Interaction in East
Asian Traditions of Thought: Essays in Honor of Wing-tsit
der it compatible with indigenous cultural traditions.
Chan and William Theodore de Bary. Irene Bloom and Joshua
In Western countries in the twentieth century religious
A. Fogel, editors. New York, 1996.
intellectuals narrowed their intellectual activities in accor-
Religion and Twentieth-century American Intellectual Life. Michael
dance with the prevailing tendencies toward specialization
J. Lacey, editor. New York, 1996.
and professionalization. At the same time, they acquired
Religion, Learning, and Science in the Abbasid Period. M.J.L.
many of the scientific, cultural, moral, and political tradi-
Young, J.D. Latham, and R.B. Serjeant, editors. Cambridge,
tions of the secular intellectuals. In many respects, religious
1989.
intellectuals in Western countries have become very much
Taylor, Clarence. Black Religious Intellectuals: The Fight for Equali-
like secular intellectuals.
ty from Jim Crow to the Twenty-First Century. New York,
2002.
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E
Arnold, Thomas W. The Caliphate. 2d ed. Oxford, 1965.
DWARD SHILS (1987)
Revised Bibliography
Baron, Salo W. The Jewish Community: Its History and Structure
to the American Revolution. 3 vols. Philadelphia, 1942.
Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Cambridge, Mass., 1985.
INTELLIGENT DESIGN studies features of objects
Eliot, Charles. Hinduism and Buddhism. 3 vols. 3d ed. London,
that signal the action of an intelligent cause. Designed ob-
1957.
jects, like Mount Rushmore, exhibit characteristic features
Gibb, H. A. R., with Harold Bowen. Islamic Society and the West,
that point to an intelligence. Such features or patterns consti-
vol. 1, Islamic Society in the Eighteenth Century. Oxford,
tute signs of intelligence. Proponents of intelligent design,
1950.
known as design theorists, purport to study such signs for-
Goldziher, Ignácz. Die Richtungen der islamischen Koranauslegung
mally, rigorously, and scientifically. Intelligent design may
(1920). Leiden, 1952.
therefore be defined as the science that studies signs of intelli-
Harnack, Adolf von. The Constitution and Law of the Church in
gence.
the First Two Centuries. London, 1910.
Intelligent design is controversial because it purports to
Hooke, S. H. Prophets and Priests. London, 1938.
find signs of intelligence in nature and specifically in biologi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4516
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
cal systems. According to the evolutionary biologist Francis-
say intelligent causes are empirically detectable is to say there
co Ayala (2004), Charles Darwin’s greatest achievement was
exist well-defined methods that, based on observable features
to show how the organized complexity of organisms could
of the world, can reliably distinguish intelligent causes from
be attained apart from a designing intelligence. Intelligent
undirected natural causes. Many special sciences have already
design therefore directly challenges Darwinism and other
developed such methods for drawing this distinction—
naturalistic approaches to the origin and evolution of life.
notably forensic science, cryptography, archaeology, and
Leading proponents of intelligent design include Michael
the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Essential
Behe, Phillip Johnson, and William Dembski. Leading crit-
to all these methods is the ability to eliminate chance and
ics include Kenneth Miller, John Haught, and Michael Ruse.
necessity.
Although intelligent design is incompatible with a natu-
The astronomer Carl Sagan wrote a novel about SETI
ralized, nonteleological understanding of evolution, it has no
called Contact (1985) that was later made into a movie.
complaint against evolution per se. Intelligent design is com-
Sagan based the SETI astronomers’ methods of design detec-
patible with common descent, the claim that all organisms
tion squarely on scientific practice. Why do the radio astron-
trace their lineage to some last universal common ancestor.
omers in Contact draw such a design inference from the sig-
At the same time intelligent design is also compatible with
nals they monitored from distant space? SETI researchers
special creation, the claim that organisms, except for small-
run signals collected from space through computers pro-
scale evolutionary changes, were all separately created.
grammed to recognize preset patterns. These patterns serve
as a sieve. Signals that do not match any of the patterns pass
Given this flexibility, intelligent design is not readily
through the sieve and are classified as random.
shoehorned into the usual spectrum of explanations for evo-
lutionary change, which places naturalistic evolution at one
After years of receiving apparently meaningless, random
end, scientific creationism at the other, and theistic evolution
signals, the Contact researchers discover a pattern of beats
somewhere in the middle. Intelligent design argues that in-
and pauses that corresponds to the sequence of all the prime
telligence played a discernible role in the history of life.
numbers between 2 and 101. (Prime numbers are divisible
Whether that intelligence acted through an evolutionary
only by themselves and by one.) That startles the astrono-
process or by special creations is a separate question, and pro-
mers, and they immediately infer an intelligent cause. When
ponents of intelligent design come down on both sides of this
a sequence begins with 2 beats and then a pause, 3 beats and
question. (Behe, for instance, accepts common descent.)
then a pause, and continues through each prime number all
the way to 101 beats, researchers must infer the presence of
DEFINING SIGNS OF INTELLIGENCE. The idea that an intrin-
an extraterrestrial intelligence.
sic intelligence or teleology inheres in and is expressed
through nature has a long history and is embraced by many
The rationale for this inference is that nothing in the
religious traditions. The main difficulty with this idea since
laws of physics requires radio signals to take one form or an-
Darwin’s day, however, has been to discover a conceptually
other. The prime sequence is therefore contingent rather
powerful formulation of design that can fruitfully advance
than necessary. Also the prime sequence is long and hence
science. What has kept design outside the scientific main-
complex. Note that if the sequence were extremely short and
stream since the rise of Darwinism has been the lack of pre-
therefore lacked complexity, it could easily have happened
cise methods for distinguishing intelligently caused objects
by chance. Finally, the sequence is not merely complex but
from unintelligently caused ones.
also exhibits an independently given pattern or specification
(it is not just any sequence of numbers but a mathematically
For design to be a fruitful scientific concept, scientists
significant one—the prime numbers).
have to be sure they can reliably determine whether some-
thing is designed. Johannes Kepler, for instance, thought the
Intelligence leaves behind a characteristic trademark or
craters on the moon were intelligently designed by moon
signature—what within the intelligent design community is
dwellers. It is now known that the craters were formed by
now called specified complexity. An event exhibits specified
purely material factors (like meteor impacts). This fear of
complexity if it is contingent and therefore not necessary, if
falsely attributing something to design only to have it over-
it is complex and therefore not readily reproducible by
turned later has hindered design from entering the scientific
chance, and if it is specified in the sense of exhibiting an in-
mainstream. But design theorists argue that they now have
dependently given pattern. Note that a merely improbable
formulated precise methods for discriminating designed
event is not sufficient to eliminate chance—by flipping a
from undesigned objects. These methods, they contend, en-
coin long enough, one will witness a highly complex or im-
able them to avoid Kepler’s mistake and reliably locate design
probable event. Even so, one will have no reason to attribute
in biological systems.
it to anything other than chance.
As a theory of biological origins and development, intel-
The important thing about specifications is that they be
ligent design’s central claim is that only intelligent causes ad-
objectively given and not arbitrarily imposed on events after
equately explain the complex, information-rich structures of
the fact. For instance, if an archer fires arrows at a wall and
biology and that these causes are empirically detectable. To
then paints bull’s-eyes around them, the archer imposes a
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
4517
pattern after the fact. On the other hand, if the targets are
Darwinian factors such as genetic mutations and natural se-
set up in advance (specified) and then the archer hits them
lection), also include an ineliminable core that is designed.
accurately, one legitimately concludes that it was by design.
INTELLIGENT DESIGN AND RELIGION. Intelligent design’s
The combination of complexity and specification con-
main tie to religion is through the design argument, and per-
vincingly points the radio astronomers in the movie Contact
haps the best-known design argument is William Paley’s.
to an extraterrestrial intelligence. Note that the evidence is
Paley published his argument in 1802 in a book titled Natu-
purely circumstantial—the radio astronomers know nothing
ral Theology. The subtitle of that book is revealing: Evidences
about the aliens responsible for the signal or how they trans-
of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the
mit it. Design theorists contend that specified complexity
Appearances of Nature. Paley’s project was to examine fea-
provides compelling circumstantial evidence for intelligence.
tures of the natural world (what he called “appearances of na-
Accordingly specified complexity is a reliable empirical
ture”) and from there draw conclusions about the existence
marker of intelligence in the same way that fingerprints are
and attributes of a designing intelligence responsible for
a reliable empirical marker of an individual’s presence. More-
those features (whom Paley identified with the God of Chris-
over design theorists argue that purely material factors can-
tianity).
not adequately account for specified complexity.
According to Paley, if one finds a watch in a field (and
BIOLOGICAL DESIGN. In determining whether biological or-
thus lacks all knowledge of how the watch arose), the adapta-
ganisms exhibit specified complexity, design theorists focus
tion of the watch’s parts to telling time ensures that it is the
on identifiable systems (e.g., individual enzymes, metabolic
product of an intelligence. So too, according to Paley, the
pathways, and molecular machines). These systems are not
marvelous adaptations of means to ends in organisms (like
only specified by their independent functional requirements
the intricacy of the human eye with its capacity for vision)
but also exhibit a high degree of complexity.
ensure that organisms are the product of an intelligence. The
theory of intelligent design updates Paley’s watchmaker argu-
In Darwin’s Black Box (1996) the biochemist Michael
ment in light of contemporary information theory and mo-
Behe connects specified complexity to biological design
lecular biology, purporting to bring this argument squarely
through his concept of irreducible complexity. Behe defines
within science.
a system as irreducibly complex if it consists of several inter-
related parts for which removing even one part renders the
In arguing for the design of natural systems, intelligent
system’s basic function unrecoverable. For Behe, irreducible
design is more modest than the design arguments of natural
complexity is a sure indicator of design. One irreducibly
theology. For natural theologians like Paley, the validity of
complex biochemical system that Behe considers is the bacte-
the design argument did not depend on the fruitfulness of
rial flagellum. The flagellum is an acid-powered rotary motor
design-theoretic ideas for science but on the metaphysical
with a whiplike tail that spins at twenty thousand revolutions
and theological mileage one could get out of design. A natu-
per minute and whose rotating motion enables a bacterium
ral theologian might point to nature and say, “Clearly the
to navigate through its watery environment.
designer of this ecosystem prized variety over neatness.” A
design theorist attempting to do actual design-theoretic re-
Behe shows that the intricate machinery in this molecu-
search on that ecosystem might reply, “Although that is an
lar motor—including a rotor, a stator, O-rings, bushings,
intriguing theological possibility, as a design theorist I need
and a drive shaft—requires the coordinated interaction of
to keep focused on the informational pathways capable of
approximately forty complex proteins and that the absence
producing that variety.”
of any one of these proteins would result in the complete loss
of motor function. Behe argues that the Darwinian mecha-
In his Critique of Pure Reason (1781) Immanuel Kant
nism faces grave obstacles in trying to account for such irre-
claimed that the most the design argument can establish is
ducibly complex systems. In No Free Lunch (2002) William
“an architect of the world who is constrained by the adapt-
Dembski shows how Behe’s notion of irreducible complexity
ability of the material in which he works, not a creator of the
constitutes a particular instance of specified complexity.
world to whose idea everything is subject” (Kant, 1929,
p. 522). Far from rejecting the design argument, Kant ob-
Once an essential constituent of an organism exhibits
jected to overextending it. For Kant, the design argument le-
specified complexity, any design attributable to that constit-
gitimately establishes an architect (that is, an intelligent cause
uent carries over to the organism as a whole. To attribute de-
whose contrivances are constrained by the materials that
sign to an organism one need not demonstrate that every as-
make up the world), but it can never establish a creator who
pect of the organism was designed. Organisms, like all
originates the very materials that the architect then fashions.
material objects, are products of history and thus subject to
the buffeting of purely material factors. Automobiles, for in-
Intelligent design is entirely consonant with this obser-
stance, get old and exhibit the effects of corrosion, hail, and
vation by Kant. Creation is always about the source of being
frictional forces. But that does not make them any less de-
of the world. Intelligent design, as the science that studies
signed. Likewise design theorists argue that organisms,
signs of intelligence, is about arrangements of preexisting
though exhibiting the effects of history (and that includes
materials that point to a designing intelligence. Creation and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4518
INTERLACUSTRINE BANTU RELIGIONS
intelligent design are therefore quite different. One can have
Dembski, William A., and Michael Ruse, eds. Debating Design:
creation without intelligent design and intelligent design
From Darwin to DNA. New York, 2004. This anthology
without creation. For instance, one can have a doctrine of
places intelligent design in conversation with Darwinian,
creation in which God creates the world in such a way that
self-organizational, theistic approaches to evolution.
nothing about the world points to design. The evolutionary
Forrest, Barbara. “The Wedge at Work: How Intelligent Design
biologist Richard Dawkins wrote a book titled The Blind
Creationism Is Wedging Its Way into the Cultural and Aca-
Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Uni-
demic Mainstream.” In Intelligent Design Creationism and Its
verse without Design (1996). Even if Dawkins is right about
Critics: Philosophical, Theological, and Scientific Perspectives,
edited by Robert T. Pennock, pp. 5–53, Cambridge, Mass.,
the universe revealing no evidence of design, it would not
2001. A history of the intelligent design movement by a crit-
logically follow that it was not created. It is logically possible
ic of that movement.
that God created a world that provides no evidence of design.
On the other hand, it is logically possible that the world is
Giberson, Karl W., and Donald A. Yerxa. Species of Origins: Amer-
ica’s Search for a Creation Story. Lanham, Md., 2002. Dis-
full of signs of intelligence but was not created. This was the
cusses intelligent design’s place in the science and religion di-
ancient Stoic view, in which the world was eternal and uncre-
alogue.
ated and yet a rational principle pervaded the world and pro-
Haught, John F. God after Darwin: A Theology of Evolution. Boul-
duced marks of intelligence in it.
der, Colo., 2000. A theological critique of intelligent design.
The implications of intelligent design for religious belief
Hunter, Cornelius G. Darwin’s God: Evolution and the Problem of
are profound. The rise of modern science led to a vigorous
Evil. Grand Rapids, Mich., 2001. Provides an interesting
attack on all religions that treat purpose, intelligence, and
analysis of how intelligent design and Darwinism play off the
wisdom as fundamental and irreducible features of reality.
problem of evil.
The high point of this attack came with Darwin’s theory of
Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. Translated by N. K.
evolution. The central claim of Darwin’s theory is that an
Smith. New York, 1929.
unguided material process (random variation and natural se-
Manson, Neil A., ed. God and Design: The Teleological Argument
lection) could account for the emergence of all biological
and Modern Science. London, 2003. This anthology situates
complexity and order. In other words, Darwin appeared to
intelligent design within broader discussions about teleology.
show that the design in biology (and by implication in nature
generally) was dispensable. By showing that design is indis-
Miller, Kenneth R. Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for
Common Ground between God and Evolution. New York,
pensable to the scientific understanding of the natural world,
1999. A critique of intelligent design’s scientific research pro-
intelligent design is reinvigorating the design argument and
gram.
at the same time overturning the widespread misconception
Paley, William. Natural Theology; or, Evidences of the Existence and
that the only tenable form of religious belief is one that treats
Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the Appearances of Na-
purpose, intelligence, and wisdom as by-products of unintel-
ture. London, 1809.
ligent material processes.
Peters, Ted, and Martinez Hewlett. Evolution from Creation to
B
New Creation. Nashville, Tenn., 2003. Discusses intelligent
IBLIOGRAPHY
Ayala, Francisco. “Design without Designer: Darwin’s Greatest
design’s place in the science and religion dialogue.
Discovery.” In Debating Design: From Darwin to DNA, ed-
Rea, Michael C. World without Design: The Ontological Conse-
ited by William A. Dembski and Michael Ruse, pp. 55–80.
quences of Naturalism. Oxford, 2002. Probes intelligent de-
Cambridge, U.K., 2004.
sign’s metaphysical underpinnings.
Beckwith, Francis J. Law, Darwinism, and Public Education: The
Sagan, Carl. Contact. New York, 1985.
Establishment Clause and the Challenge of Intelligent Design.
Witham, Larry. By Design: Science and the Search for God. San
Lanham, Md., 2003. Examines whether intelligent design is
Francisco, 2003. A good overview of intelligent design that
inherently religious and thus, on account of church-state sep-
evenhandedly treats its scientific, cultural, and religious di-
aration, must be barred from public school science curricula.
mensions by a journalist who has personally interviewed the
Behe, Michael J. Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge
main players in the debate over intelligent design and who
to Evolution. New York, 1996. An overview of intelligent de-
allows them to tell their story.
sign’s scientific research program.
Woodward, Thomas. Doubts about Darwin: A History of Intelli-
Dawkins, Richard. The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of
gent Design. Grand Rapids, Mich., 2003. A history of the in-
Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design. New York,
telligent design movement by a supporter.
1996. An impassioned defense of Darwinism against any
form of teleology or design.
WILLIAM A. DEMBSKI (2005)
Dembski, William A. No Free Lunch: Why Specified Complexity
Cannot Be Purchased without Intelligence. Lanham, Md.,
2002.
Dembski, William A. The Design Revolution: Answering the Tough-
INTERLACUSTRINE BANTU RELIGIONS.
est Questions about Intelligent Design. Downers Grove, Ill.,
The term interlacustrine Bantu, as used here, encompasses a
2004. These two Dembski works include overviews of intel-
variety of peoples who live between the Great Lakes of east-
ligent design’s scientific research program.
central Africa and speak closely related Bantu languages.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INTERLACUSTRINE BANTU RELIGIONS
4519
Their territory includes some of the most densely populated
benefit of their successors. This institution involved both
regions of Africa, consisting of all of Uganda south of the
possession and mediumship; it is believed that the possessing
Victoria Nile, the states of Rwanda and Burundi, and a sub-
spirit, while “in the head” of its medium, may enter into
stantial portion of northwest Tanzania. Before indepen-
communication with the living within an accepted frame-
dence, most of the area was divided into a number of tradi-
work of values and beliefs. Traditionally, these cults focused
tional kingdoms, the largest of these being Rwanda and
especially on the hero-gods who were, and still are, regarded
Burundi in the south and the four Uganda monarchies of
as primarily beneficial, concerned especially with human fe-
Buganda, Bunyoro, Toro, and Ankole in the north. There
cundity. In Bunyoro and some neighboring areas the cwezi
were also about a dozen smaller but structurally similar units
are known as the “white” embandwa; the color white signify-
in the Tanzanian sector. The mass of the people are agricul-
ing purity and blessing. These traditional cults, centered on
turalists, but in many areas a cattle-owning minority, called
the cwezi in the north and on Ryangombe and his associates
Huma, or Hima, in the north and Tutsi in the south, formed
in the south, may be said to form the core of interlacustrine
a dominant and hereditary upper class.
Bantu religions.
Today most of the people of the region are at least nom-
There are many other spirits of nonhuman and some-
inally Christians; there is also a substantial minority of Mus-
times of foreign origin that can be approached through
lims. But the indigenous cults are still widespread and are re-
mediumship ritual. These are sometimes known in the
markably similar throughout the area.
northern areas as the “black” embandwa, and they include
THE SPIRIT POWERS. All the peoples of the area have the
spirits associated with the bush, with certain illnesses, and
idea of a supreme being, known as Imana in the south, Ru-
with some neighboring countries. In the interlacustrine area
hanga in the Nyoro-speaking north, and Katonda in Ugan-
(as elsewhere in Africa) more recent spirits have come to rep-
da; the last two names mean “creator.” In some myths the
resent new and formidable forces of all kinds, such as hither-
hierarchical class structure mentioned above is ascribed to
to unknown illnesses, manifestations of Western power such
him, which to a certain degree may have sanctioned its accep-
as motorcars, airplanes, and even army tanks, as well as such
tance by the less privileged. But, in a familiar pattern, the cre-
abstract qualities as “Europeanness.” All these elements and
ator god, having made the world, was disappointed by it and
a great many more have been readily incorporated into the
withdrew from active participation in human affairs. Shrines
mediumship cults.
are not made for him, nor are sacrifices offered as they are
to the other gods (though here Buganda seems to have been
In addition to the high god and the wide and growing
an exception). In contrast to the lesser spirit powers, no
variety of embandwa spirits, there are the ghosts of the dead.
mediumship cult is dedicated to the supreme being. He is,
Ghost cults are not necessarily ancestor cults. An ancestor
however, thought to be generally well disposed toward hu-
cult is concerned with the deceased forebears of a lineage,
mans, and brief prayers and thanks may be offered up to him
who are usually conceived as a collectivity and are believed
on a casual basis.
to be directly interested in the well-being of their descen-
dants. Though traces of such a cult are still found in parts
Far more significant in everyday life are the powerful
of the interlacustrine area, it has none of the importance of
spirits known as embandwa or emandwa. The most impor-
such fully developed cults as have been described among, for
tant of these form a group of hero-gods, whose names are
example, some West African peoples.
well known throughout the area. They are linked in the
south with a quasi-mythical ruler called Ryangombe and in
But the cult of ghosts is important throughout the re-
the north with a shadowy ruling dynasty whose members are
gion. It is believed that ghosts are left by people after they
called cwezi. These heroic figures are the subject of a rich my-
die; diffused like the wind, such ghosts are sometimes associ-
thology; sometimes they are represented as the earliest de-
ated with a shadowy underworld, and it is thought that they
scendants of the creator, sometimes as having come from a
may bring death, illness, or other calamity on those who have
distant country. In either case they were great warriors, larger
injured or offended them while they were alive. Ghosts are
than life, and the doers of marvelous deeds. They were ac-
not necessarily kin or affines of their victims, though very
companied by retinues of kin and servants, and their women
often they are. Disputes are especially likely to arise within
are included among their number. Like the Greek gods,
a person’s circle of relatives, and it is believed that these may
some are identified with particular features of the environ-
readily take the form, postmortem, of ghostly vengeance.
ment; thus Wamara is associated with rain and rivers, Kagoro
Anyone, relative or not, who dies with a grudge against an-
with thunder and lightning, Mulisa with cattle and cattle
other may “leave a ghost” to obtain revenge.
herding, Mugasa with the Great Lakes, and so on.
Throughout the interlacustrine area, ghosts are seen as
Eventually this heroic race vanished from the world:
malevolent rather than benevolent, more concerned to pun-
some say that the cwezi disappeared into one of the lakes in
ish than to reward. They are feared rather than revered,
the area; Ryangombe is said to have been killed by a wild buf-
though if they cannot be exorcised it is desirable to remain
falo while hunting. But whatever their fate, it is believed that
on good terms with them. In either case, recourse must be
they left the institution of spirit mediumship behind for the
had to the possession cults.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4520
INTERLACUSTRINE BANTU RELIGIONS
CULTS. Generally people have recourse to the cults as a re-
bolically enacted. Second, the secrets of cult membership
sponse to some misfortune, and when things go wrong, the
have to be learned; in particular, the novice may be told how
first step is to consult a diviner. He, or possibly she, using
to simulate possession and mediumship even though she
one of a wide variety of techniques, is likely to ascribe the
does not actually achieve these states. Threats of the fearful
client’s trouble to an embandwa spirit, an offended ghost, or
consequences of disclosure confirm the candidate’s commit-
sorcery. If the responsible agent is found to be an embandwa
ment to secrecy. And third, the process of initiation puts the
spirit or a ghost there are two possibilities. If the ghost is that
aspirant in a condition of ritual impurity, needing special rit-
of a stranger (or of a very distant relative) or if the affliction
ual to remedy it.
is attributed to a minor spirit such as might be sent by a sor-
SOCIAL CONTEXT. Important throughout much of the area
cerer, then there are special ritual techniques for exorcising
was the role of the household medium, in the Nyoro-
it and either destroying it or turning it away from its intend-
speaking region called omucwezi w Deka or, if female, nyakata-
ed victim forever.
gara. One member of the family, usually female and prefera-
But the more important embandwa, and the ghosts of
bly initiated while still a child, links the domestic group with
closely related kin or affines, cannot be dealt with so summa-
one of the traditional embandwa spirits as its medium: this
rily. The afflicted person must become initiated into the
spirit is supposed to have a special concern for the well-being
mediumship cult as the spirit’s human medium. This estab-
of the family members. Here especially the purity and auspi-
lishes an enduring relationship between person and spirit, a
ciousness of the traditional cults are stressed; for only a gentle
relationship that should be sustained from time to time by
and well-mannered child is acceptable to the spirits as a
further possession ritual. In the course of these séances the
household medium. In some areas there is, in addition, a
possessing power is believed to be able to communicate with
broader association between particular traditional spirits and
the living through its medium, who is supposed to be in a
particular clans, but generally this does not involve any spe-
state of trance while this is happening. The spirit may begin
cial ritual over and above the “domestic” cults just men-
by announcing its identity, and then greet and be greeted by
tioned.
all present. It may go on to explain what offended it and ask
The relationship between the embandwa cults and the
for food and drink—an offering that should be given to it
traditional kingships was commonly one of implicit or ex-
there and then while it is “in the medium’s head.” Or it may
plicit opposition. In several kingdoms, most notably those
demand the sacrifice or dedication to it of a cow or a goat,
of Bunyoro and Rwanda, members of the royal clan (includ-
or the building for it of a spirit hut. And it may, if it is the
ing the king himself) were debarred from participation in the
ghost of a close kinsman, ask for the reconciliation of quar-
mediumship cults. Kings in the interlacustrine region were
reling family members. Before it “leaves the head” of its me-
not priests. Instead, they maintained priests at court—
dium, a spirit, if it is mollified, is likely to bless all present
professional mediums who, like everyone else, were subject
and to promise them good fortune, and especially more chil-
to the royal authority. Among the larger kingdoms it was
dren, in the future. Séances are dramatic occasions, involving
only in Buganda, by far the most politically centralized of the
drumming, dancing, and the singing of special songs, and
interlacustrine states, that the royal line was closely identified
mediums may assume the language and gestures appropriate
with the mediumship cult. The official Ganda cult centered
to their possessing spirits.
on the ghosts of former kings, whose tombs, carefully main-
tained, provided the locus for state ritual. But even here it
While possessed, mediums appear to be in a state of
was the lubale (i.e., embandwa) “priests,” and not the king,
trance and may claim afterward that they have no recollec-
who were the mediums for the royal ancestors.
tion of what happens to them when they are possessed. But
evidence from several parts of the area indicates that com-
In the twentieth century the opposition between reli-
plete dissociation is seldom, if ever, achieved; generally, the
gion and state was exemplified in the rise and decline of the
medium is “putting on an act.” But this does not mean that
Nyabingi cult. This cult focused on a powerful female em-
they are fraudulent; the play they are performing is a religious
bandwa called Nyabingi and her associates, whose cult has
one, a “liturgical drama” in Luc de Heusch’s phrase. And,
been ascribed to various sources but may have originated in
in addition to providing a ritual means of influencing powers
northern Rwanda, whence it spread rapidly into southwest
over which there are no other means of control, the medium-
Uganda. It appears to have begun as a reaction both against
ship cults are also a source of dramatic entertainment in their
the traditional Ryangombe cults and against Rwanda’s ruling
own right.
class, the pastoral Tutsi. But with the coming of European
colonial power, the cult became a protest movement against
Admission to the cults requires a complex (and expen-
all governmental authority. In the 1920s a revolt by Nyab-
sive) cycle of initiation ritual, often lasting for several days
ingi adherents against the local administration was crushed
and culminating in the possession of the novice by the spirit
by military force, though the cult survived in attenuated
concerned. The pattern of cult initiation is broadly similar
form for many years.
throughout the area. First, the initiate’s change of status is
stressed. He, or more probably she, is reborn into a new fam-
It is not surprising that the embandwa cults found them-
ily, that of her fellow mediums, and this rebirth may be sym-
selves in opposition to the Christian mission churches,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS
4521
which, with only very limited justification, regarded them as
Zinza of Northwestern Tanzania (Oslo, 1981), provides a de-
being involved with witchcraft. Because the traditional cults
tailed account, based on field research, of the cults among
were generally seen as beneficent and as being especially con-
one of the less well known peoples of the region. Relevant
cerned with childbearing, attempts by government officials
to the study of religion in its political context is Elizabeth
and missionaries to eradicate them were readily interpreted
Hopkins’s “The Nyabingi Cult of Southwestern Uganda,” in
by the traditionally minded as aimed, in the long term, at
Protest and Power in Black Africa, edited by Robert I. Rotberg
and Ali A. Mazrui (Oxford, 1970), a history of the rise and
the elimination of the indigenous peoples themselves. Men-
influence of an anticolonial spirit cult. Finally, for an African
tion should also be made here of the revivalist and funda-
academic’s view of his own traditional religion, see Abel
mentalist Balokole (“the Saved Ones”) movement within the
G. M. Ishumi’s “Religion and the Cults,” chapter 6 of his
Anglican church. Although this movement affected only a
Kiziba: The Cultural Heritage of an Old African Kingdom
small minority of Christians, its uncompromising evange-
(Syracuse, N.Y., 1980)
lism brought it into conflict not only with the embandwa
JOHN BEATTIE (1987)
cults—with which it had certain things in common, for ex-
ample, the notion of being “born again”—but also with the
secular authorities.
How, finally, is one to explain the continued survival
INTERMEDIATE BEINGS SEE ANGELS;
of the cults, old as well as new, throughout much of the area?
DEMONS; DEVILS; FAIRIES; GHOSTS; MONSTERS
Some of the reasons are implicit in what has been said above.
But among the most important of them is the cults’ eclecti-
cism. Inimical aspects of the environment, and in particular
the disruptive effects of social change, are not denied or re-
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISH-
jected; rather they are assimilated and dealt with through
NA CONSCIOUSNESS (ISKCON) is the missionary
dramatic ritual. To give concrete expression to the forces that
form of devotional Hinduism brought to the United States
shape human lives (even if this is done in symbolic form)
in 1965 by a pious devotee of Kr:s:n:a who wanted to convert
provides the interlacustrine Bantu with one basis for coping
the English-speaking world to “God-consciousness.” By
with these forces.
2003, ISKCON had become an international movement
with more than 350 temples and centers worldwide (approx-
SEE ALSO East African Religions, article on Northeast Bantu
imately fifty in the United States).
Religions.
ESTABLISHED AS CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT. The founding
guru of ISKCON, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
was born Abhay Charan De in 1896 in Calcutta. Educated
Three works adopt a comparative approach. In his Entre le Victo-
in a Vais:n:ava school and later in Scottish Church College,
ria l’Albert et l’Édouard: Ethnographie de la partie anglaise du
he was a sporadically successful businessman in the pharma-
Vicariat de l’Uganda (Rennes, 1920), the missionary P. Julien
ceutical industry. However, after he was initiated in 1922 by
Gorju gives a good account of the cults and of initiation into
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, a Gaud:iya (Bengali) Vais:n:ava, in
them in the Uganda kingdoms. Luc de Heusch’s Le Rwanda
the line of the sixteenth-century saint and reformer Caitanya,
et la civilisation interlacustre: Études d’anthropologie historique
he began increasingly to invest time and money in his reli-
et structurale (Brussels, 1966) contains a comprehensive anal-
gious interests. In 1944 Prabhupada established the maga-
ysis of the Ryangombe cult in Rwanda, taking account also
zine Back to Godhead, and in 1952 he formed the Jhansi
of comparable data from neighboring areas. And Iris Berger’s
League of Devotees. He gave up his life as a householder
Religion and Resistance: East African Kingdoms in the Pre-
colonial Period (Tervuren, Belgium, 1981), although largely
(gr:ihastha) in 1954 and took the formal vows of an ascetic
concerned with historical reconstruction, includes an up-to-
(sam:nya¯sin) in 1959.
date review and assessment of current information on the
In September 1965, at the age of sixty-nine, Prabhupa-
cults over the whole area as well as a useful bibliography. Ber-
da arrived in New York City with less than ten dollars in his
ger notes in particular the important role played in the cults
pocket and a suitcase full of his translations of the Kr:s:n:a
by women.
scripture, called the S´r¯ımad Bha¯gavatam. He lived with vari-
There are several brief accounts of the religious beliefs and rituals
ous Indian and American supporters in Manhattan, where
of particular peoples in the area; see, for example, Lucy P.
he daily chanted and sang the praises of Kr:s:n:a. Prabhupada’s
Mair’s “Religion and Magic,” chapter 9 of her book on the
lectures and devotional services initially attracted many
Ganda, An African People in the Twentieth Century (1934;
counterculture youths, and preaching centers were estab-
New York, 1965); J. J. Maquet’s “The Kingdom of Ruanda,”
lished in Los Angeles, Berkeley, Boston, and Montreal. By
in African Worlds, edited by Daryll Forde (London, 1954);
and John Beattie’s “Spirit Mediumship in Bunyoro,” in Spir-
the early 1970s, Los Angeles had become the headquarters
it Mediumship and Society in Africa, edited by John Beattie
of ISKCON and its publishing office, the Bhaktivedanta
and John Middleton (New York, 1969). A monograph by a
Book Trust, which has printed more than fifty different
Norwegian anthropologist, Svein Bjerke, Religion and Mis-
translations and original works by Prabhupada and hundreds
fortune: The Bacwezi Complex and the Other Spirit Cults of the
of other ISKCON treatises since his death.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4522
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS
From the earliest years of the movement, Prabhupada’s
ship of the American temples remained constant or declined
disciples have been known for their public chanting
in the decade after Prabhupada’s death, ISKCON branches
(san˙k¯ırtan) of the Hare Kr:s:n:a mantra and their distribution
grew rapidly overseas, where they often found more welcom-
of Back to Godhead magazine and Prabhupada’s books. Like
ing environments.
his Indian godbrothers, Prabhupada believed that the recita-
tion of God’s name was necessary for salvation. Further, his
During the 1990s, ISKCON’s primary growth came in
guru had instructed him to bring “Krishna consciousness”
the former Soviet states with twenty temples formed in Rus-
to the English-speaking world. Consequently, the “Hare
sia alone. In April 1998, ISKCON’s status as an accepted
Krishnas” have been both very visible and evangelical in
Hindu tradition was confirmed as the prime minister helped
India, America, and globally.
inaugurate a new temple and museum complex in New
Delhi, India.
In July 1970, Prabhupada formed a Governing Body
Commission (GBC) of twelve advanced devotees to adminis-
Throughout its history in America, ISKCON has en-
ter an increasingly widespread and complex ISKCON and
countered opposition from anticult groups such as the Citi-
to allow him to spend his time preaching and translating. At
zens’ Freedom Foundation, the Cult Awareness Network,
this same time, he instituted a series of standardized religious
and the American Family Foundation. The movement’s
practices that made ISKCON devotees more like their Indi-
methods of book distribution and fund-raising have most
an counterparts. Male devotees who entered the temple had
often been at the heart of both external and internal criti-
to wear the traditional saffron dress of the monastic novice
cism. These questionable practices were often the result of
and shave their heads, while women wore traditional Indian
the unbounded enthusiasm of devotees and organizational
saris. All temples were to follow a daily regimen of rising at
inconsistencies during the first two decades of ISKCON’s
4:00 AM for morning devotional services (pu¯ja¯), chanting six-
development. The early decades of this charismatic move-
teen rounds of the Kr:s:n:a mantra on 108 prayer beads (ja¯pa¯),
ment also spawned several internal crises that fully emerged
and attending a lecture on a scriptural passage. A clear dis-
after the founder’s death.
tinction was made between brahma¯carin, or “student,” devo-
tees who intended to take the four monastic regulative prin-
INTERNAL CRISES. Existing leadership problems were height-
ciples (no meat eating, no intoxicants of any kind, no sexual
ened after the founder’s death. ISKCON began as a charas-
activity of any kind, and no gambling) and gr:ihasta, or
matic movement founded on the strength of Prabhupada’s
“householder,” devotees who intended to live in marriage
pious faith and practices. While the administrative and reli-
(often outside the temple) and who might also take a modi-
gious authority of the founder could be transferred to his
fied version of the four vows.
eleven appointed successors, his piety and depth of faith
could not. The initial practice was for the eleven guru succes-
EXPANSION AND EXTERNAL OPPOSITION. Throughout the
sors to provide spiritual and administrative leadership for a
1970s and early 1980s, ISKCON became more conscious of
geographical “zone” and to act as though they were Prabhu-
its Indian roots at the same time that it was expanding to
pada (i.e., they initiated disciples, accepted guru worship,
every continent on the globe. Prabhupada frequently re-
and so on). Some of the new ISKCON gurus even claimed
turned to India from 1970 until his death in Vr:nda¯vana,
that their individual authority was superior to that of the
India, in November 1977. He received a hearty welcome
GBC. But one by one, many of these young gurus suc-
from most Indians, who jokingly called his devotees “danc-
cumbed to the temptations of sex or the abuse of their power.
ing white elephants.” He established temples and preaching
By the late 1980s, six of the original eleven had either volun-
centers near Bombay, in Vr:nda¯vana (the birthplace of
tarily stepped down or had been removed by the GBC. By
Kr:s:n:a), and in Ma¯ya¯pur (the birthplace of Caitanya). By the
the mid-1980s the GBC authorized the inauguration of
early 1980s, the Bombay temple had more than six thousand
nearly two dozen new initiating gurus and assigned more
Indian “lifetime” congregational members, and the
than one guru to each geographical zone where devotees
Vr:nda¯vana temple was included on most Kr:s:n:a pilgrims’ cir-
lived. Throughout the 1990s the guru and leadership debates
cuits. Back in America, Indian immigrants became members
continued with many Kr:s:n:a devotees (including some gurus)
of ISKCON temples and were often strong supporters of this
defecting to start their own movement or to become the dis-
transplanted devotional Hindu movement.
ciple of one of the Indian godbrothers of Prabhupada. Sever-
Prabhupada circled the globe eleven times in his twelve
al waves of reform during the 1980s and 1990s altered the
years of missionary activity and established temples in En-
power and scope of individual gurus. In 2003 the supreme
gland and continental Europe as well as in India, Australia,
court in India was asked to adjudicate leadership squabbles
and South Africa. Just before his death, he appointed eleven
among temple leaders who quarreled over the powers of cur-
disciples as initiating gurus to keep his Caitanya chain of dis-
rent ISKCON gurus in India. In the absence of the founding
cipleship unbroken and to missionize the rest of the world.
guru, the GBC and the appointed gurus together have tried
By the mid-1980s his disciples had established forty-five
to provide leadership for the worldwide movement in the
temples or farms in Europe, ten in Africa, thirty-five in Asia,
face of economic and legal crises that have threatened the
and forty in South America. Whereas the full-time member-
movement’s very survival.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS
4523
A second serious internal crisis for ISKCON has been
devotees in most temples were forbidden to lead chanting,
the abuse of children. In the early 1970s the number of mar-
to give Bha¯gavatam class, or to hold high offices in a temple
ried devotees was rising, and some of the initial devotees ac-
or the GBC.
cepted the life of the “renounced” sam:nya¯sin. This shift of
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, some women and
authority in the Kr:s:n:a temples to the celibate devotees creat-
men came forward to insist on the equal spiritual, social, po-
ed a lower social status for families (and especially women
litical status that women had enjoyed earlier under Prabhu-
and children) than had been true in the 1960s. Schools for
pada. In the mid-1990s some temple leaders in Europe and
children called gurukulas (guru schools) were established in
the United States said that discrimination against women
Dallas and Los Angeles in America and in Vrindaban, India.
must cease and permitted women to engage in religious and
The schools were often run by sam:nya¯sins who had no experi-
leadership roles equal to men. In 1996 an American woman
ence in child rearing, and initially parents were strongly dis-
devotee was appointed to the GBC, which had previously
couraged from maintaining contact with their children. In
been open only to men (i.e., gurus and laymen). This act sig-
1974, stories of child abuse (e.g., harsh punishments and
naled that women could be equal to men as “advanced devo-
psychological depravations) arose surrounding the Dallas
tees” and policymakers for ISKCON—even though men
gurukula. Less than a year later the school was closed, and
alone can be gurus. In 1997 ISKCON held its first confer-
school reforms were put in place. Yet throughout the 1970s
ence for Women’s Ministry and explored the pent-up issues
into the early 1980s, abuses ranging from overzealous corpo-
that previously had been taboo. In 1998 a second woman
real punishment and food deprivation to sexual abuse oc-
was added to the international GBC, and in 2000, at the In-
curred in some gurukulas with some children.
ternational GBC meeting in Mayapur, India, a resolution
In 1990 the GBC established policies requiring abuse-
was passed that provided for the “equal facility, full encour-
prevention training and mandatory reporting of abuse allega-
agement, and genuine care and protection of women mem-
tions in Kr:s:n:a schools. In 1996, ten former gurukula stu-
bers of ISKCON.” By 2000, several temples in Europe and
dents spoke at an annual North American GBC meeting
the United States were led by women presidents. However,
about their abuse. As a result, the Children of Krishna orga-
the role of women in ISKCON still depends to a consider-
nization was formed to provide counseling and educational
able degree on whether they live in or outside India, and on
resources for Kr:s:n:a youth. In 1997 a professionally staffed
whether the local temple practices derive from the notions
Child Protection Office was formed to investigate and adju-
of the equality of spirit or they insist on the differentness of
dicate child abuse allegations. However, in June 2000, a
gender. The role of women in ISKCON will always be
$400 million lawsuit was filed on behalf of former gurukula
lodged in the context of a Hindu and Indian view of women
students against two dozen Kr:s:n:a temples. The case was dis-
that will make full equality difficult to achieve. And yet ISK-
missed from federal court in 2002 but refiled on behalf of
CON is constantly molded by global processes of institution-
alization and accommodation that include pressure to give
ninety-one former students in the Texas State Court. In
women a greater voice.
2003 the ISKCON temples named in the suit sought Chap-
ter 11 bankruptcy protection. All of the boarding gurukulas
INSTITUTIONALIZATION AND MATURATION. ISKCON is
in the United States had closed their doors by the mid-
truly an international religious movement and, as such, is
1990s, but Kr:s:n:a day schools continue to educate many dev-
very diverse, depending on whether the locus is the Los An-
otee children.
geles temple, the Bhaktivedanta Manor in London, or the
pilgrimage center in Ma¯ya¯pur, India. Yet there are certain
The third persistent internal issue of considerable mag-
common trends toward the “Hinduization” of ISKCON
nitude concerns the role and status of women in ISKCON.
that bring it into the sphere of other Vais:n:ava traditions in
Since the Middle Ages in India, Vais:n:ava and other devo-
India and have attracted many Indian members to its temples
tional traditions have afforded women greater spiritual status
throughout the world. Likewise, there are trends toward in-
than traditional Vedic beliefs and practices had. However,
stitutional maturation in ISKCON that are revealed in an
it is still often assumed in India that a woman’s material body
acadmic seriousness that has led more than a dozen leading
requires her to be “protected” by her father in her youth, her
devotees to earn Ph.D.s in the 1990s and the creation of sev-
husband in her middle years, and her sons in her old age.
eral academic journals. ISKCON has created leadership
When Prabhupada first came to America, he treated women
classes for temple officials that range from economic and
and men devotees with considerable equality. Women were
managerial lessons to instructions on the proper place and
permitted to lead worship services, to give lectures on the
treatment of children and women in the movement. ISK-
Kr:s:n:a scriptures, and even to hold offices in temples. He ar-
CON has initiated interfaith conversations such as the “Va-
gued that spiritually there was no difference between men
ishava-Christian Dialogue” and has established a European
and women, which was a more liberal view than most of his
ministerial college in England. To be sure, its “Indianness”
Indian godbrothers. But with the ascendency of the
(e.g., circular concept of time, or sam:sa¯ra) and “Hinduness”
sam:nya¯sin, or “renounced,” movement in the early 1970s,
(e.g., its focus on Kr:s:n:a rituals and scriptures) will always
women found themselves to be second-class devotees in ISK-
make ISKCON a minority religious tradition outside of
CON. From the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s, women
India. Still, its capacity to accommodate its beliefs and prac-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4524
INTI
tices globally according to the medieval Vais:n:ava dictum of
struction in Sun worship. The Sun was the most important
“time, place and circumstance” should serve it well into the
sky god, with Thunder (or Weather), Moon, and the star de-
future as it seeks an enduring place in the religious landscape
ities trailing in rank. There may have been a tripartite divi-
of a twenty-first-century multicultural world.
sion of the Sun, but this is not clear. As was often true in
New World religions, the Sun had various aspects or names.
SEE ALSO Caitanya; Kr:s:n:aism; New Religions, overview ar-
Inti was the royal deity; he was also identified with Punchao,
ticle; New Religious Movements, articles on New Religious
the Sun of the day—that is, daylight. There may also have
Movements in Europe, New Religious Movements in the
been specifically identified Suns of solstices or other astro-
United States; Vais:n:avism, overview article.
nomical events.
B
Inca sun worship was intimately integrated with the
IBLIOGRAPHY
J. Stillson Judah’s study of California devotees, Hare Krishna and
growing of maize. The sun was of vital importance in an ex-
the Counterculture (New York, 1974), is now dated, but its
panding agricultural society mostly situated in hail-ridden al-
emphasis on ISKCON’s origin as a religious alternative to
titudes with frequent frosts. The sun also regulated planting
and embodiment of countercultural values and attitudes is
times. In the Inti Raymi (“sun festival”), held at the winter
still instructive. An anthropological study that focuses on the
solstice (June), priests made a pilgrimage toward the east, and
Boston, New York, London, and Amsterdam temples is
a ceremony took place in which the Inca ruler lifted a cup
Francine Jeanne Daner’s The American Children of Krishna
of chicha (a fermented maize drink) to the Sun, then sprin-
(New York, 1976). Daner also places the rise of ISKCON
kled the liquid on the ground. There were sacrifices to the
in the context of “counterculture religions” as well as in the
Sun on neighboring hills.
framework of Erik Erikson’s identity theory of personality
development. Larry D. Shinn’s The Dark Lord: Cult Images
The legend of the founding of Cuzco, the capital city,
and the Hare Krishnas in America (Philadelphia, 1987) is
indicates the agricultural basis of Inca religion. The wander-
based on more than one hundred interviews of Krishna devo-
ing Inca, led by Manco Capac, were told to establish the city
tees conducted over two years in fourteen temples through-
in a place where a gold rod given to them by the Sun would
out America and India and presents the various aspects of the
sink into the earth with one blow, indicating good planting
American Krishna faith in the framework of anticult criti-
ground. The Coricancha (“golden enclosure”), begun by
cisms and a history of religions perspective on this devotional
Indian faith. For a good summary of the child abuse issue,
Manco Capac as a humble shrine on the spot where the rod
see E. Burke Rochford. “Child Abuse in the Hare Krishna
sank, was later expanded into the Temple of the Sun, an im-
Movement: 1971–1986,”ISKCON Communications Journal
pressive structure of finely worked stone buildings around a
6 (1998): 43–69. For a reflective essay concerning the role
courtyard; the facade was decorated with sheets of gold that
and status of women in ISKCON see Kim Knott, “Healing
reflected sunlight. (Manco Capac had originally presented
the Heart of ISKCON: The Place of Women,” in The Hare
himself to the Cuzco Valley people dressed in sun-catching
Krishna Movement: The Post-Charismatic Fate of a Religious
gold ornaments.)
Transplant, edited by Edwin F. Bryant and Maria L. Ekst-
rand (New York, 2004). The Bryant and Ekstrand book is
The Coricancha was the primary religious center, a
remarkable in the scope and coherence of its essays and for
place of pilgrimage, and a model for other Sun temples
its inclusion of insiders’ and outsiders’ perspectives. For an
throughout the vast Inca empire. The priests of the Sun were
insider’s report on the way that ISKCON has responded to
of the highest rank (the chief priest was a relative of the Inca
many of its growth pains and crises in the 1970s and 1980s,
ruler), and there were many of them. At the Coricancha lived
see Nori J. Muster, Betrayal of the Spirit (Chicago, 2001). For
the “chosen women,” wives of the Sun, who performed ritual
a good example of the institutionalization and “Hinduiza-
duties including the preparation of ceremonial maize and
tion” of ISKCON, see Malory Nye, Multiculturalism and
chicha and the weaving of fine cloth to be offered to the Sun.
Minority Religions in Britain: Krishna Consciousness, Religious
At Inti Raymi, maize was specially prepared by them because
Freedom, and the Politics of Location (Richmond, U.K.,
2001).
it was thought to be a gift from the Sun. During several festi-
vals only maize could be eaten. It was grown in the garden
LARRY D. SHINN (1987 AND 2005)
of the Coricancha, and three times a year, during festivals,
maize plants fashioned of gold were displayed there. The best
lands and largest herds of llamas belonged to the Sun, who
also received the finest offerings, including pure-white llamas
INTI was the Inca sun god, worshiped in the Andes at the
and objects of gold.
time of the Spanish conquest in the first half of the sixteenth
century. The Sun was the Inca’s dynastic ancestor and impe-
SEE ALSO Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo; Viracocha.
rial god. The Inca ruler was believed to be the son of the Sun;
his commands were divine oracles. According to one variant
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of the Inca creation myth, the Sun, having been created by
Bernabé Cobo’s History of the Inca Empire (Austin, 1979) is a valu-
the god Viracocha on a sacred island in Lake Titicaca (on the
able early source on myth and rite. Burr C. Brundage’s Lords
Bolivian-Peruvian Altiplano), rose over the lake and spoke
of Cuzco (Norman, Okla., 1967) includes a description of
to the first Inca ruler, Manco Capac, to whom he gave in-
Inti Raymi, and J. H. Rowe’s An Introduction to the Archaeol-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INTUITION
4525
ogy of Cuzco (Cambridge, Mass., 1944) includes a detailed
lieved that “the truth lies in the inner man,” considered intu-
section on the Coricancha.
ition a form of mental contemplation. Thomas Aquinas at-
E
tributed to God the veritable creative intuition; he defined
LIZABETH P. BENSON (1987)
human intuitive cognition as “the presence, in some way, of
the intelligible to the intellect” (Commentaries on the Sen-
tences 1d3.94a5). The medieval scholastics used “intuitive
INTOXICANTS SEE BEVERAGES; PSYCHEDELIC
cognition,” as opposed to “abstractive cognition,” to desig-
DRUGS
nate knowledge in which the object is delivered directly to
the senses. For Descartes, intuition constitutes each succes-
sive link in a chain of deductions that are noninferential con-
INTUITION. The term comes from the Latin intuitio,
cepts of the “pure and attentive mind.” For Spinoza, it is the
which is derived from intueri, meaning to look at attentively
third and highest degree of cognition. Kant recognized only
(with astonishment or admiration), gaze at, contemplate, or
sensible intuition. The German Idealists (Schelling, Fichte,
pay attention to. At first confined to direct visual experience,
Schopenhauer) and Husserlian phenomenologists viewed in-
the term came to denote the process of insight as well as its
tellectual intuition as a deep and instantaneous understand-
object. Intuition in this first sense is a direct “look” at a par-
ing of things, essences, and situations given in perception.
ticular thing that shows itself immediately in its concrete
For Henri Bergson, intuition signifies an immediate aware-
fullness without the mediation of any other knowledge, pro-
ness akin to instinct and sympathy, capable of penetrating
cedure, or content. The roots of this meaning lie in the visual
its object while unfolding in the unique, qualitative time
character of the Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew mentalities as
(“duration”) of each living being. Bergson opposed intuition
reflected in the Platonic-Augustinian tradition. In the later
to intelligence, the proper dimensions of which are geometri-
and wider sense, the word designates the direct apprehension
cal space and mechanical clock-time; for him, intuition alone
of an object in its present, concrete reality through either
is capable of grasping the dynamic nature of things in its
sense perception (including memory and imagination) or the
original simplicity.
intellect. Intuition is today almost exclusively understood in
RELIGIOUS INTUITION. In religion, the term intuition func-
a metaphorical sense; the word designates the human capaci-
tions on several levels; the specific meanings are mostly vari-
ty for instant and immediate understanding of an object, a
ants of the spiritual intuition defined previously. The follow-
person, a situation, and so forth. The immediacy of intuition
ing aspects of religious intuition may be distinguished: (1)
sets it in opposition to the discursive function of the intellect,
the understanding of divine commands; (2) the perception
which is mediated by concepts and propositions. In this
of the divine in religious or numinous experience, in the
sense, intuition entails the direct, nonmediated presence of
sense of a peering into the mysterious elusive presence of the
the object to the knowing faculty; it sometimes extends to
transcendent in ways simultaneously sensory (seeing, hear-
a partial or total fusion of subject and object. Knowledge of
ing, or “smelling” divinity), intellectual, and suprasensory;
this kind excludes all rational, gnoseological, or even psycho-
(3) the illuminating understanding of the meanings hidden
logical analysis or justification.
in metaphors and other literary tropes of sacred writings; and
The many, sometimes divergent, uses of the word can
(4) the means of communicating and communion among
be classified into several distinct types: (1) sensory (aesthetic)
believers.
or empirical intuition is a nonconceptual, nonrational grasp
All forms of mysticism and Gnosticism rely on intuition
of reality; (2) intellectual, logical, or mathematical intuition
in the formulation of cognitive claims regarding the ineffable
is the self-evident grasp of fundamental ideas, axioms, princi-
understanding of religious mysteries. The highest states of
ples, or truths; (3) essential intuition is a grasp of the inner
mystical contemplation may be conceived as uninterrupted
essence of a thing, a being, a cause, a situation; and (4) spiri-
chains of intuitive acts. The experience of nonduality in Ad-
tual intuition is the immediate contemplation of the highest
vaita Veda¯nta, for example, is based on the insight of oneness
order of things, an insight gained neither through the senses
and the disappearance of the distance between subject and
nor through intellectual reflection, but stemming from the
object. “Suchness” (tathata¯) in Ma¯dhyamika Buddhism may
“inner man” and akin to the receiving of a revelation.
be called an intuition of the ultimate as the invisible reality
THE PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITION. In Plato’s works, especial-
underlying all things. The Buddha’s enlightenment consti-
ly the dialogue Phaedrus, with its myth of the soul that con-
tutes an intuitive peak—the highest form of mystical con-
templates the heavenly ideas before its embodiment, intu-
templation. Zen Buddhism, with its abhorrence for the dis-
ition is of these eternal essences, which are visible only to the
cursive intellect, emphasizes satori as the immediate grasp of
intellect. In Plotinus, for whom the nous is able to apprehend
the Buddha nature. The crux of Zen meditational disci-
the true world in itself, and the Neoplatonic mystics, the role
plines, whether of gradual enlightenment (in the “zazen
of intuition in the spiritual sense looms large. Aristotle recog-
only” So¯to¯ school) or of sudden enlightenment (the
nized the existence of intuitive knowledge (Posterior Analytics
ko¯an-solving Rinzai school), lies in the all-pervading illumi-
1.9.76a21) in relation to the first principles, which are not
nation of the mind, an insight that reaches into that which
in need of any demonstration. Augustine of Hippo, who be-
is beyond any subjectivity or objectivity.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4526
INUIT RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
In Jewish mysticism, the secret contents of the Qab-
Stace, W. T. Mysticism and Philosophy. Philadelphia, 1960.
balah are considered highly intuitive, obtained by a form of
Thompson, D. G. “Intuition” and “Inference.” Mind 3 (1878):
supernatural illumination. The poverty of ordinary human
339–349, 468–479.
faculties does not allow proper cognition; intuition alone,
Verdú, Alfonso. Abstraktion und Intuition als Wege zur Wahrheit
tantamount in its “fine points” to divine inspiration, can
in Yoga und Zen. Munich, 1965.
create a felicitous “science of God” that reasoning is incapa-
ble of encompassing. Hence the claim, characteristic of Jew-
New Sources
Curnow, Trevor. Wisdom, Intuition and Ethics. Amherst, N.Y.,
ish mysticism, that true tradition and true intuition coincide,
1999.
a tenet that plays an important part in the history of Qab-
balah, that of maintaining the balance between tradition and
Davis-Floyd, Robbie, and P. Sven Arvidson, eds. Intuition, the In-
side Story: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York, 1997.
innovation.
Holt, Lynn. Apprehension: Reason in the Absence of Rules. Burling-
In Islam, intuition plays a role in connection with
ton, Vt., 2002.
al- Eaql, a cognitive faculty often mentioned in the QurDa¯n
Sternberg, Robert, and Janet Davidson, ed. The Nature of Insight.
that binds humankind to God (the root Eql means literally
Cambridge, Mass., 1995.
“to bind”). Religious knowledge is participatory knowledge,
higher than rational yet not opposed to the intellect. Direct
Stratton-Lake, Philip, ed. Ethical Intuitionism: Re-evaluations.
New York, 2002.
vision by a “third eye,” as opposed to the indirect knowledge
yielded by intellectual ratiocination, is emphasized. In Islam-
ILEANA MARCOULESCO (1987)
ic theology and philosophy, but especially in S:u¯f¯ı mysticism,
Revised Bibliography
where the heart is traditionally considered the locus of intelli-
gence and spirituality, the actually intuitive “knowledge of
the heart” is connected with the creative imagination of the
INUIT RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS. The Inuit
perfected universal man; such knowledge alone counts before
(Eskimo) live in the vast Arctic and sub-Arctic area that
the divine and is essential for salvation. In the esoteric tradi-
stretches from the eastern point of Siberia to eastern Green-
tion, some commentators of the QurDa¯n considered the intu-
land. Of the approximately 105,000 Inuit, 43,000 live in
itive faculty a gift of revelation by the Holy Spirit (the arch-
Greenland, 25,000 in Arctic Canada, 35,000 (plus 2,000
angel Gabriel), an illumination received by the intellect.
Aleut) in Alaska, and 1,500 (plus a small number of Aleut)
In Daoism, the doctrine of “no knowledge” or “igno-
in Russia. Language has been used as the basic criterion for
rance” is aimed at obtaining true wisdom or intuition. Cre-
defining the Inuit as an ethnic group. The “Eskimo lan-
ativity is unconscious of accumulated technical knowledge,
guages” (as they are invariably referred to) are divided into
but it relies on the certainty and precision of intuitive knowl-
two main branches, Inuit and Yupik. Inuit is spoken from
edge.
northern Alaska to eastern Greenland, forming a continuum
of dialects with mutual comprehension between adjacent di-
SEE ALSO Knowledge and Ignorance.
alects. Varieties of Yupik are spoken in Siberia and in south-
ern Alaska as far north as Norton Sound.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bahm, A. J. Types of Intuition. Albuquerque, 1960.
The word Eskimo seems to be of Montagnais origin and
has been erroneously believed to mean “eater of raw meat.”
Bergson, Henri. Introduction à la métaphysique. Paris, 1903.
The word Inuit means “people.” Inuit as a self-designation
Hadamard, Jacques. Subconscient, intuition, logique dans la recher-
is used primarily in Canada and, to some extent, in Green-
che scientifique. Paris, 1947.
land (where the more common self-designation is Kalaallit).
Husserl, Edmund. Ideas: General Introduction to Pure Phenomenol-
Yupik means “a real person,” just as Inupiat, which is the self-
ogy (1913). Translated by W. R. Boyce Gibson. London,
designation in northern Alaska, means “real people.” Inuit,
1931.
however, is the common term used to designate themselves
Lévinas, Emmanuel. Théorie de l’intuition dans la phénoménologie
collectively by the members of the Inuit Circumpolar Con-
de Husserl. New ed. Paris, 1963.
ference, an organization established in 1977 by representa-
Lonergan, Bernard J. F. Insight: A Study of Human Understanding.
tives from Greenland, Canada, and Alaska.
London, 1957.
Traditionally the Inuit are divided into many geograph-
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. “Intellect and Intuition: Their Relation-
ic groups. The members of each group, or band, were con-
ship from the Islamic Perspective.” Studies in Comparative
nected through kinship ties, but the band was without for-
Religion 13 (Winter–Spring 1979): 65–74.
mal leadership. The nuclear family was the most important
Palliard, Jacques. Intuition et réflexion. Paris, 1925.
social unit, but the extended family often cohabited and
Penzo, Giorgio. “Riflessioni sulla intuitio tomista e sulla intuitio
worked cooperatively. Dyadic relationships, such as wife-
heideggeriana.” Aquinas 9 (1966): 87–102.
exchange partners and joking partners, were also common.
Pritchard, Harold Arthur. Moral Obligation. Oxford, 1949.
Today, most Inuit live in the so-called Arctic area, north
Schuon, Frithjof. L’œil du cœur. Paris, 1950.
of the treeline and the 10° celsius July isotherm. The Inuit
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INUIT RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
4527
were hunters who adapted to the seasonal availability of vari-
sponsibility for the kill among the entire community and in-
ous mammals, birds, and fish. Hunting sea mammals with
creased the possibility of good hunting.
harpoons was characteristic, but hunting inland during the
Inuit rituals in connection with the polar bear are part
summer was also part of the subsistence pattern of many
of an ancient bear ceremonialism of the circumpolar regions
Inuit. A few groups in northern Alaska and in Canada have
of Eurasia and North America. In southern Greenland, for
spent the entire year inland, hunting caribou and fishing for
example, the head of a slain polar bear was placed in a house
arctic char. In southern Alaska, the wooded valleys along the
facing the direction from which the bears usually came so
long rivers were inhabited by Inuit who relied upon the great
that the bear’s soul could easily find its way home. During
run of the fish as well as the migrations of sea mammals and
the five days that the soul was believed to require to reach
birds.
its destination the bear was honored: its eyes and nostrils
Most Inuit in Canada lived in snow houses during the
were closed so that it would not be disturbed by the sight
winter; others settled in winter houses built of stone and sod
and smell of human beings; its mouth was smeared with
or wood. Stone lamps that burned blubber were used for
blubber; and it was given presents.
heating, lighting, and cooking. Skin boats and, except in
Whaling was of great social, economic, and ritual im-
southern Greenland and Alaska, dog sledges were used for
portance, especially among the North Alaska Inuit. In the
transportation; kayaks were used for seal hunting and large,
spring, all hunting gear was carefully cleaned, and the
open umiaks for whale hunting. Although some Inuit are still
women made new clothes for the men. The whales would
hunters and fishermen, today’s Inuit societies are modern-
not be approached until everything was cleaned. During the
ized. Money economy has replaced subsistence economy;
days before the whaling party set out, the men slept in
modern technology and education have been introduced;
the festival house and observed sexual and food taboos. The
television plays an important role; and so on. Except for the
whaling season terminated with a great feast to entertain the
small population in Siberia, the Inuit have become Chris-
whales.
tians, and even the Inuit in Siberia no longer observe their
religious traditions.
TABOOS, AMULETS, AND SONGS. Unlike cultic practices in
connection with the deities, which had relatively minor sig-
Historically, the Inuit held many observances to insure
nificance, taboos, amulets, and songs were fundamentally
good hunting, and in the small and scattered hunting and
important to the Inuit. Most taboos were imposed to sepa-
fishing communities many local religious practices were ob-
rate the game from a person who was tabooed because of
served. Generally, ritual life was more elaborate in Alaska
birth, menstruation, or death. A separation between land and
than in Canada and Greenland. In Alaskan settlements there
sea animals was also important in many localities, reflecting
were usually one or more big men’s houses, called qarigi
the seasonal changes in hunting adaptation. An infringement
among the Point Barrow Inuit and qasiq among those of the
of a taboo might result in individual hardship (for example,
Bering Sea, where people gathered for social and religious
the loss of good fortune in hunting, sickness, or even death),
feasts. In Canada, the Inuit built temporary festival snow
but often, it was feared, the whole community would suffer.
houses, but no eyewitness accounts exist of festival houses in
Usually a public confession under the guidance of the sha-
Greenland.
man was believed sufficient to reduce the effect of the trans-
RELATIONS BETWEEN MEN AND ANIMALS. According to
gression of a taboo.
eastern Inuit religious tradition, each animal had its own
inua (its “man,” “owner,” or “spirit”) and also its own “soul.”
Amulets, which dispensed their powers only to the first
Within the western Inuit religious tradition, the inua seems
owner, were used primarily to secure success in hunting and
to have been identical to the soul. The idea of inua was ap-
good health and, to a lesser degree, to ward off negative influ-
plied to animals and implements as well as to concepts and
ences. Parents and grandparents would usually buy amulets
conditions (such as sleep). Lakes, currents, mountains, and
for children from a shaman. Amulets were usually made up
stars all had their own inua, but only the inua of the moon,
of parts of animals and birds, but a wide variety of objects
air, and sea were integral to the religious life of the Inuit.
could be used. They were sewn on clothing or placed in boats
and houses.
Since the Inuit believed that the animals they hunted
possessed souls, they treated their game with respect. Seals
One way to increase the effect of the amulets was
and whales were commonly offered a drink of fresh water
through the use of food totems and secret songs. Used pri-
after they had been dragged ashore. Having received such a
marily to increase success in hunting, secret songs and for-
pleasant welcome as guests in the human world, their souls,
mulas were also used to control other activities and were
according to Inuit belief, would return to the sea and soon
often associated with food taboos. Songs were either inherit-
become ready to be caught again, and they would also let
ed or bought. If a song was passed on from one generation
their fellow animals know that they should not object to
to the next, all members of the family were free to use it, but
being caught. When the season’s first kill of an important
once it was sold it became useless to its former owners.
species of seal was made, the meat was distributed to all of
RITES OF PASSAGE. In many localities in Canada and Alaska,
the inhabitants of a settlement. This practice divided the re-
women had to give birth alone, isolated in a small hut or
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4528
INUIT RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
tent. For a specified period after the birth, the woman was
Shamans in Greenland always used a drum to enter a
subjected to food and work taboos. Children were usually
trance. Masks were also instrumental, especially in Alaska,
named after a person who had recently died. The name was
both in secular and religious connections. The shaman might
regarded as a vital part of the individual, and, in a way, the
summon his familiar spirits to the house where a séance was
deceased lived on in the child. The relationship resulted in
taking place, or he might go on a spiritual flight himself. The
a close social bond between the relatives of the deceased and
Canadian shaman might, for example, go down to the inua
the child.
of the sea, that is, the Sea Woman, to get seals. In Alaska,
a shaman on Nunivak Island would go to the villages of the
The family celebrated particular stages in a child’s devel-
various species of animals in the sea. In the Norton Sound
opment, especially in connection with subsistence activities.
area he would go to the moon to obtain animals for the set-
For example, when a boy killed his first seal, the meat was
tlement.
distributed to all the inhabitants of the settlement, and for
each new important species a hunter killed, there was a cele-
Although shamans were the principal revealers of un-
bration and ritual distribution.
known things, some other people could also acquire infor-
mation from the spirits by using a simple technique called
Death was considered to be a passage to a new existence.
qilaneq. It required that an individual lift an object and then
There were two lands of the dead: one in the sky and one
pose questions, which were answered affirmatively or nega-
in the sea (or underground). The Inuit in Greenland consid-
tively according to whether the object felt heavy or not.
ered the land in the sea more attractive because people living
there enjoyed perpetual success in whale hunting; those in
Shamans also functioned as doctors. For example, they
the sky, on the other hand, led dull existences. It was not the
would suck the sick spot where a foreign object had been in-
moral behavior of the deceased that determined the location
troduced or try to retrieve a stolen soul. Sorcerers—often be-
of his afterlife, but rather the way in which he died. For ex-
lieved to be old, revengeful women—were also common, and
ample, men who died while whaling or women who died in
shamans were sometimes called to reveal them. There were
childbirth were assured of an afterlife in the sea. Conceptions
instances, however, in which the shaman himself was accused
of the afterlife, however, differed among the Inuit. The Ca-
of having used his power to harm someone; in such cases the
nadian and Alaskan Inuit believed the most attractive after-
shaman could be killed.
life was found in the sky. Some Inuit had either poorly con-
THE DEITIES. The Inuit of Canada and Greenland believed
ceptualized beliefs in an afterlife or no beliefs at all.
that the inua of the sea, the Sea Woman, controlled the sea
animals and would withhold them to punish people when
While death rituals usually included only the nearest
they had broken a taboo. Franz Boas (1888) transcribed the
family members and neighbors, the Great Feast of the Dead,
name given to her by the Inuit on Baffin Island as Sedna,
celebrated in the Alaskan mainland from the Kuskokwim
which probably means “the one down there.”
River to the Kotzebue Sound, attracted participants even
from neighboring villages. The feast was given jointly, and
The Inuit of eastern Baffin Island ritually killed Sedna
the hosts’ social status was demonstrated by the quantity of
during a feast that was held when the autumn storms came
food, furs, clothing, and implements that were given away.
and whose purpose was to make sealing possible again. The
Sedna ceremony included, inter alia, a ritual spouse exchange
The Bladder Feast, an important calendar feast celebrat-
and a tug-of-war, the result of which predicted the weather
ed in Alaska from Kodiak Island to Point Hope, was held
for the coming winter.
in midwinter. At this feast, the bladders of all the seals that
had been caught during the previous year were returned to
While Sedna represented the female principle of the
the sea in order that their souls might come back in new bo-
world, the inua of the moon, Aningaaq, represented the male
dies and let themselves be caught again. The skins of all the
principle. An origin myth tells how he was once a man who
small birds and animals that the boys had caught were dis-
committed incest with his sister. She became the sun, he the
played in the festival house, and gifts were given to human
moon. Otherwise the sun played no part in the religion of
souls, to the souls of the seals, and to those who were present.
the Inuit, but the moon was associated with the fertility of
women. He was recognized as a great hunter, and some Alas-
SHAMANS. In Greenland and Canada, the shaman (angak-
kan Inuit believed that the moon controlled the game.
koq) played a central role in religion. In Alaska, however,
where it was common for an individual to become a shaman
The air was called Sila, which also means “universe” and
as the result of a calling, many rites did not demand the ex-
“intellect.” The inua of the air was a rather abstract but
pertise of the shaman. Prospective shamans often learned
feared figure; if it was offended when taboos were broken,
from skilled shamans how to acquire spirits and to use tech-
it would take revenge by bringing storms and blizzards.
niques such as ecstatic trances. In Greenland and Labrador,
The Raven appeared, primarily in Alaska, as a creator,
the apprentice was initiated by being “devoured” by a polar
culture hero, and trickster in a cycle of myths that included
bear or a big dog while being in trance alone in the wilder-
those of the earth diver and the origin of the light. The
ness. After having revived, he was ready to become master
Raven, however, played a negligible role in religious prac-
of various spirits.
tices.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INVISIBLE RELIGION
4529
The differences between and sometimes vagueness in
The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas. 3 vols.
Inuit religious ideas may be related not only to their wide
New York, 1996–2000.
and scattered distribution but also to the fact that their socie-
Dorais, Louis-Jacques. Quagtag: Modernity and Identity in an Inuit
ties had a loose social organization and were without a writ-
Community. Toronto, 1997.
ten language before contact with the Europeans. For all
Eber, Dorothy Harley. When the Whalers Were Up North: Inuit
Inuit, however, a close and good relationship with the ani-
Memories from the Eastern Arctic. Kingston, 1989.
mals on which they depended for their survival was believed
Mills, Antonia, and Richard Slobodin. Amerindian Rebirth: Rein-
to be of vital importance.
carnation Belief among North American Indians and Inuit.
Toronto, 1994.
SEE ALSO Bears; Sedna; Tricksters, article on North Ameri-
can Tricksters.
Seidelman, James Turner, and Harold Seidelman. The Inuit Imag-
ination: Arctic Myth and Sculpture. London, 1994.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Tester, Frank James and Peter Kulchysi. Tammarit (Mistakes):
An excellent survey of Inuit culture from prehistoric to modern
Inuit Relocation in the Eastern Arctic. Vancouver, 1994.
times is given in the Handbook of North American Indians,
vol. 5, edited by David Damas (Washington, D.C., 1984).
INGE KLEIVAN (1987)
The best survey of Inuit religion is Margaret Lantis’s article
Revised Bibliography
“The Religion of the Eskimos,” in Forgotten Religions, edited
by Vergilius Ferm (New York, 1950), pp. 311–339. Lantis
is also the author of Alaskan Eskimo Ceremonialism (New
York, 1947). This well-documented book is based primarily
INVISIBLE RELIGION. The term invisible religion
on literary sources, but it also contains Lantis’s field notes
was introduced by the German sociologist Thomas Luck-
from Nunivak. A review of the religion of the Inuit in Cana-
mann and became widespread following the publication in
da and Greenland has been written by Birgitte Sonne and
1963 of Das Problem der Religion in der modernen Gesell-
myself as an introduction to a collection of plates that illus-
schaft, published in English as The Invisible Religion: The
trate the religious life of these people in Eskimos: Greenland
Transformation of Symbols in Industrial Society. The concept
and Canada (Leiden, 1985), vol. 8, pt. 2, of the series “Ico-
of invisible religion emerged from the difficulty of maintain-
nography of Religions.” A strong visual impression of the Be-
ing a traditional religious life in societies to which the indus-
ring Sea Inuit culture in the nineteenth century is found in
trial revolution brought radical differentiation processes,
William W. Fitzhugh and Susan A. Kaplan’s Inua: Spirit
both in social structures and ways of living, as people were
World of the Bering Sea Eskimo (Washington, D.C., 1982).
This is a fascinating book that examines how the spirit world
forced, in mounting progression, to change residences, work-
manifests itself in all areas of the life of these Inuit. A study
places, habits, and worldviews. Luckmann agrees with sociol-
of the religion of two Inuit groups in Canada is given in
ogists who consider the secularization trend, which they view
J. G. Oosten’s The Theoretical Structure of the Religion of the
as a crisis of ecclesiastic-oriented religion, as irreversible. On
Netsilik and Iglulik (Mappel, Netherlands, 1976). Informa-
the other hand, and more importantly, Luckmann extends
tion that has been gathered on rituals in connection with ani-
the significance of religion by arguing that one’s worldview,
mals is presented in Regitze Soby’s article “The Eskimo Ani-
as an objective social and historical reality, fulfills an essen-
mal Cult,” Folk (Copenhagen) 11/12 (1969–1970): 43–78.
tially religious function. This “elementary social form of reli-
The position of the Inuit shaman has been analyzed by Bir-
gion,” according to Luckmann, is universal in human
gitte Sonne in “The Professional Ecstatic in His Social and
society.
Ritual Position,” in Religious Ecstasy, edited by Nils G. Holm
(Stockholm, 1982), pp. 128–150, and by Daniel Merkur in
In his book, Luckmann considers the notion—diffused
his Becoming Half Hidden: Shamanism and Initiation among
in nineteenth-century philosophy and among the seculariza-
the Inuit (Stockholm, 1985).
tion theorists of the following century—that modern life is
Among the many valuable and often quoted books by Knud Ras-
without religion, if not essentially areligious; that is, that the
mussen is The Netsilik Eskimos: Social Life and Spiritual Cul-
“irrationality” of religion should yield precedence to the “ra-
ture (Copenhagen, 1931). This book presents material that
tionality” of modern life. Luckmann argues that this idea is
Rasmussen collected from various groups of Inuit who had
partially wrong. It is true that, unlike Australian aboriginal
had limited contact with the Euro-American world. Among
societies and those of ancient Egypt and medieval Europe,
the many valuable studies on the Alaskan Inuit, two should
be mentioned: Robert F. Spencer’s The North Alaskan Eski-
postindustrial societies seem secular and rationalistic. Their
mo: A Study in Ecology and Society (Washington, D.C., 1959)
political and economic institutions no longer need tradition-
and Ann Fienup-Riordan’s The Nelson Island Eskimo: Social
al legitimizations, especially religious ones. Most people liv-
Structure and Ritual Distribution (Anchorage, Alaska, 1983).
ing in modern industrial societies do not consider themselves
An extensive bibliography for Inuit religion is given by John Fish-
to be tied to each other by officially institutionalized religious
er in his article “Bibliography for the Study of Eskimo Reli-
communities, dogmas, and religious rituals. Taking all these
gion,” Anthropologica n.s. 15 (1973): 231–271.
circumstances into account, Luckmann agrees that modern
New Sources
social structures are “secular.” Nevertheless—and this is his
Albanse, Catherine L. Nature Religion in America: From the Algon-
central thesis—human beings in modern societies, no matter
quin Indians to the New Age. Chicago, 1990.
how much their lives differ from that in other cultures and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4530
INVISIBLE RELIGION
societies, have not lost the “religiousness” that has character-
into morally responsible actors within a social order—is mo-
ized human life (as opposed to the lives of other species) since
tivated by historical deposits of social interaction: “The ob-
ancient times. Therefore, even the deep social and cultural
jectivation of a symbolic universe as a system of meaning pre-
changes that produced “modernity” have not changed the
supposes that the subjective experiences entering into its
fundamentally religious nature of human existence.
construction be meaningful. The meaningful quality of sub-
In his analysis of the “religious nature of human exis-
jective experience, however, is a product of social processes”
tence,” Luckmann refers to the writings of his mentor Alfred
(1967, pp. 44–45). This meaningfulness is a “quality,” so “it
Schutz (1899–1959), particularly those dealing with the
is inkeeping with an elementary sense of the concept of reli-
concepts of “appresentation” and “symbol/transcendence.”
gion to call the transcendence of biological nature by the
Schutz claimed that when human beings perceive an object,
human organism a religious phenomenon. . . .We may,
they perceive directly only certain aspects of it, but other as-
therefore, regard the social processes that lead to the forma-
pects that do not appear to them directly are immediately
tion of Self as fundamentally religious” (p. 49).
grasped as well. The directly perceived part of the object “ap-
Here Luckmann’s approach diverges from that of
presents” the unseen part. Schutz also introduced a concept
Schutz. The concept of transcendence in Schutz is born from
of transcendence that became important to Luckmann’s con-
the experience of going beyond the contingent that every
cept of religion. In his essay “The Transcendence of Nature
person experiences everyday. Thus, the present natural and
and Society: Symbols” (1932). Schutz argues that everything
social environment refers to a horizon of potential natural
that surrounds human beings (e.g., the world, the cosmos)
and social environments, and an opening is made manifest
goes “beyond” their direct experience of time and space. The
to a double transcendent infinity of the natural world and
social environment in which people live refers to a horizon
the social world. Transcendence, according to Schultz, marks
of potential social environments, just as in space there exists
the expressive limits and the limits of movement of human
an infinity of objects that cannot be reduced to the human
beings, while it also enables people to construct a complex
capacity for manipulation and control—they are “beyond.”
net of socially approved terminals between significants and
Humans can only apply to them appresentative references of
meanings. This “net” constitutes the symbolic activity of hu-
a higher order, the “transcendent.” From this point Schulz
mans. The symbol, being a typically human construction, is
tackles the issue of symbol, which he defines in the following
a link between the two poles: (1) a fact or an event within
way: “A symbol can be defined in first approximation as an
the reality of everyday life, and (2) an idea that transcends
appresentational object, fact, or event within the reality of
everyday experience.
our everyday life, whereas the other appresented member of
the pair refers to an idea which transcends our experience of
In accordance with the research of anthropologists, eth-
everyday life” (1962–1966, vol. 1, p. 331). Thus, the issue
nologists, and historians of religion, Schutz considered hiero-
of transcendence is located, according to Schutz, in the ap-
genetic and mythopoetic activities to be typical activities of
presentative relationship between two realities: fact, which is
the human mind. The framework in which Luckmann lo-
a part of everyday life; and idea, which transcends and refers
cates the notion of transcendence is more radical. He strong-
to something other than everyday life.
ly emphasizes its social construction as the giver of meaning
The religious problem in Luckmann is based on this re-
to the symbolic process because “it is true that a genuinely
lationship, to which he confers a social dimension. Luck-
isolated subjective process is inconceivable” (1967, p. 45).
mann distinguishes the transcendent, which is such only in
He also recovers the terms religion and religious, qualifying
relation to what is referred as “immanent,” from religion,
them as intrinsic modalities to the self’s transcendent process
which is normally seen as the whole of human experience
and to the world belonging to the symbolic-cognitive aspects
made visible and localized in symbols, holy places, and holy
of the human species. Such a process presents a twofold mo-
temples, and the people and activities concerned with them.
dality: (1) an organism becomes a self when devoting itself
All this is evident, according to Luckmann, in the case of
with others to the construction of a universe of objective and
tribal religions, ancestral cults, universal religions (especially
moral significance; and (2) transcendence of biologic nature
when institutionalized under the form of churches and sects),
is a universal phenomenon of humankind. Luckmann identi-
and so on. Furthermore, the historical institutionalization of
fies in the formation of consciousness and conscience “the
the symbolic and sacred nucleus of a worldview is included
universal yet specific anthropological condition of religion”
in the specifics of a universally human social process. The
(1967, p. 49).
fundamental function of religion is therefore to transform
According to Luckmann, the worldview as an “objective
the members of the species Homo sapiens into actors belong-
and historical social reality performs an essentially religious
ing to a specific historical-social order. Any component of
function and can be defined as an elementary form of religion”
social reality that is essential to this function can be legiti-
(1967, p. 53). In turn, religion as traditionally intended can
mately called religious, whether or not it refers to the super-
be defined as a worldview with “social, objective, and histori-
natural explicitly or implicitly.
cal reality.” Religion manifests itself in particular social insti-
Luckmann insists that the fundamental function of reli-
tutions that are the product of the articulation of a sacred
gion—that is, the transformation of the members of a species
cosmos within the worldview, which is in turn constituted
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
INVISIBLE RELIGION
4531
by a set of representations that refer “to a domain of reality
tional devotion, or detachment from any form of religion.
that is set apart from the world of everyday life” (1967,
In the case of institutional specialization, orthodox and het-
p. 61). According to this perspective, religious representa-
erodox models are in competition. The privatized social form
tions constitute a sacred universe definable as a specific and
of religion is characterized by the fact that—from a sociologi-
historical form of religion.
cal point of view—talking of orthodox and heterodox mod-
els makes little sense. In fact, in an interview granted to the
Throughout history there have existed societies charac-
Italian journal Religioni e Società in 1986, Luckmann stated
terized by a diffusion of religious ceremonies that were ex-
that:
pressed through experience and the acknowledgment of the
extraordinary. But the boundary between everyday life and
A wide range of different actors are involved on the so-
the extraordinary is far from clear-cut; therefore, theoretical
cial scene in the social constructions of several kinds of
elaboration of the sacred did not occur. Societies belonging
transcendence. The fundamental structure of the pro-
cess is the one of a “market.” There are mass media and
to this type (especially the simpler and more primitive forms
there are Christian churches that, in addition to being
of social organization, such as societies of hunters and gather-
monuments to a former period characterized by institu-
ers) show a remarkable variety of cultural content, in spite
tional specialization of religion and despite some restor-
of their basic similarities in social structure and in their so-
ing and fundamentalist tendencies, are trying to reinsert
cial, “diffused” form of religion. According to Luckmann, a
in the processes of modern social constructions of tran-
transformation of great importance in the social form of reli-
scendence. Moreover sub-institutional communities
gion is an element of the framework of socio-structural “ad-
have emerged, more or less recent and religious (in the
aptations” of the so-called agricultural revolution. Sedentary
traditional sense), which are trying to play an important
life, high population density, urbanization, and the institu-
part in this process. (Prandi, 1986, p. 37)
tionalization of power are associated with a marked growth
Luckmann’s complex theory thus comes to the idea that, in
in the institutionalization of religious ceremonies, which, in
modern life, social structure has ceased to mediate coherently
relation to centralized power and the canonization of sacred
between subjective conscience and its experiences of tran-
life, could lead to a high level of stability in the theocratic
scendence, and between the communicative reconstruction
variants of ancient hydraulic civilizations. In the West, the
of such experiences and the competing social constructions
next great transformation consisted in the complete special-
of the “sacred universes.” At any rate, the present co-location
ization of religious ceremony, and eventually in the appear-
of religion in society—that is, its privatization—is not char-
ance of the problems associated with pluralism and secular-
acterized by something that is, but rather by something that
ization.
is not. It is characterized by the absence of compulsory social
models, generally plausible with regard to persistent univer-
In The Invisible Religion, Luckmann examines some of
sal human experiences of transcendence.
the most important conditions characterizing the institution-
alization of religion in the post-Constantine church. Such a
SEE ALSO Implicit Religion; Secularization; Society and Re-
process constitutes the background of what was his main in-
ligion; Sociology, article on Sociology of Religion; Study of
terest: the raising of a new, “privatized” social form of reli-
Religion.
gion in the industrial societies of the West. As for the rela-
tionship between individual religiosity and social forms of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
religion, Luckmann maintains that in tribal societies an indi-
Beyer, Peter. “Secularization from the Perspective of Globaliza-
vidual religiosity is modeled exclusively by the social form of
tion: A Response to Dobbelaere.” Sociology of Religion 60, no.
religion relatively diffused, whereas in societies characterized
3 (1999): 289–301.
by the presence of a “theocratic” institutionalization of reli-
Dobbelaere, Karel. “Towards an Integrated Perspective of the Pro-
gious and political forms, the modeling of individual religios-
cesses Related to the Descriptive Concept of Secularization.”
ity by the social form of the prevailing religion remains simi-
Sociology of Religion 60, no. 3 (1999): 229–247.
lar, despite a more complex stratification of society.
Grassi, Piergiorgio. “Sulla religione invisibile.” In La religione nella
Churches present the individual with “official” models. But
costruzione sociale, pp. 111–124. Urbino, Italy, 1980; 2d ed.,
other models begin to enter into competition—and when
1989.
conditions of pluralism are established for economic and po-
Luckmann, Thomas. Das Problem der Religion in der modernen
litical reasons, the circumstances under which full institu-
Gesellschaft. Freiburg, Germany, 1963. Translated by Luck-
tional specialization can succeed cease to exist.
man as The Invisible Religion: The Transformation of Symbols
in Industrial Society (New York, 1967).
According to Luckmann, if at least one religion is acces-
Prandi, Carlo. “La religione invisibile: Un riesame del contributo
sible in the condition of “diffused” politico-religious and spe-
di Thomas Luckmann.” Religioni e Società 1 (1986): 40–48.
cialized institutionalization, the individual can deviate from
Schutz, Alfred. Collected Paper, 3 vols. Vol. 1: The Problem of So-
such forms of religion for merely contingent reasons. But if
cial Reality, edited by Maurice Natanson; Vol. 2: Studies in
other models are in competition, various systematic types of
Social Theory, edited by Arvid Brodersen; Vol. 3: Studies in
individual religious development are possible: fundamental-
Phenomenological Philosophy, edited by I. Schutz. The
ism, syncretism, new religious movements, a return to tradi-
Hague, 1962–1966.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4532
IOANN OF KRONSTADT
Swatos, William H., Jr., and Kevin J. Christiano. “Secularization
thronged to his church each day participate fully in the wor-
Theory: The Course of a Concept.” Sociology of Religion 60,
ship by receiving Holy Communion. To make this radically
no. 3 (1999): 209–228.
innovative practice possible, Ioann further instituted public
C
confession whereby the crowds of penitents openly acknowl-
ARLO PRANDI (2005)
edged their sins before all while the praying priest walked
about the church bestowing absolution and offering counsel.
Ioann, who had come to be known as the “all-Russian
IOANN OF KRONSTADT (Ivan Il’ich Sergeev,
pastor,” was violently attacked by his detractors for his radi-
1829–1908), also known as John of Kronstadt, was a Rus-
cal practices, and only the protection of the tsar kept him
sian Orthodox priest. Ioann was born in the village of Suro
from becoming the object of punitive action. His spiritual
in the Arkhangelsk province of Russia and at the age of ten
diary, My Life in Christ, is a classic of contemporary Russian
was sent to the parochial school in Arkhangelsk. He later en-
Orthodox spirituality.
tered the seminary there, finishing at the top of his class in
1851. He then enrolled in the Theological Academy of Saint
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Petersburg, one of the four graduate faculties of theology in
Ioann of Kronstadt’s spiritual diary, Moia zhizn’ vo khriste (My
the empire. High-strung, physically weak, overworked, and
Life in Christ), is available in the original Russian (Moscow,
radically committed to his life of study, prayer, ascetic disci-
1892), and in English translation by Ernest E. Goulaeff
pline, and spiritual struggle, Ioann suffered greatly during
(1897; reprint, Jordanville, N. Y., 1971). English excerpts
from this work can be found in The Spiritual Counsels of Fa-
these academic years. An added burden was the constant ne-
ther John of Kronstadt, edited by W. Jardine Grisbrooke
cessity to support himself by outside work. He finished the
(London, 1967; Greenwood, S.C., 1983), and G. P. Fedo-
academy near the bottom of his class in 1855, was ordained
tov’s A Treasury of Russian Spirituality (1950; reprint, Bel-
deacon on November 11 of that year, and priest on the very
mont, Mass., 1975). A two-volume work in Russian analyz-
next day.
ing Ioann of Kronstadt’s life and work, containing letters,
photographs, and a church service in his honor, is I. K. Sur-
Before accepting priestly ordination, Ioann dreamed of
skii’s Otets Ioann Kronshtadtskii (Father John of Kronstadt),
becoming pastor of Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in the port city
2 vols. (Forestville, Calif., 1979–1980). The best work in
of Kronstadt, a naval base and penal colony on the island of
English is Father John of Kronstadt: A Life, by (Bishop) Alex-
Kotlin in the Gulf of Finland near Saint Petersburg. Kron-
ander Semenoff-Tian-Chansky (Crestwood, N.Y., 1979).
stadt, teeming with outcasts and criminals, was notorious as
THOMAS HOPKO (1987)
a place of dirt, darkness, and sin. Because parish priests as
a rule could not be celibate, Ioann married Elizaveta Nes-
vitskii, the daughter of Saint Andrew’s retiring pastor, but
he never consummated the marriage, a fact that has caused
IPPEN (1239–1289), also known as Chishin; a Japanese
much debate because it remains unclear whether the bride
holy man, founder of the Jishu¯, an order of Pure Land Bud-
had consented to such an arrangement.
dhist itinerants. Ippen was born in the province of Iyo (mod-
ern Ehime Prefecture) to a long-powerful military clan, the
Ioann served as pastor of the Kronstadt church until his
Kono¯, which had recently suffered a serious defeat in the
death on December 20, 1908. His priestly career was distin-
Jo¯kyu¯ War of 1221. Ippen’s grandfather died in exile, and
guished by numerous acts of social, charitable, and educa-
Ippen, three of his brothers, and his father all became monks.
tional work, both personal and institutional. Ioann estab-
At the age of twelve, Ippen was sent to Kyushu to study the
lished philanthropic agencies such as the Home for
doctrines of the Seizan branch of the Jo¯do (Pure Land) sect.
Constructive Labor, which provided free schools, work-
Upon the death of his father in 1263, he returned to house-
shops, training centers, libraries, counseling services, medical
hold life in Iyo. Perhaps because of intraclan strife, he left
care, and food, for people of all ages. He also taught religious
home again eight years later, and spent the rest of his life on
classes in the parish school for thirty-two years, not freeing
the road as a holy man (hijiri).
himself from this obligation until 1889.
Ippen initially went on pilgrimages to the great Bud-
Ioann’s greatest fame, however, was not as a philanthro-
dhist temples and Shinto¯ shrines and underwent austerities
pist or a pedagogue but as a man of prayer. He was sought
in the mountains of Shikoku. While on a pilgrimage to Ku-
by people of all classes and religions from all parts of the Rus-
mano in 1274, he had the climactic experience of his life.
sian empire and beyond as an intercessor before God. From
The Shinto¯ deity (kami) of the main shrine, believed to be
early in his priestly career he began the unprecedented prac-
a manifestation of Amida Buddha, appeared before him and
tice, even for monastics, of celebrating all of the Orthodox
commanded him to distribute to all people, regardless of
church services every day, including the eucharistic liturgy.
their belief or unbelief, purity or impurity, paper talismans
He did so with great fervor and devotion, spending long
(fuda) on which were printed the words “Namu Amida
hours at the altar praying for those who begged his interces-
Butsu” (“Homage to Amida Buddha”). This Ippen did for
sion. He often added his own words to the official church
the rest of his life, traveling throughout the Japanese archi-
prayers and always insisted that the thousands of people who
pelago.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IQBA¯L, MUH:AMMAD
4533
By 1278, Ippen had attracted a small group of followers
founding of the Kabuki theater. The Ippen hijiri e (Illustrated
that he called the Jishu¯, or “time group,” referring to its
life of the holy man Ippen), a work of twelve scrolls complet-
chanting of Amida’s name at all times. Before his death, this
ed in 1299, is one of the masterpieces of Japanese painting
group numbered perhaps more than two hundred men and
and the single most important source for studying popular
women, and Ippen had established rules for group poverty
life in thirteenth-century Japan.
and incessant wayfaring. In addition, he had enrolled
251,724 names in a register of lay supporters.
SEE ALSO Nianfo.
In 1279, this Jishu¯ began its distinctive dance (odori
B
nembutsu) celebrating the instantaneous salvation available
IBLIOGRAPHY
A collection from the 1750s of Ippen’s sayings, letters, and verse
in Amida’s name. Originally spontaneous and ecstatic, the
has been translated and annotated by Dennis Hirota as No
dance became a regularized performance by members of the
Abode: The Record of Ippen, rev. ed. (Honolulu, 1997). For
Jishu¯ on the grounds of shrines and temples, and in other
the Jishu¯, see S. A. Thornton, Charisma and Community For-
public areas such as beaches and markets. After being brutally
mation in Medieval Japan: The Case of the Yugyo¯-ha (1300–
driven out of Kamakura, the shogunal capital, in 1282,
1700) (Ithaca, N.Y., 1999). In Japanese, the best works are
Ippen led his Jishu¯ to the provinces around the imperial capi-
O
¯ hashi Toshio’s Ippen: Sono ko¯do¯ to shiso¯ (Tokyo, 1971),
tal (modern Kyoto). Here he met with great success and was
Kanai Kiyomitsu’s Ippen to Jishu¯ kyo¯dan (Tokyo, 1975), and
even invited to many notable temples and shrines. In 1288,
Imai Masaharu’s Jishu¯ seiritsu no kenkyu¯ (Tokyo, 1981).
Ippen led his group to his home in Iyo and then back across
JAMES H. FOARD (1987 AND 2005)
the Inland Sea, where he died in 1289. He is buried near the
modern city of Kobe.
Ippen interpreted the Pure Land sutras to mean that
IQBA¯L, MUH:AMMAD (1877–1938), influential
Amida’s enlightenment and the rebirth (o¯jo¯) of all beings
Muslim poet-philosopher of the Indian subcontinent. Born
into Amida’s Pure Land were precisely the same event. Since
at Sialkot (presently a Pakistani town on the border of India),
Amida’s enlightenment had occurred ten kalpas ago, so too
Iqba¯l received his early schooling in his native town and his
must have the rebirth of all beings. Both, furthermore, had
college education at Lahore (where he studied philosophy
their origin in “Namu Amida Butsu,” the “six-character
with the British Islamicist T. W. Arnold). In 1905 he went
name” established through the vows Amida had made while
to Europe, where he followed MDTaggart’s lectures in philos-
still a bodhisattva. For this reason, the name alone was suffi-
ophy, took his doctorate from Munich with a thesis on the
cient to effect the rebirth attained ten kalpas ago and to oblit-
development of metaphysics in Persia, and was called to the
erate the distinctions between then and now, between this
bar from Lincoln’s Inn in London in 1908. In the same year
world and the Pure Land, and indeed between all beings and
he returned to Lahore where he taught for a while at the
buddhahood. Ippen’s paper talismans, therefore, immediate-
Government College and pursued a hectic but unsuccessful
ly saved all who received them, regardless of their faith, prac-
law practice. He was knighted in 1922 for his contributions
tice, or morality. The dance served as a celebration of this
to poetry (about 60 percent of which is in Persian and 40
absolutely universal salvation.
percent in Urdu). In 1927 he was elected to the Punjab Leg-
Ippen’s thought was largely derived from that of the Sei-
islative Assembly, and in 1930 he gave the historic presiden-
zan branch of the Jo¯do sect, itself strongly influenced by Eso-
tial address to the annual session of the Muslim League at
teric (mikkyo¯) Buddhism. His originality lay in using these
Allahabad, wherein he suggested that the solidly Muslim
ideas to employ for Buddhist salvation existing popular tradi-
areas of northwest India might be given autonomy so that
tions of shamanistic holy men and magic. The Jishu¯ became
Muslims could run their affairs according to Islamic norms,
the largest itinerant order of medieval Japan, absorbing earli-
the idea that later took the shape of Pakistan. During his last
er, similar groups, and several of its members were important
years he was often ill and did not appear in public after April
in the literature and arts of the Muromachi period (1338–
1936. He died on April 21, 1938, and was buried in the
1573). Many samurai supported the Jishu¯, attracted by its
complex of the Imperial Mosque of Lahore. Iqba¯l’s commit-
endorsement of Shinto¯, and used its members both as a cul-
ment to the creation of Pakistan was a direct result of his
tural entourage and as participants in funeral and memorial
philosophic thought, which was so powerfully expressed in
services. The fortunes of the order declined dramatically,
his poetry.
however, with the turmoil that swept the country at the end
Iqba¯l had displayed his unusual talent as a moving and
of that period, and the Jishu¯ continues in the early twenty-
eloquent poet with a “grand style” even in his college days.
first century as only a minor Buddhist sect with headquarters
Before going to Europe he had been a Platonic idealist, an
in the city of Fujisawa.
Indian nationalist, and a romanticist of the past who sang
Nevertheless, the practices and beliefs of the Jishu¯ were
hymns to the Himalayas, to intercommunal understanding,
widely diffused among the Japanese during the medieval pe-
and to universal love. In Europe, he discovered Islam with
riod. Ippen’s dance, for example, continues as a feature of
a vengeance, having been shocked by his experience of the
folk Buddhism in several regions and is tied to the legendary
European double standards that combined liberal morality
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4534
IQBA¯L, MUH:AMMAD
and democracy at home with colonial exploitation abroad
problems with Muslim and non-Muslim poets and thinkers
and, even at home, with the capitalistic exploitation of the
alike. Among his Urdu poetry, Ba¯l-i Jibr¯ıl (Gabriel’s wing)
working classes. Coupled with this disillusionment he saw
is outstanding.
the increasing dilapidation of human values in the machine
The titles of Iqba¯l’s works point to his understanding
age and the decline of the family institution. But looking at
of himself: he wanted to use “the rod of Moses” (zarb-i
the Eastern and particularly the Muslim societies, he found
¨
kal¯ım) and assumed the role of “the sound of the camelbell”
them in deep somnolence. At this point, he discovered the
(ba¯ng-i dara¯) that had led the Muslims in the caravan of the
“true Islam” of the QurDa¯n and of Muh:ammad, an Islam that
Prophet back to Mecca. The general impression among
was dynamic and not static; in its dynamism he discovered
Westerners that Iqba¯l indulged in romanticization of the past
a creative impulse that directed the raw materials of history
glory of Islam is not correct. While he did show romanticiz-
into a positive moral channel. The modern West, unlike the
ing tendencies before his “conversion,” after his discovery of
world of Islam, was industrious enough, but it lacked a posi-
the dynamic nature of Islam, he was anything but a romanti-
tive moral direction for the uplift of humanity; it was inven-
cist of the past. He continually called for the creation of a
tive but not creative and was, in fact, destructive to the
new future, although he singled out, for the sake of inspira-
human moral fiber. Henceforth, he invited the whole world,
tion, certain past achievements of the Muslims, as, for exam-
both Muslim and non-Muslim, to join this energizing and
ple, in his poem The Mosque of Cordoba, which appears in
ethically positive Islam.
Ba¯l-i Jibr¯ıl.
In the development of this dynamic philosophy, which
BIBLIOGRAPHY
is expressed in Bergsonian vitalistic terms (although unlike
Iqba¯l’s collected Persian poetic works have been published in Teh-
Bergson, Iqba¯l regards God as being outside the process of
ran (1964) and in Pakistan (1973), while his collected Urdu
history), the key role is played by the twin terms khud¯ı
poetic works were published in Pakistan in 1975 and repro-
(“self”) and Eishq (“absorbing love,” or élan vital). The goal
duced in India in 1980. The Reconstruction of Religious
of this ethical dynamism is to expand and fortify the self
Thought in Islam has had (like his poetic works) a number
(which is the only way to individual survival after death),
of printings, including a recent one from Lahore in 1960. A
since only when an enlarged and fortified self is realized can
major part of his Urdu poetry has been translated into En-
glish by V. G. Kiernan under the title Poems from Iqbal (Lon-
a meaningful community of the faithful be launched on
don, 1955); some of his Persian poetic works have been
earth as the prophet Muh:ammad was able to do. Although
translated by Reynold A. Nicholson and A. J. Arberry, al-
in the early years of his intellectual development after his dis-
though several still await translation.
covery of Islam Iqba¯l was not optimistic about a similar re-
Translations into German by Annemarie Schimmel include
awakening on the part of the Muslim community at large,
Paya¯m-i Mashriq as Botschaft des Ostens (Wiesbaden, 1963);
he did eventually come to place his faith in such a develop-
Ja¯v¯ıd-na¯mah as Das Buch der Ewigkeit (Munich, 1967); and
ment. Through both his poetry and his major prose work,
Muhammad Iqbal, Persischer Psalter (Cologne, 1968), with
The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (chapter 5),
selected poetry and prose. Iqba¯l’s Urdu poetry has also been
he tried to urge Muslims to create a new future through
translated into German by Johann Christoph Bürgel as
ijtiha¯d, literally “exerting oneself,” a Muslim legal term for
Steppe im Staubkorn (Bern, 1983). Italian translations by Al-
independent reasoning, which Iqba¯l used to describe the ex-
essandro Bausani include “Il EGulˇsan-i raz-i g˘adidD di Mu-
hammad Iqba¯l,” Annali Istituto Universitario Orientale di
ercise of new creative thought within the framework of
Napoli, n. s. 8 (1958): 125–172; Il poema celeste (Rome,
Islam.
1952); and Poesie di Muhammad Iqbal (Parma, 1956). There
Iqba¯l, who had been known as a good poet in Urdu
are also French, Czech, Dutch, Arabic, and Russian transla-
early on, first indicated his concern with the Muslim cause
tions available, and much of his work has been translated
into the regional languages of Pakistan.
in the two great poems Shikwah (Complaint) and Jawa¯b
(Answer, that is, God’s response to the complaint), but he
There has been a plethora of works on Iqbal, not all of good quali-
ty. The following three should give a comprehensive intro-
subsequently turned to Persian in order to reach a larger
duction to Iqba¯l’s thought as well as his biography and bibli-
group of educated Muslims. His As-ra¯r-i khud¯ı (Secrets of
ographies: Syed Abdul Vahid’s Iqbal: His Art and Thought
the self), first published in 1915, speaks of that individual
(Lahore, 1944); Annemarie Schimmel’s Gabriel’s Wing: A
human core that should be strengthened until it reaches its
Study into the Religious Ideas of Sir Muhammad Iqbal (Leiden,
highest fulfillment. The duties of this “self” in the communi-
1963); and Iqbal: The Poet-Philosopher of Pakistan, edited by
ty were discussed two years later in the Rumu¯z-i b¯ıkhud¯ı
Hafeez Malik (New York, 1971).
(Mysteries of selflessness). The Persian collection Paya¯m-i
New Sources
mashriq (Message of the East) acknowledges Iqba¯l’s spiritual
Biswas, Lakshmi. Tagore and Iqbal: A Study in Philosophical Per-
debt to Goethe, who was his Western guide as much as
spective. Delhi, 1991.
Mawla¯na¯ Ru¯m¯ı was his Eastern master. His major Persian
Hyder, Syed Akbar. “Iqbal and Karbala: Re-Reading the Episteme
work is the Ja¯v¯ıd-na¯mah (Ja¯v¯ıd’s book), written for his son
of Martyrdom for a Poetics of Appreciation.” Culture Dy-
in 1932. In this spiritual journey through the spheres in
namics, 13 (November 2001): 339–363.
Ru¯m¯ı’s company, he discusses religious, political, and social
Maruf, Mohammed. Iqbal’s Philosphy of Religion. Lahore, 1988.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IRANIAN RELIGIONS
4535
Masud, Muhammad Khalid. Iqbal’s Reconstruction of Ijitihad. La-
certainly practiced in the oldest Yasna and was accompanied
hore, 1995.
by prayers that made it sacred and justified it as a religious
Siddiqi, Nazir. Iqbal and Radhakrishnan: A Comparative Study.
act through which the spirits of the household animals being
New Delhi, 1989.
sacrificed became absorbed into a divine entity called Ge¯ush
Urvan, the “soul of the bull.” Herbs also played an important
FAZLUR RAHMAN (1987)
role in the Yasna, and the priest who carried out the sacrifice
Revised Bibliography
held a bundle of herbs in his left hand, called a baresman by
the Iranians. In time the bundle of herbs was discarded in
favor of a bundle of consecrated twigs.
IRANIAN RELIGIONS. Because of the scarce and
Undoubtedly, haoma (soma in India) constituted a cen-
fragmented data in our possession, we do not know the reli-
tral element in the cult. The offering made to the waters at
gions of ancient Iran, other than Zoroastrianism, as organic
the conclusion of the Yasna was prepared by blending milk,
systems endowed with a specific pantheon, a mythology, par-
the leaves of a plant, and the juice squeezed from the stems
ticular creeds, cosmogonic and cosmological ideas, and pre-
of a different plant. The substance’s name, haoma, applied
cise eschatological notions. We can postulate the existence
to both the sacrificial matter and its yazata, that is, the “being
of other religions only through a careful analysis of those ele-
worthy of worship,” or deity, whom it represented. Haoma,
ments contained within Zoroastrianism that can be linked
which was endowed with hallucinogenic and stimulating
to a pre-Zoroastrian paganism and through an Indo-Iranian
properties and was seen as a source of strength for warriors,
comparison. That is to say, we have no sources, other than
inspiration for poets, and wisdom for priests, was extracted
the Zoroastrian, for any Iranian religion. Some scholars have
in a stone mortar during a preparatory ritual, after which the
viewed as testimony of a non-Zoroastrian cult those few reli-
consecrated substance was consumed by the priests and by
gious references found in the royal Achaemenid inscriptions
those taking part in the ceremony.
(sixth to fourth century BCE), as well as Herodotus’s mention
of “the Persian religion” (1.131–132), although, as is well
The premises, the instruments, and the ingredients for
known, Herodotus never refers to Zarathushtra (Zoroaster).
the ceremony were purified with water in a meticulous and
Given these meager materials, we cannot be sure that the
careful way. Purifying and disinfectant properties were also
cults referred to were not affected in some way or at some
attributed to cattle urine (go¯mez), a substance that played an
time by the Zoroastrian “reform.” In fact, it is probably most
important role in the Zoroastrian ritual of the Great Purifica-
prudent to consider the religion of the Achaemenids—whose
tion, Bareshnu¯m, as well as in the initiation of priests and
inscriptions also never mention Zarathushtra—as belonging
corpse bearers, in accordance with practices and notions that
to the Zoroastrian tradition and as a stage in its troubled and
were certainly Indo-Iranian in origin.
complex historical development.
Libations offered to water and fire, essential compo-
nents in the ceremonial aspects of the cult, cannot be under-
Having said this, it is nonetheless possible to reconstruct
stood without an awareness of the complex symbolism linked
a few essential elements of ancient Iranian religions through
to those two elements, both in Zoroastrian and pre-
traces of ideas and beliefs that appear to be independent of
Zoroastrian Iran, as well as in ancient India. The Indo-
the Zoroastrian tradition. Some of these are completely origi-
Iranian background is particularly evident in the symbolism
nal, but most are held in common with ancient, especially
of fire: in the three ritual fires and in the five natural fires
Vedic, India. Such elements pertain mainly to rituals, the
found in Iranian and Indian thought. We can trace the con-
pantheon, concepts of death and the afterlife, and cos-
cept of the three fires, those of priests, warriors, and farmers,
mology.
as well as the concept of five fires burning before Ahura
Rituals included libations (zaothra), offered both to
Mazda¯, in the bodies of men, animals, plants, clouds, and
A¯pas (“water”) and to A¯tar (“fire”). The latter was called
the earth, respectively, to the Indo-Iranian background. Two
Agni by the Indians. The libations offered to water were a
yazatas, Apam Napa¯t (“grandson [or son] of waters”) and
blend of three ingredients: milk and the juice or leaves of two
Nairyo¯sanha (“of manly utterance”), are linked to fire and
plants. Those offered to fire were also a blend of three ingre-
have Indian counterparts in Apa¯m: Napa¯t and Nara¯´sam:sa¯, an
dients: dry fuel, incense, and animal fat. In both the libations
epithet for Agni, whose name also belongs to a different god
to water and fire, called a¯b-zo¯hr and a¯takhsh-zo¯hr in late Zo-
in the Vedas.
roastrian literature, we find the symbolism of the number
Concerning the pantheon, an Indo-Iranian comparison
three, which also occurs in a number of Brahmanic practices,
provides considerable help in reconstructing the pre-
as well as the blending of ingredients from the animal and
Zoroastrian religious environment in Iran. There are many
vegetable worlds.
divine entities that derive from a common cultural heritage,
These offerings to water and fire, typical of a daily and
although they do, at times, present significant differences.
familiar ritual, were also at the heart of the priestly ritual
Particularly important in such comparisons is the section of
called the Yasna by the Iranians and Yajña by the Indians,
the Avesta known as the Yashts, or hymns to the various yaza-
from the root yaz (“sacrifice, worship”). Animal sacrifice was
tas, which mostly perpetuate the worship of gods from an
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4536
IRANIAN RELIGIONS
ancient, pre-Zoroastrian cult through a veil of Zoroastrian-
problems. Most likely, this ancient Indo-Iranian goddess was
ization after the fact. Worthy of mention, in addition to the
subject at an early date to the influence of religious concepts
cult gods A¯pas, A¯tar, Ge¯ush Urvan, and Haoma, are the na-
belonging to the Anarian substratum of the Iranian world.
ture gods, such as Asman (“heaven”), Zam (“earth”), Hvar
Even Herodotus (1.131), speaks of an “Assyrian” and an
(“sun”), Ma¯h (“moon”), and the two winds, Va¯ta and Va¯yu.
“Arabian” origin of the great goddess, who certainly shows
A juxtaposition with the Vedic religion clarifies many aspects
traits typical of the Great Goddess of the most ancient settled
of an ancient theology dating back to a period that we can
civilizations of the Near and Middle East. In fact, in attempt-
definitely call proto-Indo-Iranian. According to some schol-
ing to reconstruct Iranian religions other than Zoroastrian-
ars, a few of these divine beings, as well as others well known
ism, one must rely heavily on elements obtained through an
to the Zoroastrian tradition, such as Zrvan (Zurwa¯n) and
investigation of the Indo-Iranian background. One must,
Mithra, were originally high gods of Iranian religions other
however, try to ascertain, with the help of archaeological
than the Zoroastrian and were thus in competition with
findings, what part was played by the Anarian substratum,
Ahura Mazda¯, the creator god of Zoroastrianism. Apart from
from the Elam civilization to the so-called Helmand civiliza-
a few specific details in the theories propounded by various
tion, which came to light in the 1960s during excavations
scholars (H. S. Nyberg, Stig Wikander, Geo Widengren),
at Shahr-i Sokhta, in Iranian Seistan. A thorough investiga-
and apart from the complex question of the so-called Zur-
tion into more recent times is also necessary in order to see
vanist heresy, it is hard not to recognize a certain degree of
whether there are to be found, among the religions of the
verisimilitude in their reconstructions, as we find embedded
Hindu Kush, between Nuristan and Dardistan, any fossilized
in the Zoroastrian tradition, and not only in the Yashts, clear
remains of ancient proto-Indo-Aryan religions (Jettmar,
traces of a plurality of heterogeneous elements gradually ab-
1975; Tucci, 1977).
sorbed and modified.
An Indo-Iranian comparison also provides many other
The Iranian pantheon, like the Indian, was subdivided
elements pertaining to the pantheon, as well as mythical fig-
into two main groups of divine beings, ahuras and daivas,
ures and epos. The latter has been the object of particularly
although there exists sufficient evidence to hold that in Iran
detailed study in recent decades (Dumézil, 1968-1973; Wi-
the latter word at one time indicated the gods in general.
kander, 1949-1950; Molé, 1953). In this context, we find
This can be inferred from the Avestan expression
cast in a leading role the Iranian god Verethraghna, whose
da¯eva/mashya, analogous to the Vedic deva/martya, to which
Indian name, Vr:trahan (“slayer of the dragon Vr:tra”), is an
correspond the Greek theoi/andres (anthro¯poi) and the Latin
epithet of the god Indra. Behind the sacred figure of
dii/hominesque, all of which mean “gods and men.” Daivas,
Verethraghna, who represented victory in the Zoroastrian
as gods of an ancient polytheism condemned by
tradition, was, most likely, the idea of overcoming an obsta-
Zarathushtra, acquired negative connotations only with the
cle to the activity of the cosmos, which is manifest through
Zoroastrian reform. This happened also with some of the
the flow of waters.
Indo-Iranian gods, such as Indra, Saurva (S´arva in India),
and Na¯nhaithya (Na¯satya in India). The term ahura (“lord”;
In the cosmogony of pre-Zoroastrian Iran, we find signs
asura in India), on the other hand, maintained its positive
of a myth of separation of heaven and earth, in which the
connotations and became part of the name of the supreme
figure of Va¯yu, the god of wind and of the atmosphere, the
god of Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda¯, as well as being at-
intermediate zone, must have played an important role. It
tached to the name of some of the ancient gods from the
is likely also that the doctrine of seven consecutive creations,
Indo-Iranian pantheon, such as Mithra (Mitra in India) and
of the sky, of water, earth, vegetation, animal life, man, and
Apa˛m Napa¯t.
fire, which we find in late sources, in fact dates from very an-
cient times.
We are not able to establish whether, behind the image
of Ahura Mazda¯, which was probably created by
Essential elements are also provided by an Indo-Iranian
Zarathushtra himself, there lies the Vedic Indian god Varun:a
comparison in matters pertaining to cosmology. Both Irani-
or an Indo-Iranian god named Ahura or Asura. This prob-
ans and Indians believed that the world was divided into
lem, however, is not critical, for even if Zarathushtra’s god
seven regions, whose Avestan name was karshvar (Pahl.,
were a sublimation of the ancient Varun:a by the Iranian
k¯eshwar; Skt., dv¯ıpa), and that it was surrounded by a moun-
prophet’s great religious reform, Varun:a would certainly
tain range. The central region was called Khvaniratha in Iran
have already attained a higher status than that of other gods,
and Jambu¯dv¯ıpa in India, and at its center was a high moun-
such as Mitra or the other sovereign gods of the Indo-Iranian
tain, called Mount Hara¯ in Iran and Meru or Sumeru in
pantheon (Dumézil, 1968–1973).
India. South of the mountain was the Tree of All Seeds, just
as, in Indian cosmography, we find the Jambu¯ Tree south
If the Iranian Mithra corresponds to the weaker Indian
of Mount Meru. The Tree of All Seeds was thought to be
Mitra, then Ana¯hita¯, the other great divine being of the triad
at the center of the great sea Vourukasha, to the south of the
mentioned in the Achaemenid inscriptions, corresponds to
mountain standing at the center of the world, also called, in
the Indian Sarasvat¯ı, through the Avestan Aredv¯ı Su¯ra¯
Avestan, Hukairya (“of good activity”) or, in Pahlavi, Hukar
Ana¯hita¯. The latter, however, presents some very complex
and Caga¯d i Da¯id¯ıg (“the lawful summit”).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IRANIAN RELIGIONS
4537
The views of death and of the afterlife in the most an-
of the concept of khvarenah (“splendor”), which was a nota-
cient Iranian religions, before the Zoroastrian reform, seem
ble aspect of Iranian religious thinking; yet we see it becom-
to have included the survival of the soul (urvan). After wan-
ing part of the Zoroastrian tradition, as, for example, in
dering around the earth for three days, the soul was thought
Yashts 19. Khvarenah is a luminous and irradiating force, a
to enter a gray existence in a subterranean world of shadows,
sort of igneous and solar fluid (Duchesne-Guillemin, 1962),
ruled by Yima, the first king, or king of the Golden Age, and
that is found, mythologically, in water, in haoma, and (ac-
the first man ever to have died. (The figure of Yima seems
cording to an anthropological concept found in the Pahlavi
to correspond, although not without some question, to the
tradition) in semen.
Indian Yama.) There also appears to have been a notion of
Khvarenah is an attribute of Mithra, of royalty, of divine
survival of a sort of “double” of the soul, the fravashi, linked
and heroic figures belonging to a national and religious tradi-
to a concept of immortality typical of an aristocratic and war-
tion, of Yima, of Zarathushtra, and of the Saoshyant; it does
rior society, in which were present the values of the Indo-
not have an exact Indian counterpart but is found in a con-
Iranian Männerbund (Wikander, 1983). There was, as well,
text that, both literally and in terms of mythological struc-
the idea of a terrible trial to be overcome by the dead man’s
ture, is strictly analogous to the Indian. In the Indian tradi-
spirit: the crossing of Chinvat Bridge, a bridge that could be-
tion, we find concepts concerning light—its splendor, its
come wider or narrower, to the width of a razor’s edge, de-
activity, its energy, and its effects—such as ojas (Av., aojah),
pending on whether the dead man had been just (ashavan)
varcas (Av., varecah), and tejas, meaning, respectively,
or evil (dregvant). There was probably a test, analogous to
“strength,” “energy,” and “splendor,” concepts that closely
this trial after death, used in initiation rites (Nyberg, 1966).
resemble some in Iranian anthropology. The same adjective
Traces of a common concept of initiation can be found
is used to describe “splendor” in both Iran and India: ughra
in both Iran and India. It is related to the basic Indo-Iranian
(Av.) and ugra (Skt.), meaning “strong.”
religious idea of asha (in the Avesta) or r:ta (in the Vedas),
The Iranian religions other than Zoroastrianism, can, as
which remained central even in Zarathushtra’s reform, al-
we have seen, be partially reconstructed, not as organic sys-
though modified by partly new and different aspects. If we
tems, but rather in some of their particular and characteristic
compare the Indian and the Iranian ideas, we can see clearly
elements: cult and pantheon, cosmogony and cosmology, in-
that a vision of asha (or of the sun, which, in turn, is the visi-
dividual eschatology, anthropology, and psychology, as well
ble manifestation of the Vedic r:ta), was considered by both
as a concept of the experience of initiation substantially com-
as a step in the spiritual fulfillment of the believer, who thus
mon to the entire ancient Indo-Iranian world. Such a com-
became ashavan (Av.; OPers., arta¯van), that is, a participant
mon heritage was handed down in ancient Iran by schools
in the supreme state of possessing asha/r:ta. In fact, the Indo-
of sacred poetry, which left their mark both on
Iranian concept, which the Zoroastrian tradition trans-
Zarathushtra’s Ga¯tha¯s and on the Yashts of the Younger
formed into one of the Amesha Spentas, contained various
Avesta.
positive meanings, from that of truth (its exact translation)
to that of a cosmic, ritual, and moral order. The Iranian as-
SEE ALSO Ahura Mazda¯ and Angra Mainyu; Ahuras; An-
havan (Pahl., ahlaw/arda¯[y]) and the Indian r:ta¯van stood, al-
ahita; Chinvat Bridge; Cosmology, articles on Hindu Cos-
though with different shades of meaning, for “the initiate”
mology, Jain Cosmology; Daivas; Fravashis; Haoma; Indo-
and, more generally, for those who, alive or dead, would suc-
European Religions; Khvarenah; Magi; Mani; Manichaeism;
ceed in penetrating a dimension of being or existence differ-
Mazdakism; Mithraism; Saoshyant; Yazatas.
ent from the norm.
The idea of the need for an initiation in order to achieve
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the supreme state of asha/r:ta, held in common by the ancient
Preeminent among general reference works on Iranian religions is
H. S. Nyberg’s important Irans forntida religioner (Stock-
Indo-Iranian world and by what we may call “Aryan mysti-
holm, 1937), translated by Hans H. Schaeder as Die Relig-
cism” (Kuiper, 1964), was also linked to the experience of
ionen des alten Iran (1938); 2d ed., Osnabrück, 1966.
illumination and of the mystic light. The blessed state of asha
Among other invaluable references are Geo Widengren’s
manifests itself through light (Yasna 30.1), and asha is to be
Stand und Aufgaben der iranischen Religionsgeschichte (Leiden,
found in “solar dwellings” (Yasna 53.4, 32.2, 43.16). The
1955); Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin’s La religion de l’Iran
initiate is, then, first of all a “seer,” one who has access to
ancien (Paris, 1962), translated as Religion of Ancient Iran
the mysteries of the otherworld and who can contemplate a
(Bombay, 1973); Geo Widengren’s Die Religionen Irans
luminous epiphany.
(Stuttgart, 1965), translated as Les religions de l’Iran (Paris,
1968); and Mary Boyce’s A History of Zoroastrianism, vol. 1
The experience of a mystical light and a complex sym-
(Leiden, 1975).
bolism connecting spirit, light, and seed form part of a com-
On particular aspects of Iranian religions, the following works are
mon Indo-Iranian heritage and constitute, therefore, specific
recommended. On ceremonials, see Mary Boyce’s
elements of an ancient Iranian religion that precedes
“A¯taˇs-Zo¯hr and A¯b-Zo¯hr,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
Zarathushtra’s reform. It may not be pure coincidence that
(1966): 100–118. For a discussion of the Iranian pantheon
we find in the Ga¯tha¯s no mention by Zarathushtra himself
and an Indo-Iranian comparison, see Émile Benveniste and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4538
IRENAEUS
Louis Renou’s Vr:tra et Vr:thragna (Paris, 1934) and Stig Wi-
Until the discovery of a gnostic library at Nag Hammadi
kander’s Vayu (Uppsala, 1941). On epos, see Stig Wi-
(modern-day Chenoboskion, Egypt) in 1945, Irenaeus’s
kander’s “Sur le fonds commun indo-iranien des épopées de
treatise Against Heresies also supplied the main and most reli-
la Perse et de l’Inde,” La nouvelle Clio 1–2 (1949–1950):
able information on gnostic thought.
310–329; Marijan Molé’s “L’épopée iranienne après
Firdo¯s¯ı,” La nouvelle Clio (1953): 377–393; Georges
LIFE. Nothing is known of Irenaeus’s ancestry or of the date
Dumézil’s Mythe et épopée, 3 vols. (Paris, 1968–1973); and
or place of his birth. He grew up, however, in Smyrna, where
Prods Oktor Skjærvo⁄, “Eastern Iranian Epic Traditions II:
he sat at the feet of Polycarp, the distinguished bishop mar-
Rostam and Bh¯ısma,” Acta Orientatia Academiae Scient-
tyred about 155, who, according to Irenaeus, had known the
iarum Hungaricae 51 (1988): 159–170. On the religions of
apostles, specifically John, in Asia. From Polycarp perhaps
the Hindu Kush, see Karl Jettmar’s Die Religionen des
he drew his penchant for biblical theology, for, he observed,
Hindukush (Stuttgart, 1975) and Giuseppe Tucci’s “On
Polycarp “related all things in harmony with the scriptures,”
Swa¯t: The Dards and Connected Problems,” East and West,
n. s. 27 (1977): 9–103.
which he then noted “not on paper, but in my heart.”
Irenaeus witnessed Polycarp’s debate with Anicetus in Rome
For discussion of the common Indo-European background of
about 155 and studied in Justin’s school, gaining much from
some concepts of the most ancient cosmography, see G. M.
Bongard-Levin and E. A. Grantovskij’s De la Scythie à l’Inde:
Justin’s apologetic methods but diverging sharply from him
Énigmes de l’histoire des anciens Aryens, translated by Philippe
in his partiality for a biblical theology rather than for Plato-
Gignoux (Paris, 1981). On the concept of the Iranian Män-
nism. After 164 he went to Lyons, where he was ordained
nerbund, see Stig Wikander’s Der arische Männerbund
a presbyter. He narrowly missed the pogrom that took place
(Lund, 1983) and my “Antico-persiano anuˇsya- e gli immor-
in Lyons and Vienne in 177, when Pothinus, the nonagenar-
tali di Erodoto,” in Monumentum Georg Morgenstierne, vol.
ian bishop of Lyons martyred in the persecution, sent him
1, “Acta Iranica,” no. 21 (Leiden, 1981), pp. 266–280. For
to Rome with a letter for Eleutherius (pope, r. 175–189) in
discussion of the concept of asha and Aryan mysticism, see
which Pothinus characterized his protégé as “zealous for the
F. B. J. Kuiper’s “The Bliss of Aˇsa,” Indo-Iranian Journal 8
covenant of Christ” and “among the first as a presbyter of
(1964): 96–129.
the church.”
On initiation, see Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin’s “L’initiation
mazdéenne,” in Initiation: Contributions to the Theme . . .
On returning to Lyons, Irenaeus succeeded Pothinus as
edited by C. Jouco Bleeker (Leiden, 1965), pp. 112–118,
bishop. When Victor, bishop of Rome (189–199), rashly ex-
and on the common Indo-Iranian background of initiation
communicated the Christians of Asia because they observed
through possessing asha and the experience of light, see, in
Easter according to the Jewish Passover, whatever day of the
particular, my “Aˇsavan: Contributo allo studio del libro di
week that might fall on, and not always on a Sunday, as in
Arda¯ Wira¯z,” in Iranica, edited by me and Adriano V. Rossi
Rome, Irenaeus intervened with a stern rebuke. Writing in
(Naples, 1979), pp. 387–452. See also Andrea Piras, “Visio
the name of “the brethren in Gaul,” he pointed out that al-
Avestica, I: Prolegomena à l’étude des processus visuels dans
though variety of practice was customary among Christians
l’Iran ancien,” Studia Iranica 27 (1988): 163–185.
from ancient times, they had always lived in peace with one
For comparison of the Indo-Iranian notions of ojas/aojah, varcas/
another. Victor’s predecessors in Rome, he added, all ad-
varecah, and so on, see Jan Gonda’s Ancient-Indian ‘ojas’,
hered to the Roman custom but did not excommunicate the
Latin ‘*augos’, and the Indo-Iranian Nouns in -es/-os (Utrecht,
1952), pp. 57–67, and my “Licht-Symbolik in Alt-Iran,” An-
Asians on account of a different practice. Anicetus and Poly-
taios 8 (1967): 528–549. On the ancient Iranian tradition of
carp once had a direct confrontation; although neither could
sacred poetry, which was Indo-Iranian (and, more generally,
persuade the other to change, they remained in communion
Indo-European) in origin, see the various contributions by
with each other. Apart from his writing activities, little more
J. Wackernagel, Hans H. Schaeder, and Paul Thieme to In-
is known about Irenaeus’s career as bishop of Lyons. About
dogermanische Dichtersprache, “Wege der Forschung,” vol.
576 Gregory of Tours reported that Irenaeus was martyred
165, edited by R. Schmitt (Darmstadt, 1968).
in the persecution under Septimius Severus, but the lateness
GHERARDO GNOLI (1987)
of the account makes this unlikely.
Translated from Italian by Ughetta Fitzgerald Lubin
WRITINGS. Two major works of Irenaeus—Refutation and
Overthrow of Knowledge Falsely So-Called (usually referred to
as Against Heresies) and Proof of the Apostolic Preaching—have
IRENAEUS (c. 130–c. 200) was a bishop of Lyons (177/
survived. In addition, three letters—one to Blastus, On
78–c. 200), theologian, and antiheretical writer. Claimed by
Schism; a second to Florinus, On Monarchy or That God Is
both Roman Catholics and Protestants as their progenitor,
Not the Author of Evil; and a third to Victor on the Easter
Irenaeus framed the catholic concept of authority that helped
controversy—are quoted partially or wholly in the Church
to pull diverse churches together in a period of identity crisis
History of Eusebius. Other works have survived only in frag-
created by gnosticism, Marcionism, and other movements.
ments or not at all, including a treatise against Valentinian
Opposing the radical accommodation of Christian thought
gnosticism titled On the Ogdoad; an apology, On Knowledge,
to Hellenistic culture, he pointed to canon and creed as in-
against the Greeks; and comments on scriptures under the
terpreted by bishops in churches of apostolic foundation.
title Dissertations. Irenaeus’s works, especially the treatise
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IRENAEUS
4539
Against Heresies, circulated widely and exerted a widespread
than to the Greek mantic theory, but he never denied the
influence on Christian theology in subsequent centuries, par-
latter. He regarded the Old Testament in the Greek Septua-
ticularly in the West.
gint as canonical in its entirety. Although the limits of his
New Testament canon are not clear, he left no doubt that
Composed at the request of a friend and usually dated
it included at its core the four Gospels and thirteen letters
185–189, Against Heresies is somewhat repetitious and dis-
of Paul.
jointed. In book 1 Irenaeus outlines the gnostic system of
Valentinus and his pupil Ptolemaeus and refutes it briefly on
In his polemic against the gnostics Irenaeus criticized es-
the grounds of inconsistency and diversity, especially in han-
pecially their use of allegorical exegesis, but he himself resort-
dling scriptures (in contrast to the unity of the catholic
ed freely to this method even in interpretation of the New
church’s teaching); in a similar way he sketches and refutes
Testament, the first orthodox writer to do so. He struggled
the practices and thought of the Marcosians; and he gives
to solve problems posed by the Old Testament by way of a
thumbnail sketches of the variegated teachings of other he-
theory of progressive education of the human race; but, al-
retical teachers or sects: Simon Magus (the archheretic, ac-
though biblical, he lacked historical sensitivity in treating of
cording to Irenaeus), Menander, Saturninus, Basilides, Car-
the Old Testament. In the final analysis, Irenaeus saw the
pocrates, Cerinthus, the Ebionites, the Nicolaitans, Cerdo,
basis of religious authority as the tradition committed to the
Marcion, Tatian, and the Encratites, Barbeliotes, Ophites,
churches by the apostles, as a collective and not as an individ-
Sethians, and Cainites. In book 2 Irenaeus undertakes a more
ual witness. The “living voice,” a continually renewed under-
detailed rational refutation of the Valentinian system with
standing of the church’s heritage, was his actual authority.
its elaborate cosmology. In book 3 he constructs his famous
Irenaeus’s theology reflected throughout a strong bibli-
argument for catholic teaching based on scriptures and tradi-
cal and especially Pauline slant. Against gnostic and Marcio-
tion. In book 4 he pursues the refutation of Marcion
nite dualism he affirmed Jewish monotheism. One God, the
(d. 160?) that he begins at the end of book 3. Following in
creator, created ex nihilo and not through emanations (as in
the train of his teacher Justin, whose treatise Against Marcion
Valentinian gnosis). To prove at once the immanence and
is no longer extant, Irenaeus argues from scriptures the one-
the transcendence of God, Irenaeus developed the distinctive
ness of the God of the Old Testament and the God who had
doctrine of “the two hands of God.” Through the Son and
disclosed himself in Jesus of Nazareth. Christ bore witness
the Holy Spirit (or the Word and Wisdom), God acted di-
to the God of the Old Testament; the scriptures of the Old
rectly in creation, not through intermediaries, and God con-
Testament bore witness to the Christ of the New. In book
tinues to act in inspiration or revelation. Scholars have often
5 Irenaeus sustains chiefly the Christian doctrines of resur-
tried to decide whether Irenaeus held to an “economic,” or
rection of the flesh, incarnation, and last things against gnos-
“modalist,” concept of the Trinity (that God appeared at one
tic “spiritualizing.” Like his teacher Justin, Irenaeus adopts
time as Father, at another time as Son, at a third time as Holy
the eschatology of the Revelation to John with its expectation
Spirit), but the “two hands” doctrine is scarcely compatible
of the millennial reign of Christ.
with such a concept. For Irenaeus, God is the living God of
The Proof of the Apostolic Preaching, long lost but redis-
the Old Testament. Although he counterbalanced this un-
covered in an Armenian translation in 1904, is a catechetical
derstanding with ideas drawn from the philosophical lean-
treatise, addressed to a certain Marcianus, that Irenaeus de-
ings of earlier apologists, he always leaned heavily toward the
scribes as “a manual of essentials.” Basically a summary of
biblical side. Whereas Justin thought of the Logos as the hy-
salvation history, the first part focuses on theological matters
postatized Divine Reason, for example, Irenaeus conceptual-
(divine monarchy, Trinity, baptism) and the second on
ized the Logos as the Word of God depicted in John 1:1–14.
christological matters (Jesus as Lord, Son of David, Christ,
Also, whereas Justin could call the Logos a “second God” (de-
Son of God; the glory of the Cross; the kingdom of God).
uteros theos), a part of God, for Irenaeus the Logos is God—
“Proofs” for various doctrines come principally from the Old
God self-disclosed.
Testament.
Unlike his precursor Justin, Irenaeus was also profound-
THOUGHT. Irenaeus, responding to gnostics and Marcionites
ly biblical and Pauline in his doctrine of redemption. Ac-
rather than presenting an apology to Gentiles, rejected Jus-
cording to his famous recapitulation theory, Jesus traversed
tin’s concept of the Seminal Logos who illuminated the
the same ground as Adam but in reverse. Through his obedi-
minds of both Jews and Greeks. Although he could praise
ence he overcame the powers that hold humankind in
Plato faintly, he had few compliments for nonbiblical writers
thrall—sin, death, and the devil. To establish his theory,
and writings. He placed his confidence, rather, in the Old
Irenaeus contended that Jesus experienced every phase of
Testament and in writings beginning to be collected into a
human development—infancy, childhood, youth, mature
New Testament. Against Marcion and some of the gnostics,
adulthood—sanctifying each by obedience. On the basis of
he asserted vigorously that one and the same God inspired
a comment in the Gospel of John (“You are not yet fifty,” Jn.
both. In his understanding of inspiration he came closer to
8:57), he argued that Jesus lived to age fifty. To be sure,
the rabbinic concept of the spirit indwelling an individual
alongside the motif of Christus Victor in his recapitulation
who faithfully adheres to the established tradition of truth
theory, Irenaeus also gave attention to the Greek concept of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4540
IRENAEUS
divinization by way of the vision of God in the incarnate
succession of bishops, Irenaeus added, “Ad hanc enim eccle-
Son. “He became man,” said Irenaeus, “in order that we
siam propter potiorem principalitatem necesse est omnem
might become divine.” This idea, however, did not dominate
convenire ecclesiam.” Roman Catholics have preferred to
his theology as did that of recapitulation. As Irenaeus used
translate this sentence as “For it is necessary that every
it, moreover, it had both Pauline and Johannine roots. Thus,
church agree with this church on account of its more power-
although nodding to Hellenism, Irenaeus did not depart
ful authority”; Protestants as “For it is necessary that every
from a strong biblicism.
church come together with this church on account of its
greater antiquity.” Lack of a Greek original makes certainty
There has been much debate among Protestant scholars
impossible.
about Irenaeus’s emphasis on free will. In opposition to the
gnostic division of humankind into three groups—material,
In eschatology, Irenaeus followed in the footsteps of his
psychic, and spiritual—he insisted on the survival of freedom
mentor Justin. Indeed, he was more rigorous than Justin in
even after the fall. Distinguishing “image” (eikon) and “like-
demanding adherence to millenarian beliefs. Countering the
ness” (homoiosis) in the Genesis account of creation, as did
gnostics’ dualism, he attached great importance to the idea
Valentinus, he held that the fall affected only the “likeness.”
of general resurrection, and he insisted on a resurrection of
The “image,” the whole bodily and spiritual nature with no
the flesh. Curiously, unlike Justin, he expected the general
added supernatural gift, was unaffected. Loss of the divine
resurrection and the Last Judgment of both human beings
“likeness,” however, resulted in a disordered human nature,
and fallen angels to precede the millennium. Citing Papias
death, and enslavement to Satan. Thus every person is born
(c. 60–130), bishop of Hierapolis, he believed the devil and
in sin, but this does not mean, as it did to Augustine, inheri-
his angels (demons) would be consigned to an everlasting fire
tance of guilt. Realizing that moral responsibility necessitates
while the saints would reign with Christ during the millenni-
freedom of choice, Irenaeus viewed sin as wrong moral
um. This millennial vision capped Irenaeus’s theory of the
choice by a responsible agent. Although this meant that he
evolution of religion.
sometimes minimized the need for grace, he was far from
INFLUENCE. Irenaeus’s integration of biblical and Hellenistic
being a forerunner of Pelagius (fl. 410–418), who empha-
thought, more cautious than that of his predecessor Justin
sized “natural grace” almost to the exclusion of supernatural.
or his contemporary Clement of Alexandria, was to have a
The fall, Irenaeus would say, attenuated free will, although
significant impact in subsequent centuries. Eastern theology
it did not obliterate it.
adopted his Christus Victor motif and his idea of the perfect-
In his understanding of the church Irenaeus again repro-
ibility of human nature consummated in immortality. A
duced much of Paul’s thought. The church is Israel under
strong emphasis on free will in Eastern thinking probably
a new covenant, the true Israel, the priestly people of God.
also has its roots in Irenaeus. In the West both Roman Cath-
Although he believed in a universal priesthood, Irenaeus nev-
olics and Protestants have claimed Irenaeus and Augustine
ertheless lacked Paul’s concept of the church as the body of
as their leading mentors. Roman Catholics have cited
Christ. He understood the church rather as a corporation
Irenaeus on authority, Protestants on the Bible. Neither,
composed of individuals and seldom spoke of being “in
however, has felt entirely at ease with the bishop of Lyons.
Christ” or “in the Spirit.”
Although Irenaeus came up with a “catholic formula” for
truth, he left much uncertainty about Rome’s place in safe-
Irenaeus did not comment at length on the sacraments.
guarding it. Similarly, although he was basically a biblical
Baptism, according to him, is a sign of faith and marks the
theologian, the Protestant reformers felt uncomfortable with
beginning of the Christian life. He presupposed adult bap-
both his idea of authority and his “Pelagian” tendencies. In
tism, although one allusion connected with his recapitula-
the present ecumenical climate, fresh studies of Irenaeus are
tion theory has often been pressed in support of infant bap-
aiding in the reexamination of theology that must inevitably
tism. The Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper, played a minor role
accompany progress toward Christian unity.
in his thinking. With Ignatius he could designate it “the anti-
dote of life,” or with Justin he could say the elements were
“no longer common bread.” Yet he preferred the phrase “the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The standard text of Irenaeus’s treatise Against Heresies is Sancti
new oblation of the new covenant.” Rich as his writings were
Irenaei libros quinque adversus haereses, 2 vols., edited by W.
in the formation of catholic theology, however, he did not
W. Harvey (Cambridge, U.K., 1857). A complete English
approach the medieval idea of transubstantiation. The Eu-
translation can be found in volume 1 of The Ante-Nicene Fa-
charist is a “sacrifice” of praise symbolic of the recapitulating
thers, edited and translated by Alexander Roberts and James
death of Christ; it proclaims and sets forth Christ’s saving
Donaldson (1867; reprint, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1975).
truth, the raison d’être of the church.
Irenaeus’s catechetical work appears in two English transla-
tions: The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, translated
Irenaeus’s understanding of ecclesiastical authority has
by J. Armitage Robinson (London, 1920), and Proof of the
evoked fierce debate between Protestants and Roman Catho-
Apostolic Preaching, translated and annotated by Joseph P.
lics, for the meaning of a crucial statement is uncertain. Cit-
Smith, S.J. (Westminster, Md., 1952) for the series “Ancient
ing Rome as an example of an “apostolic” church, “founded
Christian Writers.” The standard English biography of
and organized by Peter and Paul,” and possessed of a reliable
Irenaeus is F. R. M. Hitchcock’s Irenaeus of Lugdunum
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IROQUOIS RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
4541
(Cambridge, U.K., 1914). Valuable comprehensive studies
customs to humans modeled after those of the sky world. His
of Irenaeus’s theology include John Lawson’s The Biblical
brother tried to imitate his creative acts, but what issued in-
Theology of Saint Irenaeus (London, 1948) and Gustaf Win-
stead were all of the nasty, noxious, and monstrous forms of
gren’s Man and the Incarnation: A Study in the Biblical Theol-
life. The evil twin is described as cold and hard, like ice and
ogy of Irenaeus, translated by Ross Mackenzie (Edinburgh
flint, and his influence is believed to infect all areas of exis-
and Philadelphia, 1959).
tence. Each of the twins left behind spirit-forces and other
E. GLENN HINSON (1987)
manifestations of his orientation and power. The general
thrust of Iroquois religion is toward increasing and renewing
the power of those forces that sustain life and reducing or
eliminating those forces that diminish life, such as disease
IROQUOIS RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS. The
and pain.
League of the Iroquois consisted, at the time of contact with
Europeans, of five “nations” (the Mohawk, Oneida, Onon-
COMMUNITY RITUALS. To live in harmony with the spirit-
daga, Cayuga, and Seneca). In 1724, these groups were
forces is the essential requirement of Iroquois religion. These
joined by the Tuscarora to form the Six Nations of the Iro-
fundamental relationships that sustain community life are re-
quois. These tribes form part of a larger complex of Iroquoi-
newed, intensified, and celebrated in the calendrical cycles
an-speaking peoples. The northern language group of which
of the Longhouse religion. This final form of the Iroquois
the members of the league are a part also includes the Saint
ceremonial cycle crystallized in the nineteenth century under
Lawrence Iroquois, Huron, Wyandot, Susquehanna, Not-
the influence of the Seneca prophet Handsome Lake (1735–
toway, Erie, Wenro, and Neutrals. The Cherokee form the
1815). The Longhouse religion, as it is practiced today, is a
southern language group. The separation between the north-
synthesis of elements from the hunter-gatherer traditions of
ern and southern groups probably occurred between three
the Middle Woodland and early Late Woodland periods
and four thousand years ago, with further dialects developing
(300–1000 CE) and the agricultural complex that gradually
over time.
took hold during the Late Woodland period (1000–1500
CE).
Geographically, the early-seventeenth-century Iroquois
inhabited the area from 42° to 44° north latitude and from
The fundamental attitude of the Iroquois community
74° to 78° west longitude. In the late seventeenth century,
toward the benevolent spirit-forces of the universe is thanks-
the League of the Iroquois controlled territory from the Mo-
giving. Thus all Iroquois ceremonies begin and end with a
hawk Valley in the east to Lake Erie in the west, and from
thanksgiving address, a paean to all the forces of earth, sky,
Lake Ontario in the north to the mountains of western and
and the sky world that create, support, and renew life. The
south-central New York State and northwestern Pennsylva-
address is divided into three main parts. The first part in-
nia in the south.
cludes prayers of thanksgiving for the earth, waters, plants
and trees, animals, birds, and the “three sisters” (the staple
At contact the Iroquois were a matrilineal and matrilo-
Iroquois foodstuffs—maize, beans, and squash). The second
cal people living in clusters of longhouses situated on hill-
section gives thanks to those spirit forces that have greater
tops. The villages were usually palisaded and semipermanent.
power: wind, thunder, sun, moon, and stars. The final sec-
The men involved themselves in hunting, fishing, and mak-
tion gives thanks to the spiritual guides of the Iroquois:
ing war; the women took care of the fields and gathered ber-
Handsome Lake, the creator, and the Four Beings (protec-
ries, nuts, and roots. The clan mothers elected the fifty sa-
tors of humans and messengers from the creator to Hand-
chems, or chiefs, who guided the external policies of the
some Lake).
league from Onondaga.
The epitome of the synthesis represented by the Long-
COSMOLOGY. The cosmological structuring of space into
house religion is the Midwinter festival. Concentrated into
three tiers provides the Iroquois with the basic categories
its eight days are all of the major themes and components
with which to interpret human experience. The sky world
of Iroquois ceremonialism. The first half of the Midwinter
and the underworld represent extremes of both a spatial and
rite is the older and contains many elements from the hunt-
an existential nature. The sky world is order, goodness,
ing-forest complex that centered on shamanic practices. It is
warmth, light, and life. The underworld is chaos, evil, cold-
given over to the symbolic expulsion of the old year through
ness, darkness, and death. In the in-between world—the
rites of confession, ashes-stirring, and dream fulfillment, as
world of ordinary human experience—the qualities of both
well as medicine-society curing ceremonies, False Face soci-
worlds are intertwined in a myriad of ways. One of the ways
ety rituals, and the White Dog sacrifice (no longer prac-
is cyclical, as when night follows day; another is antagonistic,
ticed). These expiatory and cathartic rituals clear the path for
as when good struggles with evil.
the new year and for the second half of the festival, whose
Mythically, this world was the creation of two twins,
structure largely reflects the farming-village complex. The
one good and the other evil. The former, the Master of Life,
“four sacred rituals”—a feather dance, a skin (or drum)
was the creator of flora and fauna. He held the sky world in
dance, a personal chant, and a bowl game—are considered
mind at all times while creating living things, and he gave
the gifts of the creator, modeled after ceremonies in the sky
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4542
IROQUOIS RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
world. A tobacco invocation, a kind of thanksgiving address,
concocted from parts of animals, birds, and plants, is the
beseeches all of the spirit-forces to bless the people during
most potent made by any society. Ceremonies are held at
the coming year. Both the Our Sustenance Dances and the
night, several times a year, to renew the medicine.
performance by the Husk Faces anticipate a fruitful agricul-
4. The Little People society (also known as Dark Dance) also
tural season. The yearly ceremonial cycle unfolds from the
holds its ceremonies at night. This society fosters a good rap-
Midwinter festival and returns to it.
port with the jo-ga-oh (“little people”), elflike spirits who
While the ceremonial cycle may vary slightly from long-
help humans in a variety of ways and who adopt many differ-
house to longhouse, a representative list would include the
ent forms for mischievous purposes.
Midwinter festival, the Bush Dance, and the Thanks-to-the-
5. The False Face society is the favorite of the Iroquois. The
Maple, Seed Planting, Strawberry, Raspberry, Green Bean,
wooden masks worn by its members are filled with power.
Thunder, Little Corn, Green Corn, and Harvest ceremonies.
Reverence and ritual surround both their carving and their
MEDICINE SOCIETIES. Not only has Iroquois religion been
care. The most common practices of the Faces today were
concerned with affirming and intensifying life, it has also
noted among the Huron by seventeenth-century observers:
been concerned with countering those things that diminish
blowing ashes, handling hot coals, imitating hunchbacks,
life. The spirit-forces that assist humans in this battle re-
and carrying sticks. It is quite possible that the Faces came
vealed themselves long ago and entered into covenants with
to the Iroquois from the Huron. The False Face society holds
individuals, families, and societies. Through fasting, dream-
rites for cleansing the community of disease in the spring and
visions, and ecstatic states, the ancient shamans sought to di-
fall. It sponsers rites at Midwinter both for its own members
vine the causes of illness, pain, famine, and sudden or wide-
and for the broader community in the longhouse and per-
spread death. Other shamanic specialists had their own cere-
forms individual curing rites when needed.
monies and skills that brought healing power. At times
6. The Husk Faces are dedicated to the agricultural spirits.
groups of shamans who possessed similar secrets joined to-
They also cure by blowing ashes and handling hot coals.
gether into sodalities. With the demise of individual shaman-
During Midwinter they burst into the longhouse and an-
ism, these “medicine societies” grew in importance in Iro-
nounce that they are going to the other side of the world to
quois life and became the preserver of the ancient shamanic
till the crops.
traditions.
7. The Towii’sas society is a woman’s society honoring corn,
The significance of medicine society rituals in Iroquois
beans, and squash. It participates in the Green Corn ceremo-
life differs from that of the communal ceremonies. The latter
ny and also has its own curing ceremonies.
are thanksgiving-celebrative, follow the agricultural cycle, are
8. The Ohgiwe society conducts ceremonies for people who
directed toward the major spirit-forces, and are held in the
have been dreaming of ghosts. A feast is held to feed the
longhouse. The former are power-evocative and occasional,
ghost and to dissuade it from bothering the living. Just as the
invoke the tutelary spirit of the particular medicine society,
sharing of food brings harmony into human relationships,
and are usually conducted in private homes. Membership in
so does it harmonize relations between living and dead. The
a society is generally limited to those who have been cured
Iroquois both respect and fear the dead and therefore con-
by one of that society’s rituals. The medicine societies have
duct a number of feasts for them. In addition to the feasts
their own myths, songs, dances, prayers, costumes, and ritual
conducted by the Ohgiwe society, there is a community
paraphernalia. A listing of Iroquois medicine societies and
Feast of the Dead (also called Ohgiwe) that is held annually
their major characteristics follows.
or semiannually. All souls, but especially those of the recently
1. The Society of Medicine Men (also known as Shake the
deceased, are invited. Songs and dances are performed, and
Pumpkin) is the largest medicine society. Most members of
a post-midnight feast is held. There are also frequent family
the other societies also belong to it. The society began with
feasts for the dead during the winter months. These celebra-
a covenant relationship between the medicine animals and
tions both fulfill the family’s obligations to the dead and
its founders. In return for feasts offered in their honor, the
serve as a means of bringing together relatives of the de-
animals promised to cure diseases, ease pain, and get rid of
ceased.
bad luck. Practices of this society, such as juggling red-hot
THE INDIVIDUAL. In traditional (i.e., pre-nineteenth-
coals and wearing masks without eye holes, are quite ancient.
century) Iroquois lore, access to the power and guidance of
2. The Company of Mystic Animals includes the Buffalo,
the spirit-forces was not limited to the community (through
Otter, Bear, and Eagle societies. In varying degrees the mem-
its collective ceremonial life) nor to the curing societies. The
bers imitate their tutelary animals in their dances, songs, and
individual Iroquois had an array of spiritually vital allies, in-
practices. They continue the shamanic tradition in which
cluding charms, medicine bundles, guardian spirits, and his
humans and animals communicate with, and can be trans-
or her own soul.
formed into, one another.
The most common medium for communication with
3. The Little Water Medicine society, like its ally in the Eagle
these forces was the dream-vision. During puberty rites of
society, was originally associated with war and the healing of
shamanic training a guardian spirit would reveal itself to the
wounds received in war. The Iroquois say that its medicine,
individual through the dream-vision. The spirit could take
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IRVING, EDWARD
4543
the form of a human being, or animal, or a bird such as a
ny. This formalization of the dream-vision revelations re-
raven or crow. An intimate and powerful relationship was es-
ceived by the prophet from 1799 until his death in 1815 pro-
tablished between the person and the guardian spirit. A per-
vides the moral, ceremonial, social, and theological context
son who had such a friendship had greater inner power and
in which followers of the Longhouse religion live. A com-
confidence than one who did not. The guardian spirit re-
plete recitation by an authorized preacher may occur every
vealed its desires in dreams. To ignore this ally or to fail to
other fall at a meeting of the Six Nations, depending upon
understand its desires could result in illness. Such an illness
which longhouse is sponsoring the meeting.
signified a dangerous disruption of the relationship between
spirit-forces and humans. Should someone become ill, his
SEE ALSO Handsome Lake.
dreams would be consulted to ascertain what the guardian
spirit desired. Sometimes the efforts of everyone in the com-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
munity would be needed to fulfill the dream. They willingly
The main source for information on seventeenth-century Huron
undertook this.
religion, which also provides some insight into Iroquois life,
is The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, 39 vols. (1896–
Similarly, an alienation could occur between a person’s
1901), edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites (New York, 1959).
ego and soul. The Iroquois believed that the soul was the
The nineteenth century marked the beginning of modern
source of biological as well as mental well-being. Dreams
studies on Iroquois religion. Midcentury produced Lewis H.
were its language. To lose touch with or deny the desires of
Morgan’s classic The League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or Iro-
the soul could cause it to revolt against the body. Dreams
quois (1851; reprint, New York, 1966). The most complete
collection of Iroquois cosmological stories is found in
were carefully investigated in order to avoid such a possibility
J. N. B. Hewitt’s “Iroquois Cosmology,” which was pub-
or to remedy it when illness occurred. The dream-guessing
lished in two parts in the Annual Report of the Bureau of
rite that even today forms a part of the Onondaga Midwinter
American Ethnology 21 (1899–1900) and 43 (1925–1926).
festival was performed quite frequently by the seventeenth-
An excellent, thorough study of the Midwinter festival is
century Huron. The ill person’s soul’s desire would be given
found in Elisabeth Tooker’s The Iroquois Ceremonial of Mid-
in riddle form; whoever guessed it correctly had to fulfill the
winter (Syracuse, N.Y., 1970). For an introduction to and
desire. This might involve an object, a feast, the performance
translation of a thanksgiving address, see Wallace L. Chafe’s
of a particular ritual, or any of a number of other actions.
“Seneca Thanksgiving Rituals,” Bureau of American Ethnolo-
gy Bulletin 183 (1961). A much more thorough, if complex,
Dreams were also thought to contain warnings about
comparison of several thanksgiving addresses along with a
future events—events whose actual occurrence might be pre-
study of other events in the ritual cycle is M. K. Foster’s From
vented by acting out the dream and thereby fulfilling it.
the Earth to Beyond the Sky: An Ethnographic Approach to Four
Thus, a warrior who dreamed that he had been captured,
Longhouse Speech Events (Ottawa, 1974). Valuable informa-
bound, and tortured by an enemy might, upon waking, ask
tion on the medicine societies, along with the only full trans-
his fellow tribesmen to tie him up and make cuts or burns
lation at present of “The Code of Handsome Lake” (i.e., the
in his flesh in order that the greater pain and shame predicted
Gaiwiio), is found in a collection of Arthur C. Parker’s writ-
by the dream might be avoided. Dreams also affected hunt-
ings, entitled Parker on the Iroquois, edited by William N.
Fenton (Syracuse, N.Y., 1968). Fenton has done this centu-
ing, fishing, military, and political plans.
ry’s most important work among the Iroquois. Among his
There was no aspect of life among the ancient Iroquois
numerous articles, special mention should be made of “An
and Huron that was not touched by the dream. Religiously
Outline of Seneca Ceremonies at Coldspring Longhouse,”
it played both a conservative and an innovative role. That
Yale University Publications in Anthropology 9 (1936): 3–22;
is, it confirmed within an individual’s experience the cultur-
and “Masked Medicine Societies of the Iroquois,” in the An-
ally transmitted religious system while also initiating changes
nual Report of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington,
D.C., 1940), pp. 397–430. An indispensable collection of
in the beliefs and rituals that constituted this system. It
articles on the Iroquois and their neighbors can be found in
would not be going too far to say that most of Iroquois reli-
the Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 15, Northeast
gion was constructed of dream material. Through this build-
(Washington, D.C., 1978).
ing process, the individual hierophany became symbolized
and available to all. The last series of significant changes in-
DONALD P. ST. JOHN (1987)
troduced into Iroquois life by the dream resulted from the
revelations given to Handsome Lake, which were eventually
institutionalized into the present-day Longhouse religion.
IRVING, EDWARD (1792–1834), was a controversial
Today the majority of Iroquois live on reservations in
Scottish minister associated with the founding of the Catho-
Canada and New York State. Perhaps one-fourth of the ap-
lic Apostolic church. Born in Annan, Dumfriesshire, Irving
proximately twenty thousand Iroquois adhere to the tradi-
was educated at the University of Edinburgh. After serving
tionalist Longhouse religion. In addition to the ceremonies
as a schoolmaster at Haddington in 1810 and Kirkcaldy in
described above, they perform partial recitations of the Gai-
1812, he was licensed to preach in the Church of Scotland
wiio (“good word”) of Handsome Lake on the first mornings
in 1815. He became Thomas Chalmers’s assistant at Saint
of both the Midwinter festival and the Green Corn ceremo-
John’s, Glasgow, in 1819 but left Scotland in 1822 to be-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4544
ISAAC
come pastor of Caledonian Chapel, a small, struggling con-
ISAAC, or, in Hebrew, Yitsh:aq; the second of the biblical
gregation in Hatton Garden, London. His dynamic preach-
patriarchs and the only son of Abraham and Sarah. Although
ing drew such large crowds that a new church had to be built
not known from elsewhere, the name Yitsh:aq conforms to
at Regent Square in 1827.
a well-known Northwest Semitic type and means “may God
smile”; Ugaritic texts from the thirteenth century BCE refer
Avowal of controversial doctrines soon undercut Ir-
to the benevolent smile of the Canaanite god El. The Bible,
ving’s popularity. In the mid-1820s, Irving became a mille-
however, ascribes the laughter to Isaac’s mother, who was
narian through the influence of James Hatley Frere, Henry
amazed to learn that she would have a child despite her ad-
Drummond, and Drummond’s Albury Circle. He published
vanced age.
Babylon and Infidelity Foredoomed of God (1826), in which
he predicted the second coming of Christ in 1864; translated
Isaac is the only patriarch whose name was not changed.
The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty (1827), a mille-
The Bible treats him primarily as Abraham’s son or the father
narian work by the Spanish Jesuit Manuel Lacunza; lectured
of Jacob and Esau. He was the first ancestor of the Israelites
on the Book of Revelation at the University of Edinburgh
to be circumcised on his eighth day in accordance with God’s
(1828); and was a regular contributor to Drummond’s pro-
command (Gn. 17:12). At an unspecified age he was taken
phetic journal The Morning Watch (1829–1833).
to be sacrificed in order to test Abraham’s faithfulness; how-
ever, Isaac himself did little except ask why his father had not
Citing his The Doctrine of the Incarnation Opened
brought an animal for the offering. His later marriage to Re-
(1828) and The Orthodox and Catholic Doctrine of Our Lord’s
becca, a cousin, was arranged by Abraham and provided
Human Nature (1830), the London Presbytery in 1830
comfort to Isaac after his mother’s death. In his old age, Isaac
charged Irving with teaching the sinfulness of Christ’s
was deceived into giving Jacob the blessing intended for the
human nature. He vigorously denied the charge, arguing that
older Esau.
though Christ shared humanity’s weak and infirm nature, his
Isaac’s only independent actions are found in Genesis
reliance on the Holy Spirit kept him without sin. Further,
26, in which he tells King Abimelech that Rebecca is his sis-
Irving refused to recognize the presbytery’s authority.
ter, a story reminiscent of one told twice about Sarah and
Abraham. The same chapter mentions his involvement in ag-
Irving also believed in the continuation of the charisma-
ricultural activities and his resolution of a dispute over water
ta of apostolic times and urged his congregation to pray for
rights between his shepherds and those of Abimelech. Isaac
their outpouring. In the fall of 1831, glossolalia, faith heal-
died at the age of 180 and was buried alongside Rebecca at
ing, and prophetic visions broke out at Regent Square. As
Machpelah.
a result, Irving was deposed from the church in 1832 and
excommunicated by his Scottish presbytery in 1833. He then
Postbiblical Jewish interpretations focus largely on the
became a wandering preacher, while several hundred of his
story of Abraham’s intended sacrifice of Isaac, called the
London parishioners established the sacramental, millenari-
Eaqedah (“binding”), and often elaborate his role beyond
an, and charismatic Catholic Apostolic church. Eventually
the biblical description. According to one version he actually
Irving was ordained a deacon in the new church, but he never
died and was then revived. Christian tradition, perhaps at-
assumed any significant leadership role. He died at Glasgow
tested as early as the writings of Paul (Rom. 8:32), views this
and was buried in the cathedral there.
incident as prefiguring the Crucifixion. Paul contrasted
Isaac, representing Christianity, with Ishmael, the rejected
Always the controversialist, Irving attacked the cold and
older son who symbolizes Judaism (Gal. 4:21–30).
somewhat complacent spirit of orthodoxy in the Church of
Scotland. Through his adoption of millenarian and charis-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
matic views, he became an early shaper of those movements
An excellent survey of modern scholarly insights into the patriar-
in British and American evangelicalism.
chal narratives is Nahum M. Sarna’s Understanding Genesis
(New York, 1966). Rabbinic legends are collected in Louis
Ginzberg’s The Legends of the Jews, 2d ed., 2 vols., translated
BIBLIOGRAPHY
by Henrietta Szold and Paul Radin (Philadelphia, 2003).
Irving’s works are found in The Collected Writings of Edward Ir-
Shalom Spiegel’s The Last Trial, translated by Judah Goldin
ving, 5 vols. (London, 1864–1865), edited by Gavin Carlyle.
(New York, 1967), summarizes a vast array of postbiblical
For studies of Irving’s life, one may consult H. C. Whitley’s
legends pertaining to the binding of Isaac (Gn. 22).
Blinded Eagle (London, 1955), the work of an unabashed ad-
F
mirer, and Margaret Oliphant’s The Life of Edward Irving,
REDERICK E. GREENSPAHN (1987 AND 2005)
2 vols. (London, 1862), a fine example of Victorian biogra-
phy. A helpful examination of Irving’s associations is Andrew
L. Drummond’s Edward Irving and His Circle (London,
ISAAC THE SYRIAN (d. 700
1938). Irving’s theology is analyzed in C. Gordon Strachan’s
CE?), also known as Isaac
The Pentecostal Theology of Edward Irving (London, 1973).
of Nineveh, was a bishop in the ancient Nestorian church
of Syria; a monk, recluse mystic, and creative writer whose
TIMOTHY P. WEBER (1987)
discourses have had widespread influence on Christian and,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISAIAH
4545
some think, S:u¯f¯ı spirituality. The English world at first
of tears, and profound stages of prayer leading to ecstasy. For
greeted his work, originally written in Syriac, with culture-
him the goal of Christian perfection is the love of God, of
bound coolness, but has eventually come to recognize him
“the food of angels . . . which is Jesus.”
as one of the most sublime and original mystic writers of the
Christian East.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bejan, Paul, ed. Mar Isaacus Ninivita de perfectione religiosa. Paris,
Little is known about Isaac’s life. Born in a region
1909.
around the Persian Gulf, he became a monk and for a time
Kadloubovsky, Eugénie, and G. E. H. Palmer, trans. Early Fathers
the bishop of Nineveh (modern Mosul), an office he resigned
from the Philokalia. London, 1954.
after only five months. He then withdrew to one of the
monasteries in the mountains of Huzistan (southwestern
Theotoke¯s, Nike¯phoros. Isaak tou Syrou Eurethenta Asketika
(1770). Reprint, Athens, n.d. (1960s).
Iran), where he practiced strict solitude (hesychasm) as a way
of pursuing unceasing communion with God. In order not
Wensinck, A. J., trans. and ed. Mystic Treatises by Isaac of Nineveh.
to break the rule of solitude, as Isaac himself relates in a stir-
Amsterdam, 1923.
ring personal account, he refused to go to the deathbed of
THEODORE STYLIANOPOULOS (1987)
his brother, a monk in another monastery. Toward the end
of his life a burning love led Isaac to write a profusion of illu-
minating discourses on Christian perfection—the fruit of his
ISAIAH (fl. 740–701
assiduous study of scripture, his reading of Christian authors,
BCE), or, in Hebrew, YeshaEyahu or
YeshaEyah, was a Hebrew prophet. Isaiah, son of Amoz,
and his own experiences, about which he is discreetly
prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
modest.
Hezekiah, kings of Judah (see Is. 1:1). He was a contempo-
Isaac’s writings were translated into Greek, Coptic, and
rary of the prophets Micah and Hosea and lived soon after
Arabic, and became influential from Byzantium to Ethiopia.
Amos. (Amos and Hosea were active in Israel, or Ephraim,
Later Latin and Spanish translations made him known to the
while Micah prophesied in Judah.) This was the period of
West. The Greek translation (ninth century) was printed in
the Syro-Ephraimite war (734/3–733/2 BCE), in which these
a partly critical edition by Nike¯phoros Theotoke¯s (1770),
kingdoms to the north of Judah surrounded Jerusalem,
and this edition was in turn the basis of a Russian translation
threatening to replace the house of David (Is. 7:1–6 [verse
by Feofan the Recluse (nineteenth century), excerpts of
citations are according to the English version]). It was also
which were rendered into English by Eugénie Kadloubovsky
the time of the Assyrian invasions, a chain of military cam-
and G. E. H. Palmer in Early Fathers from the Philokalia
paigns that caused the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel
(1954). Earlier, A. J. Wensinck, working on Paul Bedjan’s
in 722 and made Judah a vassal of the Assyrian Empire. Dur-
critical edition of the original Syriac discourses (1909), had
ing this stormy political period, Isaiah addressed the political
published his English translation of Mystic Treatises by Isaac
elite and the people of Jerusalem, delivering God’s word,
of Nineveh (1923), valuable but unfortunately inadequate in
which often did not correspond with the rulers’ political
correctly rendering key patristic terminology derived from
views. He repeatedly criticized the rulers for the prevailing
the Greek fathers. A new translation, The Ascetical Homilies
social injustices.
of St. Isaac the Syrian, based on the Greek and Syriac, is in
COMPOSITE NATURE OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. Isaiah con-
preparation by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brook-
tains sixty-six chapters and is the largest prophetic book in
line, Massachusetts.
the Hebrew Bible. The existing structure had appeared by
Only the earnest student will be rewarded by reading
the beginning of the second century BCE. Ben Sira apparently
Isaac’s work in English; wide cultural differences, the sublim-
knows Isaiah as a whole (Sir. 48:17–25), and the Dead Sea
ity of Isaac’s thought, and the fact that it is addressed princi-
Scrolls, as well as the New Testament, regard the entire sixty-
pally to other solitaries, not ordinary Christians, add to other
six chapters as a single composition. There are, indeed, cer-
problems of translation. Although he cites Evagrios of Pon-
tain stylistic usages that are common to the entire book, such
tus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and others who are in some
as the combination “Holy of Israel” (Is. 1:4, 5:16, 5:19, 5:24,
respects suspect to orthodox theology, there is nothing spe-
6:3, 10:20, 12:6, 30:11, 30:12, 30:15, 31:1, 41:14, 41:16,
cifically Nestorian about Isaac’s Christology. Isaac strictly
41:20, 43:3, 43:14, 45:11, 47:4, 48:17, 49:7, 54:5, 55:5,
avoided dogmatic disputations and was completely grounded
60:9, 60:14) and the expression “Thus says God,” in the im-
in the traditions of Eastern Christianity’s piety and spirituali-
perfect tense instead of the usual perfect, “said” (Is. 1:11,
ty. He frequently quoted not only the Old and New Testa-
1:18, 33:10, 41:21, 66:9; cf. 40:1, 40:25).
ments but also the ascetics of Egypt and eminent church fa-
Contrary to these early sources, however, modern schol-
thers such as Ephraem of Syria, Athanasius, Basil of
arship on Isaiah generally differentiates between chapters
Caesarea, Gregory the Theologian, and Chrysostom. Isaac
1–39 of the book and chapters 40–66, treating them as dis-
was interested primarily not in mysticism but in God; his
tinct major works by different authors. The first 39 chapters
originality lies in his luminous descriptions of the deep stir-
of Isaiah bear the title “The Vision of Isaiah the Son of
rings of the Holy Spirit in the heart, the new birth, the gift
Amoz” (1:1); chapters 40–66 are ascribed to an anonymous
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4546
ISAIAH
prophet to whom scholars refer as “Second Isaiah,” or “De-
grew up outside the city). He was familiar with city life (see,
utero-Isaiah.” Some scholars also recognize the existence of
e.g., Is. 3:16–23), and Jerusalem was the center of his activi-
a “Third Isaiah,” or “Trito-Isaiah,” the author of chapters
ty. He married a woman whom he called “the prophetess”
56–66, because the tone and approach of these chapters is
(Is. 8:3). They had at least two sons, whose names are associ-
more critical and condemning than that of chapters 40–55.
ated with their father’s prophetic message (cf. Hos. 1:3–9):
The division of the Book of Isaiah into two sections fol-
Shearjashub (lit., She Dar yashuv, “a remnant shall return”; Is.
lows from the fact that the two parts are concerned with two
7:3) and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (lit., “pillage hastens, looting
distinct historical periods, the Assyrian and the Persian, and
speeds”; 8:3). Isaiah may have had a third son, EImmanuDel
different political situations during these periods, which are
(“God is with us”; 7:14; cf. 8:18), whose name refers to trust
reflected in the different topics and particular prophetic
in God even in moments of political despair. Isaiah is rarely
themes of the book. The author of the first part is concerned
mentioned outside of his book, but is referred to in 2 Kings
with social problems and concentrates on the moral and ethi-
19–20 and 2 Chronicles 26:22, 32:20, and 32:32, where he
cal misconduct of the rulers of Jerusalem, while the author
appears not just as a prophet but as the king’s healer and the
of the second part responds to the national religious crisis of
court chronicler. All the sources indicate that Isaiah was
the exiled Jewish community in Babylonia. Accordingly,
closely associated with King Hezekiah, especially during the
speeches of judgment distinguish the first part, while words
Assyrian siege of Jerusalem. He had access to the king (Is.
of encouragement and oracles of salvation characterize the
7:1ff.) and was the king’s political counselor (37:1ff.). He
second. The prophet of the second part anticipates the col-
makes frequent reference to the forms and vocabulary of the
lapse of Babylon in 539 BCE and the triumph of Cyrus II
wisdom literature and is clearly familiar with the scribal pro-
(558–529), the founder of the great Persian Empire. He
fession (30:8; cf. 2 Chr. 26:22).
knows about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem
(587/6
There are a number of traditions about Isaiah’s role and
BCE), and assigns Cyrus the task of building the new
temple (Is. 44:28, 45:1; cf. 52:5, 52:11). Historical evidence
activities that make it difficult to reconstruct the “real” Isa-
thus dates the second part of Isaiah to the second half of the
iah. His close ties with Hezekiah as portrayed in the narrative
sixth century
(Is. 36–39, 2 Kgs. 19–20) may create the impression that he
BCE, approximately two centuries later than the
first part. The division in Isaiah was already recognized in
functioned as a court prophet, but his confrontation with
the twelfth century
King Ahaz (Is. 7) depicts him as an independent prophetic
CE by the Hebrew commentator
Avraham ibn EEzra (in his commentary on Is. 40:1), and the
figure. The portrayal of Isaiah as a healer in Kings 20:1–7 is
literary-thematic distinction has recently been confirmed by
significant—“And Isaiah said: bring a cake of figs. And let
a computer analysis (Y. T. Radday, The Unity of Isaiah in
them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover” (2 Kgs.
Light of Statistical Linguistics, Hildesheim, 1973).
20:7)—and is repeated in the appendix of the Book of Isaiah
(Is. 38:1–8). That Isaiah inserts this deed of healing at the
But how were these distinct compositions tied together?
end of Hezekiah’s poem as an excursus may reflect a tenden-
One can only speculate. Perhaps it was just a technical matter
cy to minimize Isaiah’s role as a healer and portray him in-
in which a shorter scroll was attached to a longer one for
stead in the role of God’s messenger, who does not perform
preservation, and the origin of the work as two separate
miracles in the tradition of the earlier prophets (such as that
manuscripts was later forgotten. Or perhaps the combination
of Elisha, described in 2 Kgs. 2–5). Note, however, that even
was intentional, the product of a school of religious thought
in chapters 1–35, which deal directly with Isaiah’s prophecy,
that sought to create a continuous ideological composition
the prophet does not appear only as God’s messenger but
in which the period of judgment had been fulfilled, thus con-
performs symbolic acts in the tradition of the earlier proph-
firming the old Isaian prophecies and pointing out the validi-
ets, such as Elijah. For example, he walks barefoot and naked
ty of the new ones concerning the new era of salvation. Or
in Jerusalem for three years as a symbol of the fate that would
perhaps the composer of the second book considered himself
overtake Egypt and its ally Ethiopia at the hands of Assyria
Isaiah’s faithful disciple. This hypothesis may explain the
(Is. 20:1–6). One must keep in mind, however, that this is
lack of superscription in the second part as well as the simi-
but a single episode.
larity of idioms and phrases in the two parts. For example,
in a rare passage in which Second Isaiah refers to himself, he
Speeches and additional material. The major critical
describes God’s word as limmudim, “teaching” (Is. 50:4),
issue surrounding the book of Isaiah is the determination of
language that resembles that of Isaiah (Is. 8:16). Isaiah’s spiri-
his original speeches. It has been noted that even chapters
tual disciple responds to his teacher’s feeling of “distress and
1–39 do not constitute a single composition. The poetic, or-
darkness” (Is. 8:22), which caused the master to seal his testi-
atorical language is replaced in chapters 36–39 with a histori-
mony (Is. 8:16–17). The disciple feels that times have
cal narrative (as well as Hezekiah’s prayer in 38:10–20). The
changed. He notices that God again reveals himself (Is.
Book of Isaiah seems to have a long literary history. Rabbinic
40:5), and he considers himself the one who bears the lead-
sources hint at an editorial process in which it was not Isaiah
er’s testimony.
himself who wrote the book but later scribes (Hezekiah and
THE FIRST ISAIAH. It appears that Isaiah, the son of Amoz,
his school). Modern criticism attempts to establish clear
was from Jerusalem (unlike his contemporary Micah, who
criteria for the distinction between the authentic and the
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ISAIAH
4547
added material. Some scholars distinguish between oracles of
gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled
judgment and prophecies of salvation, with the latter, reflect-
with horses, and there is no end to their chariots” (2:7). The
ing the days to come, considered a later theological addition.
prophet’s stylistic technique creates a vivid and dynamic
Style is another criterion for analyzing the editorial process.
word picture. The poem of the vineyard in 5:1ff. aims to il-
Isaiah is regarded as a poet. Thus some hold that only the
lustrate a specific aspect of the people’s misconduct. The use
material in verse is authentic. Accordingly, passages such as
of a parable, that is, the rhetorical description of the situation
1:18–20, which breaks the poetic structure, and 4:2–6, a
in a different context, enables Isaiah to focus his audience’s
prosaic text differing from the poetic material surrounding
attention and get their sympathy. If he had presented his crit-
it, are considered late. Similarly, this view does not regard
icism directly, it might have been rejected by the hostile au-
texts such as 2:2–4/5 and 11:1ff., which are prophecies of
dience. Another illustration of this technique is the vision of
salvation, as Isaiah’s compositions. It has also been suggested
the future in 4:2–6, written in a prose style and following
that verses referring to the fall of Assyria (e.g., 8:9–10,
the description, in vivid imagery, of the corrupted daughters
10:16–19, 10:20–23, 10:24–27, 10:33–34) are the product
of Zion (3:16ff.). The present reality is described in verse in
of an “Assyrian redaction” added in the period of Josiah’s ter-
order to stir the emotions and move the audience. However,
ritorial expansions and Assyrian decline, toward the end of
in this context if a description of the future were delivered
the seventh century BCE. The goal of the redactor, in this
in verse, it might have been received as an imaginative dis-
view, was to update Isaiah’s original prophecy and show how
course having nothing to do with the present reality. Isaiah
it was fulfilled through God’s determination of political
therefore employs a prosaic style, the language of historical
events. Thus there is a complete theological paradigm: First
fact, and the address, though it refers to the days to come,
God appears as the accuser and punisher of Israel, and later
seems to have an air of reality.
he reveals himself as Israel’s savior. Scholars of the redaction-
al school such as Barth, Clements, and Kaiser assume that
Chronological order of the speeches. The speeches of
Isaiah was not a prophet with a complete political vision, but
chapters 2–5 (as well as those of 1:21–31) differ thematically
merely a deliverer of judgmental oracles.
from the material of 7:1ff., and it has been suggested that
each topic mirrors a different political era. The sharp social
It is the opinion of this author, on the other hand, that
criticism is replaced by political addresses. The first cycle of
Isaiah had a politico-religious worldview that was not limited
speeches (chaps. 2–5) is assigned to the days of Uzziah (c.
to contemporary conditions. As a man of vision, he had a
787–c. 736), a time of political stability, security, and eco-
total religious concept which looked beyond the day of judg-
nomic prosperity (see 2 Kgs. 15:1–7, 2 Chr. 26:1–23). The
ment which was imminent. Isaiah was not just a social critic
social and political elite of Jerusalem regained their strength,
and man of protest; his proclamation of judgment led to his
creating severe social tension in Judah that affected the poor.
prophetic outlook for the future as well. There is neither sty-
Isaiah criticizes the rulers for oppressing their citizens. The
listic nor philological evidence that the oracles designed for
speech of 7:1ff. refers to the days of Ahaz (who became king
the days to come (included in chapters 1–35) are products
probably in 741 and was coregent until 725), during the
of later hands, unless one imposes on the text specific exter-
Syro-Ephraimite war. Here Isaiah is responding to political
nal critical theories (for certain exceptions, see below). Rath-
developments rather than to the domestic situation. This his-
er than regarding style (verse versus prose) as the criterion
torical reconstruction of Isaiah’s activity assumes, however,
for distinguishing between the original and added text, one
that 1:4–9, which describes a major war that has endangered
should consider that stylistic variations and mixing of styles
Jerusalem, is either not in order or that the whole of the
may be the function of the subject matter and may have been
chapter is an introduction to Isaiah’s prophecy and does not
intentional in a particular prophetic message. Subject and
belong to his early activity in the days of Uzziah. However,
function determine Isaiah’s style; the question of how it has
if one does not ignore 1:4–9 and read chapters 1–5
been said is related to the issue of what has been said. Isaiah
chronologically in their existing order, they reflect a period
employs a significant variety of stylistic forms: mashal
of war that had gravely threatened Jerusalem. Isaiah is con-
(“parable”; 5:1ff.), comparison (1:2–3), vivid description
cerned here with the cause of the military disaster. He indi-
(1:4–9), polemic discourse (1:10–17), lament (1:21), satire
cates that corrupt domestic conditions are the reason for the
(3:4ff.), vision (6:1ff.), prediction (7:7–9), and narrative
political and military defeat and the people’s suffering, which
(7:11ff., 8:1ff.), among many others.
are God’s punishment. In chapters 7–8 however, he focuses
on King Ahaz’s foreign policy. Isaiah’s major thrust is direct-
The rich language and varied stylistic modes reveal that
ed not toward Uzziah’s time but Ahaz’s.
the prophet was not a narrator who merely reported events.
Isaiah sought to appeal to his audience by the force of his
Isaiah’s prophecy is thus a series of responses to specific
language, a goal that, in light of the prophetic office, requires
political and domestic situations that, in his view, are mutu-
the use of religious language. This language uses metaphor
ally related. He reveals his deep involvement with and specif-
and an imaginative style to create an array of sensory impres-
ic viewpoint regarding these political events and offers his
sions. For example, the description of the foreign influence
unique prophetic interpretation of the political situation
in Judah is hyperbolic: “Their land is filled with silver and
through a series of speeches that attempt to persuade. Isaiah
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4548
ISAIAH
does not speak as a political analyst or as a political philoso-
gy. The structure of this collection resembles the work of
pher; he uses rhetoric or any other means of appeal to reach
Amos, who starts with a series of oracles against the nations
his audience (see, e.g., 7:10ff.). Accordingly, the various
and climaxes with a prophecy against Israel (1:2–2:16), his
speeches must be analyzed as a whole, and each speech or vi-
major point. The common theme in Isaiah’s prophecies
sion studied in light of Isaiah’s thematic prophetic ideology
against the nations is that they will suffer military defeat. Isa-
and not as a separate entity. Prophecies of salvation follow
iah repeatedly reveals his basic religious and political belief
from oracles of judgment, and both are integrated into Isa-
that the international political situation does not exist in a
iah’s prophetic worldview.
vacuum but is determined by God, who does not exclude
Judah. Consequently, Judah’s efforts to protect itself through
Political context and arrangement of the speeches.
military and political means will fail (22:1ff.).
The book deals with two major political events that shocked
Judah: the Syro-Ephraimite war and the Assyrian threats
The visions of chapters 24–35 abstractly summarize
(734–701). Isaiah’s prophecy is presented in light of his over-
once again Isaiah’s prophetic ideology: God’s absolute uni-
all prophetic conception, which does not see the actual
versal domination and his punishment for misbehavior in the
events as mere politico-military developments, although they
form of military defeat (24:1–5, 24:21–23, 28:14–22,
shaped the prophet’s political views. In the Syro-Ephraimite
29:13–14, 30:1–3, 34:1ff.). Isaiah, a master of language,
war the kings of Aram (Syria) and Ephraim (Israel) sought
moves from visionary to more concrete speech and character-
to fight against Assyria and needed Judah’s active support.
istically, concludes with an optimistic vision of the future
Ahaz, the Judahite king, refused, and as a result the northern
(35:1ff.). It is unnecessary, therefore, to regard chapters 34–
coalition launched a military attack meant to replace Ahaz
35, with their enthusiastic tone, as part of Second Isaiah’s
with their favorite, who was not a descendant of the house
prophecy, as a number of scholars suggest.
of David (see Is. 7:1–6). God’s sacred promise to David and
Such a thematic reading of Isaiah’s speeches raises the
his house of an eternal throne in Jerusalem (see 2 Sm. 7:1–
question of the place and function of chapter 6, which is re-
17) was thus endangered. The sacred status of the house of
garded by many as Isaiah’s call, his “inaugural vision.” Was
David is the starting point of Isaiah’s prophetic responses.
it originally placed at the beginning of the book? If so, why
It forces him to deal with the cause of the problem, which
would the message of the vision be to harden the hearts of
was, in his view, the social and ethical misconduct of the rul-
the people (6:9, 6:10)? Perhaps this is, in fact, a response to
ers (see 1:4–5, 1:10–17, 1:21–23, 3:14–15, 3:16ff., 5:1ff.).
the people’s stubbornness and their denial of Isaiah’s earlier
The war is God’s punishment (see 1:4–9). At the last mo-
comments on their political and military troubles. In this
ment (1:9) the city will be purified, and justice will be re-
light the vision of chapter 6 would seem to be in its correct
stored (1:25–27, 2:2–4/5, 4:2–6; hence the above-
chronological setting, reflecting Isaiah’s despair over the peo-
mentioned connotation of the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-
ple’s unresponsiveness.
jashub, “a remnant shall return.” This teleology, the faith
Alternatively, those who read Isaiah as a series of discrete
that God will interfere on behalf of the people and for the
speeches of judgment have suggested that the book’s editors
sake of Jerusalem, leads Isaiah to oppose Ahaz’s political at-
intended its literary structure to reflect a specific theological
tempts at saving himself by means of the foreign powers of
view that incorporated the late prophecies of salvation. For
Assyria or Egypt (7:18–25), and to assure the king that the
example, the literary passage 5:25–30 may be read together
enemies of the north will collapse (7:5–9). Furthermore, a
with a group of invective threats in 9:8–21, and the hoy
series of speeches delivered by Isaiah emphasize the continu-
(“woe”) oracle of 10:1–4 may be associated with a series of
ity of the Davidic dynasty (9:1–6, 11:1ff.). Chapters 10–11
hoy oracles in 5:8–24. It has been suggested as well that these
should be read with the implications of the Assyrian threat
two series of threats and hoy oracles were broken apart and
in mind. Aram and Ephraim, Judah’s enemies, had col-
rearranged in a chiastic order. The intent was to frame Isa-
lapsed, and Judah itself was powerless against Assyria. The
iah’s actual encounter with Ahaz in a way that would recall
new political development invited the prophet’s interpreta-
the fall of Israel and would also warn seventh-century Judah
tion, and Isaiah delivers a series of speeches that interpret the
(the time of Josiah) by recalling the realization of Isaiah’s
meaning of the situation. Again, he points to moral and ethi-
words. Thus, in this view, the prophecies were rearranged,
cal misconduct as the cause of the military threat (10:1–4).
and the book was edited in light of the political climate of
God’s response is direct: Assyria is his means of punishment
Josiah’s times.
(10:5–6), but that empire overestimates its power and will
be punished (10:7ff.).
“SECOND ISAIAH.” The Babylonians exiled the social and
political elite of Judah (see 2 Kgs. 24:12–26, Jer. 52:16–30)
It has been suggested that the collection of oracles
to Babylonia. Evidence suggests that many of the Jews in
against the nations in chapters 13–23 may include material
exile preserved their national and religious identity. The Sab-
that is not Isaian (particularly chapters 13–14 and perhaps
bath emerged as the expression of the covenant between God
also chap. 23). The collection, which includes a prophecy
and the Jewish people, a view that has distinguished the Jews
against Judah concluding with a personal attack on two offi-
since the exilic period (see Is. 56, 58:13–14). The exilic peri-
cers (22:1ff.), is an integral part of Isaiah’s prophetic ideolo-
od is also noted for its nationalistic-religious literary activity.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISAIAH
4549
The masterpiece of biblical historiography, the Deuterono-
doned (40:12). This explains the absence of threat, so charac-
mist work, was developed and shaped in this period. Never-
teristic of the biblical prophets, in Second Isaiah’s speeches
theless, there was a feeling of despair in the exiled Jewish
and sheds light on his style. His aim was to persuade, to ap-
community. The prophet Ezekiel asked hopelessly, “How are
peal to his audience through words of comfort and encour-
we to go on living?” (Ez. 33:10; see also 37:11). Lamentations
agement, not by means of threat and judgment.
repeatedly conveys a feeling of pessimism: “There is no one
The major issue in research on Second Isaiah is the de-
to comfort me” (Lam. 1:2, 1:16, 1:17, 1:21). Psalm 137 also
marcation of the prophetic speech. There are almost no for-
reflects a hopeless situation, and Second Isaiah himself strug-
mal indications of the beginning or end of the address. In
gles with an attitude of religious and national despair: “A
general, two opposite approaches have been taken. The first
voice says: ‘cry’! And I said: ‘What shall I cry?’ All flesh is
considers the book to be a product of planned literary activity
grass and all its beauty is like the flower of the field” (Is. 40:6;
and regards Second Isaiah’s work as composed of large units.
RSV). The people felt the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction
The second approach argues that Second Isaiah delivered his
of the Temple in 587/6 BCE, and then the exile to be a hope-
speeches orally, and that the book is a collection of a number
less situation that resulted from God’s disappearance from
of short, distinct oracles. This approach raises the issue of the
the political stage. The exiles were indifferent to the momen-
arrangement of the material and the editorial principles be-
tous developments that were occurring on the international
hind it. It has been suggested that the short, independent or-
scene. The sensational victories of Cyrus I, king of Persia, did
acles were arranged mechanically according to a principle of
not affect the pessimistic religious attitude of the Jewish
keywords or similarity of theme, with each speech placed on
community in Babylonia. In 539 BCE, however, Babylonia
the basis of its association with the preceding unit. One
surrendered to Cyrus II, and in 538 Cyrus announced his
should note, however, that the question of defining the indi-
famous declaration allowing the Jewish community in exile
vidual speech depends on the function of Second Isaiah’s
to return to Jerusalem and restore the Temple (Ezr. 1:3–5
prophecy, which was to change his audience’s religious atti-
[2 Chr. 36:23], 6:3–5).
tude. He thus appealed to his audience by employing numer-
An important issue in the interpretation of Second Isa-
ous means of persuasion; he thus relies on argument and
iah’s prophecy is thus whether he addressed the exiles before
style. Second Isaiah paid close attention to the organization
or after the fall of Babylonia. Cyrus’s edict is not quoted in
of his addresses; each emerged from and is a response to a
Second Isaiah’s speeches, and in light of his struggle with his
particular situation. An analysis of the text in light of the
audience’s skepticism about God’s control of contemporary
prophet’s rhetorical goal and his efforts to affect his listeners
political events, the speeches would sound inappropriate if
reveals that his speeches are not short thematic oracles but
Cyrus had already publicly granted permission to rebuild the
are relatively long, thus enabling him to develop his argu-
Temple in Jerusalem. One should also take into account that
ment at some length.
Second Isaiah’s description of the fall of Babylonia is not re-
Second Isaiah was a master of language and employed
alistic. In contrast to inscriptions that report that the city fell
his skill to stress his point and attract the attention of his au-
peacefully, Second Isaiah describes Marduk, Babylon’s god,
dience. He often repeats himself to emphasize a certain
being carried into captivity (46:1–2), which suggests that the
point. On the other hand, he often varies his style by using
prophet prophesied prior to 539 BCE.
a colorful and rich vocabulary to create an aesthetic effect.
He is very flexible in his use of language and often employs
The unknown prophet, the so-called Second Isaiah, was
unusual words or phrases with the intention of providing va-
aroused by these significant political developments and con-
riety and avoiding clichés.
sidered that his prophetic goal was to persuade the exilic
community that the immediate future held great promise
The beginning of Second Isaiah’s prophecy, 40:1–2ff.,
and new hope. He considered the great king, Cyrus II, to be
is a good illustration of his style. His first announcement,
an agent of God, “who says of Cyrus: ‘He is my shepherd.
“Comfort, comfort my people” is brief and clear. The entire
And he shall fulfill all my purpose,’ saying of Jerusalem; ‘she
section, verses 1–2, is explicit in structure, with no coloration
shall be built,’ and of the Temple, ‘your foundation shall be
or figures of speech, and is designed to express clearly and
laid’” (44:28; see also 45:12–13). He rejected the spiritual
straightforwardly his primary announcement. But the audi-
crisis of the exiles and proclaimed two major themes: that
ence may miss a message delivered in such an unadorned
God is not hidden from the Jewish people and that God is
style. Therefore, Second Isaiah uses the stylistic device of rep-
directing the new political events on their behalf. But first,
etition and repeats the key word of his message, comfort. The
Second Isaiah had to struggle with and reject the basis of the
reiteration of the word is intended to make a deep impression
religious crisis. The cry “there is no one to comfort me”
on the audience. The verb comfort in the form used here was
(Lam. 1:21) was replaced with “Comfort, comfort my peo-
coined by Second Isaiah based upon the lament “no one
ple, says your God” (Is. 40:1). Furthermore, there was no rea-
comforts her” (Lam. 1:2). Yet Second Isaiah uses it in a posi-
son for the people’s feeling of guilt that they suffered because
tive sense, to stress the motif of rejoicing, while in Lamenta-
of their forefathers’ sins; a new spiritual and religious era has
tions the expression connotes religious despair. Thus at the
begun: Jerusalem’s warfare has ended and she has been par-
beginning of his address, Second Isaiah employs a familiar
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4550
ISAIAH
expression in a way that changes its meaning. By using a fa-
the importance of Sabbath worship (56:1–8). It continues
miliar expression in an unexpected manner, he attracts atten-
with a critique of the leaders (56:9–12), a short lament on
tion and also cancels its earlier, negative meaning. In addi-
the death of the righteous (57:1–2), a stormy attack on for-
tion, verse 1 reverses the normal order and places the opening
eign cults (57:3–13), a prophecy of comfort (57:14–19), and
formula, “says your God,” at the end. Because Second Isaiah
a criticism of those who fast ritually without thought
wants to convey his message’s immediacy, he has adjusted
(58:1–7). Chapters 60–61 contain another prophecy of sal-
the formula accordingly. In addition, as is well known,
vation in the style of Second Isaiah. In 63:7–64:11 there is
rhyme is not highly developed in biblical prosody. In order
a communal lament, and 66:1–4 rejects both the building
to unify the various elements in a verse, the biblical poets de-
of the Temple and the sacrificial cult. This attitude reflects
veloped the literary device of the sound effect. Sound plays
a view opposite that held by the prophets Haggai and Zecha-
an important role in this verse. Alliteration holds the verse
riah, who encouraged and supported the rebuilding of the
together and focuses attention on the consonant h:eit(h:) in
Temple. It has been suggested that Third Isaiah was a disci-
the opening words “nahamu, nahamu.” The sound is then
ple of Second Isaiah and his redactor as well. Another view
repeated at the end of verse 2 (h:at:t:oDteikhah) thus binding
holds that Second Isaiah returned to Jerusalem following
the entire statement into a whole.
Cyrus’s edict and continued his prophetic activity there. His
prophecies in Judah would then constitute chapters 49–66,
The songs of the “servant of the Lord [Eeved YHVH]”
in which Zion is the background for the speeches (see
have received special attention from scholars. There are four
49:14ff., 51:17–23, 54:1ff., 60:1ff., 62:1–9).
poems that speak about the servant (42:1–4, 42:5–7, 49:1–6,
50:4–9) and an additional two poems that may be related to
TEXTS OF ISAIAH FOUND AT QUMRAN. The scrolls found in
them (50:10–11, and 52:13–53:12). These poems share a
1947 on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea reveal two
common theme: Their subject, the servant, suffers when he
almost complete manuscripts of the entire Book of Isaiah,
is ignored by the people who surround him. In the future,
dated to the second or first century BCE. As a rule, the scrolls
however, the servant will be recognized as God’s servant,
of Isaiah reflect the Masoretic text. Of the two scrolls, one
who has a mission to restore justice, which will be fulfilled.
(found in Cave I) shows certain corrections and interlinea-
The poems occupy a distinct place in the history of sacred
tions from a more popular edition, but these are mainly mat-
interpretations and have theological significance in the histo-
ters of spelling and stylistic characteristics rather than impor-
ries of Jewish and Christian religious interpretation. The
tant editing. This scroll shows indications that it may
major critical issue for Second Isaiah is whether to isolate the
actually have been composed of two manuscripts: There is
poems from their context or to consider them as an integral
evidence that the existing chapter 34 was started on a new
part of his prophecy. There is the further question of the
sheet of leather, which may mean that it was a new manu-
identity of the servant, with scholars divided between an in-
script. This may have influenced the modern critical division
dividual and a collective identity. Thus there have been vari-
of the book into Isaiah of Jerusalem and Second Isaiah (and
ous attempts to identify the servant as a specific public or his-
the remainder of the book).
torical figure, such as Jeremiah, Josiah, Zerrubbabel, or even
the prophet himself. Second Isaiah makes other allusions to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the servant of God, however (41:8ff., 41:13, 42:19, 44:1–2);
Isaiah 1–39
and in light of the frequent references to Israel as God’s ser-
Barth, Hermann. Die Jesaja-Worte in der Josiazeit. Neukirchen,
vant (see, e.g., 49:3), it has been suggested that the servant
1977.
be seen as the people of Israel, sympathetically portrayed by
Clements, R. E. Isaiah 1–39. Grand Rapids, Mich., 1980.
Second Isaiah to arouse hope and a feeling of mission and
Kaiser, Otto. Isaiah 13–39. Translated by R. A. Wilson. Philadel-
fulfillment as well as to convey the message that the current
phia, 1974.
suffering has not gone unnoticed. Another view holds that
Kaiser, Otto. Isaiah 1–12. 2d ed. Translated by R. A. Wilson.
the servant is neither a particular figure nor a group, but the
Philadelphia, 1983.
combination of a mythological cultic and royal figure.
Wildberger, Hans. Jesaja. 3 vols. Neukirchen, 1972–1983.
“THIRD ISAIAH.” Concerning chapters 56–66, it has already
Isaiah 40–66
been mentioned that these may constitute a separate collec-
Elliger, Karl. Jesaja II. Neukirchen, 1970–.
tion by another anonymous prophet, called Third Isaiah, or
Gitay, Yehoshua. Prophecy and Persuasion: A Study of Isaiah 40–
Trito-Isaiah, who was active after Second Isaiah, during the
48. Bonn, 1981.
time of Ezra and Nehemiah, in the fifth century BCE. Third
Kaufmann, Yeh:ezkel. History of the Religion of Israel, vol. 4, From
Isaiah is no longer located in Babylonia but is based in Judah.
the Babylonian Captivity to the End of Prophecy. Translated
His prophecies presuppose the existence of the Temple in Je-
by Clarence W. Efroymsen. New York, 1977.
rusalem (which was dedicated in 515). There is no clear the-
Muilenburg, James. “Isaiah 40–66 (Introduction and Exegesis).”
matic line in this work as is found in the speeches of Second
In The Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 5, pp. 381–419, 422–773.
Isaiah. The collection of Third Isaiah emphasizes ritual re-
New York, 1956.
quirements. It starts with words of encouragement to those
Westermann, Claus. Isaiah 40–66: A Commentary. Translated by
who observe the Sabbath, including the eunuchs, and stresses
David M. G. Stalker. Philadelphia, 1969.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISHMAEL
4551
New Sources
da distributed simplified manuscripts of his interpretations
Berrigan, Daniel. Isaiah: Spirit of Courage, Gift of Tears. Minneap-
of Chinese and Japanese classical literature. He repudiated
olis, 1996.
the critiques of scholars, whom he believed were interested
Clements, Ronald Ernest. Isaiah and the Deliverance of Jerusalem:
only in the meanings of words. Ishida strove instead to cap-
A Study of the Interpretation of Prophecy in the Old Testament.
ture the essence of the classics as he understood them, al-
Sheffield, 1984.
though his views did not always agree with the original intent
Davies, Andrew. Double Standards in Isaiah: Re-evaluating Pro-
of the authors.
phetic Ethics and Divine Justice. Leiden and Boston, 2000.
In his search for a fundamental principle, Ishida be-
Hayes, John Haralson, and Stuart A. Irvine. Isaiah, the Eighth
lieved that the first and last step in the learning process was
Century Prophet: His Times and His Preaching. Nashville,
to understand the human heart and thereby gain insight into
1987.
human nature. He adopted the term jinsei, which refers to
Irvine, Stuart A. Isaiah, Ahaz, and the Syro-Ephraimitic Crisis. At-
the total capacity of the mind, from the Chinese Confucian
lanta, 1990.
thinker Mengzi. According to Ishida, one must utilize all
Leclerc, Thomas L. Yahweh Is Exalted in Justice: Solidarity and
one’s spiritual and mental capacity to overcome desires. Only
Conflict in Isaiah. Minneapolis, 2001.
when one’s kokoro is empty and free of human desires is it
possible to unite with the universal spirit. Overcoming the
Quinn-Miscall, Peter D. Reading Isaiah: Poetry and Vision. Louis-
ego and its desires will enable one to carry out one’s duty in
ville, 2001.
life. One can then develop a spirit of self-sacrifice toward
Schmitt, John J. Isaiah and His Interpreters. New York, 1986.
one’s ruler, be properly filial toward one’s parents, and dis-
YEHOSHUA GITAY (1987)
cover one’s proper vocation in life.
Revised Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A number of works have been published on Ishida Baigan and his
philosophy of Shingaku, or practical ethics. Robert Bellah’s
ISHIDA BAIGAN (1685–1744) was a Japanese philos-
Tokugawa Religion: The Values of Pre-Industrial Japan (Glen-
opher of the Tokugawa period (1603–1868) who developed
coe, Ill., 1957) clarifies the religious morals of the Tokugawa
the concept of a moral or ethical philosophy known as Shin-
period, morals that had their origin in Ishida’s concept of
gaku. Ishida was born on September 15, 1685, in the village
ethics and that played a part in the modernization of Japan.
of To¯ge in Tamba province (modern Kameoka City, Kyoto
Readers of Japanese will want to consult a translation of this
prefecture), the second son of a farmer. At the age of ten
seminal work, Nihon kindaika to shu¯kyo¯ rinri (Tokyo, 1981),
translated by Ho¯ri Ichiro¯ and Ikeda Akira. Ishikawa Ken’s
(eleven by Japanese count) he was sent to Kyoto as a mer-
Shingaku, Edo no shomin tetsugaku (Tokyo, 1964) discusses
chant’s apprentice. There he spent his leisure time studying
Ishida’s philosophy and its applicability to the common peo-
Shinto¯ doctrine and attending lectures by local Confucian
ple. Sakasai Takahito focuses on Ishida’s conversion to popu-
scholars, Buddhist monks, and experts on the Japanese
lar morality in “Sekimon shingaku no igi to genkai, sono
classics.
tsu¯zoku do¯toku e no tenraku ni tsuite,” Rikkyo¯ keizaigaku
kenkyu¯ 18 (February 1965). Another work that deals with
When Ishida reached the age of about thirty-five he
Ishida’s ethics is Sekimon shingaku, edited by Shibata Minoru
began to feel an inner restlessness; he felt that he did not
(Tokyo, 1971), in volume 42 of “Nihon shiso¯ taikei.” Final-
know the nature of human beings. In his search for a guide
ly, Takenaka Yasukazu’s Sekimon shingaku no keizai shiso¯
or a direction, he met a Buddhist monk, Ryo¯un, who led him
(Tokyo, 1962) emphasizes the economic aspects of Ishida’s
to an awakening of the spirit such as that described by the
ethical philosophy.
Chinese founder of Daoism, Laozi. It was then that Ishida
New Sources
realized that humanity’s true nature was egoless. In his writ-
Takemura, Eiji. The Perception of Work in Tokugawa Japan: A
ings, he pointed out that once one understood this aspect of
Study of Ishida Baigan. Lanham, Md., 1997.
human nature, one’s life would automatically coincide with
HAGA NOBORU (1987)
what he called the “universal principle” and one’s kokoro
Translated from Japanese by Irene M. Kunii
(“soul” or “spirit”) would be content and at peace. Ishida be-
Revised Bibliography
lieved it would be possible to reach an egoless, natural state
and to acquire instinctive knowledge by meditative restraint
of the senses. In accordance with his convictions, he lived as
ISHMAEL, or, in Hebrew, YishmaEeDl; eldest son of Abra-
a celibate ascetic, although he acknowledged that social re-
ham. Ishmael’s mother was Hagar, an Egyptian slave girl
sponsibilities were also inherent in his view of human nature.
whom Sarah gave to Abraham because of her own infertility;
In 1727 Ishida left the service of the Kyoto merchant;
in accordance with Mesopotamian law, the offspring of such
two years later, he began to conduct lectures at his home in
a union would be credited to Sarah (Gn. 16:2). The name
Kyoto. At these lectures, which were free and open to all,
Yishma EeDl is known from various ancient Semitic cultures
Ishida encouraged his listeners to seek individual awakening
and means “God has hearkened,” suggesting that a child so
through meditation. To make learning accessible to all, Ishi-
named was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine promise.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4552
ISHMAEL BEN ELISHA
Ishmael was circumcised at the age of thirteen by Abra-
other important tradition, that of Eirfa¯n, was left in complete
ham and expelled with his mother at the instigation of Sarah,
obscurity. But Eirfa¯n has always been a creative force in Is-
who wanted to ensure that Isaac would be Abraham’s heir
lamic spirituality, and as such it has produced a type of phi-
(Gn. 21). In the New Testament, Paul uses this incident to
losophy that is quite different from, and in many respects
symbolize the relationship between Judaism, the older but
sharply opposed to, falsafah.
now rejected tradition, and Christianity (Gal. 4:21–31).
IMAGINAL THINKING. The word philosophy tends to suggest
In the Genesis account, God blessed Ishmael, promising
the inner act of thinking as a logical outcome of reason. One
that he would be the founder of a great nation and a “wild
has to be reminded, however, that philosophic thought is not
ass of a man” always at odds with others (Gn. 16:12). He is
necessarily activated only on the level of pure reason. Because
credited with twelve sons, described as “princes according to
human consciousness is extremely complicated and mul-
their tribes” (Gn. 25:16), representing perhaps an ancient
tilayered, various forms of thinking can be realized at differ-
confederacy. The Ishmaelites, vagrant traders closely related
ent levels of the mind. “Imaginal” thinking is one of them.
to the Midianites, were apparently regarded as his descen-
“Imaginal” thinking, also known as “mythopoeic think-
dants. The fact that Ishmael’s wife and mother are both said
ing” or “mythopoesis,” is a peculiar pattern of thinking that
to have been Egyptian suggests close ties between the Ishma-
evolves through interconnections and interactions among a
elites and Egypt. According to Genesis 25:17, Ishmael lived
number of archetypal images in a particular depth-
to the age of 137.
dimension of consciousness. In the technical terminology of
Islamic tradition tends to ascribe a larger role to Ishmael
Islamic Eirfa¯n, this depth-dimension is called the Ea¯lam
than does the Bible. He is considered a prophet and, accord-
al-mitha¯l, meaning literally the “world of symbolic images.”
ing to certain theologians, the offspring whom Abraham was
The type of philosophy produced by this kind of thinking
commanded to sacrifice (although su¯rah 37:99–111 of the
naturally manifests remarkable differences from philosophy
QurDa¯n never names that son). Like his father Abraham, Ish-
as a product of pure reason.
mael too played an important role in making Mecca a reli-
Imaginal thinking is not confined to Islamic Eirfa¯n.
gious center (2:127–129). Judaism has generally regarded
Quite the contrary; many different systems of philosophy
him as wicked, although repentance is also ascribed to him.
that have come into being in various Asian regions reflect
According to some rabbinic traditions, his two wives were
self-expressions of “imaginal” consciousness. The “illumina-
Aisha and Fatima, whose names are the same as those of
tionism” (ishra¯q¯ıyah) of Suhraward¯ı represents one case, the
Muh:ammad’s wife and daughter. Both Judaism and Islam
“unity of being” (wah:dat al-wuju¯d) of Ibn EArab¯ı another.
see him as the ancestor of Arab peoples.
Complicating the matter with regard to the Islamic variety
of “imaginal” or esoteric philosophy, however, is the fact that
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the majority of the first-rate thinkers in this domain were
A survey of the Bible’s patriarchal narratives can be found in
also great masters of Scholastic, exoteric philosophy, so that
Nahum M. Sarna’s Understanding Genesis (New York,
both the “imaginal” and the rational modes of thinking ap-
1966). Postbiblical traditions, with reference to Christian
pear in subtle entanglements on the textual surface of their
and Islamic views, are collected in Louis Ginzberg’s exhaus-
tive Legends of the Jews, 2d ed., 2 vols., translated by Henriet-
works. This is notably the case with men like Suhraward¯ı
ta Szold and Paul Radin (Philadelphia, 2003).
and Ibn al-EArab¯ı.
FREDERICK E. GREENSPAHN (1987 AND 2005)
Suhraward¯ı, in particular, is known to have written
three voluminous books on scholasticism, Kita¯b al-talw¯ıh:a¯t,
Kita¯b al-muqa¯wama¯t, and Kita¯b al-mut:a¯rah:a¯t, the famous
ISHMAEL BEN ELISHA
trilogy attesting to his rarely surpassed accomplishment as an
SEE YISHMAEE’L BEN
exoteric philosopher, prior to embarking upon the produc-
ELISHAE
tion of his major work on Illuminationism, H:ikmat al-ishra¯q
(Theosophy of Illumination). As indicated by the title, this
is essentially a product of imaginal thinking, representing a
ISHRA¯Q¯IYAH, from ishra¯q (“illumination”), is the
peculiar kind of esoteric philosophy based on a metaphysical
name of a school of esoteric philosophy in Islam. The two
experience of light. Yet it begins with a sober exposition of
major currents of thought in the development of Islamic phi-
the principles of Aristotelian logic before gradually becoming
losophy, one exoteric and the other esoteric, are known re-
an “imaginal” presentation of the hierarchic structure of the
spectively as falsafah (“scholastic philosophy,” derived from
angels of light. It is important to note that this seemingly odd
Aristotle and Plato) and Eirfa¯n (a special type of philosophy
combination of the exoteric and esoteric modes of thinking,
derived from a metaphysical experience of Being through
together with the very conception of ishra¯q, can be traced
spiritual realization). Introduced into the West from the
back to Ibn S¯ına¯ (Avicenna).
twelfth century onward through numerous translations from
IBN S¯INA¯ AND “ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY.” In a number of
Arabic to Latin, it was falsafah that almost exclusively came
respects, and particularly with regard to the idea of ishra¯q,
to constitute “Islamic philosophy” in the West, while the
Ibn S¯ına¯ may be considered an important precursor of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISHRA¯Q¯IYAH
4553
Suhraward¯ı. Quite characteristically, however, in Ibn S¯ına¯’s
Matter turns into existence only by the influx of the all-
work the rational and “imaginal” modes of thinking are still
existentiating luminous energy of form, coming from the di-
consciously and methodically separated from one another, so
vine Orient through the intermediary of ten angels—the
that falsafah and Eirfa¯n are conceived as two independent and
number limited to ten in conformity with the ten celestial
essentially different types of philosophy (although in the pro-
spheres of Hellenistic astronomy. Directly reflecting the di-
cess of the structuralization of Ibn S¯ına¯’s symbolic narratives,
vine light, the angels embody the highest degree of existential
we sometimes notice technical concepts of Aristotelianism
luminosity, while all other beings and things that become lu-
creeping into the “imaginal” space of Eirfa¯n).
minous (i.e., existent) through the illuminating activity of
It is important to note that of the two types of philoso-
the angels are less bright (i.e., less densely existent). The exis-
phy Ibn S¯ına¯ himself laid greater weight on the imaginal
tential luminosity naturally grows less and less intense as the
(i.e., esoteric) than on the rational (i.e., exoteric). At the out-
rays of the divine light go down the scale of being (i.e., be-
set of his magnum opus, the famous Kita¯b al-shifa D (Book of
come further and further removed from its original source),
Remedy, known in the West in Latin translation as Sufficien-
until they merge almost totally into the darkness of matter
tia), which is a huge systematic exposition of Peripatetic phi-
when they reach the lowest stage of being.
losophy, Ibn S¯ına¯ declares that what he is going to write does
As long as they do exist factually, the “things” in the em-
not represent his personal thought but is intended to ac-
pirical world are not sheer darkness. They are shadowy exis-
quaint the students of philosophy with the thought-world of
tents, faint reflections of the divine light. But since it is mat-
the ancient Greeks, Aristotle in particular.
ter that is overwhelmingly dominant in this domain, the
As for his own “true thought,” he seems to have long
empirical world is “imaginally” represented as a world of
cherished the idea of giving a direct expression to it in a com-
darkness. In some privileged cases (notably the prophets),
pletely different book, Al-h:ikmat al-mashriq¯ıyah (Oriental
however, the human consciousness may suddenly flare up in
Philosophy), of which the now extant Mant:iq al-mashriq¯ıy¯ın
glorious light under the influence of the Active Intellect (Ga-
(The Logic of the Orientals) is only the introductory part.
briel, the angel of revelation), illuminating the world of dark-
Whether completed or not, the book itself has not come
ness in which the souls of ordinary human beings are impris-
down to us. Besides this work we have a few short treatises
oned—a typical theme of Gnosticism.
of esotericism and some symbolic tales from his own pen.
Such, in brief outline, is the general plan of the “Orien-
Ibn S¯ına¯’s use of words meaning “Orient” and “Orien-
tal philosophy” of Ibn S¯ına¯. Underlying it is clearly a vision
tal” is significant here, for the word mashriq (“Orient”), from
of the cosmos as the interplay of light and shadow, a vast
the root shrq, literally means the “place (ma-) where what is
“imaginal” field in which the divine light appears in infinite-
designated by the root shrq becomes activated,” that is, the
ly various and variegated forms, determining itself in accor-
original point of “illumination” (ishra¯q). The “Orient,” in
dance with various degrees of interfusion with material dark-
other words, is not a geographical notion, but a term desig-
ness through the light-transmitting activity of the angels. It
nating the East in a mythopoeic or spiritual geography.
is a Gnostic vision of the world permeated with the “imagi-
The “Orient” in this particular context is the sacred
nal” presence of the angels of light.
locus from which the divine light makes its appearance, illu-
SUHRAWARD¯I, FOUNDER OF THE ISHRA¯Q¯I SCHOOL. The es-
minating the whole world of being, “the place where the sun
oteric worldview manifested in Ibn S¯ına¯’s philosophy, with
rises,” the ultimate origin of all existence. In the Persian com-
its strong Gnostic influences, was inherited in turn by Shiha¯b
mentary on Ibn S¯ına¯’s mythic-symbolic tale, H:ayy ibn
al-D¯ın Yah:ya¯ ibn H:abash ibn Am¯ırak al-Suhraward¯ı (1153–
Yaqz:an (a proper name, literally “Living, son of Wakeful”),
1191), the real founder of the Illuminationist school in Iran.
one of his disciples (Abu¯ EUbayd al-Juzja¯n¯ı?) explicates the
Significantly enough, Suhraward¯ı, who has come to be
symbolism of “Orient” and “Occident” in the following
known by the honorary title Shaykh al-Ishra¯q, “master of il-
manner. Utilizing in his own way the Aristotelian theory of
lumination,” traces the “tradition” of his Illuminationist phi-
the distinction between “form” and “matter,” he begins by
losophy back to Hermes Agathodaemon (who appears in
stating that matter in and by itself has no existence, whereas
Islam under the figure of the prophet Idr¯ıs). It must be re-
form is the source of existence. Matter, in other words, is
membered that long before the rise of Islam, the Mediterra-
pure nonexistence. But his Iranian frame of reference natu-
nean school of Hermetism had established itself in Alexan-
rally and immediately translates this proposition into anoth-
dria, and from this center it had infiltrated into the wide
er, namely, that matter in itself is sheer darkness. And he as-
domain of the Middle East. There, in the city of Harran, the
signs matter (as darkness) to the Western region of the
“followers of the prophet Idris,” the Sabaeans who venerated
cosmos in the “imaginal” map of his symbolic geography.
the Corpus Hermeticum as their scripture, cultivated the eso-
teric learning of Hermetism and propagated it in various di-
The implication of this position is clear. Ibn S¯ına¯ de-
rections. Through one of these it must have reached
fines the Orient as the original abode of form (light), and
Suhraward¯ı.
thus symbolically as the world of “forms,” or existential light,
while the Occident is the world of “matter,” that is, of dark-
In the “imaginal” dimension of Suhraward¯ı’s conscious-
ness and nonexistence.
ness, however, the history of Illuminationism (which he
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4554
ISHRA¯Q¯IYAH
straightforwardly identifies with the history of philosophy in
expressed, is that which exists by and in itself (i.e., light is
general) takes on a remarkably original and peculiar form.
existence) and by its own existence brings into existence all
Ishra¯q¯ı wisdom as the only authentic actualization of the
things. Light thus defies definition, while all other things can
“perennial philosophy” (h:ikmah Eat¯ıqah) of mankind has its
and must be defined in reference to it. Light, in short, is
ultimate origin in the divine revelations received by the
nothing other than the ontological “presence” (h:ud:u¯r) of the
prophet Idris, that is, Hermes, who thereby became the fore-
things; it is the ultimate source of all existence. It follows,
father of philosophy. This Hermetic wisdom was transmitted
therefore, that the whole world of being must be realized as
to posterity through two separate channels: Egyptian-Greek
a grandiose hierarchy of lights, beginning with the absolute
and ancient Iranian. The first branch of Hermetic wisdom,
light in the highest degree of luminosity and ending with the
after flourishing in ancient Egypt, went to Greece, where it
weakest lights just about to sink into the reign of utter dark-
produced such Gnostic sages as Pythagoras, Empedocles,
ness (ghasaq), that is, absolute nonexistence.
Plato, and Plotinus. The tradition was maintained in Islam
What stands at the top of this cosmic hierarchy of light
by some of the eminent early S:u¯f¯ıs, including Dhu¯ al-Nu¯n
is the “light of lights” (nu¯r al-anwa¯r), which, in the terminol-
(d. 859) and Sahl al-Tustar¯ı (d. 896).
ogy of Islamic theology, is God. Beneath it, spreading down
The second branch of Hermetism, represented in an-
to the domain of the densely dark bodies in the physical
cient Iran by the mythical priest-kings Kayu¯marth, Far¯ıdu¯n,
world, are various degrees of light (existence), which, in
and Kay Khusraw, developed into the Sufism of Ba¯yaz¯ıd
Suhraward¯ı’s system, characteristically appear in the guise of
al-Bast:a¯m¯ı, generally known in the West as al-Bist:a¯mi
angels who govern the world of being.
(d. 874), and Mans:u¯r al-H:alla¯j (d. 922).
Unlike Ibn S¯ına¯’s angelology, which is Neoplatonic,
Suhraward¯ı considered himself the historical point of
Suhraward¯ı’s is fundamentally Zoroastrian. Rather than
convergence between the two traditions, unifying and inte-
being limited to ten (corresponding to the ten heavens of
grating into an existential, organic whole all the important
Ptolemy), the number of angels is innumerable. Their func-
elements of the Hermetic wisdom elaborated in the long
tion, moreover, is not limited to the Neoplatonic angels’ tri-
course of its historical development. And to the integral
ple intellection of their origin, of themselves, and of those
whole of Gnostic ideas thus formed Suhraward¯ı gave a pecu-
that come out of them. As a result, the hierarchy of
liar philosophical reformulation, structured in terms of the
Suhraward¯ı’s angelology is far more complicated than that
Zoroastrian symbolism of light and darkness—the term Zo-
of Ibn S¯ına¯. There are, to begin with, two different basic or-
roastrianism here understood in the sense of the spiritual, “es-
ders of angels, “longitudinal” (t:u¯l¯ı) and “latitudinal”
oteric” teaching of Zoroaster as distinguished from the “exo-
( Eard:¯ıi), with regard to their successive generations, their
teric.”
spatial disposition, and their functions.
East-West symbolism. In approaching Suhraward¯ı’s Il-
Longitudinal and latitudinal order. The longitudinal
luminationist philosophy, the first thing we must pay atten-
order of angels lays the primary foundation of the world of
tion to is the symbolism of East and West. Qis:s:at al-ghurbah
being in its entirety as a “temple of light,” or rather, a daz-
al-gharb¯ıyah (The Narrative of the Occidental Exile), which
zling complex of “temples of light” (haya¯kil al-nu¯r; sg., hay-
he composed in Arabic—most of his symbolic tales or narra-
kal al-nu¯r), radiant with angels reflecting the “light of lights”
tives are in Persian—makes it clear that he attaches the same
and mutually reflecting each other. Their procession is de-
“imaginal” meanings to “Orient” and “Occident” as did Ibn
scribed by Suhraward¯ı in the following manner.
S¯ına¯. Thus, the Orient for him too means the Orient of
lights, the sacred place in which divine light originates, the
From the “light of lights,” representing the highest and
source of spiritual as well as cosmic illumination, whereas
ultimate point of cosmic-metaphysical luminosity, proceeds
the Occident is the abyss of material darkness, in which the
the archangel Bahma¯n, who is the “nearest light” (nu¯r
human soul is imprisoned and from which it must set itself
aqrab). Directly contemplating his own origin, the “light of
free so that it may go back to its real home, the Orient.
lights,” the archangel Bahma¯n reflects it without any inter-
mediary. And this immediately brings into being another
Hierarchy of lights. Rejecting (or radically modifying)
light-entity, or archangel, which is doubly illuminated, re-
the Aristotelian doctrine of hylomorphism, which explains
ceiving as it does illumination directly from the “light of
every existent in terms of a conjunction of matter and specif-
lights” and from the first light from which it has arisen. The
ic form, Suhraward¯ı employs a completely different ontolo-
double illumination of the second light immediately gener-
gy, of Gnostic origin, explaining all things as degrees of light
ates the third light, which is now illuminated four times,
(or as various mixtures of light and darkness); the Aristote-
once by the “light of lights,” once by the first light, and twice
lian “form” thereby appears metamorphosed into an angel
by the second light (the second light being, as we have just
as a luminous being. Suhrawardian philosophy thus turns
seen, itself doubly illuminated). And so continues the down-
out to be an ontology of light, with varying degrees of inten-
ward procession of the archangels, resulting in the constitu-
sity, in a hierarchical order.
tion of the “longitudinal” order of lights. Each one of these
Light, says Suhraward¯ı, is that which illuminates itself,
angelic lights is called in Suhraward¯ı’s technical terminology
and by so doing illuminates all other things. Light, otherwise
a “dominating light” (nu¯r qa¯hir), with “forceful domination”
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISHRA¯Q¯IYAH
4555
(qahr) one of the basic principles determining the activity of
form of a vision of the whole world of being appearing as
these angels.
an “imaginal” space saturated with light.
This longitudinal order of archangels of light has in it-
POST-SUHRAWARDIAN DEVELOPMENTS. Suhraward¯ı’s life
self two mutually opposed aspects, the masculine and the
was extremely short; in the citadel of Aleppo where he was
feminine, from the former of which issues an essentially dif-
imprisoned as a propagator of anti-Islamic “new ideas” he
ferent order of angels, the latitudinal. Unlike the archangels
was murdered at the age of thirty-eight in the year 1191. But
of the longitudinal order, the latitudinal angels do not gener-
after his death the influence of his Ishra¯q¯ı teaching grew
ate one another, but simply coexist horizontally, positioned
stronger in the Islamic world, particularly in Iran, where it
side by side, thus constituting the world of eternal “arche-
exercised the greatest influence on the historical formation
types” that are “imaginal” equivalents of the Platonic ideas.
of the philosophy of Shiism.
Suhraward¯ı calls them in this capacity the “lords of the spe-
The long chain of followers of the Master of Illumina-
cies” (arba¯b al-anwa¯ E; sg., rabb al-naw E). Every thing in the
tion begins with Shams al-D¯ın Shahrazu¯r¯ı (thirteenth centu-
empirical world specifically stands under the domination of
ry), who studied personally under Suhraward¯ı or under one
a lord of the species; in other words, every individual existent
of his direct disciples. He wrote the first systematic and most
in our world has its corresponding metaphysical archetype
extensive commentary on the H:ikmat al-ishra¯q, thereby pre-
in the angelic dimension of being, somewhat like the onto-
paring the ground for subsequent interpretations of this fun-
logical relationship between the individual and universal
damental work of Illuminationism. It was, as a matter of fact,
realms in Platonic idealism. Each existent in the empirical
in complete reliance on this commentary that Qut:b al-D¯ın
world is technically called the “talisman” (t:ilasm) of a partic-
Sh¯ıra¯z¯ı (d. 1311) composed his famous commentary on the
ular angel governing and guarding it from above. And the
H:ikmat al-ishra¯q.
angel in this capacity is called the “lord of the talisman” (rabb
al-t:ilasm).
Shahrazu¯r¯ı was in reality a far more original thinker
than Qut:b al-D¯ın Sh¯ıra¯z¯ı, and his commentary was far more
As for the feminine aspect of the longitudinal order of
important and interesting than Qut:b al-D¯ın’s, which is now
angels, it primarily has to do with such negative attributes
known to be an abbreviated version. Qut:b al-D¯ın’s fame,
as being dominated, being dependent, being receptive to illu-
however, soon overshadowed that of his great predecessor,
mination, being remote from the “light of lights,” nonbeing,
so that his commentary came to be regarded as virtually the
and so on. The fixed stars and the visible heavens come into
commentary on the H:ikmat al-ishra¯q; thus from the early
being from it as so many hypostatizations of the luminous
fourteenth century until today almost all those who have
energies of the archangels. And this marks the ending point
been interested in Suhrawardian Illuminationism have read
of the Orient and the beginning point of the Occident.
or studied the book mainly through the interpretation given
The latitudinal order of angels gives rise to still another
by Qut:b al-D¯ın.
order of angels, whose basic function is to govern the species
The historical importance of Qut:b al-D¯ın lies in the
in the capacity of vicegerents of the “lords of the species.”
fact that besides being an ardent propagator of Illumination-
These deputy angels are called by Suhraward¯ı the “directive
ism, he was also a disciple of S:adr al-D¯ın Qu¯naw¯ı (or
lights” (anwa¯r mudabbirah; sg., nu¯r mudabbir). Using the
Qunyaw¯ı), a personal disciple of Ibn al-EArab¯ı and his son-
characteristic Persian word ispahbad, meaning “commander-
in-law, and that through this channel he was well versed in
in-chief,” Suhraward¯ı calls them also “light-generalissimos”
the wah:dat al-wuju¯d type of philosophy. In fact, Qut:b
(anwa¯r isfahbad¯ıyah). These are the angels who are charged
al-D¯ın is counted among the greatest expositors of Ibn al-
with maintaining the movement of the heavens, and who,
EArab¯ı’s ideas. Combining thus in his own person these two
as the agents of the “lords of the species,” govern all the spe-
important currents of the post-Avicennian Islamic philoso-
cies of the creatures in the physical world, including human
phy, Qut:b al-D¯ın fundamentally determined the subsequent
beings, whose shared “lord of the species” is the archangel
course of the development of the Ishra¯q¯ı school. Indeed,
Gabriel (Jibr¯ıl). The “deputy governor” (ispahbad, the
after Qut:b al-D¯ın, Suhrawardian Illuminationism quickly
“light-generalissimo”) of Gabriel resides in the inmost part
assimilated into its structure the major ideas of the “unity of
of the soul of each human being, issuing directions concern-
existence” that had been independently developed by the
ing his or her internal and external acts.
school of Ibn al-EArab¯ı.
As will be clearly observable even from this very brief,
The work of integration reached its first stage of com-
and necessarily incomplete, exposition, Suhraward¯ı’s Il-
pletion in the Safavid period in Iran. The two centuries of
luminationist worldview is fundamentally mandalic in na-
the Safavid dynasty (1499–1720), during which the city of
ture. The world of being in its entirety is conceived or im-
Isfahan was the political and cultural center and Twelver Shi-
aged as a vast cosmic mandala composed of innumerable
ism was the recognized form of Islam, realized what is often
angels of light spreading out in geometric designs along lon-
called the “renaissance of Islamic [Sh¯ıE¯ı] culture.” It was in
gitudinal and latitudinal axes. Here we have a typical product
the flourishing city of Isfahan that the intellectual heritages
of mandalic consciousness completely self-realized in the
of Ibn al-EArab¯ı and Suhraward¯ı were harmoniously inte-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4556
ISHTAR
grated into an organic whole through the works of genera-
ISHTAR SEE INANNA
tions of outstanding thinkers. These thinkers are now re-
ferred to among historians of Islamic philosophy as the
“school of Isfahan,” the greatest figure in which is uncon-
ISIDORE OF SEVILLE (560–636), bishop of Seville
testedly S:adr al-D¯ın Sh¯ıra¯z¯ı (popularly known as Mulla¯
(603–636), proclaimed “eminent teacher and an honor to
S:adra¯, 1571–1640).
the church” by the Council of Toledo of 653. Member of
Mulla¯ S:adra¯’s philosophy is a colossal and complicated
an eminent Andalusian family, Isidore was prepared to inher-
system, synthesizing ideas derived from various sources in
it the see of Seville by his older brother Leandro, also bishop
conjunction with his own quite original thoughts. As regards
of Seville. In his youth the king, Leovigild (r. 569–586), was
Illuminationism, Mulla¯ S:adra¯ made thoroughly explicit what
able to stabilize the Visigothic kingdom, in which a minority
had from the beginning been implicit (and occasionally ex-
of Visigoths (Germanic peoples who entered the Iberian
plicit), namely, the complete identification of “light” with
Peninsula in the fifth century) and a vast majority of ancient
“existence.” In this way, “existence” became totally synony-
inhabitants (the Hispano-Romans) coexisted. Under Rec-
mous with “luminosity.” The existence of each thing is in
cared (d. 601) the Goths abjured the Arian doctrine and em-
the metaphysical-“imaginal” vision of Mulla¯ S:adra¯ nothing
braced the Catholic faith (c. 589). In 614 the Jews were
other than a degree of light, a luminous issue or illumination
forced by Sisebut to convert to Christianity.
from the “light of lights.” The “light of lights” itself is com-
Through his pastoral leadership, Isidore imbued the
pletely identified with what is referred to in Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s
Visigothic church with the same concerns that dominate his
wah:dat al-wuju¯d system as the “one,” that is, existence in its
writings: respect for the political authority of the Goths, inci-
primordial state of absolute undetermination, but ready to
tation for increasing participation of the Hispano-Romans
start determining itself in an infinity of different ontological
in the life of the church, and an overriding intellectual and
self-manifestations.
moral commitment. A famous orator, he presided at the
Council of Seville of 619 and at the Council of Toledo of
SEE ALSO Falsafah; Hermetism; Ibn al-EArab¯ı; Ibn S¯ına¯;
633. Mild and conciliatory, Isidore was a man of great
Images; Mulla¯ S:adra¯; Nu¯r Muh:ammad.
human and Christian optimism; he struggled with his own
strict education and with the intransigent atmosphere of the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
church after the triumph of catholic orthodoxy against the
Works by Suhraward¯ı in Translation
Arians, and over tensions with Jews after 614.
Shihaboddin Yah:ya¯ Sohravardi’s “L’archange Empourpré,” trans-
Isidore’s writings, cataloged by his friend Braulio
lated by Henry Corbin, in Documents spirituels, vol. 14
(d. 651), bishop of Zaragoza, may be grouped as follows:
(Paris, 1976), is a collection of symbolic narratives and short
essays of Suhraward¯ı, translated into French from Persian
1. biblical studies;
and Arabic, with copious notes. It is indispensable for all
2. handbooks for clergy and monks: Concerning the Ecclesi-
those seeking initiation into the mystical world of the Master
astical Offices, A Monastic Rule, Vademecum of the Catho-
of Illumination.
lic Faith for Use in Discussion with the Jews, and Catalog
Works on Suhraward¯ı and Illuminationism
of Heresies;
Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s “Shiha¯b al-D¯ın Suhraward¯ı Maqtu¯l,” in
3. guides for personal and public spiritual development:
A History of Muslim Philosophy, edited by M. M. Sharif
Synonyms and Sentences;
(Wiesbaden, 1963), vol. 1, pp. 372–398, is by far the best
introductory exposition of the Illuminationism of
4. works on civic education: About the Universe, an expla-
Suhraward¯ı. See also his “The School of Is:paha¯n,” in the
nation of the system of the world and of natural phe-
same source, vol. 2, pp. 904–932, and “The Spread of the
nomena for the purpose of preventing fear and supersti-
Illuminationist School of Suhraward¯ı,” Islamic Quarterly 14
tion;
(July–September 1970): 111–121, a short but important
paper that traces the historical development of Illumination-
5. works extolling the national glory: History of the Goths,
ism in Iran, India, and Turkey down to modern times. See
Vandals, and Suevi; Praise of Spain; Chronicle of the
also Henry Corbin’s Sohraward¯ı et les platoniciens de Perse,
World; and Catalog of Illustrious Men, an innovation in
vol. 2 of En Islam iranien (Paris, 1971), one of the most im-
this genre insofar as it introduces persons distinguished
portant works on Suhraward¯ı.
by their pastoral activity; and
New Sources
6. works on general education, based largely upon linguis-
Walbridge, John. The Wisdom of the Ancient East: Suhrawardi and
tic or grammatical explanations: Differences between
Platonic Orientalism. Albany, 2001.
Words, his first writing, and Etymologies, on which he
Ziai, Hossein. Knowledge and Initiation: A Study of Suhrawardi’s
labored until his death and which was completed by
Hikmat al-ishraq. Atlanta, 1990.
Braulio.
TOSHIHIKO IZUTSU (1987)
He also wrote poems and letters, and he probably took part
Revised Bibliography
in preparing the Collectio canonica Hispana (Collection of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISIS
4557
church councils), covering both ecumenical and Spanish
Seth and Nephthys, also offsprings of Geb and Nut, were Isis
councils. Both Christian and non-Christian authors are cited
and Osiris’s opponents. Seth killed his brother Osiris and
in Isidore’s writings with admiration and appreciation.
dismembered him, and Isis searched for the scattered body
Isidore is best known through his Synonyms (known in
parts across Egypt. She found all the parts except for the
manuscripts as “Soliloquies,” a dialogue between humanity
phallus. Isis then fashioned a replacement for the missing
and its reason), which employed a new technique of parallel
part and reassembled her brother-husband’s body. With the
phrases with progressive variation of words. This work was
help of Thoth, she revived Osiris for a short time. In this pe-
simultaneously a source of practical vocabulary and a mecha-
riod of revival Isis conceived Horus, who became his father’s
nism of catharsis that promoted in the reader a unified spiri-
avenger.
tuality. It includes simple moral teaching and formulas for
Being a mother herself, Isis helped women in childbirth.
spiritual enlightenment. In three books, Sentences (On the
In the New Kingdom (1539–1069 BCE), Isis was depicted
Greatest Good in manuscripts) summarizes the spiritual orga-
as midwife. Greco-Roman renderings of Isis show her with
nization of the human community by duties and obligations.
a knot on the front of her dress. This knot indicated life and
It is in the form of easily memorized proverbs based upon
protected pregnant women as well as their babies. The god-
Christian authors, and it combines moral knowledge with
dess was also a healer. When a scorpion stung and killed her
living experience. Etymologies (also named Origines), in twen-
son Horus, Isis revived him. In another myth Isis fashioned
ty books, classifies and defines, according to a personal sys-
a snake that bit the supreme god Re. As Re lay dying, Isis
tem of etymological interpretation, all the knowledge of Isi-
promised to heal him if he gave up his secret name and thus
dore’s time as drawn from ancient sources through
world dominion. Re refused at first, but in the end he gave
commentaries, glosses, and scholastic handbooks. In the
Isis what she sought. In another succession myth, Horus
Middle Ages it was considered the basic reference work for
raped and decapitated his mother, the latter as punishment
understanding texts and for coherently interpreting the
for Isis’s disloyalty when she did not allow the destruction
world.
of her brother Seth. The Greek writers Diodorus Siculus
(1.13–27) and Plutarch (De Iside et Osiride, 12–19) provide
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the most continuous myths surrounding Isis. Various are-
An extensive critical introduction and systematic bibliography can
tologies emphasize her henotheistic, singular divine force of
be found in my introduction to San Isidoro de Sevilla, Eti-
creation; she was the goddess with a thousand names (my-
mologías, vol. 1, edited by José Oroz Reta, “Biblioteca de au-
rionyma).
tores cristianos” (Madrid, 1982). See also J. N. Hillgarth’s
“The Position of Isidorian Studies,” Studi medievali 24
Isis was linked to the goddess Hathor. She wore Hath-
(1983): 817–905. In French, see Jacques Fontaine’s Isidore
or’s headdress, the cow horns. In his “Isis,” Bergman points
de Séville et la culture classique dans l’Espagne wisigothique, 2
to another connection with Hathor (Bergman, 1980, col.
vols. and suppl. (Paris, 1983); “Isidore de Séville,” in the Dic-
189f.). After Horus decapitated his mother, she received a
tionnaire de spiritualité, vol. 7 (Paris, 1971); and Isidore de
Séville. Genèse et originallé de la culture hispanique au temps
cow head as replacement. Like the cow horns and cow head,
des visigoths (Turnhout, Belgium, 2000).
Isis acquired the uraeus snake from Hathor. In addition, Isis
was equated with Selket and appropriated that goddess’s ani-
MANUEL C. DÍAZ Y DÍAZ (1987 AND 2005)
mal form, the scorpion. Isis was also linked to the female hip-
Translated from Spanish by Maria Elisa Guirola
popotamus, a white sow, and a lion. Bergman notes that the
goddess appears as a water- and food-providing tree goddess.
In the celestial sphere Isis was connected with Sothis or Siri-
ISIS is one of the most important deities in the Egyptian
us, the Dog Star (Canis Major). She was the bringer of the
pantheon. The hieroglyph for her name was the throne, and
Nile’s annual flooding (Bergman, 1980, col. 192), which was
she was portrayed with a headdress in the shape of a throne.
essential for Egypt’s agriculture. Isis’s manifestations are
Scholars postulate that Isis was the personification of the
manifold due to syncretism, an inbuilt fluidity that allowed
throne or that her name means “the one who has ruling
gods to merge with each other. Depictions of Isis from Egyp-
power.” Jan Bergman concludes in “Isis” (1980, col. 188)
tian to Greco-Roman times show this confluence of repre-
that the explanation of her name points to a later priestly in-
sentative elements most succinctly. Isis was not only myriony-
terpretation. The name Isis appears securely for the first time
ma in name but also in terms of her iconographic signifiers.
in the fifth dynasty (2465–2325 BCE) and in the Pyramid
DISSEMINATION OF THE CULT. Greeks, who had economic
Texts at the end of the Old Kingdom (2650–2152 BCE). The
links with Egypt since the seventh century BCE, knew of
first depiction of the goddess occurred almost a thousand
Egyptian deities. They explained these deities by way of anal-
years after the first textual mention in the eighteenth dynasty
ogies. In this way Isis was equated with Demeter (Herodotos,
(1539–1295 BCE).
Histories, 2.42ff.). The Ptolemaic period, however, ushered
In the Heliopolitan rendering of the nine premier Egyp-
in a more intensive propagation of the cult of Isis outside
tian gods, Isis was the daughter of Geb and Nut (Earth and
Egypt. In this era, as in Roman times, the most important
Sky). Osiris was her brother and husband, Horus their son.
temple structure of Isis was on the island of Philae in south-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4558
ISIS
ern (Upper) Egypt. Alexander’s successor, Ptolemy I Soter,
actions demonstrated, confirmed, and secured the Senate’s
chose Sarapis as his dynasty’s guardian deity. This god then
political authority. Isis, however, did not disappear from
became Isis’s Hellenized consort.
Rome. Far from it, the triumvirate in charge of restoring the
Republic voted in favor of a temple of Isis in 43 BCE (Cassius
An inscription from Pireus (Vidman, 1969, inscription
Dio, 47.15.4). Two later regulations (28 and 21 BCE; Cassius
no. 1), the port city of Athens, dated to 333 BCE suggests that
Dio, 53.2.4 and 54.6.6) curtailing the cult within the city
cult adherents were first Egyptians who had economic ties
of Rome were intended by Augustus to demonstrate his re-
with Athens. By the end of the third century BCE Athenian
solve vis-à-vis the traditional code of behavior (the mos mai-
citizens held the various priesthoods. On Delos, the most im-
orum) and the traditional, Greco-Roman gods.
portant location for the westward dissemination of the cult,
Egyptians held the priesthoods initially, followed by Delians
In 19 CE Tiberius ordered the removal of Jews and Isis
and then Athenians. Françoise Dunand demonstrates in Le
worshipers from Rome (Tacitus, Annals, 2.85.5; Josephus,
culte d’Isis dans le bassin oriental de la Méditerranée (1973)
Antiquities, 18.72; Suetonius, Life of Tiberius, 36.1). It has
that, in all of Greece, Isis had the lowest impact on the Pelo-
been suggested that the emperor intended to cleanse the cap-
ponnese. Michel Malaise shows in “La diffusion des cultes
ital of foreign cults, especially those perceived as undermin-
égyptiens dans les provinces européennes de l’Empire ro-
ing Roman morality, but is seems more likely that the reason
main” (1984) that merchants were the most important prop-
was political. Germanicus, Tiberius’s designated successor,
agators of the cult. When Archelaos, a general of Mithridates
had traveled to Egypt and, in a public relations stunt, opened
VI, the king of Pontos, captured the island of Delos in 88
the granaries. Unfortunately, this gesture of generosity led
BCE, Italian merchants returning to Italy brought with them
subsequently to famine in Rome (Tacitus, Annals, 2.67).
the goddess Isis and intensified the goddess’s presence where
Germanicus also visited Memphis without imperial permis-
she was already known before this time.
sion. The priests of Memphis, the guardians of the living and
dead Apis bulls, made and unmade pharaohs, even if only
Isis, for example, was established before 88 BCE in the
symbolically at this time (Maystre, 1992).
port cities of Pompeii, Puteoli, and Ostia. The temple of Isis
in Pompeii was built toward the end of the second century
In the Roman construct of reality, politics and religion
BCE, the temple of the Alexandrian gods in Puteoli dates to
were intertwined; hence Rome’s success was thought depen-
approximately 105 BCE. However, it seems that, in the wake
dent on the gods and the gods favored a people who wor-
of the forceful return of Italian merchants from Delos, Isis
shiped them properly and in a timely fashion. Whenever a
made her way to Rome. The second century CE author Apu-
political crisis occurred that undermined Rome’s social
leius states in his Metamorphoses, also known as The Golden
order, the problem was thought to lie in the religious sphere;
Ass (11.30), that the first association of Isiac priests (collegium
that is, it was believed that the gods had turned away from
pastophorum, college of carriers of sacred objects) in Rome
the Romans, who had failed in their ritual performance. Isis
was founded at the time of the dictator Sulla (82–79 BCE).
was Alexandria’s most powerful god, and the city had the
An inscription, unfortunately now lost, established a strong
largest number of Jewish inhabitants in the Roman Empire.
connection between Delos and Rome (Vidman, 1969, in-
The expulsion of Jews and Isis worshipers from Rome dem-
scription no. 377). In “Iside Capitolina, Clodio e i mercanti
onstrated the emperor’s political power and symbolized the
di schiavi” (1984) Filippo Coarelli convincingly dates the in-
reestablishment of traditional order.
scription to 90–60 BCE and points to families of slave traders
as a decisive link between the Aegean island and the capital.
With the consolidation of the new political order (the
Ladislav Vidman suggests in Isis und Sarapis bei den Griechen
principate, which began with the emperor Augustus [r. 27
und Römern (1970) that the Late Republican period was fa-
BCE–14 CE]) and the integration of Egypt as a province of
vorable to the Egyptian cult. Subsequent research showed
the Roman Empire, Isis and her cult could no longer be
that it was not unbridled passions of the simple and disfran-
thought illegal. The cult was officially recognized at the end
chised that brought about this acceptance. Egyptian scenes
of Caligula’s reign or at the beginning of Claudius’s. The first
and representations of Isis’s headdress, rattles (sistra), Egyp-
to establish this time period was Georg Wissowa in Religion
tian snakes (uraei), obelisks, and lotus flowers were compo-
and Kultus der Römer (1971), and Anthony Barrett in Caligu-
nents of an artistic repertoire. Control marks on coins were
la (1989, pp. 220f.) further developed the argument. The
not expressions of a social revolution but an artistic realiza-
connection with the imperial house (the domus Augusta) oc-
tion of a Late Republican cultural reality.
curred during the reign of Vespasian (69–79 CE). Vespasian
had been proclaimed emperor by his troops while he was in
The reactions against the cult in 58, 53, and 48 BCE
Alexandria. Upon his return to Rome, he and his son Titus
were of a political nature (Tertullian, Ad Nationes, 1.10; Dio
stayed in the temple of Isis in the Field of Mars, the Iseum
Cassius, 40.47 and 42.26). The Roman Senate found itself
Campense, the night before their triumphal procession into
stripped of its political power and, as a consequence, dictated
Rome (Josephus, Jewish Wars, 7.123f.). Domitian, Vespa-
these expulsions of the cult of Isis. Expulsion as well as accep-
sian’s youngest son, renovated many temples of Isis during
tance and subsequent introduction of a foreign cult into
his reign (81–96 CE). After Vespasian’s acclamation in Alex-
Rome’s religious system were privileges of the Senate. These
andria, the family had a connection to Isis, and their subse-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISIS
4559
quent actions are demonstrations of piety toward the
Documentation, however, records dressers of statues only in
goddess.
Athens in the second and third century CE.
There was an increasing interest in Egyptian and Egyp-
In the West there is only one inscription of a dresser,
tianizing objects at the time of the emperor Hadrian (114–
an ornatrix fani (Vidman, 1969, inscription no. 731). Scribes
141
(scriba, grammateus, or hierogrammateus) (Apuleius, Meta-
CE), which had to do with the emperor’s interest in
Egypt. The city of Alexandria possessed the most important
morphoses, 11.17), follow the dressers in the Egyptian priestly
libraries of antiquity. Hadrian was a philhellene (a lover of
hierarchy. They are, however, like astrologers (horoskopoi or
Greek culture), and the Alexandrian libraries were the guard-
horologoi) and singers (hymnodoi), not documented outside
ians of Greek literature and culture. It also happened that
Egypt. Therapeutai or cultores were cult adherents without
Hadrian’s beloved Antinous had drowned in the Nile while
rank and function. The official heading the ploiaphesia in
visiting Egypt with the emperor. The death of a friend and
March, the nauarchus, trierarchos, hieronautes, or naubates, is
accessibility to a cherished cultural heritage made Egypt so
only known through inscriptions from Rome’s imperial peri-
prominent in Hadrian’s life that it brought about a new artis-
od. He or she was not a priest but a lay member of the cult
tic movement. Even Hadrian’s villa outside Rome featured
association. In general, one notes that priests and lay cult
an Egypt-inspired area.
functionaries could have the same designation. In addition,
not every dedicator of an inscription was a cult initiate. Most
Inscriptions asking for the well-being (salus) of the im-
of the personal inscriptions were put up in fulfillment of a
perial household (domus Augusta) in the name of Isis’s Helle-
vow (ex-voto), and most of the official ones (pro salute imp-
nistic consort Sarapis appear predominantly in the period
eratoris, for the well-being of the emperor) were political in
after Emperor Marcus Aurelius’s victory over the Quadi, a
nature.
Germanic people. István Tóth established in “Marcus Aure-
In Roman times, temples of Isis (Isea) were most often
lius’ Miracle of the Rain and the Egyptian Cults in the Dan-
found outside the religious border of a city (the pomerium)
ube Region” (1976) that the dedicators of these inscriptions
and in an aqueous area in the vicinity of a river, an important
were the emperor’s generals. As the Quadi were close to vic-
water source, a marsh, or a port. Unlike Greco-Roman tem-
tory on a blazing hot day, Arnouphis, a hierogrammateus
ples, Isea were not oriented toward public spaces. Even the
(cultic scribe) and member of Marcus Aurelius’s entourage,
innermost part of a temple of Isis, the cella (naos), opened
induced rain and alleviated the Roman legions’ debilitating
only inward. The doors of the temple were opened and
thirst. The Romans thus gained the advantage over their ad-
closed in connection with a morning and an afternoon cere-
versaries (Cassius Dio, 71.8). Isis and her consort Sarapis
mony. Sacrifice was given during these ceremonies. Although
were now fully accepted guarantors of the Empire’s well-
Plutarch mentions sacrifice of a white and a saffron-colored
being. Ultimately, at the time of the Severi (193–235 CE),
rooster to Osiris (Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride, 61; see Grif-
the Roman dynastic ideology corresponded to the pharaonic-
fiths, 1970, p. 518) and red cattle to Seth (Plutarch, De Iside
Ptolemaic one. Like Vespasian more than a century earlier,
et Osiride, 31; Griffiths, 1970, pp. 414–415), his treatise
the legions of the East had made Septimius Severus, the
does not reveal what kind of sacrifice Isis received. Apuleius,
founder of the dynasty, emperor.
in his Metamorphoses (11.21ff.), indicates that there were
RELIGION PRACTICES. Two major festivals in honor of Isis
three initiation rituals. Whether this was indeed true is not
are known: the public launching of the ship of Isis—the
known with certainty. As was the case with other mystery
navigium Isidis, or ploiaphesia—which was celebrated on
cults, the preparations of an initiate included abstinence and
March 5 (Apuleius, Metamorphoses, 11.8–17), and the find-
purification. The initiate (mystes) experienced death and
ing of Osiris—the inventio or heuresis Osiridis—from Octo-
through it achieved new life. In contrast to public cults, so-
ber 28 to November 3. A cult association had five antistites
cial standing did not translate to a comparable position in
(priests or carriers of sacred objects), pastophori or hiero-
the hierarchy of this mystery cult. The origins of the Isiac
phoroi, who in the cult hierarchy were below a sacerdos,
mysteries are not easily discerned, but it seems that there was
priest. These five carried various insignia during a procession
an Egyptian element (Bianchi, 1980; Griffiths, 1970,
(Apuleius, Metamorphoses, 11.10). A sacerdos (man or
pp. 390–392; Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride, 27; Junge, 1979;
woman) held his or her position for a year, sometimes for
and Kákosy, 1999). The premier temple of Isis, the Iseum on
life. The lower priesthoods and cult positions were most
Philae, closed its doors forever during the reign of Justinian
often held for life. Inscriptions name guardians of temples
I (527–561 CE).
(neokoroi or zakoroi), who may have helped during sacrifices.
SEE ALSO Goddess Worship, article on Goddess Worship in
In the West the pastophori were equated with hierophoroi
the Hellenistic World; Mystery Religions.
(both carriers of sacred objects) or hagiophoroi (carriers of the
sacred) during imperial times. Greeks living in Egypt trans-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
lated the title of the highest priest in the cult as prophetes
Barrett, Anthony A. Caligula. London, 1989.
(prophet). Outside Egypt, however, a prophetes is best
Bergman, Jan. Ich bin Isis: Studien zum memphitischen Hinter-
thought of as pastophorus. In the Egyptian system the dresser
grund der griechischen Isisaretologien. Acta Universitatis Upsa-
(stolistes) held the second highest position after the prophets.
liensis, Historia Religionum, 3. Uppsala, 1968.
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4560
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
Bergman, Jan. “Isis.” In Lexikon der Ägyptologie, edited by Wolf-
Tóth, István. “Marcus Aurelius’ Miracle of the Rain and the Egyp-
gang Helck and Eberhard Otto, vol. 3, pp. 186–203. Wies-
tian Cults in the Danube Region.” Studia Aegyptiaca 2
baden, Germany, 1980.
(1976): 101–113.
Bianchi, Ugo. “Iside dea misterica: Quando?” In Perennitas: Studi
Totti, Maria. Ausgewählte Texte der Isis- und Sarapis-Religion. Hil-
in onore di Angelo Brelich, pp. 9–36. Rome, 1980.
desheim, Germany.
Coarelli, Filippo. “Iside Capitolina, Clodio e i mercanti di
Tran, Vincent Tam Tinh. Essai sur le culte d’Isis à Pompéi. Paris,
schiavi.” In Alessandria e il mondo ellenistico-romano: Studi in
1964.
onore di Achille Adriani, edited by Nicola Bonacasa and An-
tonino Di Vita, vol. 3, pp. 461–475. Studi e materiali, Istitu-
Tran, Vincent Tam Tinh. Le culte des divinités orientales en Cam-
to di Archeologia Università di Palermo, 6. Rome, 1984.
panie en dehors de Pompéi, de Stabies et d’Herculanum. Études
Dio Cassius. Roman History. Translated by Earnest Cary. Cam-
préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l’Empire romain,
bridge, Mass., 1961–1969.
27. Leiden, Netherlands, 1972.
Diodorus Siculus. Works. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. Cam-
Turcan, Robert. “Isis of the Many Names; or, Our Lady of the
bridge, Mass., 1946.
Waves.” In The Cults of the Roman Empire, edited by Robert
Dunand, Françoise. Le culte d’Isis dans le bassin oriental de la Mé-
Turcan, translated by Antonia Nevill, pp. 75–129. Oxford
diterranée. Études préliminaires aux religions orientales dans
and Cambridge, Mass., 1996. French edition, Cultes orien-
l’Empire romain, 26. Leiden, Netherlands, 1973.
taux dans le monde romain, Paris, 1989.
Floriani Squarciapino, Maria. I culti orientali ad Ostia. Études pré-
Vidman, Ladislav. Isis und Sarapis bei den Griechen und Römern.
liminaires aux religions orientales dans l’Empire romain, 3.
Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten, 29. Ber-
Leiden, Netherlands, 1962.
lin, 1970.
Griffiths, J. Gwyn, ed. and trans. Plutarch’s “De Iside et Osiride.”
Vidman, Ladislav, comp. Sylloge inscriptionum religionis Isiacae et
Cardiff, Wales 1970. Includes commentary.
Sarapiacae (SIRIS). Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und
Griffiths, J. Gwyn, ed. and trans. The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses,
Vorarbeiten, 28. Berlin, 1969.
Book XI) Apuleius of Madauros. Études préliminaires aux reli-
Wild, Robert A. Water in the Cultic Worship of Isis and Sarapis.
gions orientales dans l’Empire romain, 39. Leiden, Nether-
Études préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l’Empire
lands, 1975.
romain, 87. Leiden, Netherlands, 1981.
Herodotos. Histories. Translated by Robin Waterfield. New York,
Wissowa, Georg. Religion and Kultus der Römer. Munich, 1971.
1998.
Josephus, Flavius. The Jewish War. Translated by H. St. J. Thack-
SAROLTA A. TAKÁCS (2005)
eray. Cambridge, Mass., 1997.
Junge, Friedrich. “Isis und die ägyptischen Mysterien.” In Aspekte
der spätägyptischen Religion, pp. 93–115. Göttinger Orient-
ISLAM
forschungen, Reihe 4, Ägypten, vol. 9. Wiesbaden, Germa-
This entry consists of the following articles:
ny, 1979.
AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
Kákosy, László. “Mysteries in the Isiac Religion.” Acta Antiqua Ac-
AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
ademiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 39 (1999): 159–163.
ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
Lembke, Katja. Das Iseum Campense in Rom: Studie über den
ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
Isiskult unter Domitian. Heidelberg, Germany, 1994.
ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE VOLGA
Malaise, Michel. “La diffusion des cultes égyptiens dans les prov-
ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
inces européennes de l’Empire romain.” In Aufstieg und
ISLAM IN CHINA
Niedergang der römischen Welt, vol. 2, 17.3, pp. 1615–1691.
ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
Berlin and New York, 1984.
ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
Maystre, Charles. Les grands prêtres de Ptah de Memphis. Freiburg
ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
and Göttingen, Germany, 1992.
Merkelbach, Reinhold. Isis regina, Zeus Sarapis. Stuttgart, 1995.
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
Roullet, Anne. The Egyptian and Egyptianizing Monuments of Im-
perial Rome. Études préliminaires aux religions orientales
The root slm in Arabic means “to be in peace, to be an inte-
dans l’Empire romain, 20. Leiden, Netherlands, 1972.
gral whole.” From this root comes isla¯m, meaning “to surren-
Suetonius. Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Translated by Robert
der to God’s law and thus to be an integral whole,” and mus-
Graves. New York, 2001.
lim, a person who so surrenders. It is important to note that
Takács, Sarolta A. Isis and Sarapis in the Roman World. Religions
two other key terms used in the QurDa¯n with high frequency
in the Graeco-Roman World, 124. Leiden, Netherlands,
have similar root meanings: ¯ıma¯n (from amn), “to be safe
1995.
and at peace with oneself,” and taqwa¯ (from wqy), “to protect
Taylor, Lily Ross. The Cults of Ostia. Bryn Mawr, Pa., 1912. Re-
or save.” These definitions give us an insight into the most
print, Chicago, 1976.
fundamental religious attitude of Islam: to maintain whole-
Tertullian. Ad Nationes. In The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4., edited
ness and proper order, as the opposite of disintegration, by
by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Grand Rapids,
accepting God’s law. It is in this sense that the entire universe
Mich., 1969.
and its content are declared by the QurDa¯n to be muslim, that
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
4561
is, endowed with order through obedience to God’s law; but
attempts at proselytizing the Meccans, but these were unsuc-
whereas nature obeys God’s law automatically, humanity
cessful because the Meccans wanted a new religion and scrip-
ought to obey it by choice. In keeping with this distinction,
ture of their own, “whereby they would be better guided
God’s function is to integrate human personality, both indi-
than those earlier communities” (35:42, 6:157). In the pro-
vidual and corporate: “Be not like those who forgot God, and
cess, the Meccans had nevertheless come to know a good deal
[eventually] God caused them to forget themselves” (su¯rah
about Judeo-Christian ideas (6:92), and several people in
59:19).
Mecca and elsewhere had arrived at the idea of monotheism.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY. Muslims believe that Islam is God’s
Even so, they could not get rid of the “intermediary gods”
eternal religion, described in the QurDa¯n as “the primordial
for whom they had special cults, and there was still no cult
nature upon which God created mankind” (30:30). Further,
for God, whom they called “Alla¯h,” or “the God.” In addi-
the QurDa¯n claims that the proper name Muslim was given
tion to these limitations, there was also a great disparity be-
by Abraham (22:78). As a historical phenomenon, however,
tween the rich and the poor and disenfranchised in the thriv-
Islam originated in Arabia in the early seventh century CE.
ing commercial community of Mecca. Both of these issues
Two broad elements should be distinguished in that immedi-
are strongly emphasized from the beginning of the QurDanic
ate religious backdrop: the purely Arab background and the
revelation, making it clear that the primary background of
penetration of Judeo-Christian elements. The QurDa¯n makes
Islam is Arab rather than Judeo-Christian, although the latter
a disapproving reference to star worship (41:37), which is
tradition has strongly influenced Islam. In its genesis, Islam
said to have come from the Babylonian star cult. For the
grew out of the problems existing in an Arab Meccan society.
most part, however, the bedouin were a secular people with
little idea of an afterlife. At the sanctuaries (h:arams) that had
Early development of the community. During a
been established in some parts, fetishism seems to have devel-
twelve-year struggle in Mecca (610–622 CE), the prophet
oped into idol worship; the most important of these sites was
Muh:ammad had gathered a devoted group of followers,
the KaEbah at Mecca.
largely among the poor but also among the well-to-do mer-
chants. Yet his movement seemed to reach an impasse be-
The bedouin Arabs believed in a blind fate that inescap-
cause of the unflinching opposition of the mercantile aristoc-
ably determined birth, sustenance (because of the precarious
racy, which saw in it a threat to both of their vested
life conditions in the desert), and death. These Arabs also
interests—their KaEbah-centered religion, from which they
had a code of honor (called muru¯wah, or “manliness”) that
benefited as custodians of the sanctuary and recipients of in-
may be regarded as their real religious ethics; its main constit-
come from the pilgrimage, and their privileged control of
uent was tribal honor—the crown of all their values—
trade. After Muh:ammad and his followers emigrated from
encompassing the honor of women, bravery, hospitality,
Mecca to Medina in 622 (the beginning of the lunar Islamic
honoring one’s promises and pacts, and last but not least,
calendar, called the hijr¯ı, or “emigration,” calendar), at the
vengeance (tha Dr). They believed that the ghost of a slain per-
invitation of the majority of the Arab inhabitants there, he
son would cry out from the grave until his thirst for the
became the head of both the nascent community and the ex-
blood of vengeance was quenched. According to the code,
isting polity. However, while he gave laws, waged peace and
it was not necessarily the killer who was slain in retaliation,
war, and created social institutions, he never claimed to be
but a person from among his kin equal in value to the person
a ruler, a lawgiver, a judge, or a general; he referred to himself
killed. For reasons of economics or honor, infant girls were
always as a messenger of God. As a result, not only were Is-
often slain, and this practice, terminated by the QurDa¯n, was
lamic “religious” doctrine and ritual in the narrower sense
regarded as having had religious sanction (6:137).
regarded as Islamic but so were the state, the law, and social
In southwestern Arabia, a rather highly sophisticated
institutions. Islam is thus the name of a total way of life and
civilization had existed since the Sabian period, with a pros-
does not merely regulate the individual’s private relationship
perous economy and agriculture. The Sabian religion was,
with God.
at the beginning, a trinitarian star cult, which was replaced,
In Medina, then, the Prophet was able to institute his
in the fourth century CE, by the monotheistic cult of al-
social reforms through the exercise of the religious and politi-
Rahman (a term that appears to have traveled north and
cal power that he had been denied in Mecca. After three bat-
found a prominent place in the QurDa¯n, where it means “the
tles in which Muslims gained the upper hand over the Mec-
merciful”). In the sixth century CE, Jewish and Christian
cans and their allies, Islam, now in rapid ascendancy, was
ideas and formulas were adopted, with the term al-Rah:ma¯n
able to take Mecca peacefully in AH 8/630 CE along with a
applied to the first person of the Trinity.
large part, if not the whole, of the Arabian Peninsula. In Me-
As for the Judeo-Christian tradition, it was not only
dina, too, the Muslim community (ummah muslimah) was
present where Jewish and Christian populations existed (Jews
formally launched in 2/624 as the “median community,” the
in Medina—pre-Islamic Yathrib—in the south and in Khay-
only community consciously established by the founder of
bar in the north; Christians in the south, in Iraq, in Syria,
a religion for a specific purpose, as the QurDa¯n speaks of those
and in certain tribes), but it had percolated in the air, gener-
“who, when we give them power on the earth, shall establish
ally speaking. Indeed, there had been Jewish and Christian
prayers and welfare of the poor and shall command good and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4562
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
forbid evil” (22:41). At the same time, the QurDa¯n (22:40)
that excommunication was ruled out so long as a person rec-
provided this community with the instrument of jiha¯d (ut-
ognized the community as Muslim and professed that “there
most exertion in God’s cause, including peaceful means but
is no god but God and Muh:ammad is his prophet.”
also cold and hot war). Finally, Mecca was declared to be the
This formula created or rationalized accommodation for
goal of annual pilgrimage for the faithful and also the direc-
an amazing range of different religious opinions and prac-
tion (qiblah) for prayer instead of Jerusalem. Both the consti-
tices under one God and Muh:ammad’s prophethood. Oddly
tution and the anchoring of the community were complete.
enough, the only systematically rigid and illiberal school of
After a brief lapse into tribal sovereignty following the
doctrine that persecuted its opponents, after it became state
Prophet’s death, Arab resistance to the acknowledgment of
creed under the Abbasid caliph al-MaDmu¯n in the first half
Medina’s central authority was broken by force. The tribes-
of the ninth century, was the liberal rationalist school of the
men’s energies were turned outward in conquests of neigh-
MuEtazilah. The emergence of this school was largely the re-
boring lands under the banner of Islam, which provided the
sult of the impact on the Islamic religion of the wholesale
necessary zeal for rapid military and political expansion.
translations of Greek works of science, philosophy, and med-
Within a century after the Prophet’s death, Muslim Arabs
icine into Arabic on the orders of al-MaDmu¯n. The
were administering an empire stretching from the southern
MuEtazilah tried to create necessary free space by insisting on
borders of France through North Africa and the Middle East,
freedom of human will and God’s rational justice, but the
across Central Asia and into Sind. Muslim rule in the con-
Muslim orthodoxy, countering with doctrines of the ineffica-
quered territories was generally tolerant and humane; there
cy of human will and the absolutism of God’s will and divine
was no policy of converting non-Muslims to Islam. The pur-
predeterminism, actually provided more accommodation for
pose of jiha¯d was not conversion but the establishment of Is-
varying opinions and human actions and thereby halted the
lamic rule. Nonetheless, partly because of certain disabilities
growth of the rationalist school.
imposed by Islamic law on non-Muslim subjects (mainly the
With the advent of the Abbasids, there were other polit-
jizyah, or poll tax—although they were exempt from the
ical, social, and religious changes as well, among them the
zaka¯t, or alms tax levied on Muslims, the jizyah was the heav-
improvement of the status of the Iranians, who, under
ier of the two, particularly for the lower strata of the popula-
Umayyad rule, were denied an identity of their own as “cli-
tion) and partly because of Islamic egalitarianism, Islam
ents” (mawa¯l¯ı) of the Arab tribes; and the espousal and im-
spread quickly after an initial period during which conver-
plementation of legal measures created by the religious lead-
sions were sometimes even discouraged. This was the first
ership, which had been largely alienated from the Umayyads.
phase of the spread of Islam; later on, as we shall see, Muslim
All of these developments combined to facilitate the rapid
mystics, or the S:u¯f¯ıs, were the main vehicles of Islamic ex-
spread of Islam.
pansion in India, Central Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, al-
Medieval and later developments. With the weaken-
though the role of traders in the Indian and Indonesian
ing of the central caliphal authority in Baghdad, the tenth
coastal areas and China must not be minimized. Even in the
century saw not only the virtual fragmentation of the Abbas-
twentieth century, Turkish soldiers brought Islam to South
id Empire and the rise of de facto independent rulers (sultans
Korea during the Korean War.
and emirs) in the provinces but the almost ubiquitous rise
Several major developments in this early period affected
of the Sh¯ıEah. While Baghdad came under the political and
the religious texture of the Muslim community as a continu-
fiscal “management” of the orthodox Twelver Sh¯ıEah
ing phenomenon. Less than half a century after the Prophet’s
through the Persian Buyid family, Egypt and North Africa
death, political dissensions over succession led to civil war.
came under the rule of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı Fatimids. But if the Buy-
A number of groups called the Kha¯rij¯ıs (“those who went
ids were able to influence Islamic practices in some ways—
out”) declared war on the community at large because it tol-
such as the observance of EA¯shu¯ra¯D, the tenth of Muh:arram
erated rule by “unrighteous” men; they claimed that a Mus-
(the first month of the Islamic calendar) as the commemora-
lim ceased to be a Muslim by committing a reprehensible act
tion of the martyrdom of the Prophet’s grandson H:usayn at
without sincerely repenting, and that other Muslims who did
the hands of the Umayyad troops—Fatimid rule, by and
not regard such a person as non-Muslim also became non-
large, did not leave much of a trace on later Muslim thought
Muslim. In reaction to the Kha¯rij¯ıs and the ensuing civil
and institutions, despite the fact that the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah had
strife, the community (both the Sunn¯ı mainstream and the
offered a revolutionary ideology claiming to usher in a
Sh¯ıEah, or party of EAl¯ı) generally adopted a religious stand
new world order through the establishment of a universal re-
that not only was tolerant of religious and political deviations
ligion.
from strict Islamic norms but was even positively accommo-
In purely religious terms, indeed, it was not so much
dating toward them. The members of the community who
Shiism as the rise and spread of Sufism that constituted the
took this stand were known as the MurjiDah (from irja¯ E,
new and greatest challenge to Islamic orthodoxy, in terms of
meaning “postponement,” in the sense of not judging a per-
ideas and spiritual orientation, and indeed, it was Shiism that
son’s religious worth, but leaving it to God’s judgment on
suffered most, in terms of following, as a result of the new
the Last Day). The net result of this basic development was
movement. From modest beginnings as an expression of re-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
4563
fined piety on the part of a spiritual elite in the eighth and
Africa is the only continent where Muslims are in the
ninth centuries, Sufism became a mass religion from the elev-
majority, while in Europe, Islam now constitutes the second
enth century onward. In its origins as a deepening of the
largest religion, mainly comprising emigrants from Muslim
inner “life of the heart,” Sufism was largely complementary
lands but a few Western converts as well. In North America,
to the outer “life of the law,” which was the domain of the
Muslims are said to number around two million, most of
Eulama¯D, the religious scholars who functioned as custodians
whom are emigrants from Muslim countries. But there is
of the shar¯ı Eah (sacred law) and never claimed to be pastors
also in the United States a significant phenomenon of con-
or custodians of the soul.
version among local blacks, originating in the social protest
movement against white ascendancy. The earliest group,
In its later development, however, through networks of
known as the Black Muslims, called itself the Nation of Islam
brotherhoods that spread from the shores of the Atlantic to
during the lifetime of its founder, Elijah Muhammad, and
Southeast Asia, it practically took the place of “official”
was a heterodox movement. After his death in 1973 it moved
Islam, particularly in the countryside. Feeding on certain
closer to the rest of the Muslim community, taking the new
pantheistic ideas of eminent S:u¯f¯ıs and generating latitudi-
name of American Islamic Mission and receiving financial
narian, indeed protean, tendencies, it served to convert to
help from oil-rich Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia,
Islam large populations in the Indian subcontinent, Central
Libya, and Kuwait. (The organization was dissolved in
Asia, Africa, and Indonesia. A long line of orthodox S:u¯f¯ıs,
1985.) There are also other numerous, though small, Afro-
beginning in the eighth and ninth centuries and culminating
American Muslim groups scattered throughout the United
in the monumental work of al-Ghaza¯l¯ı (d. 1111), struggled
States.
hard, with a good measure of success, to bring about a syn-
thesis that would ensure a respectable place for S:u¯f¯ıs spiritu-
Arriving at a precise estimate of the Muslim population
ality in the orthodox fold. After the advent of Sufism, and
in China presents a serious problem. According to data col-
particularly after al-Ghaza¯l¯ı’s success, the number of con-
lected unofficially by Chinese Muslims in 1939–1940 and
verts to Islam expanded dramatically, and the number of
extrapolations from these data in terms of population
Sh¯ıEah shrank equally dramatically, apparently because the
growth, Chinese Muslims might number close to one hun-
demands for an inner life that Shiism had satisfied through
dred million in the 1980s. The official Chinese figure given
its esoteric claims were now satisfied by Sufism.
in the early sixties, however, was ten million, a figure revised
to between fifteen and twenty million two decades later (reli-
During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Islam
gion is a factor not counted in the Chinese census). Accord-
penetrated into the Malay archipelago largely through Arab
ing to the 1979 United Nations statistics, the world Muslim
traders, who went first to the coastal areas of Java and Suma-
population is just under one billion.
tra and afterward to Malaysia. Shortly after the advent of
T
Islam, however, these lands fell under western European
HE SYSTEMATIC CONTENT OF ISLAM With the rise of Is-
lamic legal and theological thought in the eighth century
domination. Because the structure of British power in Ma-
CE,
a framework had to be articulated within which religious de-
laysia differed from Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, in that
velopments were to be set. The most basic sources in this
British overlordship was exercised through regional sultans
framework were the QurDa¯n and the sunnah of the Prophet.
whereas the Dutch ruled directly, Islam was inhibited in In-
donesia: a large percentage of the population of the interior
The QurDa¯n. The God of the QurDa¯n is a transcendent,
remained abangans, or “nominal Muslims,” whose life is still
powerful, and merciful being. His transcendence ensures his
based on ancient custom ( Ea¯dat) under a thin Islamic veneer.
uniqueness and infinitude over and against all other crea-
Recently, however, a large-scale thrust of islamization has
tures, who are necessarily characterized by finitude of being
changed this picture considerably. In Djakarta, for example,
and potentialities. Hence God is all-powerful, and no crea-
a little more than a dozen years ago, there were only a few
ture may share in his divinity (belief in such sharing is called
cathedral mosques for Friday services, but now the number
shirk and is condemned in the QurDa¯n as the most heinous
has multiplied spectacularly; indeed, there is a mosque at-
and unforgivable sin). This infinite power is expressed, how-
tached to every government department. This process of
ever, through God’s equally infinite mercy. The creation of
“consolidation in orthodox Islam,” necessitated by the initial
the universe, the fact that there is plenitude of being, rather
compromises made by S:u¯f¯ıs with local cultures, has been
than emptiness of nothing, is due solely to his mercy. Partic-
going on for some decades in the Indian subcontinent as
ularly with reference to humanity, God’s creation, suste-
well.
nance, guidance (in the form of revelations given to the
prophets, his messengers), and, finally, judgment, are all
In Africa south of the Sahara, Islam appears to have pen-
manifestations of his power in mercy.
etrated through both traders and pilgrims. Although, as
noted above, Islam spread there through the influence of
God created nature by his command “Be!” In fact, for
S:u¯f¯ı orders, one unique feature of African Islam seems to be
whatever God wishes to create, “He says, Be! and there it is”
the combination of Sufism with militancy, the latter ac-
(36:82). But whatever God creates has an orderly nature, and
claimed as the result of the Islamic teaching on jiha¯d, al-
that is why there is a universe rather than chaos. God puts
though it is also congruent with the spirit of local tribalism.
into everything the proper “guidance” or “nature” or laws of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4564
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
behavior to make each part fit into the entire pattern of the
wife. Polygamy is limited to four wives with the provision
universe. “All things are measured” (e.g., 54:49), and only
that “if you fear you cannot do justice [among them], marry
God is the measurer; hence he alone is the commander, and
only one” (4:3), and the further admonition that such justice
everything else is under his command. This command,
is impossible “no matter how much you desire” (4:129).
which is a fact of automatic obedience in the case of nature
Kind and generous treatment of wives is repeatedly empha-
(3:83), becomes an “ought” in the case of humans, for whom
sized; celibacy is strongly discouraged, although not banned
moral law replaces natural law. Nature is, therefore, a firm,
outright. The basic equality of all people is proclaimed and
well-knit machine without rupture or dislocations.
ethnic differences discounted: “O you people, we have creat-
ed [all of] you from a male and a female, and we have made
Here it is interesting and important to note that while
you into different nations and tribes [only] for the purpose
the QurDa¯n patently accepts miracles of earlier prophets
of identification—otherwise, the noblest of you in the sight
(67:2–3), in response to pressure from Muh:ammad’s oppo-
of God is the one who is the most righteous” (49:13).
nents for new miracles (e.g., 2:23, 10:38, 11:13), the QurDa¯n
insists that it is itself the Prophet’s miracle, and one that can-
In the economic field, the widespread practice of usury
not be equaled. As for supernatural miracles, they are out of
is prohibited. The zaka¯t tax is levied on the well-to-do mem-
date because they have been ineffective in the past (17:59,
bers of the community; it was meant as a welfare tax to be
6:33–35). Nature is, therefore, autonomous but not auto-
spent on the poor and the needy in general, but su¯rah 9:60,
cratic, since it did not bring itself into being. God, who
which details the distribution of zaka¯t, is so comprehensive
brought nature into being, can destroy it as well; even so, al-
in its scope that it covers practically all fields of social and
though the QurDa¯n, when speaking of the Day of Judgment,
state life. In general, fair play and justice are repeatedly ad-
often invokes a cataclysm that strongly suggests destruction
vised. Detailed inheritance laws are given (4:7ff.), the main
(see, for example, su¯rah 81), in many verses it speaks instead
feature of which is the introduction of shares to daughters,
of a radical transformation and a realignment of the factors
although these shares are set at half of what sons receive.
of life (e.g., 56:60–63). Finally, the universe has been created
Communal affairs are to be decided through mutual consul-
for the benefit of human beings, and all its forces have been
tation (shu¯ra¯ baynahum, 42:38), a principle that has never
“subjugated” to them; of all creatures, only they have been
been institutionalized in Islamic history, however.
created to serve God alone (e.g., 31:20, 22:65).
One noteworthy feature of the moral teaching of the
In its account of the human race, while the QurDa¯n
QurDa¯n is that it describes all wrong done against anyone as
holds that humans are among the noblest of God’s creatures
“wrong done against oneself” (z:ulm al-nafs, as in 2:231,
and that Adam had indeed outstripped the angels in a com-
11:101, 11:118). In its teaching on the Last Judgment, the
petition for creative knowledge, a fact testifying to his unique
QurDa¯n constantly talks of “weighing the deeds” of all adult
intellectual qualities, it nevertheless criticizes them for their
and responsible humans (101:6–11, 7:8 et al.). This doctrine
persistent moral failures, which are due to their narrow-
of the “weight” of deeds arises out of the consideration that
mindedness, lack of vision, weakness, and smallness of self.
people normally act for the here and now; in this respect,
All their ills are reducible to this basic deficiency, and the
they are like cattle: they do not take a long-range or “ulti-
remedy is for them to enlarge the self and to transcend petti-
mate” (a¯khirah) view of things: “Shall we tell you of those
ness. This pettiness is often represented by the QurDa¯n in eco-
who are the greatest losers in terms of their deeds? Those
nomic terms, such as greed, fraud, and holding back from
whose whole effort has been lost [in the pursuit of] this life
spending on the poor (as was the case with the Meccan trad-
[i.e., the lower values of life], but they think they have per-
ers): “If you were to possess [all] the treasures of the mercy
formed prodigies” (18:104). The rationale of the Last Judg-
of my lord, you would still sit on them out of fear of spend-
ment is to bring out the real moral meaning, “the weight”
ing [on the needy]” (17:100). It is Satan who whispers into
of deeds. But whereas the Last Judgment will turn upon indi-
people’s ears that they would be impoverished by spending,
vidual performance, the QurDa¯n also speaks about a “judg-
while God promises prosperity for such investment (2:268).
ment in history,” which descends upon peoples, nations, and
Instead of establishing usurious accounts to exploit the poor,
communities on the basis of their total performance and
believers should establish “credit with God” (2:245, 57:11,
whether that performance is in accord with the teaching of
57:18 et al.).
the divine messages brought by their prophets: many nations
have perished because of their persistence in all sorts of dis-
In its social doctrine and legislation, the QurDa¯n makes
obedience and moral wrong, for “God gives inheritance of
a general effort to ameliorate the condition of the weak and
the earth [only] to good people” (21:105).
often abused segments of society, such as the poor, orphans,
women, and slaves. People are asked to free slaves on free-
The QurDa¯n, therefore, declares unequivocally that God
dom-purchasing contracts, “and if they are poor, you give
has sent his messages to all peoples throughout history and
them from the wealth God has bestowed upon you” (24:33).
has left none without guidance (35:24, 13:7). These mes-
An egalitarian statement concerning males and females is
sages have been essentially the same: to reject shirk (associat-
made, but the husband is recognized as “one degree higher”
ing anyone with God) and to behave according to the law
(2:228) because he earns by his strength and expends on his
of God. All messages have emanated from a single source,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
4565
the “Mother of All Books” (13:39) or the “Hidden Book”
of the former. In the QurDa¯n, there is no mention of the term
(56:78) or the “Preserved Tablet” (85:22), and although
sunnah with reference to the Prophet’s extra-QurDanic pre-
every prophet has initially come to his people and addressed
cepts or example, but the term uswah h:asanah, meaning a
them “in their tongue” (14:4), the import of all messages is
“good model” or “example” to be followed, is used with ref-
universal; hence it is incumbent on all people to believe in
erence to Muh:ammad’s conduct as well as the conduct of
all prophets, without “separating some from the others.” For
Abraham and his followers (33:31, 60:4, 60:6). The term
this reason the QurDa¯n is severely critical of what it sees as
uswah is certainly much less rigid than sunnah and does not
proprietary claims upon God’s guidance by Jews and Chris-
mean so much a law to be literally implemented as an exam-
tians and rejects Jewish claims to special status in strong
ple to be matched.
terms (62:6, 2:94–95, 5:18, et al.). Despite the identity of
divine messages, moreover, the QurDa¯n also posits some sort
Even so, there is clear evidence that the concept of sun-
of development in religious consciousness and asserts that on
nah was flexible in the early decades of Islam because, with
the Last Day every community will be judged by the stan-
hardly any written codifications of the sunnah (which was
dards of its own book and under the witness of its own pro-
used in the sense of an ongoing practice rather than fixed for-
phet(s) (4:41, 16:84, et al.). The QurDa¯n protects, consum-
mulas), there was no question of literal imitation. As politi-
mates, and transcends earlier revelations, and Muh:ammad
cal, legal, and theological dissensions and disputes multiplied
is declared to be the “seal of the prophets” (33:40).
and all kinds of positions sought self-validation, however, the
opinions of the first three generations or so were projected
Finally, the QurDa¯n states five basic constituents of faith
back onto the Prophet to obtain the necessary authority, and
(¯ıma¯n): belief in God, in angels, in revealed books, in God’s
the phrase sunnat al-nab¯ı (the sunnah of the Prophet) gradu-
messengers, and in the Last Day. Corresponding to these five
ally took the place of the term sunnah.
items of belief, a fivefold practical doctrine was formulated
very early on. These “Five Pillars” include (1) bearing witness
During the second and third centuries AH, the narration
in public at least once in one’s lifetime that “There is no god
and codification of the sunnah into h:ad¯ıth was in full swing.
but God and Muh:ammad is his prophet”; (2) praying five
A report that claims to convey a sunnah (or sunnahs) is called
times a day (before sunrise, early afternoon, late afternoon,
a h:ad¯ıth. It is reported that while earlier people used to ac-
immediately after sunset, and before retiring), while facing
cept a h:ad¯ıth as genuine on trust alone, after the civil wars
the KaEbah at Mecca; (3) paying zaka¯t; (4) fasting during
of the late first to early second centuries AH, a h:ad¯ıth was ac-
Ramad:a¯n (the ninth month of the Islamic lunar year), with
cepted only on the basis of some reliable authority. From this
no eating, drinking, smoking, or sexual intercourse from
situation emerged the convention of the isna¯d, or the chain
dawn until sunset, when the daily fast is broken; and (5) per-
of guarantors of h:ad¯ıth, extending from the present narrator
forming the annual pilgrimage to the KaEbah at least once
backward to the Prophet. The isna¯d took the following form:
in one’s adult lifetime, provided one can afford the journey
“I, So-and-so, heard it from B, who heard it from C, who
and leave enough provisions for one’s family.
said that he heard the Prophet say so-and-so or do such-and-
such.” Then followed the text (matn) of the h:ad¯ıth. A whole
The pilgrimage is performed during the first ten days
science called “principles of h:ad¯ıth” developed in order to lay
of the last month of the Islamic year. One may perform the
down meticulous criteria for judging the reliability of the
lesser pilgrimage ( Eumrah) at other times of the year, but it
transmitters of h:ad¯ıth, and the discipline stimulated in turn
is not a substitute for the great pilgrimage (al-h:ajj al-akbar).
a vast literature of comprehensive biographical dictionaries
The pilgrimage has, through the centuries, played an impor-
recording thousands of transmitters’ names, their lives, char-
tant role, not only in strengthening general unity in the glob-
acter, and whether a transmitter actually met or could have
al Muslim community but also in disseminating religious
met the person he claims to transmit from. The canons for
ideas both orthodox and S:u¯f¯ı, for it provides the occasion
criticizing transmitters were applied rigorously, and there is
for an annual meeting among religious leaders and scholars
hardly a transmitter who has escaped criticism.
from different parts of the Muslim world. For the past few
decades, it has also served to bring together political leaders
The experts on h:ad¯ıth also developed canons of “ratio-
and heads of Muslim states. In recent years, too, because of
nal critique” alongside the critique of the chains of transmis-
new travel facilities, the number of pilgrims has vastly in-
sion, but they applied the former with far less rigor than they
creased, sometimes exceeding two million each year.
did the latter. Although the specialists divided h:ad¯ıth into
several categories according to their “genuineness” and “reli-
Sunnah. The word sunnah literally means “a well-
ability,” to this day it remains the real desideratum of the sci-
trodden path,” but it was used before Islam in reference to
ence to work out and apply what is called historical criticism
usage or laws of a tribe and certain norms of intertribal con-
to the materials of h:ad¯ıth. The six authoritative Sunn¯ı collec-
duct accepted by various tribes as binding. After the rise of
tions of h:ad¯ıth date from the third century AH, while the fa-
Islam, it was used to denote the normative behavior of the
mous Sh¯ıE¯ı collection of al-Kul¯ın¯ı, Al-ka¯f¯ı (The Sufficient),
Muslim community, putatively derived from the Prophet’s
dates from the early fourth century. In modern times, the au-
teaching and conduct, and from the exemplary teaching of
thenticity of h:ad¯ıth and hence of the recorded sunnah of the
his immediate followers, since the latter was seen as an index
Prophet (although not so much the biographies of the
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4566
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
Prophet and historical works) has come under general attack
allowing for differences (furu¯q) and determining that they
at the hands of certain Western scholars and also of some
can be discounted, and (4) extending or interpreting the ratio
Muslim intellectuals—and this is happening increasingly—
legis to cover the new case. This methodology, although neat-
but the Eulama¯D have strenuously resisted these attacks be-
ly formulated in theory, became very difficult to wield in
cause a large majority of Islamic social and political institu-
practice primarily because of the differences of opinion with
tions and laws are either based on h:ad¯ıth or rationalized
regard to “relevant texts,” particularly in the case of h:ad¯ıth.
through it.
The fourth source or principle is called ijma¯ E, or consen-
Law. The well-known dictum among Western Islami-
sus. Although the concept of consensus in the sense of the
cists that, just as theology occupies the central place in Chris-
informal agreement of the community (for Islam has no
tianity, in Islam the central place belongs to law is essentially
churches and no councils to produce formal decisions) has
correct. Law was the earliest discipline to develop in Islam
in practice an overriding authority, since even the fact and
because the Muslims needed it to administer the huge empire
the authenticity of a QurDanic revelation are finally guaran-
they had built with such astonishing rapidity. Recent re-
teed by it, there is no consensus on the definition of consen-
search has held that the early materials for Islamic law were
sus: it varies from the consensus of the Eulama¯D, through that
largely created by administrators on the basis of ad hoc deci-
of the Eulama¯D of a certain age, to that of the entire commu-
sions and that, in the second stage, systematic efforts were
nity. There is also a difference of opinion as to whether a cer-
made by jurists to “islamize” these materials and bring them
tain consensus can be repealed by a subsequent one or not;
under the aegis of the QurDa¯n and the sunnah. (The content
the reply of the traditionalists is usually, though not always,
of the latter, in the form of h:ad¯ıth, developed alongside this
in the negative, while that of modern reformers is in the
activity of islamization.) This picture is probably too simplis-
positive.
tic, however, and it would be more correct to say that the
process of subsuming administrative materials and local cus-
A special category of punishments called h:udu¯d (sg.,
tom under the QurDa¯n and the sunnah went hand in hand
h:add) was established by jurists and includes penalties speci-
with the reverse process of deriving law from the QurDa¯n and
fied in the QurDa¯n for certain crimes: murder, theft, adultery,
whatever existed by way of the sunnah in the light of new
and false accusation of adultery, to which was later added
administrative experiences and local custom.
drunkenness. The theory is that since God himself has laid
down these penalties, they cannot be varied. But in view of
Although clarification of this issue requires further re-
the severity of the punishments, the jurists defined these
search, it is certain that up to the early third century AH the
crimes very narrowly (adultery, for example, is defined as the
schools of law were averse to the large-scale use of h:ad¯ıth in
penetration of the male organ into the female) and put such
the formulation of law and that, in fact, some scholars explic-
stringent conditions on the requisite evidence that it became
itly warned against the rise of “peripheral h:ad¯ıth” and ad-
practically unattainable (for example, in order to prove adul-
vised the acceptance of only that h:ad¯ıth that conformed to
tery, four eyewitnesses to the sexual act itself were required).
the QurDa¯n. However, the need for the anchoring authority
The legal maxim “Ward off h:add punishments by any
of the Prophet had become so great that in the latter half of
doubt” was also propounded, and the term doubt in classical
the second century AH al-Sha¯fıE¯ı (d. 204/819) made a strong
Islamic law had a far wider range than in any other known
and subsequently successful bid for the wholesale acceptance
system of law. In addition, Muslim jurists enunciated two
of “reliable” h:ad¯ıth—even if narrated by only one person. As
principles to create flexibility in shar¯ı Eah law and its applica-
a result, h:ad¯ıth multiplied at a far greater rate after al-Sha¯fıE¯ı
tion: necessity and public interest. The political authority,
than before him. Nevertheless, the followers of Abu¯ H:an¯ıfah
thanks to these two principles, could promulgate new mea-
(d. 767) continued to reject a single-chain h:ad¯ıth in favor
sures and even suspend the operations of the shar¯ı Eah law.
of a “sure, rational proof derived from the shar¯ı Eah princi-
In later medieval centuries, the Ottoman rulers and others
ples,” just as the followers of Ma¯lik (d. 795) continued to
systematically promulgated new laws by invoking these par-
give preference to the early “practice of Medina” over h:ad¯ıth.
ticular principles of the shar¯ı Eah.
The final framework of Islamic jurisprudence came to
After the concrete and systematic establishment of the
recognize four sources of law, two material and two formal.
schools of law during the fourth and fifth centuries AH, origi-
The first source is the text of the QurDa¯n, which constitutes
nal legal thought in Islam lost vitality; this development is
an absolute “decisive proof”; the second is h:ad¯ıth texts, al-
known as “the closure of the door of ijtiha¯d.” It was not that
though these can vary from school to school, particularly be-
new thinking was theoretically prohibited but rather that so-
tween the Sunn¯ı and the Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı schools. In new cases,
cial, intellectual, and political conditions were unfavorable
for which a “clear text” (nas:s:) is not available, a jurist must
to it. However, a procedure known as talf¯ıq (lit., “patch-
make the effort (ijtiha¯d) to find a correct answer himself. The
work”) was introduced whereby, if a certain provision in one
instrument of ijtiha¯d is analogical reasoning (qiya¯s), which
legal school caused particular hardship, a more liberal provi-
consists in (1) finding a text relevant to the new case in the
sion from another could be borrowed, without necessarily
QurDa¯n or the h:ad¯ıth, (2) discerning the essential similarity
taking over its reasoning. Thus, given the impracticality of
or ratio legis (called Eillat al-h:ukm) between the two cases, (3)
the H:anaf¯ı school’s regulation that a wife whose husband has
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4567
disappeared must wait more than ninety years before remar-
both become ka¯firs (non-Muslims), since the former was
rying (according to the reasoning that the wife must wait
guilty of serious maladministration, including nepotism, and
until her husband can be presumed dead through natural
the latter had submitted his claim to rule to human arbitra-
causes), the Ma¯lik¯ı school’s provision that such a wife may
tion, even though he had been duly elected caliph. The
marry after four years of waiting (Ma¯lik reasoned that the
Kha¯rij¯ıs, who were exemplars of piety and utterly egalitarian,
maximum period of gestation, which he had himself wit-
and who believed that the only qualification for rule is a per-
nessed, was four years) was taken over in practice.
son’s goodness and piety, without consideration of race,
color, or sex, were mostly bedouin, which largely explains
Of the four extant Sunn¯ı schools of law, the H:anaf¯ı is
both their egalitarianism and their fanaticism. They were
prevalent in the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, Turkey,
“professional rebels” who never united but always fought
Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq; the Ma¯lik¯ı school in North
successive governments in divided groups and were almost
Africa extends from Libya through Morocco; the Sha¯fıE¯ı, in
entirely crushed out of existence by the middle of the second
Southeast Asia, with a considerable following in Egypt; and
century AH.
the H:anbal¯ı school, in Saudi Arabia. Within Sh¯ıE¯ı jurispru-
dence, the JaEfar¯ı (Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı) school prevails in Iran. At
While the Kha¯rij¯ıs were not a systematic theological
one time, the “literalist” (Z:a¯hir¯ı) school was represented by
school, a full-fledged school, that of the MuEtazilah, soon de-
some highly prominent jurists, but it has practically no fol-
veloped from their milieu. These thinkers, who emerged dur-
lowing now, while the Kha¯rij¯ı school is represented in
ing the second and third centuries AH, held that while grave
Oman, and to a limited extent in East and North Africa.
sinners do not become ka¯firs, neither do they remain Mus-
lims. Their central thesis concerned what they called “God’s
It must finally be pointed out that when we speak of Is-
justice and unity,” which they defended to its logical conclu-
lamic law, we mean all of human behavior, including, for ex-
sion. God’s justice demands that human beings have a free
ample, intentions. This law is therefore very different from
and efficacious will; only then can they be the locus of moral
other systems of law in the strict sense of the term. Islamic
responsibility and deserve praise and blame here and reward
law does not draw any line between law and morality, and
and punishment in the hereafter. They carried this belief to
hence much of it is not enforceable in a court, but only at
the point of holding that just as God, in his justice, cannot
the bar of conscience. This has had its advantages in that Is-
punish one who does good, neither can he forgive one who
lamic law is shot through with moral considerations, which
does evil, for otherwise the difference between good and evil
in turn have given a moral temper to Muslim society. But
would disappear. This position certainly offended religious
it has also suffered from the disadvantage that general moral
sensitivities, since the QurDa¯n repeatedly mentions that God
propositions have very often not been given due weight and
will forgive “whom he will” (2:284, 3:129 et al.).
have been selectively construed by jurists as mere “recom-
mendations” rather than commands that must be expressed
For the MuEtazilah, God plays no role in the sphere of
in terms of concrete legislation: the result has been an over-
human moral acts, except that he gives man moral support
emphasis on the specific dos and don’ts of the QurDa¯n at the
provided man does good by himself; God’s activity is limited
expense of general propositions. For example, the QurDanic
to nature. All anthropomorphic statements in the QurDa¯n
verse 4:3, permitting polygamy up to four wives, was given
were interpreted by the MuEtazilah either as metaphors or as
legal force by classical Muslim jurists, but the rider contained
Arabic idioms. They rejected h:ad¯ıth outright because much
in the same verse, that if a person cannot do justice among
of it was anthropomorphic and refused to base law upon it
co-wives, then he must marry only one, was regarded by
on the ground that h:ad¯ıth transmission was unreliable. They
them as a recommendation to the husband’s conscience that
further held that good and evil in terms of general principles
he should do justice.
(but not the positive religious duties) were knowable by
human reason without the aid of revelation but that revela-
Theology. At an elementary level, theological specula-
tion supplied the necessary motivation for the pursuit of
tion in Islam also began very early and was occasioned by the
goodness. In conformity with this view, they believed that
assassination of EUthma¯n, the third caliph (d. 665), but its
one must rationally ponder the purposes of the QurDanic or-
rise and development was totally independent of the law, and
dinances, for in laying these down, God had a positive inter-
the first great theological systems were constructed only in
est in furthering human well-being (mas:lah:ah). This presum-
the third and fourth centuries AH. The first question to be-
ably means that law should be rationally grounded; there is,
come the focal point of dispute was the definition of a true
however, no evidence that the MuEtazilah ever attempted to
Muslim. The earliest political and theological schism was
work out a legal system.
represented by the Kha¯rij¯ıs (from khuru¯j, meaning “seces-
sion”), who contended that a Muslim ceases to be a Muslim
On the issue of God’s unity, the MuEtazilah rejected the
by the commission of a single serious sin such as theft or
separation of God’s attributes from his essence, for this
adultery, no matter how many times that person may recite
would entail belief in a multiplicity of eternal beings,
the profession of faith, “There is no god but God and
amounting to polytheism. They did not deny that God is
Muh:ammad is his prophet,” unless he or she repents sincere-
“living,” “knowing,” and “willing,” as divine activities, but
ly. They held that EUthma¯n and EAl¯ı (the fourth caliph) had
they denied that God is “life,” “knowledge,” and “will,” as
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ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
substantives. The development of this particular doctrine
both time and space, and they reject causation and the entire
was possibly influenced by Christian discussions on the na-
idea of movement or process. God is under no obligation to
ture of the Trinity, and how and whether three hypostases
do what human beings call justice; on the contrary, whatever
could be one person, because the terms in which it is formu-
God does is just. Justice involves reference to certain norms
lated are all too foreign to the milieu of pristine Islam. As
under which the agent works; since God has no norms to
a consequence of this doctrine, the MuEtazilah also denied
obey, there is no question of doing justice on his part. He
the eternity of the QurDa¯n, the very speech of God, since they
also promised in the QurDa¯n that he will reward those who
denied the substantiality of all divine attributes. When their
do good and punish those who do evil, and this is the proper
credo was made state creed under Caliph al-MaDmu¯n, they
and only assurance we have of the fate of human beings; if
persecuted opposition religious leaders such as Ibn H:anbal
he had chosen to do the reverse, no one could question him.
(d. 855), but because of these very doctrines—denial of
It also follows that good and bad are not natural characteris-
God’s forgiveness and of the eternity of the QurDa¯n—they
tics of human acts, but that acts become good or bad by
became unpopular, and Caliph al-Mutawakkil (d. 861)
God’s declaration through the revelation that he has been
brought Sunnism back to ascendancy.
sending since Adam, the first prophet. It is, therefore, futile
to probe rationally into the purposes of divine injunctions,
What is in fact called Sunnism means nothing more
for these are the result of God’s will.
than the majority of the community; it had its content de-
fined in large measure as a reaction to the Kha¯rij¯ıs and the
On the question of divine attributes, al-AshEar¯ı taught
MuEtazilah, for Sunn¯ı orthodoxy is but a refined and sophis-
that these are real, although they are “neither God, nor other
ticated form of that popular reaction that crystallized against
than God.” God has an eternal attribute of “speech,” which
these groups. There, no small role was played by popular
al-AshEar¯ı called “psychic speech,” manifested in all divinely
preachers and popular piety, which had already found its way
revealed books. Although the QurDa¯n as God’s “psychic
into h:ad¯ıth. In doctrinal form, this reaction can be described
speech” is eternal, as something recited, written, and heard
as MurjiDism (from irja¯ E, “postponement”), the belief that
it is also created: one cannot point to a written copy of the
once adults have openly professed that there is no God but
QurDa¯n or its recital and say “This is eternal.”
Alla¯h and Muh:ammad is his prophet, if there is no reason
to suspect that they are lying, mad, or under constraint, then
A contemporary of al-AshEar¯ı, the Central Asian theolo-
such people are Muslims, irrespective of whether their deeds
gian al-Ma¯tur¯ıd¯ı (d. 944), also formulated an “official”
are good or whether their beliefs quite conform to ortho-
Sunn¯ı creed and theology that in some fundamental ways
doxy, and that final judgment on their status must be “post-
was nearer to the MuEtazil¯ı stance. He recognized “power-
poned” until the Last Day and left to God.
before-the-act” in man and also declared good and bad to be
natural and knowable by human reason. Whereas al-AshEar¯ı
In conscious opposition to the Kha¯rij¯ıs and the
belonged to the Sha¯fıE¯ı school of law, which was based prin-
MuEtazilah, the MurjiDah were content with minimal knowl-
cipally on h:ad¯ıth, al-Ma¯tur¯ıd¯ı was a member of the H:anaf¯ı
edge of Islam and Islamic conduct on the part of a believer.
school, which gave greater scope to reason. Yet, in subse-
On the question of free will, they leaned heavily toward pre-
quent centuries, the former’s views almost completely
destinarianism, and some were outright predestinarians.
eclipsed the latter’s, although in the Indian subcontinent
There is evidence that the Umayyad rulers supported the
such prominent thinkers as Ah:mad Sirhind¯ı (d. 1624) and
MurjiDah, apparently for their own political ends, since they
Sha¯h Wal¯ı Alla¯h of Delhi (d. 1762) criticized AshEar¯ı theolo-
were interested in discouraging questions about how they
gy. The reason behind this sweeping and enduring success
had come to power and set up a dynastic rule that abandoned
of AshEar¯ı theology seems to be the overwhelming spread of
the first four caliphs’ model and high moral and political
Sufism (particularly in its pantheistic form), which, in theo-
standards. However, it would have been impossible for these
logical terms, was much more akin to AshEar¯ı thought than
rulers to succeed if popular opinion had not swung toward
to that of MuEtazilah or even the Ma¯tur¯ıd¯ıyah, in that it
the MurjiDah, particularly in reaction against the Kha¯rij¯ıs.
sought to obliterate the human self in the all-embracing and
all-effacing self of God, the most important nodal point of
The chief formulator of the Sunn¯ı creed was Abu¯
this conjunction being al-Ghaza¯l¯ı.
al-H:asan al-AshEar¯ı (d. 935), a MuEtazil¯ı who later came
under the influence of the traditionists (ahl al-h:ad¯ıth) and
In the intellectual field, as we shall see, Sufism grew at
turned the tables on his erstwhile preceptor and fellows
the expense of theology and utilized the worldview of the
among the MuEtazilah. For al-AshEar¯ı, people cannot pro-
Muslim philosophers. On the moral and spiritual planes,
duce their own actions; rather, God does, and neither man
however, the powerful corroboration of theology and Sufism
nor nature has any powers or potencies before the actual act.
stimulated the vehement reaction of the jurist and theologian
At the time of the act, for example, when fire actually burns,
Ibn Taym¯ıyah (d. 1328). Struggling all his life against popu-
God creates a power for that particular act. Thus God creates
lar S:u¯f¯ı superstitions, against worship of saints and their
an action, while human beings “appropriate” or “acquire”
shrines, and against AshEar¯ı theology, he tried to resurrect the
(kasaba) it and thereby become responsible for “their” acts.
moral activism of the QurDa¯n and the sunnah. He regarded
The AshEar¯ı theologians are, therefore, atomists in terms of
the MuEtazil¯ı denial of God’s role in human actions as an
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4569
error but considered the AshEar¯ı denial of human free and
able by human beings. Yet there were also S:u¯f¯ıs who, most
effective will as extremely dangerous and, in fact, stated that
probably under the influence of Hellenistic Christianity, be-
pantheistic S:u¯f¯ıs and the AshEar¯ı theologians were considera-
lieved in human transubstantiation into God. In 922,
bly worse than not only the MuEtazilah but even the Zoroas-
al-H:alla¯j, a representative of this school, was charged with
trians. He held that the Zoroastrians’ postulation of two gods
having uttered the blasphemous statement “I am God” and
was undoubtedly an error but argued that they had been
was crucified in Baghdad. Yet, a somewhat earlier mystic,
forced into this belief by the undeniable distinction between
al-Bist:a¯m¯ı (d. 874), who is said to have committed even
good and evil that both AshEar¯ı theology and pantheistic Su-
graver blasphemies, was never touched by the law. It may be,
fism virtually obliterated, leaving no basis for any worthwhile
as some contend, that the real reasons behind al-H:alla¯j’s exe-
religion. (As we shall see, a similar argument was conducted
cution were political, or it may be related to the fact that
within Sufism by a later Indian S:u¯f¯ı, Ah:mad Sirhind¯ı.) Ibn
al-H:alla¯j was in the capital, Baghdad, whereas al-Bist:a¯m¯ı
Taym¯ıyah sought to solve the perennial problem of free will
lived in an outlying province.
versus divine omnipotence by saying that the actual applica-
tion of the principle of divine omnipotence occurs only in
This example of such divergent interpretations of a fun-
the past, while the shar¯ı Eah imperatives are relevant only to
damental doctrine should warn us that with Sufism we are
the future. His teaching remained more or less dormant until
dealing with a truly protean phenomenon: not only do inter-
the eighteenth century, when it inspired the Wahha¯b¯ı reli-
pretations differ, but experiences themselves must differ as
gious revolution in the Arabian Peninsula.
well. However, under pressure from the Eulama¯D, who re-
fused to acknowledge any objective validity for the S:u¯f¯ı expe-
Sufism. The mainspring of Sufism lay in the desire to
rience, the S:u¯f¯ıs formulated a doctrine of “spiritual stations”
cultivate the inner life and to attain a deeper, personal under-
(maqa¯ma¯t) that adepts successively attained through their
standing of Islam. Among the many proposed etymologies
progressive spiritual itinerary (sulu¯k). These stations are as
of the word s:u¯f¯ı, the most credible is the one that derives it
objectifiable as any experience can be. Although the various
from s:u¯f, meaning “coarse wool,” a reference to the kind of
schools have differed in the lists of these stations, they usually
garb that many S:u¯f¯ıs wore. The first phase of this spiritual
enumerate them as follows: detachment from the world
movement was definitely moral, and the works of most early
(zuhd), patience (s:abr), gratitude (shukr) for whatever God
S:u¯f¯ıs, those of the second and third centuries AH, show a pre-
gives, love (h:ubb), and pleasure (rid:a¯) with whatever God
occupation with constant self-examination and close scrutiny
desires.
of one’s motivation.
After the violent death of al-H:alla¯j, another important
S:u¯f¯ı doctrine. The dialectic of the trappings and self-
doctrine of the dialectic of S:u¯f¯ı experience was developed by
deception of the soul developed by H:ak¯ım al-Tirmidh¯ı
orthodox S:u¯f¯ıs. According to this doctrine, the S:u¯f¯ı alter-
(d. 898) in his Khatm al-awliya¯ E (The seal of the saints) pro-
nates between two different types of spiritual states. One type
vides one extraordinary example of spiritual insight, but this
is the experience of unity (where all multiplicity disappears)
strongly moral trend continues from H:asan al-Bas:r¯ı
and of the inner reality. In this state the S:u¯f¯ı is “absent” from
(d. 728) through al-Muh:a¯sib¯ı (d. 857) to his pupil al-Junayd
the world and is “with God”; this is the state of “intoxica-
(d. 910). The essence of their doctrine is moral contrition
tion” (sukr). The other state, that of “sobriety” (s:ah:w), occurs
and detachment of the mind from the “good things” of the
when the S:u¯f¯ı “returns” to multiplicity and is “with the
world (zuhd). But from its very early times, Sufism also had
world.” Whereas many S:u¯f¯ıs had earlier contended that “in-
a strong devotional element, as exemplified by the woman
toxication” is superior to “sobriety” and that, therefore, the
saint Ra¯biEah al-EAdaw¯ıyah (d. 801). The goal of love of God
saints (awliya¯ D) are superior to the prophets (who are “with
led to the doctrine of fana¯ D or “annihilation” (that is, of the
the world” and legislate for society), the orthodox S:u¯f¯ıs now
human self in God). There were definitely Hellenistic Chris-
asserted the opposite, for the goodness of saints is limited to
tian influences at work here. But the annihilation ideal was
themselves, whereas the goodness of prophets is transitive,
soon amended into “survival (baqa¯ D) after annihilation,” or
since they save the society as well as themselves.
(re)gaining of a new self, and this formula was given different
interpretations.
On the basis of this doctrine, al-H:alla¯j’s famous state-
ment was rationalized as “one uttered in a state of intoxica-
Most S:u¯f¯ıs taught that, after the destruction of the
tion” and as such not to be taken at face value. But it was
human attributes (not the self), mortals acquire divine attri-
al-Ghaza¯l¯ı who effected a meaningful and enduring synthesis
butes (not the divine self) and “live in” them. The firm view
of S:u¯f¯ı “innerism” and the orthodox belief system. A follow-
of the orthodox and influential S:u¯f¯ıs al-Junayd was that
er of al-AshEar¯ı in theology and of al-Sha¯fıE¯ı in law,
when a person sheds human attributes and these attributes
al-Ghaza¯l¯ı also studied thoroughly the philosophic tradition
undergo annihilation, that person comes to think that he or
of Ibn S¯ına¯ (known in the West as Avicenna, d. 1037), and
she has become God. But God soon gives that person the
although he refuted its important theses bearing on religion
consciousness of otherness (not alienation) from God, which
in the famous work Taha¯fut al-fala¯sifah (The Incoherence of
is extremely painful and is only somewhat relieved by God’s
the Philosophers), he was influenced by it in important ways
also giving the consolation that this is the highest state attain-
as well. He then adopted Sufism as his “way to God” and
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ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
composed his magnum opus, Ih:ya¯D Eulu¯m al-d¯ın (The Revivi-
it was tolerated by the orthodox only when it was expressed
fication of the Sciences of the Faith). His net accomplish-
in poetry, not in prose. Also, because of the latitude and
ment lies in the fact that he tried to infuse a new spiritual
broad range of S:u¯f¯ı spirituality, from roughly the twelfth
life into law and theology on the one hand and to instill so-
century to the impact of modernization in the nineteenth
briety and responsibility into Sufism on the other, for he re-
century, the more creative Muslim minds drifted from or-
pudiated the S:u¯f¯ı shat:ah:a¯t (intoxicated utterances) as mean-
thodoxy into the S:u¯f¯ı fold, and philosophy itself, although
ingless.
it remained rational in its methods, became mystical in its
goals.
Within a century after al-Ghaza¯l¯ı’s death, however, a
S:u¯f¯ı doctrine based on out-and-out monism was being
I have already noted the severe reaction against S:u¯f¯ı ex-
preached by Ibn al-EArab¯ı (d. 1240). Born in Spain and edu-
cesses on the part of Ibn Taym¯ıyah in the fourteenth centu-
cated there and in North Africa, Ibn al-EArab¯ı eventually
ry. It may be mentioned here that for Ibn Taym¯ıyah the ulti-
traveled to the Muslim East; he lived for many years in
mate distinction between good and evil is absolutely
Mecca, where he wrote his major work, Al-futu¯h:a¯t
necessary for any worthwhile religion that seeks to inculcate
al-makk¯ıyah (The Meccan Discoveries), and finally settled in
moral responsibility, and further, that this distinction is to-
Damascus, where he died. Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s writings are the
tally dependent upon belief in pure monotheism and the
high-water mark of theosophic Sufism, which goes beyond
equally absolute distinction between man and God. He sets
the ascetic or ecstatic Sufism of the earlier period, by laying
little value on the formal fact that a person belongs to the
cognitive claims to a unique, intuitive experience (known as
Muslim community; he evaluates all human beings on the
kashf, “direct discovery,” or dhawq, “taste”) that was immune
scale of monotheism. Thus, as seen above, he regards panthe-
from error and radically different from and superior to the
istic S:u¯f¯ıs (and, to a large extent, because of their predesti-
rational knowledge of the philosophers and the theologians.
narianism, the AshEar¯ıyah as well), as being equivalent to
polytheists; then come the Sh¯ıEah and Christians because
Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s doctrine, known as Unity of Being
both consider a human being to be a divine incarnation; and
(wah:dat al-wuju¯d), teaches that everything is in one sense
last come Zoroastrians and the MuEtazilah, since both posit
God and in another sense not-God. He holds that, given
two ultimate powers.
God, the transcendent, another factor that in itself is not de-
scribable “either as existent or as nonexistent” comes to play
Later, the Indian shaykh of the Naqshband¯ı order,
a crucial role in the unfolding of reality. This factor is neither
Ah:mad Sirhind¯ı (d. 1624), undertook a similar reform of
God nor the world; it is a “third thing,” but it is God with
Sufism from within. His massive Maktu¯ba¯t-i Ah:mad
God and world with the world. It is the stuff of which both
Sirhind¯ı (Letters), the main vehicle of his reform, besides the
the attributes of God (for God as transcendent has no names
training of disciples, was twice translated into Ottoman
and no attributes) and the content of the world are made.
Turkish and was influential in Turkey; in the Arab Middle
It is eternal with the eternal and temporal with the temporal;
East, his reformist thought was carried and spread in the
it does not exist partially and divided in things: the whole
nineteenth century. Sirhind¯ı, who accepts Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s
of it is God, and the whole of it is the world, and the whole
philosophical scheme at the metaphysical level, introduces a
of it is everything in the world. This “third thing” turns out
radical moral dualism at the level of God’s attributes and, in-
finally to be the Perfect or Primordial Human Being (who
stead of identifying the temporal world with the stuff of di-
is identified with the eternal, not the temporal,
vine attributes, as Ibn al-EArab¯ı does, regards that world as
Muh:ammad), in whose mirror God sees himself and who
being essentially evil, but evil that has to be transformed into
sees himself in God’s mirror. This immanent God and
good through the activity of the divine attributes. The basic
Human Being are not only interdependent but are the ob-
error of the common S:u¯f¯ıs, for him, is that instead of helping
verse and converse of the same coin. There is little doubt that
to transform this evil into good, as God wants to do through
Ibn al-EArab¯ı represents a radical humanism, a veritable apo-
his attributes, they flee from it. The spiritual heights to
theosis of humanity.
which they think they are ascending are, therefore, a pure de-
lusion, for the real good is this evil, “this earth,” once it has
This monistic Sufism found certain devoted and distin-
been transformed. But this realization requires a constant
guished exponents in Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s school, in both prose
struggle with evil, not a flight from it. It is a prophet, then,
and poetry, the most illustrious and influential representative
not a saint, who undertakes the real divine task, and the true
of the latter being Jala¯l al-D¯ın Ru¯m¯ı (d. 1273), whose
test of a person’s ascent to real spiritual heights is whether
Mathnav¯ı in Persian has been hailed as the “QurDa¯n in the
he or she reenters the earth in order to improve and redeem
Persian language.” Through poetry, moreover, it has had a
it. Despite the efforts of Ibn Taym¯ıyah, Sirhind¯ı, and other
profound and literally incalculable influence on the general
figures, however, Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s influence has been, until
intellectual culture of Islam, in terms of a liberal humanism,
today, very strong in the Muslim world, not just on Sufism
indeed, latitudinarianism, and among the lower strata of Is-
but on Islamic poetry as well.
lamic society even antinomianism. A striking feature of this
antinomianism, where orthodoxy was unashamedly scoffed
S:u¯f¯ı orders. Up to the twelfth century, Sufism was a
at and ridiculed for its rigidity and narrow confines, is that
matter of limited circles of a spiritual elite that might be aptly
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4571
described as “schools” with different spiritual techniques and
the community—have been dealt with above. The Sh¯ıE¯ı
even different spiritual ideologies. From the twelfth century
schism grew out of the claim of the Sh¯ıEah (a word meaning
on, however, they developed into networks of orders, involv-
“partisans,” in this context “the partisans of EAl¯ı”) that fol-
ing the masses on a large scale. Systems of S:u¯f¯ı hospices—
lowing the Prophet, rule over Muslims belongs rightfully
called variously za¯wiyahs (in Arabic), tekkes (in Turkish), and
only to EAl¯ı, Muh:ammad’s cousin and son-in-law, and to his
kha¯naga¯hs (in Iran and the Indian subcontinent)—where the
descendants. This doctrine, known as “legitimism,” was op-
S:u¯f¯ı shaykh lived (usually with his family in the interior of
posed to the Kha¯rij¯ı view that rule is open to any good Mus-
the building) and guided his clientele, grew up from Moroc-
lim on a universal basis and to the Sunn¯ı view, which was
co to Southeast Asia. Although in some of the hospices or-
no more than a rationalization of actual facts, that “rulers
thodox religious disciplines such as theology and law were
must come from the Quraysh,” the Prophet’s tribe, but not
taught along with S:u¯f¯ı works, orthodox education was gen-
necessarily from his clan or house.
erally carried on in the madrasahs, or colleges, while only
The Sh¯ıEah, in early Islam, were primarily sociopolitical
S:u¯f¯ı works were taught in the S:u¯f¯ı centers.
dissidents, sheltering under the umbrella of “the house of the
S:u¯f¯ı orders can be divided into those that are global and
Prophet” but actually representing various elements of social
those that are regional. The most global is the Qa¯dir¯ı order,
protest against Umayyad Arab heavy-handedness and injus-
named after EAbd al-Qa¯dir al-J¯ıla¯n¯ı (d. 1166), with branches
tices. But it was not long before they began establishing an
all over the world that are tied only loosely to the center at
ideological and theological base for themselves. Until well
Baghdad. Somewhat more regional are the Suhraward¯ı and
into the third century AH, Sh¯ıE¯ı theology was crude and ma-
the Naqshband¯ı orders. The latter, which originated in Cen-
terialistic: it asserted that God was a corporeal being who sat
tral Asia in the thirteenth century, formulated an explicit ide-
on an actual throne and created space by physical motion.
ology early in its career to try to influence the rulers and their
Hisha¯m ibn al-H:akam (d. 814?), among the best known of
courts, with the result that they have often been politically
the early Sh¯ıE¯ı theologians, is reported to have said that God
active. One of its branches, the Khalwat¯ıyah, played a promi-
was “a little smaller than Mount Abu¯ Qab¯ıs.” There were
nent role in modernizing reform in Turkey during the eigh-
several other early Sh¯ıE¯ı theologians who attributed some
teenth and nineteenth centuries. Several of the S:u¯f¯ı orders
kind of body, including a physical body, to God, but begin-
have been associated with guilds and sometimes, particularly
ning in the latter half of the ninth century, Sh¯ıE¯ı theology
in Ottoman Turkey, have been directly involved in social
was radically transformed, inheriting and asserting with in-
protests and political rebellions against official oppression
creasing force the MuEtazil¯ı doctrine of human free will
and injustice.
against the Sunn¯ıs.
In the thirteenth century CE, through the work of the
Another broad and important division is that between
philosopher, theologian, and scientist Nas:¯ır al-D¯ın T:u¯s¯ı
urban and “rustic” orders. The former, particularly the
(d. 1273), philosophy entered Sh¯ıE¯ı theology, a process that
Naqshband¯ı order and its offshoots, were refined and close
was further facilitated by T:u¯s¯ı’s student, the influential theo-
to the orthodoxy of the Eulama¯D, with the result that an in-
logian al-H:ill¯ı (d. 1325). In his work on the creed, Tajr¯ıd
creasingly large number of the Eulama¯D gradually enrolled
al- Eaqa¯Did (Concise Statement of the Creeds), which was
themselves in these urban S:u¯f¯ı orders, particularly the ortho-
subsequently commented upon by both Sh¯ıE¯ı and Sunn¯ı
dox ones. By contrast, many of the rustic orders were without
theologians, T:u¯s¯ı describes man as “creator of his own ac-
discipline and law (b¯ı-shar E), especially in the Indian subcon-
tions.” T:u¯s¯ı, however, rejects the philosophical thesis of the
tinent, where they were often indistinguishable from the
eternity of the world. Here it is interesting to compare this
Hindu sa¯dhu¯s (monks). With the spread of modernization,
Sh¯ıE¯ı development with the Sunn¯ı position that was articu-
Sufism and S:u¯f¯ı orders have suffered greatly; in Turkey, they
lated about three-quarters of a century earlier at the hands
were suppressed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the 1920s,
of Fakhr al-D¯ın al-Ra¯z¯ı (d. 1209), who expanded the official
and their endowments were confiscated by the government.
Sunn¯ı theology by incorporating into it a discussion of major
It is interesting to note, however, that since the mid-
philosophical themes. But whereas the Sh¯ıEah accepted many
twentieth century some orders have experienced a revival in
philosophical theses into their theology, al-Ra¯z¯ı and other
the industrial urban centers of Muslim lands, probably in re-
Sunn¯ıs after him refuted all the philosophical theses point
action to the excessively materialistic outlook generated by
by point, thus erecting a theology that was an exclusive alter-
modernization, while in Central Asia their underground net-
native to philosophy. Against this background is probably to
works are waging anti-Soviet activities in an organized man-
be understood the fact that while philosophy was exorcised
ner. Correspondingly, in the West, several intellectuals, such
from the curricula in the Arab world from the thirteenth cen-
as Frithjof Schuon and Martin Lings, have actively turned
tury on and declined sharply in the rest of the Sunn¯ı world,
to S:u¯f¯ı devotion to escape the spiritual vacuity created by
it reached its zenith in Sh¯ıE¯ı Iran in the seventeenth century
their own overly materialistic culture.
and continues unabated until today, although many of the
Sects. There are two broad divisions within the Muslim
orthodox Sh¯ıEah continue to oppose it.
community, the Sunn¯ıs and the Sh¯ıEah. The theological
In law, the Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı school has long been recog-
views and the legal schools of the Sunn¯ıs—the majority of
nized as valid by the Sunn¯ıs, despite differences, the most
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4572
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
conspicuous being that Sh¯ıE¯ı law recognizes a temporary
sects (except the Zayd¯ıyah of Yemen) are regarded even by
marriage that may be contracted for a fixed period—a year,
the Twelvers themselves as heretical extremists (ghula¯t). The
a month, a week, or even a day. Among the Sh¯ıEah, the near-
main one among these, the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah, or Seveners, broke
est school to Sunnism, particularly in law, is that of the
with the Twelvers in a dispute over which son of the sixth
Zayd¯ıyah in Yemen, whose founder Zayd ibn EAl¯ı (d. 738),
imam was to be recognized as the latter’s successor: the
a brother of the fifth imam of the Sh¯ıEah, was a theology stu-
Twelvers refused to recognize the elder son, IsmaEil, because
dent of the first MuEtazil¯ı teacher, Wa¯s:il ibn EAt:a¯D (d. 748).
he drank wine, while the Seveners did recognize him (thus
the name Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı) and continue to await his return.
But the most characteristic doctrine of the Sh¯ıEah is
their esotericism. This has a practical aspect called taq¯ıyah,
The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah established a powerful and prosperous
which means dissimulation of one’s real beliefs in a generally
empire in North Africa and Egypt from the tenth to the
hostile atmosphere. This doctrine, apparently adopted in
twelfth centuries. Prior to this, the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah had been an
early Islamic times, when the Sh¯ıEah became a subterranean
underground revolutionary movement, but once they at-
movement, as it were, in the wake of political failure, subse-
tained political power, they settled down as part of the status
quently became a part of Sh¯ıE¯ı dogma. But in its theoretical
quo. Since the late eleventh century, they have been divided
aspect esotericism is defined by the doctrine that religion,
into two branches: the Niza¯r¯ıyah, commonly known by the
and particularly the QurDa¯n, has, besides the apparent, “ex-
name Assassins, who were active in Syria and Iran, and in
ternal” meaning, hidden esoteric meanings that can be
recent years have been followers of a hereditary Aga Khan,
known only through spiritual contact with the Hidden
and the MustaEliyah, who are mainly centered in Bombay.
Imam. In the early centuries of Islam, this principle of es-
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı philosophy, which is reflected in the Rasa¯Dil Ikhwa¯n
otericism was probably unbridled and fanciful in its applica-
al-S:afa¯ E (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity), produced by a
tion, as is apparent from the ninth- to tenth-century QurDa¯n
secret society in the late ninth century, is essentially based
commentary of al-Qumm¯ı. But as Shiism was progressively
on Neoplatonic thought with influences from Gnosticism
permeated by rational thought, esotericism became more sys-
and occult sects.
tematic, even if it may often seem farfetched (as in certain
philosophical interpretations of the QurDa¯n). As pointed out
The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı sect, which was organized and propagated
earlier, the S:u¯f¯ıs also patently practiced esotericism in under-
through a well-knit network of missionaries (du Ea¯h), adheres
standing the materials of religion, particularly the QurDa¯n;
to a belief in cyclic universes: each cycle comprises seven
the ultimate common source of both Shiism and Sufism lies
Speakers, or Messengers, with a revelation and a law; each
in Gnosticism and other comparable currents of thought,
Speaker is followed in turn by one of the seven Silent Ones,
and, indeed, Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s interpretations are often purely
or Imams. The last imam, when he appears, will abrogate all
the work of his uncontrolled imagination.
organized religions and their laws and will institute a new era
of a universal religion. During the leadership of the third Aga
Beginning from about the middle of the tenth century,
Khan (d. 1957), the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı community started drawing
when the Sunn¯ı caliph in Baghdad came under the control
closer to the mainstream of Islam, a trend that seems to be
of the Sh¯ıE¯ı Buyid dynasty, there were public commemora-
gaining further strength at present under Karim Aga Khan’s
tions of the martyrdom of H:usayn at Karbala on the tenth
leadership: Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı intellectuals now describe their faith as
of Muh:arram (EA¯shu¯ra¯D). These ceremonies caused riots in
the “ Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı t:ar¯ıqah [spiritual order] of Islam.” There are
Baghdad and still do so in some countries such as Pakistan
other “extremist” subsects within the Sh¯ıEah, including the
and India today. The commemoration is traditionally
Druze, Nusayriyah, and EAlaw¯ıyu¯n. Of these, the Druze are
marked by public processions in which participants lament-
the most prominent. This sect arose in the eleventh century
ing the death of the Prophet’s grandson beat their breasts and
as a cult of the eccentric Fatimid ruler al-H:ak¯ım, who myste-
backs with heavy iron chains. Scenes of H:usayn’s death are
riously disappeared in 1021.
re-created in passion plays known as ta Eziyahs, and he is eulo-
gized in moving sermons and poetry recitals. Fed from child-
Later sects. In more recent times, there have been two
hood with such representational enactments of this event, a
noteworthy sectarian developments, one within Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam
Sh¯ıE¯ı Muslim is likely to develop a deep sense of tragedy and
in mid-nineteenth-century Iran and the other within Sunn¯ı
injustice resulting in an ideal of martyrdom that is capable
Islam in late nineteenth-century India. During an anticlerical
of being manipulated into outbursts of frenzied emotional-
movement in Iran, a certain Muh:ammad EAl¯ı of Shiraz
ism, like the spectacular events of the Iranian Revolution.
claimed to be the Ba¯b, or “Gate,” to God. He was executed
by the government under pressure from the Eulama¯D in 1850.
Sh¯ı E¯ı subsects. In the first and second centuries of the
After him, his two disciples, Subh:-i Azal and Baha¯D Alla¯h,
Islamic era, Shiism served as an umbrella for all kinds of ide-
went different ways, and the latter subsequently declared his
ologies, with a general social protest orientation, and the ear-
faith to be an independent religion outside Islam. While the
liest heresiographers enumerate dozens of Sh¯ıE¯ı sects, several
origin of the Baha¯D¯ı religion was marked by strong eschato-
with extremely heretical and antinomian views. The main
logical overtones, it later developed an ideology of pacifism
surviving body, the Ithna¯ EAshar¯ıyah, or Twelvers, number
and internationalism and won a considerable number of con-
probably between fifty and sixty million people. All other
verts in North America early in the twentieth century. In
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ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
4573
Iran itself, Ba¯b¯ıs and Baha¯D¯ıs are frequent targets of clerical
While these premodernist reform movements laid great
persecution, and many of them have been executed under the
emphasis on ijtiha¯d, in practice their ijtiha¯d meant that Mus-
Khomeini regime.
lims should be enabled to disengage themselves from their
present “degenerate” condition and to recover pristine Islam.
The Sunn¯ı sect called the Ah:mad¯ıyah arose in the
Also, it is a general characteristic of all fundamentalist move-
1880s when Ghula¯m Ah:mad of Qadiya¯n (a village in East
ments that in order to “simplify” religion and make it practi-
Punjab) laid claim to prophethood. He claimed to be at once
cal, they debunk the intellectualism of the past and discour-
a “manifestation” of the prophet Muh:ammad, the Second
age the growth of future intellectualism. In such cases
Advent of Jesus, and an avatar of Kr:s:n:a for the Hindus. It
education becomes so simplified that it is virtually sterile,
is possible that he wanted to unite various religions under his
thus leaving little possibility for ijtiha¯d. Of the fundamental-
leadership. After his death, his followers constituted them-
ist groups I have described above, the progenitors of the Indi-
selves as an independent community with an elected khal¯ıfah
an and Libyan movements were sophisticated and accom-
(successor; i.e., caliph). When the first caliph died in 1911,
plished scholars, but the leaders of the other three had only
the Ah:mad¯ıyah split in two: the main body carried on the
a modicum of learning and were primarily activists.
founder’s claim to prophethood under Ah:mad’s son, Bash¯ır
al-D¯ın, while the other, the Lahore group, claimed that
Nonetheless, these movements signaled real stirrings in
Ghula¯m Ah:mad was not a prophet, nor had he claimed to
the soul of Islam and paved the way for the intellectual activi-
be one, but rather that he was a reformer or “renovator” (mu-
ty of the Muslim modernists—Muslims who had been ex-
jaddid) of Islam. Both groups have been active with mission-
posed to Western ideas and who, by integrating certain key
ary zeal, particularly in Europe and America. In 1974, the
ones among them with the teaching of the QurDa¯n, produced
National Assembly of Pakistan, where the main body had es-
brilliant solutions to the crucial problems then faced by Is-
tablished its headquarters after the creation of the state, de-
lamic society. The influence of premodernist reformism
clared both groups to be “non-Muslim minorities.”
upon the modernists is apparent from the fact that they keep
the QurDa¯n and the tradition of the Prophet as ultimate refer-
Modernism. In the eighteenth century, against a back-
ents for reform while criticizing or rejecting the medieval
ground of general stagnation, a puritanical fundamentalist
heritage. Thus, although their individual views regarding, for
movement erupted in Arabia under Muh:ammad ibn EAbd
example, the relationship between faith and reason differ, all
al-Wahha¯b (1703–1792). The movement called for a return
of them insist on the cultivation of positive sciences, appeal-
to the purist Islam of the QurDa¯n and the sunnah and its un-
ing to numerous verses of the QurDa¯n that state that the en-
adulterated monotheism, uncompromised by the popular
tire universe has been made subservient to good ends of hu-
cults of saints and their shrines. Ibn EAbd al-Wahha¯b married
mankind and that we must study and use it.
into the family of SaEu¯d, a chieftain of Najd, who accepted
his teaching and brought all Arabia under his ruling ideolo-
In the political sphere, citing QurDa¯n 42:38, which says
gy. At the same time, in the Indian subcontinent, Sha¯h Wal¯ı
that Muslims should decide all their affairs through mutual
Alla¯h of Delhi, a highly sophisticated intellectual (said to
consultation (shu¯ra¯, actually a pre-Islamic Arab institution
have been a fellow student of Ibn EAbd al-Wahha¯b during
confirmed by the QurDa¯n), the modernists contended that
his stay in Medina), also advocated a return to pristine Islam
whereas the QurDa¯n teaches democracy, the Muslims had de-
although, unlike his Arabian contemporary, he was a S:u¯f¯ı at
viated from this norm and acquiesced to autocratic rule. Sim-
a high spiritual level.
ilarly, on the subject of women, the modernists argued that
the QurDa¯n had granted equal rights to men and women (ex-
In the nineteenth century a reformist militant group
cept in certain areas of economic life where the burden of
called the Jiha¯d movement arose out of Wal¯ı Alla¯h’s school,
earning and supporting the family is squarely laid on men),
and three more movements followed in Africa—the Sanu¯s¯ı
but the medieval practice of the Muslims had clearly depart-
in Libya, the Fulbe in West Africa, and the Mahdists in the
ed from the QurDa¯n and ended by depriving women of their
Sudan. Although these three movements emerged from dif-
rights. Regarding polygamy, the modernists stated that per-
ferent environments, common to all of them was a reformist
mission for polygamy (up to four wives) had been given
thrust in terms of the recovery of the “true pristine Islam”
under special conditions, with the proviso that if the hus-
of the QurDa¯n and the Prophet, particularly emphasizing mo-
band could not do justice among his co-wives then he must
notheism; an insistence upon ijtiha¯d, that is, rejection of the
marry only one wife, and that finally the QurDa¯n itself had
blind following tradition in both theology and law in favor
declared such justice to be impossible to attain (4:129).
of an attempt to discover and formulate new solutions to Is-
lamic problems; and finally, resort to militant methods, in-
Of the half-dozen most prominent names in Islamic
cluding the imposition of their reformist ideologies by force.
modernism, two were Eulama¯D-trained along traditional
In addition, these movements generally brought to the center
lines: Jama¯l al-D¯ın al-Afgha¯n¯ı (1839–1897), a fiery activist
of consciousness the necessity of social and moral reforms as
with a magnetic personality, and his disciple, the Egyptian
such, without recourse to the rewards and punishments of
shaykh Muh:ammad EAbduh (1845–1905). Three were lay
the hereafter. In other words, all three were characterized by
intellectuals with modern education: the Turk Namik Kemal
a certain positivistic orientation.
(1840–1888) and the two Indians Ameer Ali (d. 1928) and
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4574
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
Muh:ammad Iqba¯l (1877–1938), while the Indian Sayyid
home, the heaviest emphasis falls on the islamization of econ-
Ahmad Khan (1817–1898), the most radical of them all in
omy through the reinstitution of zaka¯t and the abolition of
theological views, was a premodern lay-educated scholar.
bank interest (which is identified with riba¯, or usury, prohib-
Yet, despite their differences and the fact that none of them,
ited by the QurDa¯n). No neofundamentalist government in
except for al-Afgha¯n¯ı and EAbduh, ever met any of the oth-
the Muslim world—including Iran and Pakistan—however,
ers, they shared the basic tenet—à la premodernist reform
has been successful in implementing either of the two poli-
movements—that medieval Islam had deviated on certain
cies, while the Libyan leader MuEammar al-Qadhdha¯f¯ı has
crucial points from the normative Islam of the QurDa¯n; this
declared that the modern banking institution is not covered
argument runs through all the issues that they discuss.
by the QurDanic prohibition of riba¯.
However, while these modernists sought reform within
Neofundamentalism is by no means a uniform phenom-
their own societies, they also waged controversies with the
enon. Apart from the fact that there exist, particularly in the
West on the latter’s understanding of Islam, and some of
Arab Middle East, extremist splinter groups of neofunda-
them, particularly Iqba¯l, argued about the West’s own per-
mentalists that are strikingly reminiscent of the Kha¯rij¯ıs of
formance on the stage of history. Iqba¯l bitterly and relentless-
early Islamic times, on most crucial issues, such as democracy
ly accused the West of cheating humanity of its basic values
or the nature of Islamic legislation, even the mainstream ele-
with the glittering mirage of its technology, of exploiting the
ments are sharply divided. While in Libya, for example,
territories it colonized in the name of spreading humanitari-
MuEammar al-Qadhdha¯f¯ı has taken a most radical stand on
an values, which it itself flouted by waging internecine wars
legislation, repudiating the precepts of h:ad¯ıth as its source
born of sheer economic savagery, and of dewomanizing the
and replacing them with the will of the people, the current
women and dilapidating the family institution in the name
rulers of Pakistan and Iran show little confidence in the will
of progress. Iqbal was an equally strong critic of the world
of the people. The most interesting attitude in this connec-
Muslim society, which for him represented nothing more
tion is that of the religious leaders of Iran: while almost all
than a vast graveyard of Islam. He called the whole world to
reformers since the mid-nineteenth century—including
the “true Islam” of the QurDa¯n and the Prophet, a living, dy-
Sh¯ıE¯ı thinkers such as Ameer Ali—have insisted that there
namic Islam that believed in the harnessing of the forces of
can be no theocracy in Islam since Islam has no priesthood,
history for the ethical development of mankind.
the Iranian religious leaders are asserting precisely the oppo-
site, namely, that Islam does have a priesthood and that this
Iqba¯l and others, such as the Egyptian Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯
priestly class must rule, a position expounded even prior to
(d. 1935), proved to belong to a transitional stage from mod-
the Islamic Revolution by Ayatollah Khomeini, the chief
ernism to a new attitude, perhaps best described as neofunda-
ruler of Iran, in his work Vila¯yat-i faq¯ıh (Rule of the jurist,
mentalism, for unlike the fundamentalism of the premod-
1971).
ernist reform movements, the current neofundamentalism is,
in large measure, a reaction to modernism, but it has also
Finally, the phenomenon of international Islamic con-
been importantly influenced by modernism. This influence
ferences in modern Islam is also to be noted since, in the ab-
can best be seen on two major issues: first, the contention
sence of political unity in the Muslim world, these help the
that Islam is a total way of life, including all fields of human
cause of unity of sentiment, if not uniformity of mind. The
private and public life, and is not restricted to certain reli-
beginnings of this phenomenon go back to the 1920s, when
gious rites such as the Five Pillars (to which the Islam of the
conferences were held in Cairo and Mecca to deliberate on
traditionalist Eulama¯D had become practically confined); and,
the possibility of reinstituting the caliphate after Atatürk
second, that cultivation of scientific knowledge and technol-
abolished it with the secularization of the Turkish state. But
ogy is desirable within Islam.
from the mid-1940s on, as Muslim countries gained inde-
pendence from European colonial rule, the sentiment for in-
Besides emphasis on technology (although Iran appears
ternational Muslim gatherings became progressively strong-
to pay only lip service to science and technology), neofunda-
er. In the mid-1960s all the national and international
mentalists have, on the one hand, oversimplified the tradi-
private Islamic organizations became affiliated with the semi-
tionalist curriculum of Islamic studies, and, on the other,
official Saudi-sponsored Muslim World League (Ra¯bit:at
embarked upon a program of “islamization” of Western
al-EA¯lam al-Isla¯m¯ı), headquartered in Mecca; the league fi-
knowledge. Besides these points, the most basic factor com-
nances Islamic causes both in the Muslim world and in
mon to the neofundamentalist phenomena is a strong asser-
Western countries, where large numbers of Muslim settlers
tion of Islamic identity over and against the West, an asser-
are building mosques and Islamic centers and developing Is-
tion that hits equally strongly at most modernist reforms,
lamic community life, including programs for education.
particularly on the issue of the status and role of women in
society. This powerful desire to repudiate the West, there-
At the same time, since the 1969 Muslim Summit Con-
fore, leads the neofundamentalist to emphasize certain points
ference held in Rabat, Morocco, an Islamic Secretariat has
(as a riposte to the modernist, who is often seen as a pure and
been set up in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, as the administrative
simple westernizer) that would most distinguish Islam from
center for the Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC) on
the West. Besides the role of women, which is seen to lie at
the state level. Besides holding summit meetings, this organi-
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ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
4575
zation maintains a developmental economic agenda through
currency that the Prophet had said “My community shall
which interest-free development banks have been set up, fi-
never agree on an error.” This development was necessitated
nanced principally by oil-rich Arab countries to help poorer
partly by intercommunal rivalry, but largely by the internal
Muslim countries (this is in addition to the aid given to non-
development of law, since the doctrine of legal consensus had
Muslim countries). All these conferences, whether organized
to be made infallible.
by the OIC or the World Muslim League, discuss political
problems affecting the Muslim world and try to formulate
In his last years, the Prophet decided on the policy of
a common response to them, through the United Nations
forcible conversion of Arab pagans to Islam and gave reli-
and its agencies or through other channels.
gious and cultural autonomy to Jews and Christians as “peo-
ple of the Book” (although Jews were driven out of Medina
Islam’s attitude to other religions. According to
by Muh:ammad and later from the rest of the Arabian Penin-
QurDanic teaching divine guidance is universal, and God re-
sula by EUmar I). Muslims had to determine for themselves
gards all peoples as equal. Every prophet’s message, although
the status of Zoroastrians, Hindus, and Buddhists when they
immediately addressed to a given people, is nevertheless of
conquered Iran and parts of Northwest India. It was decided
universal import and must be believed by all humanity.
that these populations were also “people of the Book” since
Muh:ammad himself is made to declare, “I believe in any
they believed in certain scriptures, and consequently they
book God may have revealed” (QurDa¯n 42:15), and all Mus-
were allowed to keep their religion and culture, like the Jews
lims are required to do likewise. This is so because God is
and Christians, on payment of the poll tax (jizyah). In con-
one; the source of revelation is one, and humankind is also
trast with their stance toward Jews and Christians however,
one. The office of prophethood is, in fact, indivisible.
Muslims were prohibited from having social intercourse or
Muslims, however, have, from earliest times, considered
intermarrying with these other groups.
Muh:ammad to be the bearer of the last and consummate rev-
Indeed, when the community became an imperium,
elation. Nevertheless, there is a tension within the QurDa¯n it-
further developments took place that had little to do with
self on this issue. In keeping with its fundamental teaching
the QurDa¯n or the sunnah of the Prophet but rather were dic-
that prophethood is indivisible, the QurDa¯n, of course, invites
tated by the logic of the empire itself. The law of apostasy,
Jews and Christians to Islam; it insists on the unity of reli-
for example, which states that a Muslim apostate should be
gion, deplores the diversity of religions and religious commu-
given three chances to repent and in the case of nonrepen-
nities, which it insists is based on willful neglect of truth, and
tance must be executed, has nothing to do with the QurDa¯n,
denounces both Jews and Christians as “partisans, sectari-
which speaks of “those who believed and then disbelieved,
ans,” with “each sect rejoicing in what itself has” (30:32).
then once again believed and disbelieved—and then became
On the other hand, it states that although religion is es-
entrenched in disbelief” (4:137; see also 3:90), thus clearly
sentially one, God himself has given different “institutions
envisaging repeated conversions and apostasies without in-
and approaches” to different communities so that he might
voking any penalty in this world. It is, therefore, important
“test them in what he has given them,” and that they might
to make these distinctions and to treat historic Islam not as
compete with each other in goodness (5:48), which implies
one seamless garment but rather as a mosaic made up of dif-
that these different institutional arrangements have positive
ferent pieces.
value and are somehow meant to be permanent. In fact, the
There are numerous other laws that are the product nei-
QurDa¯n categorically states that whether a person is a Muslim
ther of the QurDa¯n nor of the Prophet’s sunnah, but of the
or a Jew or a Christian or a Sabian, “whosoever believes in
Islamic imperium, such as the inadmissibility of evidence of
God and the Last Day and does good deeds, they shall have
a non-Muslim against a Muslim in a criminal case. In this
their reward with their Lord, shall have nothing to fear, nor
legal genre also falls the juristic doctrine that the world con-
shall they come to grief” (2:62; see also 5:69). This tension
sists of three zones: the Abode of Islam (da¯r al-Isla¯m), where
is probably to be resolved by saying that it is better, indeed
Muslims rule; the Abode of Peace (da¯r al-s:ulh:), those coun-
incumbent upon humankind to accept Muh:ammad’s mes-
tries or powers with whom Muslims have peace pacts; and
sage, but that if they do not, then living up to their own pro-
the Abode of War (da¯r al-h:arb), the rest of the world. This
phetic messages will be regarded as adequate even if it does
doctrine was definitely the result of the early Islamic con-
not fulfill the entire divine command.
quests and the initial Islamic law of war and peace resulting
The organization of Muslims as a community—which
from them. But during the later Abbasid period, the concept
was inherent in the message of the Prophet—set in motion
of jiha¯d was formulated in defensive terms, because the task
its own political and religious dynamics. The QurDa¯n itself,
then was the consolidation of the empire rather than the
while strongly repudiating the claims of Jewish and Christian
gaining of further territory through conquest. To this general
communities to be proprietors of divine truth and guidance,
problem also belongs the consideration advanced by several
frankly tells Muslims also (for example, in 47:38) that unless
Western scholars that Islam cannot authentically be a minor-
they fulfill the message they cannot take God for granted.
ity religion because the presumption of political power is
Soon after the time of the Prophet, however, the community
built into its very texture as a religion. What is true is that
came to be regarded as infallible, and a h:ad¯ıth was put into
Islam requires a state to work out its sociopolitical ideals and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4576
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FIRST EDITION]
programs, but this does not mean that Muslims cannot live
three can be recommended: The Meaning of the Glorious
as a minority; indeed they have done so throughout history.
Koran, translated and edited by M. M. Pickthall (New York,
The QurDa¯n, in fact, envisages some sort of close cooperation
1930); The Koran Interpreted, translated by A. J. Arberry
between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and it invites Jews
(New York, 1955); and The Message of the Qur Da¯n, translated
and Christians to join Muslims in such a goal: “O People of
by Muh:ammad Asad (Gibraltar, 1980). Both Pickthall’s and
the Book! Let us come together on a platform that is com-
Arberry’s translations have been frequently reprinted and are
readily available, but Asad’s painstaking and thoughtful
mon between us, that we shall serve naught save God”
translation is well worth seeking out.
(3:64).
Two works on h:ad¯ıth that may profitably be consulted are Ignácz
SEE ALSO African American Religions, article on Muslim
Goldziher’s Muslim Studies, 2 vols., edited by S. M. Stern
Movements; Ah:mad¯ıyah; EAlaw¯ıyu¯n; Arabian Religions;
and C. R. Barber (Chicago, 1966–1973), and Alfred Guil-
AshEar¯ıyah; EA¯shu¯ra¯D; Assassins; Attributes of God, article on
laume’s The Traditions of Islam (1924; reprint, Beirut, 1966).
Islamic Concepts; Ba¯b¯ıs; Baha¯D¯ıs; Caliphate; Creeds, article
Among the many works devoted to the Prophet’s biography, none
on Islamic Creeds; Darw¯ısh; Domestic Observances, article
is entirely satisfactory. Alfred Guillaume’s The Life of
on Muslim Practices; Druze; Elijah Muhammad; Eschatolo-
Muh:ammad: A Translation of [Ibn] Ish:a¯q’s “S¯ırat Rasu¯l Alla¯h”
gy, article on Islamic Eschatology; Falsafah; Folk Religion,
(1955; reprint, Lahore, 1967), an English translation of the
article on Folk Islam; Free Will and Predestination, article
first extant Arabic biography (second century AH), is the best
on Islamic Concepts; God, article on God in Islam;
guide one has at the present. W. Montgomery Watt’s Mu-
H:ad¯ıth; H:aram and H:awt:ah; Ibn EAbd al-Wahha¯b,
hammad at Mecca (London, 1953) and Muhammad at Medi-
Muh:ammad; IEja¯z; Ijma¯E; Ijtiha¯d; Ikhwa¯n al-S:afa¯D; Imamate;
na (London, 1956) may be usefully read as secondary
¯
Ima¯n and Isla¯m; Islamic Law, articles on Personal Law and
sources.
Shar¯ıEah; Islamic Religious Year; Islamic Studies; Jama¯Eat-i
On Islamic theology the following works are recommended: A
Isla¯m¯ı; Jiha¯d; KaEbah; Kala¯m; Kha¯naga¯h; Kha¯rij¯ıs; Madh-
Shi Eite Creed: A Translation of “Risa¯latuDl-I Etiqa¯da¯t” of Mu-
hab; Madrasah; Malcolm X; Mas:lah:ah; Modernism, article
hammad b. EAl¯ı Ibn Ba¯bawayhi al-Qumm¯ı, edited and trans-
on Islamic Modernism; Mosque; Muh:ammad; Muslim
lated by A. A. Fyzee (London, 1942); D. B. Macdonald’s De-
Brotherhood; MuEtazilah; Nubu¯wah; Pilgrimage, article on
velopment of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence and
Muslim Pilgrimage; Qara¯mit:ah; Qiya¯s; QurDa¯n, article on
Constitutional Theory (1903; reprint, New York, 1965); W.
Its Role in Muslim Practice and Life; S:ala¯t; S:awm;
Montgomery Watt’s The Formative Period of Islamic Thought
Shaha¯dah; Shiism, articles on Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah and Ithna¯
(Edinburgh, 1973); and A. J. Wensinck’s The Muslim Creed:
EAshar¯ıyah; Sufism; Sunnah; Tafs¯ır; Taq¯ıyah; T:ar¯ıqah;
Its Genesis and Historical Development (1932; reprint, New
TaEziyah; Ummah; Us:u¯l al-Fiqh; Wahha¯b¯ıyah; Worship
York, 1965).
and Devotional Life, article on Muslim Worship; Zaka¯t.
For information on Islamic law the following works are useful:
Law in the Middle East, edited by Majid Khadduri and Her-
B
bert J. Liebesny (Washington, D. C., 1955); J. N. D. Ander-
IBLIOGRAPHY
son’s Islamic Law in the Modern World (New York, 1959);
General Works
Noel J. Coulson’s A History of Islamic Law (Edinburgh,
For a general survey of Islam, see The Cambridge History of Islam,
1971); and Joseph Schacht’s An Introduction to Islamic Law
vol. 2, The Further Islamic Lands, Islamic Society and Civiliza-
(Oxford, 1974).
tion, edited by P. M. Holt, Ann K. S. Lambton, and Bernard
Lewis (Cambridge, 1970), and my own book entitled Islam,
Numerous works on Sufism are readily available. Among them are
2d ed. (Chicago, 1979). Richard C. Martin’s Islam: A Cul-
Reynold A. Nicholson’s The Mystics of Islam (1914; reprint,
tural Perspective (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1982) gives a good
Beirut, 1966) and Studies in Islamic Mysticism (1921; reprint,
description of Islamic religious practice. For a developmental
Cambridge, 1977); A. J. Arberry’s Sufism: An Account of the
view of Islam in a global setting, see Marshall G. S. Hodg-
Mystics of Islam (London, 1950); J. Spencer Trimingham’s
son’s The Venture of Islam, 3 vols. (Chicago, 1974). A collec-
The Sufi Orders in Islam (New York, 1971); and Anne-marie
tion of essays rarely matched for perspective interpretation
Schimmel’s Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill, N. C.,
of Islamic civilization is H. A. R. Gibb’s Studies on the Civili-
1975).
zation of Islam (Boston, 1962). Two other works of general
For Islamic political thought and education, the following works
interest are The Legacy of Islam, edited by Thomas W. Arnold
are useful: A. S. Tritton’s Materials on Muslim Education in
and Alfred Guillaume (London, 1931), and The Legacy of
the Middle Ages (London, 1957); E. I. J. Rosenthal’s Political
Islam, 2d ed., rev., edited by C. E. Bosworth and Joseph
Thought in Medieval Islam (Cambridge, 1958); Bayard
Schacht (Oxford, 1974).
Dodge’s Muslim Education in Medieval Times (Washington,
D. C., 1962); Ann K. S. Lambton’s State and Government
Topical Studies
in Medieval Islam, vol. 1, The Jurists (London, 1981); Hamid
For the general reader and the scholar alike, an excellent guide to
Enayat’s Modern Islamic Political Thought (Austin, 1982);
the QurDa¯n is Bell’s Introduction to the QurDa¯n (Edinburgh,
and my own Islam and Modernity: Transformation of an Intel-
1970), W. Montgomery Watt’s revised and enlarged edition
lectual Tradition (Chicago, 1982).
of a work published in 1953 by Richard Bell. My own study,
Major Themes of the Qur Da¯n (Chicago, 1980), is a systematic
The most important statements on Islamic modernism by Muslim
presentation of the views of the QurDa¯n on God, man, soci-
modernists themselves are Syed Ameer Ali’s The Spirit of
ety, revelation, and so on. Among translations of the QurDa¯n,
Islam: A History of the Evolution and Ideals of Islam, rev. ed.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
4577
(London, 1974), and Muh:ammad Iqba¯l’s Reconstruction of
Fazlur Rahman belonged to a small group of Muslim
Religious Thought in Islam (1934; reprint, Lahore, 1960).
academics who received training in two different contexts:
General writings on and critiques of Islamic modernism by
a traditional Muslim one (primarily from his parents and also
modern Western scholars include H. A. R. Gibb’s Modern
from private tutors) and a modern, Western academic expe-
Trends in Islam (Chicago, 1947); G. E. von Grunebaum’s
rience. He became over time one of the most prominent rep-
Modern Islam: The Search for Cultural Identity (Los Angeles,
resentatives of bringing to the study of Islam a scholarly ap-
1962); and Wilfred Cantwell Smith’s Islam in Modern Histo-
proach and to an interested world a reflection of an
ry (Princeton, 1957).
“enlightened” Islam. In the course of his academic life he
The following are important regional treatments: Charles C.
faced open hostility from those who rejected and under-
Adams’s Islam and Modernism in Egypt (1933; reprint, New
York, 1968); Wilfred Cantwell Smith’s Modern Islam in
mined his approach and a level of indifference or even suspi-
India (London, 1946); Albert Hourani’s Arabic Thought in
cion from modern Muslim intellectuals, who having adopted
the Liberal Age, 1798–1939, 2d ed. (Cambridge, 1983); Ber-
a more secularized view, regarded his emphasis on the rele-
nard Lewis’s The Emergence of Modern Turkey (London,
vance of faith as misplaced.
1963); Niyazi Berkes’s The Development of Secularism in Tur-
key (Montreal, 1964), a mine of information despite its secu-
These footnotes to the article, as it were, engage some
larist bias; and J. Boland’s The Struggle of Islam in Modern
of the issues he raised in the light of further advances,
Indonesia (The Hague, 1971).
changes, and challenges in current scholarship, and also sug-
New Sources
gest additional perspectives that take into account develop-
Black, Antony. The History of Islamic Political Thought: From the
ments in the ongoing history of Muslims and scholarly dis-
Prophet to the Present. New York, 2001.
course in the wider academic world.
Bloom, Jonathan, and Sheila Blair. Islam: A Thousand Years of
The first set of questions arises with regard to the uses
Faith and Power. New Haven, Conn., 2002.
and meanings of the term Islam. This remains a major con-
Esposito, John L., and John Obert Voll. Makers of Contemporary
cern of contemporary scholars and a significant topic of de-
Islam. New York, 2001.
bate. This has highlighted the need for a clearer distinction
Fischer, Michael M. J. Debating Muslims: Cultural Dialogues in
between Islam understood as a defined faith tradition, that
Postmodernity and Tradition. Madison, Wisc., 1990.
is to say as a theologically organized system of beliefs and rit-
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization.
uals, on one hand, and the historical contexts and develop-
San Francisco, 2002.
ments that have engaged Muslims in articulating their faith
Powers, Paul R. “Interiors, Intentions, and the ‘Spirituality’ of Is-
on the other. The historian Marshall G. S. Hodgson pro-
lamic Ritual Practice.” Journal of the American Academy of
posed a set of concepts such as Islamdom, Islamicate, and the
Religion, 72 (June 2004): 425–460.
like to differentiate various historical representations of
Renard, John. Seven Doors to Islam: Spirituality and the Religious
Islam. Although Fazlur Rahman was aware of the necessity
Life of Muslims. Berkeley, 1996.
of such distinctions (he mentions the need to “treat historic
Schimmel, Annemarie. Deciphering the Signs of God: A Phenome-
Islam not as one seamless garment but rather as a mosaic
nal Approach to Islam. Albany, 1994.
made up of different pieces”) the logic of his stance awaits
Rippon, Andrew. Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices.
a fuller development, precisely to avoid the kind of reduc-
New York, 2001.
tionist stance that the editors of the first edition clearly
Wilson, Peter Lamborn. Sacred Drift: Essays on the Margin of
wished to avoid.
Islam. San Francisco, 1993.
FAZLUR RAHMAN (1987)
In the same article, Fazlur Rahman stated that, “Islam
Revised Bibliography
is . . . the name of a total way of life and does not merely
regulate the individual’s private relationship with God.”
Such a view builds on the concept of the precedent set by
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER
the Prophet to create institutions and manage the communi-
CONSIDERATIONS]
ty’s growth and development as a Prophet, not merely as a
The “Preface” to the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Reli-
ruler, a lawgiver, a judge, or a military head. This interpreta-
gion (1987), edited by Mircea Eliade, highlighted the “radi-
tion, which has been supported by many modern Muslim in-
cal change of perspective” and the “impressive advances in
terpreters, had been challenged by several of his contempo-
information and understanding” that had affected religious
raries including, Ali Abderraziq, MaDruf Rusafi, and more
studies and that underlined the impetus behind a new Ency-
recently Mohamed Arkoun, among others. According to
clopedia. In his entry, “Islam: An Overview,” Fazlur Rahman
their perspectives, the kind of leadership exercised by the
sought to capture and synthesize some of these changes and
Prophet in his life was to be understood as an “exceptional”
advances in rewriting an understanding of the Muslim strand
and historically contingent moment in history. It was much
in the religious history of humankind. His continuing influ-
later, and very gradually, that the fusion of religion and tem-
ence on scholarship in the field is a testimony to his contribu-
poral matters (including politics) was constructed, first by
tion to The Encyclopedia of Religion and to wider scholarship
the invention of the title “caliph” (“successor” of the Proph-
on Islam.
et), and during the Abbasid dynasty later, with the definition
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4578
ISLAM: AN OVERVIEW [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
of a caliphate modeled in theory, if not always in practice,
achievements of their predecessors. Such a view, however,
as a theocracy.
took no account of the variety of formations within the larger
Muslim ummah. The focus on the views of certain reformers
The historical reality of the lived experience of Muslims
distorted both how Muslims had experienced their respective
was that they drew the conceptual framework of their collec-
histories but also the different way in which they memorial-
tive life, in ethics and politics, from diverse sources, includ-
ized their past. The need for redress or rectification (this is
ing Persian and Indian traditions, Greek philosophy, and
the original meaning of their main slogan, is:la¯h:) was there-
local customs. In reality, as Fazlur Rahman shows, political
fore identified with a kind of return to normality, that is, a
power had become de facto separate from religio-legal power.
movement back to fundamentals as they were enacted by ear-
From that perspective one can only study Islam as it has been
lier generations. The early Muslim community was consid-
appropriated, interpreted, and invoked in human contexts,
by Muslims and non-Muslims, in contrast to Islam as an es-
ered de facto as more pious (thus the expression salaf salih).
sentialist notion or as a purely metaphysical idea “out there.”
This “normativeness” was retrospectively imagined to mirror
The focus on the histories, cultures, and material contexts
values similar to those exemplified in European contexts of
of people for whom Islam has been and continues to be a
the time, including rationality, toleration, and ethically de-
powerful force can thus benefit from all of the critical schol-
termined behavior.
arly apparatus and questions that arise across the full spec-
The increasing availability of primary sources for groups
trum of the study of religion. Given such an approach, it
such as the Sh¯ıEah, Khwarij, MuDtazilah, and others suggests
might be inappropriate to speak of a mainstream construc-
that we can no longer accept a monolithic view of how Mus-
tion of “orthodoxy” because all Muslim traditions did not
lims enacted responses to change. The pluralization of dis-
invoke or appropriate the sources in the same way. This
courses within the early community, as indeed within differ-
would suggest a more comparative approach in the study of
ent communities of interpretation, needs now to become an
Muslim societies, when, like other religions, developments
integral part of the study of Islam. This becomes particularly
within were affected by interactions—theological, cultural,
relevant in addressing significant shifts or “turns” in the his-
legal, and political—that had profound effects on how cer-
tory of Muslim thought. Contemporary scholarship high-
tain patterns came to monopolize Muslim discourse. This is
lights, for instance, the mode and process by which
not to suggest that religious traditions themselves do not in-
al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s synthesis of jurisprudence assumed a normative
voke normativeness; rather that the goal of religious studies
dimension. A similar pattern would occur later in the dy-
is to show how such notions are developed, constructed, and
namics of legal formulation in Twelver Shiism. However
institutionalized, and that Islam like other religions is plural
these “turns” occurred after long periods of debate, chal-
and pluralistic.
lenge, and even competition, which, when allied to particular
This has interesting implications for understanding his-
political contexts, created conditions for the empowerment
torical appropriation in contemporary Muslim history and
of certain traditions over others. This offers a more nuanced
societies where Muslims, like others, are increasingly seeking
view of the flow of Muslim intellectual history and its conse-
inspiration and markers of identity from the past. This con-
quences for representing the primacy of law over philosophi-
stituted an important part of Fazlur Rahman’s scholarly
cal thought and for the widespread influence of Sufism to
work. Mohamed Arkoun, Abuzayd and Abdul Karim So-
offer alternative patterns for expressions of piety and personal
roush have more recently addressed the relationship of new
direction.
methodologies and approaches to the study of Islam and of
Early reformers did not ignite the mass mobilization
the QurDa¯n and identified the limitations of both traditional
they had hoped for, and were therefore not able to give impe-
scholarship and modern Muslim apologetics. The idea of re-
tus to a sustainable process for redressing the conditions
ligious reform that Fazlur Rahman sought to analyze as it
through a reform of ideas and practices grounded in Islam.
emerged from the nineteenth century onwards has in con-
However, their thought contributed, on the one hand, to
temporary contexts taken on an urgent relevance in global
creating support for nationalist movements and, on the other
affairs and scholarly and public debates, within and outside
hand, to reviving conservative trends that considered the re-
Muslim societies.
turn to the purity of the norms and the pristine models of
The first “reformists” of the nineteenth century were
the past as the panacea. A few Muslim thinkers did recognize
Muslim intellectuals, including religious scholars, officials,
major shifts in history with the advent of the industrial revo-
and senior functionaries in administration, originating from
lution in Europe and its links to dramatic social change as
similar social strata and having received more or less identical
well as unprecedented developments in science, technology,
training in legal and religious matters. They were individuals
and the arts. Those among them who called for a reexamina-
who belonged to the tiny minority who had access to the
tion of the self based on proper acknowledgement of this
written heritage of Muslims, and who could compare the
turn were rejected as unfaithful to the sacred heritage and to
current status of affairs with norms, models, and rules set by
the cause of Muslim self identification and emancipation.
earlier generations. Their judgment was that Muslims had
The most lasting effect of the first reformist wave was there-
fallen short of the real expectations of their faith and the
fore the establishment of a salaf¯ı (traditionalist) trend and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
4579
the laying of seeds for more radical perspectives to emerge
Taji-Farouki, Suha, ed. Modern Muslim Intellectuals and the
in time. There was however a shared belief that the modern
Qur Dan. Oxford, 2004.
state was a key mode through which to liberate Muslims
There are a number of encyclopedia and institutional initiatives
from foreign domination and to re-Islamize society through
that are worth noting:
reenactment of the original norms. The older dynamic be-
Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisa-
tween faith, power, and governance thus found new spaces
tions (ISMC), London. See http://www.aku.edu/ismc.
in which to be played out.
Center for Maghrib Studies (CEMAT) in Tunis: The QurDanic
The more globalized environment of the last few dec-
Studies Project. See http://www.la.utexas.edu/research/
mena/cemat.
ades has, in spite of dramatic failures to create stable civil so-
cieties in many parts of the Muslim world, opened worlds
Center for Islamic Studies (ISAM) has published the Turkish ver-
of meanings, concepts, and methods that have prompted al-
sion of the Encyclopaedia of Islam. See http://
www.isam.org.tr.
ternative views and attitudes for a new generation of Mus-
lims. In the last two decades, the cumulative efforts of schol-
Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS), London. See http://
www.iis.ac.uk.
ars across the globe have resulted in the accumulation of new
data and categories of interpretations. The interplay of the
International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern
two has shed new light and raised more questions for an
World (ISIM), Leiden. See http://www.isim.nl.
emerging generation of scholars, who, while investigating the
International Institute of Islamic Thought & Civilisation
historicity of forms and expressions of Islam, are also ques-
(ISTAC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. See http://
www.iiu.edu.my/istac.
tioning the stability of assumptions about what were regard-
ed as core religious beliefs, institutions, and ethical princi-
McAuliffe, Jane Dammen. Encyclopaedia of the Qur Dan. Leiden,
2001 and ongoing.
ples. The analysis and intelligent adaptation of values
inherited by Muslims to modern conditions was an impor-
AZIM NANJI (2005)
tant goal for the generation led by Fazlur Rahman. It seems
ABDOU FILALI-ANSARY (2005)
appropriate that the next phases will build on that legacy to
develop a space for discussion of Islam within a more univer-
sal framework within the history of religions.
ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
The term North Africa usually denotes the region that in-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cludes the countries of Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and
The various entries on Islam in the encyclopedia indicate the sig-
Mauritania. Because this region corresponds to what Arab
nificant growth in scholarship on Islam that has taken place
writers call the Maghreb (the “west”), this article shall use
in the last two decades. Ebrahim Moosa has edited Fazlur
both terms here with no distinction of meaning. The unity
Rahman’s selected articles in a volume entitled Revival and
of this region originates in its continuous settlement: From
Reform in Islam (Oxford, 1999). See Abdullah Saeed’s article
the dawn of history it has been inhabited by Berbers who
in Taji-Farouki text cited below.
came mostly from the banks of the Red Sea and who were
An example of recent works that illustrate the increasing complex-
later joined by Europeans, Semites, and blacks. North Africa
ity of developments in early Islamic thought based on a vast
was in contact with all the great civilizations of antiquity and
array of primary sources are:
became an integral part of the Islamic world at the end of
Cook, M. A. Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong in Islamic
the seventh century CE. Although it has never become wholly
Thought. Cambridge, 2003.
Arabized like Greater Syria and Egypt, it was totally Islam-
Crone, Patricia. Medieval Islamic Political Thought. New York,
ized, with the exception of a Jewish minority that has always
2004.
been in existence there. Moreover, from the twelfth century
Van Ess, Josef. Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert
CE, the vast majority of the population has followed the
Hidschra. Berlin, 1991–1997.
Ma¯lik¯ı legal tradition (madhhab).
On some of the issues related to reform and reformulation, see:
In North Africa as elsewhere, Islam may be considered
Abderraziq, A. Islam and the Foundations of Political Power. Cairo,
either as a religion or as a form of culture, and according to
1925.
the point of view adopted, the same facts may be interpreted
Arkoun, M. The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic Thought.
in quite different ways. In the following pages Islam is re-
London, 2002.
ferred to not as a culture that has been more or less influ-
Nafi, Basheer M., and Taji-Farouki, Suha. Islamic Thought in the
enced by the QurDanic message but as a religion. Discussion
Twentieth Century. London, 2004.
will center on the movements, the works, and the people
Rusafi, M. The Personality of Muhammad. Cologne, 2002.
who have formed the feelings and the religious behavior of
Safi, O. Progressive Muslims. Oxford, 2003.
the inhabitants of the Maghreb.
Schulze, R. A Modern History of the Islamic World. New York and
PRE-ISLAMIC RELIGION. The message of the prophet
London, 2002.
Muh:ammad itself bore the marks of Arab polytheisms, and
Soroush, A. K. Please consult his personal web page, http://
the Islamization of North Africa was likewise influenced by
www.drsoroush.com.
the religious situation already present there.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4580
ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
The prehistoric substrate. The prehistory of the Ber-
ble from Romanization, which had been, in many respects,
bers remains obscure. The Libyan inscriptions guard their se-
quite remarkable. But, challenged by the Carthaginian divin-
crets, and funerary monuments and rock drawings can be in-
ities and soon undermined by Christian propaganda, the
terpreted in diverse ways according to whether Egyptian,
Roman religion never had time to gain a permanent foot-
Mediterranean, or Saharan influences are discerned in them.
hold. Many studies have shown that it was profoundly afri-
Scholars do agree, however, on two points: The ancient Ber-
canized. Latin names only superficially mask pre-Roman di-
bers did not differentiate between magic—a technique used
vinities: Jupiter has been identified with Amun, Saturn—
to harness the powers of nature—and religion—the worship
that most African of gods—with Baal-Hammon, Juno-
of a divinity with a more or less distinct identity. Later their
Caelestia with Tanit, Asklepios with Eshmun, and so forth.
divinities were exclusively local ones.
The problem of specific local characteristics also arises
Thus, say the specialists, it is better to refer not to a Ber-
with reference to African Christianity. The new religion rap-
ber religion as such, but to a specific attitude toward the sa-
idly made converts, especially in the towns, as can be seen
cred, which the inhabitants of North Africa associate even
from the number of followers affected by the persecutions
today with caves, springs, certain trees, certain stones, and
of the third century CE. Nor can one forget the appearance
so on. This strategy of the sacred was aimed at satisfying basic
of such great thinkers as the apologist Tertullian (d. after 220
needs, such as causing rain, curing an infertile woman, or
CE), Cyprian, bishop of Carthage (d. 258), and Augustine
guaranteeing victory. Its presence has been noted by writers
the church father (d. 430). However, the most significant
as far apart in time and space as the Greek historian Herodo-
phenomenon during this period was undoubtedly the
tus (sixth century BCE), the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battutah
Donatist schism, which deeply divided Roman Africa
(fourteenth century CE), and the Finnish anthropologist Ed-
throughout the fourth century. Whether this was an attempt
ward Westermarck (twentieth century). The notion of
to found a national church or a movement of social protest,
barakah (a polymorphous power linked to holiness), the in-
the basic point is that it reveals a permanent aspect of the
stitution of the za¯wiyah (a brotherhood centered on a sanctu-
psychology of the Maghrebians. They seem to accept foreign
ary), the ziya¯rah (cult of saints), the shat:h: (a ritual dance),
cultures easily enough but select from them one element that
and the sama E (ritual music) have all played an important
they then transform into a symbol of their own identity. In
role in the religious feeling of the Maghreb people until quite
this sense it may be said that the Donatists foreshadowed the
recently, despite the fact that official Islam has opposed them
Muslim Kha¯rij¯ıs of three centuries later.
for centuries; many anthropologists maintain that such fea-
tures can only be explained in terms of this fundamental atti-
Berber religiosity. North Africa was thus subjected in
tude toward the sacred that had already colored the Phoeni-
turn to Egyptian, Phoenician, Greco-Roman, and Christian
cian religion, Roman polytheism, and Christianity well
influences, without any real alteration of its fundamental re-
before the arrival of Islam.
ligious attitude. Foreign religions, which gave the appearance
of being accepted without any difficulties, were in fact pro-
The Phoenico-Punic influence. The Phoenicians
foundly transformed on the day-to-day level. Professions of
reached the shores of North Africa at the beginning of the
faith, institutions, and cults changed, but what remained in-
first millennium BCE, founded Carthage, and set up a large
tact was a type of religiosity: Characterized by its vehemence,
number of trading posts along the coast. A seafaring nation
its extremism, and its tendency to intellectual simplification,
of traders, they did not venture far into the interior until well
it is to be found at each stage of the development of Maghre-
into the fifth century BCE. What was their influence on local
bi Islam.
culture? Historians differ in their assessments, but they all
maintain that it was crucial, for the Berbers were also from
Excessive intellectualism was linked with a strong at-
the East. The punicization of Maghrebi culture did not coin-
tachment to the humblest of popular cults, as though the
cide, however, with the period when Carthage was at the
North Africans refused to see religion as a means of individu-
height of its power: It was only after the city was overcome
al salvation: The social always took precedence over the indi-
and destroyed (146 BCE) that the aquellids (“kings”) of Nu-
vidual, the concrete and useful over the purely spiritual. For
midia and Mauritania adopted the most characteristic fea-
them, religion was above all a communal ethic. The simpler
tures of Carthaginian civilization. Both epigraphic and ar-
and clearer the creed, the better it fulfilled its role. Both local
chaeological discoveries have shown that the cult was colored
cults and elaborate dogma, however far apart they might
by the Phoenico-Punic religion, that the goddess Tanit was
seem to be from a purely formal point of view, neverthe-
accorded an important position, and that child sacrifice, so
less tended toward the same end: holding the social body
loathsome to the Romans, was commonplace. This speeding
together.
up of the process of punicization seems to have been a delib-
A single religious consciousness expressed in diverse reli-
erate challenge to imperial Rome. According to Stéphane
gious forms—this is a hypothesis of continuity that many
Gsell, the French specialist on ancient African history, it also
specialists would be reluctant to accept. However, a number
prepared the population for Islamization later on.
of historians have adopted it, at least as a starting point for
Romanization and christianization. Roman polythe-
their work, even if it has proved necessary to alter it later for
ism as it spread to the peoples of North Africa was insepara-
a clearer explanation of how the Maghreb became Muslim.
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
4581
Islamization, in North Africa as elsewhere, was a dual pro-
this last-ditch effort did not have the anticipated results. The
cess. Islam originated as a set of beliefs and behaviors indige-
Arabs did not leave the devastated land, and al-Ka¯hinah, see-
nous to the Arabs of the Middle East, but the long and rich
ing how things were turning out and herself unable to sur-
experience of the Maghrebi population that received it was
render, advised her sons to go over to the enemy. Military
also to determine its final form. Three centuries before the
operations continued for another ten years or so in the west
appearance of the first Muslim missionaries, the region, with
of the country. The new general, Mu¯sa¯ ibn Nus:ayr, return-
the exception of Carthage, was totally free from foreign influ-
ing to the policy of one of his predecessors, Abu¯ al-Muh:a¯jir,
ence. Independent principalities, whose internal histories are
widely applied the system of wala¯ D (“adoption”) and took
relatively obscure, had come into being. Epigraphic evidence
into the Arab aristocracy the sons of the vanquished leaders.
proves that the Punic religion and Christianity persisted, that
This ethnic interpenetration was so rapid that the conquest
Judaism was spreading, and that Donatism and Manichae-
of Spain, which began in 711, was led by a mawla¯ (“client”)
ism were flourishing again. It was within this extremely com-
of Mu¯sa¯, the Berber T:a¯riq ibn Ziya¯d.
plex situation, with its strange syncretisms, that Islam was to
Unlike the centralized monarchies of Egypt, Persia, and
develop. The belief that North Africa went directly from
Spain, whose destinies were sealed by the outcome of a single
Christian orthodoxy to Sunn¯ı Islam is nothing but an
battle with the Muslims, the Maghreb was conquered defini-
illusion.
tively only after a half-century of fighting. There were several
THE ARAB PERIOD. This term, inadequate as it might seem,
reasons for this. Mountainous, compartmentalized, and po-
refers to the period from the second to the fifth Muslim cen-
litically fragmented, the country was always difficult to con-
turies (seventh to eleventh centuries CE). With its own dis-
quer. The Arabs were faced with several different groups:
tinctive features, the period was Arab only in a very restricted
Ru¯m (Byzantines), Afranj (Romans), Afa¯riq (punicized Ber-
sense. But under this rubric shall be considered first of all the
bers), nomad and sedentary peoples. Each of these groups
conquest, or the taking of political power by the warriors
had its own defense tactics and had to be countered by an
from the Middle East; second, Islamization, or the adoption
appropriate attack. Berber resistance varied between the poli-
of rites and beliefs defined by the QurDa¯n; and finally, Arab-
cy of Kusaylah and that of al-Ka¯hinah, and the Arab strategy
ization, in its dual ethnic and cultural senses as a change in
also wavered between the rigor of EUqbah and the liberalism
the actual makeup of the population and as the adoption of
of Abu¯ al-Muh:a¯jir. Moreover, the conquering armies felt the
Arab language and customs. These three developments were
repercussions of the crises that shook the Muslim caliphate
far from identical.
from 660 to 694.
The conquest. The first Arab armies arrived in Ifr¯ıqiya¯
Some historians who are not specialists on Islam believe
(formerly known as Byzacene) in AH 26/647, but the con-
that the first Arab conquerors were nomads such as the Banu¯
quest began only nine years later, when EUqbah ibn Na¯fiE
Hila¯l, who invaded the country more than three centuries
founded the city of Kairouan as a permanent base for his sol-
later. This belief is wholly erroneous; they were in fact highly
diers. EUqbah decided to skirt the northern towns that had
skilled horsemen, trained in the latest cavalry tactics. Most
been fortified by the Byzantines and to follow the inland
of them came from Syria and were the descendants of people
route of the high plateaus, where the independent principali-
who had been in contact with the Romans and the Byzan-
ties had been set up. At first these tactics paid off, for the
tines for generations. Thus they came to the Maghreb as
Arab general, after defeating the Berber chief Kusaylah, was
heirs of ancient civilizations. As time went on, the neo-
able to cross the whole country as far as the Atlantic Ocean
Byzantine character of the Arab administration became more
without meeting any further resistance. However, on his way
and more obvious.
back he found that the Berbers and the Byzantines had unit-
Arabization. From an ethnic point of view, the process
ed to cut off his lines of communication, and his army, which
of Arabization seems to have been very limited in scope. Ac-
he had misguidedly divided into small groups, was wiped
cording to the most reliable historians, the number of Arabs
out. Another leader of the conquest, H:assa¯n ibn al-NuEma¯n,
settled in the country during the first Muslim century did
drew the logical conclusions from this defeat and decided to
not exceed fifty thousand. The local population, especially
attack Carthage, which was the center of Byzantine power.
in Ifr¯ıqiya¯, was already fairly mixed; this characteristic was
He took it by storm in 691, lost it, then recaptured it defini-
accentuated by the conquest, for the “Arab” armies in fact
tively in 695. It was at that moment that the mountain peo-
included Byzantines, Persians, and, very early on, Berbers,
ple of the Aures, who had fought fiercely for their indepen-
probably nomads, who were later known as Zana¯tah.
dence against the Vandals and the Byzantines during the past
two centuries, rose up in revolt under the leadership of a
The adoption of Arab customs, habits, costume, and
woman the Arabs called al-Ka¯hinah (“the sorceress”). Be-
language was doubtless very rapid; the early Arab chroniclers
cause the conquerors are interested only in our wealth,
all emphasize the Himyarite (Yemenite) origin of the Ber-
al-Ka¯hinah reasoned, let us turn our land into a desert and
bers, which suggests that a feeling of distant ethnic solidarity
they will leave. She then gave the order to cut down all the
existed. The system of wala¯ D meant that many Berber clans
trees, thus causing a terrible deforestation with consequences
were linked with the Qahtanites (southern Arabs). The word
that are still felt today. Is this truth or legend? In either case,
berber rapidly lost its original etymological meaning and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4582
ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
came to designate the inhabitants of isolated mountain re-
what is now Tunisia, and the Hammadids in the east of pres-
gions. Since Islamization, the fundamental distinction in
ent-day Algeria; both were descendants of Z¯ır¯ı ibn Mana¯d,
North Africa has been sociocultural rather than ethnicol-
the army general who became regent after the departure of
inguistic.
the Fatimid caliph, and both were to prosper until the mid-
eleventh century.
Cultural arabization was naturally enhanced when polit-
ical authority was in Arab hands. During the period under
Applied to this period, then, the term Arab is clearly in-
consideration the power of the Arabs was solidly established
adequate. It was indeed princes from the East who founded
in what is now Tunisia and in that part of Spain bordering
states and created cities where the army, the administration,
on the Mediterranean. These were populated, prosperous re-
and the religious institutions spread Arab culture, but very
gions, easy to defend, where the Punic influence had been
early on political power was shared; without the Awribah,
deep and lasting. Kairouan and Cordova, the capitals of the
Idr¯ıs I would never have reigned, and without the Kuta¯mah,
two provinces, maintained uninterrupted relations with the
EUbayd Alla¯h could never have laid claim to the caliphate.
other Muslim metropoles and were the starting points for the
spread of Arab culture and orthodox Islam.
There is no doubt that the process of Arabization was
very slow. Epigraphic finds have shown that Punic and
After the conquest the Maghreb was governed by emirs
Roman-Christian influences subsisted for a long time after
appointed by the Umayyad caliphs in Damascus. With the
the conquest, but the importance of such relics must not be
Abbasid Revolution of 750, which saw the capital transferred
exaggerated. The narratives that tell the story of the begin-
to Baghdad, the empire became more Persian than Arab,
ning of the Fatimid dynasty show clearly that the Kuta¯mah
more Asian than Mediterranean. The western provinces,
homeland, although it was far from the capital and isolated
which from then on would be more difficult to watch over,
by its mountainous surroundings, was nevertheless open to
began to break away one after the other. In 755 an Umayyad
the influence of the cities, which were themselves wholly
prince who had fled to Spain founded an independent emir-
given over to the distinctive values of Arab culture. Arabiza-
ate there. In 787 Idr¯ıs I, a descendant of EAl¯ı ibn Ab¯ı T:a¯lib,
tion was set in motion by Arab governors, but it did not cease
did the same in Morocco. Finally, in 800, Ifr¯ıqiya¯ achieved
when the power passed into Berber hands, as can be seen
autonomy under the Aghlabid dynasty, with the consent of
from the behavior of the Zirid and Hammadid princes, who
the caliph.
were direct descendants of the S:anh:a¯jah Berbers.
In the ninth century, the Umayyad and Aghlabid emir-
Islamization. In 660 a serious crisis split the eastern
ates exercised military and commercial control over the
Muslim community. Two opposing clans were struggling for
whole of the western Mediterranean. Muslim Spain, which
the caliphate: the supporters of MuEa¯wiyah and the Umayyad
became a caliphate in 929, retained its preeminence right up
family in general, and the followers of EAl¯ı ibn Ab¯ı T:a¯lib
to the great crisis of 1009; its capital, Cordova, was the
and, by extension, the Hashimites, the Prophet’s clan. Later
equivalent of Baghdad or Cairo. The western half of the Ma-
there appeared a more neutral faction who maintained that
ghreb lived in the sphere of Spain’s cultural and political in-
authority should be conferred by election and that the caliph
fluence; the princes of Ceuta, Fez, Tlemcen, and elsewhere,
could be non-Quraysh¯ı and even non-Arab. The last men-
whether Arabs or Berbers, were clients of the caliph of Cor-
tioned were known as Kha¯rij¯ıs; the second were called
dova, and as such they spread Andalusian culture and Umay-
Sh¯ıEah; and the first, ahl al-jama¯ Eah, that is to say, the sup-
yad orthodoxy.
porters of the majority, who were later to become the Sunn¯ıs
As for the Aghlabid emirate, it fell victim to the propa-
(orthodox ones). At first all three factions were similarly
ganda of the Sh¯ıE¯ı Fatimids, who maintained that only the
Arab; but when the conquering Umayyads set up a predomi-
descendants of EAl¯ı and Fa¯t:imah, the cousin and daughter
nantly Quraysh¯ı administration in Damascus, the Sh¯ıEah
respectively of the prophet Muh:ammad, could legitimately
and the Kha¯rij¯ıs turned toward the newly converted, and,
lay claim to the caliphate. One of their da¯ E¯ıs (“missionaries”)
confronted by Sunnism—an official, conservative, moderate
who had come from the Yemen settled among the Kuta¯mah
Islam that was also an Arab Islam—they took up a non-Arab
Berbers in the mountainous region of Little Kabylia. There,
and sometimes even a frankly anti-Arab stance.
surrounded by a population favorable to the EAlids and out
Islam spread more rapidly in North Africa than did the
of the reach of Aghlabid power, he patiently bided his time.
Arab language. This was a paradoxical result of the schismat-
The Aghlabid army, weakened by the quarrels that split the
ic propaganda, for the autonomy movement, which was di-
reigning family, was crushed at al-Urbus (ancient Laribus)
rected against the political power of the Arabs and their cli-
in 909, and the residence of the emirs, Raqqa¯dah, was taken
ents, endowed Islam with a profoundly national character.
by storm. A year later the real pretender arrived and officially
adopted the title of EUbayd Alla¯h al-Mahdi. But for the vic-
After the death of al-Ka¯hinah in 701, the conquest was
torious Fatimids Ifr¯ıqiya¯ was no more than a base for the
almost completed. The new rulers, seeking to reorganize the
conquest of the Abbasid empire. Once they had taken com-
country, imposed a regular tax system. But since the decline
mand of Egypt in 969, they abandoned Ifr¯ıqiya¯ to their
of the Roman Empire the population had become used to
Kuta¯mah allies. Thus two dynasties were born: the Zirids in
living in small, independent communities. As early as 720
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
4583
the Berbers of Ifr¯ıqiya¯ rose up and killed the emir, Ibn
lished in the west of Algeria. Some confined themselves to
al-H:abh:a¯b. In 740 a more serious revolt broke out in north-
the role of honored guests, while others were regarded as
ern Morocco and soon spread throughout the whole of
local chiefs, although their ambitions were limited by the fact
North Africa. One of the main rebel chiefs, Maysarah, had
that they had no armies. Owing to the presence of so many
lived in Kairouan, where he had come under the influence
EAlid “guests,” Sh¯ıE¯ı ideology was able to permeate Maghrebi
of the S:ufr¯ıyah, who were Kha¯rij¯ı extremists. Thus the Ber-
society, sometimes replacing Kha¯rij¯ı thought, sometimes
bers rose up in the name of those values of justice, equality,
combining it with older beliefs to produce strange syncre-
and austerity that had been taught by Islam itself but that,
tisms. One example may be found in the region of
in the Berber view, had been betrayed by the Umayyads. In
Ghuma¯rah, south of Tetuan, where a pseudo-prophet called
740, on the banks of the Chelif River, in the center of what
Ha¯D M¯ım founded a separate cult in conjunction with his
is now Algeria, the flower of the Arab aristocracy fell in the
aunt, Tang¯ıt. The victory of the Fatimids would be incom-
Battle of the Nobles (ghazwat al-ashra¯f). Thenceforth, the
prehensible without the preliminary activity of the Sh¯ıE¯ı mis-
western half of the Maghreb was independent. The struggle
sionaries. The notion of Mahdi (messiah), the dispenser of
continued to the east, but no decisive battle was won against
justice who brings to a close an era of injustice, may or may
the rebels. The new rulers of the empire, the Abbasids, de-
not have sounded the echo of ancient beliefs, but henceforth
spairing of a rapid victory over this distant province, delegat-
it was to become a permanent aspect of the mentality of the
ed their authority to Ibra¯him ibn al-Aghlab, a brilliant gener-
Maghreb, before taking on official status with the Almohads.
al who had defended Za¯b, in the south of present-day
The Islam that was spread among the Berbers by the
Tunisia, against the insurgents; this event led to the birth of
schisms now seems to be very unorthodox, but can one really
the Aghlabid dynasty within the frontiers of what had been
speak of orthodoxy in relation to that far-off time when no
Roman Africa.
remotely hierarchical institution existed? As long as there was
The Kha¯rij¯ıs were now in command of the central and
no strong state capable of imposing an official ideology
western Maghreb, but they soon proved to be incapable of
throughout North Africa, there was room enough for differ-
establishing a great state. As proponents of absolute equality,
ent interpretations of dogma, and these ultimately deepened
they refused any form of hierarchy or discipline; they accept-
the impact of the QurDanic message. The Fatimids were the
ed without discrimination all those who shared their beliefs.
first to attempt the political and ideological unification of the
They had a taste for theological controversies and, in case of
Maghreb; the Kha¯rij¯ıs were almost completely eradicated,
disagreement over a point of dogma, they would depose their
with the exception of the Mzab region in southern Algeria
imams and, in some cases, kill them. The principalities that
and Jabal Nafu¯sah to the west of what is now Libya, where
they founded after 754 had shifting frontiers and rudimenta-
communities persist down to the present day. It was with the
ry structures. Entrepôt towns such as Ta¯hart in western Alge-
Almoravids that Ma¯lik¯ı Sunn¯ısm was to triumph, mainly be-
ria and Sijilma¯sah in southwestern Morocco were situated at
cause islamization had already been achieved through the ac-
the junction of the important communication routes be-
tivity of the schismatics.
tween east and west, between the Sahara and the Mediterra-
Literary works. Berber literature has always been basi-
nean, and as such were busy and prosperous despite their po-
cally oral. Berber prophets such as S:a¯lih: of the Barghwa¯t:ah
litical instability. The state of Barghwa¯t:ah, founded at the
or Ha¯D M¯ım of the Ghuma¯rah probably employed oral
same period on the rich Atlantic plains, was just as prosper-
means of communication. Although the eleventh-century
ous, according to travelers in the tenth century; the fruit of
Andalusian geographer al-Bakr¯ı asserts that the Barghwa¯t:ah
the Kha¯rij¯ı revolt, it tended more and more toward a very
had a QurDa¯n in Berber, no trace of this has been found so
broad syncretism.
far.
After Kha¯rij¯ısm, it was Shiism that dominated the polit-
If no written document exists to shed light on the syn-
ical and religious history of the Maghreb. Indeed, the found-
cretisms, this is not so for the Kha¯rij¯ıs. After the fall of
ing of the Idrisid kingdom was probably not fortuitous.
Ta¯-hart, the survivors fled to Mzab with their sacred books,
There is some evidence for the existence of a real network
and in this way two important works were saved. The first,
of Sh¯ıE¯ı missionaries who took to the western routes from
Kita¯b akhba¯r al-Rustum¯ıy¯ın (Memorable Events in the His-
Medina or Iraq to spread their good word. They began by
tory of the Rustimid Imams), was written by Ibn al-S:agh¯ır
questioning students and pilgrims from the Maghreb about
(d. 894), who was alive at the time of the events he recorded;
the state of mind of their countrymen. If the latter seemed
the second, Kita¯b al-s¯ırah wa-akhba¯r al-a Dimmah (Lives and
to nurture some sympathy for the EAl¯ıds and if they were un-
Works of the Imams), is a later work—its author, Abu¯
happy with their rulers, then a missionary was sent over to
Zakar¯ıya¯D, lived in the eleventh century—although it re-
find out firsthand what the situation was and perhaps pre-
mains with in the limits of the period under consideration.
pare the ground for the arrival of the EAl¯ıd pretender. The
Both texts are concerned above all with enlightening the
success of Idr¯ıs I encouraged several of the descendants of
faithful; nevertheless they provide some historical informa-
H:asan ibn EAl¯ı to follow his example. In the middle of the
tion and clues to the psychology of the Kha¯rij¯ıs in the Ma-
eleventh century, nearly a dozen H:asanid princes were estab-
ghreb.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4584
ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
The early Sh¯ıE¯ı movement did not leave behind compa-
its autonomy, they encouraged the growth of a genuinely
rable works; it is known only through the prehistory of the
local literature. The second Zirid emir, al-Mans:u¯r ibn
Fatimid dynasty as it was recorded by Qa¯d:¯ı al-NuEma¯n ibn
Bulugg¯ın (984–996), left Raqqa¯dah, the former Aghlabid
H:ayyu¯n (d. 974). This writer was the main ideologue of the
residence, and went to live in great luxury in
Fatimids. In his major work, Iftita¯h: al-da Ewah (Our First
S:abra¯-Mans:u¯r¯ıyah, where the court life, so typical of Islamic
Missions), he describes, with remarkable objectivity and ac-
civilization, favored the development of a¯da¯b (profane litera-
curacy, the region that escaped the political control of the
ture). Here may be mentioned the names of three men whose
Aghlabids while remaining open to their cultural influence.
fame extended far beyond the frontiers of Ifr¯ıqiya¯. Ibra¯h¯ım
ibn al-Raq¯ıq (d. 1027) was chancellery secretary and a com-
The most important works of this period, however, were
mitted Sh¯ıE¯ı; his vast historical work, TaDr¯ıkh Ifr¯ıqiya¯ wa-al-
conceived in Kairouan. Until the eleventh century, profane
Maghrib, served as a reference for all subsequent chroniclers,
literature was dominated by émigrés from the East, but local
although very little of it has come down to the present.
writers won renown in the field of religious culture. At first
Muh:ammad ibn SaE¯ıd ibn Sharaf (d. 1067) was known as
Ifr¯ıqiya¯ followed the example of Baghdad and adopted the
both a poet and a historiographer; his treatise of literary criti-
legal tradition of Abu¯ H:an¯ıfah (d. 768), but it soon came
cism, Masa¯ Dil al-intiqa¯d, has been translated into several Eu-
to favor that of Ma¯lik ibn Anas (d. 796). What was the rea-
ropean languages. H:asan ibn Rash¯ıq (d. 1064), a poet and
son for this preference? It seems that there were several. Stu-
anthologist, has left to posterity a book of rhetoric (Kita¯b
dents and pilgrims from the Maghreb went more readily to
al- Eumdah) that is remarkable for the depth of its analysis
the Hejaz, Malik’s home, than to Iraq, where Abu¯ H:an¯ıfah
and the elegance of its style.
was born. Because he had lived all his life in Medina, Ma¯lik
seemed to guarantee greater fidelity to the tradition of the
The mosques of Kairouan and Sousse, the remains of
Prophet. Many of the inhabitants of the Maghreb wished,
the palace in Raqqa¯dah, the fortresses of Belezma and
perhaps unconsciously, to dissociate themselves from the
Bagha¯D¯ı, the citadels of Sousse and Monastir, all bear witness
East but without falling into the schisms. Finally, the Ma¯lik¯ı
to the wealth of the reigning dynasties and the adaptation
school, which was simpler than the H:anaf¯ı, was better suited
of Islamic art to North Africa. The architecture of this period
to the society of Ifr¯ıqiya¯, which was still predominantly rural
resulted from a harmonious symbiosis of the Byzantine heri-
and thus relatively homogeneous.
tage, the influence of Abbasid Iraq, and a spirit of sobriety
that was expressed in the asceticism of a man such as Buhlu¯l.
But whatever the causes, the results were of major im-
portance. The Ma¯lik¯ı school in Kairouan took decisive steps
THE BERBER PERIOD. The culture of Ifr¯ıqiya¯ reached its
toward the ideological unification of the Maghreb. EAbd
peak in the eleventh century and then spread throughout the
al-Sala¯m ibn SaE¯ıd, known as Sah:nu¯n (d. 854), set down in
Maghreb as a result of the unifying policies of the Almoravid,
his Mudawwanah (a handbook of Ma¯lik¯ı law) the code of
Almohad, and Marinid dynasties. For want of a better name,
the civil society of the Islamic Maghreb. Doubtless many an-
the three hundred years from the mid-eleventh to the mid-
cestral or even prehistoric customs persisted, but they were
fourteenth century, when supreme power was in the hands
judged by reference to the model laid down in the Mudaw-
of the Berber dynasties, is known as the Berber period, but
wanah. From now on the Ma¯lik¯ı faq¯ıh (jurisprudent) was
the term is as unsatisfactory as the adjective Arab that this
one of the two most important figures in society. The other
article applied to the previous three centuries. Indeed, nei-
was the Ea¯bid (man of God) who disdained any honors of-
ther arabization nor islamization had been halted, and on the
fered him, was always ready to criticize the powers that be,
contrary, it was in this period that they reached the point of
and thus was able to channel popular discontent. The master
no return.
among these was Buhlu¯l ibn Ra¯shid (d. 799), who, along
with others like him, was said to have prepared the blossom-
The three Berber dynasties practiced an imperial policy
ing of those brotherhoods (zawa¯ya¯) that were so characteris-
aimed at the unification of the Maghreb; although this at-
tic of Berber religiosity. If Sunnism prevailed in the end, it
tempt failed in the end, it left indelible traces. In the eleventh
was thanks to men like him, whose example suggested how
century there was an obvious difference between the eastern
to influence the government by means other—and better—
and western halves of the Maghreb. The former was Arab in
than bloody rebellion. As the society became more urbanized
culture and politically unified, while the latter was fragment-
and more stable, such an example found even greater echoes.
ed into numerous principalities that were fought over by the
These ascetics have not left any written works, but their atti-
rulers of Cordova and Kairouan. Maghra¯wah and Mikna¯sah,
tude has been described in detail and their sayings recorded
alternately serving the interests of one and the other, wore
in the mana¯qib (hagiography) literature, beginning with the
themselves out in a series of fruitless conflicts. Quite sudden-
T:abaqa¯t Eulama¯D Ifr¯ıqiya¯ wa-Tu¯nus (Biographies of the reli-
ly and for various reasons, the caliphate of Cordova disap-
gious scholars of Ifr¯ıqiya¯ and Tunis) by Abu¯ al-EArab
peared in 1031, and the Zirid and Hammadid emirates in
Muh:ammad ibn Tam¯ım (d. 944).
1052; with this vacuum on the North African political scene,
the time of the western Maghreb had come. The Almoravid
When, in the middle of the tenth century, the Kuta¯mah
Lamtunah, starting from the Atlantic region of the Sahara,
Berbers inherited a stable, prosperous state that soon gained
built an empire around Marrakesh (founded in 1062); this
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
4585
empire, which lasted until 1146, stretched from Andalusia
and austerity to the governing. Qa¯d:¯ı EIya¯d of Ceuta
to the Sahara and from Algiers to the Atlantic. The Al-
(d. 1149) was the embodiment of this clerical caste. He left
moravids were replaced by the Almohads, whose main
many works, two of which were of considerable importance.
strength came from the Mas:mu¯dah of the High Atlas; ex-
His Shifa¯ D (Book of Healing), which draws a complete por-
tending the empire they had inherited as far as Tripoli, they
trait of the Prophet, simultaneously gives readers an example
reigned in Marrakesh until 1276 and, under the name of the
to follow at every moment of their lives, thus proving that,
Hafsids, in Tunis until 1573. Then came the turn of the
contrary to Sh¯ıE¯ı thought, they had no need of an imam to
Zana¯tah shepherds from the borders of Algeria and Moroc-
guide them to the truth. In the Kita¯b al-mada¯rik (Book of
co, who, as the Marinids and then the Wattasids, reigned in
Exploits), he drew up a long list of the celebrities of the
Fez until 1550 and, as the Zayyanid-EAbd al-Wadids, in
Ma¯lik¯ı school. This book completed the work that Abu¯
Tlemcen until 1554.
al-EArab had begun by putting together what can be consid-
ered a veritable patrology of Maghrebi Islam.
Unlike the Kuta¯mah, the Berber groups from the west-
ern Maghreb had not set out at the call of an Arab refugee.
However, in spite of the wholehearted support of the
In both cases, however, the seizure of power by a Berber
state, Ma¯lik¯ı preeminence was short-lived, and with the
dynasty was accompanied by cultural Arabization that owed
coming of the Almohad dynasty the Maghreb was once more
its fast pace to the luxurious life of the court. Ethnic Arabiza-
to experience a schism. Official Almoravid ideology seems to
tion was intensified too, because the Banu¯ Hila¯l Bedouins,
have lagged behind the sociointellectual evolution of the rest
who were responsible for the fall of the Zirid and Hammadid
of the Islamic world. Whereas in the East, thanks to
emirates, continued to emigrate to the Maghreb right up to
al-Gha¯zal¯ı (d. 1111), Sunnism had succeeded in integrating
the fifteenth century; the last to arrive, the Banu¯ MaEqil, Ara-
dialectical theology (kala¯m), logic (mant:iq), and mysticism
bized the province of Shang¯ıt:, which lies to the north of
(ta0awwuf); and while in Andalusia, Ibn H:azm (d. 1064) was
what is now Mauritania.
pioneering new directions in juridical thought, the
The Almoravid movement. One of the leaders of the
Ma¯lik¯ıyah of the Maghreb remained blindly attached to the
Lamtu¯nah, on his way back from a pilgrimage to Mecca, at-
school of Kairouan and refused any kind of reform. When
tended the lessons given by Abu¯ EImra¯n al-Fa¯s¯ı, a famous
in power they applied a reactionary policy in the true sense
man of law from Morocco. “My countrymen,” he told the
of the term, refusing to systematize the fiqh in the manner
teacher, “know nothing of true Islam and have need of a
of al-ShafiE¯ı (d. 820), condemning and burning all the
guide. Who would you recommend?” Abu¯ EImra¯n replied,
works of al-Gha¯zal¯ı, and declaring war on popular piety.
“Go on my behalf to see Wajja¯j, who knows your region
They formed an isolated, activist minority that refused the
well.” Wajja¯j in turn directed the Lamtu¯nah chief to a faq¯ıh
spirit of the sunnah, that is, to choose the middle way and
from Sijilma¯sah called EAbd Alla¯h ibn Ya¯s¯ın. When they got
always seek the consensus of the majority. It was not until
back to the Sahara, the warrior chief and the missionary
they had suffered bitterly from the persecution of the Almo-
founded a riba¯t: (monastery) where the future leaders of the
hads that they discovered the virtues of moderation.
movement gathered together; for this reason they were given
The Almohads. From a political point of view, the Al-
the name al-mura¯bit:u¯n, transformed by the Spanish into Al-
mohad century represented the apogee of North African his-
moravids. Later, under the leadership of Yu¯suf ibn Ta¯shf¯ın,
tory, but from a religious point of view it was simply an inter-
the disciples of Ibn Ya¯s¯ın set out to conquer a vast empire.
lude. The official ideology, which from the very beginning
This story closely resembles that of Abu¯ EAbd Alla¯h, the
had been opposed by the Eulama¯D and later was to be seen
Fatimid da¯ E¯ı, apart from the fact that this time the mission-
as schismatic by a majority of the population, was eventually
ary was Sunn¯ı. The Almoravid movement in the West, like
repudiated by the descendants of those who had established
the Seljuk movement in the East, belonged to the vast coun-
it in the first place. How can its appearance be expalined?
teroffensive launched by the Abbasids in the eleventh century
Was it a belated offshoot of earlier schisms? An original cre-
to destroy Shiism and repel the Christian crusade. One of
ation stemming from the Berber mentality? A national reli-
the spiritual fathers of the movement, the Ma¯lik¯ı qa¯d:¯ı
gion comparable with what was to become Twelver Shiism
al-Ba¯qilla¯n¯ı (d. 1013), was Abu¯ EImra¯n’s teacher, and it was
in Persia? All of these remain questions without answers.
with the blessing of the grest jurisprudents of the East that
Muh:ammad ibn Tu¯mart, the Almohad ideologue, un-
Yu¯suf ibn Ta¯shf¯ın overthrew the Andalusian princes and
like Ibn Ya¯s¯ın, was not the propagandist of a movement that
took the title of Am¯ır al-Muslim¯ın (“commander of the
was external to his native region. Toward 1107 he left south-
Muslims”), which symbolized his supreme authority in the
ern Morocco for Cordova, where he immersed himself in the
Muslim West under the suzerainty of the Abbasid caliphs.
teachings of Ibn H:azm, then traveled on to Iraq where, ac-
In the new Almoravid state the faq¯ıhs held pride of
cording to some biographers, he may have met al-Ghaza¯l¯ı.
place. Chosen from among the early adherents of the move-
About 1116 he began to return homeward, stopping off for
ment, they set out to defend and spread the official ideology.
a long time in Alexandria, Tunis, Bougie, Tlemcen, Fez, and
They gave advice to local emirs, kept a close watch on the
Meknes. In each of these cities he set himself up as the arbiter
verdicts of the courts, preached asceticism to the governed
of morals, antagonizing the local authorities but gaining dis-
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
ciples who, like EAbd al-MuDmin al-Gu¯m¯ı, became fanatical
role in the empire. However, his successor, Caliph EAbd al-
followers. When he arrived in the Almoravid capital of Mar-
MuDmin, came from western Algeria, and, according to the
rakesh, he challenged the faq¯ıhs and led them into theologi-
chroniclers, he brought forty thousand of his countrymen
cal controversies for which they were ill prepared. An advo-
with him to Morocco in order to reinforce his personal
cate of strict monotheism (tawh:¯ıd) who made no concessions
power. During his later campaigns, when he came up against
to popular imagination, he accused his adversaries of an-
the Zana¯tah, Arabized Berbers migrating along the Algerian-
thropomorphism (tajs¯ım). In fact, Almohad is a Spanish dis-
Moroccan borders, he moved them to the regions of Meknes
tortion of the Arabic al-muwah:h:id (“unitarian”).
and Taza; he likewise sent the Banu¯ Hila¯l, Arab Bedouins
from Ifr¯ıqiya¯, to the Atlantic plains. He imposed military
Expelled from the capital in 1121, Ibn Tu¯mart took ref-
service on both groups and in return granted them iqt:a¯ Es, tax
uge in Tinmal in the High Atlas; there, surrounded by his
followers, and with the support of the Hinta¯tah Berbers, a
farms for vast tracts of land. Thus there came into being a
clan of the Mas:mu¯dah, he put himself forward as a candidate
caste of soldiers who were superimposed on the local popula-
for the imamate. He spent seven years organizing a veritable
tion and who brought with them their Arab culture and lan-
revolutionary army, then set out in 1128 to attack Marra-
guage. In this way the Arabization of the plains and plateaus
kesh. The Almoravid empire was still in the prime of youth,
of the Maghreb was completed. Both toponymy and anthro-
and the attacking army was repelled with serious losses, al-
ponymy bear witness to the fact that the same groups were
though Ibn Tu¯mart’s forces were able to regain a place of ref-
to be found everywhere.
uge without being pursued. Ibn Tu¯mart died soon after this
This period also saw the development of a pietistic reli-
defeat, but he left behind him a perfectly tuned instrument
gious movement that had its origins in Almoravid times. En-
of warfare. His successor, EAbd al-MuDmin, had only to
couraged by the victory of the Almohads, it was nonetheless
choose tactics of attrition to overcome the power of the Al-
distinguished from them from the beginning by its aims and
moravids.
methods. Ibn Tu¯mart’s intellectualism was permeated with
Ibn Tu¯mart was closely involved in the ideological
great fervor, and yet its austerity left no room for the religious
training of his disciples and for their benefit wrote a series
sentimentality that the people doubtless needed. Numerous
of theological texts that have come down to the present. Like
ascetics left for the countryside to spread the word of God
the Kha¯rij¯ıs, he held that faith (ima¯n) should not be passive,
to the people in a colorful language that was simple enough
and he believed that he had to actively follow good and fight
to be understood by the least educated. Only a very few of
against evil. Like the MuEtazilah, he defined the divine attri-
them were real faq¯ıhs, and some were even quite uneducated,
butes in strictly rational terms, with recourse if need be to
but they were all men of God. They settled in lodges
ta Dw¯ıl (allegorical interpretation). As the leader of an inde-
(za¯wiyahs) far from any town, where they spent their days
pendent school, he applied ijtiha¯d, following his own opin-
in prayer and meditation. For the scattered populations that
ions without reference to a particular legal school. As a pre-
still had no fixed homes, these lodges became centers where
tender to political power, he claimed EAlid ancestry and
they could gather, and in fact they were the forerunners of
presented himself as the infallible imam (ma Es:u¯m), the
what are today the mawasim (annual fairs; sg., mawsim). The
Mahdi whose coming had been so long awaited by the weak
biographies of these men, the greatest of whom was EAbd
and the oppressed. Here one is far from the Ma¯lik¯ı school,
al-Sala¯m ibn Mash¯ısh (d. 1128), can be found in the
but the only point that was really unacceptable to a Sunn¯ı
Tashawwuf of Ibn al-Zayya¯t. It was with this movement that
Muslim was the doctrine of infallibility, and this was to be
Islam truly became the culture of the people of the Maghreb.
abandoned in Marrakesh in 1229 and later in Tunis by the
Two centuries later than Ifr¯ıqiya¯ but on a larger scale,
Hafsids. If Ibn Tu¯mart had contented himself with claiming
the western Maghreb in its turn witnessed a court life that
the right to ijtiha¯d, the faq¯ıhs would have have been able to
was to familiarize it with Arab-Islamic civilization. By emu-
do no more than question his abilities, without ever going
lating the Andalusian émigrés, Moroccans such as Abu¯ JaEfar
so far as to condemn him for heresy.
ibn EAt:¯ıyah (d. 1158), Ibn H:abbu¯s (d. 1174), and Ah:mad
The arrival of a man such as Ibn Tu¯mart in a region that
al-Jara¯w¯ı (d. 1212) distinguished themselves in the field of
was so far from the great cultural centers shows to what ex-
profane literature. A school of historiography also came into
tent the Maghreb had been Islamized; however, it would be
being, and through it are obtained the first glimpses of the
a serious error to consider the Almohads a purely local phe-
interior of the western Maghreb. The most important au-
nomenon; their ideology expressed a general desire to go be-
thors in this field were Ibn al-Qatta¯n, who lived during the
yond the narrow legalism of the Ma¯lik¯ı school, to apply logic
reign of Caliph al-Murt:ada¯ (1248–1266), EAbd al-Wa¯h:id
to both law and theology. This was in fact achieved in the
al-Marra¯kush¯ı (d. 1230), and Ibn EIdha¯r¯ı (d. after 1213). For
following century. To the extent that there is today a homo-
the first time, too, a Maghrebi capital, Marrakesh, could be
geneous Maghrebi people, in spite of their internal diversity,
compared with Cordova or Cairo. The celebrated Andalu-
this is the result of the policy of the Almohad caliphs. Ibn
sian philosophers and jurists Ibn T:ufayl (d. 1185) and Ibn
Tu¯mart owed his victory to the support of the Mas:mu¯dah
Rushd and Ibn Zuhr (who both died in 1198) lived there
in the Moroccan High Atlas, who were then to play a leading
for many years and wrote some of their most important
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
4587
works there. During the Almohad period the art of the Ma-
ty, and positivity. For a long time Sunn¯ı Islam had been
ghreb reached the height of its greatness and harmony.
faced with a precise problem: the rationalization of law, the-
Rigor, sobriety, and modesty were the characteristics ascribed
ology, and mysticism. The Z:a¯hir¯ı and Sha¯fiE¯ı jurists claimed
to the ideology of Ibn Tu¯mart and to the collective psycholo-
that it was possible to reduce the various QurDanic dictates
gy of the Maghrebi people.
to a few laws. The MuEtazil¯ı and AshEar¯ı theologians wanted
to derive all the attributes of God from a single principle.
The post-Almohad period. The Almohad empire, ex-
The mystics of the school of Ibn EArab¯ı (d. 1240) justified
hausted by its wars in Andalusia against the combined forces
their metaphysical monism with the desire to be identified
of Christendom, finally gave way to three dynasties that di-
with God. The Ma¯lik¯ı faq¯ıhs, taking a completely different
vided the North African territory among themselves. Under
viewpoint, considered this attempt at systematization useless
the descendants of Abu¯ H:afs: EUmar, one of the first disciples
methodological extremism. For them, Islam is above all a di-
of Ibn Tu¯mart, Ifr¯ıqiya¯ once more became autonomous
vine order (amr) that is self-evident. The duty of the Muslim
within its former frontiers. The Hafsids remained loyal to Al-
is to obey this order; hence the cardinal importance of the
mohad ideas for a certain time, then dissociated themselves
notion of bid Eah, innovation in regard to ritual. The Prophet
and were reconciled with the Ma¯lik¯ı Eulama¯D. The rest of the
is by definition the perfect believer; why go beyond what he
Maghreb was shared between two Zana¯tah groups: the
taught his followers? Does this not imply either that he was
Marinids in Fez and the Zayyanids in Tlemcen. The
not perfect or that he did not transmit faithfully the message
Marinids, who considered themselves the sole rightful heirs
of God?
of the Almohads, attempted to rebuild the empire but failed,
and after 1350 the three dynasties coexisted more or less
Because Islam is above all a shar¯ı Eah (law; lit., “path”),
peacefully.
fiqh is the central discipline in Islamic science. The commu-
The Maghreb of the fourteenth century was homoge-
nity can always do without theologians and mystics, as in
neous. Various names were used for what was in fact the
Medina at the epoch of the Prophet, but it cannot live with-
same political organization, the Almohad makhzan (state
out faq¯ıhs, who form an integral part of the governing elite.
government) that had been directly inherited by some and
And because fiqh fills a social need, it must be founded on
copied by others. The army was dominated everywhere by
a simple Eaq¯ıdah (profession of faith), that of the salaf
the Banu¯ Hila¯l, the bureaucracy by the Andalusian émigrés
(“ancestors”); any attempt to complete it or to clarify it
who brought with them their refined system of etiquette.
would lead inevitably to endless dissension. Fiqh, the consti-
The retreat of the Andalusians from Spain marked the third
tution of the Muslim community, is a positive element and
step in the cultural arabization of the country. Fashions in
must be accepted as such; it is justified by the will of God,
dress or cooking, language, music, architecture, decoration,
which is itself inseparable from the final good of humanity.
all the framework of a certain kind of middle-class existence,
Such an attitude is easy to understand in the light of the
still bear witness to this cultural influence today. The same
disastrous consequences that partisan rifts have had through-
names, the same customs, the same way of speaking are to
out the history of Islam, but it is impossible to ignore the
be found in Fez, Tlemcen, and Tunis.
fact that as this attitude became more widespread, it tended
The failure of Ibn Tu¯mart’s extremism left the field
to discourage any form of intellectual curiosity. Indeed, the
clear for a renewed Sunnism that was both faithful to the her-
last achievements in the exact and natural sciences date from
itage of the past and open to the new questions that the Al-
no later than the fifteenth century in the Maghreb.
mohad crisis had brought to light. The Marinids, who had
The history of the Maghreb seems to come to a stand-
no ideological pretensions, took the advice of the Eulama¯D
still at the moment when Islam assumed its definitive charac-
and, following the example of the Seljuks in the East, set up
teristics. Contemporary scholars were aware of this and at-
madrasahs, colleges where the Islamic disciplines were taught
tempted to record, in encyclopedic form, the knowledge
from an orthodox viewpoint. These were immediately copied
handed down from past centuries. One such example in the
by the Zayyanids and Hafsids. The teaching was organized
field of law is the Mi Eya¯r (Norm) of al-Wanshar¯ıs¯ı
by the authorities, but its content was defined by the consen-
(d. 1508). Ibn Khaldu¯n (d. 1406), the greatest thinker ever
sus of the Eulama¯D, based on a tradition that was nurtured
produced by the Islamic Maghreb, also endowed his famous
by the vast body of biographical literature of the t:abaqa¯t. The
Muqaddimah (Prolegomena) with an encyclopedic content.
growing number of pupils led to a need for manuals; thus
This work was the conclusion of a deep reflection on the his-
began the era of dry, hermetic summaries that soon required
tory of the Maghreb, widened to include the entire Arab-
long commentaries (shuru¯h:). This was perhaps an inevitable
Islamic past. The author, who had been a serious student of
development, but one that turned out to be negative in the
Greco-Arab philosophy and who was personally inclined to-
long run.
ward mysticism, nevertheless remained absolutely faithful to
Official Islam. As the reigning dynasties grew weaker,
Ma¯lik¯ı methodology. In two brilliant chapters of his main
the Eulama¯D, without ever becoming truly independent,
work, he contrasts the positivism of fiqh with the rationalism
gained more power and put the finishing touches on an offi-
of kala¯m on the one hand, and the monism of mysticism on
cial ideology that was characterized by moderation, simplici-
the other. More important, he reveals the sociological basis
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4588
ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
for such a contrast: Universal history, according to him, had
riba¯t:s, rallying centers for warriors. (Here the word
evolved from Eumra¯n badaw¯ı (rural civilization) to Eumra¯n
mura¯bit:u¯n—as with Almoravids earlier—yields marabout in
madan¯ı (urban civilization). In the Maghreb the two kinds
French and English.) The man who symbolized this transfor-
of culture exist side by side, resulting in a structural dichoto-
mation was Muh:ammad ibn Sulayma¯n al-Jazu¯l¯ı, the author
my. In the city, society tends naturally toward a religion of
of a celebrated book of prayers concerning the Prophet called
reason, whereas rural society upholds a naturalist religion:
Dala¯ Dil al-khayra¯t (The Signs of Blessings); his za¯wiyah was
The sultan (the political authority) plays the role of mediator
located in Afu¯ghvl, near present-day Safi. He died in 1465,
between the two forms of social life; his official ideology,
before the Portuguese occupation of the city, but his disci-
Ma¯lik¯ı fiqh, must necessarily remain at an equal distance
ples, who later led the struggle for freedom, considered that
from rationalism and naturalism, hence its qualities of posi-
he had prepared them spiritually for their task. All the
tivism and moderation.
za¯wiyahs founded later were linked to al- Jazu¯l¯ı and, through
T
him, to EAbd al-Sala¯m ibn Mash¯ısh.
HE ISLAM OF THE ZA¯WIYAHS. During the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries the Maghreb underwent a general crisis.
The marabout movement was based on the legacy of
Nomadic life spread at the expense of a ruined agriculture;
several centuries. To the tasks of education and moral reform
commerce languished and plunged the cities into profound
it added a political program—the struggle against foreign
inactivity. The Spanish and the Portuguese, masters of the
domination—and this was its originality. The majority of its
seas, conquered many ports on the North African coasts.
leaders prided themselves on being shar¯ıfs (descendants of
Faced with such unfavorable developments and already
the Prophet through his daughter Fa¯t:imah); victory over the
weakened by incessant wars, the three reigning dynasties col-
invaders gave them a social importance that was based on an
lapsed.
assumption of holiness (barakah). From this time on, being
The Ottoman Turks. This period began with the Por-
a marabout and being a shar¯ıf were closely linked in the eyes
tuguese seizure of Ceuta in 1415 and ended with the defeat
of the people if not in reality.
of the Spanish in Tunis in 1574, and of the Portuguese in
FROM BROTHERHOOD TO PRINCIPALITY. The parent
Wa¯di al-Makha¯zin near Larache in 1578. Morocco was saved
za¯wiyah, which was a center for teaching and meditation,
by an outburst of nationalism, the rest of North Africa by
trained missionaries whose task was to spread the good word
the Ottoman Turks.
far and wide. The followers gathered in a special chapel, also
Ottoman sovereignty theoretically persisted in Algeria
known as a za¯wiyah, to recite their wird (“litany”). Thus the
until 1830, in Tunisia until 1881, and in Libya until 1911.
t:ar¯ıqah (brotherhood) came into being. With the weakening
However, from 1710 on, each of these provinces gained its
of the central power and the gradual splitting up of the coun-
autonomy. The official language was Turkish, but Arabic re-
try, the people turned more and more to the shaykhs of
mained the language of culture. The Ottomans reintroduced
za¯wiyahs who thus became, sometimes much against their
H:anaf¯ı law into the Maghreb; the resulting competition
will, the new political leaders. Similar circumstances sur-
with Ma¯lik¯ı law rekindled interest in long-neglected disci-
rounded the birth of the great North African brotherhoods:
plines such as us:u¯l al-fiqh (fundamental principles of law)
the Na¯s:ir¯ıyah and Wazza¯n¯ıyah in the mid-seventeenth cen-
and kala¯m. In Morocco, under the new SaEdid dynasty, the
tury, and the Darqa¯w¯ıyah, Tija¯n¯ıyah, and Sanu¯s¯ıyah during
social and political scene was dominated by the S:u¯f¯ı brother-
the nineteenth century. The za¯wiyah thus took on diverse
hoods.
forms: it could be a monastery, brotherhood, or principality.
On the one hand, it united the faithful over and above their
The marabout movement. Popular pietism, which had
traditional splits; on the other hand, it created new splits
been launched under the Almoravids and the Almohads, cov-
with its activism. In fact the za¯wiyah competed with the po-
ered the country with a network of za¯wiyahs where ascetics
litical authority and the clerical institution on their respective
lived—in theory at least—cut off from the world. In reality
grounds. In the eyes of his disciples, the shaykh was in pos-
they taught children and even adults the rudiments of reli-
session of a beneficial power that enabled him to work won-
gion; they used the offerings they received from the popula-
ders (kara¯ma¯t). When he died he became the object of a cult
tion to help the poor and give shelter to travelers; in cases
(ziya¯rah) because of his power of intercession (shafa¯ Eah).
of conflict they served as mediators. The person who was
From the point of view of its organization, the brotherhood
called s:a¯lih: (man of good works), wal¯ı (man of God), sayyid
had something of a secret society or, at the very least, a pri-
(lord), and shaykh (leader) had become an indispensable fig-
vate club about it. The principle of the brotherhood posed
ure. The last two terms indicate that he was endowed with
a problem for orthodoxy. However, until the beginning of
a spiritual authority that the qa¯ Did (representative of the cen-
the nineteenth century, every inhabitant of the Maghreb, lit-
tral powers) could not easily ignore.
erate or illiterate, was a member of one or several of them.
Up to this time the za¯wiyahs fulfilled a social need and
Because it was a family affair, women and children were in-
completed the work of the makhzan. When the latter turned
cluded in the brotherhood even if they did not usually partic-
out to be incapable of getting rid of the Portuguese who had
ipate in the ceremonies. The authorities and the clerics were
settled on the coasts, the za¯wiyahs were transformed into
unable to rise up openly against such a widespread practice.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
4589
The za¯wiyah and the naturalist substratum. Each
lished summaries of it. Thus, from the mid-eighteenth cen-
brotherhood produced a vast body of hagiographic literature
tury on normative Islam began to regain control, but it was
listing the qualities that placed its successive leaders among
in the minority and it attacked only the most aberrant as-
the chosen and omitting any details of their behavior that
pects of the marabout movement, never its basic tenets. This
were not quite orthodox. Nevertheless the official religious
phase is what this article shall call the pre-Salaf¯ıyah.
hierarchy remained suspicious. What was the true practice
The Salaf¯ıyah in the proper sense of the term appeared
of the za¯wiyah? Those who knew it from the inside were
at the end of the nineteenth century, when several Arab
sworn to secrecy, while those who remained outside could
countries, including Algeria (in 1830) and Tunisia (in 1881),
say nothing with authority. Were the old pre-Islamic cults
came under the yoke of European imperialism. The move-
lingering on in the za¯wiyahs? The Sunn¯ıs insinuated that this
ment expressed an awareness of the failure of traditional Is-
was so but were unable to produce solid proof. And in any
lamic society in the face of foreign domination, as well as a
case, even if the naturalist cults were kept up in secret, they
desire for radical reform in the intellectual and social do-
were reinterpreted in an Islamic language. The notions of
mains. From this standpoint the Islam of the za¯wiyahs ap-
barakah, kara¯mah, shafa¯ Eah, and sirr (“secret”) were directly
peared as a distortion of true Islam, an alteration that lay at
linked to the teachings of the Prophet.
the origin of the decadence of the Muslims. The Salaf¯ıyah
For three centuries the Islam of the brotherhoods, char-
declared total war on maraboutic Islam.
acterized by faith in hereditary grace, a supererogatory cult,
The North African Salaf¯ıyah formed part of the move-
and a hierarchical organization (which related it to the Sh¯ıE¯ı
ment that had been launched by the pan-Islamic leader Jama¯l
da Ewah), dominated the scene in the Maghreb so over-
al-D¯ın al-Afgha¯n¯ı (d. 1897) and his Egyptian disciple
whelmingly that any outside observer took it for the true
Muh:ammad EAbduh (d. 1905). The review Al- Eurwah
Islam, with the doctrine of the jurists being mere rationaliza-
al-wuthqa¯ (The Strongest Bond), which they published for
tion. Later history showed that this was not the case. From
a short time in Paris, was widely read by enlightened Tuni-
the mid-nineteenth century on, scriptural Islam returned in
sians. EAbduh himself stayed briefly in Tunisia and Algiers
force; then began the long struggle against the za¯wiyahs that
in 1901/2. The Cairo review Al-mana¯r (The Lighthouse),
finally brought them into disrepute. And yet one question
launched at EAbduh’s instigation in 1898 by his disciple
remains: If the brotherhoods were so popular, was it not be-
Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯, had an immediate influence on the pupils of
cause they fulfilled an affective need that official Islam was
the madrasahs. It shaped the minds of such future leaders of
unable to satisfy? Whatever the case, they gave rise to a re-
Islamic reformism as the Tunisian Bash¯ır S:far (d. 1937), the
newal of literary expression. Whereas classical Arabic poetry
Algerians T:ayyib al-EUqb¯ı (d. 1962) and EAbd al-Ham¯ıd ibn
(the qas:idah, “ode”) was becoming bogged down in a welter
Ba¯d¯ıs (d. 1940), and, to a lesser extent, the Moroccans Abu¯
of archaisms and stylistic artifices, the new emotionalism that
ShuEayb al-Dukka¯l¯ı (d. 1940) and al-EArb¯ı al-EAlaw¯ı
emerged from the brotherhoods gave rise to malh:u¯n, poetry
(d. 1962).
in the spoken language that was meant to be sung. Created
by artists versed in the subtleties of classical prosody, malh:u¯n
The critique of the za¯wiyahs. In 1937 the Algerian
produced genuine masterpieces.
Muba¯rak al-M¯ıl¯ı (d. 1962) published a pamphlet called
Risa¯lat al-shirk wa-maz:a¯hirih (Aspects of Polytheism), in
THE ISLAM OF THE SALAF¯IYAH. Throughout the Maghreb,
which he summarized the main criticisms leveled by the
the second half of the eighteenth century was a period of re-
Salaf¯ıyah against the brotherhoods. From the point of view
covery. The power of the central authority was reinforced,
of faith, he argued, the practices of the brotherhoods are
trade revived, and the cities prospered again. At the same
tainted with shirk (“associationism”). Those who give offer-
time as did the Wahha¯b¯ıyah of Arabia, the faq¯ıhs of the Ma-
ings believe that this is the price to be paid for the interces-
ghreb began to criticize the most absurd aspects of popular
sion of the patron saint of the za¯wiyah. However much the
religiosity. Their movement claimed to continue the inspira-
shaykh maintains that it is God alone who really intervenes,
tion of the first Muslims (salaf), hence the name Salaf¯ıyah
the donors still believe that it is the saint; they associate an-
conferred on it by historians.
other being with God and thus commit the worst of sins.
Pre-Salaf¯ıyah and Salaf¯ıyah. The Salaf¯ıyah were not
From a legal point of view, the brotherhood is an inno-
the first reformers to appear in the modern history of Islam,
vation. Its members frequent a chapel, not a mosque, and
so how can they be distinguished, apart from chronology?
this in order to recite prayers rather than the QurDa¯n; they
The EAlawid sultans of Morocco, Muh:ammad III (d. 1790)
fast during periods other than the month of Ramad:a¯n and
and Sulayma¯n (d. 1822), seeking to return to a simpler form
go on pilgrimages to places other than Mecca. According to
of religion, criticized the subtleties of the jurists and the su-
the Salaf¯ıyah, this is a cult that has elements in common with
pererogatory practices of the brotherhoods. Muh:ammad ibn
Islam and yet is distinct from it. New za¯wiyahs are created
al-Madan¯ı Gannu¯n (d. 1885) spoke out vehemently against
every day, and the Muslim community, instead of being
music and ritual dances. The book written by Ibn al-H:a¯jj
united around the QurDa¯n, is splitting up into sects that rise
(d. 1336) against all kinds of innovation, Al-madkhal (The
up against one another. Finally, from a social point of view,
Introduction), was reprinted, and numerous clerics pub-
the za¯wiyah is a school of taql¯ıd (the act of following blindly)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4590
ISLAM: ISLAM IN NORTH AFRICA
and tawakkul (fatalism). The disciple follows the shaykh in
olizes public activity by law; in Tunisia, it is the dominant
the belief that he can work wonders. Thus parasitism is en-
PSD (Destourian Socialist Party); in Libya, the people’s
couraged. The za¯wiyah is indeed active, but only in that it
committees, while the Eulama¯D. are no more than civil ser-
recruits people and takes them away from a productive life.
vants.
In short, for the Salaf¯ıyah the za¯wiyahs divide the Muslims,
The new dichotomy. After their liberation from the co-
disarm them morally, impoverish them economically, and
lonial yoke, the states of the Maghreb adopted the Salafi po-
enslave them spiritually. They mark a reappearance of the pa-
sition as their official ideology. What has become of the
ganism (ja¯hil¯ıyah) that the Prophet had fought against. A re-
Islam of the za¯wiyahs? Scholars do not agree on this subject.
turn to the religion of the one God is a return to freedom,
The religious evolution of the Maghreb seems to have fol-
to a sense of action and solidarity, in other words, to the
lowed two quite separate paths. On the one hand, there are
qualities responsible for the greatness of the ancestors.
the Kha¯rij¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı schisms, which, containing elements
From Salaf¯ıyah to nationalism. The Salaf¯ıyah were at
of prehistoric polytheism, influenced the Almohads and the
work in a Maghreb that was dominated by European colo-
practices of the brotherhoods; on the other hand, there is
nialism; they were not members of the Eulama¯D, even if they
strict monotheism, expressed at first through the Kairouan
had been taught in such traditional institutions as the
Ma¯lik¯ıyah, later redefined by the Sunnism of the thirteenth
Zaytu¯nah in Tunis or the Qaraw¯ıy¯ın in Fez. They were
and fourteenth centuries and revived by the modern
fighting above all against the leaders of the za¯wiyahs, but they
Salaf¯ıyah. This dichotomy could explain Ibn Khaldu¯n’s op-
also criticized the faq¯ıhs who, prudently favoring middle-of-
position between rural and urban civilization. If so, the grow-
the-road solutions, had little liking for their vehemence. The
ing urbanization and industrialization of the independent
Salaf¯ıyah drew their strength from the anticolonialist feelings
Maghreb, which requires an increasingly rationalist religiosi-
harbored by the majority of the North African people. In re-
ty, constantly reinforces the Salaf¯ıyah to the detriment of re-
sponse to the question “Why have we been colonized?” the
sidual naturalist practices.
Salaf¯ıyah gave a forceful answer: “Because we have been mor-
However, urbanization itself creates new needs. The city
ally disarmed by the brotherhoods.” The reply to this criti-
is never wholly middle class; it also contains a subproletariat
cism came from Ah:mad ibn EAliwah (d. 1934) in Algeria and
that remains close to its peasant roots and an intelligentsia
from Ah:mad Sk¯ıraj (d. 1944) in Morocco, but because it was
that is socially mixed and vulnerable to unemployment. The
purely religious in form it caused little stir.
former group (the women in particular) indulges in magical
The triumph of Salaf¯ıyah can be explained by the social
practices, while the latter zealously seeks out mystical emo-
and political environment of the time. As the cities became
tion or political activism. Under these circumstances, there
poorer, the Islam of the brotherhoods predominated. Then,
could well be a revival of the za¯wiyahs, but they would be
during colonization, the cities recovered their prosperity and
used to fulfill a role that is defined more by present needs
gave rise to a new merchant class whose lifestyle owed noth-
than by the legacy of the past. This fact is common to all the
ing to the practices of the za¯wiyahs. It was from this class that
great cities in the world.
Salaf¯ıyah drew the strength that enabled it to confront the
Political temptation. The Salaf¯ı ideology, which is
colonial administration, the shaykhs of the brotherhoods,
spread among the masses by the machinery of the state, re-
and the prudent Eulama¯D. However, because it was at once
tains its original activist character. As the state is not always
a religious and a sociopolitical movement, the Salaf¯ıyah had
faithful, in practice, to QurDanic prescription, individuals
to follow the same evolution as the society, which, becoming
who adopt this ideology find themselves on the horns of a
ever more urbanized and politicized, obliged it to merge first
dilemma: Either they envisage it as a purely spiritual exercise
with liberalism, then with nationalism, and finally with so-
or they derive a program of political reform from it. Now
cialism. In this way the movement lost its specificity, as illus-
this dilemma is not confined to the Maghreb; it takes on a
trated by the careers of EAbd al-EAz¯ız al-ThaEa¯lib¯ı (d. 1937)
particular form only to the extent that religious experience
in Tunisia and EAlla¯l al-Fa¯s¯ı (d. 1974) in Morocco, who
in the Maghreb has distinct features.
began as Salaf¯ı thinkers and wound up nationalist leaders.
North Africa has never produced intellectual mystics
POLITICAL ISLAM. In the present-day Maghreb, the state
like the Andalusian Ibn EArab¯ı, the Egyptian Ibn al-Fa¯rid:
completely dominates both the society and the individual.
(d. 1235), or the Persian Jala¯l al-D¯ın Ru¯m¯ı (d. 1273); rather,
Traditional institutions—madrasahs, za¯wiyahs, h:abu¯s (reli-
it is a land of ascetics, educators, missionaries, and muja¯hids
gious foundations)—are under the close supervision of their
(warriors of the faith), all of whom were close to the ordinary
respective ministries. In Morocco the Eulama¯D, organized on
people and sensitive to the problems of the community. In
a national level in a jam E¯ıyat Eulama¯D al-Maghrib (Moroccan
the same way the great Ma¯lik¯ı Eulama¯D were inclined to prac-
EUlama¯D Association) and in each province in a majlis Eilmi
ticality and moderation, with little concern for methodologi-
(EUlama¯D Council), are consulted on questions concerning
cal subtleties. It is most significant that the greatest author
dogma or the life of society in general, but they are allowed
born in the Maghreb, Ibn Khaldu¯n, chose as his field of in-
no say whatsoever in political affairs. In Algeria, the FLN
vestigation the history and evolution of societies. In the Ma-
(National Liberation Front), the sole political party, monop-
ghreb more than anywhere else, Islam seems to have been less
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
4591
individualist and intellectual, much more pragmatic and
A Moslem Saint of the Twentieth Century: Shaikh Ah:mad al-
concerned with the community. One can also assume that
Alawi, 2d ed. (Berkeley, Calif., 1973).
it will retain these characteristics in the future, particularly
The anthropological point of view can be found in Clifford
in the absence of any opposing tendency thus far. The prac-
Geertz’s Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco
tice of the za¯wiyah, wherever it remains in evidence, is in-
and Indonesia (New Haven, Conn., 1968), which uses We-
creasingly purified by the Eulama¯D. In people’s minds Islam
berian concepts, and Ernest Gellner’s Muslim Society (Cam-
is above all a law (shar¯ı Eah) that expresses the solidarity of
bridge, 1981), which is more structuralist. Dale F. Eickel-
the faithful, as can be seen in the way the majority is still at-
man’s Moroccan Islam, Tradition and Society in a Pilgrimage
tached to the fasting at Ramad:a¯n and the pilgrimage to
Center (Austin, 1976) is descriptive. Vincent Crapanzano’s
Mecca. Islam as it is envisaged by the Society of Muslim
The Hamadsha: A Study in Moroccan Ethnopsychiatry (Prince-
ton, 1973) is more limited in scope. To the list can be added
Brothers (al-Ikhwa¯n al-Muslimu¯n) does have a certain influ-
the self-criticism of Paul Rabinow in Reflections on Fieldwork
ence on official Salaf¯ı thought, but until now it has remained
in Morocco (Berkeley, Calif., 1977). The present-day situa-
peripheral.
tion is analyzed acutely and competently by Elbaki Hermassi
in Leadership and National Development in North Africa
SEE ALSO Berber Religion; Christianity, article on Christian-
(Berkeley, Calif., 1972) and by Mohammed Arkoun in La
ity in North Africa; Judaism, articles on Judaism in the
pensée arabe (Paris, 1975).
Middle East and North Africa to 1492 and Judaism in the
Middle East and North Africa since 1492; Kha¯rij¯ıs; Mod-
ABDALLA¯H LAROUI (1987)
ernism, article on Islamic Modernism; Rites of Passage, arti-
Translated from French by Glyn Thoiron
cle on Muslim Rites; Shiism; Tar¯ıqah.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ISLAM: ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
For a general historical introduction, see Jamil M. Abun-Nasr’s
Al-Andalus was the name used by the Muslim population of
A History of the Maghrib (Cambridge, 1971) and my
the Iberian Peninsula for the territory that was under Muslim
L’histoire du Maghreb: Un essai de synthèse (Paris, 1970),
rule from the times of the conquest in 711 CE until the fall
translated by Ralph Manheim as The History of the Maghrib:
of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada in 1492. That territory
An Interpretive Essay (Princeton, 1977). The problem of the
pre-Islamic substrate is dealt with in François Decret and
varied through the centuries. During the Umayyad period
Muhammed Fantar’s L’Afrique du Nord dans l’antiquité: His-
(eighth–tenth centuries), Muslims ruled most of the regions
toire et civilisation des origines au cinquième siècle (Paris,
of the Iberian Peninsula, with the exception of part of the
1981). See also Marcel Bénabou’s La résistance africaine à la
lands situated north of the river Duero and south of the Pyre-
romanisation (Paris, 1976) and W. H. C. Frend’s The Donat-
nees, where Christians managed to establish small indepen-
ist Church: A Movement of Protest in Roman North Africa
dent kingdoms. A major shift in the balance of power be-
(1952; reprint, Oxford, 1971). These are to be compared
tween Muslims and Christians occurred in 1085, when
with ethnographical studies such as Edward Westermarck’s
Toledo, the former Visigothic capital, was lost forever to the
Ritual and Belief in Morocco, 2 vols. (1926; reprint, New
Muslims when it fell into the hands of the king of Castile,
Hyde Park, N. Y., 1968), and Émile Dermenghem’s Le culte
Alfonso VI.
des saints dans l’Islam maghrébin, 4th ed. (Paris, 1954).
Mohamed Talbi’s L’émirat aghlabide 184–296/800–909: Histoire
The Muslim conquest of al-Andalus had taken place
politique (Paris, 1966) summarizes and criticizes the litera-
during the Umayyad caliphate, with its seat in Damascus,
ture concerning the beginnings of Islam. Roger Le
and some of the settlers in the Iberian Peninsula were clients
Tourneau’s The Almohad Movement in North Africa in the
of the Umayyads. When the latter’s rule was put to an end
Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries (Princeton, N. J., 1969)
by the new dynasty of the Abbasids (who moved their capital
gives a brief survey of the work of Ibn Tu¯mart and his succes-
to Baghdad), a member of the fallen dynasty, EAbd
sors. The Almohad organization is described in J. F. P. Hop-
al-Rah:ma¯n I (r. 756–788), escaped from the massacre of his
kins’s Medieval Muslim Government in Barbary until the Sixth
family and with the help of the Umayyad clients managed
Century of the Hijra (London, 1958). For the za¯wiyahs see
to establish himself as ruler of al-Andalus. The new Umayyad
T. H. Weir’s The Shaikhs of Morocco in the Sixteenth Century
emirate had Cordova as its capital. During the ninth century,
(Edinburgh, 1904) and Jacques Berque’s Al-Yousi: Problèmes
de la culture marocaine au dix-huitième siècle (Paris, 1958).
the Umayyads fought hard to maintain their power in the
Iberian Peninsula, shaken by the attempts of Arabs, Berbers,
The Salaf¯ı movement is studied in depth by Ali Merad in his Le
and local converts to establish autonomous political govern-
réformisme mus:u¯lman en Algérie de 1925 à 1940: Essai
ments. The eighth Umayyad ruler, EAbd al-Rah:ma¯n III
d’histoire religieuse et sociale (The Hague, 1967) and by Ar-
(r. 912–961), succeeded in regaining control of al-Andalus
nold H. Green in his The Tunisian Ulama, 1873–1915: So-
cial Structure and Response to Ideological Currents (Leiden,
and proclaimed himself caliph in order to give a firmer basis
1978). The account given by EAlla¯l al-Fa¯si in The Indepen-
to his rule and to counteract the danger represented by the
dence Movements in Arab North Africa, translated by Hazem
establishment of a Fa¯t:imid (Sh¯ıE¯ı) caliphate in North Africa,
Zaki Nuseibeh (Washington, D. C., 1954), is an important
while taking advantage at the same time of the decline of the
one. A defense of maraboutism is presented in Martin Lings’s
Abbasid caliphate in the East. Political unity, general stabili-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4592
ISLAM: ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
ty, economic flourishing, and cultural achievements were
ing at a radical political and religious revival, the Almohads
some of the traits of the tenth century, although the minority
found support among disparate groups in Andalusi society
of the third Umayyad caliph and the military reforms carried
who shared some of their puritanical reformist policies, al-
out by his powerful chamberlain, al-Mans:u¯r ibn Abi EAmir,
though it was mostly the use of violence that helped them
eventually opened the door to civil war.
suppress, at least for some time, the opposition of those
groups and individuals that either disagreed with their pro-
The conquest of Toledo in 1085 was partly the result
gram or were against its more extremist aspects. Although the
of the political fragmentation of al-Andalus that took place
Almohads were able for some time to check Christian mili-
during the eleventh century. The administrative centraliza-
tary advance, their armies suffered a major defeat in the bat-
tion achieved during the tenth century disappeared with the
tle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the year 1212. This defeat had
collapse of the (second) Umayyad caliphate. It was abolished
been preceded and was followed by the loss of major towns
in 1031, but before that date independent Muslim kingdoms
in what was left of al-Andalus: Silves was conquered in 1190,
had already arisen, the most important being those of Seville,
Cordova in 1236, Valencia in 1238, Murcia in 1243, and
Toledo, and Zaragoza. With different ethnic backgrounds,
Seville in 1248.
the rulers of the so-called Party or Taifa kingdoms were en-
gaged in a complex internal political game of war and peace,
While Almohad rule collapsed both in the Maghreb and
in which the intervention of the Christian kingdoms played
in al-Andalus, there were attempts at replacing it with local
a major role. Muslim military weakness led to the payment
forms of government. This happened in al-Andalus accord-
of tribute to those Christian kingdoms. This situation was
ing to a pattern that had been followed before during the col-
novel in al-Andalus and almost exceptional in the Muslim
lapse of Umayyad and Almoravid rules. Military men, urban
world, as the predominant historical experience of Muslims
elites, and charismatic leaders aimed at creating viable politi-
had been until then one of conquest and rule, not of submis-
cal and military entities in order to ensure the maintenance
sion to non-Muslims. But money was not a deterrent to
of the remaining territory under Andalusi rule. Only one
Christian military expansion, as became clear when Bar-
such attempt succeeded, that founded by Ibn al-Ahmar in
bastro and Coimbra fell into Christian hands in the years
Granada and the surrounding area. From the middle of the
1063–1064, followed by Coria in 1079 and Toledo in 1085.
thirteenth century until 1492, the Nasrid kingdom of Gra-
nada managed to survive by taking advantage of the internal
By this time, the need to seek military help outside al-
dissensions both among the Christian kingdoms and those
Andalus had become acute and an appeal was made to the
Muslim states that had been created in North Africa after the
Almoravids by some of the Taifa rulers. Of Berber origin,
demise of the Almohad empire. The political unity achieved
the Almoravid dynasty had succeeded in establishing a uni-
by Isabel of Castille and Fernando de Aragón signaled the
tary kingdom in the Maghreb (nowadays Morocco), having
end of the small Muslim kingdom of Granada. In the same
as its capital Marrakech. The powerful Almoravid army
year that Christopher Columbus disembarked in America
crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and defeated the Christians
and Jews were expelled from Spain, Granada was conquered
in the battle of Zallaqa (1086), although they were unable
and al-Andalus as a political entity ceased to exist. But the
to regain most of the territory already lost to the Christians
term survived in the form of Andalucía, the name given to
or to retain some major towns (Valencia was in Christian
the southern regions of Spain, this being the area where Mus-
hands from 1094 to 1102, Zaragoza was taken in 1118, Lis-
lim rule had lasted longest.
bon in 1147, Tortosa in 1148). Almoravid political legitim-
A
ization revolved around the abolition of illegal taxes and the
RABIZATION, ISLAMICIZATION, AND THE RELIGIOUS MI-
pursuit of holy war (jiha¯d). As this program failed, the sup-
NORITIES OF AL-ANDALUS. The Muslim armies that con-
port the Almoravids had attracted both among the elites and
quered the Iberian Peninsula were formed mostly of Berbers,
the masses of al-Andalus declined and by the third decade
with small groups of Arabs. The number of the Arabs in-
of the twelfth century, political and religious movements
creased when a Syrian army sent by the Umayyad caliph in
aiming at autonomous government had begun in several
Damascus to suppress a Berber revolt in North Africa sought
towns, shaking Almoravid rule in al-Andalus. The Al-
refuge in al-Andalus. The first Umayyad ruler, EAbd
moravids were facing, at the same time, a new religious
al-Rah:ma¯n I, attracted other members of his family to his
movement in their Maghrebi territory, that of the Almohads,
capital. The number of Arabs also increased by intermarriage
who threatened Almoravid power both politically and
with the local population, as their descendants became Arabs
ideologically.
due to their strict patrilineal genealogical system, and also
through the establishment of patronage ties with other ethnic
The Almohad movement was founded by the Berber
groups. Arabic tribal affiliations (nisbas) became a distin-
Messianic reformer Ibn Tumart; his successor as political
guishing feature of the Andalusi population, in contrast to
leader was also a Berber who adopted an Arabic genealogy
that of the Maghreb (Morocco), where Arab settlement was
in order to proclaim himself caliph. The movement started
scarce. Arabic ethnicity and language were cultivated and
in the south of Morocco in the first decades of the twelfth
praised by men of letters and poets, and also by historians,
century, expanding from there to dominate the whole of the
both under Umayyad rule and during the eleventh century,
Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and al-Andalus. Aim-
when the legitimization of some of the Taifa kings, such as
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
4593
the Abbasids of Seville, was grounded on their Arab
in spite of, or more precisely, because of the scarcity of avail-
ancestry.
able sources and the contradictory interpretations to which
those sources have been subject. Even if demography was in
It is difficult to establish for how long the Berber con-
principle favorable to the Romance language spoken by the
querors and first settlers of al-Andalus managed to preserve
local population, Romance monolingualism survived only
their own language, which has left very few traces. When
E
among those sectors who were rural, poor, illiterate, and
Abd al-Rah:ma¯n III proclaimed himself caliph in 929, one
Christian. Bilingualism was characteristic of the urban set-
of his policies was the consolidation of an Andalusi identity
tings, while Arabic was the dominant language among the
which, while not suppressing the Arab component, stressed
literate groups of society. In the tenth century, Arabic be-
the Islamic unifying factor. This Andalusi identity was felt
came the predominant written language and in the eleventh
to be under threat when new groups of Berbers, maintaining
and twelfth centuries, the predominant spoken language. Ar-
their language and tribal organization, settled in al-Andalus
abic monolingualism (with diglossia between written Arabic
and seized political power in the eleventh century. The possi-
and the spoken dialects) became the norm from the thir-
bility (that many saw as a danger) of a Berberization of al-
teenth century onward. The experience of al-Andalus thus
Andalus increased when the Iberian Peninsula became part
differed from that of Iran, where the local language survived
of the Berber Maghrebi empires of the Almoravids and the
the process of Islamicization. Also in contrast to Iran, there
Almohads. The complex dynamics at play between Arab and
was no cultural shu Eubiyya in al-Andalus, that is, the glorifi-
Berber ethnicities through the history of al-Andalus still
cation and preservation of the pre-Islamic culture as part of
await a monographic study.
the struggle of the convert local populations to achieve equal-
Muslim Arabs substituted the Visigoths as rulers over
ity with the new rulers.
the local Hispano-Roman population, who were (even if
only nominally) Christians and whose languages were Latin
In opposition to what happened with Latin and Ro-
and Romance. They, together with the Jews, became “pro-
mance language and culture, the Jews of al-Andalus were able
tected peoples” (dhimmis), being allowed to preserve their re-
to maintain Hebrew as their religious and literary language
ligion and their community life, although always in a posi-
and it became pivotal in the defence of their cultural identity,
tion of subordination to the Muslims. The Christians of al-
while at the same time they carried out a deep absorption of
Andalus are commonly referred to as Mozarabs, although
Arabic language and culture. In this context, a golden age
this term (not found in the Arabic sources) should be limited
was made possible. As David Wasserstein (1997) has put it,
to the Arabized Christians in order not to obscure the com-
almost all the greatest poets writing in Hebrew in the Middle
plex linguistic and cultural situation of the Christian com-
Ages were Iberian (Judah ha-Levi, Ibn Gabirol, Samuel Ha-
munities living under Muslim rule.
Nagid, Moses Ibn Ezra), and some of the most important
works of Jewish thought are also the product of Iberian Jewry
The language, culture, and religion, often inextricably
(the Kuzari, the Guide for the Perplexed).
linked, of the new rulers had a deep attraction for those
Christians who were more directly in contact with the Mus-
With the general exception of the Jews, Arabization was
lims. Latin culture was still predominant in the ninth centu-
closely linked to the process of conversion to Islam. An early
ry, but in the tenth century the Christians of al-Andalus
majority of Muslims in the population of al-Andalus was
started to translate their religious literature (the Psalms, the
achieved in the first half of the tenth century and from that
canons of the Visigothic church) into Arabic. The bishop Re-
time onward, Christians lost the demographic battle.
cemundo (also known as RabiE ibn Zayd) took part in the
THE HEGEMONY OF MALIKISM AND ITS ALTERNATIVES. The
translation into Arabic of Latin and Greek works (such as
main distinguishing feature of Andalusi Islam is its lack of
Orosius’s historical work, Dioscorides’s treatise, and the fa-
the religious pluralism expressed by the co-existence of the
mous Cordovan Calendar) that was carried out during the
four legal schools (Malikism, H:anafism, ShafiEism, and Han-
Umayyad caliphate. This trend towards acculturation had
balism) recognized within the Muslim Sunn¯ı world from the
been harshly fought in the previous century by two Cordo-
tenth century onwards. While Malikism reigned supreme in
van Christians, Eulogius and Alvarus, who promoted the
al-Andalus, H:anafism seems to have been banned, while the
movement of the so-called voluntary martyrs. These were
attempts at introducing ShafiEism and Traditionalist trends
Christian men and women, some of them born from reli-
akin to Hanbalism failed. The main alternatives to Malikism
giously mixed marriages, who voluntarily sought martyrdom
were locally produced: the Cordovan Ibn Hazm’s Zahirism,
by publicly insulting Islam in reaction to what was perceived
a legal school generally considered too radical for Sunn¯ısm,
as the increasing loss of their identity. The church hierarchy
and the Almohad program of religious revival and reform.
did not favor their movement, which eventually faded away.
The early Muslim settlers of al-Andalus were soldiers.
The linguistic and cultural Arabization of the Christian
Their religious and legal needs were catered for by their lead-
population took place with different rhythms and character-
ers, acting as judges and directors of prayer. The legal doc-
istics according to location and social and economic status.
trine associated with a Syrian jurist, al-AwzaEi (d. 773), is
The issue of Romance-Arabic bilingualism of the indigenous
generally considered to have been followed by those judges,
population of the Iberian Peninsula has been hotly debated
until it was replaced by Medinan (from Medina, the town
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4594
ISLAM: ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
in the Arabia Peninsula where the Prophet ruled and died)
By the tenth century, Andalusi jurists belonged, with
jurisprudence at the time when a new scholarly class was
few exceptions, to the Ma¯lik¯ı legal school. Andalusi Ma¯lik¯ıs
being formed. The emergence and consolidation of a schol-
were well integrated in chains of teachers and pupils, whose
arly milieu can be documented from the late eighth and early
relationships, achievements, and social practices started to be
ninth century onwards. The first scholars ( Eulama¯D) came
recorded in biographical dictionaries. A number of legal trea-
mostly from the army milieu, which they left in what seems
tises were used for the training of pupils. The proclamation
to have been a process of professional diversification on the
of the Umayyad caliphate in 929 consolidated Malikism as
part of the ruling elites. Soon, local converts devoted them-
an “official” legal school, making it a crucial element of the
selves to learning as a means to social advancement. By trav-
Andalusi identity promoted by both rulers and scholars, and
eling to the central lands of Islamdom for commerce, in
thus separating al-Andalus from heterodox Fa¯t:imid North
search of knowledge, and to carry out the pilgrimage, An-
Africa and also marking it within the Sunn¯ı world. The
dalusis became aware of and integrated themselves into the
Umayyad caliphs of Cordova stressed the association of
Muslim world of scholarship.
Malikism with Medina, the town where the Prophet had
Umayyad rule had lasting consequences in how this
acted as ruler, thus implying that by following this legal
world was shaped in the Iberian Peninsula. As the tenth-
school, Medina had been relocated in the Iberian Peninsula
century geographer al-Muqaddasi noted, among the early
and that it was as if the Prophet himself was ruling again over
schools of law, the one associated with Abu¯ H:an¯ıfah
the Muslims.
(d. 767) and later known as H:anafism was rejected. The Ab-
But even if al-Andalus was Ma¯lik¯ı and only Ma¯lik¯ı, this
basids, the dynasty that had put an end to Umayyad rule,
does not mean that it was monolithic. There were always dis-
had generally favored this legal trend that was also supported
crepancies within the school, most of them deriving (or said
by the Aghlabids, their representatives in Ifr¯ıqiyah, so that
to derive) from the various interpretations of Ma¯lik’s teach-
the Umayyads of al-Andalus could only view it with suspi-
ings by his pupils and also from the latter’s own contribu-
cion. Furthermore, H:anafism was associated with EAl¯ı and
tions to the body of legal doctrines and practices. The exis-
the town of Kufa and some of its doctrines were considered
tence of such legal differences (ikhtilaf) was accepted, as it
to be pro-Sh¯ıEah. This again could only favor its rejection on
was the inevitable result of the human effort at understand-
the part of the Umayyads, whose rise to power had taken
ing (fiqh) the revealed law (shar¯ı Eah), but it also led to po-
place by fighting against EAl¯ı’s party. The other major legal
lemics and sometimes to harsh attacks against those jurists
trend in the eighth century was that associated with Medina
with whom one disagreed, attacks which could even become
and more specifically with Ma¯lik ibn Anas (d. 796). It has
accusations of religious deviation. One of the main areas of
been said that Andalusi scholars adopted the latter’s legal
disagreement was how to carry out the process of tradition-
doctrine because their travels took them to Egypt and the
alizing the early body of Ma¯lik¯ı literature, which contained
H:ija¯z, where they studied with Ma¯lik’s pupils. But if geogra-
very little reference to Prophetic tradition (h:ad¯ıth).
phy certainly had a role, it was associated with politics, as the
first Andalusi scholars did not travel to Iraq, the center of Ab-
During the ninth century, “the conviction became abso-
basid power. Also, some aspects of Medinan-Ma¯lik¯ı doctrine
lute that law is justified only if it can be related hermeneuti-
were seen as being congenial with Umayyad history and le-
cally to Prophetic exempla, and not if it is presented discur-
gitimacy.
sively as emanating from an ongoing juristic tradition”
(Calder, pp. 18–19). The Eastern jurist al-Sha¯fiE¯ı (d. 820)
An Andalusi scholar of Berber origin, Yahya ibn Yahya
devoted himself to the science of the fundaments of law
al-Laythi, had a crucial role in bringing together Ma¯lik’s and
(usul) and forcefully argued that law had to be derived from
his pupils’ doctrines and the Umayyads of al-Andalus. A re-
both QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıth, and that the methodology for such
volt against al-Hakam I (r. 796–822) that took place in Cor-
derivation had to be strictly regulated. At the same time,
dova during the year 817 and in which Yahya ibn Yahya took
great effort was made in the central lands of Islamdom to
part made it clear to the Umayyad emir that the emerging
make available compilations of h:ad¯ıth to the jurists.
group of scholars could channel either popular opposition or
support to the ruler and that without them Umayyad power
These tendencies would soon echo in al-Andalus. An-
could be put in jeopardy. For his part, Yahya ibn Yahya real-
dalusis started traveling to Iraq by the second half of the
ized how advantageous the ruler’s support was in getting the
ninth century and brought back the doctrines of the Tradi-
upper hand for his own followers in the struggle among the
tionalists. Some of those Andalusis won to Traditionalism
emerging factions of scholars. A pattern of collaboration be-
were radicals, who rejected Malikism and tried to introduce
tween the ruler and the scholars was established and Ma¯liki
ShafiEism. The Cordovan Baqi ibn Makhlad (d. 889), who
EulamaD started serving the Umayyads as judges, legal experts
wrote a voluminous compilation of h:ad¯ıth (now lost), ex-
and advisers, and in other legal charges. A rapidly growing
celled among them. But his extremism provoked the legal es-
body of legal literature began to be transmitted in al-Andalus
tablishment and he was accused of heterodoxy. The ruler,
and soon also to be authored by Andalusi scholars, such
who saw the advantage of scholarly infighting, saved his life.
as EAbd al-Ma¯lik ibn Habib (d. 852–853), al-EUtbi
Eventually, those Ma¯lik¯ıs who were receptive to the new
(d. 868–869) and others.
trends managed to Traditionalize their legal doctrines with-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
4595
out becoming Sha¯fiE¯ı. This was a long process and its com-
ty of opinion through his acting as the vicar of God or caliph,
plete story still needs more study. The most prominent ju-
and through the training of a body of scholars, the talaba,
rists along this road were Ibn Waddah (d. 900), al-Asili
charged with the diffusion and control of Almohad theologi-
(d. 1002), Abu¯ EUmar ibn EAbd al-Barr (d. 1071), Abu-1-
cal and legal doctrines. In many ways, this version of Almo-
Walid al-Baji (d. 1081), Ibn Rushd al-Jadd (d. 1126), Abu¯
hadism was closer to Shiism than to Sunn¯ısm, so that the
Bakr ibn al-EArabi (d. 1148), and al-Shatibi (d. 1399). In
proposal has been made to name this experiment of radical
their writings dealing with h:ad¯ıth literature, QurDa¯n com-
reform the “Sunn¯ıticization of Shiism” (Fierro, 1999,
mentary, and legal methodology, they carried out the adapta-
p. 232, note 23). It eventually failed, not only because of the
tion of Malikism to the new legal trends. Of crucial impor-
political and military collapse of the Almohads, but also be-
tance were the commentaries written by Ibn Rushd al-Jadd
cause Malikis soon reacted against those aspects of Almoha-
of the two founding texts of Western Malikism, Sahnun’s
dism that represented a departure from the Sunn¯ı under-
Mudawwana and al-EUtbi’s Mustakhraja, as his effort was di-
standing that, as important as revelation is, the historical
rected at connecting the legal doctrine found in those two
experience of the Muslim community has always to be taken
early texts with the QurDa¯n, the Prophetic Tradition, the
into account. Those with totalitarian leanings who try to dis-
consensus and analogical reasoning (qiyas), the four legal
miss that historical experience put themselves in the margins
sources established by al-Sha¯fiE¯ı. In other words, Ibn Rushd
of Sunnism.
al-Jadd was able to insert early Ma¯lik¯ı legal opinion (ra Dy)
RELIGIOUS DOCTRINES AND PRACTICES. Legal and law-
within the context of usul methodology, without much sub-
related writings constitute the main body of the Muslim lit-
stantial change being introduced in traditional Andalusi
erature written and transmitted in al-Andalus. Islamic juris-
Maliki practice.
prudence (fiqh) regulated the relations among men and also
The endeavor of these reforming Ma¯lik¯ı jurists from the
between man and God, and Andalusi scholars, like their col-
time of Abu¯ EUmar ibn EAbd al-Barr onwards was greatly in-
leagues in the rest of the Islamic world, devoutly engaged in
fluenced by the challenge posed by Ibn Hazm’s doctrines to
the search of God’s norms to humankind, an effort that at
Andalusi Malikism. Ibn Hazm (d. 1064) left Malikism to be-
the same time allowed them gaining a livelihood as qadis, ju-
come a Z:a¯hir¯ı, thus adhering to a very literal interpretation
rists, notaries, and teachers.
of the religious sources (QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıth), limiting con-
A special feature of this endeavor is the rich tradition
sensus to that of the companions of the Prophet and rejecting
of fatawa literature, where the legal opinions on a variety of
analogical reasoning. After abandoning an unsuccessful ca-
issues formulated by Andalusi jurists were collected. As Hal-
reer in the dangerous waters of Taifa politics, Ibn Hazm ded-
laq has pointed out, whether in his capacity as a private legal
icated his life to producing a complete alternative to the
expert or as an advisor to the court, the jurisconsult deter-
Ma¯lik¯ı legal system. According to Ibn Hazm, Ma¯lik¯ıs con-
mined the law. The fatawa literature thus represents a privi-
sidered it wrong to act according to the contents of a h:ad¯ıth
leged vantage point from which to analyze the interplay be-
if the practice of the community was contrary to it. He put
tween law, society, and religion. Studies devoted to it in the
all his considerable intellectual gifts to work to reverse that
past decades have opened new and promising venues of re-
trend, making h:ad¯ıth the basis for practice. Had he suc-
search on many aspects of Andalusi social and religious prac-
ceeded, it would have meant the disruption of the Andalusi
tices. This literature gives information mostly on urban areas.
scholarly milieu and a complete renovation of the urban
The possibility of learning about what was going on in rural
elites, closely associated, as in any other Islamic region, to the
areas is limited, although archaeology (which has greatly de-
world of scholarship. Ibn Hazm’s aims probably included
veloped in the last decades) has made them better known,
this social, and eventually political, disruption, in which he
while the incorporation of anthropological knowledge has
might have seen a solution for the problems he denounced
also opened new perspectives, as in the case of the function
in Andalusi society under the Taifa kings. But Ibn Hazm did
of holy men and charismatic leaders among the Berbers.
not succeed in making al-Andalus adhere to his legal vision.
Nevertheless, he left an enduring legacy. Ma¯lik¯ıs were forced
QurDanic and h:ad¯ıth literature, as well as theology, have
to react to the formidable challenge represented by his writ-
not been paid as much attention as law. Recent interest on
ings and his doctrines, so that the most able of Ma¯lik¯ı schol-
the Almohad period might give more impulse to the study
ars devoted their energies to refuting Ibn Hazm. And by
of theology, as correct belief became one of the fundaments
doing so, Malikism was inevitably changed.
of Almohad religious policies (the population ruled by the
Almohads was supposed to learn by heart the Almohad pro-
Part of Ibn Hazm’s vision can be found in the religious
fession of faith). This trend was related to developments tak-
and legal policies of the Almohads. Their struggle for radical
ing place in the rest of the Islamic world and in it the impact
reform was formulated as a return to the times of the prophet
of the famous thinker and reformer al-Ghaza¯l¯ı (d. 1111) can
Muh:ammad, whose teachings had been revived by their
be detected. The reception of al-Ghaza¯l¯ı’s works and ideas
Messianic founder, the Mahdi Ibn Tumart. The latter’s suc-
in the Islamic West has been subject to many studies, mostly
cessor, the Almohad caliph, was to ensure correct interpreta-
related to the issue of the spread of Sufism that took place
tion of the religious sources and the disappearance of diversi-
in the twelfth century with figures such as Ibn al-EArif, Ibn
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4596
ISLAM: ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
Barrajan (both died in 1141) and Ibn Qasi (d. 1151), who
Efforts for the Christianization of the Moriscos were carried
did not limit himself to the study and teaching of S:u¯f¯ı doc-
out according to policies closely intertwined with contempo-
trines, but also engaged in a political career as a charismatic
rary debates about the conversion of the Indians of America.
ruler in the troubled times that preceded the Almohad ca-
In spite of the inevitable, but slow, process of religious and
liphate. The most famous Andalusi S:u¯f¯ıs are Ibn Masarra
cultural assimilation, the new Christians were suspect in their
(d. 931), better understood now thanks to the publication
religion and often denounced as a potential fifth column for
of his works that were thought to be lost by Asín Palacios
the Muslim enemies of the Spanish crown. Also, there was
in his often quoted monograph; Ibn SabEin (d. 1269); and
rejection on the part of some sectors of Christian society of
especially Muhyi al-din Ibn al-EArabi (d. 1240). The latter,
their cultural difference. After their rebellion in Granada in
like many other Andalusi S:u¯f¯ıs, spent much of his life out-
1568, the persecution of the Moriscos at the hands of the
side al-Andalus. In fact, S:u¯f¯ıs did not find in the Iberian Pen-
Inquisition increased and the remaining communities grew
insula an atmosphere as congenial to their presence as that
weaker. Their expulsion was discussed in 1582, the first de-
existing elsewhere, especially in the Maghreb, where S:u¯f¯ıs
cree was promulgated in 1609, and between 1610 and 1614
and more generally holy men accomplished a variety of func-
the Moriscos were forced to leave the Iberian Peninsula.
tions for which there were competing figures or arenas in al-
With them, the small amount of Arabic that still survived
Andalus. The twelfth century, especially in the Almohad pe-
disappeared as a spoken language. The dispersion of the Mo-
riod, witnessed not only the flourishing of Sufism, but also
riscos in Muslim lands and their eventual acculturation to
that of philosophy. The career and written production of Ibn
the new context also meant the disappearance of the Andalu-
Rushd (Averroës) is closely linked to the Almohads’s reli-
si dialectal bundle. For a while, they preserved the Romance
gious and intellectual program. Although Averroës’s philo-
language in the new lands where they settled, even producing
sophical work transcended that program, Averroës’s most
works in Castilian in Tunis.
lasting influence is to be found not in Islamdom but in
Christian Europe.
Surviving legal opinions dealing with the issue of wheth-
er Muslims were allowed to live under Christian rule, mostly
Andalusis were keen in portraying their religious history
formulated by jurists who did not live in the Iberian Peninsu-
as an unbroken tradition of orthodoxy, without heretical
la, show a powerful tendency to reject this possibility, argu-
sects, and on the few occasions in which they appeared they
ing that residence in a non-Muslim territory precluded fol-
were soon annihilated. This image evokes historical develop-
lowing fundamental tenets of the Islamic religion and was
ments that supported religious uniformity in al-Andalus, but
thus equated with religious and cultural corruptions such as
it also reflects the powerful capacity of Andalusi scholars of
eating carrion, blood, or pork. This attitude must have been
assimilating the changes taking place in their milieu and
demoralizing for the religious elites of Mudéjares and crypto-
therefore making them almost invisible.
Muslim Moriscos who did not emigrate (emigration to Mus-
MUSLIMS UNDER CHRISTIAN RULE. The religious experience
lim lands was economically difficult, if not impossible, for
of Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula also had a specific trait:
the more humble members of the community). Even so, they
that of the Mudéjares, the Muslims who had neither migrat-
managed to develop varied and fruitful strategies for religious
ed nor converted when their lands were conquered by the
and cultural survival, the study of which has offered and is
Christians but who continued to live as Muslims under
still offering new perspectives on the general issue of the in-
Christian rule. They were able to temporarily maintain the
terplay between normative and local Islam. Aljamiado litera-
use of Arabic, while progressively acquiring the language of
ture preserved the fundamentals of religion and law, as well
the conquerors. This bilingualism was short-lived in some
as Muslim sacred history, and made them available to the
areas, such as Castile, where Arabic was lost, while in the
community at large. Sophisticated forgeries such as the Gos-
Kingdom of Valencia it lasted longer. A curious form of lin-
pel of Saint Barnabas and the Lead Tablets of the Sacromon-
guistic survival was to use Arabic letters to write Romance
te of Granada tried to demolish the distinction between “old
(the so-called aljamiado or aljamía), not because those who
Christian” and “new Christian” as a rationale for the elimina-
used aljamiado wanted to ignore the Romanic script but be-
tion of the Moriscos, in an attempt to ensure the physical
cause they sought to keep themselves linked to the sacred lan-
permanence in the Iberian Peninsula of the descendants of
guage of the QurDa¯n. The use of aljamía was a profession of
its former Muslim inhabitants.
faith, a sign that indicated the users’ belonging to the Mus-
THE LEGACY OF AL-ANDALUS. As in other Islamic societies,
lim community.
in al-Andalus Muslim rulers allowed the existence of Chris-
The status of the Mudéjares came progressively under
tian and Jewish communities as dhimmis, although there
threat after the conquest of the last Muslim kingdom. The
were episodes of persecution under certain political and reli-
Mudéjares of Granada and Castile were forced to convert to
gious circumstances, such as the pogrom of Granada in
Christianity in 1501 and 1502, those of Valencia in 1521
1066, the expulsion of the Christians to North Africa in
and 1522, those of Aragon in 1524, in a process that by 1526
1126, and the forced conversion of the Jews under the Almo-
signaled the end of Islam as a permitted religion in the Iberi-
hads. Eventually, both non-Muslim communities either dis-
an Peninsula. These forced converts are known as Moriscos.
appeared from al-Andalus or saw their numbers greatly di-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
4597
minished, although their Arabo-Islamic acculturation had
Muslims of the truth of the Catholic faith, arguing not
lasting consequences.
against, but rather from their own faith, which he had deeply
studied. On the other hand, translation was needed to take
But before exploring them, what was their contribution
possession of the knowledge achieved by the Muslims in phi-
to Andalusi cultural and intellectual achievements? Echoes
losophy, science, and other fields. For example, Christian
of the Latin tradition in astrology, medicine, geography, his-
historical works written in the thirteenth century, like those
tory, and perhaps agronomy have been identified in early An-
produced under the patronage of Alfonso X the Wise, were
dalusi culture. The most famous example is the Cordovan
highly indebted to Arabic chronicles, in the same way that
Calendar. But there was nothing comparable to the impact
the Arab geographers had learned about the Iberian Peninsu-
of Hellenistic culture in the Eastern Islamic civilization and
la from Latin sources. But the translation effort concentrated
thus SaEid of Toledo, writing in the eleventh century, stated
mostly on the field of the “sciences of the ancients.”
that the scientific development of al-Andalus was not indebt-
ed to any indigenous tradition. The related issues of the pos-
The Greek and Latin legacy was sought where it was
sible influence of Romance lyrics in the appearance of new
known to have been preserved, in those Arabic works con-
poetical forms (muwashashat and azjal) in al-Andalus and of
taining translations from that legacy, but also the original
the possible influence of such forms in Western poetry have
contributions made by Muslims themselves. In fact, in
been (and still are) widely and ardently debated. The mu-
searching for the scientific and technical knowledge of antiq-
washashat encapsulate verses in Romance called kharjas.
uity, the Christians had to acknowledge the importance of
They have attracted a passionate interest from Arabists, He-
the additions made in the Arabo-Islamic civilization. That
braists, and Romanists, giving rise to hugely divergent inter-
search started early, as shown by the manuscripts of Ripoll
pretations and becoming one of the cornerstones of the pre-
monastery (in Catalonia). The main impulse took place in
sentation of al-Andalus as the land of the three cultures or
the twelfth century, when Hermann of Carinthia and Robert
the land of religious convivencia (living together). This large-
of Ketton worked in the Ebro valley, while Dominicus
ly mythical presentation has had a recent flourishing, owing
Gundisalvus and Gerard of Cremona centered their activities
once again more to contemporary needs than to historical
in Toledo. The exact sciences, linked to astrology and magic,
accuracy.
attracted the first translating efforts, but philosophical and
Less open to debate is the impact that Andalusi Chris-
medical treatises were soon incorporated. Andalusi Aristo-
tians and Jews had in Latin Christendom and in Jewish cul-
telianism had a lasting influence in Latin and Hebrew
ture. In the case of the Christians, those who emigrated to
philosophy.
Christian lands brought with them artistic skills that modern
Averroës’s works were already translated in the first half
scholarship has analyzed as representing a specific Mozarabic
of the thirteenth century, shortly after having been written,
art, unique to the Iberian Peninsula. The Christians who
provoking the well-known reaction of both attraction and re-
lived in Muslim lands conquered by the northern Christians
jection in Christian Europe. Alfonso X the Wise promoted
kept for some time the use of Arabic, as shown by the rich
the translation from Arabic into the vernacular, employing
collection of Arabic documents from Christian Toledo (elev-
mostly Jews, of a wide range of works dealing with magic,
enth to thirteenth centuries), and they also preserved the old
astrology, astronomy, games, and literature. Arabic vocabu-
Visigothic church ritual.
lary penetrated into these vernacular languages, mainly in the
But it was mostly the highly Arabicized Jews who played
fields of agricultural products and techniques, building
a crucial role in the transmission of Arabic culture and sci-
crafts, clothing, and food. Mudéjar art, like its counterpart
ence to Christian Spain and Europe. They are closely associ-
Mozarabic art, singles out Spain from the rest of western Eu-
ated with the so-called school of translators of Toledo, a label
rope with the exception of Sicily. Spanish medieval literature
which is merely a way to express in a simple manner the com-
is indebted in both contents and form to Arabic literature.
plex linguistic and intellectual process through which Arabic
The Muslim religious influence on peninsular Judaism has
works were translated into other peninsular languages (Latin,
acknowledged manifestations in the fields of mysticism and
Romance languages, Hebrew). The need to translate arose
theology, while its influence on Christianity is less widely ac-
mainly for two reasons.
cepted. This reflects the tensions that have existed (and con-
tinue to exist) in the construction of a Spanish Catholic na-
On the one hand, knowledge of the “other” was neces-
tional identity, while similar debates (such as that on the debt
sary in order better to confront the Muslims or to convert
of Dante’s Divine Comedy to Muslim eschatology) show that
them, especially when Christian expansion led to the pres-
the study of religious interaction has been, and still is, a con-
ence of Muslim communities inside Christian territory. In
tested field.
the twelfth century, Latin Christendom started the serious
study of Islam, thanks mainly to the encouragement given
The al-Andalus cultural and intellectual legacy should
by Peter the Venerable of Cluny to the translation of Muslim
not be sought only in what is now known as the West. An-
religious texts. Raymond Lull (1232–1316), who called him-
dalusi Islam produced works and developed doctrines and
self Christianus Arabicus, developed a philosophical-
practices that had a lasting influence in the Muslim world
apologetical system with the aim of convincing the infidel
at large. Following Christian expansion in Muslim lands,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4598
ISLAM: ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
Andalusi intellectual elites started a process of emigration to
Burns, Robert I. Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Crusader
other regions of Islamdom. Its rhythm and peculiarities are
Kingdom of Valencia. Cambridge, U.K., 1984.
not yet well known, but it helped disseminate Andalusi cul-
Calder, Norman. Studies in Early Muslim Jurisprudence. Oxford,
tural achievements among Muslims. Any look at the con-
1993. The discussion of the traditionalizing of the ancient
tents of extant Muslim libraries reveals that the list of An-
schools of law includes references to al-Andalus.
dalusi “best-sellers” in Muslim religious literature is
Christys, Anne. Christians in al-Andalus (711–1000). Richmond,
substantial and that in certain areas, such as North and Cen-
U.K., 2002. A critical presentation of some of the main is-
tral Africa, Islam cannot be understood without reference to
sues, with bibliography.
the thought and works of Andalusi scholars.
Coope, Jessica. The Martyrs of Córdoba: Community and Family
Conflict in an Age of Mass Conversion. Lincoln, Neb., 1995.
B
Cornell, Vincent. Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Mo-
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dalusi scholarship.
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Ferhat, Halima. Le Maghreb aux XIIème et XIIIème siècles: les siècles
Asín Palacios, Miguel. Abenmasarra y su escuela. Orígenes de la filo-
de la foi. Casablanca, 1993. With references to Andalusi Su-
sofía hispano-musulmana. Madrid, 1914. Reprinted in Mi-
fism, which still lacks a monograph.
guel Asín Palacios, Tres estudios sobre pensamiento y mística
hispanomusulmanes, Madrid, 1992. English translation, The
Fernández Félix, Ana. Cuestiones legales del islam temprano: la
E
Mystical Philosophy of Ibn Masarra and His Followers, by
Utbiyya y el proceso de formación de la sociedad islámica an-
Elmer H. Douglas and Howard W. Yoder, Leiden, 1978.
dalusí. Madrid, 2004. A study of one of the earliest legal texts
Still influential, although outdated. J. van Ess’s work is a
written in al-Andalus and its contribution to the formation
good guide to more recent bibliography.
of an Islamic society.
Fierro, Maribel. La heterodoxia en al-Andalus durante el periodo
Asín Palacios, Miguel. Abenházam de Córdoba y su Historia Crítica
omeya. Madrid, 1987.
de las ideas religiosas. 5 vols. Madrid, 1929.
Fierro, Maribel. “Opposition to Sufism in al-Andalus.” In Islamic
Baer, Yitzhak F. A History of the Jews in Christian Spain. Translat-
Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Controversies and
ed by L. Schoffman. Philadelphia, 1961–1966. Spanish
Polemics, edited by Frederick de Jong and Bernd Radtke. Lei-
translation by José Luis Lacave, 2 vols., Madrid, 1981. Still
den, 1999.
useful on the presence and influence of Andalusi Jews in
Fierro, Maribel. “The Legal Policies of the Almohad Caliphs and
Christian Spain.
Ibn Rushd’s Bidayat al-mujtahid.” Journal of Islamic Studies
Bosch Vilà, Jacinto. Los almorávides. Tétouan, Morocco, 1956. 2d
10, no. 3 (1999): 226–248.
ed., with a preliminary study by Emilio Molina, Granada,
Fierro, Maribel. Al-Ándalus: saberes e intercambios culturales. Bar-
1990.
celona, 2001. A concise presentation on the intellectual his-
Bulliet, Richard. Conversion to Islam in the Medieval Period: An
tory of al-Andalus.
Essay in Quantitative History. London, 1979. It contains a
Fierro, Maribel, ed. Judíos y musulmanes en al-Andalus y el Magreb:
chapter on al-Andalus.
Contactos intelectuales. Madrid, 2002. Collection of studies
Burman, Thomas E. Religious Polemic and the Intellectual History
on intellectual contacts between Jews and Muslims.
of the Mozarabs, c. 1050–1200. Leiden, 1994. A discussion
Fierro, Maribel, and Julio Samsó, eds. The Formation of al-
of religious polemic between Christians and Muslims.
Andalus. Part II: Language, Religion, Culture and the Sciences.
Burnett, Charles. “The Translating Activity in Muslim Spain.” In
Aldershot, U.K., 1998. Collection of studies on the process
The Legacy of Muslim Spain, edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi.
of Arabization and Islamicization of al-Andalus, with a useful
Leiden, 1992.
bibliography.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN ANDALUSIA
4599
García-Arenal, Mercedes. La diáspora de los andalusíes. Barcelona,
Lirola Delgado, Jorge, and José Miguel Puerta Vílchez, eds. Enci-
2003. A concise presentation on religious minorities in al-
clopedia de al-Andalus: Diccionario de Autores y Obras Andalu-
Andalus and the Muslim minority in Christian Spain.
síes. Tomo I. Granada, 2002. A biographical dictionary of
García-Arenal, Mercedes, ed. “En torno a los Plomos del Sacro-
Andalusi scholars.
monte.” Al-Qantara 23 (2002): 295.
Maíllo, Felipe. ¿Por qué desapareció al-Andalus? Buenos Aires,
Glick, Thomas. Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle
1997. An exploration of the reasons for the political and mil-
Ages. Princeton, N.J., 1979. A good overview on intercultur-
itary fall of al-Andalus.
al influences.
Makki, Mahmud EAli. Ensayo sobre las aportaciones orientales en la
España musulmana y su influencia en la formación de la cultura
Glick, Thomas F. From Muslim Fortress to Christian Castle: Social
hispano-árabe. Madrid, 1968. Study of the reception of Ara-
and Cultural Change in Medieval Spain. New York, 1995. An
bic and Islamic literature in al-Andalus.
overview of the contribution made by French and Spanish
archaeological research to a better understanding and some-
Marín, Manuela. Individuo y sociedad en al-Andalus. Madrid,
times radical revisions of Andalusi history.
1992. Study of the social and intellectual trends in al-
Andalus during the Umayyad period.
Guichard, Pierre. Al-Andalus: Estructura antropológica de una socie-
dad islámica en Occidente. Barcelona, 1978; reprint, Grana-
Marín, Manuela. “Learning at mosques in al-Andalus,” In Islamic
da, 1998. Highly influential monograph on the issue of trib-
Legal Interpretation. Muftis and Their Fatwas, edited by Mu-
alism in al-Andalus and the formation of an Islamic society.
hammad Khalid Masud, Brinkley Messick, and David Pow-
ers. Cambridge, Mass., 1996.
Guichard, Pierre. Valence et la Reconquête (XIe–XIIIe siècles). 2
Marín, Manuela. Al-Ándalus y los andalusíes. Barcelona, 2000. A
vols. Damascus, 1990–1991. Spanish translation, Al-Andalus
concise presentation on the political and social history of al-
frente a la conquista cristiana: los musulmanes de Valencia
Andalus.
(siglos XI–XIII), by Josep Torró Abad, Madrid, 2001. A
monograph on the transition from a Muslim to a Christian
Marín, Manuela. Mujeres en al-Ándalus. Madrid, 2000. Includes
polity in the Valencian area.
a study of women’s religious practices.
Marín, Manuela, ed. The Formation of al-Andalus, Part 1: History
Guichard, Pierre. Al-Andalus: 711–1492. Paris, 2000. Good,
and Society. Aldershot, U.K., 1998. Collection of studies on
short, and manageable introduction to the history of al-
the early history of al-Andalus with a useful bibliography.
Andalus.
Martinez-Gros, Gabriel. Identité andalouse. Paris, 1997. Study on
Guichard, Pierre, and Vincent Lagardère. “La vie sociale et éco-
the formation of an Andalusi identity.
nomique de l’Espagne musulmane aux XIe-XIIe siècles à
travers les fatwas du Mi Dyar dDal-Wansarisi.” Mélanges de la
Menocal, Rosa María. The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary Histo-
Casa de Velázquez 26, no. 1 (1990): 197–236. It highlights
ry: A Forgotten Heritage. Philadelphia, 1989.
the importance of fatawa literature for the history of al-
Menocal, María Rosa, Raymond P. Scheindlin, and Michael Sells,
Andalus.
eds. The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: The Litera-
ture of al-Andalus. Cambridge, U.K., 2000.
Hallaq, Wael H. A History of Islamic Legal Theories: An Introduc-
tion to Sunni usul al-fiqh. Cambridge, U.K., 1997.
Meyerson, M. D. The Muslims of Valencia in the Age of Fernando
and Isabel: Between Coexistence and Crusade. Berkeley, Calif.,
Harvey, L. P. Islamic Spain: 1250–1500. Chicago, 1992.
1991.
Historia de España Ramón Menéndez Pidal. Madrid, 1957–2003.
Molénat, Jean-Pierre. Campagnes et monts de Tolède du XII au
Spanish translation by Emilio García Gómez of the Histoire
XVème siècle. Madrid, 1997. An important contribution to
de l’Espagne musulmane by Evariste Lévi-Provençal. Volumes
the history of the Mozarabs in Christian Spain.
5 and 6 are devoted to the Umayyad period under the title
Monroe, James T. The Shu Eubiyya in al-Andalus. Berkeley, Calif.,
España musulmana hasta la caída del Califato de Córdoba
1970. Analysis of the rarity of shu Eubi trends.
(711–1031 d.C.). María Jesús Viguera has coordinated vol-
ume 8, no. 1 (The Taifa Kingdoms), volume 8, no. 2 (Al-
Nirenberg, David. “Muslims in Christian Iberia, 1000–1526: Va-
moravid and Almohad periods), volume 8, nos. 3 and 4 (The
rieties of Mudejar Experience.” In The Medieval World, ed-
Nasrid Kingdom). A major work of reference for Andalusi
ited by Peter Linehan and Janet L. Nelson, London, 2001.
political, social, and cultural history, where the interested
An evaluation of the different perspectives on Mudéjar Islam.
reader can find an extensive and updated bibliography.
Rubiera, María Jesús. Literatura hispanoárabe. Madrid, 1992. A
short introduction to Andalusi literature and poetry.
Huici Miranda, Ambrosio. Historia política del imperio almohade.
Facsimile edition with a preliminary study by Emilio Molina
Rubio, Luciano. El “ocasionalismo” de los teólogos especulativos del
López and Vicente Oltra. 2 vols. Tétouan, Morocco, 1956–
Islam: su posible influencia en Guillermo de Ockam y los “oca-
1957; reprint, Granada, 2000.
sionalistas” de la Edad Moderna. El Escorial, Spain, 1987. An
important contribution to the history of theology and philos-
Jayyusi, Salma Khadra, ed. The Legacy of Muslim Spain. Leiden,
ophy in al-Andalus.
1992.
Sáenz-Badillos, Angel, and Judith Targarona Borrás. Diccionario
Kennedy, Hugh. Muslim Spain and Portugal:. A Political History
de autores judíos (Sefarad. siglos X–XV). Cordova, Spain,
of al-Andalus. London, 1996.
1988. A useful guide to the literary production of Andalusi
Lagardère, Vincent. Les Almoravides jusqu’au regne de Yusuf b.
Jews.
Tashfin (1039–1106). Paris, 1989.
Samsó, Julio. Las ciencias de los antiguos en al-Andalus. Madrid,
Lagardère, Vincent. Les almoravides. Le djihad andalou (1106–
1992. A good introduction to the Andalusi contribution in
1143). Paris, 1998.
the “rational” sciences.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4600
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Scales, Peter C. The Fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba: Berbers and
peninsula to other regions, including North Africa to the
Andalusis in Conflict. Leiden, 1994.
fringes of the Sahara, was left to Muh:ammad’s successors or
Simonet, Francisco Javier. Historia de los mozárabes de España
caliphs.
(1897–1903). Amsterdam, 1967. In spite of its shortcom-
ings, still offers a complete overview to date on the Christians
Scholars, until recently, have not paid sufficient atten-
living under Muslim rule.
tion to the Islamic intellectual tradition and culture in sub-
Saharan Africa which is generally treated as a periphery of
Urvoy, Dominique. Pensers d’al-Andalus. La vie intellectuelle à
Cordoue et Sevilla au temps des Empires Berberes (fin XIe siècle
the Islamic heartland in the Middle East. Moreover, studies
– début XIIIe siècle). Toulouse, France, 1990. An overview
about Islam in Africa are often marred by the view that
of intellectual trends during the Almoravid and Almohad
gained currency during the colonial era, namely that African
periods.
Islam represented a syncretic or diluted version of the faith,
Urvoy, Dominique. Averroès: Les ambitions d’un intellectuel musul-
stripped of elements of its higher tradition. This view is diffi-
man. Paris, 1998. A useful presentation of Averroës’s life and
cult to understand given that Islam is indeed a religion of
work.
great synthesis which (in the areas where it has spread) has
Van Ess, Joseph. Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3. Jahrhun-
interacted with local cultures, enriching them and being en-
dert Hidschra. Eine Geschichte des religiösen Denkens im frühen
riched by them. The study of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa
Islam. 6 vols. Berlin, 1991–1997. It contains valuable analy-
is now entering into a new and very interesting phase (for
ses of developments in al-Andalus.
instance, witness local and international efforts to help save
Vernet, Juan. La cultura hispanoárabe en Oriente y Occidente. Bar-
old manuscripts relating to Tombouctou’s intellectual heri-
celona, 1978. New ed., Lo que Europa debe al Islam de Espa-
tage) as scholars begin to look at Africa’s literary tradition
ña, Barcelona, 1999. French translation by Gabriel Martinez
and contributions to aspects of Islamic law, mysticism, devo-
Gros, Ce que la culture doit aux arabes d’Espagne, Paris, 1985.
tional matters, theology, and history in Arabic or local lan-
Overview of Christian and Jewish contributions to Andalusi
guages. The number of QurDanic translations in African lan-
scientific culture and Andalusi contributions to Europe.
guages, using the Arabic or Latin alphabet, moreover, has
Viguera, María Jesús. Los Reinos de Taifas y las invasiones magre-
also been growing steadily and testifies to this increased ur-
bíes. Madrid, 1992.
gency to produce written material for African Muslims.
Wasserstein, David. The Rise and Fall of the Party-Kings: Politics
Knowledge of the history of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa
and Society in Islamic Spain, 1002–1086. Princeton, N.J.,
before the sixteenth century comes mainly from the works
1986.
of Arab geographers and historians such as al-Bakr, al-Zuhri,
Wasserstein, David. “The Muslims and the Golden Age of the
Ibn Batuta, and others. Archaeological excavations of impor-
Jews in al-Andalus.” Israel Oriental Studies 17 (1997): 179–
tant centers of trade, such as Kumbi Saleh, Awdaghust,
196. A discussion of the issue of the Jewish golden age in the
Jenne, Kilwa, and others, have added further to the knowl-
Iberian Peninsula.
edge of these cities by allowing for historical reconstruction.
Wiegers, Gerard. Islamic Literature in Spanish and Aljamiado: Yça
Finally, oral traditions have become an increasingly impor-
of Segovia (d. 1450), His Antecedents and Successors. Leiden,
tant source for the study of this history as they present infor-
1994. A good presentation on Aljamiado literature.
mation (in legendary form) of kings such as Sundiata, the
Zwartjes, Otto. Love Songs from Al-Andalus: History, Structure and
founder of Mali, which can be critically assessed to provide
Meaning of the Kharja. Leiden, 1997. Balanced presentation
insights into what is remembered and emphasized about the
of the issue of poetical borrowings between Arabic and Euro-
past. The sources of information become more varied after
pean vernacular languages.
the sixteenth century and include written material in Arabic
MARIBEL FIERRO (2005)
by local Muslims, oral traditions and ethnographic data, and
European records in the era of European expansion and
domination of the Atlantic system.
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
ISLAM IN THE SAHARA AND THE SAHEL. Islam made its pres-
Islam entered Africa within decades of its inception in the
ence felt in much of Africa (the east coast and Horn of Africa
seventh century CE. In North Africa its spread was related to
as well as West Africa) mainly through trade and migration.
the empire-building process which took Islam to Morocco
In the Sahara region and beyond it, for instance, Islam was
and Spain in the far west and to India in the east whereas
introduced from North Africa by the Berbers, mostly mem-
in the rest of Africa its diffusion followed a different path.
bers of Kha¯rij¯ı sects, through the trans-Saharan trade as early
The African dimension goes back to 615 CE when the first
as the eighth or ninth century. They had their centers in the
Islamic migration to Abyssinia, now called Ethiopia, took
oases at the northern side of the Sahara in Sijilmasah, Tahart,
place, though its impact there at this early stage is not clear.
Wargla, and Ghadames. With the expansion of this mainly
A few years later, the epoch-making hijrah, or migration, by
salt-for-gold trade, important trading towns such as Aw-
Muh:ammad and his persecuted band of followers to Medina
daghust, Tadmeka, and Kawwar also sprang up at the south-
created the political center of the nascent Islamic state built
ern end of the Sahara. Beyond them lay the important Afri-
in Arabia. The task of spreading Islam beyond the Arabian
can states of Ghana (with Kumbi Saleh as its capital), Gao,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
4601
and Kanem in the region that was known as the Sahel (which
sources in this marginal Sahelian zone for food and iron pro-
means in Arabic the “shore” of the desert). This was the re-
duction, and the continuous pressure from Berber
gion where the desert and the savanna meet and where Sa-
pastoralists in search of new pastures for their stocks. Mali
helian cities served as terminus points for a very vibrant inter-
by then had emerged as the dominant power in the region.
national trade.
MALI: THE WEST-AFRICAN PATTERN OF ISLAMIZATION.
The Kha¯rij¯ı influence in North Africa had declined by
From an early period, political developments in West Africa
the tenth and eleventh centuries due to a number of factors,
were continually shaped by the trading network which de-
including the Sh¯ıE¯ı Fa¯t:imid conquest of North Africa, the
pended on the trans-Saharan routes being extended to new
destabilizing migration of the Arab Hilalian nomads, and the
sources of gold to the south. These trading networks devel-
rise of the Almoravid movement among the Sanhaja Berbers
oped among local African groups, mostly of Soninke origin
of southwestern Sahara and the Mauritanian coast. The latter
(related to the rulers of Ghana), such as the Mande (Wan-
factor was especially important in entrenching the Sunn¯ı
gara/Dyula) whose area of operation was over a wide area,
Ma¯lik¯ı school of law in the region against both the H:anaf¯ı
extending from as far west as Senegal to northern Nigeria in
(supported by the Aghlabids) and the Sh¯ıE¯ı Fa¯t:imids. Ma¯lik¯ı
the east. This trade network, which led to exposure to Islam
scholars had arrived in North Africa as early as the ninth cen-
as a result of trading transactions with North Africans, was
tury and had successfully won the support of both the pasto-
closely associated with the diffusion of Islamic studies, in-
ralists and traders among the Berbers who became the vehicle
cluding mysticism in the later centuries, and enabled Islam
for dissemination of Islam into the Sahara and beyond it in
to penetrate peacefully beyond the Sahel into the savanna
West Africa.
area. Initially Islam was the religion of the African traders,
then the rulers (who sought Muslim prayers if those of local
The increasing interest in the wider Arab/Muslim world
priests failed), and finally (due to the efforts of Muslim schol-
in the source of gold for the trans-Saharan trade led to Ghana
ars in later centuries) commoners among various African
receiving mention in Arabic writings as early as the eighth
communities.
century. Nevertheless, it was only after Muslim traders from
The cross-cultural trade in many parts of Africa, apart
North Africa began to settle in the largest Sahelian states by
from reinforcing cultural self-identity and nurturing reli-
the eleventh century that more detailed descriptions of these
gious commitment, fostered a pluralist structure in which
states appear. For instance, the Arab geographer in Islamic
commerce, Islam, and the indigenous system supported the
Spain, al-Bakr, described Ghana’s capital, Kumbi Saleh, as
urban network. In this way a balance was established be-
constituting two separate towns situated at a short distance
tween local ritual prescriptions and those of universal Islam.
from each other. One was a distinctly Muslim town, set aside
for Muslim merchants who had their own mosques, and the
Islam in Africa was (as in many parts of the world where
other, the royal town, consisted of a palace and conical huts
it reached) primarily an urban religion (with an urban ethos)
where the imperial indigenous form of religion was prac-
which fostered commitment to its religious system, ranging
ticed. The king, who was known to be a man of justice and
from ethnic self-identity to Islamic self-identity, universal
extended his friendship to the Muslims, appointed many of
and trans-ethnic in scope. Islamic penetration in the rural
them, as the literati in society, to ministerial positions. Simi-
areas, on the other hand, made slow infiltration over a long
larly, Gao, on the Niger, east of the river bend, was also di-
period of time with significant gains awaiting a much later
vided into Muslim and royal towns although the king in this
period. The religion therefore entered much of Africa peace-
case was a Muslim. It was only in Takrur, on the lower Sene-
fully through the agency of trade and later gained status after
gal River, that the Muslim king was reported as carrying out
the migrant community (purveyors of the written word and
a vigorous campaign of conversion among his subjects and
the visual symbols of Islam) became integrated into the polit-
neighbors.
ical structure. Finally the ruling elite embraced the faith and
appropriated its symbols for political purposes.
By about 1050 CE the kingdom of Ghana had expanded
to include the Berber town of Awdaghust. A few decades
The level of commitment to Islam varied from one re-
later the king and the people of Ghana, according to al-
gion of Africa to another and was influenced by a number
Zuhuri who wrote in the twelfth century, had converted to
of factors, including the length of interaction between Islam
Islam under the influence of the Almoravids (al-Murabitun).
and the traditional religion, societal organization between
Some scholars have read the early sources as suggesting that
centralized and non-centralized or “stateless” ones (in West
this conversion was not attained by peaceful means. Recent
Africa evidence suggests that Islam was not often adopted by
careful study, however, has raised doubts about this conquest
segmentary societies), the compatibility or incompatibility of
hypothesis which is considered to be more fiction than fact.
the world views of the two religious systems, and the level
In any case, Ghana continued to thrive as a state until the
of resilience of the indigenous integrative symbols to sustain
thirteenth century when its decline began due to a combina-
traditional structures of the local religion. Islam is based on
tion of factors, including Bure gold fields opening up farther
a written scripture, prescribed ritual, a historical and histori-
south in the savanna country, new trans-Saharan routes de-
cizing tradition, and a supra-ethnic religious identity. Its in-
veloping farther east of Awdaghust, over-exhaustion of re-
teraction with traditional African religions is therefore gov-
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4602
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
erned by the tension between the supra-ethnic universality
of entrenching and deepening peoples understanding and
of its ummah and the ethnocentrism of traditional African
commitment to the faith was left to the religious scholars
religion. As one scholar has put it, for the African, the ethnic
( Eulama¯D). The term Eulama¯D covers a range of Muslim reli-
group is the matrix in which his or her religion takes shape,
gious personalities, from the learned elite of the Muslim
the meaning of myth communicated, and a person’s sacra-
world who is steeped in one or more of the Islamic sci-
mental relation to nature experienced. This means that when
ences—including QurDanic exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence,
the traditional symbols of an ethnic group are challenged by
and so on—to the teacher/preacher/healer/holy man who
a new system, recombination of old and new forms may ap-
provides services of a magical-religious nature to both Mus-
pear to reorganize the group and to compensate for any loss.
lims and non-Muslims. The latter played similar religious,
More specifically, becoming a Muslim and joining this uni-
social, and political roles as did the African priest/healer/
versal ummah involves offering prayers in a mosque frequent-
diviner whose traditional shrines served the same type of
ed by members of other ethnic groups, adoption of Muslim
function as did the mosque, God’s house, or sanctuary.
behavior patterns and dress code in some cases, and using a
These Muslim healers maintained a level of neutrality in the
certain language (e.g., in the case of East Africa, Kiswahili).
political affairs of the places where they resided. This served
The Kano Chronicle, a written version of the oral traditions
to enhance their powers as they were not perceived to be a
not committed to writing until the nineteenth century,
threat to the local political elite.
brings out clearly the struggle between the two religious sys-
tems, the Islamic and the traditional one, after the symbolic
Muslim scholars provided their services at the centers of
tree is cut down and a mosque built in its place.
political power, in chiefly and kingly courts as well as at
major trading and learning centers, such as Tombouctou
In the case of Mali, despite the influence of Islam among
which provided an important link between the Sudanic sa-
the Malinke chiefs prior to the founding of the empire by
vanna and the Berber Sahara. The city produced its own in-
Sundiata, the latter is presented in the Arabic sources and
digenous scholars, some of whom, under the rule of Mansa,
oral traditions as a great hunter and a magician who mobi-
were sent to Fez in Morocco to further their studies. In the
lized the resources of his people against the Sosso in the name
fifteenth century, the Sanhaja scholars (under the patronage
of the ancestral tradition, not Islam. Yet, when Mali expand-
of another Berber group, the Tuareg, who were their kin) be-
ed and was transformed from a small chiefdom to a sprawling
came prominent in Tombouctou. They gained the title of
multi-ethnic empire extending into the Sahel region, its
the people of Sankore, owing to their residence in the quarter
Muslim rulers (including the famous Mansa Musa with his
of the Sankore mosque.
lavish pilgrimage to Mecca) shifted their attachment over
time from traditional religious references to a more universal
Unlike their counterparts in West Africa, the Sanhaja
Islamic outlook.
scholars of Tombouctou did not shy away from the political
message of Islam. They articulated the concerns of the mer-
Mali reached the height of its power in the fourteenth
chants of Tombouctou about guarding the autonomy of the
century during the reign of Mansa Musa (1312–1337) and
city which was conquered by Sonni Ali in 1469 thus setting
Mansa Sulayman (1341–1360) when the specifically Muslim
off a bitter conflict. By then the kingdom of Gao had blos-
character came to be reflected by the many mosques and cen-
somed to become the empire of Songhai under the ruthless
ters of Islamic learning, such as Tombouctou. Ibn Batuta vis-
leadership of Sonni Ali, who persecuted scholars who op-
ited Niani, the capital of Mali in 1352/3 and reported at-
posed him, a fact noted in Arabic sources, while respecting
tending an official Islamic festival which attracted the
those who collaborated with him. This is an early example
presence of the king as well non-Muslims. He spoke highly
of confrontation between religious scholars and a ruler of a
of the people’s efforts to study the QurDa¯n from memory,
West African kingdom.
their hospitality, and their love of justice, though he depre-
cated their pre-Islamic customs which he still found to be in
After Sonni Ali’s death in 1492, his son was soon ousted
vogue.
by Askiya Muh:ammad Ture (1493–1528), one of the gener-
als who had formed an alliance with discontented elements
By the end of the fourteenth century and certainly the
in the western provinces of Songhai. Ture, founder of the As-
beginning of the fifteenth century, the Mali empire was in
kiya dynasty, strengthened the administration of the empire
decline with a series of weak rulers, dynastic struggles, and
and consolidated the earlier conquests of Sonni Ali. He used
loss of control to the Tuareg and later to Songhai over the
Islam effectively to reinforce his authority, by involving the
Sahel (the region where Islam had been more firmly estab-
Tombouctou scholars in his pro-Islam policy, and to unite
lished). The outer provinces (such as the Mossi areas to the
the various regions of his kingdom. His pilgrimage to Mecca
south of the Niger bend) broke away and went their separate
a few years later brought him to the attention of the Muslim
way, with the Mali state contracting to its original borders
world as one concerned about the affairs of Islam. He re-
on the upper Niger.
turned with the title of amir al-mu Dminin (commander of the
SCHOLARS AND RULERS: TOMBOUCTOU IN SONGHAI. While
faithful), conferred upon him in Cairo, which made him the
traders played a major role in the dissemination of Islam
politico-religious head of the Muslim community (ummah)
across the various trading networks in the region, the work
in western Sudan.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
4603
Askiya Muh:ammad’s politics of appeasing potential op-
The mediating and integrating functions of Islamic
ponents helped integrate even the Tuareg of the Sahara into
learning in the segmentary societies of the Saharan nomads
the empire, a development that safeguarded the commercial
was expressed through the influence of the marabouts who
interests of Tombouctou. For their part, the scholars of
attempted to establish harmony between warring groups.
Tombouctou favored piecemeal changes in the Songhai em-
These maraboutic lineages were also involved in trade, em-
pire and did not call for radical transformations of the type
ploying a network of disciples and followers. The transfor-
advocated by al-Maghili, a visiting scholar from the oasis of
mation or conversion of religious prestige to economic re-
Tuat in the northern Sahara. Al-Maghili’s responses to Aski-
sources and political assets accounts for the rise of the Kunta
ya Muh:ammad’s questions represent the most sustained crit-
as a dominant scholarly and commercial network. Their
icism of the religious and political situation in West Africa
leader, Sidi al-Mukhtar al-Kabir (1728–1811), a reputable
prior to the Islamic revolutions of the eighteenth and nine-
scholar and a great mystic, reinvigorated the Qa¯dir¯ıyah S:u¯f¯ı
teenth centuries.
order, which until then had not played a particularly distinc-
Among Askiya Muh:ammad’s great achievements was
tive role in the religious life of the Sahara for more than two
his revival of Tombouctou as a great center of Islamic learn-
centuries. He was highly revered by the Tuareg and through
ing. During this period the Ma¯lik¯ı scholars from Tombouc-
his influence over them extended his patronage over Tom-
tou visited Cairo, a major source of Islamic intellectual influ-
bouctou. Through his disciples he facilitated the diffusion of
ence in the region, on their way to and from Mecca. In Cairo
his Qadiri teachings among many Muslim groups in the sa-
they studied mainly under eminent Sha¯fiE¯ı scholars from
vanna.
whom they assimilated the science of h:ad¯ıth (the prophetic
ISLAM IN THE SAVANNA. The collapse of the imperial system
traditions), tas:awwuf (“mysticism”), and bala¯ghah (rhetoric).
in western Sudan, which had been sustained by the succes-
In this way, scholarship in Tombouctou was broadened be-
sive powerful states of Mali and Songhai, weakened the posi-
yond the narrow parochialism of the Ma¯lik¯ı school that
tion of Islam in the savanna. There were now no longer pa-
seems to have stifled intellectual life in the Maghreb at that
trons of learning like the great kings Mansa Musa and Askiya
time. One representative of this scholarly tradition was the
Muh:ammad, with their strong commitment to Islam and its
famous Tombouctou scholar Ahmad Baba, who, along with
promotion in their respective states. Moreover, by the seven-
the other leading scholars in the city, were exiled to Morocco
teenth century, Muslims were living under the auspices or
following the invasion of Tombouctou in 1591. His excel-
authority of lesser chiefs who were strongly influenced by
lence in Islamic erudition was acknowledged when scholars
their traditional heritage. Yet, all was not lost, as Muslim
from the major towns of Morocco came to hear his lectures
traders were venturing farther afield, to the fringes of the for-
in Marrakech.
est, opening new areas to the influence of Islam. This allowed
The Moroccan conquest transformed the autonomous
Islam (the religion of urban centers, generally followed by
town governed by its own patriciate of scholar families into
merchants, scholars, and the like in the age of the great em-
the seat of an authoritarian military government. The out-
pires) to filter into the countryside by the seventeenth and
come was that once again, as during the time of Sonni Ali,
eighteenth centuries.
scholars led the resistance. The continued intellectual promi-
nence of Tombouctou was confirmed by the two most im-
The Bambara of middle Niger, who had previously re-
portant Arabic chronicles of West Africa, Ta Erikh al-Sudan
sisted Islamization during the period of the Mali empire, be-
(History of Sudan) and Ta Erikh al-Fattash (The researcher’s
came more open to Islam when they entered a process of
history [of Takrur]), both of which were written there in the
state formation of their own. The Scottish explorer Mungo
middle of the seventeenth century. They form part of the
Park reported in 1796 seeing many mosques in the Bambara
local Arabic historiography which documents, among other
capital. Bambara chiefs began to practice Islam while retain-
things, the rise and gradual decline of Tombouctou.
ing traditional rituals. The Islam practiced by their chiefs ac-
commodated local ritual practices, a pattern that recurs
Tombouctou, which once had the status of a major cen-
throughout the regions where Islam spread in Africa and
ter of learning and commerce, declined slowly, under the
Asia.
contested rule of the descendants of the Moroccan conquer-
ors. Feuding factions struggled for power within Tombouc-
The role of Muslims as advisers to rulers and as special-
tou and Tuareg nomads pressed the town from the outside.
ists with access to supernatural power was transmitted from
Arma (Moroccan) rule finally collapsed in 1737 when the
the middle Niger (central parts of modern Mali) to the Volta
Tuareg seized the town and became the dominant power on
basin, where several patterns of Islamization and integration
the Niger bend. Once commerce was affected, it did not take
had developed. In Gonja, Dagomba, Mamprusi, and Wa
long for the decline in Islamic scholarship to set in. With
(present-day northern Ghana), Muslims of Dyula and Hausa
military and political ascendancy passing into the hands of
origin had assimilated many aspects of the local cultures in
the Tuareg, learning and also spiritual leadership migrated
addition to adopting local languages. Moreover, Muslims
to the nomads’ camp. By the middle of the eighteenth centu-
had become integrated into the sociopolitical system of these
ry, the Kunta, a nomadic clan of Arab and Berber descent,
states. In the area west of the Black Volta River (modern
exercised influence over the whole of Muslim West Africa.
Ivory Coast), the Dyula managed to maintain their cultural
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4604
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
and linguistic identity either as residents of states, such as
of political integration of non-Fulani groups in the state. The
Buna and Gyaman, or as independent communities among
one in Futa Toro did not fare any better as the leader, the
stateless peoples. The exception was in Kong and Bobo-
almamy ima¯m EAbd al-Qadir, and his successors were unable
Dioulasso (formerly Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso) where
to establish effective central authority.
the Dyula forged their own states.
KANEM-BORNU AND HAUSALAND TO 1800. Kanem, in pres-
Farther west, in the shared border area of Ivory Coast,
ent-day Chad, northeast of Lake Chad, was one of the earli-
Guinea, and Mali, the Dyula lived among Mande warriors
est states mentioned in Arabic sources, with references to the
and peasants, from whom they differed only in their com-
area in Arabic texts dating to the middle of the ninth century.
mercial activities and Islamic faith. They were two contrast-
But Islam was introduced into Kanem by Muslim traders
ing groups, one of warriors (Mande) and the other of Mus-
from Tripoli and Fezzan (in present-day Libya) only at the
lims (Dyula). This dichotomy between warriors and
beginning the twelfth century, at least a century after it had
Muslims held true over a large area of western Sudan and the
gained a foothold in Takrur and Gao.
Sahara. Thus warriors who exercised political authority, shed
Unlike the situation in western Sudan where the spread
blood, and indulged in imbibing alcohol (which played the
of Islam was facilitated by the trans-Saharan trade which
symbolic role of differentiating the two communities) often
linked the network of trading routes to the gold fields, in
professed Islam but were not committed Muslims.
central Sudan the trade in captives with North Africa in ex-
THE EARLY JIHA¯D MOVEMENTS. The jiha¯d movements of
change for goods, such as horses, dominated the economy
West Africa represented a phase in the diffusion (often
and inhibited the spread of Islam. There was no comparable
through the agency of S:u¯f¯ı orders) and further entrenchment
trading and scholarly diaspora across an expanding network
of Islam in the region. Part of the process of conveying Islam
of routes; instead, there was a Sahelian state which, even at
from the urban areas to the countryside and from the elite
the height of its military power, expanded, not southward
to the common people, jiha¯d movements had the literary
into the savanna, but northward into the Sahara, eventually
consequences of stimulating, in some cases, the production
reaching the Fezzan. These contacts across the desert though
of Islamic material in Arabic or in the indigenous languages.
led to the growth of Islam among the Kanuri-speakers. Islam,
It was partly a response to mounting levels of violence, abuse
however, did not enter Baghirmi, the first Islamized state
of political power, and the enslavement of people (including
south of Lake Chad, until as late as the sixteenth century.
Muslims) in the age of the transatlantic slave trade.
The above notwithstanding, the fact remains that the
With the rise of militancy in the 1670s, a crisis came
influence of Islam in Kanem was far more sustained than in
about which pitted activist scholars against the traditional
western Sudan as judged by developments such as the state’s
political elite. Na¯s:ir al-D¯ın, a Berber scholar from the south-
expansion of its northern borders to as far as the southern
western part of present day Mauritania where the Almoravid
part of modern Libya in the thirteenth century, Kanem kings
movement had originated, challenged the political suprema-
underscoring the importance of Islam by performing pil-
cy of the nomadic Arab Hassani warriors. He was an ascetic
grimage, and the establishment of an Islamic school in Cairo
scholar known for his religious charisma (barakah). He called
for Kanem students and scholars. Sometime in the four-
for repentance and mobilized his devoted disciples for a jihad
teenth century, the Saifawa dynasty, in order to stave off a
in 1675.
complete disintegration of the state, located in a very precari-
In West Africa, the jiha¯ds succeeded in bringing about
ous and fragile environment, moved its capital to the grass-
the political ascendancy of Islam not through conquest or ex-
land region of Bornu in the southwestern corner of Lake
pansion from the outside, but through the uprising of Mus-
Chad (present-day Nigeria). Bornu, formerly a tributary
lim militants who lived within pluralistic societies including
state of Kanem, had access to a wider trading network. This
non-believers as well as men and women of varying degrees
led the Saifawa dynasty in the fifteenth century to establish
of commitment to Islam. West African jiha¯ds can therefore
trading links with the Hausa which enabled them to ex-
be considered religious uprisings that accomplished a long
change salt and horses for Akan gold, ushering in a period
evolutionary process.
of prosperity.
While the military efforts of Na¯s:ir al-D¯ın failed, his ex-
The Kanem-Bornu state reached its peak under the rule
ample most likely inspired the revolutionary movements
of mai Idris Alawma (1570–1603), when government offi-
which seized power in the following areas: Bundu, in pres-
cials were Muslim and the capital, N’Gazargamu, emerged
ent-day Senegal (c. 1700); Futa Jalon, in present-day Guinea
as an important center of Islamic learning. Muslim scholars
(c. 1725); and Futa Toro (c. 1776). The scholars who led
were highly respected, exempt from taxes, and looked to for
these movements, like Na¯s:ir al-D¯ın before them, adopted
advice. Other scholars who wished to maintain their inde-
the title of al-ima¯m which implied political and religious
pendence and keep their distance from political authorities
leadership. They were Torodbe, members of scholarly lin-
created their own Muslim communities in the countryside.
eages in Futa Toro.
It was in this state, which became the most Islamized of all
Of the post-jiha¯d states, the one in Futa Jalon was the
African states prior to the Islamic revolution in Hausaland,
least stable as it was plagued by internal conflicts and the lack
that Islam filtered more widely to the common people. Yet,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
4605
even here, African ancestral elements remained at the sym-
Several reasons have been suggested for this militancy.
bolic and organizational levels.
First, there was the religious excitement, particularly at al-
Islam reached Hausaland during the fourteenth century
Azhar, which influenced various parts of the Muslim world.
when the Mali empire flourished and when the Saifawa
In western Sudan this was expressed either through a radical
dynasty relocated its capital to Bornu. This was the period
Qadiriyah, or as was the case later, through a radical Tijaniy-
when the Wangara trading diaspora was established on the
ya. Second, Islamic messianism or millenarian expectations,
eastern fringes of the Mali empire in Hausaland at the same
which were quite widespread in West Africa, explains this
time that a direct trade route from Hausaland to Tripoli was
tendency to radicalism. In particular the ideas of the eigh-
developed. These Wangara traders and the scholars who ac-
teenth-century Egyptian scholar al-Suyuti had gained cur-
companied them provided services to Hausa rulers as they
rency. Suyuti predicted that a mahd¯ı would appear at the end
had done elsewhere in West Africa. Despite the employment
of the eighteenth century. Even earlier than this was al-
of Wangara scholars at the courts, however, pre-Islamic be-
Maghili who presented in a radical way the doctrine of a reju-
liefs continued to exist. Clearly, a struggle between the two
venator or renewer of Islam (mujaddid). These seminal ideas
religious systems existed as indicated by the Kano Chronicle.
took root and may partly explain the religious-political erup-
tions of the later centuries. Membership in S:u¯f¯ı orders by
By the end of the fifteenth century, King Rumfa of
these leaders, with special powers being attributed to them,
Kano attempted to make some reforms by ordering the sym-
increased the prestige and influence on their followers.
bolic tree to be cut down and a mosque built in its place. It
Third, the institution of pilgrimage played an important role
is believed that the king, under the influence of al-Maghili,
in preparing the careers of certain leaders for an active politi-
who visited Kano in 1493, installed Muslim judges and en-
cal life. Apart from legitimizing their role, the institution of
couraged the construction of mosques. Moreover, Tom-
pilgrimage was important in launching the career of certain
bouctou scholars on their way to the pilgrimage visited Kano
leaders on a reformist course. The Tijani order became the
and neighboring Katsina to the north where they taught
moving force behind several later revolutions of the nine-
briefly. The outcome was the development or nurturing of
teenth century. Fourth, there was a growing Islamic con-
a body of Hausa scholars in the region.
sciousness on the part of the more learned Muslim scholars;
Some of the Muslim scholars who served at the courts
this awareness went hand in hand with a call for radical re-
of the Hausa rulers were later to become the object of criti-
form. These were the shar¯ı Eah-minded scholars who aimed
cism by later reformers. The former were seen as worldly
at forging Islamic states. They articulated some of the local
scholars who had compromised Islamic teachings by their as-
political and socioeconomic grievances but in the language
sociation with political authorities.
or idiom of Islamic reform. They championed what has been
R
called the “radical tradition” which Thomas Hodgkin de-
EVOLUTION AND REFORM IN HAUSALAND. The practice of
living in separate communities (jama Eat) with their followers
fined as follows:
in the countryside had already began to develop among some
A tradition which emphasizes the rights of common
pious-minded scholars who avoided both the kingly courts
people against their rulers, takes an egalitarian attitude
and the trading centers. Instead, they lived and preached
to social differences, is concerned with changing institu-
among the peasants in the rural areas and contributed to the
tions as a precondition of changing human beings, de-
radicalization of attitudes. Some scholars became champions
mands the widest possible diffusion of knowledge and
of the peasants and couched their grievances in Islamic idiom
education, stresses the idea of an international commu-
or language. The increasing production of devotional litera-
nity, the need for puritanism in personal life and the ur-
ture in Hausa by the eighteenth century contributed further
gency of social change—justifying in some circum-
stances the use of revolutionary methods to achieve it.
to an Islamic awareness among the people.
(“The Radical Tradition in Muslim West Africa,” in Es-
Revivalist or reformist ideas gained momentum in dif-
says on Islamic Civilization, edited by D. P. Little, 1976,
ferent parts of the Muslim world in the eighteenth century
p. 103)
and fed into mahd¯ı expectations and millenarian excitement
Shehu Usuman dan Fodio (Uthman Dan Fodio), a Fu-
which, widespread in the Muslim world, dated back to the
lani religious leader, belonged to the autonomous scholarly
fifteenth century. Since the thirteenth century, S:u¯f¯ı orders
communities of Torodbe/Toronkawa who kept their dis-
had developed ecstatic practices and antinomian tendencies,
tance and avoided making any accommodations with the
but in the eighteenth century, they shifted their orientation
Hausa elite of Gobir. They were neither traders nor pastoral-
toward greater adherence to the shar¯ı Eah. Mysticism of the
ists although they shared cultural values with the Fulani pas-
speculative kind, with its focus on otherworldliness, was in-
toralists who, like them, carried arms and also excelled in
creasingly being supplanted by the strands which emphasized
horse riding.
involvement in societal affairs and even political activism.
While Muh:ammad Abdul Wahhab’s struggles against syn-
Usuman, the charismatic and missionizing teacher,
cretism in Saudi Arabia went as far as rejecting the whole
along with his followers engaged in preaching around the vil-
mystical tradition, the reform movements of West Africa
lages. His scrupulousness as a scholar won him many sympa-
sought reform within the S:u¯f¯ı traditions of the area.
thizers among the oppressed and exploited peasants. He
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4606
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
called for responsible leadership committed to a moral vision
in Massina. Despite his death in 1864, his state survived for
of society, not a corrupt one which ruled arbitrarily. As the
the next several decades amidst French imperialistic and co-
tensions mounted between Usuman and the king of Gobir,
lonial advances in the region. Further south, on the fringes
Usuman, whose life was in danger, was forced to disengage
of the forest zone, during the decade of the 1860s, Samoury
from society by moving from Degel to an alternative place
Toure (1835/40–1900), a long distance trader, attempted to
(Gudu) to establish a new just society based on his Islamic
unite various southern Mande peoples and states into a vast
reformist program. In effect, he and his followers performed
political system.
a hijrah, or migration, following the example of the prophet,
THE PROGRESS OF ISLAM IN ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN OF
a preparatory stage for the jiha¯d.
AFRICA. The economic, cultural, and political relations be-
Once open conflict erupted between the king of Gobir
tween Ethiopia and Arabia, separated only by the Red Sea,
and his Muslim protagonists, Usuman declared a jiha¯d
predate the coming of Islam by many centuries. In fact, this
which, after its initial success, attracted other disaffected
much earlier contact is evidenced by the presence of the lo-
groups, including Fulani pastoralists who resented arbitrary
cally evolved Geez, an Afro-Asiatic language, which bears the
seizure of their stocks. These military campaigns, which last-
imprint of the interaction between south Arabians and the
ed from 1804 to 1810, engulfed not just the Hausa states,
local Ethiopian groups. While in the seventh century Mus-
but also western Bornu, Adamawa, Nupe, and the Yoruba
lim refugees had migrated to the Aksum court to escape Mec-
state of Ilorin (the basis of Islam’s later impressive inroads
can persecution, by the eighth century Muslims had settled
among the Yoruba in the forest region of Nigeria). The out-
on the Dahlak Islands off the Ethiopian coast, and by the
come was a sprawling empire or Sokoto caliphate, with a
ninth century there were Muslim communities along the
number of separate emirates, which was ruled by a caliph
long-distance trade routes into the interior. Islam expanded
(Amir al-Muslimin). Usuman retired into a religious life and
southwards, from the Harar area, in the direction of the Sida-
left the administration of the new state to his brother and
ma principalities but not in the north where the Christian
son.
power was well established and well entrenched.
Thus the Muslim scholars were able to realize their vi-
The growing power of Ifat and other Muslim states
sion of creating an Islamic state. The ideals and values of the
threatened the interests of an expanding Christian kingdom
reformers were never realized although they remained nor-
under the Zagwe kings who controlled the Ethiopian high-
mative and guided Usuman’s successors. More importantly,
land region. By the early fourteenth century, however, Ifat
Hausa society became transformed with the state and its in-
had been defeated. Yet, another Muslim state, Adal, asserted
stitutions became Islamized. Another major outcome was
itself and began to recruit support from the Somali pastoral-
that the Hausa ruling elite were replaced by a new Fulani one
ists who were increasingly being proselytized. More impor-
that adopted Hausa language and culture. Nevertheless, not
tantly, Adal controlled Harar, the most important center of
all pre-jiha¯d structures and practices were eliminated, as evi-
trade and Islam in the interior, and also Zeila, on the Somali
denced by the continued existence of some communities of
coast, south of modern Djibouti, which by the end of the
non-Muslim Hausa speakers known as Maguzawa.
ninth century had become a significant alternative Muslim
trading settlement. Somali coastal settlements developed into
THE S:U¯F¯I ORDERS AND THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY JIHA¯DS
thriving towns, the most significant of which was the sultan-
IN WESTERN SUDAN. Following Shehu Usuman’s example,
ate of Mogadishu.
Ahmadu Lobbo conducted a jiha¯d in 1818 against Fulani
syncretists in Massina on the middle Niger south of Tom-
At the end of the fifteenth century or early sixteenth
bouctou. The state that he established, which lasted until
century, a Muslim general, Ahmad Gran, became the ruler
1864, was criticized by the Kunta and even Sokoto leaders
of Adal and took on the title of ima¯m. He saw Christian
for not being free of narrow-minded concerns and bigotry.
Ethiopia, then ruled by the Solomonid dynasty, as a threat
to Muslim security. He articulated his policy toward Chris-
The first wave of jiha¯ds or religiously inspired revolu-
tian Ethiopia, which showed signs of breaking up, in reli-
tions in West Africa were for the most part led by members
gious terms and went on to overrun major sections of it with
of the Qadiri order (for instance, Usuman) while the later
Ottoman-supplied firearms. The timely intervention by a
ones were mainly headed by Tijanis. The most important of
Portuguese force, which came to the aid of Ethiopia, led to
these was the one led by al-Hajj EUmar (1794/97–1864), the
the two forces together defeating and killing Ahmad Gran
Tijani leader in West Africa. His pilgrimage to Mecca and
in 1543 and thus saving the kingdom.
his appointment while there to Tijani leadership in West
Africa confirmed him in his reformist mission to challenge
In the sixteenth century the pastoral Oromo, from
syncretic Islam as well as other S:u¯f¯ı orders, including
northeast of Lake Turkana, moved into the southern high-
Qa¯dir¯ıyah. He used Islam to forge a large Islamic state incor-
lands of Ethiopia, a region destabilized by the warfare, and
porating the regions of Segu, Kaarta, and Massina, which
pushed as far east as the plateau of Harar. Those that came
make up large parts of the present republic of Mali. His in-
into contact with Adal Muslims converted to Islam while
fluence spread rapidly, perhaps too rapidly, explaining why
others elsewhere became Christians. The Oromo became a
he clashed with the French as well as the established groups
major factor in the expansion of Islam from the eighteenth
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
4607
century onwards. Today they form the largest ethnic group
Although Islam reached East and West Africa around
in Ethiopia with probably more than half being Muslim.
the same time, the methods and timing of its diffusion in the
ISLAM IN EAST AFRICA AND THE INTERLACUSTRINE/
two regions presents some interesting contrasts. To begin
CENTRAL REGION. For centuries, even before the advent of
with, Islam in West Africa had penetrated inland from Sahel
Islam, there had always been contact between the East Afri-
into the savanna and as far as the fringes of the forest by the
can coast and western Asia. Traders from south Arabia, the
end of the fifteenth century. In East Africa, on the other
Persian Gulf, and western India took advantage of the mon-
hand, Islam remained confined to the coastal area for a long
soon winds to visit East Africa in pursuit of commercial op-
time before it was introduced into the interior, for instance,
portunities.
in Buganda in 1840. The spread of Islam in West Africa,
moreover, was not associated with one particular ethnic or
The advent of Islam in Arabia in the seventh century
linguistic grouping the way it was in East Africa. For the
marked the turning point in the trading relations between
most part, Islamization in East Africa went hand in hand
the two regions. The eastern Bantu speakers had already ex-
with Swahilization, a process by which members of different
panded to this coastal area probably by the midpoint of the
ethnic groups became integrated into the Muslim Swahili
first millennium CE, if not earlier. However, the growing
community. In fact, the introduction of Islam in the hinter-
commerce between Arabia and East Africa led to an increased
land of East Africa is closely connected to the extension of
migration to the area. The migrants appear to have come
Muslim trading communities along the coast as far as north-
from a number of areas, but mainly from southern and, to
ern Mozambique to the Interlacustrine region (which in-
a lesser extent, eastern Arabia. They first settled on the
cludes present Buganda/southern Uganda, Rwanda, Burun-
Benadir (Somali) coast in the ninth and tenth centuries, set-
di, eastern Congo, and Malawi). Another significant
ting up settlements in Merca, Mogadishu, and Barawa. In
difference is that religious upheavals in East Africa did not
later centuries, most notably the twelfth, traders from this
play a role as an instrument of conversion the way they did
region—Africans and proto-Swahili speakers, including
in some areas of West Africa. This means that there was no
probably some African-Arabs—also moved southward along
territorial expansion of Islam from the coast to the interior.
the coast as far as Kilwa and established their settlements
There was a marked absence of empires like those of Ghana,
there. This is the period of the Shirazi myths as found in a
Mali, and Songhai; instead, East Africa produced several
number of chronicles. More immigrants from Hadhramawt
dozen trading city states at the height of its commercial pros-
and Yemen followed later, although their numbers were
perity by the fifteenth century. Also, whereas East Africa was
much smaller in relation to the local African coastal urban
incorporated into the world of the west Indian Ocean, West
population. The cumulative result of the gradual changes
Africa, through the trans-Saharan trade, was more connected
brought about by the interaction between the immigrants
to North Africa with which it traded for a long time.
and the dominant African Bantu-speaking groups was the
creation of a new urban ethos in which Islam blended with
The coming of the Portuguese to coastal East Africa at
the indigenous local culture to produce Swahili Islam. Al-
the end of the fifteenth century, as crusaders with commer-
though the coastal area had not become fully Islamized by
cial interests in the East, disrupted the Indian Ocean trade
this time, by early 1330s when Ibn Batuta visited East Africa,
and also put to an end the first Muslim period of the East
he indicated that there were many Muslims to be found in
African coast. The brutal rule of the Portuguese provoked re-
the thriving coastal towns such as Kilwa, whose inhabitants
bellions from time to time, and by the end of the seventeenth
he makes clear were of dark skin. Swahili culture and lan-
century, the Portuguese had been expelled from the coastal
guage were by then fully evolved that he could speak of the
area north of Mozambique through a combination of local
coast as Sawahil country. It took another century or two,
resistance and the rising power of Oman. Omani influence
however, before Islam became part of the Swahili identity.
did not take hold until the 1830s when the sultan of Oman
There was a period when the founding of Swahili coastal
moved his capital to Zanzibar. This was a period of a com-
towns was attributed to Asian and Middle Eastern colonizers.
mercial revival, including an expansion in slave trade, as well
This is the Asian perspective or hypothesis popularized by
as growth in higher Islamic education along the coastal re-
colonial scholarship which denied Africans with a contribu-
gion and the development of the Ibadi school of thought in
tion in the evolution of historical towns in their own region.
East Africa. Additionally, during the colonial period, Muslim
The overwhelming evidence from records of earlier travelers
communities from the subcontinent, Sunn¯ı and Sh¯ıEah, mi-
and geographers, recent archaeological findings, and linguis-
grated to East Africa, adding a cosmopolitan dimension to
tic studies are all, however, in favor of the African perspec-
the presence of Islam there.
tive, crediting Africans with establishing their own towns.
ISLAM IN SOUTH AFRICA. The highly urbanized Muslim mi-
This does not deny the fact that Middle Eastern Muslim im-
nority communities of South Africa, with people of mainly
migrants, whether as refugees from the Middle East or at-
Malay and Indian descent, have their origins in the develop-
tracted by commercial opportunities in the region, were ab-
ments starting from the mid-seventeenth century. As the
sorbed into Swahili population over a long period of history
Dutch began colonizing the Indonesian archipelago, the
as evidenced by the culture of the Swahili which is both Mus-
Cape of Good Hope functioned as a convenient place of exile
lim and African.
for Indonesian political leaders. These exiles included Mus-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4608
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
lim learned men such as the scholar saint Shaykh Yusuf. A
mosques that were built in Mali had mih:ra¯bs that evoked the
revered figure and a leader of an alternative culture, Shaykh
image of an African mask, which traditionally represent pow-
Yusuf led foreign, non-white members of excluded or isolat-
erful forces. This is how the mosques were constructed by
ed groups who maintained their Islamic faith and perpetuat-
the Mande of West Africa with Islam clearly inspiring the
ed it among the slaves, convicts, and freed convicts from
use of certain architectural features in the spatial configura-
India and the Indonesian archipelago. Given the racial atti-
tion. The Islamic architectural tradition, mediated through
tudes of nineteenth-century white South African society,
the Maghrebian heritage, in turn inspired the architectural
many African slaves (liberated “Prize Negroes” or Africans
imagery or style represented by the thatched domes of the
freed by the British from intercepted slave ships) who could
Senegal-Guinea mosques and maraboutic shrines, following
not be assimilated into white Christian culture found them-
the example of the domed cities of Tripoli and Cairo.
selves turning to Islam. The final phase of Islam’s entrench-
ment in South Africa through immigration came with the
Islamic-type designs were also emulated and led to the
introduction of indentured labor service from India for the
adoption of arabesque wall patterning instead of the attached
sugarcane fields in Natal. A significant number of these for-
African charms. This calligraphy allowed for a new system
eign workers were Muslim and succeeded in establishing a
of spatial organization. More than this, Islamic script was
base for the faith in the region. Over a century later, Islam
used in decorative ways even in non-Muslim areas such as
had survived in South Africa and even entered into a radical
modern-day Ghana, where in the nineteenth century, the As-
phase among some of its followers during the period of apart-
antehene, head of the Ashanti confederacy, wore clothes with
heid. The location of the South African Muslim communi-
Arabic writing in various colors. Islam had clearly filtered
ties on the periphery of the Muslim world in a secular West-
through Ashanti politico-religious structure such that, as one
ernized world has allowed for some of its scholars to offer
scholar has noted, both in terms of ideas and in the realm
interesting modernist interpretations of Islam that are in
of the arts, it provided a medium through which the ideology
keeping with progressive trends.
of the Ashanti was communicated.
ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE. Treatment of the diffu-
CULTURAL DYNAMICS. Islam, which for many centuries co-
sion of Islam in Africa from both the east and the north
existed well with traditional African religion, gradually over
would be remiss if the cultural dynamics of the interaction
time attempted to replace it as the dominant faith of some
between the Islamic system and values and those of tradition-
regions. What made this possible was that the Islamic faith
al African ways of thinking, especially in the area of visual
was much more adaptable in Africa, with minimum require-
representation, were not present or discussed at least briefly.
ments for new members, including at the very least a change
The question that first needs to be asked is whether the old
of name after reciting the testimony of faith. The observance
forms and symbols of the indigenous African system were
of Islamic duties along with the understanding of the faith
discarded as a result of the encounters between Islam and tra-
were supposed to follow later. For the first generation of
ditional African religions? Did Islam, with its supra-ethnic
Muslims, introduction to Islamic cultural values was what
universality, and the local African culture, with its ethnically
came first whereas Islamization itself could take generations
centered identity, blend sufficiently during the process of Is-
to realize. At this level, there was accommodation to social
lamization on the continent to produce an Islamic art in
and political structures of authority. This was the period
Africa?
when the learned Muslims, as in West African kingdoms,
played a key role in administration and diplomacy. Eventual-
In the artistic and architectural domains there was a
ly, however, a number of these African rulers adopted Islam
unique blending of Islamic structure and African representa-
and in doing so may partly have undermined the basis of
tion. Once a balance had been reached between the local reli-
their legitimacy as guardians of African ancestral religious
gious practices and the universal ritual prescriptions of Islam,
traditions. Nevertheless, they did not completely renounce
the next step was to cast the imagery and iconography of Af-
ties with the African traditional religion, which continued to
rican ancestral pillars, shrines, and so on into Islamized form.
be the religion of many of their subjects. This arrangement
Where Islam was introduced, such items as charms, amulets,
assisted in maintaining order although it did not please some
certain types of clothing, and prestige goods were incorporat-
West African S:u¯f¯ı leaders of the eighteenth and nineteenth
ed into local societies. More importantly, the local altar-
centuries who launched their jiha¯ds and reform movements
shrine was transformed into the mosque in such a way that
of Islamic revivalism, some of which had mahd¯ı and messian-
the physical configuration represented a leap into verticality.
ic overtones, to establish Islamic states.
Thus, the single, towering pyramidal earthen cone became
the mih:ra¯b, while also serving as a minaret, with its system
ISLAM DURING THE COLONIAL PERIOD. While there were
of projecting wooden pickets extending out of this massive
some Muslim leaders who resisted colonialism—such as
structure. The ends of these wooden pickets served as a scaf-
Muh:ammad ibn EAbd Alla¯h (1864–1920) of the Salihiyah
fold for workers to climb and repair the walls. The ancestral
order in Somalia, al-Hajj Emar, and Samori (Guinea and
conical structure or pillar (in the Voltaic tradition) was now
Mali)—many others chose accommodation and collabora-
redirected to a new focal center, that of Mecca. In certain
tion. Colonialism facilitated the growth of Islam in areas of
cases, as Prussin and Bravmann have observed, some of the
Africa as far apart as Tanzania (Tanganyika) in East Africa
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
4609
and Senegal in West Africa through the activities of Muslim
Muslim healing traditions to flourish and allowed for the ser-
brotherhoods (S:u¯f¯ı orders), traders, and others. For some Af-
vices of Muslim healers and holy men, who provided addi-
rican groups, the loss of power with the onset of colonial rule
tional healing choices to local practitioners, to be in high de-
made them gravitate towards Islam which was seen as an al-
mand. The appearance of new epidemic diseases such as
ternative to the prevailing colonial order. The difficulties of
smallpox and cholera, which arose in the nineteenth and
a new life under the colonial system, which uprooted the Af-
twentieth centuries in hinterland East Africa and which the
rican from his or her traditional universe, presented Islam
local people could not adequately deal with, led people to
with an opportunity to provide a new framework as mean-
turn to the Muslim healing system. Muslim prayers and am-
ingful and all-embracing as the old African one. This, for in-
ulets were more popular than Muslim secular remedies in
stance, happened with Amadou Bamba’s Murid brotherhood
this atmosphere of suspicion, which took the form of sorcery
in Senegal, which converted thousands of people whose
and witchcraft accusations. As has been noted, apart from the
earthly kingdoms had been destroyed by colonialism. In
fact that Muslim amulets were believed to embody the words
1888 Bamba established Touba/Tubaa as a great holy city,
of the Supreme Being and not that of the intermediary pow-
some claim it to rival Mecca, where he was buried in 1927.
ers, making them therefore more portent as the Ashanti be-
Every year hundreds of thousands of his followers visit his
lieved, Muslim literacy played a role as a potential source of
tomb on the anniversary of his death. Generally speaking, for
healing. Furthermore, S:u¯f¯ı masters who had attained a close-
the uprooted African who joined the faith, the Muslim
ness to God through following the path of spiritual enlight-
supra-ethnic ummah provided solidarity and a sense of be-
enment were believed to have special powers which made
longing not very different from that of the African village or
their prayers efficacious. This barakah, or blessing power
ethnic one. Moreover, while the Islamic prescriptions re-
which heals, was passed on in families and explains why the
placed the indigenous ones, in matters of worship, however,
scholarly S:u¯f¯ı lineages of the Sahara have played a pivotal
the Muslim ritual prayer did not completely dislodge the tra-
role in mediating Islam between North and West Africa.
ditional rituals of seeking to appease one’s ancestors. In fact,
Muslim religious leaders and teachers performed, in some
Modern developments in the Muslim world have un-
cases, the same kind of role as the African healers and medi-
dermined, to some extent, the influence of the t:ar¯ıqah (S:u¯f¯ı
cine men in carving out the domain of popular religion.
orders) in some parts of Africa such as Tanzania. Yet, the
commitment to a mystical engagement with faith continues
Islam therefore spread rapidly during the colonial peri-
to be strong in West Africa and especially in Senegal, al-
od and became the majority faith in Senegal, Gambia, Guin-
though even there it is facing the challenge of the Salaf¯ı re-
ea, Mali, Niger, and northern Nigeria where Shehu Usu-
formers, also known as Wahha¯b¯ıs, a term that is not used
man’s descendants continued to exercise influence. Islam
approvingly. Sufism, far from being a predominantly rural
also made progress in areas such as Burkina Faso, the north-
phenomenon which would fade away as Muslim societies be-
ern parts of the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and the
came increasingly modernized, has continued to thrive and
“middle belt” of Nigeria where twenty to forty percent of the
to engage African Muslims of the urban centers as well. It
population is Muslim. Were it not for the resilience of tradi-
is true to say though that for some educated young African
tional religions and the activities of Christian missions, Islam
Muslims who are discomfited by magical practices, saint ven-
would most likely have been a majority religion here too.
eration, hierarchy, and authoritarianism of some S:u¯f¯ı orders,
POPULAR ISLAM IN AFRICA. Despite Muslim efforts to purge
the Salaf¯ı message has proved attractive.
African elements from their faith, Islam continued to display
a level of indigenization or Africanization in West Africa. In
The Salaf¯ı religious revivalism, despite its attractiveness
spite of producing such well-known major religious Fulani
to younger Africans, is generally conservative and traditional;
reformers of the nineteenth century, including Shehu Usu-
to the extent that this is true, Salaf¯ı reform and S:u¯f¯ı tradi-
man dan Fodio, in northern Nigeria, women still tend to fol-
tionalism are constantly engaged in an overlapping move-
low the traditional cults, including the bori spirit cult, even
ment of interaction. Will they creatively synthesize from the
with the sustained impact of Islam in Hausaland for centu-
values of their common Islamic heritage while acknowledg-
ries. According to some scholars, there must be a level of af-
ing the entanglements and creative encounters between and
finity between the two religious systems which allows this to
within cultures? It remains to be seen what the outcome of
happen. For instance, the belief in mystical powers (jinn or
this clash will be. It is clear though that underlying the con-
invisible supernatural creatures) allows Islam to be accom-
flict between them are struggles for power and control of the
modated to the African spirit world, which is important to
Muslim community in places as far apart as Uganda, Nigeria,
understanding the African religious universe. In fact, the an-
and Mali.
cestral beliefs have been recombined with Muslim practice
WOMEN AND ISLAM. With respect to gender issues, Islam did
to form a new “folk” religion with emphasis on saint venera-
not introduce patriarchy to Africa. In fact, many African so-
tion, which popular Islam and Sufism reinforce and which
cieties were patriarchal and polygamous even before their en-
approximates local ancestor veneration.
counter with Islam. Nevertheless, where Islam was intro-
The diagnosis and treatment of illnesses attributed to
duced and its values incorporated in the socioeconomic and
occult forces in Africa have provided an opportunity for
political structures of these societies (especially those with a
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4610
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
propensity for state or empire building), a hierarchical social
ISLAMIC LAW IN AFRICA. In the political domain, Islam unit-
organization resulted in which there were clear demarcations
ed much of Africa in the past and was willing to accommo-
of male and female spheres of activity. This, of course, did
date local, including legal, practices. Nevertheless, as the level
vary from society to society. For instance, the Yoruba women
of Islamization deepened, learned Muslim scholars began to
of southwestern Nigeria continued to be market women even
call for a strict interpretation of the shar¯ı Eah or Islamic law
after the coming of Islam whereas their Hausa counterparts
which they saw as different from the African legal and cus-
in northern Nigeria tended to lead more secluded lives. It is
tomary practices. Some obvious areas of difference included,
significant to note that the Mahdiyya movement, which was
for instance, the emphasis on individual ownership of land
established in 1941 in southern Nigeria by the scholar
(and property inheritance through the male side of the fami-
Muh:ammad Jumat Imam, emphasized the education of
ly), whereas in various African societies land belonged to the
women, their attendance of mosques together with men, and
community. Also, some have suggested, the way Islamic law
their inclusion in public affairs. By way of comparison,
was interpreted tended to give men more power over proper-
among the Tuareg-Berbers of the Sahara, who tend to be ma-
ty matters than perhaps was the case in some African socie-
triarchal, their unveiled women continued to enjoy far more
ties. Yet, comparative data across a number of African socie-
freedom of movement than their Arab counterparts in North
ties is needed to make this a meaningful comparison.
Africa.
Unlike its African counterpart which is customary and
Mysticism, and its chant practices and the spirit posses-
unwritten, Islamic law, which covers both public and private
sion cults, provided an opening or opportunity for the accep-
life, is written, providing an extensive institutional frame-
tance of female authority, for instance, Sokna Magat Diop
work within which Muslim qa¯d:¯ı analyze legal issues and de-
of the Murids, or religious leadership located within the fe-
duce new laws to handle new situations in the ummah. Its
male realm. Moreover, the Qa¯dir¯ıyah order did not chal-
emphasis is on the rights or obligations of individuals, where-
lenge the female leadership of Shaykh Binti Mtumwa, a for-
as African customary law (in which economic and social rela-
mer slave or person of low status, who founded a branch of
tions, especially in “stateless” societies, were regulated by cus-
the order in Malawi and was successful in attracting many
toms maintained by social pressure and the authority of
women. Therefore, both possession cults and S:u¯f¯ı
elders) is based on kinship ties in matters of marriage and
brotherhoods have allowed women to establish a sphere of
property. It extends to commercial and criminal law and also
action in hierarchical societies where control of the state is
has rules regarding the conduct of political leaders or those
a male domain. These orders have incorporated women in
entrusted with authority. In their encounter with other legal
both East and West Africa, especially in the area of education
systems, European colonial powers left these systems func-
and fund raising, although women have a much larger scope
tioning in some societies (for instance, in Sudan and Nigeria
in Senegal than Nigeria in brotherhood leadership.
as part of the British self-serving policy of indirect rule) while
There are Muslim women who, during the period of
in others they allowed Muslim judges to apply Islamic civil
economic hardship at the end of the twentieth and beginning
and family law, except in criminal matters, which were tried
of the twenty-first centuries, have began to articulate issues
by European courts. In the post-colonial period, the scope
of cultural authenticity rooted in Islamic identity in opposi-
of Islamic law, where it is applied, is limited to religious is-
tion to what has been perceived as Western cultural domina-
sues and civil cases as the modern trend, with its emphasis
tion. They reject Western feminism, which they see as an ex-
on equal rights of citizens, is to have laws that apply across
tension of Western cultural domination and which sets
the board without recognizing any distinctions based on reli-
Western values and ideas as the normative values. The role
gion or gender.
of these women has expanded as liberalization of the political
The decision to recognize or not recognize Islamic laws
process and the emergence of multi-party politics have led
in many African states after independence has created ten-
them to establish organizations and to embrace a particular
sions and political controversy, especially when the secular
agenda, including the Muslim dress code, and become in-
elites have sought to forge a uniform system of law or at least
volved in cultural politics. The Islamists and radical reformist
have attempted to modify Muslim personal law, in aspects
activists are engaged in contesting existing gender relations
such as marriage for girls, to bring it in line with the inherited
and social justice. Islamists use the text (scripture) as their
Western law and African customary practices. There has
framework, whereas the secular activists’ frame of reference
been a wide variety of responses to this dilemma regarding
is based on certain abstract concepts such as egalitarianism,
how much scope to give to religious laws. Mozambique, for
humanism, human rights, and pluralism, concepts which
instance, has made attempts to recognize traditional and reli-
have emerged from Western discourses on the subject.
gious marriages (thus doing the basic minimum) whereas
The above examples indicate that the roles of men and
Sudan has made shar¯ı Eah the law of the state. The call by
women are constantly changing, especially due to urbaniza-
Muslim groups in northern Nigeria for nationalization of Is-
tion, education, and cross-cultural contacts. For some
lamic law has unleashed the shar¯ı Eah debate, a source of ten-
women these changes have generated new freedom and op-
sion in national politics in a country where at the very least
portunities for self-improvement.
only half or slightly more than half the population is Mus-
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
4611
lim. In African Muslim societies in general, however, it has
citizenship,” was partly a response to what was perceived as
been noted that there is often an anti-state discourse underly-
the failure of national institutions to provide social services.
ing the call for Islamic law by Muslim groups. These groups
seek to foster their religious and cultural autonomy in socie-
SEE ALSO Ah:madiyah.
ties where the state and secular institutions have neglected
to respond to their needs.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
By far the single most important volume to date on the history
ISLAMIZATION OF AFRICAN LANGUAGES. Arabic as the lan-
of the development of Islam in Africa is The History of Islam
guage of Islam has provided abstract concepts, particularly
in Africa, edited by Randall Pouwels and Nehemia Levtzion,
religious ones, which reveal Islamic modes of thought and
(Athens, 2000). This will no doubt remain the definitive
expression. Islamic influence is, in fact, revealed both at the
study on the subject for some time. Earlier works, though
explicit and suggestive levels in languages as different as the
dated, that laid the foundations of serious study of Islam in
Berber dialects, Hausa, Fulani, Mandingo, Swahili, and So-
sub-Saharan Africa include those by J. Spencer Trimingham,
mali, to name just a few. These languages have absorbed the
Islam in the Sudan (Oxford, 1959), Islam in Ethiopia (Ox-
Islamic worldview, though at some level languages such as
ford, 1952), Islam in West Africa (Oxford, 1959), A History
Swahili have been progressively secularized over time, during
of Islam in West Africa (Oxford, 1962), and Islam in East Afri-
and after the colonial period, making them more neutral.
ca (Oxford, 1964). For broad historical outlines of the re-
Since the eighteenth century, religious poems, sermons, de-
gions where Islam spread, consult the relevant sections in The
Cambridge History of Africa, eight volumes, (London, 1975).
votional prayers, and litanies have been committed to writing
Other useful texts include Peter Clark’s West Africa and Islam
in some of these Muslim languages of Africa, and legal man-
(London, 1982) and Islam in Tropical Africa, second edition,
uals have been translated from Arabic to these languages.
edited by I. M. Lewis (Oxford, 1980).
The written word has been held in such high esteem in
The Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa (ISITA)
Islamic culture that wherever Islam has reached in Africa ver-
at Northwestern University has produced a series of impor-
sions of its script have been adopted in those regions of sus-
tant publications, such as “Arabic Literature of Africa,” in a
tained contact. Moreover, Islamic penetration of Africa in-
projected six volume series, of which the first four have al-
troduced Arabic as the language of religious discourse among
ready appeared. They include Volume 1: The Writings of
Eastern Sudanic Africa to c. 1900, edited by R. S. O’Fahey,
scholars, official correspondence between Islamized states,
(Leiden, 1994) and Volume 2: The Writings of Central Su-
and historical writing during the period of the Muslim king-
danic Africa to c. 1900, edited by John Hunwick, (Leiden,
doms. The priceless Tombouctou Arabic manuscripts, which
1996). The proceedings of the yearly ISITA colloquia have
still survive though precariously, once fully studied and ana-
also produced The Transmission of Knowledge in Islamic Afri-
lyzed by scholars will likely demolish the conventional his-
ca, edited by Scott Reese, (Leiden, 2004).
torical view of Africa as a purely “oral continent.” Both East
The most significant Arabic sources are now available in English
and West Africa have also produced Afro-Islamic literature,
or French translations. Among them are those that appear in
from the panegyrics of the Prophet to poetry, based on local
the series “Fontes Historiae Africanae.” Many external Ara-
languages that have absorbed many Arabic words in the
bic sources before the sixteenth century are collected in the
spheres of religion, politics, and commerce. In some of these
Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History, edited
areas, the written word though has competed with the oral
by Nehemia Levtzion and J. F. P. Hopkins (Cambridge,
literature, especially among such clan-based people as the
U.K., 1981). Four chronicles from Tombouctou are now
Somali.
available in French: Ta Erikh al-Fattash, translated by O.
Houdas and M. Delafosse (Paris, 1913); Ta Erikh al-Sudan,
FUTURE OF ISLAM IN AFRICA. In the twenty-first century’s
translated by O. Houdas (Paris, 1899); Tadhkirat al-Nisyan,
era of globalization, Islam in Africa will continue to oscillate
translated by O. Houdas (Paris, 1913–1914); Tombouctou au
between accommodation and reform (both internally and ex-
Milieu du dix-huitieme siecle d’apres la Chronique de Mawlay
ternally generated), particularism and universalism, quietism
al-Qasim, translated by M. Abithol (Paris, 1982). Al-
and political activism, although increasingly the latter is the
Maghili’s text has been translated by John O. Hunwick as
case in a significant number of countries in this era of Islamic
Shari Eah in Sunghay: The Replies of al-Maghili to the Questions
of Askiya al-Hajj Muh:ammad (London, 1985). On the jiha¯d
resurgence worldwide. Islam has sought to penetrate West-
in Sokoto, see EAbd Allah ibn Fudi’s Tazyin al-Waraqat,
ern secular cultures whose institutions and ideologies have
translated by M. Hiskett Ibadan, 1963, and Usuman dan
not functioned well in Africa. In Muslim northern Nigeria,
Fodio’s Bayan wujub al-hijrah, translated by F. H. al-Masri.
for instance, the shar¯ı Eah debate is seen by some as masking
See also al-Hajj Umar’s Bayan ma Waqa Ea, translated by M.
concerns with Nigeria’s federal system and is taking the form
Mahibou and J. L. Triaud, (Paris, 1983).
of cultural self-determination, cultural insecurity (in the
On Islam in the early states of western Sudan, see Levtzion’s An-
wake of Western-driven globalization), and as a political-
cient Ghana and Mali (London, 1973). This may be followed
bargaining strategy for a region that thinks it is losing influ-
by John Hunwick’s Timbuctu and the Songhay Empire: Al-
ence. Similarly, in Uganda in the 1990s, the increasing radi-
Sadi’s Tarikh Al-Sudan down to 1613 and Other Contempo-
calization of Muslim Salaf¯ı and reformist groups, revealing
rary Documents (Leiden, 1999) and Elias Saad’s Social History
social-economic forces at play and issues of inclusion or “full-
of Timbuctu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4612
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE VOLGA
1400–1900 (New York, 1983). A new approach to the study
On popular Islam, as well as encounters between African ancestral
of Muslim religious figures was opened by Lamin O. San-
religions and Islam, see Dean Gilland’s African Religion Meets
neh’s The Jakhanke: The History of an Islamic Clerical People
Islam: Religious Change in Northern Nigeria (Lanham, Md.,
of the Senegambia (London, 1979) and Piety and Power (New
1986), and David Owusu-Ansah’s Islamic Talismanic Tradi-
York, 1996). In Muslim Chiefs and Chiefs in West Africa (Ox-
tion in Nineteenth Century Asante (Lewiston, N.Y., 1991).
ford, 1968), Levtzion has analyzed patterns of integration of
On Islam in the periphery, see A. Tayob’s Islam in South Af-
Muslims into the sociopolitical system of West African
rica: Mosques, Imams, and Sermons (Gainesville, Fla., 1999).
states. See also Rural and Urban Islam in West Africa (Boul-
der, Colo., 1987), edited by Levtzion and J. Humphrey.
NEHEMIA LEVTZION (1987)
ABDIN CHANDE (2005)
For more information about two south Saharan societies that in-
fluenced West African Islam, see H. T. Norris’s The Tuaregs:
Their Islamic Legacy and Its Diffusion in the Sahel (Warmin-
ster, U.K., 1975) and C. C. Stewart’s Islam and Social Order
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS AND THE
in Mauritania (Oxford, 1973).
MIDDLE VOLGA
On the important role of Sufism in Africa, see H. T. Norris’s Sufi
When the first Arab invaders appeared in eastern Transcau-
Mystics of the Niger Desert: Sidi Mahmut and the Hermits of
casia in the seventh century, the Caucasus was a borderland
Air (Oxford, 1990), Charisma and Brotherhood in African
between the nomadic world to the north and the old seden-
Islam, edited by D. C. O’Brien and C. Coulson (Oxford,
1988) and Bradford G. Martin’s Muslim Brotherhoods in
tary world to the south, and between the Greek civilization
Nineteenth Century Africa (New York, 1976). Essays on the
in the West and the Iranian world in the East. It had a highly
precursors and leaders of the jiha¯ds are presented in Studies
sophisticated urban civilization where several world religions,
in West African Islamic History: The Cultivators of Islam, ed-
including Judaism, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, and
ited by John R. Willis, (London, 1979). For the major jiha¯d
Christianity, were already well entrenched. Among the
movements and products of the jiha¯d, see Mervin Hiskett’s
Christians, the Georgians and Alans were Orthodox, and the
The Sword of Truth: The Life and Times of Shehu Usuman dan
Armenians and Albanians were monophysites. Unlike Cen-
Fodio, second edition, (Evanston, Ill., 1994); B. B. Mack and
tral Asia, which has been characterized by religious tolerance,
J. Boyd’s One Woman’s Jihad: Nana Asma Du, Scholar and
the Caucasus for centuries has been the fighting ground for
Scribe (Bloomington, Ind., 2000); Michael Gomez’s Prag-
three great monotheistic religions—Christianity, Judaism,
matism in the Age of Jihad (Cambridge, U.K., and New York,
and Islam.
1993); Yves Person’s Samori: Une revolution dyula, three vol-
umes, (Nimes, France, 1968–1975); and Thomas Hodgkin’s
ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS. The spread of Islam was inhibited
“The Radical Tradition in Muslim West Africa,” in Essays on
by powerful political rivals who reinforced religious rivalries.
Islamic Civilization, edited by D. P. Little, (Leiden, 1976).
The Turkic Khazar empire in the north formed an effective
On Islam during the period of French colonialism in Africa, see
barrier against the progress of the conquering Arabs north
Christopher Harrison’s France and Islam in West Africa,
of Derbent; the Christian Georgian and Armenian principal-
1860–1960 (Cambridge, U.K., and New York, 2003). For
ities, backed by the Byzantine Empire, presented an insuper-
Islam in the modern politics of Africa, consult Religion and
able obstacle to Muslim progress westward.
National Integration in Africa: Islam, Christianity, and Politics
in the Sudan and Nigeria, edited by John Hunwick, (Evans-
The slow Islamization of Dagestan. The Arabs pene-
ton, Ill., 1992), A. El-Affendi’s Turabi’s Revolution: Islam
trated into Azerbaijan in 639; local rulers agreed to become
and Power in Sudan (London, 1991), African Islam and Islam
subordinate to the caliph but retained their Christian faith.
in Africa, edited by D. Westerlund and E. E. Rosander,
In 643, the Arabs reached Derbent (which they called Ba¯b
(London, 1997), and Lansine Kaba’s The Wahhabiyya: Islam-
al-Abwa¯b) and in 652 attempted to move north of the city
ic Reform and Politics in French West Africa (Evanston, Ill.,
but were heavily defeated by the Khazars. For almost a centu-
1974).
ry the territory of present-day Dagestan was disputed be-
Specialized studies on Islam in East Africa have also began to ap-
tween the Khazars and the Arabs, as expeditions and coun-
pear, including Anne Bang’s Sufis and Scholars of the Sea:
terexpeditions succeeded each other almost without
Family Networks in East Africa, 1860–1925 (London, 2003);
interruption and without any decisive victory. Not until the
Randall Pouwels’ Horn and Crescent (Cambridge, U.K. and
governorship of Marwa¯n ibn Muh:ammad (734–744) were
New York, 1989); Abdin Chande’s Islam, Ulamaa, and Com-
munity Development in Tanzania (San Francisco,
the Khazars decisively defeated in Arra¯n. Derbent, solidly
Calif.,1998); Islam in Kenya, edited by Mohamed Bakari and
held by an Arab garrison, became the northernmost bastion
Saad Yahya, (Nairobi, Kenya, 1995); and August Nimtz Jr.’s
of Islam facing the world of the Turkic nomads. Several
Islam and Politics in East Africa: The Sufi Order in Tanzania
thousand Arab settlers from Syria and northern Iraq were es-
(Minneapolis, 1980). Interpretive studies, with numerous il-
tablished in northern Azerbaijan by the governor Maslamah
lustrations that represent the best of Muslim artistry and de-
ibn EAbd al-Malik.
sign in Africa, are offered in Rene Bravmann’s African Islam
(London, 1983); Labelle Prussin’s Hatumere: Islamic Design
First inroads. Notwithstanding several Khazar expedi-
in West Africa (Berkeley, Calif., 1986); and Islamic Art and
tions between 762 and 799, by the end of the eighth century
Culture in Sub-Saharan Africa, edited by K. Dahl and B.
Islam was already the dominant religion of Arra¯n and of the
Sahlstrom, (Uppsala, Sweden, 1995).
coastal plain south of Derbent. Even so, Christian and Jewish
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE VOLGA
4613
communities survived in the area. Indeed, in 1979 there were
Seljuk empire improved security along the trade routes and
in northern Azerbaijan and southern Dagestan some 5,919
favored the peaceful penetration of Islam into the moun-
monophysite Christian Udins, the last survivors of the Alba-
tains. This movement was facilitated by two additional phe-
nian church. There were also about 30,000 “Mountain
nomena. First, in the tenth century, the old clanic forma-
Jews,” or Dagh Chufut, the descendants of the Jewish mili-
tions were replaced by stronger feudal principalities in
tary colonists established in the Caucasus by the Sassanid
Dagestan: the Nutzal of Avar, the U
¯ sm¯ıyat of Kayta¯k in the
kings. In recent years, most of them have migrated to Israel.
Darghin country, the Sha¯mkha¯lat of Kazi-Kumukh (central
Dagestan), and the MaEs:u¯mat of Tabasaran in southern Da-
The progress of Islam into the mountains was, by con-
gestan (Lezghian country). By the end of the eleventh centu-
trast, slow and difficult. According to Dagestani legends,
ry the rulers of these principalities were already Muslim, and
Maslamah ibn EAbd al-Malik (r. 723–731), having con-
their vassals and subjects tended to follow the example of the
quered all Dagestan, imposed Islam on the local rulers. In
suzerain. Second, there was a total disappearance of the old
reality, the submission of the indigenous chieftains was pure-
alphabets (Aramaic, Pahlavi, Albanian) formerly used to
ly formal. As soon as the Arab control weakened, the local
transcribe the local languages. These were replaced by Ara-
population reverted to their ancient religion. In some in-
bic, which became and remained henceforward the only lit-
stances, after Dagestani rulers embraced the new religion,
erary language of the area.
their subjects remained Christian, Jewish, or animist. The
northern Caucasian mountain area remained virtually un-
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the majority of the
touched by Islam into the tenth century. In southern Dage-
Darghins and the Lakh of central Dagestan became Muslims,
stan, the ruler of Tabasaran professed Islam, Christianity,
and Islam penetrated into western and northern Dagestan.
and Judaism simultaneously. All three religions were repre-
By contrast, the more remote territories, bypassed by the
sented among the Zir¯ıhgara¯ns of central Dagestan. The Lez-
main trade routes—in particular, the Chechen and Ingush
ghians of southern Dagestan were “infidels.” Sar¯ır, in the
countries—preserved a purely prefeudal (clanic) society and
Avar country of western Dagestan, had a Christian prince
were resistant to Islam.
(Orthodox of Georgian rite), but his subjects were in the ma-
In the middle of the twelfth century, a visitor to Dage-
jority animist, with traces of Zoroastrianism. Samandar in
stan, Abu¯ H:a¯mid al-Andalus¯ı of Granada, discovered traces
northern Dagestan was governed by a Jewish prince related
of Christianity and Zoroastrianism among the Zir¯ıhgara¯ns;
to the Khazar khagan, but all three religions were represented
he also found many Christians and animists among the
among his subjects. The majority of the Iranian Alans of the
Avars.
central Caucasus were Christian Orthodox of Byzantine rite,
while the Kabardins and the Cherkess were animist, with a
Mongol era. The Mongol invasion did not modify the
Christian minority. On the Black Sea coast the Abkhaz paid
complicated religious situation of the northern Caucasus. As
tribute to the Arabs but remained Christian. At the end of
elsewhere, in Central Asia, in the Bulgar country, or in Iran,
the tenth century, the borderline of the da¯r al-Isla¯m (“abode
the first wave of Mongol invaders were animists, Nestorian
of Islam”) was still situated three miles north of Derbent.
Christians, or Buddhists, and generally hostile to Islam. But
Islam was solidly rooted only in Derbent, which was an im-
the destruction wrought by the expeditions of Sübetey and
portant fortress, a prosperous economic center, and one of
Djebe (1220) and of Batu (1239) were not followed by reli-
the wealthiest cities of the Arab caliphate, and also in the
gious persecution. During the Mongol rule, Caucasian Islam
Lakh country of central Dagestan. According to a local leg-
ceased to be exclusively the religion of rulers and of elites and
end, a mosque was built in the Lakh capital, Kazi-Kumukh,
became more deeply rooted in the popular elements. The
in 777.
Caucasus was divided between two rival Mongol khanates,
the Golden Horde in the north and the khanate of the Il-
This first period of Islamization of the Caucasus
khanids in Iran. The third khan of the Golden Horde, Berke
(through the tenth century CE) was marked by exceptional
(r. 1257–1266), embraced Islam, and although his successors
religious tolerance. Not only did the three monotheistic reli-
reverted to their ancestral religion, they remained tolerant
gions coexist peacefully, but there was toleration of those not
and even favorable toward Islam.
originally included among the “people of the Book” (ahl
al-kita¯b)—Zoroastrians and animists. In short, Islam was
In 1313, Uzbek Khan, a Muslim, became the ruler of
only superficially superimposed on a deeply rooted set of pre-
the Golden Horde. His reign marked the final victory of
Islamic beliefs, customs, and rites.
Islam among the Turkic nomads roaming the immense
steppe area between the Crimea and the Volga. One of the
Further expansion. In the eleventh century, a new phase
Turkic tribes, the Nogai Horde, played an important role in
of Islamization began. The Khazar empire had been de-
the Islamization of the northern Caucasus during the four-
stroyed in 965 by the Russes, thus removing the main obsta-
teenth century. It was through the Nogais that Islam made
cle to relations between the Muslim Bulgar kingdom in the
inroads for the first time among the Cherkess, the Kabardins,
far north and the lands of the caliphate on the one hand, and
and the Chechen. Also, in the first half of the fourteenth cen-
to the Islamization of the Turkic nomads beyond Derbent
tury, the S:u¯f¯ı brotherhoods began to appear in the northern
on the other. Meanwhile, in the south, the foundation of the
Caucasus as well. Shaykh Muh:ammad al-Bat:a¯Dih:¯ı of the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4614
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE VOLGA
Rifa¯E¯ı t:ar¯ıqah (order) founded a kha¯nqa¯h (“lodge”) in Ma-
part Christian or pagan, and only the upper level of their feu-
char in the steppeland of the northern Caucasus. This
dal aristocracy had adopted Islam.
t:ar¯ıqah disappeared a century later, however.
Battle with Muscovy. After 1556, the power of Muscovy
Timurid rule. The final phase of Islamization in Dage-
appeared in the Caucasus. As a consequence, relations be-
stan took place in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth cen-
tween Islam and Christianity were dramatically modified.
turies, during the reign of Timur (Tamerlane). The great
Specifically, the era of religious tolerance came to an end,
conqueror led several expeditions into Azerbaijan and Dage-
and the Caucasus entered a new period of religious confron-
stan between 1385 and 1395. He took a personal interest in
tation. Both Moscow and Istanbul favored their coreligion-
the destruction of the last survivals of pre-Islamic religions,
ists. Temrük, the great Kabardian prince (a Muslim), accept-
and Islam became henceforward the only religion of the Lakh
ed Russian sovereignty and married his daughter, Maria
of central Dagestan. In turn, the Lakh became the champi-
(converted to Christianity), to Ivan the Terrible. The central
ons of Islam against those neighbors remaining animist or
Caucasus was thus opened to Russian influence. Christian
Christian. The city of Kazi-Kumukh, the capital of the prin-
missionaries were sent in great numbers, and churches were
cipality of the Sha¯mkha¯lat Lakh, was the new center for the
built in Kabardia, among the eastern Cherkess, and in Osse-
Islamization of Dagestan and the lands beyond its western
tia. In 1584, Muscovy began its military advance southward,
frontiers, and it was the Lakh missionaries who brought
and three years later, the Russians reached the Terek Valley.
Islam to the Chechen and the Kumiks. Timur also dealt a
In 1590, their vanguards appeared on the Sunzha River,
deadly blow to the power of the Christian Alans of the north-
threatening Dagestan, but already the Crimean Tatars and
central Caucasus (the ancestors of the Ossets). The Christian
the Ottomans were reacting vigorously. In the same year, the
Alans had been the mightiest nation of the Caucasus, and
Ottomans, advancing from the south, occupied Derbent; in
their decline was followed by a new expansion of Islam in
1587 the Crimean khan had already invaded and ruined Ka-
the northern Caucasus.
bardia, Moscow’s principal ally in the northern Caucasus. In
1594, there was a major confrontation: on the banks of the
During Timur’s period, the majority of the Ka¯yta¯ks be-
Sulaq River in northern Dagestan, a Russian army was op-
came good Muslims. Earlier, the Ka¯yta¯ks were considered as
posed by a joint force of Ottomans, Tatars, and Dagestanis.
“people without faith” (b¯ı-d¯ın) or as a “people of bad faith.”
In a furious battle, with all the characteristics of a “holy war,”
Subsequently, the Lezghians of southern Dagestan and the
the Russians were pushed back. They returned in 1604 and
Avars turned Muslim as well.
were once again heavily defeated. Thus, the first jiha¯d in Da-
It was in this high, mountainous territory that Chris-
gestan and the religious competition in Kabardia between
tianity held out longest, and its survival was important to the
Christianity and Islam ended with a complete Muslim victo-
Georgian kings’ efforts to protect their coreligionists. The
ry. Russian influence was pushed back as far as Astrakhan
village of Karakh in the high Avar country did not adopt
and the Lower Volga. Kabardia, strategically the most impor-
Islam until 1435. The Dido and the Andi tribes remained
tant area of the northern Caucasus, became a solid Muslim
Christian until 1469, and Gidatl became Muslim in 1475
bastion.
or 1476.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Otto-
At the end of the fifteenth century, two new Muslim
man Turks and the Crimean Tatars continued their steady
powers appeared on the Caucasian scene, and their influence
efforts to introduce Islam among the remaining Christian or
on the process of Islamization became decisive. The Otto-
pagan tribes of the northwestern Caucasus. These tribes in-
man Empire brought the spirit of jiha¯d (religious war) to the
cluded the Karachay, the Balkars, the western Cherkess, the
Caucasus. The rulers of the Crimean khanate dominated the
Abazins, and the Abkhaz. In 1627, southwestern Georgia
lowlands of the western and central Caucasus. The Ottoman
was conquered by the Turks, and a part of its population em-
advance was marked by the gradual conversion of the Laz of
braced Islam. The descendants of these Georgian Muslims,
the southwestern Caucasus (they were formerly Christian)
the Adzhars, totaled from 100,000 to 150,000 people late
and of the Abkhaz of the Black Sea coast. At the same time
in the twentieth century.
the Crimean Tatars introduced Islam among the western and
The period of the “Holy Wars.” The Russian advance
eastern Cherkess tribes. Derbent and Shirvan in eastern
toward the Caucasus, suspended in 1604, was resumed in
Transcaucasia were conquered by the Safavids in 1538. As
1783 after the conquest of the Crimea and the occupation
a consequence, the Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı rite of the Safavid rulers
of the steppe areas north of the Kuban River.
became the dominant form of Islam in Azerbaijan.
Naqshband¯ıyah. The arrival of the Russians, this time
In the middle of the sixteenth century, Sunn¯ı Islam of
with overwhelming force, coincided with the appearance of
the Sha¯fiE¯ı rite was solidly established in Dagestan, while the
the Naqshband¯ıyah S:u¯f¯ı brotherhood in the northern Cau-
H:anaf¯ı rite was making steady progress in the western Cau-
casus. This was a Turkistani order founded in Bukhara by
casus. The tribes of the central Caucasus, however—the east-
Muh:ammad Baha¯D al-D¯ın Naqshband (1317–1389). For
ern Cherkess, the Kabardins, the Ossets, the Balkars, the
more than a century, the adepts of the Naqshband¯ıyah were
Karachays, the Chechen, and the Ingush—were for the most
the organizers of the “holy war” against the advancing con-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE VOLGA
4615
queror. It was during the struggle against the “infidels” and
order appeared in the Chechen country in the 1860s, when
the “bad Muslims” who served them that Islam became the
“infidel” domination had become a fact of life. It was differ-
dominant religion of the northern Caucasus and that its
ent, at least at the outset, from the militant Naqshband¯ıyah
character was fundamentally modified. At the end of the
in that its ideology was inspired by the mystic search for God
eighteenth century, the superficially Islamized communities
rather than by “holy war.” Even so, it was rapidly outlawed
were tolerant toward their neighbors who remained Chris-
by the authorities and was obliged to go underground. At
tian. They also tolerated those who remained attached to nu-
that point, the Qa¯dir¯ıyah became another center of military
merous pre-Islamic beliefs and rites and followed various
resistance to the Russian presence. Both the Naqshband¯ı and
non-Muslim customary laws ( Ea¯da¯t). But a century later,
the Qa¯dir¯ı t:ar¯ıqahs played an active part in the anti-Russian
Caucasian Islam, deeply rooted in the rural masses, was char-
revolt of 1877–1878 in Dagestan and Chechnia.
acterized by its rigorous conservatism, by its intolerance to-
The Qa¯dir¯ıyah were vigorous missionaries. Because of
ward non-Muslims, and by its strict adherence to shar¯ı Eah
their activities, the Ingush, who had remained animist until
law.
the fall of Sha¯mil, finally became Muslim. The last animist
The first Naqshband¯ı jiha¯d against the Russians was led
Ingush village was converted to Islam in 1864.
by Ima¯m Mans:u¯r Ushurma, a Chechen who was probably
The Russian Revolution provided the S:u¯f¯ı adepts with
the disciple of a shaykh from Bukhara. The movement began
the opportunity to shake off Russian rule. During this peri-
in 1785 in Chechnya and spread to northern Dagestan and
od, the Naqshband¯ıyah surfaced and made one last attempt
the western Caucasus. But Mans:u¯r was captured in 1791 in
to expel the “infidels.” They fought for four years—from
Anapa and died two years later in the fortress of Schlüssel-
1917 to 1921—first against the White armies of Denikin,
burg. It was a short-lived attempt to stop the advance of the
then against the Red Army. Their resistance was finally
invaders. Even so, during Mans:u¯r’s rule Islam became deeply
crushed in 1921, and after their defeat, both S:u¯f¯ı brother-
rooted in Chechnya, formerly only about one-half Muslim.
hoods were subjected to a long and bloody persecution. But
After Mans:u¯r’s defeat, the Naqshband¯ıyah disappeared
they survived. In 1928, the Qa¯dir¯ıyah and the
from the northern Caucasus for nearly thirty years, and dur-
Naqshband¯ıyah joined together in a revolt in Dagestan and
ing this period the Russians, almost unopposed, made sub-
the Checheno-Ingush republic. This armed uprising was fol-
stantial advances. The t:ar¯ıqah reappeared in the 1820s in the
lowed by similar revolts in 1934 and 1940–1942. The revolt
province of Shirvan, however, with the Naqshband¯ı mis-
during World War II was led by nationalists, but the
sionaries coming this time from the Ottoman Empire. The
Qa¯dir¯ıyah were numerous among the guerrilla fighters.
second Naqshband¯ı murshid (“guide”) to preach “holy war”
The level of religious feeling among the Muslim popula-
was Shaykh Muh:ammad of Yaraglar. He was the master of
tion of the Caucasus is quite high, especially in Dagestan and
Gha¯z¯ı Muh:ammad and Sha¯mil, the first and the third ima¯ms
in the Checheno-Ingush republic, where more than 80 per-
of Dagestan. The long and fierce resistance of the mountain-
cent of the population are considered “believers.” The
eers lasted from 1824 to 1859, when Sha¯mil was finally de-
strength of Islam in the northern Caucasus is due, in part,
feated and captured. Despite its failure, this second
to the intense activity of the S:u¯f¯ı brotherhoods. The t:ar¯ıqahs
Naqshband¯ı jiha¯d left an indelible impact on northern Cau-
still control a network of houses of prayer and QurDanic
casian Islam. Sha¯mil liquidated forever the traditional cus-
schools, where children are taught Arabic and receive the ru-
tomary legal system and replaced it with the shar¯ı Eah. More-
diments of the Muslim faith. The schools and mosques are
over, in the nineteenth century, classical Arabic became the
often organized around the holy places of pilgrimage, gener-
official written language of the imamate and also the spoken
ally tombs of S:u¯f¯ı shaykhs.
intertribal language of Dagestan and Chechnya. Thus, for
S:u¯f¯ı t:ar¯ıqahs are especially active in the Checheno-
the first time in history, the northern Caucasian population
Ingush republic and in northern Dagestan, while they are not
was united by a strong religious, linguistic, and cultural
represented in the central and western Caucasus. The
bond. Finally, the intense work of the Naqshband¯ı missiona-
Naqshband¯ıyah dominates Dagestan, northern Azerbaijan,
ries in the central and western Caucasus achieved the Islam-
and the western districts of Chechnya. In the northern Cau-
ization of all Cherkess and Abazin tribes. During Sha¯mil’s
casus, the Qa¯dir¯ıyah, more popular and more dynamic, is
rule, Dagestan became an important center of Arabic culture.
divided into four sub-t:ar¯ıqahs, called wirds. These are the
Its scholars, the so-called Arabists, were exported to the en-
Batal Haji, Bammat Giray Haji, Chim Mirza, and Vis
tire Muslim world.
(Uways) Haji. The Qa¯dir¯ıyah t:ar¯ıqah is predominant in the
Qa¯dir¯ıyah. After 1859 and the subsequent Russian oc-
Checheno-Ingush republic and is spreading into western Da-
cupation of the Caucasus, the Naqshband¯ıyah went under-
gestan.
ground. Its leaders migrated to Turkey or were deported to
ISLAM IN THE MIDDLE VOLGA. As early as the fifth or sixth
Siberia. Some became abrek, “bandits of honor,” forming
century a few Turkic tribes, the ancestors of the Volga Bul-
guerrilla groups in the mountains. Another S:u¯f¯ı order, the
gars, began settling in the territory of the Middle Volga.
Qa¯dir¯ıyah (or Kunta Haji t:ar¯ıqah), replaced the
These tribes were the first Turks to settle down and to aban-
Naqshband¯ıyah on the front line of religious resistance. This
don the nomadic way of life.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4616
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE VOLGA
Islamization: trade, conquest, Sufism. The area—the
During the period of the Golden Horde, Uzbek Khan
Kama River and the Urals—was situated at the crossroads
(r. 1313–1341) adopted Islam as the official religion of the
of two main trade routes during the Middle Ages. The fur
Mongol rulers. This example was followed by all the Turkic
route ran from northern Russia-Siberia (Ard: al-Z:ulm, the
and Mongol tribes roaming in the steppes between the for-
“Land of Darkness” of the Arab geographers) to the Muslim
mer Bulgar kingdom and the Black and Caspian seas. Islam
Middle East, and the Silk Road linked northern and central
gained a firm footing in the Crimea as well.
Europe to China. The Turkic Bulgars were traders in furs,
slaves, amber, and ivory. Accordingly, they traveled widely,
Sufism. It was also during the period of the Golden
some as far as Baghdad and Gurganj on the Amu Darya,
Horde—between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries—
coming into contact with Arab merchants as early as the
that Sufism was brought to the Volga region. It was intro-
ninth century. It is through such trade relations that Islam
duced by adepts of a mystical Turkistani brotherhood, the
penetrated into the Middle Volga, initially from Khorezm,
Yasaw¯ıyah t:ar¯ıqah, founded by the Turkic poet and mystic
then from Baghdad farther west.
Ah:mad Yasaw¯ı (d. 1166?). Thanks to the efforts of the S:u¯f¯ı
preachers, Islam was no longer limited to being the religion
The Bulgar kingdom. In 921, the Bulgar king, Almas,
of rulers and scholars: it became deeply rooted in the coun-
received an embassy sent by Caliph al-Muqtadir and convert-
tryside among the rural populations and even among the no-
ed to Islam on May 12, 922. His example was followed rap-
madic tribes.
idly by the ruling elite of the kingdom. At the end of the
In 1445, with the weakening of the Golden Horde,
tenth century, most of the Bulgars were already Muslim, and
Kazan became the capital of an independent Tatar khanate
there were mosques and schools in virtually every village. For
that lasted until 1552. It was a wealthy city, a world capital
three hundred years, the Middle Volga area remained a Mus-
of the fur trade, and a brilliant cultural center famous for nu-
lim island—the northernmost vanguard of the da¯r
merous mosques and madrasahs. In the late fifteenth and the
al-Isla¯m—completely surrounded by Christian or animist
early sixteenth centuries, a new S:u¯f¯ı brotherhood became ac-
neighbors. Its ties with the faraway Muslim world were
tive in Kazan—the Naqshband¯ıyah t:ar¯ıqah, which, as men-
maintained through the Volga trade route.
tioned above, later opposed Russian advances in the northern
In spite of, or perhaps because of, their isolation, the
Caucasus. An intellectual order representing the city elites,
Bulgars were zealous Muslims from the beginning. They
the Naqshband¯ıyah practiced the silent dhikr, or S:u¯f¯ı prayer
played a role in the conversion of some nomadic Turkic
litany. In contrast, the Yasaw¯ıyah practiced the “loud” dhikr
tribes, the Pechenegs and Cumans, to Islam. They also
with songs and ecstatic dances reminiscent of old Turkic sha-
nursed hopes of spreading Islam to the Russians, who were
manistic rituals. The influence of the Naqshband¯ıyah on
at that time still animists. In 986 a Bulgar embassy was sent
Tatar literature became predominant, and nearly all the
to Kiev with the aim of converting the grand prince, Vladi-
Tatar poets from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century
mir. The Russian Primary Chronicle recounts that some
were adepts of the order, including Muh:ammadiyar, the six-
time later, Vladimir, in search of a suitable religion, also re-
teenth-century author of Tukhfat-i marda¯n (The gift for the
ceived representatives of Western and Eastern Christianity
courageous) and Nu¯r-u s:udu¯r (The light of the soul), Mawla¯
and of Judaism and heard each speak in turn of the merits
Qul¯ı in the seventeenth century, Utyz Ima¯n¯ı al-Bukha¯r¯ı
and tenets of his faith.
(1754–1815), EAbd al-Manih Kargaly (1782–1826), EUbayd
Alla¯h S:a¯h:ib (1794–1867), and Shams al-D¯ın Zak¯ı S:u¯f¯ı
Little more is known about the cultural history of the
(1825–1865).
Bulgar kingdom prior to the thirteenth century. One may
assume that Islam remained the religion of the Turkic city-
Russian rule. In 1552, the khanate was destroyed by
dwellers, the feudal elite, and the merchant class, while the
the Russians and its territory was incorporated into the Mus-
rural population, of whom the majority was ethnically Fin-
covite state. In 1556 and 1598, two other Muslim remnants
nic, remained animist.
of the Golden Horde, the khanates of Astrakhan on the
Lower Volga and of Sibir (or Tumen) in western Siberia,
The Golden Horde. The Bulgar kingdom was destroyed
were conquered and annexed by Muscovy. Their inhabi-
by the Mongols around 1236. This was a major disaster that
tants, whether Muslim or animist, were incorporated into
left the country devastated and ruined. But its Islamic char-
the fabric of Russian Orthodox society. They were treated
acter survived. The economic and political center was trans-
as Russian subjects, but were denied those rights reserved to
ferred from the valley of the Kama River to the Volga, near
Christians. Only by religious assimilation, that is, by their
what is now the city of Kazan. Subsequently, Kazan became
conversion to the Orthodox faith, could the Tatars become
one of the most prosperous trading centers of the Golden
the equals of the Russians. Russia, except for Spain, was the
Horde. In this area there was a biological and cultural merg-
only European power to attempt systematically to convert its
ing of the indigenous Muslim Turks and the invading Mon-
Muslim subjects to Christianity. Missionary activity was
gols, with the less numerous Mongols assimilated by the
begun in 1555 by Arkhiepiskop Gurii, the first archbishop
Muslim Turks. Even so, the new nation was called “Tatar,”
of Kazan. This initial attempt at conversion was relatively
the name of a Mongol tribe.
liberal. Tsar Ivan the Terrible, who was tolerant in religious
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE VOLGA
4617
matters, advised the Kazan missionaries to work “through
persecution was stopped, and a modus vivendi was achieved
persuasion and not through compulsion.” The effort was
between the Russian state and its Muslim subjects. The Rus-
partly successful and resulted in the conversion of a large
sian authorities even helped Tatar “clerics” to build mosques
community of Christian Tatars—the Old Converts
in the Urals and in the Kazakh steppes. By a 1773 decree
(Starokriasheny; Tatar, Taze Kryash). However, the majority
they were granted religious freedom, and in 1782, a Muslim
of the converts were former animists, not Muslims.
spiritual board (muftiat) was established in Orenburg and in-
The anti-Muslim campaigns. The campaign of conver-
vested with authority over all religious matters. The chair-
sions, interrupted during the seventeenth century, was re-
man of the board was appointed by the Ministry of the Inte-
sumed with a new vigor under Peter the Great and continued
rior in Saint Petersburg. Those Tatars who had been
violently until the reign of Catherine II. Mosques were de-
converted to Christianity began to return to Islam. Finally,
stroyed, QurDanic schools were closed, and special schools
the last decade of the eighteenth century was marked by a
were opened for the children of the converts. At the same
new phenomenon: the massive conversion to Islam of the in-
time, Muslim counterproselytism was punishable by death.
digenous Finnic tribes of the Middle Volga region. These
The climax was reached under the reign of Empress Anna
tribes—Cheremiss, Mordvins, Udmurts—were formerly an-
(1730–1740), when some forty to fifty thousand New Con-
imist or superficially Christianized; after conversion, there
verts (Novokriasheny; Tatar, Yeni Kryash or Aq Kryash)
was rapid “tatarization.”
were added to those who had been converted during the six-
The pressure against Islam was renewed under Nicholas
teenth century.
I and Alexander II, however. By new methods, including ed-
To strengthen the religious pressure, civil and economic
ucation and propaganda, efforts were made to attract Tatars
coercion was added. The feudal landed nobility, considered
to Christianity. In 1854, a special anti-Muslim missionary
by the Russian rulers as their most dangerous adversary, was
department was organized by the Kazan Theological Acade-
either physically liquidated or deprived of its feudal rights
my. In 1863, a new educational policy was elaborated by
(Muslim landlords were forbidden to have non-Muslim
Nikolai IlDminskii, a missionary and orientalist professor at
serfs), dispossessed of its property, and ruined. Muslim urban
the Religious Academy of Kazan. His aim was to create a new
dwellers, merchants, clerics, and artisans were expelled from
native Christian elite of Tatar intellectuals, educated along
Kazan. Tatar farmers were forced to leave the best agricultur-
European lines but retaining the use of its native language.
al lands along the river valleys and were replaced by Russians.
This Christian elite, which had not broken its links with the
After more than a century of sustained pressure, the very
national past, was charged with missionary work among its
existence of the Islamic civilization in the Middle Volga was
Muslim brethren. As a result of this effort, assisted by an in-
in danger. But the pressure produced conflicting results. The
tense and brilliant propaganda campaign, more than
landed nobility disappeared as a class; although some of its
100,000 Muslims and almost all the remaining animists
representatives became Christian, its most dynamic elements
from the Volga area were converted.
remained Muslim and became merchants, traders, and small
The economic threat from Russia. Yet another danger
industrialists. Expelled from the cities, the Tatars took refuge
threatened the Tatar nation: Its economic prosperity was in
in the countryside. By the seventeenth century, Tatar Islam
jeopardy. During the late eighteenth century and the first
presented a curious and unique feature in the Muslim world:
half of the nineteenth, the Tatar merchant class had been al-
it had become a rural religion with its most famous mosques
lied with the young Russian capitalists and had acted as an
and madrasahs situated in small villages. In the same way,
intermediary between Russian industrial towns and the mar-
Tatar merchants expelled from the cities of the Volga-Kama
kets of Turkestan. But that fruitful cooperation was not to
area migrated eastward, where they formed trading colonies
last: During the second half of the nineteenth century, after
in Siberia, the Kazakh steppes, along the Lower Volga, in the
Russian armies had opened the gates of Turkestan to Russian
Caucasus, in Turkistan, and as far as China. Already in the
enterprise, Russian capitalists were able to dispense with the
seventeenth century, the Tatar nation, reduced to a minority
Tatar middlemen. The two bourgeoisies had become rivals,
in its Volga homeland, had become a diaspora community
and the Tatar bourgeoisie, as the weaker, appeared to be
led by a dynamic merchant class. Religious persecutions
doomed. The economic threat, coupled with the resumption
against Islam created a lasting hatred among all the Tatars—
of the policy of religious and educational assimilation, pro-
Muslim and Christian alike—against Russia and the Rus-
duced a lively reaction among the Tatar bourgeoisie during
sians.
the reign of Alexander III. The jadid reformist movement,
During the reign of Catherine II, the anti-Muslim cam-
which has been properly called “the Tatar renaissance” of the
paign was halted and even reversed. The empress, who per-
nineteenth century, was the direct consequence of this threat,
sonally deemed Islam to be “a reasonable religion,” suc-
as well as of the desire to unify all the Muslim and Turkic
ceeded in gaining the sympathies of the Tatars. She closed
peoples on the basis of a religious, ethnic, and cultural ideol-
the schools for Christian converts and allowed the Tatars to
ogy. The Tatar merchants, supported by the young intelli-
return to Kazan and to build mosques and QurDanic schools
gentsia and the modernist Eulama¯D, or religious scholars, were
in the cities of the Middle Volga and the Urals. Religious
aware that a successful resistance would involve confronting
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4618
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE VOLGA
Russian imperialism with another imperialism. They knew
By the beginning of the twentieth century, Tatar Islam
that it would be necessary to extend their economic and cul-
was endowed with a powerful religious establishment con-
tural scope to all Muslim peoples of the empire, and that they
sisting of thousands of mosques and schools (maktabs and
would have to constitute themselves as the leaders of Russian
madrasahs) using the jadid system of teaching. It also includ-
Islam and, taking advantage of the linguistic similarity and
ed a brilliant new literature inspired by the challenge of the
of their common religion, propagate the notions of pan-
modern world and committed to religious and political re-
Islam and pan-Turkism.
forms, along with a rich, diverse, and sophisticated periodical
press in the Tatar language.
The jadid renaissance. In the middle of the nineteenth
century, the Tatar community was a curious element in the
Language and literature. One figure dominated the lit-
Muslim world. It had survived centuries of political and reli-
erary scene of the Tatar world. The Crimean Tatar Ismail
gious pressure, and, led by its merchant bourgeoisie, it had
Gaspraly (Gasprinskii) (1851–1914) was a historian, philol-
reached a high economic and cultural level. In the Middle
ogist, novelist, and politician. Over a period of twenty-five
Volga area, the proportion of literate Tatars was greater than
years, he developed in his magazine, the celebrated
among the Russians, especially among women. The Tatar
Terjüma¯n, published from 1883 in Bakhchisarai, the doc-
bourgeoisie was aggressive and dynamic, able to compete
trine of a liberal modernist pan-Turkism summed up in its
successfully against its Russian counterpart. But at the same
watchword, “unity of language, of thought, and of action”
time, the Tatar elite lived intellectually in a conservative me-
(dilde, fikirde, i¸ste birlik). Gaspraly called for the union of
dieval world. Indeed, their strict conservatism had protected
all the Turkic peoples of Russia and for a new Muslim cul-
their community from contamination by a technically more
ture, which would be in contact with the West through the
medium of Russian and Ottoman models. To achieve this
advanced Russian establishment and preserved its Islamic
unity he elaborated and used in his Terjüma¯n a common
character. But by the end of the nineteenth century, it had
pan-Turkic language based on a simplified Ottoman Turkish
become obvious that “the Tatar oxcart” could no longer
that would be understood by all the Turks from the Balkans
compete effectively with the Russian “steam engine.” In
to China.
order to survive in a modern world, it was necessary for the
Tatars to modernize their intellectual Weltanschauung rapid-
Gaspraly also reorganized the teaching system, and his
ly and thoroughly. Without questioning the religious foun-
model madrasah in Bakhchisarai was imitated throughout
dation of Muslim society, Tatar reformers applied them-
Russia, especially in the Volga Tatar country. Some of the
selves to modernizing Islam by imitating the spirit of
reformed madrasahs—such as the Huseiniyeh of Orenburg,
Western liberalism.
Aliyeh of Ufa, Rasuliyeh of Troitsk, and Muhammadiyah of
Kazan—were among the best educational establishments of
The reformist movement manifested itself in almost all
the Muslim world.
the Muslim countries, from the Ottoman Empire to Indone-
sia, but nowhere was it so dramatic and so deep as in the
At the turn of the century, in response to the great effort
Tatar country. There, the problem facing the native elite was
made by the people as a whole, the cultural level of the Volga
not merely how to regain its lost power; rather, it was con-
Tatars had been raised to a remarkable degree. The cities,
cerned with survival itself.
particularly Kazan, Orenburg, Ufa, Troitsk, and Astrakhan,
had acquired the character of genuine intellectual centers.
Theological reform. The movement began in the early
nineteenth century with an attempt by Tatar Eulama¯D, edu-
Politics. After 1905, the reform renaissance passed be-
cated in Bukhara, to break with the conservative Central
yond the confines of education, language, and theology and
Asian traditionalists who had dominated the spiritual life of
became a political movement, an attempt to shake the pres-
sure of the West without abandoning the Islamic basis of the
Russian Muslims. The first to challenge their scholasticism
Tatar society. The defeat of Russia by Japan in 1905, reveal-
was Abu Nasr Kursavi (1783–1814), a young Tatar teacher
ing Russia’s weakness and stirring the hope of revenge among
in a Bukhara madrasah. Accused of impiety by the emir of
the subject peoples of the empire, was the psychological
Bukhara and by the muft¯ı of Orenburg, he was obliged to
shock that transformed cultural reformism into a political
flee to Turkey. Later challengers included Shihabeddin May-
movement. For the Muslims, and particularly for the Tatars
ani (1818–1889), the greatest and the most respected among
who at that time were playing the role of the unquestioned
Tatar scholars, and a generation of modernist theologians in-
intellectual leaders of Russian Islam, this defeat demonstrat-
cluding Ibrahim Khalfin, Husein Faizkhanov (1825–1902),
ed that the tsarist empire was not invulnerable and that a po-
Rizaeddin Fahreddin Öglu (1859–1936), and Musa Jarullah
litical struggle was possible.
Bibi (1875–1945). Their action restored life and vigor to the
Muslim religion in Russia and exercised an undeniable influ-
Between 1905 and 1917, the Tatar political scene be-
ence on the neighboring countries. Especially affected was
came highly diversified and sophisticated, with all political
the Ottoman Empire, where the prestige of Tatar jadid
trends involved. At the extreme right were the ultraconserva-
thinkers was invoked by all those who sought to undermine
tives, represented by a puritanical S:u¯f¯ı brotherhood, God’s
the authority of medieval scholasticism.
Regiment of Vays¯ı, a dissident offshoot of the Naqshban-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE VOLGA
4619
d¯ıyah. Founded a half-century earlier, in 1862, the brother-
jadids who had joined the Bolshevik Party without breaking
hood rejected the authority of the Russian state and refused
completely with their Islamic background.
to pay taxes or perform military service. Moreover, it con-
The leader of the Muslim communists was a Volga
demned all the other Muslims as “infidels” for their submis-
Tatar, M¯ır Said Sultan Galiev (1880–1936?), a companion
sion to Russian rule. The Vays¯ı brotherhood was persecuted
of Stalin and, in the 1920s, the highest-ranking Muslim in
by the Russian authorities and brought to trial several times.
the Communist Party hierarchy. Although M¯ır Said Sultan
In 1917, its adepts sided with the Bolsheviks; their leader,
Galiev was a dedicated Marxist and an atheist, he believed
Shaykh Inan Vaysov, was killed by the Tatar counter-
that “no antireligious propaganda may succeed in the East
revolutionaries while fighting alongside the Red Army. Less
as long as it remains in the hands of the Russians”; he also
radical was the traditionalist (qadim) wing of the Tatar com-
believed that “the main evil threatening the Tatars [is] not
munity, which dominated the official Islamic administration
Islam, but their political backwardness” (“Metody anti-
until the revolution. Its representatives were conservative in
religioznoi propagandy sredi Musul’man,” Zhizn D natsion-
religion and politics. They were law-abiding citizens, hostile
al Dnostei, Dec. 14, 1921; Dec. 23, 1921). Sultan Galiev was
to the reformist movement, loyal to the tsarist regime, and
denounced by Stalin as a bourgeois nationalist and was ar-
personally loyal to the Romanov monarchy.
rested in 1923; he reemerged briefly in 1925 but was arrested
The majority of Tatars belonged to the liberal and radi-
again in 1928. He and all his companions disappeared in the
cal trends. The liberals, followers of Ismail Gaspraly, believed
decade-long purge that followed.
that open struggle against Russia would be impossible and
The liquidation of Galiev and his followers marked the
ill-fated. They advocated peaceful cooperation between Rus-
beginning of a full-scale government offensive against Islam.
sia and the Muslim world, arguing that this would be of great
It began with the foundation of the Tatar branch of
and lasting advantage to Islam. The liberals dominated the
Sughushchan Allahsyzlar (the “union of godless militants”)
Tatar national movement until the revolution, but even
and the appearance in 1924 of an antireligious periodical
though they were culturally united, they were politically di-
press in Tatar, Fen ve Din (“science and religion”), replaced
vided. A few liberals sought to satisfy their demands within
in 1928 by Sughushchan Allahsyzlar. By 1929 all religious
the framework of the tsarist autocracy; the majority envis-
institutions, such as religious schools, religious courts, and
aged a more or less lasting cooperation with the Russian lib-
waqfs, had disappeared. During the 1930s most of the
eral bourgeoisie. After 1908, Tatar leaders convinced of the
mosques were closed or destroyed. In 1931, 980 parishes
impossibility of achieving reforms and equality of rights with
with 625 “clerics” remained in the Tatar A.S.S.R. By com-
the Russians by legal methods within the framework of the
parison, in 1889 the muft¯ı of Orenburg had 4,645 parishes
tsarist regime began to migrate to Turkey. Alternatively, they
(sg., mahalle), served by 7,497 “clerics,” under his jurisdic-
moved nearer to various socialist-Marxist or non-Marxist
tion. In the mid-1930s the anti-Islamic campaign culminat-
parties, giving birth to an original cultural and political
ed with the massive arrest of Muslim clerics accused of coun-
movement, Muslim socialism. After the revolution, Muslim
terrevolutionary activity and espionage for Japan. The muft¯ı
socialism became Muslim communism. From Russian (or
of Orenburg, Kashaf Tarjemani, was arrested and executed.
European) socialism, Muslim communism borrowed its
During World War II, in 1942, one of the few surviving
phraseology, certain features of its agrarian program, its
jadid clerics, Abdurrahman Rasuli (Rasulaev), approached
methods of propaganda, and organization; even so, it re-
Stalin with a view toward normalizing relations between the
mained deeply rooted in the Islamic tradition.
Soviet government and Islam. Stalin accepted the proposal,
and a concordate was established. Persecutions were sus-
Until the Revolution, even the most radical left-wing
pended, anti-Islamic propaganda lessened, and the muftiat
Tatar group, the Uralchylar (officially controlled by the Rus-
reestablished (in Ufa instead of Orenburg). Abdurrahman
sian Marxists), refused to break away from Islam and to fol-
Rasuli was appointed muft¯ı and occupied this post until his
low the antireligious line of the Bolsheviks.
death in 1962.
Tatar Islam under the Soviet regime. For the majority
SEE ALSO Jiha¯d; Modernism, article on Islamic Modernism;
of the Tatar jadids, the Russian Revolution provided an occa-
T:ar¯ıqah.
sion to fulfill their century-long struggle for the moderniza-
tion and the secularization of their society. They took advan-
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tury. In 705 CE Qutaybah ibn Muslim, who became gover-
et works on Islam in the Tatar country.
nor of Khorasan, established his principal seat at Merv. Until
Marjani, Shihabeddin. Mustafadh ul-akhbar fi ahvali Qazan ve
his death in 714 he repeatedly undertook campaigns east-
Bolghar. 2 vols. Kazan, 1897–1900.
wards into the Ferghana Valley and beyond. By the begin-
Minorsky, Vladimir. The Turks, Iran and the Caucasus in the Mid-
ning of the ninth century the oasis belt had been so thor-
dle Ages. London, 1978.
oughly integrated into the Muslim world that Caliph
Sattarov, Magsad. Islam dini galyglary haggynda. Baku, 1967. A bi-
MaEmu¯n made Merv, instead of Baghdad, his capital from
ased but serious Soviet work on Islam in Azerbaijan.
813 to 817.
ALEXANDRE BENNIGSEN (1987)
At first the Arabs imposed Islam by force. Later, howev-
FANNY E. BRYAN (1987)
er, a more moderate approach to the Islamicization of the re-
gion was adopted. The form of the faith that came to be prac-
ticed in this part of Central Asia was initially Sunn¯ı Islam
of the H:anaf¯ı school of law. Central Asian scholars traveled
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
throughout the Muslim world. Several made major contribu-
Geographically, Central Asia (comprising modern Kazakh-
tions to the development of applied and theoretical sciences,
stan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbeki-
as well as to Islamic philosophy and jurisprudence. Known
stan) may be divided into three zones: the oasis belt (some-
to history by the Arabicized forms of their names, they in-
times called Transoxiana), which stretches from Iran to
clude al-Bukha¯r¯ı (compiler of one of the fundamental collec-
China along the main river valleys of the southern tier, main-
tions of the Traditions of the Prophet, still revered and con-
ly through Uzbekistan, but also encompassing contiguous
sulted today), at-Tirmidh¯ı, al-Fargha¯n¯ı, and al-Khwa¯razm¯ı
areas of the other states; the steppe-desert zone in the north-
in the ninth century; al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı, al-B¯ıru¯n¯ı, and Ibn S¯ına¯ (Av-
ern and central tiers (Kazakhstan) and in the far south (Turk-
icenna) in the tenth century; and Na¯s:ir-i Khusraw in the
menistan); and the high mountain zone in the southeast (Ba-
eleventh century.
dakhshan, part of Tajikistan).
In the early thirteenth century, Mongol hordes con-
ISLAMICIZATION OF CENTRAL ASIA. Islam penetrated these
quered Central Asia. Initially, they inflicted huge damage,
regions in different forms and at different times. The cultural
destroying cities, wrecking the irrigation systems that sup-
and ethnic heritage of local populations was very diverse.
ported agriculture, and disrupting long-haul trade. In time,
This influenced the way in which they responded to Islam.
however, peace returned and the cultural and intellectual life
The chief distinction was between the sedentary, largely ur-
of the oasis belt revived. The Mongol rulers were eventually
banized population of the oasis belt and the nomads of the
Turkicized and Islamicized. Under Tamerlane (1336–1405)
steppes and deserts. The scattered communities that inhabit-
and his successors (the Timurid period), there was a new
ed the high mountain zone had their own, quite distinct, tra-
flowering of Muslim scholarship. Eminent thinkers of the
ditions; they had little direct contact with the peoples of the
day included the astronomer-ruler Ulugh Beg (who reigned
plains, so they played little part in the cultural, social, and
in Samarkand from 1409 to 1449) and the poet Alisher
religious developments in the region.
Navoi (1441–1501).
Oasis belt. In 622 CE, the year of the hijrah (Mu-
From the sixteenth century onward, however, Transoxi-
h:ammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina and the accepted
ana became increasingly isolated from the rest of the Islamic
commencement of the Muslim era), the population of the
world. There were several reasons for this. One was that
oasis belt of Central Asia was mainly of Iranian origin, but
routes from Central Asia to the Arab lands were blocked by
there was also a substantial Turkic element. There was a
hostile neighbors and long-running wars. To the south, Sha¯h
flourishing urban tradition in the region, particularly in cities
Isma¯E¯ıl (1485/1486–1524), founder of the Safavid dynasty,
such as Merv, Samarqand, and Bukhara. Moreover, the so-
established Twelver Shiism as the state religion of Iran, thus
called Silk Road—a transcontinental network of trade
adding an ideological element to the power struggle that was
routes—linked Central Asia to China, India, and Iran, and
then in progress with the Sunn¯ı Sheibanid dynasty of Trans-
also to the Black Sea and Europe.
oxiana. To the northwest, the nascent Russian state was ad-
Prior to the introduction of Islam, the main religions
vancing into the Volga region, defeating the Tartar khans of
of the oasis belt were Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Mani-
Kazan in 1552 and of Astrakhan in 1556. Across the Caspian
chaeism. There were Nestorian Christian communities in
Sea, the Ottomans and the Safavids were fighting for posses-
several of the cities (a bishopric was established at Merv in
sion of the Caucasus. Transoxiana itself, wracked by interne-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
4621
cine strife, was fragmenting into small, semi-independent
Ottoman Empire and, in more recent times, to Western Eu-
principalities. Meanwhile, a change was taking place in pat-
rope.
terns of global trade as sea routes began to replace the ardu-
The chief distinction between the Naqshband¯ıyah and
ous transcontinental land routes across Central Asia. Factors
the Yasav¯ıyah was that the former practiced a silent or hid-
such as these led to economic decline and intellectual stagna-
den (khafiyah) dhikr (set of devotions), the latter a vocal or
tion. Increasingly, a highly conservative form of Muslim edu-
loud (jahr¯ıya) dhikr. The Yasav¯ı t:ar¯ıqah, which contained
cation took hold in the madrasahs (Muslim colleges).
elements of ritual that were reminiscent of shamanistic prac-
The steppes and deserts. At the time of the Arab inva-
tices, was particularly successful among the Turkic-speaking
sion of the oasis belt, the steppes and deserts were inhabited
nomads of the steppes and deserts; the Naqshband¯ı t:ar¯ıqah
by Turkic-speaking nomadic pastoralists. By religion they
tended to appeal more to the sedentary, Iranian-speaking
were shamanists. Islam took far longer to influence these
population. However, there was no rigid boundary between
peoples than it did the sedentary population of the oasis belt.
their different spheres of influence; the Naqshband¯ı order,
Their way of life precluded the establishment of fixed, cen-
for example, had many adherents among the nomads. Two
trally located institutions. Thus, it was itinerant S:u¯f¯ı mis-
other great orders that attracted a substantial following in
sionaries who played the decisive role in spreading the new
Central Asia were the Kubraw¯ıyah, whose t:ar¯ıqah was crys-
faith in this region. The Islamicization of the nomads in the
tallized by Najm al-D¯ın al-Kubrá (1145–1221), and the
areas that bordered the oasis belt was probably completed by
Qa¯dir¯ıyah, who traced their t:ar¯ıqah to EAbd al- Qa¯dir
the mid-tenth century, albeit superficially. The remoter re-
G¯ıla¯n¯ı (twelfth century).
gions, however, were scarcely affected by Islam until the
The most influential t:ar¯ıqah in Central Asia, in terms
eighteenth century or later.
of political weight, was the Naqshband¯ı. The foundations of
their control over state affairs were laid during the Mongol
The high mountains. The high mountains and valleys
period, when they played a pivotal role in the conversion of
of Badakhshan, today part of Tajikistan, have been inhabited
the conquerors to Islam. Since the Mongol khans not only
from time immemorial by small Pamiri tribes of Eastern Ira-
became rulers of Transoxiana, but also assumed leadership
nian origin. Most of these people were eventually converted
of the tribal confederations of the steppes, the Naqshband¯ı
to the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı sect of Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam, which spread northwards
order acquired a privileged position among both the seden-
from centers in Afghanistan and India from the late eleventh
tary population and the nomads. They consolidated their po-
century onwards. A few groups, however, adopted Sunn¯ı
sition under Tamerlane, who was himself possibly a mur¯ıd
Islam. Until the twentieth century, the Pamiris were almost
(disciple) of one of the teachers of Baha¯ al-D¯ın an-
entirely isolated from the Muslim communities, both seden-
Naqshband¯ı. Tamerlane did, however, also show the
tary and nomadic, of the Central Asian lowlands.
Yasav¯ıyah signs of favor, notably by the construction of a su-
SUFISM AND ISHANISM. Sufism, the mystical tradition of
perb (and materially well-endowed) mausoleum over the
Islam, began to penetrate Central Asia in the immediate af-
tomb of Ah:mad Yasav¯ı at Turkestan. This city was later cap-
termath of the Arab invasion. The first centers appeared in
tured by the Kazakhs; thereafter, the Yasav¯ı shaykhs (spiritual
Balkh and Nishapur in the eighth and ninth centuries. Later,
leaders) came to exert a strong influence over the nomad
Merv, Bukhara, Khwarezm, and other cities in Transoxiana
khans and sultans. Several Kazakh nobles were buried near
became bastions of Sufism. The early adepts were disciples
the tomb of Yasav¯ı, thus emphasizing the nexus between the
of the Baghdad school of mystics. Indigenous Central Asian
spiritual and civil sources of authority.
orders began to appear towards the end of the twelfth
During the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries, the lead-
century.
ing S:u¯f¯ı shaykhs occupied a dominant position in the politi-
cal life of the Central Asian khanates. Some, such as Hoja
The first major figure in the development of Central
Ah:ra¯r (1404–1490), became great magnates, possessing vast
Asian Sufism was Yu¯suf H:amada¯n¯ı (1048–1141). After a pe-
tracts of agricultural land, as well as urban settlements, to-
riod of study in the major centers of the Middle East, he
gether with the attendant income arising from the dwellings,
moved to Central Asia and spent most of his adult life there;
crafts, and trade that were located on such land. The position
he established a kha¯nqa¯h (S:u¯f¯ı monastery) in Merv that came
of particular S:u¯f¯ı dynastic lines was further underpinned by
to be known as the “KaEbah of Khorasan.” Two parallel
intermarriage with the ruling families. Throughout most of
chains of authority were derived from him. One led to
the sixteenth century, Naqshband¯ı shaykhs acted as king-
Ah:mad Yasav¯ı (d. mid-twelfth century), who crystallized the
makers, playing off one pretender to the throne against an-
spiritual legacy that had been bequeathed to him into the
other. However, their influence waned in the next century,
t:ar¯ıqah (path) of the Yasav¯ı order. The other led to Baha¯D
especially under the Manghit dynasty, which came to the
ad-D¯ın an-Naqshband¯ı (1318–1389), who formulated the
throne in 1753, and they never regained their former politi-
t:ar¯ıqah of the Naqshband¯ı order. Both these orders were to
cal power. Their spiritual power was also gradually eroded.
expand far beyond the confines of Central Asia. The former
attracted adherents throughout the Turkic-speaking world,
There is another mystical tradition in Central Asia that
while the latter spread to India and China, as well as to the
is related to Sufism but has characteristics of its own. It is
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4622
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
frequently termed Ishanism to distinguish between the major
older forms of faith, now reinterpreted within the framework
orders described above and the largely autonomous, local
of Islam, as elsewhere in the Muslim world. Such places were
networks of mystics whose activities were mainly associated
often located by springs, caves, trees, or cliffs. It was common
with popular (i.e., folk, lay) religion. In the early Islamic pe-
practice (and has remained so up to the present) to visit these
riod the distinction is perhaps an irrelevance: it is difficult
holy places to pray for assistance and good fortune. Generally
now to determine whether or not semi-legendary figures
this act of supplication was sealed with the ritual sacrifice of
such as H:ak¯ım-ata or Chopan-ata were fully fledged initiates
an animal (usually a sheep) and by lighting candles or leaving
of a S:u¯f¯ı order. Later, however, there does appear to have
scraps of material tied to twigs. Another common feature,
been a divergence. By the early nineteenth century this re-
reminiscent of pre-Islamic ancestor cults, was the emphasis
sulted in the proliferation of local ishans, each of whom es-
on showing respect for the dead; this was especially common
tablished his own t:ar¯ıqah, with a personal circle of devotees.
in rural areas. The healing and soothsaying arts of the sha-
mans also continued to be practiced.
The phenomenon was most widespread in rural areas,
where every village or nomad community sought to secure
TSARIST RULE. The northern rim of Central Asia (northern
the presence of an ishan of their own; allocations of free land
Kazakhstan) was brought under Russian control towards the
and water were set aside for this purpose. Often, ishans would
end of the eighteenth century. By the middle of the century,
have charge of a particular shrine or holy place, which gave
Russian troops were poised to take the oasis belt. The subju-
them added legitimacy and authority. The fact that they gen-
gation of the khanates of this region was completed within
erally had a modicum of education also helped to enhance
less than a decade. Bukhara and Khiva retained some degree
their standing amongst their neighbors, most of whom were
of autonomy as protectorates, albeit after ceding a portion
illiterate. The duties of an ishan included a variety of social,
of their lands to the Russian crown.
as well as quasi-religious, quasi-magical functions: they dis-
pensed protective amulets and healing potions, gave counsel
Tsarist policies towards Islam fell into two categories:
and comfort, and conducted prayers, rituals, and ceremonial
those employed among the nomads of the steppe region and
invocations for divine assistance and protection. There was
those employed among the sedentary population of Transox-
a strong dynastic element in Ishanism. In several areas there
iana. In the steppe region, the new administration deemed
existed whole clans of “holy” families; strictly endogamous,
it politic to show good will and even support for Islam in
they traced their lineage (not necessarily reliably) back to
order to win the loyalty of the nomad Kazakh aristocracy,
Arab forebears.
who were strongly Muslim in their convictions, if not always
observant in their practices. Tartars from the Volga region
INDIGENIZATION OF ISLAM. Islam, in the form that it was
(under Russian rule since the mid-sixteenth century), who,
first brought to Central Asia by the Arabs, retained its for-
like the Kazakhs, were Sunn¯ı Muslims of the H:anaf¯ı school,
mal, doctrinally regulated character in the learned institu-
were encouraged to inculcate a perceived Islamic orthodoxy
tions in the cities, but elsewhere it was modified by local tra-
in the steppes. The Tsarist authorities allocated funds for the
ditions and beliefs. In some areas, for example, Zoroastrian
printing of Muslim literature and for the construction of
practices were absorbed, while in others, traces of Buddhism,
mosques in the steppes (prior to this the Kazakhs had pos-
Manichaeism, or Hellenistic cults became embedded in local
sessed very few mosques, and those only in their winter graz-
Muslim beliefs and observances; shamanism and pantheism
ing grounds). The Tartar missionaries were at first much re-
provided an even broader substratum of pre-Islamic refer-
sented by the nomads, who were accustomed to a much freer,
ences.
more heterodox interpretation of Islam. Educated, urbanized
Among the most tenacious of the ancient customs was
Kazakhs, such as Shokan Valikhanov (1835–1865) and Ibrai
the cult of “saints”—the veneration of figures who were re-
Altynsaryn (1841–1889), were also deeply disturbed by the
garded as protectors and intercessors. They may or may not
Tartars’ attempts to spread a form of Islam that they per-
have had identifiable historical antecedents, but in any case
ceived to be narrowly dogmatic and, moreover, alien to Ka-
they were the focus of cults that usually had ancient, non-
zakh tradition. Nevertheless, the zealous proselytizers from
Islamic origins. Such figures were often associated with a
the Volga gradually succeeded in introducing a more ortho-
number of widely scattered sites, and specific biographical
dox element into local worship.
details varied accordingly. The best known included Burkut-
In the mid-nineteenth century, Russian policy towards
baba, who was regarded by the Turkmen as having the power
Islam in the steppe region began to change. Belatedly, a cam-
to ensure rain; Chopan-ata, widely regarded as a protector
paign was launched to convert the Kazakhs to Christianity.
of sheep; and Kanbar-ata, regarded as a protector of horses.
However, it met with little success. At the same time, mea-
Individual saints (usually inherited from pre-Islamic tradi-
sures were introduced to curb Muslim activities. The inter-
tions) were associated with particular crafts and occupations.
face between Islam and the Russian administration was
Fertility cults, especially those connected with the annual
brought under the jurisdiction of the Tsarist Ministry of In-
farming cycle, were also preserved in one form or another.
ternal Affairs. New measures included restrictions on the
Shrines to such individuals were to be found in many
number of mullahs in a given district. In addition, mosques
parts of the region; these were often associated with much
and other Muslim educational establishments could only be
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
4623
opened with official sanction, and the collection of obligato-
scholarship and also, either through further study in Russian
ry Islamic taxes (zaka¯t, s:adaqah) was prohibited. Yet even
institutions or through travel and personal contacts, had
under these conditions the network of formal Islamic institu-
some knowledge of European culture. This dual experience
tions continued to expand. In 1895, for example, there were
on the one hand gave them a great admiration for Western
only thirty-one mekteb (primary schools) in the Steppe Terri-
science and technology, but on the other hand it strength-
tory, but by 1913 this number had increased to 267. There
ened their faith in Islamic values. They were particularly con-
were also madrasahs in most of the bigger cities.
cerned with modernizing the system of education in Central
Asia by introducing Western-style methods of teaching
In Transoxiana the situation was somewhat different.
(us:u¯l-i jad¯ıd, “new method”: hence the term jad¯ıdist). How-
The main urban centers fell to the Tsarist troops compara-
ever, they were interested in a wide range of social and politi-
tively quickly. Thereafter, relations between the Russians and
cal issues; some were remarkably radical in their views, advo-
the local population were remarkably amicable. Eugene
cating the overthrow of the emir, on the grounds that he was
Schuyler (an American official who made an extensive visit
not fulfilling his obligations as a Muslim ruler, long before
to the region in 1873) commented, “what was strange for
the Bolsheviks put forward this idea.
Mussulmans, [was that they] spoke in the highest terms of
the Russian Emperor. The conduct of General Tchernaief
The reformist movement in Central Asia was greatly
made a most favourable impression upon the natives and
strengthened by the influx of Muslim activists from other
from that time on there was not the slightest trouble of any
parts of the Russian empire in the late nineteenth and early
kind on the part of the native population.”
twentieth centuries, since the concept of modernization
The institutional framework of Islam in Transoxiana
within Islam was already far better established in intellectual
largely was retained, although some of the highest offices of
circles in the Volga region, Crimea, and Transcaucasia. The
the Eulama¯D (trained Muslim scholars; e.g., Shaykh-al Isla¯m
incomers, especially the Tartars, played an important role in
and Kazi Kalan) were later abolished. Muslim courts contin-
establishing a local, independently owned press and in imple-
ued to function, albeit under the nominal control of colonial
menting educational innovation. They also gave a certain
officials and with some restriction of their powers. Islamic
impetus to the politicization of the Central Asian reformists.
education at mekteb and madrasah levels was provided as pre-
Some of these joined Tartar-dominated Muslim political
viously, although gradually, and to a limited extent, alterna-
groupings, some moved closer to the liberal Russian Consti-
tive forms of schooling became available (principally, the
tutional Democrats (Kadets), and some were drawn to the
Russo-Native schools and the reformist “new method” Mus-
Socialists and later to the Communist Party.
lim schools). Christian institutions began to appear, but they
The significance of the reformist movement in Central
were few in number and served the needs of the immigrant
Asia lies more, perhaps, in the fact that it appeared at all than
population; missionary work was virtually nonexistent (and
in any specific achievements. Similar trends were emerging
initially specifically prohibited). One Islamic obligation that
at the same period in other parts of the Muslim world, nota-
became easier to observe under Russian rule was the h:ajj.
bly in Turkey, India, and Egypt. In Central Asia the process
The Tsarist authorities organized special travel facilities for
was more difficult and fraught with greater obstacles. First,
the pilgrims and made provision for consular support, quar-
there was the physical remoteness of the region, which ham-
antine, and other such needs; by the end of the century, some
pered the development of links with like-minded thinkers
twenty thousand “Russian” Muslims, mostly Central Asians,
elsewhere; some contacts were established, but for the most
were making the pilgrimage annually.
part they were sporadic. Second, the reformists were fre-
Muslim reformist (jad¯ıd) trends in the tsarist period.
quently under pressure from the Eulama¯D. A few members of
The Muslim reformists in Central Asia (known as jad¯ıds or
the Eulama¯D were sympathetic to reformist ideas, but most
jad¯ıdists, from the Arabic word for “new”) constituted not
were bitterly opposed to any form of innovation. The conser-
so much a group as a broad trend. Relatively few in number,
vative faction was particularly powerful in Bukhara, where
they were united by common convictions and aspirations
it had the support of the emir. In the Governorate-General
rather than by set programs (although distinct clusters did
of Turkestan, which was under Russian rule, the situation
eventually emerge, including some with specific sociopoliti-
was somewhat easier, though even here the colonial adminis-
cal agendas). The aim of the reformists was to modernize
tration was careful not to offend the Eulama¯D. The reformists
Central Asian society, without abandoning the Islamic
also faced many practical problems. These included poor
framework. The first to propound these ideas were Kazakhs
communication networks, a low level of literacy, and few
such as Ibrai Altynsaryn (1841–1889) and Abai Kunanbayev
printing facilities. Not surprisingly, they made little impact
(1845–1904) in the mid-nineteenth century. Later, in
outside a relatively narrow circle of urban intellectuals. This
Transoxiana, Bukharans such as Donish (c. 1828–1897) and
might have changed had they had time to build up a broader
Fitrat (1886–1938) began to follow a similar line of thought.
base, but this did not happen: the reformist movement was
abruptly terminated once Soviet rule was established.
The reformists, especially in the early period, were
drawn mostly from wealthy merchant families or the local
SOVIET PERIOD. Soviet rule was first established in Tashkent
aristocracy. They were familiar with traditional Muslim
in September 1917, and shortly thereafter it was extended
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4624
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
to the industrial centers of the northern tier. The Turkestan
Turkestan and Kirghiz/Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist
Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, encompassing the
Republics, conditions were still too unstable for decisive
Tsarist Governorate-General of Turkestan, was created in
steps to be taken in this direction. In 1919 attempts had been
April 1918 as an administrative unit within the Russian Sovi-
made to close down Muslim schools and courts and to con-
et Federative Socialist Republic. In 1920 the emir of Bukhara
fiscate waqf property (i.e., endowed trusts), but this aroused
and the khan of Khiva were deposed and their states trans-
such anger amongst the local population (not to mention
formed into the nominally independent People’s Soviet Re-
giving a tactical advantage to the basmachis) that in 1922
publics of Bukhara and Khorezm, respectively. In 1924 the
these measures were relaxed. Nevertheless, it became increas-
People’s Republics of Bukhara and Khorezm were formally
ingly difficult for the schools and the courts to continue to
annexed and the whole of Central Asia was repartitioned into
function and their numbers fell rapidly.
five administrative units, the precursors of the independent
By 1925 the Soviet government was in a strong enough
states of today, namely, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajiki-
position to take a much firmer line towards Islam. The waqf
stan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
lands were nationalized as part of Union-wide land and water
Soviet policies towards Islam went through a number
reforms. Muslim schools and courts were phased out by
of different phases. Moreover, they were often not imple-
1927 to 1928. The Arabic script, which had been used in
mented uniformly; much depended on local conditions at
Central Asia for over a thousand years and was, moreover,
any given time. This apparent lack of consistency may be as-
the script in which the QurDa¯n was written and therefore of
cribed to the fact that such policies were motivated not solely
great religious significance, was abolished in favor of the
by the desire to eradicate the religion, but more broadly, to
Latin script (in turn to be replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet
secure the triumph of socialism and victory in the class war.
in 1940); the whole world of Muslim scholarship was thus
This was most clearly reflected in the first years of Soviet rule
effectively rendered inaccessible to future generations of
(1917–c.1925), when pragmatism, more often than not, pre-
Central Asians. The campaign for the emancipation of
vailed over ideology. Had the Bolsheviks taken precipitate
women, which was intensified during these years, was like-
action against the Muslim clerics they would have risked
wise used to undermine Islam by portraying the religion as
alienating the very people whose support they were aiming
a source of ignorance, oppression, and social injustice.
to attract. Moreover, Soviet power was as yet far from secure-
Atheistic propaganda was intensified in the late 1920s.
ly established in the region, and counterrevolutionary forces
Republican branches of the Union of Atheists, later renamed
in various parts of Central Asia (basmachi) were using reli-
Militant Atheists, were set up at this time and large quantities
gion as a means of rallying support, calling themselves the
of antireligious materials (books, journals, brochures, post-
“Army of Islam” and claiming that they were defending the
ers, etc.) were produced in the local languages. Outreach ac-
faith against the infidel.
tivities (e.g., lectures and discussion groups) were used to un-
derline and amplify this message in schools and the
In late 1917, V. I. Lenin and Joseph Stalin made a fa-
workplace, and in social and professional organizations.
mous appeal, “To all the Toiling Muslims of Russia and the
Women, who were generally more devout than men, were
East,” assuring them that from that day forth their “beliefs
singled out as special targets for anti-Islamic propaganda;
and customs, national and cultural institutions would be free
wherever possible they were drawn into atheistic work. From
and inviolable.” In March 1919, at the Second Conference
1925 onward, discriminatory legislation was introduced to
of the Communist Party of Turkestan, a Muslim Bureau was
limit the rights of religious functionaries of all faiths. Initial-
created for the express task of carrying out agitational work
ly, clerics were deprived of the right to elect, or be elected,
among the indigenous population. Material was prepared in
to soviets. The Law of Religious Associations (which re-
the local languages and services at mosques, which brought
mained in force from 1929 to 1990) made such activities as
together large numbers of people, were used for spreading
the provision of religious education for minors, proselytizing,
Communist ideas. Believers were admitted to the Party and
and fundraising for religious purposes illegal. Beginning in
for some years thereafter constituted a significant proportion
about 1930, arbitrary arrests and executions were used to
of the membership. Muslim trade unions were set up for
eliminate Muslim leaders who refused to cooperate with the
local craftsmen (e.g., tanners, cobblers); so, too, were soviets
authorities; Muslim literature, or any material at all in the
of Muslim deputies and soviets of Muslim workers.
Arabic script, even if nonreligious, was liable to be confiscat-
Meanwhile, the social, legal, and economic basis of
ed and the owner severely punished. All but a few mosques
Islam was being systematically dismantled, to be replaced by
were closed. Some were destroyed, and some were used for
Soviet institutions. From 1918 to 1924 a number of laws and
other purposes, often of an emphatically antireligious nature
decrees were put in place that established the legal framework
(e.g., bars or atheistic museums). All the madrasahs were
for the secularization of society. These included the right of
abolished. No religious literature was published. The annual
freedom of conscience, the separation of church and school,
h:ajj was suspended, and contacts with foreign Muslims virtu-
and the marriage and family laws. In 1921, at the Tenth
ally ceased.
Party Congress, a resolution was passed calling for the launch
After the outbreak of World War II there was an abrupt
of a comprehensive antireligious campaign. However, in the
change of policy: the repression of the 1930s was suddenly
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
4625
replaced by a spirit of cooperation. In Central Asia an official
and the antireligious campaigns. They were implemented
Muslim administration, known as the Muslim Board for
with such force and speed that they could not but have an
Central Asia and Kazakhstan, was established in Tashkent.
impact. Consequently, a significant level of modernization
Its responsibilities included the upkeep of mosques and the
was achieved in a very short space of time. One aspect of this
appointment of clerics. In 1944 the h:ajj was officially rein-
was a marked degree of external secularization. Some of the
stated, though only a very small and select group of clerics
older generation certainly continued to perform the pre-
were able to benefit from this. The following year the Mir-i
scribed ritual prayers and other obligations in private
Arab madrasah in Bukhara was reopened, becoming the only
throughout the Soviet period. Younger members of the fami-
Muslim educational institution in the whole of the Soviet
ly (it was not uncommon for three or even four generations
Union. The number of functioning mosques was slightly in-
to live together) learnt by example, and out of respect for
creased, and the public celebration of religious ceremonies
their elders they tried to keep these practices alive. However,
became a little easier. The loyalty of the Muslim community
the meaning underlying the words and the gestures was grad-
and their contribution to the Soviet war effort was acknowl-
ually forgotten, and by the 1960s even those who considered
edged in the central press, a clear indication that Islam was
themselves to be devout were often reduced to the mechani-
no longer regarded with the categorical disapproval of the
cal repetition of incomprehensible formulae.
1930s.
Western writers, especially in the 1980s, often made a
This trend towards greater accommodation continued
distinction between so-called official (Eulama¯D-led) and unof-
in the postwar period, despite renewed bouts of religious per-
ficial or parallel (S:u¯f¯ı- or ishan-led) Islam. The latter was
secution in the mid-1950s and early 1960s. In 1971 another
supposed in some way to be more “genuine.” The majority
madrasah was opened in Tashkent, the second in the Soviet
of Central Asians do not appear to have subscribed to this
Union. In 1974 it was officially named the Isma¯E¯ıl
categorization. On the contrary, those who attended the
mosque might also be in contact with an ishan, and vice
al-Bukha¯r¯ı Institute, to commemorate the AH 1,200th anni-
versa. Moreover, some members of the Eulama¯D were from
versary of al-Bukha¯r¯ı’s birth. The motivation for this policy
S:u¯f¯ı/ishan lines; they, too, kept alive some beliefs and prac-
was not born of a greater degree of tolerance towards Islam,
tices, even if largely in a private, personal capacity.
but rather of a desire to present the Soviet Union in a favor-
able light to the developing world, particularly the oil-rich
The observances that were most persistently maintained
Arab countries of the Middle East. This entailed creating at
were those connected with rites of passage: male circumci-
least a facade of acceptance toward Soviet Islam. To further
sion, marriage ceremonies (though these came to be some-
this aim, selected students from the madrasah were allowed
what influenced by European and Christian practices), and
to go to Islamic universities in Egypt and other Arab coun-
above all, burial services. The obligation to honor the de-
tries to complete their QurDanic studies and to perfect their
ceased took precedence over almost all other considerations,
Arabic. A small number of religious publications were per-
to the point even of jeopardizing career prospects, since it
mitted, including several editions of the QurDa¯n and a jour-
was seen not only as a mark of respect to the dead, but also
nal, Muslims of the Soviet East, originally printed in Uzbek
as an affirmation of membership in the community. Social
and Arabic, later in several other languages. These publica-
customs such as the payment of kalym (in Islamic legal termi-
tions were intended for the Eulama¯D, Muslim scholars, and
nology, mahr—the dower or bride price paid by the groom)
for foreign Muslims, not for local distribution. During this
and, to a lesser extent, polygamy and the underage marriage
period the restoration of major Islamic monuments in Cen-
of girls, although forbidden by law, continued to be prac-
tral Asia was undertaken, and Muslims from abroad were en-
ticed surreptitiously. Dietary prohibitions regarding the con-
couraged to visit the region, though in official delegations
sumption of pork and alcohol were observed unevenly. The
with set programs, rather than for private, individual pur-
pressure on men to conform to standard Soviet norms was
poses. Soviet Muslims became regular participants in inter-
far greater than on women, since the latter tended to live and
national Islamic conferences and hosted some such events in
work in environments that were more culturally homoge-
their own republics. They also played a prominent part in
neous, thus less vulnerable to external influences.
the international peace movement, acting as mouthpieces for
Group outings to holy places, especially mazars where
the Soviet government’s views on such issues as nuclear disar-
saints were buried, remained popular, but in general were re-
mament and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle
garded as social occasions, without any specific religious sig-
East.
nificance. Several other traces of religious practices, reinter-
Parallel Islam. The Soviet policies of the 1920s and
preted as folk tradition, persisted throughout much of the
1930s were aimed at bringing about the radical transforma-
Soviet period. These included the blessing given in tradition-
tion of Central Asian society. They included positive mea-
al crafts (e.g., pottery, carpet-weaving) by the “master” to the
sures, such as the introduction of mass literacy and compul-
“freed” apprentice as a sign that the latter’s training was
sory education, the provision of social welfare services, and
complete.
the emancipation of women, as well as measures specifically
Islamic resurgence. The resurgence of Islam in Central
aimed at destroying the legacy of the past, such as the purges
Asia began in the early 1970s with the emergence of a small-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4626
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
scale revivalist movement in the Ferghana Valley. The Soviet
POST-SOVIET ISLAM. The Soviet Union was formally abol-
press referred to its adherents as Wahha¯b¯ıs, implying that
ished in December 1991. Few had expected its sudden col-
they were backed by foreign sponsorship (presumably from
lapse. When the Central Asian states gained independence
Saudi Arabia), but there is no evidence to indicate that they
at the end of 1991 there was much speculation, within the
received either external influence or support during this peri-
region and abroad, as to the possible impact of the “Islamic
od. It is possible that the movement drew its inspiration from
factor” on politics and society. In Tajikistan the IRP joined
an ascetic sect that was active in the area at the beginning
other independent political parties to form an antigovern-
of the century. It is more likely, however, that it was a spon-
ment alliance. Confrontation between the two factions soon
taneous, grass-roots reaction against the relentless material-
escalated into violence, triggering the outbreak of civil war
ism of Marxism-Leninism and its sterile doctrine of “scientif-
in mid-1992. The IRP and other opposition parties were
ic atheism” (similar revivals in other religions were to be
banned by the government. They moved to Afghanistan and
observed in many parts of the Soviet Union at that time).
continued to fight the government from there. The IRP
formed the core of this resistance movement. Thus, the con-
Another and stronger impetus for the reintroduction of
flict came to be seen as a struggle between Islamists and secu-
Islamic values was the shift in government policy. From
larists. However, the situation was more complex. Although
1989 on, the Soviet authorities adopted a conciliatory ap-
Islam was undoubtedly a major factor in the conflict, it was
proach toward Islam. This was to some extent the result of
not the sole cause. Rather, it was an aggravating feature in
greater tolerance towards religion throughout the Soviet
the struggle for national supremacy that broke out between
Union, but more specifically, it was an attempt to combat
different socio-regional groupings in the aftermath of inde-
the perceived threat of Iranian-style Islamic revolution by
pendence. The conflict continued sporadically for five years.
bolstering a sense of pride in indigenous Islamic traditions.
It was formally brought to a close in June 1997, when a peace
A new muft¯ı was elected at this time, Muh:ammad S:adyk
treaty was signed by the warring factions. Despite the short-
Muh:ammad Yu¯suf Hoja-ogli (b. 1952). He had previously
comings of this agreement, and the imperfect manner in
been the rector of the Tashkent madrasah. A young and
which it was implemented, it remained in force as of 2004.
highly educated cleric (graduate of the two Soviet madrasahs,
This has permitted a certain amount of political and eco-
followed by postgraduate studies in Libya), Muh:ammad
nomic restructuring to take place. In 1999 several indepen-
S:adyk was a persuasive proponent of government policies,
dent political parties were granted registration (or re-
but he also worked hard to improve conditions for the prac-
registration), including the Islamic Rebirth Party.
tice of Islam. His efforts met with official approval and he
received substantial support from the authorities, who not
Elsewhere in Central Asia, post-Soviet Islam exhibits
only gave him a prominent role in public affairs, but also
three tendencies. These can be described as traditional Islam,
made several concessions to the Muslim community, such
government-sponsored Islam, and radical Islam.
as permission to open more mosques, the relaxing of restric-
Traditional Islam. Traditional Islam is characterized by
tions concerning the pilgrimage to Mecca, and the increased
a conservative, overall passive attitude to religion. Moreover,
provision of religious literature.
there is great attachment to popular practices which, though
These measures generated a surge of gratitude to the So-
understood as being Islamic, are contrary to orthodox teach-
viet state and specifically to Soviet President Mikhail Gorba-
ings. This is the form of Islam that is still espoused by the
chev, the architect of this new liberalism. There was a genu-
great majority of Central Asian Muslims. However, the situ-
ine sense of satisfaction that the validity of Central Asian
ation is beginning to change. In the immediate aftermath of
culture had been recognized and was finally being accorded
independence there was great enthusiasm for mosque con-
proper respect. For the great majority of the population this
struction. In Kyrgyzstan, for example, there were only thirty-
was sufficient: at this stage there were few who were in favor
four mosques open for worship in 1987, but by 1994 there
of religion assuming a more dominant role in society.
were almost a thousand; in Uzbekistan in the same period
the number rose from eighty-seven to some three thousand.
Only in Tajikistan was the picture somewhat different.
The same phenomenon was to be observed in the other Cen-
Here, the Islamic revival soon acquired a political aspect. The
tral Asian states. Moreover, many Muslim schools and ma-
first Islamic political party in Central Asia was the Islamic
drasahs were opened and courses were provided for children
Rebirth Party (IRP) of Tajikistan. It began as an offshoot of
and adults in the study of Arabic, the QurDa¯n, and related
the all-Union Islamic Rebirth Party, founded in Astrakhan
religious topics. By the second half of the 1990s this upsurge
(on the Volga) in June 1990. However, the Tajik party soon
of interest in Islam had somewhat abated. Nevertheless,
began to follow an independent course; it was formally regis-
among the younger generation there has been a distinct
tered by the Tajik authorities in October 1991. Thus, on the
change of outlook. Mosque attendance has increased again,
eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union, in this one republic,
particularly in the south (notably the Ferghana Valley and
Islam was not only beginning to play a significant role in
southern Kazakhstan). Thus, a more orthodox form of Islam
public life but was also operating with a degree of autonomy
is gradually replacing the indigenous syncretic beliefs and
that was not to be found elsewhere in the region.
practices of the past.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
4627
Government-sponsored Islam. This form is a continu-
misery and suffering. Yet there is no public debate in any of
ation of the late Soviet-era policy of co-opting religion to
the Central Asian countries as to where, and on what basis,
serve the needs of the state. Today, the constitutions of all
the dividing line should be drawn between the acceptable
the Central Asian countries enshrine the principle of the di-
and the unacceptable. Thus, men who grow beards (a tradi-
vision of religion and state. Yet throughout the region, Islam
tional Muslim sign of piety) are regarded with suspicion, par-
has been elevated to a status akin to that of a state ideology.
ticularly in Uzbekistan, where they run the risk of summary
This seems to have been prompted by the conviction that
arrest. Why these manifestations, which are in keeping with
unless urgent action was taken to fill the ideological vacuum
orthodox Muslim practice, should be labeled extremist,
left by the discrediting of Marxism-Leninism (which possibly
while other aspects of Islamic behavior should be encour-
had more support in Central Asia than elsewhere in the Sovi-
aged, is not discussed.
et Union), anarchy would follow. Consequently, in all the
The institutional control of Islamic activities in Central
Central Asian states an immediate campaign was set in mo-
Asia today largely follows the Soviet model. However, where-
tion to emphasize the role of Islam as an integral component
as under Soviet rule there had been a unified, overarching
of the national heritage, and likewise of the ethical founda-
administration for all the Muslims of the region (i.e., the
tion of the state. This message was conveyed through the
Muslim Spiritual Directorate of Central Asia and Kazakh-
teachings of Muslim clerics, as well as through the pro-
stan), separate national administrations, each headed by a
nouncements of senior political figures and editorial and
muft¯ı, were established in the early 1990s. In Tajikistan, the
documentary features in the mass media. In Uzbekistan and
office of muft¯ı was abolished in 1996, and the work of the
Kyrgyzstan this dual ethical-national significance was made
muft¯ıya¯t was reorganized; the chief Muslim authority is now
explicit when the presidents swore their respective oaths of
the chairman of the council of Eulama¯D. In the other states,
office on both the constitution and the QurDa¯n. On a person-
the muft¯ıya¯t remains responsible for administering Muslim
al level, the heads of state (all former Communist Party
affairs within the state and maintaining formal contacts with
members who came to power under Soviet rule) have been
Muslims abroad. The work of the muft¯ıya¯t is closely moni-
at pains to establish Muslim credentials. This has included
tored by a Committee (or Council) for Religious Affairs, a
fulfilling the lesser (Eumrah) pilgrimage to Mecca.
body that serves as the interface between the government and
Since independence, new laws on religion and on reli-
the religious communities (yet another Soviet-era survival).
gious associations have been passed in the Central Asian
The interests of Muslims, as well as adherents of the other
states. The law adopted in Uzbekistan in 1998 is regarded
established faiths (chiefly Orthodox Christianity and Juda-
as the most restrictive. However, the draft amendments that
ism), are officially represented in this body. Such “nontradi-
are currently under consideration in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz-
tional” faiths as Baha¯D¯ı, Pentecostal Christianity, and Jeho-
stan propose measures that are almost equally severe. Politi-
vah’s Witnesses are regarded with suspicion and given little
cal parties of a religious orientation are proscribed every-
opportunity for official representation. In Turkmenistan the
where except in Tajikistan, where in mid-1999, in the run-
muft¯ıya¯t and the Committee for Religious Affairs have virtu-
up to parliamentary elections, the Islamic Rebirth Party,
ally merged into a single entity, as the chairman of the latter
outlawed in 1993, was again legalized. In all five states, reli-
body is the deputy muft¯ı, while the muft¯ı is deputy chairman
gious communities must be officially registered by the au-
of the Committee.
thorities. If not, they are likely to be prosecuted and to suffer
The muft¯ıya¯t is responsible, among a number of other
personal harassment, as well as the confiscation or destruc-
functions, for the formal examination and registration of
tion of community property. Most of the so-called nontradi-
Muslim clerics. Unregistered preachers are liable to criminal
tional faiths (i.e., those that have only recently been intro-
prosecution. The ostensible aim of registration is to disbar
duced into the region) have experienced great difficulties in
unqualified individuals from holding religious posts. At the
securing registration; insofar as they operate at all, their activ-
same time, however, registration enables the state authorities
ities are regarded as illegal, and therefore criminal.
to keep a close check on the ideological orientation of the
religious establishment. Clerics who hold views that do not
The form of Islam favored by the Central Asian govern-
conform to the official line, or who are felt to be lacking in
ments of today is based on the teachings of orthodox Sunn¯ı
loyalty to the government, can be excluded from the system.
Islam of the H:anaf¯ı school of jurisprudence. However, the
sphere of application is strictly limited. There is little ques-
The most marked example of government control over
tion, for example, of introducing elements of shar¯ı Eah law
the Muslim establishment is in Uzbekistan. The last muft¯ı
(Muslim canon law) into the legal framework of these states.
of the Soviet era, Muh:ammad S:adyk, was forced from office
The main concern at the governmental level is to promote
in the wake of accusations of Wahha¯b¯ı sympathies and fi-
“good” Islam, which, it is implied, is beneficial to the devel-
nancial improprieties. In 1993 he went into voluntary exile,
opment of the state; and to banish “bad” Islam, which repre-
though he later returned to live as a private individual in
sents a threat to stability. To underline this last point, fre-
Tashkent. Since the mid-1990s the official Muslim hierarchy
quent reference is made to Tajikistan and Afghanistan,
has been relegated to a subordinate role, remarkable chiefly
where, it is alleged, the spread of “bad” Islam has brought
for its unquestioning support of government policies. Else-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4628
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
where in the region, state control of the religious establish-
bly suggested that they are based in the United Kingdom.
ment is also increasing, though it is still well below the Uzbek
It is not known how the H:izb ut-Tah:r¯ır is funded, but it
level. Kyrgyzstan has, as of 2004, shown a fairly consistent
produces numerous publications and has an impressive In-
commitment to maintaining the independence of the reli-
ternet presence.
gious establishment. This appeared to falter in December
The first H:izb ut-Tah:r¯ır leaflets reportedly appeared in
1996, when covert government pressure resulted in the oust-
Tashkent in 1992 or 1993, but the movement does not seem
ing of Muft¯ı Kimsanbai-aji Abdurah:ma¯n uulu (elected in
to have established a definite presence in the city until 1995.
1993), a cleric who had a large following within the Muslim
There were an estimated eighty thousand H:izb ut-Tah:r¯ır
community but was suspected by some of Wahha¯b¯ı leanings.
members in Uzbekistan in 2004. Since 2001, H:izb
However, he was reinstated as muft¯ı in 2000.
ut-Tah:r¯ır documents have referred to Uzbekistan as a
Radical Islam. The radical trend embraces a loose
wila¯yah (province) of an imagined worldwide Islamic state.
grouping of activists who want to purge Islam of the distor-
The party has launched excoriating attacks on the Uzbek
tions that have been introduced over time. They are collec-
government and, in particular, on President Islom Karimov,
tively referred to as Wahha¯b¯ıs, a term that today, as during
who is depicted as an archenemy of Islam. It is not known
the Soviet era, is a generic expression of abuse rather than
whether H:izb ut-Tah:r¯ır and the Islamic Movement of Uz-
a literal description of religious affiliation.
bekistan are in any way linked. Initially, they were separate
organizations, but in the late 1990s there were rumors to sug-
From the early 1990s onward, the radical trend has been
gest that some degree of rapprochement had taken place.
gaining ground. In Tajikistan, it was one of the factors that
led to the outbreak of the civil war. Elsewhere in the region
On February 16, 1999, there was an attempt on the life
the main expression of radical Islam has been the emergence
of President Karimov in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.
of clandestine groups, based in Uzbekistan and adjacent areas
Within hours of the incident, “Islamic fundamentalists”
of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. There are no reports of Isla-
were being blamed for the outrage. This triggered a renewed
mist movements in Turkmenistan, which could mean either
onslaught on devout Muslims. The incident was used as an
that they do not exist or that they are suppressed more effec-
excuse to conduct a campaign against all shades of dissident
tively than elsewhere.
opinion. According to reports from numerous sources, tens
of thousands of people were arrested. It is difficult to verify
It is impossible to set a figure either to the number of
such estimates, but certainly the fear of reprisals caused many
individuals who are involved, or to the number of separate
Uzbeks to flee across the border into neighboring states, from
groups. Names of some of these groups have appeared in var-
where some of them launched attacks on Uzbekistan. A seri-
ious sources from time to time, though with almost no back-
ous clash occurred when armed fighters crossed into Kyrgyz-
ground information. These include Adolat (Justice); Ak-
stan in August 1999 with the aim, according to official
romiya (named after their founder, Akrom Yuldashev), they
sources, of invading Uzbekistan “in order to establish an Is-
are also known as the Iimonchilar (Believers) or Khalifatchi-
lamic state.” Estimates of the size of this force vary greatly,
lar (Caliphate Supporters); the Tawba (Repentance) move-
but it seems likely to have numbered some five hundred
ment; and Islom lashkarlari (Soldiers of Islam). The first such
men. When the guerrillas reached the border they found
group to acquire wide notoriety was the Islamic Movement
Uzbek troops blocking their route; they thereupon retreated
of Uzbekistan. It was formed around 1996 under the leader-
into the Kyrgyz mountains, taking with them a number of
ship of T:a¯hir Yoldashev and Jumabai Khojiev and may have
hostages, including four Japanese geologists. The hostages
attracted members from some of the earlier groups. Based
were released in October 1999, reputedly after the Japanese
predominantly in the Ferghana Valley, the great majority of
government paid a large ransom. There were similar armed
its members were Uzbeks. The movement was also active in
clashes in the same area in mid-2000, though on a smaller
southern Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan, where it was
scale.
said to find support among local Uzbek minorities. In 2001
there was a move to rename the party the Islamic Movement
There is no information as to why such attacks were
of Turkestan, but this does not appear to have been imple-
mounted at precisely this juncture. It may have been retalia-
mented.
tion for the repression that followed the February assassina-
tion attempt on Karimov. It is also possible that it was part
Likewise in the mid-1990s, a very different, and poten-
of a struggle between local mafia barons to gain control of
tially far more powerful, radical element appeared. This was
lucrative narcotic-trafficking routes. In September 2000 the
H:izb ut-Tah:r¯ır (transliterated in various forms, including
U.S. State Department placed the Islamic Movement of Uz-
H:izb al-Tah:r¯ır, and usually translated as the “Liberation
bekistan on its list of international terrorist organizations to
Party”). A transnational Islamist organization, it was created
which U.S. citizens are forbidden to give assistance, and
in 1953 in Jerusalem; it soon attracted a substantial following
whose members are denied entry into the United States.
in Jordan and spread to other countries in the Muslim world.
In several countries it was banned as a dangerously subversive
Foreign influences. The Islamic revival in the Central
organization and its members were imprisoned. The head-
Asian states is to some extent inspired and supported by
quarters of the movement are not known, though it is credi-
Muslims in other countries. Some of the financing for the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
4629
building of mosques and madrasahs, as well as the restoration
Light), the corpus of teachings of Said Nurs¯ı, they seem to
of Islamic monuments, has come from abroad, from both
have been disseminating a more radical message. There are
private sources and government funds. Students from Cen-
increasing concerns that their ultimate political project is the
tral Asia have gone in large numbers (a few hundred a year)
creation of an Islamic state. They are also accused by some
to study in countries such as Turkey, Egypt, and Pakistan.
of having a pan-Turkic agenda. Because of such suspicions,
Since independence, many thousands of Central Asians have
their newspaper Zaman (Time) was banned in Uzbekistan
performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, some already two or
in 1994; several teachers were expelled at about the same
three times. In the early 1990s, and again in 1999, the travel
time. In other Central Asian states a similar sense of unease
expenses of several thousand pilgrims were covered by the
is emerging regarding the activities of this group, and conse-
Saudi monarch. All the Central Asian states have now joined
quently their work is now being more closely monitored.
the Organization for Islamic Conference, hence there are also
institutional links with the Muslim world.
Turkish influence has also played a part in the revival
of Sufism. Great S:u¯f¯ı orders such as the Naqshband¯ıyah and
The main foreign influence, however, has come from
Qa¯dir¯ıyah had been influential in Central Asia in the past,
missionaries. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union they
but even before the Soviet era they had lost much of their
flocked to Central Asia from many parts of the Muslim
power. Under Soviet rule, insofar as anything of this tradi-
world to preach and to open schools. At first they were
tion of mysticism survived, it was in the form of popular syn-
warmly welcomed. Gradually, though, the mood in the re-
cretic practices. In the early 1990s, adepts from Turkey
gion began to change. On the one hand, the traditionalists—
began to reintroduce Sufism to the region, focusing their ef-
the mass of ordinary believers—objected to being told that
forts mainly on Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan. Ini-
some of their most respected customs (for example, those
tially, this was welcomed by the secular authorities in Uzbek-
connected with burials) were not authentic and should be re-
istan, who professed admiration for S:u¯f¯ı philosophy. An
placed by more orthodox procedures. On the other hand, the
indication of official approval occurred when President Kari-
state authorities also became uneasy that the missionaries
mov made his first post-independence visit to Turkey, and
were encouraging independent Islamic thought. Uzbekistan
Mukhtarkhan Abdullayev, a self-avowed S:u¯f¯ı, was included
was the first to impose restrictions on Muslim missionaries
in his entourage; Abdullayev, who was subsequently appoint-
from abroad; in 1992 to 1993 some fifty Saudi preachers
ed muft¯ı (1993–1997), was formally inducted into the
were expelled. Other expulsions followed, and since then the
Naqshband¯ı order on this occasion. Later, however, the
activities of foreign Muslims have been very carefully moni-
Uzbek government’s attitude towards Sufism changed. It
tored. A similar tendency can be observed in the other states.
continued to be revered as a historical and cultural phenome-
non, but attempts to revive S:u¯f¯ı brotherhoods were firmly
Foreign commentators initially expected Iran to play the
repressed; the movement was eventually driven under-
lead role in the re-Islamicization of Central Asia. In fact, Ira-
ground.
nian clerics have been conspicuous largely by their absence.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, delegations from Iran
Fears that foreign Muslims were fomenting religious ex-
began to visit the Central Asian states and to acquire first-
tremism and militancy in Central Asia continued to grow.
hand familiarity with the region. They soon realized that an
The enthusiasm for sending students to Islamic institutions
Islamic revolution along the lines of the Iranian model was
in Turkey, Egypt, and other Muslim countries was tempered
not a realistic prospect; this was partly because of the low
with concerns that, once abroad, they would be exposed to
level of knowledge of Islam among the population at large,
radical ideas. The Uzbek authorities were the first to react
but also, and very importantly, because of the lack of a
to this perceived threat, going so far as to accuse Turkish Isla-
trained, independent-minded Eulama¯D. The fact that the Ira-
mists of using these students as a fifth column. It was alleged
nians represent the Sh¯ıE¯ı tradition also placed them at a dis-
that while in Turkey several of these students underwent ter-
advantage. By contrast, Sunn¯ı Muslim missionaries were ac-
rorist training. On their return home, so it was claimed, they
tive from the first years of independence. Turkish Muslims
set up cells of activists in villages and towns. Thereafter,
have played the most prominent role. Proportionately, they
other governments in the region also became suspicious of
are more numerous than any other ethnic group.
the education offered by foreign Muslims and cut back on
the number of religious students who were allowed to go
The great majority of the Turkish missionaries are Nur-
abroad to study.
cus, followers of Bediüzzaman Said Nurs¯ı (1876–1960), and
of his disciple Fethulla Gülen (b. 1938). The Nurcus opened
Islamic literature. In Central Asia there has not as yet
hundreds of schools and commercial enterprises in all the
emerged a homegrown Muslim intellectual tradition ex-
Central Asian states. They appeared to be propagating a
pounding a coherent vision of Islam in the modern world.
moderate, modernized version of Islam, and their teaching
Equally, awareness of the existence of contemporary thought
programs concentrated on scientific subjects and technical
in other parts of the Islamic world is not well developed. Al-
skills. However, on a more informal level, through extracur-
most the only literature that is available (though how widely
ricular contacts and through the distribution of translations
is a moot point) is that which is produced clandestinely by
into the local languages of the Risale-i Nur (The Epistle of
H:izb ut-Tah:r¯ır. The state authorities in Kyrgyzstan and Uz-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4630
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
bekistan report that large consignments of the party’s journal
BIBLIOGRAPHY
al-Wa E¯ı (Consciousness), as well as leaflets and books, have
Akiner, Shirin. “Islam, the State, and Ethnicity in Central Asia in
been circulated. Titles of confiscated material include Islom
Historical Perspective.” Religion, State, and Society: The Kes-
nizomi (The Islamic Order), Hizbut-Tahrir tushunchalari
ton Journal 24, nos. 2/3 (1996): 91–132.
(Concepts of H:izb ut-Tah:r¯ır), and Siyosat va khalqaro siyosat
Akiner, Shirin. Tajikistan: Disintegration or Reconciliation? Lon-
(Politics and International Politics); these texts are some-
don, 2001.
times in Arabic, sometimes in competent Kyrgyz or Uzbek
Akiner, Shirin. “The Politicisation of Islam in Post-Soviet Central
translations. Several underground printing presses have been
Asia.” Religion, State, and Society: The Keston Journal 31, no.
discovered. Local editions of such works are said to have been
2 (2003): 97–122.
produced in print runs of one thousand or so. Distribution
Amnesty International. “Central Asia: No Excuse for Escalating
of these tracts is mostly covert: typically, copies are scattered
Human Rights Violations.” Available from http://
in public places under cover of night, or handed out by casu-
www.web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/Recent/EUR040022001.
al hired labor. The Central Asian governments, especially the
Babadjanov, Bakhtiyar, and Muzaffar Kamilov. “Muh:ammadjan
Uzbek, are deeply concerned about the effect that this litera-
Hindustani (1892–1989) and the Beginning of the ‘Great
ture might have. Anyone who is found in possession of such
Schism’ among the Muslims of Uzbekistan.” In Islam in Poli-
material runs the risk of arrest, and consequently most peo-
tics in Russia and Central Asia, edited by Stéphane Du-
ple are afraid to handle it. Thus, it is very difficult to judge
doignon and Komatsu Hisao, pp. 195–219. London and
how much of it is actually read by the population at large.
New York, 2001.
Elsewhere there are examples of efforts to produce materials
H:izb ut-Tah:r¯ır. Official website. Available from http://www.
in local languages, such as Tajik, for example, to provide a
hizb-ut-tahrir.org.
wider readership with the benefits of the Muslim scholarship
Human Rights Watch. “Memorandum to the US Government
that originated in their own region.
Regarding Religious Persecution in Uzbekistan.” HRW
POST-SEPTEMBER 2001. Following the terrorist attacks on
World Report 2001: Europe and Central Asia. August 10,
the United States in September 2001, a U.S.-led coalition
2001. Available from http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/
commenced military operations against the Taliban and
eca/uzbek-aug/persecution.htm.
al-Qa¯Eidah bases in Afghanistan. In the following months,
Keston Institute: Resources for the Studies of Communist
coalition bases were established in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz-
Countries and Religious Affairs. Available from http://
stan. In the course of this campaign, many of the Central
www.starlightsite.co.uk/keston/.
Asian guerrillas who were fighting alongside the Taliban and
Mardin, S¸erif. Religion and Social Change in Modern Turkey: The
al-Qa¯Eidah were killed. It was claimed (though not conclu-
Case of Bediüzzaman Said Nurs¯ı. Albany, N.Y., 1989.
sively confirmed) that Juma Namangani, leader of the Islam-
Ro’i, Yaacov. Islam in the Soviet Union: From World War II to Per-
ic Movement of Uzbekistan, had also been killed. Certainly
estroika. London, 2000.
the movement was badly damaged, and despite rumors that
Trofimov, Dmitri. “Friday Mosques and Their Imams in the For-
it was regrouping, it had not undertaken any significant ac-
mer Soviet Union.” Religion, State, and Society: The Keston
tions as of early 2004. Meanwhile, in the Central Asian states
Journal 24, nos. 2–3 (1996): 193–219.
the authorities began pursuing their own “war on terror” by
arresting hundreds of so-called religious extremists. The
SHIRIN AKINER (2005)
main targets are members of H:izb ut-Tah:r¯ır, although little
credible evidence of criminal activity has been produced
against them. Human rights organizations are particularly
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
concerned about the situation in Uzbekistan, where prison-
Muslims within the present-day borders of the People’s Re-
ers are reportedly subjected to physical and psychological
public of China, and indeed within the borders of late impe-
torture.
rial China and its republican successor, can be divided broad-
The persecution of radical Islam is accompanied by on-
ly into two categories. First, there are the Chinese-speaking
going attempts to promote government-sponsored Islam.
Muslims, known today as the Hui, who are distributed
Official Islamic institutions continue to function, and in Uz-
throughout the whole of the country. There are Hui
bekistan have even been enhanced (e.g., by the opening of
mosques and communities in all provinces of China and in
the Islamic University in Tashkent). The aim is to inculcate
most towns and cities, including Beijing, but there are signif-
a “positive” interpretation of Islam in society. Ultimately,
icant Hui concentrations in the northwest provinces of
however, better knowledge of the faith might make it more
Gansu and Qinghai, the Ningxia Autonomous Region, and
difficult to control the responses of believers. The struggle
the southwest province of Yunnan. In both the northwest
between radical Islam and “official” Islam seems likely to
and the southwest it is possible to speak of clear and well-
continue.
defined Muslim societies rather than minority communities
in a wider non-Muslim society. In appearance and language
SEE ALSO Buddhism, article on Buddhism in Central Asia;
there is very little to distinguish the Hui from the majority
Inner Asian Religions.
population of China, the Han, although they do retain some
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
4631
elements of Arabic and Persian vocabulary in their speech
fact a much less precise term, which included the Persian-
when communicating with fellow Muslims. In addition,
speaking world and probably the whole of the region that
many Hui, especially in rural areas, wear distinctive head
was eventually conquered by Arab armies in the name of
covering—caps for men and variations on the veil or scarf
Islam. The name Dashi may be connected with the word
for women—as a symbol of their Islamic identity. Although
Tajik. In any case, there is clear documentary evidence of vis-
these emblems of cultural and religious identity were sup-
iting groups of traders from the Middle East as early as the
pressed during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and
sixth century, and some Chinese scholars of Islam have dated
1970s, they have been readopted since the 1980s with con-
the origin of Islam in China to that period.
siderable pride.
The Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) was the golden age of
There are also Muslims in Xinjiang in the far northwest
medieval China and the period during which China was
of China, bordering the former Soviet Central Asian states
without doubt the greatest empire in Asia. It was renowned
of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Xinjiang is also known as
for the efficiency of its civil service; for its sophisticated and
Eastern Turkestan to the indigenous Turkic peoples, but this
multiethnic urban culture, especially in the capital Chang’an
name is not popular with the Chinese authorities. Although
(present-day Xi’an); and for its poetry and the beginnings of
Chinese is an important administrative and business lan-
a great tradition in both landscape painting and ceramics.
guage in this region, the bulk of the population are speakers
The greatness of the Tang is often attributed to China’s
of Turkic languages, of which by far the most important is
openness to foreign cultures, particularly to the developing
Uighur, a language closely related to the Uzbek tongue. The
Muslim cultures beyond its inner Asian frontiers, some of
Islam of Xinjiang is practiced separately from the Islam of
which were treated as military protectorates of the Chinese
the Chinese-speaking regions, and the Xinjiang Muslims
empire. The imperial family of the Tang dynasty was of
have their own mosques and other religious organizations.
mixed Chinese and Central Asian ancestry, and this link with
This separation is made more complex by a tradition of anti-
what would eventually become part of the Islamic world had
Chinese nationalism and political separatism that is inti-
a profound influence on Tang culture.
mately connected with Islam as practiced in Xinjiang, but
this tradition is not shared by China’s Hui Muslims.
Although Chang’an was a magnet for Muslim, as well
as Buddhist and Manichaean, officials, traders, and spiritual
This two-part division of Islam in China is not as precise
leaders from Central Asia, the clearest evidence for a Muslim
as this brief account suggests. For example, there have been
presence in China in this period comes from the southeastern
a number of Hui Muslim communities in Xinjiang for well
coastal city of Quanzhou in what is now the province of Fuji-
over a century and a half as a result of the rebellions and po-
an. Traders from the Middle East had settled in the port city,
litical upheavals of the late nineteenth century.
and during the twentieth century historians and archaeolo-
gists uncovered a profusion of gravestones and stelae in-
Although the term Yisilanjiao (a Chinese transliteration
scribed in Arabic and Persian. This important collection of
for Islam) is now in common use in China, in earlier times
inscriptions provides evidence of a thriving Muslim commu-
Islam was more commonly referred to as Huihu jiao or Hui-
nity that was already well established in the early part of the
jiao, terms that did not restrict it to Chinese-speaking Mus-
eighth century and that became highly developed by the end
lims, or as Qingzhenjiao (the religion of purity and truth).
of the Southern Song dynasty in the thirteenth century, the
This latter term persists in the names of mosques in China,
last Chinese dynasty before the Mongol invasion.
which are almost all known as qingzhensi (temples of purity
and truth).
The Arab Mosque in Quanzhou, which is the only one
remaining from that period, was built in the eleventh centu-
THE FIRST MUSLIMS IN CHINA. It is impossible to be precise
ry. It was constructed in the style favored in the Arab world
about the year in which Islam first reached China. Contacts
of that time. On its walls are inscriptions in Arabic, including
between China and the Middle East probably predate the be-
quotations from the QurDa¯n and an account of the history
ginning of the prophecy of Muh:ammad in 610 CE by many
of the mosque, its construction in 1009 to 1010, and its re-
centuries. As early as the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE)
construction in 1310 to 1311 by Ah:mad bin Muh:ammad
Chinese imperial envoys had reached the Arab world, and
Quds, who came originally from Shiraz in Persia. Stelae in
the official chronicles of that time contain accounts of diplo-
other parts of Quanzhou record the construction of mosques
matic and trade missions to Western Asia and particularly
that are no longer extant by Muslims from Yemen and Cen-
Persia. The Indian Ocean trade routes in use between the
tral Asia. The inscriptions on gravestones and tombs excavat-
fourth and sixth centuries were dominated by Arabic- or Per-
ed in the city indicate clearly that the majority of Muslims
sian-speaking merchants, mainly from the Arabian or Persian
in Quanzhou were of Persian origin, although most inscrip-
Gulf, who made landfall in the ports of China’s southern and
tions are in Arabic rather than Persian. The descendants of
southeastern coast.
some of these sojourners from the Middle East remained in
The origin of these maritime traders is usually said to
Fujian, married local Han Chinese women, and are now clas-
be Dashi in the Chinese histories; this term has been translat-
sified as part of the Hui ethnic group. The province of Fujian
ed as “Arabia,” although there is reason to think that it is in
remains one of the most outward looking in China, and the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4632
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
people of Fujian have a tradition of emigration to Taiwan,
to Beijing in 1403, Nanjing remained a city of considerable
Southeast Asia, and more recently Europe.
influence for centuries and served as the capital of the
M
Guomindang Nationalist government from 1928 to 1937.
USLIMS AND THE MONGOL CONQUESTS. It is clear that
there was already a significant Muslim presence in China by
The Hongwu emperor (Ming Taizu, to accord him his
the time of the Mongol conquests of the thirteenth century.
correct posthumous title) was favorably disposed towards
These conquests, which changed the political and social map
Muslims, many of whom were brought to the capital as tax
of the whole of East, Central, and South Asia, also had the
collectors and interpreters or to serve in other official posts.
effect of increasing the Muslim population of China. Ching-
Among the Muslim thinkers who flourished in Nanjing was
gis Khan (c. 1162–1227), who unified the Mongols and led
Wang Daiyu (1585–1657), who was born into an ancient
them to their early military victories, ordered that when his
and distinguished family of court astronomers and educated
armies captured such cities as Samarkand and Bukhara the
in the tradition of the pioneering Islamic teacher Hu Deng-
craftsmen should be spared the otherwise wholesale slaugh-
zhou (1522–1597). Hu Dengzhou played a key role in the
ter. The craftsmen were conscripted into the service of the
establishment of Muslim education in Shaanxi, and his
Mongols and at first were assigned to the building of defense
methods were conveyed to Nanjing by Wang Daiyu’s teach-
works for sieges. They were later taken back to China, effec-
er, Ma Junshi (c.1628–1690). Wang Daiyu’s teachings were
tively as slaves, where they were required to build the new
greatly influenced by Confucian ideas and by the language
Mongol capital cities of Karakorum and Dadu (Beijing).
of Confucianism. He was writing for a Muslim constituency
Other Central Asians were pressed into service as soldiers,
that had virtually lost its ability to read Arabic or Persian, and
and over a period of many years, women and children were
also for a Han Chinese audience that he wished to inform
transported to China, as were some scholars and aristocrats.
about Islam. His major work, the Zhengjiao zhenquan (A true
It is not possible to say how many of these conscripts
commentary on the orthodox faith), which quotes frequently
were Muslims because this was the period of the gradual Is-
from the QurDa¯n, was an attempt to express the central tenets
lamization of Central Asia, but the later growth of strong
of Islamic thought in an understandable Chinese style. Pur-
Muslim communities in northwestern China suggests that
ists disapproved of his efforts, objecting to the use of any lan-
these forced migrants were the conduit for the transmission
guages other than Arabic or Persian, but Wang Daiyu’s writ-
of the faith into China. The vast majority of migrants were
ings were welcomed by the majority of educated Hui who
men, and their intermarriage with Han Chinese, Tibetan,
could rarely read anything other than Chinese.
and other local women created the Chinese-speaking Hui
Liu Zhi (c. 1664–c. 1739), perhaps the best-known
ethnic group.
Muslim scholar of the Qing dynasty, was also born in Nan-
CONSOLIDATION DURING THE MING DYNASTY. During the
jing in the late seventeenth century. He developed Wang
Ming dynasty (1368–1644), which is considered to be a peri-
Daiyu’s use of the terminology of Confucianism to translate
od of high Chinese culture sandwiched between two “barbar-
Islamic concepts into Chinese. Liu Zhi was also the first
ian” dynasties, the Mongols and the Manchus, the Chinese-
translator of the QurDa¯n into Chinese, although he translated
speaking Muslim population of China grew numerically and
only part of the text. Liu Zhi’s major works are Tianfang
established itself as a permanent part of Chinese society, no-
xingli (Islamic philosophy), Tianfang dianli (Islamic ritual),
tably in the provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi, but also in Yun-
and Tianfang zhishen shilu (The last prophet of Islam).
nan. Whereas before the Mongol conquest these Chinese
CONFLICT AND REBELLION DURING THE MANCHU QING
Muslims could be seen as sojourner communities with an at-
DYNASTY. In 1644 China was in the grip of a major rebel-
tachment to their original homelands in Central Asia, Persia,
lion. Peasant armies led by Li Zicheng attacked Beijing in
or the Arabian Peninsula, during the Ming they evolved into
April, and the Chongzhen emperor, the last of the Ming line,
settled communities, living side by side with Han Chinese,
hanged himself on Jingshan, a hill that overlooks the Forbid-
although not always harmoniously. They gradually lost their
den City. Into this confusion marched the armies of the
knowledge of the Arabic and Persian languages as Chinese
Manchus, a seminomadic, partly Sinicized people from
became their normal method of everyday communication.
northeastern China, who over the next thirty years proceeded
The Hui Muslims spoke the regional Chinese language of
to capture the capital, conquer the whole of China, and es-
whichever part of the country they settled in, but to this day
tablish themselves as the ruling elite for almost three hundred
they retain elements of Arabic and Persian in their vocabu-
years. Manchu policy was to expand their Qing dynasty
lary, which is a testimony to the origins of their forebears.
(1644–1911) into Inner Asia, and they successfully consoli-
dated their control over Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, re-
Although it was in the rural areas of the northwest of
drawing the map of China. The present boundaries of the
China that the greatest concentration of Hui Muslims could
People’s Republic of China are effectively those of the Qing.
be found during the Ming period, the spiritual and intellec-
tual center of Chinese Islam was the city of Nanjing in the
There was resistance to the Qing expansion, and in the
valley of the Yangtze River. Nanjing was chosen as the first
northwest Muslims fought the Manchus, as did the Han.
capital of the Ming by Zhu Yuanzhang when he became the
Widespread insurrections against the new dynasty took place
Hongwu emperor in 1368. Although the capital was moved
in Gansu in 1648 and 1649. Although these were ruthlessly
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
4633
crushed, the distinctiveness and separateness of Muslims was
conflict, and the practice of Islam was dealt a near mortal
maintained, and the Muslim population grew throughout
blow. Hui communities were forcibly resettled away from
the eighteenth century. The Islamic educational system was
their traditional lands and the graves of their founding
reinforced and reformed, and Sufism began to make its ap-
shaykhs. S:u¯f¯ı organizations were outlawed, and many
pearance in northwestern China, brought there by traveling
mosques were closed, destroyed, or converted to Buddhist
S:u¯f¯ı mystics, as well as pilgrims returning from the h:a¯jj to
temples.
Mecca who had come into contact with S:u¯f¯ıs in Central Asia
There were further serious episodes of communal vio-
or the Arab world. Sufism took deep root in the poor and
lence in Gansu and neighboring areas in 1894 to 1895. The
isolated northwestern regions, and it remains an important
origins of the conflict were complex and included factional
part of the religio-political structure to this day.
disputes between S:u¯f¯ı orders and clashes between Hui and
Expanding populations and the competition for scarce
Han landlords and officials. The insurrection was eventually
resources, particularly land and water, led to religious and
suppressed by Qing forces under the command of Muslim
ethnic conflict. Muslim Hui villages were reinforced for de-
officers. By the twentieth century, because of this history of
fensive purposes, and there were frequent clashes with neigh-
rebellion, Chinese-speaking Muslims had acquired a reputa-
boring communities of other ethnic groups, often with Han
tion for rebellion, fierceness, and conflict with the Chinese
but also with Tibetans and the Qiang, who lived in the Ti-
state. In defeat, many of the public practices of Islam were
betan borderlands. There was also conflict between Muslim
concealed or reduced in scale, and the Muslim communities
villages and between adherents of different S:u¯f¯ı orders and
strove to portray themselves as loyal citizens of the empire.
other sects.
ISLAM IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA. Islam in contemporary
In the second half of the nineteenth century these con-
China is mainly of the Sunn¯ı tradition and adheres to the
flicts escalated and became so explicitly anti-Qing in their
H:anaf¯ı school of law. Muslims of this tradition are known
nature that the imperial government designated them as re-
as Gedimu, a Chinese transliteration of the Arabic al-qad¯ım
bellions and deployed its substantial armies to crush them.
(the ancient), in deference to the longevity of this form of
China as a whole was going through a crisis during this peri-
mainstream Islam in China. Gedimu Islam is characterized
od. Westerners had been pushing for an extension of trade
by adherence to shar¯ı Eah law and the five major precepts of
with China, which led to the Opium War (1839–1842) and
Islam; the attestation that there is only one Alla¯h; prescribed
the defeat of China at the hands of the British Navy. In
prayer and purification; the giving of alms; the fast at
southern China the quasi-Christian Taiping rebellion
Ramad:a¯n; and the h:a¯jj pilgrimage to Mecca. This is no dif-
(1851–1864) presented a serious challenge to Qing authori-
ferent from the rest of the Islamic world, although Chinese
ty, which it aimed to replace. Nian bandit militia controlled
Muslims have interpreted the precise requirements in their
much of north-central China at the same time.
own way. In particular the h:a¯jj has at times been impossible
for the majority of Chinese Muslims, partly because of pov-
In 1855 in Yunnan, Han and Hui miners came into
erty and the impossibility of travel over such long distances,
conflict over mineral rights, and the local government and
and partly because of restrictions imposed on travel by differ-
landowners indiscriminately slaughtered Muslims. In August
ent regimes.
1856 the Muslim Du Wenxiu rose in rebellion and took the
city of Dali as the base for an independent Islamic state (a
The practice of Gedimu Islam is centered on the ima¯m
caliphate), which he ruled until he was defeated and behead-
(ahong in Chinese, from the Persian akhond), who presides
ed in 1873.
over the town or village mosques. While some of the ima¯ms
inherit their role, others are elected by their community.
However it was in the northwest that rebellion was most
There was a tradition of ima¯ms circulating from community
savage and its repression most devastating. As in Yunnan, the
to community and of some being brought into China from
roots of the conflict lay in disputes over land and other issues
Central Asia. The Gedimu celebrate the major Islamic festi-
between Hui and Han villages, and the Muslim Hui took
vals of Qurban (E¯Id al-Ad:h:a¯), the festival of sacrifice that is
up arms against the landlords’ militia. Their forces eventually
celebrated during the month of pilgrimage; Bayram (E¯Id
attacked major towns and the capital of Shanxi province,
al-Fit:r), celebrated at the end of Ramad:a¯n; and Mawlid, the
Xi’an. Qing forces were dispatched to put down the rebel-
birthday of the prophet Muh:ammad.
lion, and the Muslim armies withdrew westward to Gansu,
the Hui heartland. The Hui forces in Gansu were centered
Islamic education. Islamic education has been as im-
at four locations, all of which were associated with one or
portant to Muslims in China as in other parts of the Muslim
more of the S:u¯f¯ı orders. All of these orders had sacred sites
world. Muslim education among the Gedimu includes pri-
that were built around the tombs of their revered ancestral
mary school level maktab, which concentrate on instruction
shaykhs, and the mosques and madrasahs in these tomb com-
in Arabic and the basic requirements of shar¯ı Eah, and the ma-
plexes served as headquarters for the Hui resistance. The Hui
drasahs, which are for more advanced students who are plan-
uprising was eventually suppressed in 1873 with great brutal-
ning to train as ima¯ms or as theologians. Education for youn-
ity and loss of life by the armies of the Qing regime. The
ger students usually occurs in the mosques. Areas where there
whole of northwestern China had been devastated by the
are larger concentrations of Hui usually have separate prima-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4634
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
ry and middle schools for Muslim children, although the
designated a “secondary vocational school,” specializing in
curriculum is the same as in the mainstream schools. The
training translators and interpreters at the elementary and in-
issue of education for girls and women is as controversial in
termediate level, although the students are of university age.
Chinese Islam, as elsewhere. Single sex schools for girls were
As of 2004, Tongxin Arabic Language School was the only
closed during the Cultural Revolution, but reopened in 1987
state-run Arabic school in China, although there were pri-
to conform to Hui disapproval of coeducation. The closure
vately run Arabic schools in Shaanxi province and elsewhere.
of these schools for ten years substantially affected schooling
The three-year program includes Arabic language and histo-
and literacy rates among Hui women because many Hui par-
ry, general Islamic studies, and nationality theory and poli-
ents would not allow their daughters to attend coeducational
cies. By 1988 Tongxin Arabic Language School had ninety-
schools.
eight students, mostly Hui, and twenty-nine staff members.
By 1992 the school’s 260 students were all Hui, with three
Among the reopened girls’ schools is the Tongxin Girls’
of its graduates working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hui Middle School, a boarding school in Tongxin in central
as Arabic translators. Although many of the students were
Ningxia. The school is spacious, modern, and well equipped
from Ningxia, there were also some from Xi’an and else-
by the standards of northwest China. All the girls board at
where. Teachers at the school have studied in Kuwait, Egypt,
the school because their families live in Hui villages around
Syria, and Saudi Arabia. Teaching materials were provided
Tongxin. Other rural Hui children attend the Tongxin
by the Foreign Languages College in Beijing, and supple-
Number 2 Hui Middle School. Pupils here also board, go
mented by newspapers and other materials from the Arab
home on Saturday afternoons, and return to the school on
world.
Sunday evening. Children who live in the town attend the
Tongxin Number 1 Hui Middle School. The effect of mixed
Mosques. The most obvious physical expression of the
schools on Hui girls is illustrated by the school attendance
presence of Islam in China is the mosque. Zhongguo Qingz-
and literacy figures for Guyuan prefecture in southern
hen zonglan (Survey of mosques in China) estimated in 1995
Ningxia. It is an overwhelmingly Hui region, but only 4.7
that there were approximately twenty thousand mosques of
percent of school pupils were Hui girls in 1986. Half the Hui
different types and sizes throughout China. While they are
women in the region were illiterate, whereas the illiteracy rate
concentrated in traditional Muslim regions in the northwest
for women as a whole in the region was 34.4 percent.
and southwest, mosques are found throughout China, even
As part of the resurgence of Islam in China, eight Islam-
in the smallest towns. Beijing alone has at least forty
ic academies for the training of clergy were opened during
mosques, the most famous being the Ox Street (Niu Jie)
the 1980s, the most important being in Beijing, Yinchuan,
Mosque, which has become a showpiece for the country’s
and Urumqi. By 1988, four hundred students had been en-
tolerance of Islam.
rolled in four- to five-year courses that included the study
Although mosques in China have the same basic charac-
of the QurDa¯n, Islamic culture, and management. The aim
teristics of mosques throughout Islam, with a prayer hall,
of the academies was to train researchers, teachers, and high-
aminbar or pulpit from which the ima¯m delivers sermons, a
ranking personnel engaged in international Islamic academic
mihra¯b that points in the direction of Mecca, and rooms for
exchanges. Many of the students were ahongs who had been
ritual wud:u¯ D ablutions, there is great variation in style and
serving as clergy for some time but had been unable to obtain
size. Some Chinese mosques are built in a style that is similar
formal theological training because of restrictions on religion
to Chinese or Mongolian Buddhist temples, and indeed
during the Cultural Revolution.
some mosques are converted temples. Others, particularly
The Ningxia Islamic Academy (Ningxia Yisilanjiao
those built since the 1970s, have deliberately rejected Chi-
jingxueyuan) in the Western suburbs of Yinchuan, the capi-
nese architectural models and favor a Middle Eastern style.
tal of the Ningxia Autonomous Region, was built with funds
The minaret is no longer universal and was discontinued in
provided by the Islamic Development Bank. The govern-
some mosques after the suppression of the rebellions of the
ment of the Ningxia Autonomous Region also authorized a
1860s when many Muslim communities tried to maintain
loan of 2,300,000 renminbi to enable construction to take
a low profile. Some, such as the Id Gah Mosque in the center
place. Further technical support was provided by a visiting
of Kashgar, are grand in scale, but there are smaller mosques.
Saudi engineer in February 1986 and October 1988. By Oc-
One mosque in the Helan Mountains outside Yinchuan con-
tober 2001, the academy was fully functional, with well-
sists of one room backing onto a Buddhist temple.
attended classes taking place in Arabic, Islamic law, and com-
Shiism and China. Chinese Muslims assert that there
puting.
is no Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam in either the Hui or Turkic Muslim com-
The Tongxin Arabic Language School was founded in
munities in China, apart from the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı Shiism of the
1985, also with aid from the Islamic Development Bank, to
small community known as the Pamir Tajiks (more accurate-
promote economic and cultural exchange between China
ly, the Wakh), who live in the mountains in the far west of
and Islamic countries of the Middle East. The design of the
Xinjiang. However, Hui scholars have detected the broad in-
building is similar to the Islamic Academy in Yinchuan, but
fluence of Sh¯ıE¯ı culture and practices on Chinese Islam, no-
unlike the academies its role is almost entirely secular. It is
tably in the popularity of personal names associated with the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
4635
family and followers of EAl¯ı, the cousin of the prophet
riod of study in Bukhara and Yemen. He established his spir-
Muh:ammad and the first Sh¯ıE¯ı ima¯m in the schism that fol-
itual headquarters in Hezhou, now known as Linxia. The
lowed the death of the Prophet. This influence is not surpris-
main feature of Jahr¯ıyah religious practice, which distin-
ing in view of the close connections between Islam in China
guishes this group from the Khuf¯ıya, is their use of the vocal
and the Persian-speaking world, and it has been suggested
dhikr. The dhikr is the S:u¯f¯ı remembrance of Alla¯h; it is per-
that the existence of women’s mosques in Chinese Islam is
formed in silence by the Khuf¯ıya. The Jahr¯ıyah vocalized the
due in large part to this hidden Sh¯ıE¯ı influence.
dhikr and added ritualized movements of the head and body,
as well as breathing techniques. The Jahr¯ıyah were more rad-
Chinese Sufism. The influence and persistence of Su-
ical and aimed at a purer form of Islam: many adherents
fism in China is far clearer. S:u¯f¯ı orders (menhuan) or broth-
adopted a simple and ascetic style of life, rejecting material
erhoods (they are mainly a male preserve) have proliferated,
goods and refusing to pay taxes to the government. This
especially in northwestern China; they are typically based
brought them into conflict with the Khuf¯ıya, who sought ac-
around the tomb of the founding shaykh of the order. This
commodation with the authorities. Ma Mingxin was execut-
applies to both the Chinese-speaking Hui areas and to Xinji-
ed in 1781, as were many of his relatives and thousands of
ang, although the Xinjiang S:u¯f¯ı orders operate independent-
his followers, many of them Turkic Salars. In spite of this
ly of the others. Historically there have been conflicts be-
and further repression after the rebellions in the late nine-
tween orthodox Gedimu Islam and the S:u¯f¯ı orders, but
teenth century, the Jahr¯ıyah flourished underground, main-
individuals and families frequently have ties to both tradi-
taining their faith by the secret practice of the vocal dhikr.
tions. The leadership of the Chinese S:u¯f¯ı orders is usually
Despite the original asceticism of the order, the leaders of the
hereditary, although it is common for a childless shaykh to
Jahr¯ıyah in the early twentieth century are reputed to have
nominate a successor, or for a son-in-law to be brought in
made a fortune from agriculture and commerce.
to the family to take on that role. The authority of the
shaykh, as in S:u¯f¯ı orders throughout the Islamic world, relies
One of the strongest outposts of Jahr¯ıyah Islam in
heavily on the tradition of succession, the silsilah, traced back
China in the twenty-first century is in Jingyuan county, a
as far as the prophet Muh:ammad.
poor mountainous area in the far south of the Ningxia Hui
The history and structure of the S:u¯f¯ı orders in China
Autonomous Region. Almost the entire population of Jingy-
is complex: they are fissiparous in the extreme and often re-
uan is classified as Hui Muslim (97.8 percent of a total popu-
flect family divisions among the S:u¯f¯ıs. Nevertheless, these
lation of 81,432 in 2000). The county government is proud
orders play an important political and social role in China’s
of this heritage and of the way that it has integrated the dif-
Muslim areas, and local government officials are conscious
ferent S:u¯f¯ı orders into the local power structure, with repre-
of the need to conciliate them and allow them representa-
sentation on the Jingyuan Islamic Association in proportion
tion, in proportion to their importance, in local united front
to the numbers of the different sects. The Gedimu are in the
bodies. The oldest S:u¯f¯ı orders in China made their appear-
majority, followed by the Jahr¯ıyah and the Yihewani. There
ance in the second half of the seventeenth century. They are
are also two Khuf¯ıya mosques. Most of the Jahr¯ıyah live in
the Qa¯dar¯ıyah, which had its origins in twelfth-century
mountain villages, where they maintain the tombs of their
Baghdad, and the Kubraw¯ıyah, which emerged in Central
founding shaykhs. Some of the men wear the distinctive six-
Asia during the thirteenth century.
sided white hat of their order, rather than the white skull cap
that is worn by most rural Hui men. In economic and social
Of all the different S:u¯f¯ı orders, the Naqshband¯ıyah,
terms the entire region is underdeveloped, even by the stan-
which is also important in Central Asia, is the most influen-
dards of northwest China. The Yihewani (Ikhwa¯n¯ı) sect has
tial in China. It is rarely referred to by that name among Chi-
also been influential in the northwest; the Yihewani has a role
nese-speaking Muslims, but the Khuf¯ıya and Jahr¯ıyah or-
similar to that of the S:u¯f¯ı orders, but often in opposition to
ders, which exert a powerful influence among the Hui in
them.
northwestern China, are subdivisions of the Naqshband¯ıyah.
The Khuf¯ıya have traditionally been more inclined to take
Members of these Islamic orders may also be involved
the side of the government and have produced a number of
in secular social and political organizations. For example, the
distinguished military leaders. They are also known as the
shaykh of a S:u¯f¯ı menhuan might also be the chairman of the
laojiao (literally, the “old teaching”). The Jahr¯ıyah, although
local Chinese People’s Consultative Committee, the united
also part of the Naqshband¯ıyah movement, were for many
front body established by the Chinese Communist Party to
years the main rivals of the Khuf¯ıya and became known as
ensure the cooperation of ethnic, religious, and other min-
the xinjiao (the “new teaching”) to distinguish them from
orities.
their competitors. These two terms are generally avoided be-
S:u¯f¯ı tombs. After the mosques, the most visible mani-
cause there has been considerable confusion by both Western
festations of Islam in China are the tombs of the S:u¯f¯ı shaykhs
and Chinese writers, who have taken the laojiao to be equiva-
(gongbei). Some of these are simple constructions; in others
lent to the mosque-based Islam of the Gedimu.
the tomb is the focus for a substantial collection of buildings
The Jahr¯ıyah trace their origins to the arrival in the
that may include a mosque, school, residential accommoda-
eighteenth century of Ma Mingxin in Gansu after a long pe-
tion for students, and guest accommodation for visiting wor-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4636
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
shipers. In Ningxia and Gansu, where the tomb cults are the
China’s nationality problem had been solved, and thus there
most highly developed, the tombs are frequently located in
was no longer any need for different policies for ethnic mi-
remote villages and on isolated hills, but distance is no object
norities. As a result, policies specific to minority cultures
to devotees of the orders based there. Thousands of members
were dropped, and China’s minority peoples were expected
of the S:u¯f¯ı orders to which the tomb complexes belong make
to adopt the majority Han culture. The concept of regional
pilgrimages on feast days such as the anniversary of the death
autonomy came to be seen as outdated, minority schools and
of the founding shaykh.
colleges were closed, the use of minority languages was re-
stricted or even banned, and many cadres of minority nation-
Muslims and the Chinese Communist Party. The ex-
ality were replaced by Hans.
tent to which religious observance has been possible among
China’s Muslims has varied considerably according to the
Most of China’s mosques were closed and many were
current policies of the central government in Beijing and the
badly damaged or even completely destroyed in the Red
way in which these policies were interpreted in the Muslim
Guard crusade to destroy all remnants of what they regarded
areas. When the Chinese Communist Party came to power
as an archaic and obsolete feudal culture. It is not clear to
in 1949 it had built up a degree of credibility among the Hui
what extent this was an interethnic conflict. There is some
Muslims after the creation of autonomous local governments
suggestion that Red Guards from a Hui background wanted
in Muslim areas during the Long March. The early 1950s
to be in the forefront of the attacks on mosques so as to dem-
was a period of conflict as mosques and S:u¯f¯ı orders attempt-
onstrate their ardent support of Mao Zedong. Although
ed to retain their landholdings in the face of a countrywide
many mosques were destroyed, some communities managed
land reform campaign that was designed to redistribute land
to protect their places of worship and are deeply proud of
to the poor. Some waqf¯ıyah land owned by mosques and
their achievements to this day. The study of Islam, along
S:u¯f¯ı orders was confiscated, but the authorities were at that
with study in most other fields, was paralyzed during the
stage still relatively tolerant of religious belief and did not
Cultural Revolution. It was only in the 1970s that articles
seek to suppress Islam in general, although they did move
relating to Islam began to appear again in publications con-
against some of the more radical S:u¯f¯ı menhuan, which were
cerning archaeology and international relations.
treated in a similar way to Daoist and Buddhist secret socie-
ties and were outlawed if they were deemed to pose a threat
Like other religions, Islam has been regulated by the
to the security of the new state.
Chinese state through the Religious Affairs Bureau, created
in 1954 by the State Council. The Religious Affairs Bureau
Conflict between Muslims and the Chinese Communist
established the Chinese Islamic Association, to which all offi-
Party increased significantly with the Great Leap Forward of
cially organized mosques belong. The Chinese Islamic Asso-
1958 and the program of collectivization that led to the cre-
ciation has been the main instrument of the Communist
ation of communes. Conflict between the government and
Party’s control over Muslims in China. Because of this, a
Muslims was further intensified during the Cultural Revolu-
number of independent or radical groups, notably the S:u¯f¯ı
tion, which began in 1966 and lasted for approximately a de-
orders, have declined to register with it. This has created a
cade. Collectivization, the anti-rightist campaign of 1957,
conflict between Muslim groups acceptable to the state and
and the Great Leap Forward marked a turn towards a more
those regarded as unpatriotic and dissident. The Chinese Is-
radical policy associated with Mao Zedong’s wish to speed
lamic Association was in abeyance during the Cultural Revo-
China’s transformation into a socialist society. The compo-
lution, like most state organizations, but was resurrected dur-
nent of this transformation that most affected religious orga-
ing the “reform and opening” period when Deng Xiaoping
nizations was religious system reform (zongjiao zhidu gaige),
came to power in 1978 to 1979.
which was implemented in 1958. Muslim communities, in-
cluding the Hui, lost more of their land and buildings; many
The Shadian incident. One of the most serious inci-
mosques were closed, and religious activities were restricted.
dents involving Hui Muslims during the Cultural Revolu-
Some Hui businesses, including h:ala¯l restaurants, restaurants
tion occurred in the Yunnan village of Shadian near the bor-
that provided meals produced according to the dietary laws
der with Burma. In 1967, Shadian, like much of China, was
of Islam, were also brought under state or collective owner-
divided between rival Cultural Revolution groups. The Red
ship under parallel programs to “socialize” industry and
Guards insisted on the mosques being closed and burned
commerce.
copies of the QurDa¯n and other religious texts. Others at-
tempted to preserve the constitutional rights of ethnic mi-
The aim of the Chinese government was to create a pan-
norities. The Red Guards claimed the support of the central
Chinese identity that would subsume minority ethnic and
Cultural Revolution group and were supplied with arms by
religious identities. As a result, Muslims kept a low profile.
the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). In July 1968, the Red
During the Cultural Revolution, mosques and tomb com-
Guards surrounded Shadian and fired on the mosque and
plexes were attacked in the Red Guards’ campaign against
houses. Several people were killed, but the Red Guards were
sijiu or the “four olds” (old customs, old habits, old culture,
kept out of the village. Shadian became a haven for the more
and old thinking). In fact, during the Cultural Revolution,
conservative elements in the region. In November 1968, the
the ultra-leftist leadership around Mao maintained that
Revolutionary Committee of Yunnan ordered a propaganda
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
4637
team into Shadian. The team chose to billet themselves in
have been allowed something of a renaissance, with the re-
the main mosque of the village, ate pork while they were
building of mosques demolished during the Cultural Revolu-
there, and threw the bones into the well that the faithful used
tion; the publication of Muslim books, journals, and news-
to wash before prayer. The propaganda team humiliated the
papers; and the realization that China had to convince the
Hui to prove their revolutionary fervor, and their activities
Muslim world, with which it wished to trade and establish
provoked a violent response from the Muslims of Shadian.
political alliances, that Islam could be practiced freely in
China. Since 1979, the five provinces and regions of north-
In October 1973, Ma Bohua, a secondary school teach-
west China with significant Muslim populations—Gansu,
er, led a movement to retake the mosque and open it for
Qinghai, Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Xinjiang—have organized
prayer. Ma Shaomei, a Muslim and the secretary of the local
five colloquia on Islamic issues, and others have been held
Communist Youth League, was arrested in May 1974. His
in Beijing and in the southeastern coastal areas. Studies on
fellow Muslims surrounded the office of the propaganda
Islamic culture in China and in the rest of the Islamic world
team and demanded that he be set free, but negotiations and
have experienced a resurgence, and hundreds of books have
appeals to the provincial government on freedom of religion
been published in the field.
grounds were not successful. In December 1974, the Hui
community in Shadian established a Hui militia with Ma
According to statistics published in official news and ac-
Bohua as commander and Ma Shaomei named formally as
ademic publications, since 1979 more than 20,000 mosques
political commissar. In May 1975, units of the PLA, which
have opened (or, more accurately, reopened, since they were
had stationed outside Shadian, attempted to enter the village,
forced to close during the Cultural Revolution). Hundreds
but they were barred by the villagers. On December 23, leaf-
of thousands of copies of the QurDa¯n and other Islamic clas-
lets produced by the Provincial Party Committee were
sics have been printed and distributed. In addition, the mag-
dropped by helicopter on Shadian, denouncing counter-
azine of the government-controlled Islamic Association of
revolutionaries and reactionary ima¯ms. The Hui responded
China, Zhongguo Musilin (Muslims in China), which was in-
by burning the leaflets in front of the building where the pro-
augurated in 1953, has renewed publishing in both Chinese
paganda team was staying. Negotiations for the Hui to sur-
and the Uighur language. It is estimated that some two thou-
render their weapons failed, and the Chinese authorities ac-
sand Chinese Muslims visit Mecca annually on state-
cused them of cooperating with the Soviet Union and of
supervised h:a¯jj. The official New China News Agency re-
wanting to establish an independent Islamic republic. These
ported the departure in 1988 of a group of forty-four “Chi-
accusations were later blamed on the Gang of Four: Mao Ze-
nese Muslims from Xinjiang,” who left on pilgrimage on
dong’s wife, Jiang Qing, and three of her political associates
June 10, with five hundred more who were due to leave for
from Shanghai. This group spearheaded the Cultural Revo-
Mecca via Pakistan “in the next few days.” According to sta-
lution during the 1970s and attempted to take control of the
tistics released by religious authorities in Xinjiang, 6,500
Chinese Communist Party while Mao was ill and dying.
people of different Muslim ethnic groups made the pilgrim-
age to Mecca from 1980 to 1987.
PLA troops entered Shadian during the early morning
hours of July 29, 1975, with artillery, flame-throwers, and
With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reemer-
incendiary bombs. At least nine hundred Hui were killed and
gence on the borders of China of independent Central Asian
six hundred injured during fighting that lasted eight days.
republics with Islamic histories and traditions, the role of
Hundreds more were killed in military action in the sur-
China’s Muslims, many of whom share common ethnic and
rounding villages. Between four hundred and seven hundred
linguistic ties with their Muslim neighbors, is likely to be-
PLA soldiers probably died. Shadian was effectively razed,
come more significant. However, at the beginning of the
and after the massacre the remaining population had to be
twenty-first century, the role of Islam in former Soviet Cen-
relocated, in an echo of the Qing government’s policies for
tral Asia hangs in the balance, with tensions between secular
dealing with uprisings. After the death of Mao and the arrest
nationalist and Islamic movements, as well as competition
of the Gang of Four, there was a “reversal of verdicts” on the
between Iran and Turkey for influence.
Shadian massacre. Those who had resisted the troops were
no longer to be regarded as counterrevolutionaries, given the
It is very difficult to arrive at a precise figure for the
special circumstances of the time, and their organization,
number of people who can properly be called Muslim in
H:izb Alla¯h (Party of God), was not to be considered an ille-
modern China. The term Muslim is used rather loosely to
gal secret society but a legitimate religious organization.
include both those who are active believers and those who
belong to communities that by tradition have been Muslim
Chinese Islam after Mao. For Muslims throughout
for centuries, irrespective of whether the majority of the
China, the situation changed radically after the end of the
members are believers or visit mosques regularly. The gov-
Cultural Revolution and the death of Mao Zedong in 1976.
ernment of the People’s Republic of China has never collect-
Since 1979 there has been a remarkable resurgence of Mus-
ed statistics on religious adherence; the only figures available
lim communities and Islamic religious activity. This is attri-
cover ethnic minority groups that are nominally and tradi-
buted by the government press to the influence of gaige kai-
tionally Muslim. Still, many Chinese who formerly consid-
fang, the reform policies of Deng Xiaoping. China’s Muslims
ered themselves to be loyal Communists and possibly even
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4638
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
atheists identify closely with the Islamic culture of their com-
River and surrounding rural areas have developed much
munities. Some Communist Party members are also believ-
more quickly than the mountainous areas of southern
ers, and some have become ahongs.
Ningxia. Southern Ningxia holds 59 percent of the area and
43 percent of the population of the autonomous region, but
The Chinese authorities recognize ten ethnic groups as
the gross value of industrial and agricultural output was only
Muslim: Hui, Uighur, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tajik, Tartar, Khal-
9.6 percent of the regional total in 1987.
khas, Dongxiang, Salar, and Baoan. The total number of
Muslims within the borders of China at the beginning of the
The importance attached to the promotion of a Muslim
twenty-first century has been officially estimated at about
region can be seen in Ningxia’s thirtieth-anniversary celebra-
fourteen million, but many scholars consider this to be an
tions on October 25, 1988. The People’s Bank of China an-
underestimate. There are villages and other communities pe-
nounced the issue of a commemorative one yuan coin that
titioning to be recognized as Hui or as another ethnic group.
depicts the Great Mosque in Yinchuan on one side and two
Estimates of China’s Muslim population before World War
young Hui women on the other. Celebratory speeches inevi-
II often gave a round figure of fifty million, giving rise to sus-
tably praised “nationality solidarity” and unity, claimed that
picions of genocide. The problem with this figure is that
disputes between the Hui and Han nationalities had “all but
there was no reliable census in China before 1953, and the
vanished,” and maintained that Hui officials occupied most
statistical source of the fifty million figure is far from clear.
of the senior posts in the autonomous region and its cities.
China’s 1990 census suggests a Muslim population of over
However, at a meeting with cadres in Yinchuan on Septem-
seventeen million, and a round figure for the 1990s of twenty
ber 27, 1988, senior Communist Party figure Wang Zhen,
million Muslims in China would be a reasonable working es-
former commander of Chinese military units in Xinjiang,
timate.
called for measures to increase the number of cadres from
minority nationalities. It was revealed that although Hui
The Hui of Ningxia. The Ningxia Hui Autonomous
people accounted for 32.5 percent of the total population of
Region is the province with the highest Hui population and
the region, they constituted only 14.5 percent of the cadres,
the largest concentrated Hui residential area. At the end of
even though most of the leading posts at all levels were occu-
1985, the Hui population in the autonomous region was
pied by cadres of Hui origin.
1,337,561, which was 32.3 percent of the total population
of the province and 18 percent of the total Hui population
Religious observance. Religious observance in Ningxia
of China. Although the Hui are distributed throughout the
was stifled during the Cultural Revolution. Many mosques
region, there are two areas of concentration: one in the
were completely destroyed and others lost much of their
southern mountainous area, which includes Tongxin, Haiy-
land. For Muslims in China, the most important feature of
uan, and Xiji counties, as well as the Hui county of Jingyuan,
the reform program associated with Deng Xiaoping has been
where the Hui constitute 96.9 percent of the total popula-
the possibility of rebuilding or reopening mosques. There are
tion; the other in Wuzhong and Lingfu counties in the
no accurate figures for these losses, but some examples will
Yinchuan area in the north of the region, where the Hui pop-
illustrate the point.
ulations are respectively 55.2 and 48 percent of the total pop-
The Nanguan (South Bar) Mosque is the largest in
ulation.
Yinchuan. In the courtyard is a shop where the QurDa¯n and
Ningxia is on the upper and middle reaches of the Yel-
other devotional materials are on sale, with a display of pho-
low River and is approximately 66,000 square kilometers in
tographs depicting the destruction of the mosque in the mid-
area. It has water and mineral resources, including gypsum
1960s, the makeshift prayer hall made up of mats and tables
and coal. Irrigation and canals on the Yinchuan plain date
that the congregation used thereafter, and the reconstruction
back to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) and were further de-
of the mosque in a Middle Eastern style in the mid 1980s.
veloped during Han, Tang, and Xixia rule. The Ningxia
By 1991 the mosque was fully active with a madrasah enroll-
plain is known locally as “the Jiangnan on the Wall.” Jiang-
ing about a dozen boys. Also in Yinchuan, the Xiguan (West
nan means “south of the Yangzi” and is the highly productive
Bar) Mosque, which is said to date to the 1880s, was rebuilt
region south of the Yangzi River. Agriculture in the region
in 1981 in a Middle Eastern style. The Wuzhong Mosque
includes wheat, paddy rice, hemp, oil-bearing crops, and
in Wuzhong, a busy market town south of Yinchuan, was
melons and other fruit. People living in the Ningxia grass-
built in 1778 and extended twice during the late nineteenth
lands produce fur and skins, including Tibetan lambskins.
century. After severe damage during the Cultural Revolu-
Sheep are particularly important in the foothills of the Helan
tion, it was reconstructed in 1979, with further repairs car-
mountain range, and tree planting has been both an end in
ried out in 1987, although the present mosque occupies far
itself and a barrier to the drift of the desert.
less land than the original. The Najiahu Mosque in Najiahu
village near Wuzhong was also badly damaged during the
To the Han officials who control the region, Ningxia
Cultural Revolution, but the prayer hall, with its mixture of
is relatively unproductive and backward in commerce, edu-
Chinese and Islamic architecture, remained untouched.
cation, culture, science, and technology. They complain of
fast population growth and ignorance of the concept of a
The Great Mosque in Tongxin, a predominantly Hui
commodity economy. The cities on the bend of the Yellow
town in central Ningxia, functioned as a Buddhist temple
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
4639
during the Mongol conquest and it has the appearance of a
deaths and five serious injuries. Generally the local govern-
temple. It was rededicated as a mosque when it was taken
ment does not intervene in religious disputes, which are re-
over by local Muslims after the expulsion of the Mongols in
solved through the mediation of religious organizations, al-
the late fourteenth century and the congregation now follows
though major cases that undermine production and cause
the Yihewani sect. The Great Mosque in Tongxin escaped
casualties are dealt with according to the law.
damage during the Cultural Revolution, and the congrega-
Local experts maintain that there are no essential differ-
tion is proud of its role in defending the mosque. As of 2001,
ences among the factions, except in the conduct of religious
the congregation was flourishing; according to the ahong,
rituals. For example, one faction performs elaborate religious
several dozen Muslims came to the mosque daily, with hun-
ceremonies, while another may simplify them. Although the
dreds on Fridays.
differences are minor, conflicts among the factions can be
Islamic literature is available in Muslim centers in
fierce, sometimes culminating in armed fights, mostly for
China, but with certain serious restrictions. The magazine
economic benefits or to win people over from other factions.
Zhongguo Musilin is published nationally and the QurDa¯n is
In fact, these “minor” differences have been the most impor-
available in both Chinese and Arabic. Commentaries and
tant source of conflict between Chinese S:u¯f¯ı orders for cen-
other classic devotional literature, such as the writings of the
turies.
Ming dynasty Muslim scholar Wang Daiyu, are published
Muslim communities and the economic reform pro-
openly and are sold in state bookshops in Ningxia and
gram. Mosques in Ningxia benefited from China’s move to-
Gansu, as well as in Beijing. Religious publications are also
wards a market orientated economy by developing business
available in Urumqi bookshops. Few Islamic publications are
interests that helped to finance their religious activities. For
available in bookshops in Kashgar, but religious works in Ar-
example, in August 1986, the Nanguan Mosque in Yinch-
abic and Chinese can be bought from street stalls in the
uan, which is the longest established and largest mosque in
Kashgar bazaar. In Linxia, the main Hui area of southwestern
the region, set up a Muslim services company. It manages
Gansu and Guanghe, new and secondhand books on reli-
an Islamic hotel with sixty to seventy beds, a canteen, gro-
gious topics and Arabic-language courses are on sale from
cery, shop, and clinic. By 1988, the mosque had made a prof-
barrows or stalls on the main streets. There is also a wide-
it of over 100,000 yuan. The regional government gives pref-
spread network of underground or unofficial Islamic pub-
erential treatment to mosques involved in business,
lishing, with ahongs publishing and distributing their own
including tax exemption for the first three to five years. The
books, but these are difficult for outsiders to obtain.
Nanguan Mosque employed thirty-six local people in the
Chinese officials treat the Muslim sects as if they were
mid-1980s, and the poor, the young, and the elderly received
political factions. There are considered to be six Muslim fac-
free medical treatment in the clinic. Plans for developing the
tions in Ningxia: the Gedimu, Yihewani, Hufuye, Zhe-
business interests of the mosque included the creation of
helinye, Gadelinye, and Sailaifeiye. In the view of Chinese
an Islamic bazaar in Yinchuan, supported by foreign in-
Communist Party officials, the Ningxia Hui belong to six
vestment.
factions, all Sunn¯ı, the largest faction having 33,000 mem-
In 1989, Hui Muslims in Qinghai opened their own Is-
bers and the smallest 1,000. Government policy is to treat
lamic bank, the Muslim savings deposit center run by the
factions equally, with each faction having its own representa-
Xining City Bank of Industry and Commerce. The bank
tives in people’s congresses and the local committees of the
took 150,000 renminbi in deposits in its first month. Some
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an orga-
Muslims were wary of the new bank, but the provincial party
nization designed to integrate non-Communists into the
secretary, Yin Kesheng, attempted to reassure them by saying
Chinese polity.
“We must run the Muslim savings center as a place with gen-
In a report on Islam in Ningxia, published in 1989, the
uine minority nationality and Muslim characteristics. Mus-
New China News Agency claimed that fights between the
lim money should be used for Muslim affairs. . . More
factions had become rare, but disclosed that there had been
bonus savings schemes should be organized in view of the
a clash between two groups in 1984 over the building of a
needs of religious believers.” The Hui people have a tradition
mosque in Xiji county. More than one thousand people par-
of involvement in trade and finance and are likely to prosper
ticipated in the conflict; two people were killed and over a
in the more open financial environment created by the re-
hundred injured. Other sources suggest that the conflict may
form program.
have been more serious, and not an exceptional occurrence.
ISLAM IN XINJIANG. Although Xinjiang (or Eastern Turke-
According to an article in the latest issue of Liaowang (Out-
stan, to use the name preferred by many of its inhabitants)
look), conflicts between Muslims in Ningxia are common,
has been under formal direct Chinese control as a province
and some have led to violence. Since 1978, two factions of
of the empire since 1884, and since 1955 as an autonomous
the Zheherenye group (the name is derived from the Arabic
region of the People’s Republic of China, the culture, soci-
word Jahr¯ıyah) in Xiji county have clashed on numerous oc-
ety, and politics of the region and the role of Islam differ so
casions, with several hundred and sometimes thousands of
much from that of the rest of China that it is necessary to
people participating. These clashes have led to at least three
consider it separately.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4640
ISLAM: ISLAM IN CHINA
The main population of Xinjiang is not Chinese but Ui-
tant part of the fabric of the regional society. Although
ghur. The Uighurs are Central Asian Muslims whose Turkic
mosques often maintain a low profile, they remain the center
language is closely related (some say almost identical) to
of the community, especially in the more remote rural areas.
Uzbek; it is also related, but less closely, to the other Central
In addition to their obvious role in worship, funerals, and
Asian languages of Kazakh and Kyrgyz. Although the Ui-
so on, the mosques are the natural focus for community ac-
ghurs have had close contact with the Han for centuries, they
tivities, welfare organizations, and, at times, popular protest
have struggled to maintain their distinctive Islamic society
against what are seen as government policies inimical to
and social structure, especially in the south of Xinjiang. In
Islam.
addition to the Uighurs, Xinjiang is home to communities
The resistance to Beijing that has manifested itself in
of Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and Mongols, as well as some Russian
popular insurrections—notably in 1997 in Yining and in
families whose ancestors have been in the region for centu-
bomb attacks in Urumqi, Kashgar, and Beijing—has become
ries. There are also Chinese-speaking Hui Muslims living in
more overtly Islamist in nature. Slogans at demonstrations
Xinjiang. However, by far the largest non-Uighur group are
are frequently Islamic, as well as nationalist, and the existence
the Han Chinese. While a minority of the Han have roots
of clandestine Islamist organizations with names such as
in Xinjiang as far back as the nineteenth or even eighteenth
Zhenzhudong (Party of Alla¯h) has been reported.
centuries, the vast majority are more recent immigrants. Xin-
jiang’s Han population includes demobilized soldiers from
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the Communist forces that took control of Xinjiang in 1949,
Bai Shouyi. Zhongguo Yisilanjiao shi cungao (Collected papers on
and members of the quasi-military Xinjiang Production and
Chinese Islam). Yinchuan, China, 1982.
Construction Corps, a powerful body that combines border
Broomhall, Marshall. Islam in China: A Neglected Problem. Lon-
defense functions, farming, and land reclamation, and em-
don, 1910; reprint, 1987.
ploys many former PLA soldiers, prisoners released from the
Chen Dasheng, ed. Quanzhou Yisilanjiao shike (Islamic inscrip-
network of labor camps that stretches throughout Xinjiang,
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young people from the towns and cities sent down to the
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This Han population almost outnumbers the Uighurs,
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making them feel that they are a colonized nation and that
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their culture is under serious threat. Resistance to control
from Beijing dates back to an insurrection led by Yakub Beg
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(1820–1877), the independent governments that controlled
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Feng Jinyuan. Zhongguo de Yisilanjiao (China’s Islam). Yinchuan,
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ly motivated by pan-Turkism and Uighur nationalism
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Leslie, Donald Daniel. Islam in Traditional China: A Short History
component to the resistance, and there is strong evidence to
to 1800. Canberra, Australia, 1986.
suggest that S:u¯f¯ı organizations, often operating through un-
Lipman, Jonathan N. Familiar Strangers: A History of Muslims in
licensed madrasahs and unofficial mosques, are the organiza-
Northwest China. Seattle, 1997.
tional backbone to the resistance. The Chinese government
Ma Tong. Zhonguo yisilan jiaopai yu menhuan zhidu shilue (Brief
and its Xinjiang arm enacted legislation to control such un-
history of sects and the S:u¯f¯ı pathway system in China’s
registered organs, and also issued instructions to police and
Islam). Yinchuan, China, 1983/1999.
customs officials to seize what were said to be large quantities
Ma Tong. Zhongguo xibei yisilanjiao jiben tezheng (Basic character-
of religious material being imported into Xinjiang. This in-
istic of Islam in northwest China). Yinchuan, China, 2000.
cluded copies of the QurDa¯n, exegetical literature, and ser-
Mian Weilin. Ningxia Yisilan jiaopai gaiyao (Muslim sects in
mons by radical clerics both in text form and on tape. Much
Ningxia). Yinchuan, China, 1991.
of this was imported from Pakistan, and Pakistani traders
Wang, Jianping. Glossary of Chinese Islamic Terms. Richmond,
were openly selling this material in small shops in Kashgar
U.K., 2001.
in the 1990s.
Wu Jianwei, ed. Zhongguo Qingzhen zonglan (Survey of mosques
Although Islam has been more thoroughly repressed in
in China). Yinchuan, China, 1995.
Xinjiang than in other parts of China, it remains an impor-
MICHAEL DILLON (2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
4641
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
THE EMERGENCE OF MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN SOUTH ASIA
One in three Muslims today is of South Asian origin. With
AND THE PROBLEM OF “CONVERSION.” The earliest Muslim
a Muslim population of over 300 million, South Asia (India,
presence in the subcontinent can be traced to immigrants
Pakistan, Bangladesh) is home to the largest concentration
who came to earn a living, to conquer, to teach religion, and
of Muslims in the world. The significance of the region’s vast
to seek refuge. According to tradition, the first Muslim im-
and diverse Muslim communities extends far beyond the
migrants were Arab traders who, as early as the eighth centu-
present-day political boundaries of South Asia. Over the cen-
ry, settled in many of the seaports along the western and
turies, Muslims from the region have also emigrated, mostly
southern coasts of India. Later, the descendants of these mer-
for economic reasons, to other parts of the world such as
chant communities moved to major cities inland as well as
Southeast Asia, East and South Africa, the Gulf states, Fiji,
farther south to Sri Lanka. In 711 a small Arab expedition,
and the Caribbean. In more recent decades, Muslims of
under the command of the seventeen-year-old general
South Asian origin have come to constitute a substantial pro-
Muh:ammad ibn Qa¯sim, was sent to the Arabian Sea to sub-
portion of immigrant populations in Europe, the United
jugate pirates who had been pillaging Arab trading ships. The
Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
expedition conquered parts of Sind (southern Pakistan) and,
Notwithstanding their impressive numerical strength,
with the assistance of local allies, founded a state that sur-
South Asia’s Muslims are a minority when considered within
vived for nearly three centuries. These early Arab mercantile
the context of the subcontinent’s total population. Aware-
and political connections laid the basis for the strong affinity
ness of this minority status has been an influential factor af-
of later Muslim communities in southern and southwestern
fecting their history, particularly in contemporary times. In
India with the Arab world and Arabian culture. In contrast,
the early decades of the twentieth century, the rise of nation-
in other regions of the subcontinent, especially the north and
alist movements to free India from British colonial rule was
northwest, the first contacts with Muslims were through var-
marked by a growing anxiety among some Muslim intellec-
ious Central Asian tribes and clans, mostly consisting of
tuals and leaders about the status of Muslim minorities in
Turks who had been culturally “Persianized.” As a result of
an independent postcolonial India ruled by a Hindu majori-
political turmoil in Central Asia and Afghanistan in the tenth
ty. Many feared that Muslims would not be able to practice
century, groups of Turks and Afghans crossed the Himalayas
their faith and nurture their cultural traditions freely in a na-
and entered India from the northwest. Initially, these groups
tion governed by a non-Muslim majority. As prominent
seem to have been interested in acquiring booty rather than
Hindu and Muslim leaders began to conceptualize their re-
settling in the region. Over the next several centuries, howev-
spective communities as constituting two separate nations,
er, they established kingdoms in North India, Bengal, the
demands increased for the partition of the subcontinent and
Deccan, and western India. The most famous of these Cen-
the creation of two states, India and Pakistan. The birth of
tral Asian dynasties were the Mughals, founded in 1526 by
Pakistan in 1947, an independent nation-state in which
the Emperor Ba¯bur. With the strong support of local Hindu
Muslims would form a majority, marked the first time in
allies such as the Rajputs, the Mughals were eventually able
modern history that a nation-state was founded to protect
to consolidate control over a vast portion of India, creating
a religious community.
an empire under whose auspices there was a veritable renais-
Indo-Muslim civilization, contrary to the discourse of
sance in Indo-Muslim literature, art, and architecture.
some contemporary politicians and religious leaders, has not
The establishment of sultanates and empires led to an
been exclusively Muslim; adherents of other faiths as well
influx of a variety of classes of individuals. Some sought ad-
have played an important role in its formation and have been
ministrative positions in the newly established states, while
deeply affected by it. In premodern India, for instance, Hin-
others looked for appointments to legal positions such that
dus were well represented in the imperial bureaucracy of
of qa¯d:¯ı (“judge”). Poets and artists also flocked to the sub-
Muslim rulers, holding coveted positions at courts such as
continent from Central Asia and Iran in search of royal pa-
chief secretary, chief minister, treasurer, and commander of
tronage, especially after they experienced difficulties in secur-
the royal armies. Muslim royal patronage of Hindu poets,
ing patronage in their homelands. Religious scholars
writers, musicians, and artists was also quite common. At
( Eulama¯D) and preachers, both Sunn¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı, as well as
present, Hindus and Sikhs in some parts of India still visit
S:u¯f¯ı shaykhs and their disciples, were also attracted to the
the shrines of Muslim holy men in the hope of receiving spir-
new land.
itual blessing. During worship, they may sing devotional
songs composed by Muslim mystics. In a more secular con-
While immigrant Muslims and their descendants played
text, they attend poetry recitals where audiences enjoy listen-
a significant role in the development of the Islamic tradition
ing to the ghazal, a form of Arabo-Persian mystical poetry
in the region, historically they constituted only a small frac-
that enjoys widespread popularity all over the subcontinent.
tion of the entire Muslim population. The vast majority of
The participation of non-Muslims in many aspects of Mus-
Muslims in South Asia are clearly of indigenous origin, al-
lim culture demonstrates that in South Asia peoples of differ-
though some, for reasons of social prestige, may still claim
ent religious affiliations could and did come together in pro-
Arab or Persian descent. Unfortunately, the processes by
found ways.
which they became Muslim are not well understood. Colo-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4642
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
nial, religious, nationalist, and communitarian agendas have
that, in many regions of South Asia, Islamic beliefs were
so influenced perspectives on this subject that, as British his-
often expressed in ways that did not totally reject the concep-
torian Peter Hardy comments, “to attempt to penetrate the
tual and social framework of indigenous cultures. Intrinsic
field of the study of the growth of Muslim populations in
to this approach was the acceptance of both indigenous be-
South Asia is to attempt to penetrate a political minefield”
liefs and newer Islamic ones in an integrated manner. If an
(Hardy, 1979, p. 70). Traditionally, various theories have
individual retained previous beliefs and practices and saw
been advanced: that people converted under duress at the
continuities between the old and the new, could this process
point of the sword, or to acquire political and economic pa-
be called “conversion,” a term that usually implies complete
tronage, or to escape the evils of the Indian caste system. Var-
abandonment of the old in favor of the new? Given that the
ious S:u¯f¯ıs have also been regarded as “missionaries” who
religious identity of a community is fluid, is it more appro-
were responsible for the peaceful spread of Islam through
priate to view the process as one of acculturation, rather than
their charismatic personalities, the miracles they performed,
conversion, involving not a sudden act but rather a slow and
and the religious folk songs and poems they composed.
gradual process, perhaps over several generations, during
which adherents respond to changing contexts? Obviously,
Recent scholarship has raised important questions on
these and many other unanswered questions concerning the
the issue of conversion to Islam. All the theories mentioned
evolution of Muslim communities in South Asia will require
above have been criticized for either being flawed or being
a great deal more research before we have satisfactory expla-
inadequately supported by convincing historical or sociologi-
nations. In view of the historical, social, and cultural com-
cal evidence. In addition, scholars have disagreed about the
plexities involved, what is clear is that a mono-dimensional
processes involved. For instance, Carl Ernst in Eternal Gar-
approach that limits explanations to a single factor is far too
den: Mysticism, History, and Politics at a South Asian Sufi Cen-
simplistic to explain why so many South Asians today identi-
ter (1992) questions the idea that S:u¯f¯ı folk poetry was explic-
fy themselves as Muslim.
itly composed to convert people to Islam, observing that
DIVERSITY OF TRADITIONS. Much contemporary political,
some of these compositions are so heavily laden with Islamic
religious, and academic discourse on the Islamic tradition in
material that “it is difficult to imagine them as devices to im-
South Asia is dominated by the conception that Muslims of
part knowledge of Islam to non-Muslims” (pp. 166–168).
South Asia form a single homogeneous Muslim community.
He argues that the verses could only have been directed at
Typically in such discourses, the political fortunes of the
an audience already familiar with the Islamic tradition. On
great Turko-Persian Muslim dynasties, such as the Mughals,
the other hand, Richard Eaton, in Sufis of Bijapur, 1300–
and the experiences of North Indian Persian- and Urdu-
1700 (1978), contends that the authors of Dakkani folk
speaking Muslim elite communities, have come to be the
songs, whose lyrics contained Islamic teachings, primarily
only lenses through which Muslim experiences throughout
desired to secure for themselves the role of mediators or in-
the subcontinent are perceived. Historically, the concept of
termediaries between God and the people (Muslim and non-
a single undifferentiated Muslim community is a relatively
Muslim) who recited these songs. If, he writes, in the process
recent development and its emergence is clearly a result of
of singing these songs local populations became familiar with
the religiously based idiom of British colonial rule, the
or acculturated to popular forms of Islamic practice, the phe-
growth of religious nationalism, and the politics of electoral
nomenon should not be construed as “conversion” in the
representation. Thus, the demand for the creation of Paki-
sense of a “self-conscious turning around in religious convic-
stan and its underlying premise of Muslims comprising a sin-
tion and belief.” Nor should the authors be considered mis-
gle unified nation should not mislead us into thinking that
sionaries or “self-conscious propagators,” even though this is
common religion (Islam) has always been a strong unifying
the general context in which S:u¯f¯ıs tend to be viewed
bond among diverse Muslim groups in South Asia.
(pp. 172–173).
Historically, socioeconomic status, class, caste, ethnici-
Complicating the discussion of why and how so many
ty, and sectarian affiliation have been far more significant
South Asians became Muslim is the inadequacy of the term
identity-markers among South Asian communities, Muslim
conversion itself. In his book The Rise of Islam and the Bengal
and non-Muslim alike, than religious affiliation. Indeed
Frontier, 1204–1760 (1993), Richard Eaton correctly points
Muslims in South Asia are characterized by a rich diversity
out that the notion of conversion, with its presumption of
that mirrors the diversity of the subcontinent itself. This di-
conscious intentionality and individual choice regarding reli-
versity stems, on the one hand, from the different ethnic and
gious belief, is derived from a Protestant missionary model,
linguistic groups to which they belong. It is a cultural diversi-
and has been projected unconsciously on the historical con-
ty that is reflected, for example, in the many Indic languages
text of premodern South Asia. As he convincingly demon-
and literary genres used in Muslim devotional literatures, in
strates, the diffusion of Islamic ideas in premodern Bengal
musical genres such as the qawwa¯l¯ı that are rooted in North
took place at a mass level and was as much associated with
Indian musical traditions, and in the mosques that incorpo-
the clearing of forests and the spread of agrarian civilization
rate local traditions of design. Diversity may also be theologi-
as with changes in doctrine and practice. The inadequacy of
cal, stemming from the many ways Muslims understand and
the term “conversion” is further apparent when we observe
interpret their faith. Even within overarching categories,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
4643
such as Sunn¯ı, Sh¯ıEah, or S:u¯f¯ı, there exist several subgroups
ing Persian as the official language of administration, as well
and divisions with significant differences. A Sunn¯ı may be
as of literary culture, they lived mostly in or near an axis
Deobandi or a Brelvi; a Sh¯ıEah may be Ithna¯Eashar¯ı
stretching from Lahore to Delhi to the Deccan, an axis that
(Twelver) or Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı, either Niza¯r¯ı or MustaEl¯ı (Bohra); a
Richard Eaton has aptly termed South Asia’s “central Perso-
S:u¯f¯ı may belong to one of the major orders such as the
Islamic axis.” They also participated in an extensive transna-
Chisht¯ıyah or Naqshband¯ıyah, or not belong to an order at
tional and cosmopolitan nexus of Turko-Persianate culture
all. In this way, the Islamic tradition in South Asia is com-
that, at least until the eighteenth century, connected them
prised of multiple communities of interpretation. Each com-
with the elites of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, and even
munity has its particular way of conceiving Islam. Each is
the Ottoman Empire. Beyond the Perso-Islamic axis, we
shaped by its specific sociopolitical and cultural context in
find, along the western and southwestern coasts of India, a
the way it understands universally held Islamic beliefs, such
more Arab-centered tradition with closer historical and cul-
as the belief that the QurDa¯n is the embodiment of divine rev-
tural links to Arabia. Among Muslims communities, such as
elation or that the Prophet Muh:ammad is God’s final mes-
the Ma¯ppil:l:as of Kerala, the category of ashra¯f included say-
senger.
yids, those who claimed descent from the Prophet
The plurality of traditions that characterizes Islam in
Muh:ammad, as well as populations of Arab origin whose an-
South Asia can best be explored within a framework that
cestors had come to the regions as traders and merchants at
takes into account the role of both cultural and doctrinal/
least as early as the eighth century, making them some of the
theological elements in creating competing definitions of
first Muslim immigrants to South Asia.
what is considered “Islamic” and “non-Islamic.” Historically,
Conscious of their privileged status, as well as their eth-
the relationship between culture and religious doctrine
nic and cultural difference from the subcontinent’s indige-
among Muslim communities has been such that in many
nous populations, the ashra¯f were anxious to prevent their
cases, as we shall see below, cultural and religious identities
religious and cultural identity from being absorbed and over-
are conflated. Frequently, socioeconomic factors such as class
whelmed by an environment they considered to be alien and
and caste have played a significant role in this interaction.
antithetical to their values. In their desire to maintain the pu-
DEFINING ISLAM: THE ROLE OF CULTURE. Several studies
rity of their identity, they disparaged and rejected all Indian
of the Islamic tradition in South Asia have remarked on a
cultural manifestations—from Indian languages, which they
dichotomy within the tradition between two contradictory
considered unworthy of recording any Islamic literature, to
facets. Frequently at odds which each other, the two facets
indigenous Indian Muslims, whom they contemptuously
or strands represent radically different perspectives on what
called the ajla¯f (“mean, ignoble wretches”). Al-Baran¯ı (d. c.
it means to be a Muslim in the South Asian environment.
1360), a medieval historian, refers, in his chronicle Fata¯wa¯
One facet looks to what are perceived to be universal norms
Jaha¯nda¯r¯ı, to local converts as “pigs, boars, and dogs” who
observed in the worldwide Muslim community, particularly
ought not to be given too much education lest “it bring
those represented by Arabo-Persian culture, for guidance and
honor to their mean souls.” Even today, it is hardly surpris-
inspiration. The other facet seeks to acculturate and root the
ing that many South Asian families continue to assert their
practice of Islam within the many local cultures of the sub-
superior social status by proudly claiming a Central Asian,
continent. The dynamic interaction between these two fac-
Iranian, or Arab ancestry and refusing to marry Muslims
ets, manifest in the thoughts and attitudes of Muslim think-
with indigenous family roots, even though the ashra¯f have
ers, statesmen, poets, and artists through the centuries,
lost effective political power.
provides a useful lens through which to view the complex in-
To preserve and protect their religio-cultural identity
teraction between culture and religion in the determining of
from encroachment by “idolatrous” Indian customs and be-
identity.
liefs, the ashra¯f cultivated a strong extraterritorial ethos, one
The first facet, under the influence of a strictly legalistic
that appealed to the Islamic heartlands as a source of cultural
interpretation of Islam based on the classic traditions of
and religious norms and mores. We can discern this extrater-
shar¯ı Eah and religious jurisprudence, appealed to Arabian
ritorial ethos in the works of many of the subcontinent’s in-
and Persian traditions to determine the religious and cultural
fluential Muslim thinkers, scholars, and theologians. Thus,
norms and mores for Muslim communities in South Asia.
the fourteenth-century Suhrawardi S:u¯f¯ı Makhdu¯m-i
On account of its extraterritorial ethos and legalistic outlook,
Jaha¯niya¯n Jaha¯ngasht (d. 1385) insisted that his followers use
Annemarie Schimmel, the renowned scholar of South Asian
Arabic terms such as Alla¯h to refer to God, rather than Indic
Islam, has characterized this facet as being “Mecca-oriented”
vernacular terms (such as niran˙jan, “the one without attri-
or “prophetic.” Historically, this facet was associated mostly
butes”). Similar sentiments were echoed several centuries
with the ruling and intellectual elite, often referred to as the
later by Sha¯h Wal¯ı Alla¯h (1703–1762), one of the great re-
ashra¯f (“nobility”). In northern India, the ashra¯f were Per-
formers of South Asian Islam, who writes in his treatise Taf-
sianized Turks and Iranians who had come to South Asia
himat al-ila¯hiyya: “We are an Arab people whose fathers have
from Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran as soldiers, rulers,
fallen into exile in the country of Hindustan; Arab genealogy
traders, religious scholars, artists, poets, and refugees. Favor-
and the Arabic language are our pride” (vol. 2, p. 246). He
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
further demanded that the Muslims of India substitute the
“local” contexts. The validity of approaching vernacular
customs of the Arabs for the foreign customs they had adopt-
Muslim poetry through the lens of “translation theory,” as
ed. These foreign customs, he felt, were not compatible with
articulated by Tony Stewart (2001), is confirmed by the fact
their Islamic identity. The twentieth-century poet-
that communities who recite and sing vernacular religious
philosopher Muh:ammad Iqba¯l (1877–1938) also reflects
poems frequently regard them as texts that encapsulate the
this ethos in his Urdu work, Bang-i dara, in which he sees
teachings of the Arabic QurDa¯n. For instance, Sindhi-
himself as a bell around the neck of the lead camel in the car-
speaking Muslims in southern Pakistan consider Sha¯h
avan of the Prophet Muh:ammad, calling the Muslim com-
EAbdul Lat:¯ıf’s poetic masterpiece in the Sindhi language, the
munity of India to return to its true homeland in Mecca. The
Risa¯lo, to be a revered book that contains within it the es-
conflation of an Islamic identity with Arabo-Persian culture
sence of the spiritual teachings of the QurDa¯n. Through his
is also apparent in the emergence of such linguistic forms as
exegetical remarks on dramatic moments and events in pop-
Arwi, a form of Tamil that is heavily influenced by Arabic.
ular Sindhi folk romances, Sha¯h EAbdul Lat:¯ıf is perceived to
be conveying in the Sindhi vernacular QurDa¯nic ideas on the
Intensely at odds with this extraterritorial Arabo-Persian
spiritual significance of the human situation. In the Punjab,
facet is an assimilative and adaptationist aspect that may be
poems attributed to Punjabi S:u¯f¯ı poets such as Bullhe Sha¯h
described as being local, or South Asia–focused, as well as
(d. 1754) and Va¯ris: Sha¯h are also commonly regarded as
more mystically oriented. Representatives of this strand gen-
spiritual commentaries on QurDa¯nic verses, particularly those
erally espoused an esoteric or mystical vision of Islam in
associated with Sufism or Islamic mysticism. Similarly, the
which external manifestations of culture, such as language,
gina¯ns of the Khoja Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communities of western India
were not seen as fundamental to being Muslim. Consequent-
and Pakistan, composed in various vernacular languages such
ly, they not only were more open to, and tolerant of, the
as Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, and Sindhi and embodying the
South Asian cultural milieu, they also actively fostered inter-
teaching of Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı preacher-saints, have also been regarded
pretations of Islam that could be more readily understood
as secondary texts embodying the inner signification of the
within the contexts of indigenous religion and culture.
QurDa¯n.
The shaykhs of the Chisht¯ı S:u¯f¯ı order, for instance, ac-
Of the two facets, “the prophetic and Mecca-oriented”
tively promoted the creation of devotional poetry on Islamic
and “the mystical and South Asia–centered,” it is the latter,
mystical themes in local languages. In its ethos, expressions,
by advocating that there was no contradiction between being
and similes, this poetry is strikingly similar to Hindu bhakti
a Muslim and fully embracing indigenous cultures, that has
(devotional) poetry. Beyond developing a common poetical
always stressed the common cultural links that South Asian
language, some S:u¯f¯ıs also adapted the Indian disciplines of
Muslims share with their non-Muslim compatriots. With
Yoga and meditation to practices inherited from the classical
their contradictory attitudes toward the South Asian milieu
Arabo-Persian S:u¯f¯ı tradition. In an identical spirit, the au-
and differing definitions of what constitutes an Islamic iden-
thors of the extensive pu¯th¯ı religious literature from medieval
tity in a predominantly non-Muslim environment, it was in-
Bengal attempted to incorporate various figures of Hindu
evitable that representatives of the two strands would come
mythology, particularly Kr:s:n:a (Krishna), an avata¯ra of the
into conflict with one another. Indeed, one approach to in-
Hindu deity Vis:n:u (Vishnu), into the historical line of
terpreting the history of Islam in South Asia is through an
prophets that ends with the Prophet Muh:ammad. In Tamil
analysis of the constant interplay and interaction of these two
Nadu, Muslim authors such as Umaru Pulavar (d. 1703),
facets.
used the genre of the pura¯na, conventionally employed to re-
S
count the deeds of various Hindu deities, to narrate in poetic
UNN¯I ISLAM. The vast majority of Muslims in South Asia
form the biography of the Prophet Muh:ammad, using tradi-
are Sunn¯ı, relying on Sunn¯ı Eulama¯D, or religious scholars,
tional Tamil literary conventions and customs to create a dis-
for guidance on matters of faith. Generally speaking, the
tinctively Tamil flavor. In Sind and Punjab, S:u¯f¯ı poets ap-
Sha¯fiE¯ı school of jurisprudence prevails among Sunn¯ı com-
propriated to an Islamic context the theme of viraha (love-in-
munities in southern and southwestern India and Sri Lanka,
separation) and the symbol of the virahin¯ı (the woman
whereas the Hanaf¯ı school is widespread elsewhere in the
longing for her beloved), both associated in the Hindu devo-
subcontinent. Little is known of the coming of Sunn¯ı
E
tional traditions with the longing of the gop¯ıs (cow-maids),
ulama¯ D to the early Muslim settlements established by Arab
particularly Radha, for the deity Kr:s:n:a. Following the con-
traders on the southwest coast of India. Although the six-
ventions of Indic devotional poetry, these S:u¯f¯ı poets repre-
teenth-century Malayali author Zayn al-D¯ın al-MaEbar¯ı sug-
sented the human soul as a longing wife, or bride, pining for
gests in his Tuh:fat al-muja¯hid¯ın (Gift of the holy warriors)
her beloved husband or bridegroom, who may be God, the
that preachers from Arabia founded the first mosques in Ker-
Prophet Muh:ammad, or the S:u¯f¯ı shaykh.
ala, he does not indicate specific dates. In 1342 the Moroc-
can Arab traveler Ibn Bat:t:u¯t:ah found in the region mosques
Although such localized or acculturated understandings
and qa¯d:¯ıs of the Sha¯fiE¯ı school of law being supported by
of Islam have frequently been characterized as syncretistic,
Muslim seamen and merchants. There are several indications
mixed, or heterodox, they are perhaps better understood as
that Sunn¯ı Eulama¯D were already established in northern
attempts to “translate” universal Islamic teachings within
India in the eleventh and twelfth centuries: the presence of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
4645
the scholar-S:u¯f¯ı Shaykh EAl¯ı al-Hujw¯ır¯ı in Lahore, where he
ing to the particular Eulama¯D group they follow: the Deo-
died between 1072 and 1077; the travels of Fakhr al-D¯ın
bandis uphold the interpretation of the four classical schools
al-Ra¯z¯ı (1149–1209), the theologian and exegete, in the
of Sunn¯ı jurisprudence, developed in the late ninth and
Punjab; and the praise heaped by Muslim historians on vari-
tenth centuries, as constituting orthodox Islam; the Barelw¯ıs
ous rulers for establishing mosques and encouraging scholars
are more accepting of popular practices, such as visiting
to move to India. The Mongol devastation of cities in the
tomb shrines, and other S:u¯f¯ı rituals that the Deobandis
Middle East and Central Asia in the mid-thirteenth century
would disapprove of; the Ahl-i H:ad¯ıth, particularly strong
triggered a further migration of Sunn¯ı scholars to India,
in certain regions of Pakistan, are more right wing and puri-
making easier the task of appointing qa¯d:¯ıs for the growing
tanical in their interpretation, which is strongly influenced
number of Muslim-ruled states in northern India. This new
by the Wahha¯b¯ıs.
influx may partially explain why the Hanaf¯ı school of law
The Sunn¯ı Eulama¯D obtained material support from a
supplanted the Sha¯fiE¯ı school as the dominant Sunn¯ı rite in
variety of sources. All Muslim rulers in South Asia appointed
northern India.
qa¯d:¯ıs, royal tutors, khat:¯ıbs (mosque preachers), and ima¯ms
During the earlier periods of Muslim history in North
(mosque prayer leaders) and paid them in cash or by income
India, the teaching centers of Sunn¯ı Eulama¯D appear to have
from tax exempt land. Others received income from waqfs,
been informal schools attached to mosques rather than sepa-
or endowments. EUlama¯D who did not enter service (for
rate madrasahs, or religious colleges. The same can be said
which they were often more respected) relied on gifts from
of Bengal, where inscriptions from the thirteenth to the fif-
the faithful, fees in money or kind for private tuition, or in-
teenth centuries also refer to madrasahs being attached to
come from cultivation or trade, though this latter case was
mosques. Although the first independent madrasah was es-
uncommon. Sometimes a noted scholar would accept a royal
tablished in 1472 at the city of Bidar in the Bahmanid state
pension or subvention from a government official, without
in the Deccan by the Persian minister Mah:mu¯d Ga¯wa¯n, it
the obligation to perform a public function. The Eulama¯D of
is only in the eighteenth century that institutions such as the
the Da¯r ul-EUlu¯m at Deoband broke new ground under Brit-
Farang¯ı Mahal in Lucknow and the Madrasa-i Rah:¯ımiyya
ish rule: they opened subscription lists and drew voluntary
in Delhi began to enjoy widespread fame as centers of Sunn¯ı
contributions from Muslims at all social levels, though chief-
scholarship. The Farang¯ı Mahal developed into a leading re-
ly from the well-to-do.
ligious college after it received substantial financial support
The social status of the Eulama¯D was high. Indeed, at all
in 1691 from the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (d. 1707). Its
times, though not at all places, a good proportion of them
curriculum, the dars-i Niz:a¯m¯ı, heavily emphasized theology
belonged to families with a history of being appointed to
and philosophy as opposed to colleges in Delhi, such the Ma-
prominent political and religious positions. As sayyids and
drasa-i Rah:¯ımiyya, founded by Sha¯h Wal¯ı Alla¯h’s father
shaykhs, many took pride in claiming an ancestry outside
Sha¯h EAbd ar-Rah:¯ım, which were repositories of h:ad¯ıth
South Asia, reaching back to seventh- or eighth-century Ara-
studies. The nineteenth century was the age of the madrasah
bia. Some openly despised Muslims with indigenous roots.
in South Asia, because Sunn¯ı Eulama¯D responded to British
To maintain their social status, Eulama¯D married within ex-
colonialism and the spread of Western-style education by set-
tended families, or at least within the elite circles of the
ting up a network of colleges to provide an alternative Islamic
ashra¯f. Sometimes the pursuit of a recognized course of study
education to Muslim youth. Most significant among these
according to recognized methods could enable a Muslim
was the Da¯r ul-EUlu¯m at Deoband, created to train Eulama¯D
from a lower social class or even a convert to gain acceptance
who could promote and uphold “correct” Islamic belief and
among the general body of the Eulama¯D. Such social mobility
practice within Muslim communities. A bastion of Sunn¯ı
is more fully documented in modern than in medieval times:
learning to this day, Deoband continues to attract students
for example, the family of Sayyid H:usayn Ah:mad Madan¯ı
from all over the world. Historically, it had a network of affil-
of Deoband was thought to have been weavers; Mawla¯na¯
iate branches established at places such as Muradabad, Saha-
EUbayd Alla¯h Sindh¯ı, also a prominent Deobandi Eal¯ım, was
ranpur, and Darbhanga. Later, colleges founded in such
born a Sikh. Of course, the high status of an Eal¯ım might
widely separated centers as Madras, Peshawar, and Chitta-
have very local recognition: the rural mulla¯ and maulaw¯ı in
gong regarded themselves at Deobandi. An alternative cur-
many parts of South Asia is often not learned in Arabic and
riculum to that of Deoband was offered at Nadwat
would not be recognized outside his neighborhood as an
al-Eulama¯D, founded in Lucknow by Shibl¯ı NuEma¯n¯ı
equal of scholars fluent in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu.
(d. 1914), allowing its students to combine traditional Islam-
ic subjects with secular “Western” subjects, including En-
SH¯IE¯I ISLAM. Sh¯ıE¯ı communities, of both Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı and
glish. However, this institution was not successful in meeting
Ithna¯Eashar¯ı (Twelver) varieties, are a minority comprising
its educational goals, for its curriculum soon reverted to the
approximately ten percent of the total Muslim population
traditional dars-i Niz:a¯m¯ı model.
in South Asia. It is not, however, unusual to find them con-
centrated within certain urban neighborhoods and cities,
Sunn¯ı Islam in South Asia has evolved into several
thus forming local majorities. Although reverence for the
strands so that Sunn¯ı Muslims are often categorized accord-
family of the Prophet Muh:ammad has been strong in South
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4646
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
Asia, the public articulation of a Sh¯ıE¯ı identity waited on fa-
ima¯m. Particularly interesting was the attempt to explain the
vorable political and social developments, both in the larger
concept of the ima¯m within the framework of Vaisnavite
Muslim world as well as in parts of South Asia.
Hindu thought. The gina¯ns continue to be the mainstay of
Khoja devotional life today. In the 1840s the living ima¯m of
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communities. The earliest Sh¯ıE¯ı communities
the Niza¯r¯ıs, H:asan EAl¯ı Sha¯h, Aga Khan I, moved from Iran
in South Asia were Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı. Regarded as subversive by the
to India and asserted his leadership over the Khoja commu-
Abbasids of Baghdad and by Sunn¯ı warlords who took effec-
nity. This resulted in some schisms among the Khojas, but
tive control of the eastern Muslim world by the middle of
the majority continued to pledge their allegiance to the Aga
the ninth century CE, Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıs nevertheless managed in the
Khan and, after him, his descendants who, as living Sh¯ıE¯ı
tenth century to establish strongholds in Sind, the area
ima¯ms, have absolute power of decision over belief and prac-
around Multan, as well as Gujarat. There is evidence that the
tice. Sultan Muh:ammad Sha¯h, Aga Khan III (d. 1957), uti-
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı dynasty that ruled Sind during this period had con-
lized this authority to institute a wide range of religious and
nections with the Fatimids in Egypt, a dynasty that claimed
social reforms, some of which, such as abolishing the veil and
the Sh¯ıE¯ı imamate and caliphate on the basis of its direct de-
promoting female education, were aimed at improving the
scent from the Prophet. Judging by information from histor-
status of Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı women. His successor, Kar¯ım Al-H:usaini,
ical chronicles, these early Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communities were perse-
Aga Khan IV, has continued the transformation of the com-
cuted by Turko-Persian Sunn¯ı warlords who began to invade
munity in South Asia by making it part of a transnational
South Asia from the tenth century onwards. In 1094 the
network of social, economic, and educational institutions
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıs split into two branches, the MustaEl¯ıs and the
that links it with Niza¯r¯ı Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communities in other parts
Niza¯r¯ıs, over the issue of succession to the Fatimid imamate.
In South Asia, the MustaEl¯ıs are popularly known as the
of the world. Known as the Aga Khan Development Net-
Bohras, a term probably derived from the Gujarati vohora
work, it seeks to improve the standard of living of Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı
(“trader”), while the Niza¯r¯ıs are often called Khojas, from the
and non-Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communities in the countries in which it
Persian khwaja (“lord, master”), or Aga Khanis, based on the
operates.
fact that they follow the guidance of the Aga Khan, a honor-
Twelver or Ithna¯Eashar¯ı communities. Unlike Isma¯-
ific title used by their living ima¯ms. Both Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communi-
E¯ıl¯ı Shiism, Twelver Shiism in South Asia has often enjoyed
ties, concentrated mostly in Gujarat and Sind as well as in
official patronage by certain rulers and states. In the fifteenth
some of the major urban centers of South Asia, have been
century, following a substantial migration of Twelver Sh¯ıEahs
heavily involved in trade, commerce, and the professions.
from Iran to the court of the Bahmanid Sultanate in the Dec-
can, the Bahmani sultan Ah:mad I (1422–1436) declared
Bohra communities were probably in existence in Guja-
himself to be Sh¯ıE¯ı, though the dynasty’s public position
rat by the middle of the twelfth century and certainly before
continued to be ambiguous. Of the successor states to the
the conquest of Gujarat by the Delhi sultan that began in
1299. Their origins can be traced to a series of preachers who
Bahmanis, Bijapur supported the Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı position
came to the region from Yemen, an important center of
from 1510 to 1534 and again between 1558 and 1580;
MustaEl¯ı history. Because Bohras believe that their ima¯m is
Golkonda’s Qut:b Sha¯hi dynasty was Sh¯ıE¯ı from its founda-
in occlusion, the affairs of the community are run by his rep-
tion under Qul¯ı Qut:b al-Mulk (1496–1543); and the king-
resentative, the da¯ E¯ı mut:laq, who controls all activities of the
dom of Ahmadnagar supported Twelver Shiism from the
community. He is assisted by shaykhs, mulla¯s, and Ea¯mils
reign of Burha¯n I (1509–1553). The establishment of Mug-
(“agents”) who are, however, only executive functionaries
hal rule made northern India a safer place for Sh¯ıE¯ı scholars.
and do not participate in the formulation of doctrine and
The Sh¯ıE¯ı Safavid Sha¯h of Iran, T:ahma¯sp I (1524–1576), as-
principles of right conduct. For several centuries, the head-
sisted the emperor, Huma¯yu¯n (d. 1556), in reestablishing
quarters of the da¯ E¯ı mut:laq was in Yemen. In the sixteenth
the Mughal position in eastern Afghanistan by 1550, and
century, however, as a result of a major dispute over the issue
Sh¯ıE¯ı Persians formed an important element of the Muslim
of succession to the office of da¯ E¯ı mut:laq, the Bohras split
elite of the Mughal Empire. They became particularly prom-
into two factions: the Sulaiman¯ı and the Da¯Du¯d¯ı. The former
inent during the reign of the Mughal emperor Jaha¯ng¯ır
owe allegiance to a da¯ E¯ı still based in Yemen, whereas the lat-
(d. 1627) when many Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı poets and scholars emi-
ter pledge loyalty to a da¯ E¯ı, often called syedna¯ (“our mas-
grated from Iran seeking positions at the Mughal courts. In
ter”), whose headquarter is in Mumbai.
1611 Jaha¯ng¯ır married Mihrunnisa¯, also called Nu¯r Jaha¯n,
the daughter of an Iranian nobleman. Because the emperor
The history of Khoja communities can be traced at least
was not too interested in matters of state, Nu¯r Jaha¯n became
to the eleventh and twelfth centuries when, according to tra-
the de facto ruler of the empire. Her father and brother were
dition, Niza¯r¯ı Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı ima¯ms, then resident in Iran, sent
appointed to positions of great influence while her niece,
da¯ E¯ıs to Punjab, Sind, Gujarat, and possibly Rajasthan, to
Mumta¯z Mahal, was married to the emperor’s son
preach the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı faith. Also known as p¯ırs, these preacher-
Sha¯hjaha¯n. The most famous monument of Indo-Muslim
saints composed gina¯ns, hymn-like songs in various vernacu-
architecture, the Taj Mahal, was erected in Mumta¯z Mahal’s
lar languages through which they elaborated a highly devo-
memory. After the collapse of the Mughal empire, Twelver
tional and mystical understanding of the Sh¯ıE¯ı concept of
Shiism continued to be favored by certain regional dynasties.
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4647
In the eighteenth century, under the nawa¯bs of Awadh,
Lahore in 1071, the arrival of members of S:u¯f¯ı orders in
Lucknow became the Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı cultural and educational
South Asia was broadly contemporary with the Ghurid inva-
capital in South Asia.
sions at the end of the twelfth century. One of the earliest
was the Chisht¯ı order from Afghanistan, introduced by
While the official acceptance of Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam in court cir-
Khwa¯jah MuE¯ın ad-D¯ın who settled in Ajmer (Rajasthan)
cles attracted prominent Sh¯ıE¯ı scholars and theologians to
in the 1290s. His successor, Qut:b ad-D¯ın Bakhtiya¯r Ka¯k¯ı
India, there was always the danger that they could be perse-
(d. 1235), spread Chisht¯ı influence to Delhi. Bakhtiya¯r
cuted when there were shifts in the political climate at courts.
Ka¯k¯ı’s chief disciple, Far¯ıd ad-D¯ın, called Ganj-i Shakar
Sha¯h Fat:hulla¯h Shira¯z¯ı (d. 1589) and Qa¯d:¯ı Nu¯rulla¯h
Shustar¯ı (d. 1610) rank among two prominent Twelver
(“the treasury of sugar”; d. 1265), settled in Pakpattan by the
Sh¯ıE¯ı scholars who experienced mixed fortunes in India.
Sutlej, thus consolidating a Chisht¯ı position in the Punjab.
Sha¯h Fat:hulla¯h Shira¯z¯ı, an important Iranian scholar who
During the lifetimes of the two great shaykhs of fourteenth-
was invited to Bijapur by the Sh¯ıE¯ı ruler EAl¯ı EA¯dil Sha¯h I
century Delhi, Niz:a¯m al-D¯ın Awliya¯D (1238–1325) and
(d. 1580), initially enjoyed great respect at the court. EAl¯ı
Na¯s:ir ad-D¯ın Mah:mu¯d, Chira¯gh-i Dihl¯ı (“the lamp of
EA¯dil Sha¯h’s successor, however, was not favorably disposed
Delhi,” 1276–1356), branches of the Chisht¯ı order were es-
to Shiism. Consequently, Sha¯h Fat:hulla¯h found himself im-
tablished in other regions: in Bengal by Shaykh Sira¯j ad-D¯ın
prisoned. Shortly thereafter he was invited to join the more
(d. 1357), in Daulatabad by Burha¯n ad-D¯ın (d. 1340), and
tolerant court of the Mughal emperor Akbar where he be-
in Gulbarga by Sayyid Muh:ammad Gisu¯ Dara¯z (“of long
came one of the leading intellectuals. He played an influen-
locks,” 1321–1422). Other Chisht¯ı mystics settled in Malwa
tial role within the emperor’s inner circle, being appointed
and Gujarat. The Suhraward¯ıyah were the other principal
to several significant administrative and political posts. Qa¯d:¯ı
group of S:u¯f¯ıs active in sultanate South Asia, antithetical in
Nu¯rulla¯h Shustar¯ı, one of the greatest scholars of Twelver
their rituals and practices to the Chisht¯ıyah. Their spiritual
Shiism in his time, came to India in 1584 seeking a position
headquarters were in the southwest Punjab: at Multan where
at the court of Akbar. Two years later, on the basis of his ex-
Shaykh Baha¯D ad-D¯ın Zakar¯ıya¯D (1182–1262) resided, and
cellent knowledge of Arabic and command over both Sh¯ıE¯ı
at Uchch where Sayyid Jala¯l ad-D¯ın Surkhpush (“red-
and Sunn¯ı jurisprudence, he was appointed qa¯d:¯ı of Lahore,
dressed”) Bukha¯r¯ı (d. 1292) and his grandson Jala¯l ad-D¯ın
earning for himself the reputation of being an impartial and
Makhdu¯m-i Jaha¯niya¯n (“lord of the mortals,” 1308–1384)
honest judge even in cases involving Sunn¯ı law. His fame ap-
lived. In Bengal, a leading Suhrawardi master was Shaykh
parently incited the jealousy and anger of some of his Sunn¯ı
Jala¯l ad-D¯ın Tabr¯ız¯ı (thirteenth century). In Kashmir, the
rivals who instigated the Mughal emperor, Jaha¯ng¯ır, to have
intellectually influential Kubraw¯ıyah order gained a foothold
him flogged to death. He is thus sometimes called the “third
through a visit by Sayyid EAl¯ı Hamada¯n¯ı between 1381 and
martyr” of Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam.
1384. An offshoot of this order, the Firdaws¯ıyah, attained
T
fame in Bihar through Sharaf ad-D¯ın ibn Yah:ya¯ Maner¯ı
HE S:U¯F¯I ORDERS. Religious authority in post-Prophetic
Islam is legitimized by appealing to different sources. The au-
(1263–1381).
thority of the Eulama¯D, of whatever persuasion, as interpreters
From about the middle of the fifteenth century on-
of Islam flows from recognition of their learning. The au-
wards, other S:u¯f¯ı orders made their appearance in South
thority of the Sh¯ıE¯ı ima¯ms is based on esoteric knowledge ac-
Asia, notably the Qa¯dir¯ıyah, the Shat:t:a¯r¯ıyah, and the
quired on the basis of physical descent from the Prophet
Naqshband¯ıyah. Muh:ammad Ghawth (d. 1517), claiming
Muh:ammad. The authority of the S:u¯f¯ı masters flows from
to be tenth in succession to the founder of the Qa¯dir¯ıyah,
the recognition that they have had (or are preparing them-
EAbd al-Qa¯dir al-J¯ıla¯n¯ı (1077–1176), settled at Uchch, but
selves and others to have) direct, intuitive experience of di-
before that Qadiri S:u¯f¯ıs had settled at Bidar about the time
vine realities and that divine grace might endow them with
it became the capital of the Bahmani sultanate in 1422. The
special spiritual powers. These powers, often believed to con-
Bijapur sultanate also became a major center for the
tinue after physical death, are seen as evidence of them hav-
Qa¯dir¯ıyah. The Shat:t:a¯r¯ıyah was another order that became
ing attained the status of awliya¯ D (“friends [of God]”). By the
influential in the Deccan as well as North India. Introduced
twelfth century CE, seekers on the mystical path had devel-
from Iran by Shaykh EAbd Alla¯h al-Shat:t:a¯r (d. 1485), the
oped distinct spiritual disciplines and methods and formed
order spread to Gujarat under the guidance of Muh:ammad
themselves into fraternities organized around kha¯nqa¯hs
Ghawth of Gwalior (1485–1562/3), attracting the attention
(“hospices”). Each fraternity was headed by a shaykh, or p¯ır,
of the Mughal emperors Huma¯yu¯n and Akbar. The
responsible for guiding disciples on the path, appointing
Naqshband¯ıyah, a conservative Central Asian S:u¯f¯ı order, be-
deputies, admitting novices to full discipleship, training and
came prominent from the seventeenth century onwards
investing a successor, and possibly controlling a network of
when its members began to challenge the established forms
centers.
and practice of Sufism in South Asia. It was introduced by
The arrival of S:u¯f¯ı orders. Although Shaykh EAl¯ı
Khwa¯jah Muh:ammad al-Ba¯q¯ı Billa¯h (1563/4–1603), who
al-Hujw¯ır¯ı, the author of the famous S:u¯f¯ı manual Kashf
initiated, in his last years, the most influential member of the
al-mah:ju¯b (The disclosure of the veiled) settled and died in
order in South Asia, Shaykh Ah:mad Sirhind¯ı (1564–1624).
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
Qalanda¯rs. Another important category of Muslim
matic figure with special spiritual powers and energies. The
holy men consisted of a variety of wandering mendicants,
darga¯h, or tomb-shrine, began to supplant the kha¯nqa¯h
who were distinguished from “respectable” S:u¯f¯ıs by scanti-
(“hospice,” “retreat”) in the popular imagination. Exclusive
ness of dress and the wearing of bizarre iron insignia, and
membership in, or allegiance to, particular orders became less
who oftentimes exhibited aggressive attitudes toward S:u¯f¯ıs
important—indeed some adepts now belonged to more than
belonging to the mainstream orders. They went by a variety
one order. Some orders gained appeal; others fell from favor.
of names—qalanda¯rs, H:aydar¯ıs, Mada¯r¯ıs. Because they
Perhaps these responses were related to the way in which
seemed to be indifferent or antagonistic to the observance of
members of particular orders responded to the local cultural
prescribed religious and social norms, they have been termed
environment. Traditionally, MuE¯ın ad-D¯ın Chisht¯ı is repre-
be-shar E, that is, those who are outside religious law. Some
sented as having gained many followers after promoting the
of them, like the Mada¯r¯ıs (so called after a Jewish convert,
use of music in his kha¯nqa¯h. No doubt, too, willingness to
Sha¯h Mada¯r, who migrated to South Asia from Syria),
use the local vernacular for devotional poetry would enhance
smearing their naked bodies with ashes, using hashish, and
a shaykh’s appeal. S:u¯f¯ıs belonging to larger S:u¯f¯ı orders ap-
ignoring Muslim religious duties, seemed to be indistin-
pear to have been more willing than the Eulama¯D to found
guishable from Hindu ascetics and yogis. Yet certain great
kha¯nqa¯hs away from the principal centers of political power
shaykhs of the orders, notably the Chisht¯ı, recognized some
and thus seem to have drawn more of the allegiance of the
of them as men of genuine intuitive experience. Although so
rural and small-town populations to themselves. Certain or-
evidently outside the Muslim “religious establishment,” it is
ders, notably the Qa¯dir¯ıyah and the Shat:t:a¯r¯ıyah in Bijapur,
possible to regard them as being important in communicat-
were more urban-based.
ing some identifiable Islamic religious beliefs and practices
among Muslims and non-Muslim populations in rural and
Rulers of the day quickly recognized the popular appeal
urban areas. The most famous of these qalanda¯rs was LaEl
of shaykhs/p¯ırs among Muslim populations and wished to
Shahba¯z (“Red Falcon,” d. 1325), the subject of one of the
turn that appeal to their own advantage. Shaykhs were offered
most popular S:u¯f¯ı praise songs in South Asia. His tomb
pensions and tax-free lands. Most S:u¯f¯ı orders were willing
shrine at Sehwan in Sind still attracts thousands of pilgrims,
to accept royal largesse. For example, the Suhraward¯ıyah in
including many be-shar E dervishes, although many of the im-
the Punjab have always enjoyed state patronage, while the
moral and illegal activities that historically gave this shrine
Qa¯dir¯ıyah and Shat:t:a¯r¯ıyah accepted land grants in seven-
notoriety have now been purged.
teenth-century Bijapur. The Chisht¯ı order, in particular, at-
tracted a great deal of royal patronage. Ironically, the early
Religious and social roles of S:u¯f¯ıs. As a mystical phi-
Chisht¯ıs were vehemently against any close association with
losophy, Sufism has deeply impacted the lives of Muslims as
those in political power, for they considered such contact to
well as non-Muslims in the Subcontinent. Beyond the realm
be detrimental to a person’s moral and spiritual well-being.
of religious thought and practice, Sufism has influenced so-
By the early fourteenth century, however, the order began
cial, economic, cultural, and even political dimensions of ev-
to rise in prominence precisely on account of the enormous
eryday life. The development of literary and musical tradi-
royal patronage it was attracting. As Muslim rulers of Turko-
tions in many South Asian languages bears the deep impress
Persian ancestry began to establish kingdoms in the subcon-
of Sufism. Not surprisingly, members of S:u¯f¯ı orders have
tinent, they associated their own personal fortunes and those
been regarded, by some scholars, to be “bridge-people,” in-
of their dynasty with that of the Chisht¯ı order. A ruling
terpreting and adjusting Islamic concepts and practices to the
dynasty’s patronage of Chisht¯ı darga¯hs could strengthen its
psychology of different populations. They have also been re-
claims of legitimacy in the eyes of the local population and
sponsible for introducing new emphases and rites into the
also bestow upon it spiritual blessings for continued prosper-
Islamic tradition. By the time that S:u¯f¯ı orders came to the
ity and success. As a consequence, a pattern of growing polit-
Subcontinent, Sufism had become more of a devotional than
ical patronage of Chisht¯ı shrines emerged in many parts of
a mystical movement, embracing a collection of cult associa-
northern India, from Gujarat to Bengal. Naturally, the
tions that centered on the shaykh, or p¯ır, who was more ap-
“mother” darga¯h at Ajmer where MuE¯ın ad-D¯ın Chisht¯ı, the
proachable to the masses than the Eal¯ım, or religious scholar.
founder of the order, is buried, received a great deal of royal
To be sure, discussions of more speculative and philosophical
attention, all the more so due to its frontier location.
formulations of Sufism were taken up toward the end of the
fourteenth century, yet these were limited to elite inner cir-
The most generous and loyal patrons of the Chisht¯ıyah
cles of disciples. At a popular level, a shaykh/p¯ır was seen as
were members of the Mughal dynasty who were firmly con-
playing an intercessory role between humans and the divine.
vinced their worldly success was due to the blessings of the
This role was often understood to be a physical manifestation
Chisht¯ı shaykhs. As a result, not only did Mughal emperors
of their special charisma, inherited through a silsilah
bestow lavish endowments for the support of the Ajmer
(“spiritual chain”) going back to the Prophet Muh:ammad.
darga¯h and sponsor several construction projects, they also
Rather than adhering to the classical conception of his role
actively involved themselves in its management by appoint-
as that of as a teacher and guide along the path to personal
ing its administrators and titular heads. The emperor Akbar
experience of divine truths, the shaykh had became a charis-
(d. 1605) was a particularly ardent devotee, undertaking
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
4649
fourteen pilgrimages to the shrine, several of them on foot.
communities but by Sunn¯ı Muslims as well. In many locali-
Two of these pilgrimages, those of 1568 and 1574, were
ties, Hindus, too, have participated in the commemorative
made immediately after conquering Chittor and Bengal, re-
Muharram processions. H:usayn and some of the martyred
spectively, victories he attributed to the blessings of MuE¯ın
Sh¯ıE¯ı ima¯ms and the family of the Prophet have been the sub-
ad-D¯ın Chisht¯ı. Akbar’s reverence for and devotion to the
ject of many elegies composed in several languages, including
Chisht¯ıs increased significantly when Shaykh Sal¯ım Chisht¯ı,
Urdu, Sindhi, and Gujarati.
a descendant of MuE¯ın ad-D¯ın, correctly predicted the birth
of the emperor’s son. In gratitude, he performed a pilgrimage
Most ubiquitous in South Asia is the devotion to the
to Ajmer, walking on foot all the way from Agra. He also had
S:u¯f¯ı shaykh/p¯ır. Belief in the supernatural powers of S:u¯f¯ı
his new capital city, Fatehpur Sikri, built near Sal¯ım
shaykhs/p¯ırs, deceased or living, has led to the proliferation
Chisht¯ı’s kha¯nqa¯h as a tangible way of symbolizing the close
of darga¯hs and maza¯rs (“tomb-shrines”) all over South Asia,
Mughal-Chisht¯ı alliance that continued for the next two
frequented by devotees seeking to cure illnesses, ward off evil,
generations. In the seventeenth century the Naqshband¯ıyah,
fulfill desires, or gain admission to paradise. In some cases,
a Central Asian S:u¯f¯ı order, vied against the Chisht¯ıyah for
these tomb shrines are associated with mythical figures (such
the attention of the Mughals, for they had great political am-
as Khwa¯jah Khiz:r or the Nau Gaz [“Nine Yard”] p¯ır). So
bitions to influence aspects of state policy. Clearly, it is diffi-
strong is the shrine tradition in South Asia that even a leg-
cult to accept fully the contention that S:u¯f¯ı orders represent-
endary S:u¯f¯ı such as EAbd al-Qa¯dir al-J¯ıla¯n¯ı (d. 1166), who
ed an organized religious establishment in medieval India
is actually buried in Baghdad, has many shrines dedicated to
independent of different political establishments.
him all over southern India. Interestingly, the darga¯h in
M
South Asia has not remained an exclusively Muslim institu-
USLIM RELIGIOUS LIFE IN SOUTH ASIA: THE CULTS OF
P
tion; Muslim and non-Muslim alike participate in common
ERSONALITY. The character of Muslim piety in South Asia
has been predominantly “person”-centered. As in other parts
rituals and ceremonies—such as kissing or touching the
of the Muslim world, a central focus of “person”-centered
tomb, offering flowers, and lighting incense—in the hope of
piety has been the figure of the Prophet Muh:ammad. Not
receiving spiritual blessing. It has also provided the only
only is the Mila¯d an-nab¯ı, his birthday, widely celebrated,
space where Muslim women can participate in public wor-
but shrines housing relics, such as his footprint or his hair
ship because as a rule in South Asia they do not attend
(e.g., Hazratba¯l in Kashmir), attract many pilgrims. The
mosques.
Prophet has commonly been venerated through an extensive
Of a different character and nature are a variety of
corpus of poems and songs in major South Asian languages,
movements centered around persons who have acquired reli-
some even composed by Hindu poets. Although love for him
gious authority on the basis of claims to a prophet-like status.
and appeals for his intercession are common themes, many
Because these movements pose a challenge to the central au-
of these poems accord him a superhuman, or mystical status
thority of the Prophet Muh:ammad, they have often been
that at times appears to compromise strict notions of mono-
controversial. Many of these movements have been millenar-
theism. The poems often reveal a Prophet who has been ac-
ian in nature. For instance, in the late fifteenth century, Say-
culturated to specific regional contexts and perceived
yid Muh:ammad of Jaunpur (1443–1505) declared himself
through lenses that have been influenced by a variety of liter-
to be the Mahd¯ı (“guided one”) of the Sunn¯ı tradition who
ary conventions. Thus, epics in medieval Bengali pu¯th¯ı litera-
would lead the world to order and justice before the day of
ture see him as an avata¯ra, and poems in Tamil address him
resurrection. His followers, who eventually formed the
as a baby, while Sindhi poems beseech him as a bridegroom
Mahdaw¯ı community, claimed for him a rank equal to that
for whom the bride lovingly longs. Devotion to him has be-
of the Prophet and clustered around him as though around
come the hallmark of a Muslim identity, defining the bound-
a p¯ır. Needless to say, the group was intensely persecuted by
ary between Muslim and non-Muslim, so that attacks on his
Sunn¯ı Eulama¯D, who saw the Mahd¯ı as a threat to their au-
character and personality have frequently sparked riots. It is
thority. Ba¯yaz¯ıd Ans:a¯r¯ı (1525–1572/3), born at Jallandar in
hardly surprising that revivalists who sought to strengthen
the Punjab, was a Pathan who claimed to be a p¯ır-i raushan
Muslim identity in the eighteenth and nineteenth century
(“a luminous master”) in direct communication with God,
identified themselves as members of the T:ar¯ıqah-i-
who shone his divine light upon him. Ba¯yaz¯ıd’s followers re-
Muh:ammad¯ıyah (“the Muh:ammadan Path”) and appealed
garded him as combining perfections of the paths of law,
for a renewed commitment among Muslims to the Prophetic
mysticism, and wisdom attained through gnosis. In the last
paradigm.
stage of their spiritual ascent, these disciples were allowed to
Several religious figures and personalities have been
exempt themselves from some of the obligations of the
heirs to the Prophet’s authority and/or charisma, giving rise
shar¯ı Eah. Gathering support from among his fellow Pathans,
to different types of “person”-centered devotionalism. For
Ba¯yaz¯ıd Ans:a¯r¯ı became the head of a religio-political move-
example, the Prophet’s immediate family members, particu-
ment that seriously challenged Mughal authority in north-
larly his grandson H:usayn, tragically martyred at Karbala in
west India. In 1581 the Mughal court itself was the setting
680 CE, have come to be widely venerated in South Asia, es-
of a personality cult around the figure of the Emperor Akbar,
pecially during the month of Muharram, not only by Sh¯ıE¯ı
the so-called din-i ila¯h¯ı (“divine religion”), which some have
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4650
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
declared to be an apostasy from Islam. More of a mystical
to factors that were internal and external to the communities
order with limited membership in which the emperor was
concerned. Internally, there seems to have been a widespread
viewed as insa¯n-i ka¯mil (“the perfect man”), the din-i ila¯h¯ı
need to cure a spiritual and religious malaise that some felt
eclectically combined lofty ideas from various religious tradi-
had affected the way in which Islam was being practiced. Ex-
tions as well as Sunn¯ı ideas of the caliph and the just ruler
ternally, the establishment of European, particularly British,
to present Akbar as the earthly homologue and symbol of
colonialism and the emergence of nationalism presented a
God’s truth and justice. Interestingly, Akbar himself seems
whole new set of challenges: new lifestyles, new educational
never to have directly made any claims to prophecy or
systems, and new economic, social, and political structures.
divinity.
The arrival of Christian missionaries intent on converting
Muslims (and Hindus) posed another kind of threat. For
Even a figure such as Shaykh Ah:mad Sirhind¯ı
Muslim elites in North India, the collapse of Mughal rule
(d. 1624)—considered the bastion of religious conservatism
during the reign of Akbar’s son, Jaha¯ng¯ır—gave himself pro-
in the face of onslaughts from the Marathas, Sikhs, and the
phetic airs. Because he arrived in India as the expected reno-
British was also traumatic for it meant a loss of political and
vator of Islam at the beginning of the second Islamic millen-
economic power. Many among the elite interpreted disem-
nium, Sirhind¯ı was popularly referred to as the mujaddid-i
powerment as a sign of God’s displeasure and a sign that
alif-i tha¯n¯ı. He claimed that the “perfections of Prophet-
Muslims needed to reinvigorate their relationship with Islam
hood,” which had disappeared after the death of the Prophet
in the face of rapid change.
Muh:ammad, would reappear in deserving persons, such as
Early revivalist movements. The first attempts to ad-
himself, because they were the Prophet’s heirs. He also re-
vocate sociopolitical reform using Islam as a basis can be
garded himself as the qayyu¯m, an intermediary between man
traced to Sha¯h Wal¯ı Alla¯h (d.1762), the great theologian of
and God through whom flowed all spiritual and material
Delhi, who believed himself to be a renovator (mujaddid) of
benefits. On account of his elevated status, he considered it
Islam. As mujaddid, he was the Prophet’s vice-regent with
his duty to point out in his many letters to the Emperor
the special duty of purifying religion from infidel practices
Jaha¯ng¯ır and the Mughal nobility various “un-Islamic” prac-
such as visiting tomb-shrines. Through his numerous writ-
tices that were being tolerated in the realm. These letters, de-
ings, the most important being H:ujjat Alla¯h al-Ba¯lighah
scribed by Jaha¯ng¯ır in his memoirs, Tuzuk-i Jaha¯ng¯ır¯ı, as a
(The perfect proof of God), Sha¯h Wal¯ı Alla¯h’s ideas had a
“bunch of absurdities,” earned Sirhind¯ı a short spell in pris-
deep impact on later generations of reformists, ranging from
on so that, as the emperor puts it, “his disturbed disposition
conservatives to modernists. He believed himself to be called
and confused mind would calm down a little.”
upon by God to demonstrate that a harmony of apparently
The reaction to the emergence of these personality cults
different views existed or could be achieved among a whole
has often been in the form of a call for the reassertion of the
range of religious sciences. A strong advocate of Muslim
paradigmatic role of the Prophet Muh:ammad and his com-
unity in the face of loss of political power, he attempted in-
panions. Yet these types of movements have continued to
tellectually to reconcile differences between Sunn¯ı schools of
emerge in South Asia to our day, the most recent being the
jurisprudence and competing philosophies of mysticism
Ah:mad¯ıyah, founded by M¯ırza¯ Ghula¯m Ah:mad (1835–
(wah:dat al-wuju¯d [“unity of existence”] and wah:dat
1908). Influenced by the mujaddid and mahd¯ı traditions,
ash-shuhu¯d [“unity of vision”]), although his ecumenism did
Ghula¯m Ah:mad claimed that he was a “non-legislative”
not extend to Sh¯ıE¯ı communities. Sha¯h Wal¯ı Alla¯h felt
prophet whose responsibility it was to ensure the correct im-
strongly that Muslims would be better able to resolve their
plementation of the message revealed by the “legislative”
sociopolitical problems if they lived in accord with the pre-
prophet, that is, Muh:ammad. Viewed within the historical
cepts of their faith. In this regard, they needed to understand
context of other movements, his ideas were not so strange
the QurDa¯n for themselves without relying on the secondary
or idiosyncratic. However, when his followers expressed
interpretations of commentaries. To make the scripture
them within the context of a Pakistani nation that was in-
more accessible, he translated it into Persian, paving the way
creasingly moving to an Islamist political ideology, they
for a later translation into Urdu by his sons. To deal with
stirred a violent backlash from religious conservatives. In
the loss of political power, he wrote a number of letters invit-
1974 the Pakistani legislature passed a bill that declared the
ing neighboring Muslim rulers, such as Ah:mad Sha¯h Abdal¯ı,
followers of Ghula¯m Ah:mad to be non-Muslim. It believed
to reestablish Muslim rule in North India. Unfortunately,
that a line had been crossed and that the state had to take
Sha¯h Wal¯ı Alla¯h’s Afghan friends and religious brethren
on the role of defining legitimate religious identity.
plundered and looted Delhi after they conquered it!
MOVEMENTS OF ISLAMIC RENEWAL AND REFORM. The
No doubt inspired by Sha¯h Wal¯ı Alla¯h’s activism, his
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries witnessed a mushroom-
grandson, Isma¯E¯ıl Shah¯ıd (d. 1831), became the theoretician
ing of movements for reform and change among Muslim
for the energetic muja¯hid¯ın reformist movement of the early
communities in several regions of South Asia. While the na-
nineteenth century initiated by Ah:mad Bare¯l¯ı (Ah:mad of
ture and character of these movements varied according to
Rai Bareilly; d. 1831), a charismatic preacher who wanted
regional contexts, they were, broadly speaking, in response
to purge Islam of its accretions and corruptions. Isma¯E¯ıl
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
4651
Shah¯ıd’s work Taqwiyat al-ima¯n (Strengthening of faith)
the formation of Moplastan, a separate state for Ma¯ppil:l:a
calls Muslims to righteous action in accord with God’s com-
Muslims in south Kerala, these leaders, like the muja¯hid¯ın
mand in order to improve their situation in this world and
in the north, employed an idiom that invoked the first Mus-
the next. Preaching a type of reformed Sufism, purged of
lim community created in Medina by the Prophet
“polytheistic” practices, the muja¯hid¯ın movement, in keep-
Muh:ammad in 622 CE.
ing with the ideology of the T:ar¯ıqah-i-Muh:ammad¯ıyah, em-
phasized the importance of the Prophet Muh:ammad as a
In the west, in Sind, the nature of the revival movement
paradigm. Following the example of the Prophet’s hijrah
took on a less overtly political and more spiritual and literary
(“emigration”) from Mecca to Medina, in 1826 Ah:mad
hue. Under the influence of a reformist movement initiated
Bare¯l¯ı led a group of muja¯hid¯ın from British India to Pathan
by members belonging to the conservative Naqshband¯ı S:u¯f¯ı
borderlands, from where they waged jiha¯d against the Sikhs
order, various poets undertook to instruct people about the
in a futile attempt to create an Islamic state in the Punjab
basic duties of Islam using simple verse forms. In doing so,
modeled after the Prophet’s Medina. Both reformers were
they sought to avoid the emotional expressions of piety
killed by Sikh forces at the battle of Balakot in 1831. (The
found among more “intoxicated” S:u¯f¯ı groups. Miya¯n Abu¯D1
hold of the Prophet Muh:ammad’s hijrah over Muslim senti-
H:asan (d. 1711) composed the Muqaddimat as-S:ala¯t, a
ment was to be further demonstrated in 1920 when, on the
long didactic poem on Islamic ritual prayer. Another
urging of mosque ima¯ms and p¯ırs, about thirty thousand
Naqshband¯ı, Makhdu¯m Muh:ammad Ha¯shim (d. 1761) was
Muslims from the province of Sind and the Frontier Prov-
a prolific author of several works that explained the essentials
ince migrated to Afghanistan as their da¯r al-Isla¯m, or “abode
of Islam in didactic Sindhi verse. His principal works includ-
of Islam.”)
ed: the Fara¯ Did: al-Isla¯m (The obligations of Islam), dealing
with Islamic law and correct behavior; Ta¯fsir Ha¯shim¯ı, a
Regional revivalist movements. Reform and revivalist
rhymed commentary on the last part of the QurDa¯n; and Qu¯t
movements were not simply confined to areas traditionally
al- EA¯shiq¯ın (The nourishment of the lovers), which describes
associated with Muslim political power in North India.
the virtues and miracles of the Prophet Muh:ammad.
There were significant ones in regional contexts as well. By
R
way of illustration, we will cite three cases.
ESPONSES TO BRITISH COLONIAL RULE. In the aftermath
of the 1857 rebellion and the failed attempt to overthrow
In Bengal, Hajj¯ı Shar¯ıEat Alla¯h (1781–1840) initiated
British control, Muslim elites in North India were forced to
the Fara¯Did:¯ı movement. Having lived in the Hejaz in Arabia
come to terms not only with British political supremacy, but
for about eighteen years, he sought to teach Bengali Muslims
also with the growing presence of Western cultural institu-
the correct way to observe the obligatory duties (fara¯ Did:) of
tions, particularly churches, schools, and colleges. Their reac-
Islam, to abandon reverence for p¯ırs, and to forsake “Hind-
tions took various forms, the principle division being be-
uized” life ceremonies. On the grounds that there were no
tween modernists and conservatives.
properly constituted Muslim rulers and qa¯d:¯ıs in nineteenth-
century India, the Fara¯Did:¯ıs abandoned Friday and E¯ıd
Modernists: The Aligarh movement. The first major
(“festival”) prayers. Under Hajj¯ı Shar¯ıEat Alla¯h’s son Dudu¯
figure to argue that the changes Muslims were experiencing
Miya¯n (1819–1862) violence broke out between the move-
in the nineteenth century were compatible with Islam was
ment’s largely peasant following and their landlords.
Sir Sayyid Ah:mad Kha¯n (d. 1898). As a young man, Sir Say-
Throughout the nineteenth century, a variety of Sunn¯ı
yid was well trained in theology in the tradition of Sha¯h Wal¯ı
scholars and teachers, including Kara¯mat EAl¯ı Jawnpur¯ı
Alla¯h as well as in MuEtazilah rationalism. In keeping with
(d. 1873), a follower of Ah:mad Bare¯l¯ı willing to accept Brit-
the spirit of the T:ar¯ıqah-i-Muh:ammad¯ıyah, with which he
ish rule, devoted themselves to trying to get rid of polytheis-
was affiliated, the book he wrote to help Muslims examine
tic attitudes and practices among Muslims in Bengal, while
the life and exemplary of the Prophet Muh:ammad lacked the
disagreeing among themselves about the acceptability of Su-
customary hagiographic elements. He was convinced that in
fism or about which school of Sunn¯ı jurisprudence should
order to progress under colonial rule, Muslims must accept
be followed.
a future shaped by absolute loyalty to British power. Further-
more, he felt that Muslims should participate fully in the
In the far south, among the Ma¯ppil:l:as, as the Muslims
Western-style educational system being established by the
of Kerala are called, Eulama¯D such as Sayyid EAlaw¯ı
British in India so that they would not become a social and
(d. 1843/4) and his son Sayyid Fad:l (d. 1900), though creat-
economic underclass. As a Muslim, he wished to demon-
ing no formal organization, perpetuated among Ma¯ppil:l:a
strate that God was not being mocked when young Muslims,
peasant farmers a tradition of resistance to Hindu landlords.
attending British-influenced schools and colleges in hope of
Among Ma¯ppil:l:a urban classes who had lost employment
advancement, were being taught a natural science that ap-
and suffered a decline in trading because of European colo-
peared to contradict divine revelation. He argued that the
nial rule, the movement became anti-British. Throughout
word of God and the work of God, revelation and nature as
the nineteenth century, Ma¯ppil:l:a grievances were expressed
understood by nineteenth-century Western science, are
through riots, culminating in the Ma¯ppil:l:a rebellion of 1921,
wholly in harmony. Apparent discrepancies between the
which was brutally squashed by the British. In demanding
QurDa¯nic account of the natural world and that of Western
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4652
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
scientists are, in fact, attributable to misunderstandings of
he believed, should be that of actualizing in thought and
the language of the QurDa¯n. He also advocated a rational ap-
deed the infinite possibilities of the divine imagination. Hu-
proach to the QurDa¯n based on fresh ijtiha¯d, since Islam, in
mans, he believed, as vicegerents of God on earth, have an
his interpretation, is a religion that accommodates historical
active duty to develop themselves to the highest potential.
change. The mandates of the shar¯ı Eah, as interpreted by gen-
Some of his ideas, such as the call to free the interpretation
erations of religious scholars, needed to be reexamined to de-
of Islam from the fetters of tradition and the scholarship of
termine whether they were, in fact, the essential mandates
Eulama¯D, and the demand for ijtiha¯d, were typical of Islamic
of faith. To promote his ideas and provide young Muslims
reformers. His claim that human beings can actively partici-
with Western-style higher education, he fought for and even-
pate within a dynamic creation, his call for individual action
tually founded the Anglo-Muhammadan College, which
and responsibility, and his conception of the QurDa¯n as reve-
later became Aligarh Muslim University.
lation that unfolds in time and eternity were unusual and for
some controversial. Yet his thought had a tremendous appeal
Sayyid Ah:mad Kha¯n’s approach enjoyed the support of
for those Muslims who were searching for leaders with an in-
several important personalities who formed the basis of the
tellectual and political vision.
so-called Aligarh movement. Among its members were sever-
al prominent literati who wrote Urdu poetry and prose to
Conservatives: The Deobandi Eulama¯D. The theologi-
disseminate its ideas. Most prominent among these was Alt:a¯f
cal school of Deoband, founded in 1867 by Rash¯ıd Ah:mad
H:usayn H:a¯l¯ı (d. 1914), the author of Madd wa gazr-i Isla¯m
Gangoh¯ı (d. 1905) and Muh:ammad Qa¯sim Nanawtaw¯ı
(The ebb and flow of Islam), a epic poem considered to the
(d. 1880), represented a conservative response among Sunn¯ı
Aligarh movement’s most enduring literary monument. Pop-
Eulama¯D to the establishment of British rule and the spread
ularly known as the Musaddas, after its six-line stanzas, it
of Western culture. Although the theologians of Deoband
contrasts the past glories and achievements of Islamic civili-
accepted the British as rulers, they found Western culture to
zation with the miserable status of Muslims of H:a¯l¯ı’s time.
be wanting and inappropriate for the faithful to emulate.
Among the other notable members of the Aligarh circle were:
The objective of the school was thus to establish and main-
Naz:¯ır Ah:mad (d. 1912), a pioneer in the development of the
tain a correct standard of Islamic practice for (Sunn¯ı) Mus-
Urdu novel, who highlighted the need to educate Muslim
lims to follow at a time when they were exposed to many
women in his fiction; Mumta¯z EAl¯ı, the publisher of Tahz¯ıb
non-Islamic influences. The theologians of Deoband prided
al-niswa¯n, a journal dedicated to women’s issues; Ameer EAl¯ı
themselves in upholding the authority of the four traditional
(d. 1928), the author of The Spirit of Islam, a book intended
schools of Sunn¯ı jurisprudence, and in time, their school ac-
primarily for British readers, emphasizing the essential com-
quired an outstanding reputation, enrolling students from
patibility between Islam and Western liberalism; and
many parts of the Islamic world. Deobandi leaders assumed
Chira¯gh EAl¯ı (d. 1895), a modernist interpreter of the
the status of S:u¯f¯ı shaykhs and initiated disciples, but the spe-
QurDa¯n, who, among other things, demonstrated that the Is-
cial miracles that were attributed to them were depicted as
lamic scripture was actually intended to ameliorate the posi-
being exercised to influence people to follow the sunnah, the
tion of women and implicitly prohibited polygamy. Chira¯gh
custom of the Prophet. In this regard, they were strongly op-
EAl¯ı’s most controversial stand was in regards to the h:ad¯ıth
posed to anything that was not in keeping with Prophetic
literature, which he considered entirely fabricated and there-
tradition, such as worship at S:u¯f¯ı shrines, belief in the inter-
fore unworthy as a basis of Islamic jurisprudence.
cession of p¯ırs, or elaborate birth, marriage, and death rituals.
Deobandi theologians vigorously defended the need to ac-
Sir Muh:ammad Iqba¯l. The poet-philosopher Sir
cept the interpretations and consensus of earlier Sunn¯ı schol-
Muh:ammad Iqba¯l ranks among the most significant thinkers
ars and jurists and attacked all dissenting voices. Rash¯ıd
of modern Islam. Because he was the first to advocate the
Ah:mad Gangoh¯ı, for example, dismissed Sir Sayyid’s pro-
idea of a separate Muslim homeland, he is also widely per-
Western and neorationalist approach as “deadly poison.”
ceived as the spiritual founder of Pakistan. He has became
Muh:ammad Qa¯sim acquired a stellar reputation for his po-
such a towering figure that every religious, political, and so-
lemical disputations with Hindu and Christian missionaries.
cial movement in contemporary Indo-Muslim thought has
A later Deobandi scholar, Ashra¯f EAl¯ı Thanw¯ı (d. 1943)
turned to his writings in order to find justification for its po-
achieved fame for his work Bihisti zevar (Heavenly jewelry),
sition. In addition to receiving training in Islamic studies (he
a conservative guidebook for the education of Muslim
was influenced by Sir Sayyid Ah:mad Kha¯n and Shibl¯ı, two
women. The prestige of Deoband as the guardian of Sunn¯ı
significant figures in the Aligarh movement), he studied phi-
Islam was enhanced in the late nineteenth and early twenti-
losophy at the Universities of Cambridge and Munich.
eth centuries when its scholars played a leading role in refut-
Through his prose and poetic works, he reveals a unique way
ing the claims of Ghula¯m Ah:mad, the founder of the
of interpreting and expressing Islamic concepts and ideas
Ah:mad¯ıyah movement, particularly his challenge to the fi-
through a skillful combination of Western and Eastern intel-
nality of Muh:ammad’s prophethood.
lectual and literary tools. He offered a conception of the
God-human relationship through which he intended to in-
Other groups. The emphasis on the Prophetic para-
spire Muslims to action. The life goal of the individual ego,
digm as a source of guidance for Muslims facing change
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
4653
formed the focal point of another reformist group, Ahl-i
marily in religious terms. Through such colonial instru-
H:ad¯ıth, led by Siddiq H:asan Kha¯n (d. 1890), a religious
ments, South Asian Muslims from diverse socioeconomic,
scholar who had married, in the midst of much controversy,
ethnic, and sectarian backgrounds, began, for the first time,
the widowed princess of Bhopal. Though the Ahl-i H:ad¯ıth
to perceive themselves as belonging to a distinct community
stressed the exclusive primacy of the QurDa¯n and the h:ad¯ıth
and, eventually, to a nation distinct from the subcontinent’s
as fundamental guides in life, they rejected the interpretive
non-Muslim population.
authority of the founders of the four Sunn¯ı schools. Their
As the variety of revivalist and reform movements dis-
treatment of the h:ad¯ıth as a form of implicit revelation that
cussed above began to clarify their respective positions as to
elaborated authoritatively the explicit revelation of the
what it meant to be a Muslim under the circumstances of
QurDa¯n led them into conflicts with two groups. On the one
colonial rule, they offered a wide spectrum of definition con-
hand they opposed members of the Aligarh movement who
cerning Islamic identity. These definitions sought to differ-
exhibited skepticism toward the authenticity of the h:ad¯ıth;
entiate more sharply the Muslim from the non-Muslim by
not surprisingly, they dubbed Sayyid Ah:mad Kha¯n “the
turning for guidance to scriptural sources such as the QurDa¯n,
modern prophet of nature-worshippers,” and the latest insti-
the sunnah of the Prophet Muh:ammad, and the tradition of
gator of evils in Muslim society. On the other hand, they en-
the historical past. In the process, any practices considered
gaged in a vitriolic polemical war with a counter-group led
to be syncretistic and accommodating to local custom were
by EAbdulla¯h Chakralav¯ı and called the Ahl-i QurDa¯n. As its
suspect. Significantly, none of the definitions allowed for
name suggests, this movement advocated total reliance on
Muslims to observe customs or rituals that were part of the
the QurDa¯n as the most perfect source of guidance; the
South Asian cultural environment. Practices, customs, and
QurDa¯n according to them contained all the basic injunctions
ideas that were prevalent among Muslims and recognized as
for Muslims and left them free to decide on other matters.
local or indigenous were deemed to be “un-Islamic.” This
For example, they regarded the call to prayer and the perfor-
was contrasted to the “Islamic” values represented by Perso-
mance of E¯ıd and funerary prayers as not essential Islamic ob-
Arabic culture.
ligations because they are not mentioned in the QurDa¯n. A
third important group was comprised of those Eulama¯D who
A suspicion of the local as “un-Islamic,” or “Hindu,”
did not see the need to change or modify the various customs
and a privileging of the “Arabo-Persian” as “Islamic,” com-
and practices that had developed among Sunn¯ı Muslim
bined with a conception of Islam and Hinduism as closed
communities in South Asia. Led by Ah:mad Rid:a¯ Kha¯n
systems of thought, couched in communalist and nationalist
(d. 1921), with their major centers at Bareilly and BadaDun,
terms, radically changed perceptions of different elements of
they accepted a variety of intercessory figures in Islam, from
South Asian culture. As literature, music, dance, and lan-
the Prophet Muh:ammad to the shaykhs and p¯ırs of the
guage came to be viewed through religious lenses they be-
darga¯hs. The Barelw¯ıs, as they came to be called, observed
came politicized within the realms of colonial and nationalist
the birthdays of the Prophet and of the S:u¯f¯ı p¯ırs—a practice
discourse. For instance, Muslims with personal names de-
that the Deobandis and others found objectionable on the
rived from local Indian systems of nomenclature began
grounds that such celebrations implied that the dead were
changing them in favor of Arabic or Persian ones to reflect
present. An important offshoot of the Deobandi movement
their Muslim identity. Dramatic changes occurred in how
is the Tablighi-jama¯Eat, founded in the 1920s by Mawla¯na¯
languages were perceived: there were attempts to “Islamicize”
Muh:ammad Ilya¯s (d. 1944). Its principal objective is to
Indic vernacular languages and literatures, such as Bengali,
reach out to ordinary Muslims individually and provide
by injecting into them more words of Arabic and Persian ori-
guidance on matters of faith through a network of self-taught
gin and using the Perso-Arabic script to write them. Urdu,
teachers traveling from house to house. Initially conceived
written in the Perso-Arabic script and with a highly Persian-
as a response to the efforts of Hindu movements such as the
ized vocabulary, was increasingly perceived as a symbol of Is-
Shuddhi and Sangathan to forcibly convert Muslims, it has
lamic identity, while Hindi, written in the Devanagari script
become one of the most influential grassroots religious
and with a highly Sanskritic vocabulary, became a symbol of
movements in South Asia, with considerable influence at the
Hinduism. In this emotionally charged atmosphere, it be-
international level as well.
came politically and culturally difficult, if not impossible, for
many Hindu writers to continue writing in Urdu, or for
DEFINING MUSLIM IDENTITY IN COLONIAL INDIA. It is in
Muslim writers to cultivate Hindi.
the nineteenth century, during the establishment of British
colonial rule over South Asia, that we witness a gradual evo-
The twin processes of Islamicization—defined in this
lution of cultural distancing and alienation between Muslim
case as the adoption of Perso-Arabic cultural elements and
and non-Muslim. The very “idiom” of British rule was com-
mores—among Muslims and Sanskritization among Hindus
munalist, systematically institutionalizing South Asia into a
resulted in a cultural distancing between Muslim and Hindu
nation of communities defined along religious lines. The
in many regions of the subcontinent. Muslim groups realized
census and ethnographic surveys conducted under British
that their status as Muslims depended on their cultural dis-
auspices highlighted religious markers of identity to the det-
tinctiveness from Hindu groups and vice versa. As sociologist
riment of others, forcing people to identify themselves pri-
Imtiaz Ah:mad correctly observes in “Exclusion and Assimila-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4654
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
tion in Indian Islam” (1976) the ultimate result of this vari-
Islam (meaning, of course, their interpretation of it) was
ety of Islamicization was disjunction; it had profound signifi-
being correctly followed and implemented. Over its fifty odd
cance in shaping interaction among Muslims and Hindus by
years of existence, the Pakistani polity has become the battle-
sharpening cultural differences between them. Ultimately,
ground for struggles between secularists, modernists, and Is-
cultural distancing facilitated the rise of the two-nation theo-
lamists, and has oscillated between different visions of the
ry—the idea that Muslims and Hindus constitute two sepa-
role of Islam in public life. To promote national unity, the
rate cultures and nations—and the demand for partition. It
state had at its foundation appealed to religion as a binding
also partially explains why the lack of a shared common cul-
ideology to hold together different ethnic groups. Yet, as the
ture has intensified the Muslim-Hindu violence that has
secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan in the bloody civil war
marked the history of contemporary South Asia.
of 1971 demonstrates, religious ideology alone is not suffi-
POST-PARTITION SOUTH ASIA. The emergence of the two-
cient to hold Muslim communities together. Ethnic and lan-
nation theory as the political platform on which Muh:ammad
guage loyalties are much stronger forces than faith in foster-
EAl¯ı Jinna¯h: (d. 1948) and the Muslim League were able to
ing community. Today, ethno-nationalist tensions between
garner support for the idea of Pakistan was not unexpected,
Sindhis, Muhajirs, and Punjabis continue to plague Pakistan.
for it had historical roots. The seeds for its germination had
In the 1980s General Z:ia¯ ul-H:aqq, with the support of
already been sown decades earlier. Sir Sayyid Ah:mad Kha¯n’s
the Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı, was able to implement programs of Is-
advocacy for separate political rights for Muslims; Sayyid
lamicization, in which the government enforced religious
Ah:mad Shah¯ıd’s muja¯hid¯ın movement and the quest for a
practices that it determined as being “Islamically” correct
da¯r al-Isla¯m; the Khila¯fat movement of the 1920s and its fu-
and proscribed those that it considered incorrect. Although
tile attempt to preserve the Sunn¯ı caliphate and the ideal of
instituted to promote national unity through uniformity,
Muslim political sovereignty; Sir Muh:ammad Iqba¯l’s call for
these programs have proven to be divisive as there is no con-
a consolidated Muslim state within a federal India—all can
sensus in Pakistani society on basic questions such as what
be seen, retrospectively, as paving the way for the creation
is “true” Islam, who is a Muslim, or even who is, in fact, re-
of Pakistan. Nevertheless, many Eulama¯D, including a signifi-
sponsible for the enforcement of religious codes. As a result
cant number of Deobandis, were opposed to the idea of Paki-
of Islamicization policies, tensions between Sh¯ıEah and
stan on two grounds: firstly, they did not trust the western-
Sunn¯ı have intensified, frequently leading to violence. Dis-
ized elite who led the Pakistan movement and secondly, they
cord between different groups, even within the majority
considered nationalism to be a Western ideology that was
Sunn¯ı community, has heightened because it has been im-
detrimental to transnational Muslim unity. Not surprisingly,
possible to reach agreement over which interpretation of
H:usayn Ah:mad Madan¯ı, a leader of the Deoband Eulama¯D,
Islam should be the basis for state policy. Many changes in
issued a fatwa¯ forbidding Muslims to support the idea of Pa-
personal and family law, introduced as part of the Islamiciza-
kistan and declared Jinna¯h:, who was popularly called
tion program, have been detrimental to the status of Muslim
Quaid-i A Ez:am (“The Great Leader”), to be Ka¯fir-i A Ez:am
women, leading to opposition from women’s rights organiza-
(“The Great Infidel”). Among other opponents were Abu¯Dl
tions. Groups such as the Ah:mad¯ıyah, who claim to be Mus-
Kala¯m Aza¯d (d. 1958), a scholar and commentator on the
lim, have been proclaimed a non-Muslim minority by the
QurDa¯n and an ardent proponent of a composite Hindu-
state and subjected to persecution. Although constitutionally
Muslim nationalism; and Maula¯na¯ Mawdu¯d¯ı (d. 1979), who
protected, Christian and Hindu minority communities in
founded the Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı to counter the Muslim League
Pakistan live apprehensively in a nation that has yet to come
and the drive for a Muslim homeland. Ironically, the
to terms with ethnic and religious pluralism.
Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı was able to fully express its political program
The situation in Bangladesh has been different from
only after it became actively involved in Pakistan, the very
that of Pakistan, mainly because the state emerged as an ex-
state whose creation Mawdu¯d¯ı had opposed.
pression of Bengali ethnonationalism—the majority of
Ostensibly founded to allow Muslims a safe haven in
Bangladeshis being speakers of Bengali—not common reli-
which to practice their religion and nourish their cultures
gion. Nevertheless, since its foundation, the role of Islam in
without fearing the tyranny of a non-Muslim majority, Paki-
this Muslim-majority state has become a topic of debate and
stan has, since its foundation, grappled with the problem of
contention. The first constitution in 1972 affirmed the secu-
defining the role of Islam in the organization of the state.
lar character of the state and prohibited political parties
Muh:ammad EAl¯ı Jinna¯h:, the founding father, had a vision
founded on the basis of religious affiliation. Three years later,
of a “Muslim” state that was secular and liberal. It was “Is-
after a military coup, the government of Ziaur Rahman
lamic” in that it was to be devoted to nurturing and protect-
(1975–1981) began to replace secularist ideals with more re-
ing the cultural, social, and political interests of Muslims. In
ligious ones, eventually resulting in the declaration of Islam
this vision, the state did not interfere with the religious be-
as a state religion in 1988. Religious political parties, princi-
liefs and practices of its Muslim (and non-Muslim) popula-
pally the Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı, following the pattern in Pakistan,
tion. In contrast, groups such as Mawdu¯d¯ı’s Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı
have campaigned for Islam to become the ideology of the
envisioned an “Islamic” state whose underlying political ide-
state. So far they have been unable to win widespread elector-
ology was religious and whose function it was to ensure that
al support for their cause.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTH ASIA
4655
As for India, in the aftermath of the partition Muslim
Sufism in South Asia has attracted a great deal of attention from
communities there have been consistently perceived as the
scholars, some of whom have axes to grind. Important
“other,” especially as the nation-state of India was itself
studies include the various works by Khaliq Ahmad Nizami;
formed in opposition to the Islamic “other”—Pakistan. Con-
Yohanan Friedmann’s Shaykh Ahmad Sirhind¯ı: An Outline
sequently, many Muslims have experienced a steady margi-
of His Thought and a Study of His Image in the Eyes of Posterity
(Montreal, 1971); Richard Eaton’s Sufis of Bijapur, 1300–
nalization economically, socially, and politically, especially as
1700: Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India (Princeton, N.J.,
the nation’s politics have come to be increasingly influenced
1978); Muslim Shrines in India: Their Character, History, and
by right-wing Hindu ideologies. At various times, the situa-
Significance, edited by Christian Troll (Delhi,1989); and
tion of Muslim minorities has been precarious as they have
Carl Ernst’s Eternal Garden: Mysticism, History, and Politics
been victimized by bloody pogroms provoked by Hindu ex-
at a South Asian Sufi Center (Albany, N.Y., 1992).
tremist groups. The demolition of the Babri mosque in De-
Important studies on minority Muslim communities include
cember 1992 and the riots that followed, as well as the massa-
S. A. A. Rizvi’s A Socio-Intellectual History of the Isna EAshari
cres of Muslims in Gujarat in 2003, have severely shaken the
Shi Eis in India, 2 vols. (Delhi, 1986); Azim Nanji’s The
self-confidence of many of India’s Muslims in the supposedly
N¯ızar¯ı Isma¯ E¯ıl¯ı Tradition in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent
secular nature of the state.
(Delmar, N.Y., 1978); Juan Cole’s Roots of North Indian
Surveying the history of Muslim communities in South
Shi Eism in Iran and Iraq: Religion and State in Awadh, 1722–
Asia, it is clear that religiously based nationalisms and the
1859 (Berkeley, Calif., 1988); Yohanan Friedmann’s Prophe-
cy Continuous: Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and Its
politics of communalism in the contemporary period have
Medieval Background (Berkeley, Calif., 1989); Vernon Schu-
been detrimental to the composite culture that Muslims have
bel’s Religious Performance in Contemporary Islam: Shi’i Devo-
shared for many centuries with other religious groups. As
tional Rituals in South Asia (Columbia, S.C., 1993); and
previously shared cultural elements have become increasingly
Jonah Blank’s Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam and Moderni-
politicized along religious lines, the divide between Muslims
ty among the Daudi Bohras (Chicago, 2001).
and Hindus has widened. In the politically charged atmo-
Among the growing number of studies that focus on the regional
sphere created by the rise of religious right-wing political par-
development of Islamic traditions, the most significant are
ties in India and Pakistan, and to a limited extent in Bangla-
Stephen Dale’s Islamic Society on the South Asian Frontier
desh, traditions of inter-religious and intra-religious
(New York, 1980); Asim Roy’s The Islamic Syncretistic Tradi-
pluralism have been jeopardized. Religious intolerance and
tion in Bengal (Princeton, N.J., 1983); David Gilmartin’s
stereotyping are on the rise. As a result, the history of Islam
Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan (Berke-
in South Asia has been grossly misrepresented. Perpetuated
ley, Calif., 1988); Rafiuddin Ahmed’s The Bengal Muslims
by Muslim and non-Muslim groups alike, these stereotypes
1871–1906: A Quest for Identity (Delhi, 1991); and Richard
and distorted interpretations of history and doctrine have
Eaton’s The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760
had the unfortunate consequence of creating a marked in-
(Berkeley, Calif., 1993).
crease in the dehumanization of the “other”—whether Mus-
For modern developments, the standard survey is Az¯ız Ah:mad’s
lim or Hindu, Sh¯ıE¯ı or Sunn¯ı.
Islamic Modernism in India and Pakistan, 1857–1964 (Lon-
don, 1967); dated but still a classic is Wilfred Cantwell
SEE ALSO Ah:madiyah; Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı; T:ar¯ıqah.
Smith’s Modern Islam in India: A Social Analysis, rev. ed.
(New York, 1972). Imtiaz Ah:mad discusses in detail the im-
pact of Islamicization on Muslim-Hindu relations in his “Ex-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
clusion and Assimilation in Indian Islam,” in Sociocultural
The most comprehensive and scholarly handbook is Annemarie
Impact of Islam on India, edited by Attar Singh (Chandigarh,
Schimmel’s Islam in the Indian Subcontinent (Leiden, Neth-
India, 1976), pp. 85–105. More specialized studies on indi-
erlands, 1980), which has full bibliographies. Muh:ammad
vidual figures or movements include Christian Troll’s Sayyid
Mujeeb’s The Indian Muslims (London, 1967) is a sensitive
Ahmad Khan: A Reinterpretation of Muslim Theology (New
interpretation of Muslim responses to the South Asian set-
Delhi, 1978); Annemarie Schimmel’s Gabriel’s Wing: A
ting. India’s Islamic Tradition, 711–1750, edited by Richard
Study into the Religious Ideas of Sir Muh:ammad Iqba¯l (Leiden,
Eaton (New Delhi, 2003), and Beyond Turk and Hindu: Re-
Netherlands, 1963); Barbara Metcalf’s Islamic Revival in
thinking Religious Identities in Islamicate South Asia, edited by
British India: Deoband, 1860–1900 (Princeton, N.J., 1982);
David Gilmartin and Bruce Lawrence (Gainesville, Fla.,
Gail Minault’s The Khilafat Movement: Religious Symbolism
2000), contain important essays on Muslim and Hindu in-
and Political Mobilization in India (New York, 1982); and
teractions in premodern South Asia in regional contexts, the
S. Vali Reza Nasr’s Mawdudi and the Making of Islamic Re-
dynamic overlapping of religious cultures, and the fluid na-
vivalism (New York, 1996).
ture of constructions of religious identity. These essays are
a marvelous antidote to the strictly communalist and nation-
The experiences of Muslim women in South Asia are long overdue
alist readings of history favored in some circles. Finally, Tony
for scholarly attention. Among a few pioneering works are
Stewart’s “In Search of Equivalence: Conceiving the Mus-
Patricia Jeffery’s Frogs in a Well: Indian Women in Purdah
lim-Hindu Encounter through Translation Theory,” History
(London, 1979); Separate Worlds: Studies of Purdah in South
of Religions 40, no. 3 (2001): 260–287, represents a signifi-
Asia, edited by Hannah Papanek and Gail Minault (Colum-
cant contribution to the study of vernacular Muslim
bia, Mo., 1983); Gail Minault’s Secluded Scholars: Women’s
literature.
Education and Muslim Social Reform in Colonial India (Delhi,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4656
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
1998); and Shemeem Abbas’s The Female Voice in Sufi Ritu-
their inhabitants turn. They have a status that defines the
al: Devotional Practices of Pakistan and India (Austin, Tex.,
other parts of the nation as provinces.
2002).
Nevertheless, and although it might seem, from a con-
ALI S. ASANI (2005)
temporary perspective, that these nations have always existed
in some form or another and that their present role derives
simply from the expulsion of colonial powers and the recov-
ery of a national sovereignty that has been lost, the reality
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
is far more complex and the results of decolonization more
Southeast Asia is in some respects a forgotten world of Islam,
radical. In fact, the creation of such states has turned the tra-
for much the same reasons as its counterparts in West and
ditional world of Southeast Asia on its head. The role of such
East Africa. Neither its arrival nor its development there was
capital cities with a strong central authority dominating the
spectacular, and the languages of the local Muslim commu-
political, economic, and religious life of the region is very
nities did not become vehicles for works of universal and
recent.
commanding stature as had Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and
some of the vernaculars of the Indian subcontinent. Yet,
Traditionally, centers of political power in Southeast
Islam in Southeast Asia has its own styles and its own temper
Asia were distributed among a wide range of focal points that
and intellectual traditions. It merits full recognition as a
served as harbors for the exchange and transshipment of
major cultural zone of the domain of Islam in its own right.
goods; these points became the sites of port cities, which
Its sacral practices and folk beliefs that color and live along-
from time to time grew strong enough to wield an extensive
side the profession of Islam no more invalidate that basic al-
political authority. Such sites were diverse, discrete, numer-
legiance than do the sacral practices and folk beliefs of Mus-
ous, scattered, and largely unstable centers of activity; they
lims elsewhere, including those in the Middle East. Indeed,
had relations with each other on the basis of rivalry and self-
Southeast Asia is the home of at least one-fifth of the world’s
interest, without the direct hegemony of a central authority
Muslims. Indonesia alone, with over 130 million Muslims,
or any stable and continuing point of reference. Unlike the
is the largest such community in the world.
great cities of the Middle East and South Asia, which enjoyed
stability over centuries, if not millennia (one need only men-
HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. Southeast Asia is best described
tion Cairo, Alexandria, Damascus, Baghdad, or Delhi), cen-
as a great archipelago, a huge land mass that juts southward
ters of power in traditional Southeast Asia rarely maintained
between the Indian subcontinent and China and then frag-
their position for more than a century, and the authority they
ments at its extremity into a complex of thousands of islands,
enjoyed was very different from that of the modern capital
the largest of which are Sumatra, Borneo (Kalimantan), Java,
cities in the region. The historiography of the region, in its
and Mindanao, while the smallest hardly registers on the
many languages, reflects this character in the emphasis that
map. Today this region is identified with the modern nation-
it lays on genealogy of founders and traditional rulers in its
states of Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, Thailand,
accounts of the origins of settlements.
Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
All of these nation-states have Muslim communities. In
These circumstances have important implications for an
Myanmar, Kampuchea, and Vietnam they are insignificant
understanding of Islam and the processes of Islamization in
minorities. In Thailand, the Muslim community, though
the region. On the one hand, its origins need to be seen in
still a minority, has a distinct profile. In Malaysia, Indonesia,
the planting of numerous local traditions of Islam at focal
and Brunei, on the other hand, Islam has an imposing posi-
points in the archipelago. In the course of time, these tradi-
tion. Farther to the east, in the Philippines, it constitutes a
tions coalesced and emerged for a while as Islamic city-states
significant cultural minority that is in some respects a part
or fissiparated and disappeared as significant entities, to be
of the Philippine nation, but in others, the nucleus of a na-
succeeded by new ones. On the other hand, the establish-
tional entity attempting in various ways to establish its au-
ment of modern nation-states with single centers of authority
tonomy, if not independence.
has laid the foundation for a new kind of Islamic tradition
with a national character, and these centers in turn have exer-
Structures in transition. In seeking to understand the
cised a normative influence on the development of such tra-
historical evolution and contemporary significance of these
ditions.
communities, it is necessary to distinguish between the mod-
ern nation-states of the contemporary world, and the tradi-
The diversity of Southeast Asia. From earliest times,
tional distribution of centers of power in Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia has been a region with a variety of peoples,
These new nation-states, emerging in the wake of decolon-
social structures, means of livelihood, cultures, and religions.
ization, were largely set within the borders established by the
Denys Lombard, admittedly writing of the modern period,
colonial powers that had created them. The capital cities of
puts it this way:
such states, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta for example, are a
We are in fact dealing with several levels of mentali-
focus of the national personality of the political entities in
ty. . . . The thought processes of fringe societies in
which they are set. They are the gateway, the immediate
which “potlatch” is a prevailing custom (the Toraja);
point of identification, the seat of government, to which
those of concentric agrarian societies (the Javanese
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
4657
states and their off-shoots at Jogja and Surakarta); those
could challenge its authority as the ideal medium for the
of trading societies (Malay towns, pasisir [Javanese
vernacularization of Islam.
coastal centers]); those of the societies living in large
modern towns, and above all, the interplay of these vari-
Its role as a language of Islam is also made evident by
ous processes on each other, and their inter-
the well-nigh universal use of a form of the Arabic script for
relationships.
its written transmission up to modern times, supplanting a
If the first broad distinction to be made is temporal and po-
script of Indic derivation that had been used for inscriptions
litical, between the constellation of modern nation-states and
before the coming of Islam. Other languages that accepted
that of the traditional period, another is geographical: be-
the Arabic script include Taosug and Maranouw from the
tween continental (excluding the Malay Peninsula) and insu-
southern Philippines, and it was also used alongside (but
lar Southeast Asia. The former includes the states of Viet-
never supplanted) scripts derived from Indian syllabaries for
nam, Kampuchea, and Thailand; the latter, the Malay
writing Javanese and Sundanese.
Peninsula and the islands of what are now Indonesia and the
There is only one example of the use of an Indic script
southern Philippines.
for an already Islamized Malay. This is found on a tombstone
To be sure, each has economic and social elements in
from Minye Tujuh in Aceh marking the grave of a Queen
common—settled rice cultivation, slash-and-burn shifting
Alalah, daughter of a Sultan Malik al-Zahir, who was a khan
cultivation, fishing and seafaring, trading and piracy, gold
and a son of a khan (the title suggests a foreign origin). Dated
mining, along with elements of megalithic culture, ancestor
in the equivalent of 1389 CE, it is written in an Indian script,
worship, and the numerous rituals and beliefs associated with
and possibly in an Indian meter; if this is so, it shows a re-
rice cultivation. Yet they are separated by a division into two
markable skill, even at this early period, in using Arabic loan-
great language families—the Austronesian, of which the
words within the requirements of Indic meters. The Malay
most important representatives are Malay and Javanese, and
inscription on the Trengganu stone, it will be recalled, was
the Mon Khmer, of which the most important are Thai and
written in the Arabic script. The fact that there is a gap of
Burmese—and the communications barrier between these
almost two centuries between this tombstone and the earliest
language families is much greater than that between related
surviving manuscripts simply emphasizes how arbitrary are
members within one family or the other. Equally important,
the constellations of chance that provide material for knowl-
both parts of the great archipelago responded vigorously to
edge of the progress and forms of Islam in the region.
religious traditions stemming from the Indian subcontinent
long before the birth of Islam. In continental Southeast Asia,
By the seventeenth century Malay had absorbed a rich
Therava¯da Buddhism became dominant, whereas Maha¯ya¯na
stratum of Arabic loanwords and the acceptance of Arabic
Buddhism in one form or another flourished in Sumatra and
structures, along with some elements of Arabic morphology,
Java, in particular, in the empire of Srivijaya (seventh to four-
provides striking evidence of the permeation of the region
teenth centuries) based on South Sumatra, and in Mataram
by an Islamic ethos and its modulation to the expression of
(Central) and Majapahit (East) East Java (seventh to six-
Islamic ideas. Many of these ideas relate to religious matters,
teenth centuries). These great divisions correspond to those
for example, those relating to the ritual prayer, marriage, di-
regions in which Islam secured a dominant position and
vorce, and inheritance. Some Arabic words have undergone
those in which it did not.
a narrowing: that is to say, they have lost a general meaning
Languages. Southeast Asia is an area of great linguistic
and kept only a religious one. Others range from technical
diversity: There are over three hundred languages in the In-
terms, relating to religious matters and the administration of
donesian area alone. Of these languages, Malay was known
religious law, or terms of medicine, architecture, and the sci-
throughout the region as a lingua franca as early as the six-
ences, to the most common everyday expressions. Sometimes
teenth century. During the period already discussed, it had
the words are so thoroughly assimilated that they would pass
also been established as a vernacular of Islam and as a lan-
unrecognized unless one were able to identify them as Arabic
guage of the court for areas as far afield and diverse as Malac-
by following through the patterns of sound change that
ca, Aceh, and Makassar. It is this very early diffusion of the
Malay imposes on the loanwords it absorbs. Most remark-
language, with its religious, economic, cultural, and chancel-
able is the adoption of an Arabic word to refer to local sys-
lery roles, that led to its adoption in the twentieth century,
tems of culture, law, and traditional usage: adat (Arab.,
in slightly different forms, as the national language of both
Dadah). In fact, the concept identified by the word is so char-
Malaysia and Indonesia, where it became known as Bahasa
acteristically Malay that it would not be recognized as an Ar-
Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia, respectively. Of course,
abic word unless its origin were pointed out. The number
other languages of the same family were to become vehicles
of common Arabic words in Malay—whether borrowed di-
of Muslim learning and culture, in particular Javanese, Sun-
rectly from Arabic or indirectly from other languages such
danese, Madurese, and some of the languages of southern Su-
as Persian—is well over a thousand. With the growing inten-
lawesi (the Celebes). Although Javanese had a far richer liter-
sity of Islamic awareness since the 1980s, the number contin-
ary tradition than did Malay, none had the latter’s
ues to increase as individuals respond to an increasing need
widespread social and geographical diffusion, and none
to demonstrate their Muslim identity.
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
It is not only Malay that has received a large corpus of
There is too little evidence to document in detail the be-
Arabic loanwords; the same is true of many of the Malay-
ginnings of this process, yet a reasonable working hypothesis
related languages in Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, notably
may be formulated as follows: as soon as there were Muslim
Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, Acehnese, and Minangka-
sailors aboard ships sailing under whatever flag in the Indian
bau. The establishment of Muslim communities in the Phil-
Ocean trading system and disembarking goods or individuals
ippines likewise brought numbers of loanwords to various
at points in Southeast Asia, there was the possibility of a
Philippine languages. In Tagalog the number is relatively
Muslim presence at those points with a concern for the im-
small, but in the southern Philippines, where Muslim com-
plementation of the norms of Islamic community life. This
munities are concentrated, they are more numerous.
could have been as early as the end of the eighth century.
Hardly anything is known of the history of trading settle-
Southeast Asia in world trade. The great archipelago
ments along the littoral of Southeast Asia during this period;
of Southeast Asia lies across the sea routes between the Indian
Ocean and the China Sea. In both divisions of the region
however, reliable evidence for the presence of Muslims in
there were some points open to a range of contacts with the
China from the beginning of the eighth century, suggests
outside world, and others where access was more difficult
that Muslim seamen and merchants were already breaking
and where a lifestyle conditioned by such remoteness was
their long voyages at one or another of the numerous natural
preserved.
harbors along the coasts of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula,
Borneo, and northern Java, the Celebes and the southern
For centuries before the Christian era, the trading sys-
Philippines. The unloading of goods to await transshipment
tem of the Indian Ocean had been dominated by the Yeme-
with the change of the monsoon, the establishment of ware-
nis, who traded in gold, gums, spices, rhinoceros horn, and
houses and semipermanent settlements, and trading and in-
ivory from the east coast of Africa. For this early period, it
termarriage—and other relationships—with the local peo-
is not possible to identify place names accurately, but it is
ples were all factors that could combine to establish small,
known that the Yemenis brought their goods to the land of
viable and possibly stable Muslim communities.
gold, suvarna bhumi, the term by which Southeast Asia was
referred to in some Sanskrit texts.
Given the diversity and discontinuities of the region, the
provenance of Southeast Asian Islam is not a practical topic
In the beginning of the Christian era, both continental
for discussion, although hypotheses have located it anywhere
and insular Southeast Asia reacted to, and in a remarkable
from Egypt to Bengal. Some Indonesian writers have sought
way were fecundated by, contact with Indian cultural influ-
to discover for it an Arabian origin that can be dated as early
ences carried to the focal trading centers referred to earlier,
as the eighth century. One thing is certain: all movement of
which were to be creative for over a millennium. A constant
ideas and peoples from West and South Asia to Southeast
succession of Hindu and Buddhist influences was established
Asia is related to the maritime history of the Indian Ocean
in particular regions, with various phases carrying the differ-
(although it is possible that some communities included
ent traditions, schools, and artistic styles of these great reli-
those who had made part of the journey by land across the
gions and modifying each other as they were adapted to the
Indian subcontinent, or even the “great circle” route via the
new environment.
Silk Road through Central Asia, and then by sea from Can-
THE COMING OF ISLAM. Up to the tenth century CE there
ton to the islands). The greater the number of Muslims in-
is very little evidence of the presence of Islam in Southeast
volved in the trading system, the greater the diversity of the
Asia. Indeed, although the Portuguese conquerors of Malac-
Muslim tradition that became diffused, and the greater the
ca in 1511 give us some important information about the
probability of Muslims coming together in sufficient num-
progress of Islam in the region, apart from a few archaeologi-
bers to generate a critical mass—a Muslim community that
cal remains, reports by Chinese merchants, and the records
could become stable, put down roots through intermarriage
of individual travelers such as Marco Polo and Ibn Bat:t:ut:ah,
with local women who embraced Islam, and play a distinc-
both of whom give descriptions of North Sumatra, there is
tive role on equal terms with other local communities. Such
little concrete documentation until the sixteenth century. By
Muslim communities may have included Arabs from what
that time, however, with the appearance of the Dutch and
may be called an Arab diaspora in the early years of the Islam-
British trading companies in the region, the evidence of
ic commonwealth; but from that era, very little direct infor-
widespread Islamization is considerable. The territories of
mation has survived. The process of consolidation was how-
the Islamic commonwealth in Southeast Asia were so vast
ever slow. It is not until the thirteenth century that Islamic
that the process of their creation has been called “the second
communities appear with a political profile, as port city-
expansion of Islam,” alluding to the original expansion from
states ruled by sultans. The earliest of these sultanates was
Arabia into North Africa and the Fertile Crescent. Unlike
that of Pasai, on the east coast of North Sumatra; it was suc-
that first period of extraordinary growth in the seventh cen-
ceeded by others. The appearance of such city-states must be
tury, however, the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia was hesi-
seen as the culmination of a long period of Muslim presence
tant, modest, and discreet: what was achieved in one century
with a low profile, a circumstance that has made the ethnic
in the Middle East took at least half a millennium in South-
mix of the communities—whether local, Indian, Persian,
east Asia.
Arab or even Chinese—difficult to determine.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
4659
Once Islam achieved a political presence in the region,
of Pasai, in North Sumatra, the date given for his death cor-
further growth and the exercise of political power became
responding to 1297. Reports of foreign travelers confirm that
possible. By this time the trading system of the Indian Ocean
many of his subjects were Muslims. What circumstances en-
was largely in Muslim hands; this assured economic power
abled the Muslim community to achieve a critical mass and
to Muslims, and Muslim mercantile law served to generate
generate a state in which the ruler could style himself sultan,
business confidence. The power and self-confidence of the
and what processes led to this event, we cannot tell. Likewise
Muslim states gave them a position as power brokers and al-
there is little evidence as to the ethnic composition of this
lies. Marriage alliances that required a profession of Islam
state: to what extent was it local, to what extent foreign?
doubtless had a role as well.
(And even the term foreign at this time begs a number of
questions.) Many of the titles and names attributed to the
First traces. The earliest archaeological evidence is
personalities of this sultanate in a local chronicle have a
slight: a lone pillar in the region of Phanrang on the mid-east
South Indian ring to them.
coast of Vietnam, inscribed in Arabic and dating from the
tenth century. The French scholar Ravaisse (quoted by S. Q.
Nonetheless, from this point on, the documentation of
Fatimi in Islam Comes to Asia) believes it to indicate that
Islam at the political level is relatively straightforward, and
it is possible to chronicle the emergence of states with Islamic
there existed there in the eleventh century an urban
population of whom we know little. They were very dif-
rulers. Even though internal records are sparse and their
ferent from the indigenous people in race, belief and
human and cultural dynamics remain in the shadows, at the
habits. Their ancestors must have come about a century
very least their names are recorded by foreign visitors.
earlier, and must have married native women. They
The sultanates. It has been posited that Pasai is the ear-
were merchants and craftsmen living in a perfectly well-
organized society mixing more and more with the na-
liest Muslim state in the Malay world and its ruler as the first
tives. They asked one of themselves to act as their repre-
sultan there. The only evidence of his life comes from his
sentative and defender with respect to the authorities of
tombstone. It is however striking that his name is epony-
the place. He was called Shaikh al-Suq [“master of the
mous with that of the Ayyubid ruler al-Malik al-Saleh
market”], and was assisted by the Naqib (a merchant or
(r. 1240–1249) who restored Jerusalem to Islamic rule in
craftsman in charge of the management of the commu-
1244. But Pasai was at least referred to by Marco Polo and
nity to which he belonged). Along with him were “no-
Ibn Bat:t:ut:ah in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Al-
tables who, enriched by their commerce, occupied an
though the extent of its political authority is not known, it
important place.”
occupied a strategic position at the entrance to the straits of
Another piece of evidence from roughly the same period sug-
Malacca and was a convenient point for exchanging goods
gests that there was a Muslim presence at Leren on the north
and taking on board supplies of water and firewood. More-
coast of Java. This is a tombstone with a date corresponding
over, by making alliances with either pirates or nascent states
to 1082 CE, marking the grave of a merchant’s daughter. It
on the other side of the straits, it was able to ensure that ship-
provides no certain evidence of a Muslim community; even
ping did not go elsewhere, and that port taxes were paid.
the date cannot be taken for granted since tombstones were
Malacca. Malacca, on the west coast of the Malay Pen-
frequently imported long after a burial. Near Jolo (southern
insula, inherited the mantle of Pasai. Far more is known of
Philippines) is the venerated grave of a foreign Muslim with
its history than that of Pasai, from both local and foreign
a date corresponding to 1310 CE, the site of which has been
sources. It became Muslim shortly after its foundation
used for the coronation of a number of the sultans of Sulu.
around 1400, and via its dependencies, both on the Malay
In Trengganu, an east-coast state on the Malay Peninsula,
Peninsula, where it established the dynasties of the Malay
a fragment of a stone pillar inscribed in Malay in Arabic
sultanates, and on the east coast of Sumatra, it served as a
script which may be dated between 1321 and 1380—a frag-
conduit for Muslim influence to other parts of the archipela-
ment of the inscription is missing—marks the presence of a
go. Various factors were involved here: local traders from
Muslim community. By the fifteenth century there is sporad-
Thailand to the north and the neighboring islands were at-
ic but more substantial evidence of Muslims in the East Java-
tracted to its emporium, Muslim traders from Bengal, India,
nese empire of Majapahit, again from gravestones. Probably
and further afield found scope for business activities opened
they belonged to communities of merchants, but this too is
up in its trading partners and dependencies, and it attracted
hardly more than surmise. Just as there were Muslims in
foreign Eulama¯D (religious scholars; sg., Ea¯lim), principally
Java, there is evidence that there were Muslims in the great
from the Indian subcontinent, although many of them may
Buddhist empire of Srivijaya (seventh to thirteenth centu-
have had Arab blood and used this Arab descent to their ad-
ries) based on South Sumatra, an empire that thrived on
vantage. Although Malacca held an important position,
trade and maintained close relations with China and India.
however, it was not unique. There were many smaller states
The earliest evidence that substantiates not simply the
that played an analogous role along the littoral of East Suma-
presence of Muslims in the region but the existence of an Is-
tra, the north coast of Java, Borneo, Sulawesi (Celebes), and
lamic maritime sultanate dates from the thirteenth century.
later the Spice Islands (Moluccas) and the southern Philip-
This is a tombstone of Malik al-Saleh, the first Muslim ruler
pines. In every case the same kind of processes that were illus-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4660
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
trated at Malacca were taking place, perhaps on a smaller
a network of trading systems, became Muslim. This area was
scale, perhaps on a larger scale, and they had been happening
to put a distinctive stamp on its interpretation and realiza-
even before the birth of Malacca. It must be stressed that
tion of Islam by maintaining a matrilineal social structure
there is no “big bang” explanation for the coming of Islam
alongside a commitment to Islam that was among the staun-
to Southeast Asia; such claims as the Portuguese statement
chest in the archipelago.
that Java was converted from Malacca must be regarded as
hyperbole.
Another inland region where Islam became established
was the state of Mataram in Central Java, which was, until
Successor states. After Malacca fell to the Portuguese in
its defeat by the United Dutch East India Company in 1629,
1511, it was such smaller states that were to grow in stature:
the largest single state on the island. Even after the defeat,
Aceh, Palembang, Banten, Ceribon, Demak, Surabaya, and
it maintained this status, a status that added special signifi-
Makassar, as well as smaller centers in the Spice Islands and
cance to the fact that its ruler, Susuhunan Agung (1613–
Mindanao. Each of them became integrated into the Muslim
1645), assumed the title of sultan and in 1633 established
trading system, each became a center of Islamic learning, and
the Islamic calendrical system in Java.
each, by a continuing process of osmosis, attracted people
from the interior into contact with these cities. In every case,
Beginnings of the colonial era. From the early six-
networks of family, S:u¯f¯ı order (t:ar¯ıqah), guild, and trade as-
teenth century, European powers, or trading companies rep-
sociation relationships gradually served to diffuse Islam back
resenting them began an increasing encroachment on the re-
into the interior, although it was transmitted at different le-
gion, establishing themselves as participants in its economic
vels of intensity and perceived in rather different ways ac-
and political life. Early in the sixteenth century (1511), the
cording to the cultural backgrounds of the various com-
Portuguese captured Malacca; in the second half of the six-
munities.
teenth century, the Spanish established their rule in the Phil-
ippines; at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the
Special attention should be drawn to Aceh, which first
Dutch East India Company took the first steps toward ac-
came to prominence in the 1520s and reached its apogee
quiring an empire in the East Indies, fighting a war of attri-
during the reign of Sultan Iskandar Muda (1607–1636).
tion against the Portuguese as it did so. In the eighteenth
During the first half of the seventeenth century it was the
century, British East India Company began to establish trad-
dominant economic and political power of the region. It
ing posts in Sumatra, and on the Malay Peninsula. Islamiza-
conquered the northern half of the Malay Peninsula and
tion nevertheless continued. Throughout the region more
northern and parts of central Sumatra, gaining control of the
people were gradually drawn into the new religion, to the
pepper areas and enforcing a trading monopoly. Aceh was
basic recognition of transcendence implicit in the confession
the first Muslim state in the region to have extended inter-
“There is no god but God.” To be sure, numerous cults sur-
course with Europe, and European dignitaries, including
vived alongside this confession, together with practices and
James I of Britain, as well as the Ottoman Empire. It is also
rituals and the use of spells and magical formulas that derived
noteworthy for a surviving legacy of Islamic learning: for the
from the Indic and even megalithic traditions. Nevertheless
first time we have historical information about a state in the
there was a continuing momentum toward the subordina-
region generating works of Islamic scholarship that remain
tion and finally the subsuming of the spiritual concepts of
accessible to us, some of which are used in schools through-
such traditions into the terminology of Islam: thus numerous
out the Malay world even today. In addition, experts are able
Javanese spirits were largely included within the Islamic cate-
to identify individual Acehnese scholars, both in Aceh and
gory of spiritual beings, the jinn. Doubtless the intensity of
in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and the teachers with
response to the more exclusive demands of Islam waxed and
whom they studied. Indeed, one of the great ministers of
waned, yet amid all these communities where Islam had been
state between 1600 and 1630, Shams al-D¯ın was a noted
planted, some degree of formal recognition was given to pos-
Ea¯lim and bore the title Shaikh al-Islam. There are eyewitness
itive Islamic law, particularly in relation to diet, to burial of
reports from British, Dutch, and French sailors on the cele-
the dead, to marriage, to circumcision, and to the fast, even
bration of the conclusion of the fast of Ramad:a¯n (E¯Id al-Fit:r)
though the performance of the daily prayer might be lax. In-
and the festival of the sacrifice marking the climax of the pil-
deed it is striking how the pre-Islamic cult of the dead reflect-
grimage rites in Mecca. It is also possible to establish and de-
ed in the building of great mausolea for the Javanese god-
scribe some of the relations between Aceh, the Mughal court,
kings, and the extravagant sacrifices of buffalo still carried on
and the Ottoman Empire.
today in non-Muslim areas such as the Torajas (Central Sula-
wesi), faded away with the acceptance of Islam.
The Islamic history of Aceh during this period is better
known than that of any of its neighbors, but analogous cen-
The h:a¯jj played an important role; some individuals
ters of lesser political power played a major role elsewhere in
who made it stayed to study for years in the holy cities of
the region as Islam moved inland during the seventeenth
Mecca and Madina, or elsewhere in the Middle East; the
century. In Sumatra, for example, the inland highlands of the
S:u¯f¯ı orders also played a role, and religious teachers, travers-
Minangkabau region, territories rich in gold and pepper and
ing the Muslim world, gave fresh life to communities and
which for centuries had established this part of the island in
religious schools and often held the ear of local rulers. The
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
4661
constant retelling of stories of the prophets and the heroes
It was also the first place of call on their return journey. And
of Islam and the cultural adaptation of these stories to local
the intensity of religious education, debate, and teaching in
conditions gradually created a unitary and universalistic
Aceh, as well as the constant movement of peoples of diverse
frame of reference for local and world history and established
ethnic groups, ensured a wide dissemination of religious
Islamic concepts—of the creation, of the sending of God’s
ideas and, to some extent, a normalization of religious life
messengers culminating in Muh:ammad, of the community,
through the distribution of networks of religious affiliations.
and eventually of the resurrection of the body—as the norm
(T:ar¯ıqahs can be identified in north Sumatra since at least
and benchmark by which all competing systems of ideas were
the second half of the sixteenth century).
to be measured and into which they were largely to be assimi-
The acceptance of Islam by Sultan Agung of Mataram
lated.
(r. 1613–1646) is a special case. His kingdom was not a port-
SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL DIMENSIONS. The modalities by
state but was located in the interior and was based more on
which islamization progressed throughout the region and the
wet rice cultivation than commerce. It was the prestigious
cultural achievements it set in train are far richer in character
heir to the great S´iva Buddha tradition of East Java and in-
than a political survey can communicate, although it can es-
cluded in its territories the sites of the great Buddhist stupa,
tablish a framework within which these dimensions can be
the Borobudur, and other Hindu and Buddhist shrines built
situated. Discussion of these achievements is inevitably cen-
during the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries. Yet for
tered on the territories that now constitute Malaysia and In-
Agung, this history was not enough, nor was his title of su-
donesia, due to the weight of population. By comparison,
suhunan. To all this he added the title of sultan, purchased
within the framework of this article, despite their intrinsic
from Mecca; thus he assumed a dignity which, although
interest and importance, Thailand, the other mainland
largely symbolic, had a major role in elevating the status of
states, Singapore, Brunei, and the Philippines can only re-
Islam in Java (although not necessarily the conversion of Java
ceive passing mention.
to Islam).
Let us consider in a little more detail some of the cases
As C. C. Berg points out in a seminal article (1955),
we have mentioned. The community at Phanrang lived and
kings and princes operated as factors of acceleration and de-
governed itself apart from its neighbors. Typologically this
celeration of the Islamization process in Java. In this in-
situation is difficult to account for. Thus the hypothesis that
stance, Agung played a role of acceleration, paradoxically in
it was founded by descendants of a community of Sh¯ıE¯ı refu-
the wake of his defeat by the Dutch East India Company in
gees who fled from a persecution by the Umayyad governor
1629. This event turned him toward whatever enemies of the
al-H:ajja¯j (d. 714) is plausible. It will be noted later that
Dutch could be found in the seas and islands of the archipel-
although today the region is Sunn¯ı, there are some rem-
ago: the Portuguese and communities of Muslim merchants.
nants of Sh¯ıE¯ı influence from the past, such as the commem-
As a Muslim by profession, if not by passion until 1629, he
oration of the martyrdom of H:asan and H:usayn in a coastal
soon became a Muslim in search of authority and power.
region of western Sumatra—albeit only as popular entertain-
Whatever his psychological motivations, he changed the face
ment, not grief and self-flagellation.
of his kingdom and its cultural character by introducing the
Processes of Islamization. The descriptions of the sul-
Muslim calendar with the announcement that from 1
tanate of Pasai referred to earlier make a clear distinction be-
Muh:arram 1043 AH, a date corresponding to July 8, 1633
tween the Muslim community of the city itself and those
CE, this calendrical system should operate in Java alongside
people of the hinterland who were still unbelievers. This dis-
the traditional Javanese system of Saka years. Symbolically
tinction suggests that an originally foreign community be-
this was an act of great importance, because it meant that the
came settled over a number of years, and that an individual
Islamic calendar based on the date of the hijra, became the
with sufficient charisma at one point proclaimed himself sul-
global, universalistic event in relation to which events in
tan. The coastal port of Malacca on the other hand presents
Javanese society and history were to be recorded.
an example of a mercantile state whose ruler professed Islam
In the last analysis, however, the creative achievement
soon after its foundation. The case of Aceh is different again,
of a religion is to be seen in the lives of the individuals it in-
in that it appears to have arisen after the amalgamation of
spires, the intellectual activity it generates, and the dimen-
two small Muslim states in the north of Sumatra into a single
sions it adds to spiritual, cultural, and social life. But one of
state that was to dominate the straits of Malacca for the great-
the difficulties in coping with the early story of Islam in
er part of the seventeenth century.
Southeast Asia is the absence of historical figures to whom
one can attribute the early spread of the religion.
The importance of Aceh cannot be exaggerated. It was
known in popular parlance as the Veranda of the Holy Land
It is striking that, in the Malay texts at least, there are
(Arabia). Aspiring pilgrims and scholars from all parts of the
no historical figures to whom the primal conversion of a state
archipelago would make the journey in stages over a period
to Islam can be attributed. The same holds true for the
of years. Aceh was the last port of work and residence and
preaching of Islam in Java as presented by Javanese court
study that they would encounter before leaving their own re-
chronicles. This is not to say that such figures are always
gion of the world and heading out across the Bay of Bengal.
nameless, or that they may not be based on individuals who
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
did once exist, but certainly in the way they are presented,
nese culture such as the Javanese shadow theater and gamelan
there is little that could be described as a personality base.
orchestra, which existed long before Islam. All are presented
In his contribution to Nehemia Levtzion’s Conversion to
as figures with a mystical insight into the reality of things;
Islam (1980), Jones gives an account of ten conversion myths
they have a role in the founding of dynasties and are not sub-
from different parts of the archipelago. The account from the
ject to the laws of nature. One of them, Siti Jenar, was exe-
Sejarah Malayu (Malay Annals) is typical: the ruler of Malac-
cuted for uttering words that claimed identity between him-
ca had a dream in which he saw Muh:ammad, who ordered
self and God. It has been conjectured, in my view with little
him to recite the Muslim Shaha¯dah (“witnessing”): “There
foundation, that this event—if indeed it occurred—is a dou-
is no god but God, and Muhammad is his Messenger.” The
blet of the al-H:alla¯j story.
prophet then told him that the following day, at the time of
the afternoon prayer, a ship would arrive from Jidda with a
It is only from the late sixteenth century that it becomes
religious teacher on board whom he was to obey. When the
possible to identify individuals among religious teachers,
king awoke, he found he had been circumcised. At the time
gain access to the works they wrote, and so lay the founda-
foretold on the following day the ship arrived, and the reli-
tions for an intellectual and spiritual history of Islam in this
gious teacher came down from it. There and then he per-
region, a task pioneered by Peter G. Riddell (2001). Howev-
formed the afternoon prayer on the beach, and the bystand-
er, since the information available about such figures is very
ers gathered round asking: what is this bobbing up and
sparse—there is little evidence available in the form of bio-
down. The king, on hearing what was happening went down
graphical or autobiographical writing—it is not possible to
to the beach to welcome him, and together with all his court-
do much more than situate them within a general framework
iers and subjects embraced Islam.
of the intellectual and spiritual life of the region to the degree
that this can be established.
An intriguing feature of this work is that many of the
religious teachers described in its pages are presented as fig-
Local scholarship. This absorption of Arabic words in
ures of fun. There is the eccentric who takes sling shots at
large measure derived from the study of Arabic works on the
kites flown over his house, and there is the religious teacher
fundamental Islamic disciplines of QurDanic exegesis, tradi-
who is teased by a tipsy court officer because he cannot pro-
tions, and jurisprudence, as well as S:u¯f¯ı practice and spiritu-
nounce Malay words correctly. There is also the mystically
ality (i.e., tafs¯ır, h:ad¯ıth, fiqh, and tas:awwuf). There is no doc-
inclined teacher who refused to accept the sultan as a reli-
umentation of the early stages of the development of these
gious disciple unless he left his elephant behind at the palace
studies, although there is no reason to doubt that the seeds
and came to him humbly on foot.
from which they grew were planted at least as early as the
thirteenth century. Indeed, it should be stressed again that
Of these figures, one may possibly be identified: Sadar
there were Islamic communities in the region long before the
Jahan, the religious adviser to Sultan Ahmad Shah of Malac-
earliest evidence for Islamic states.
ca. When Ahmad Shah came out on his elephant to face the
Portuguese attack that destroyed the city in 1511, Sadar
It is only from the late sixteenth century that manu-
Jahan accompanied the sultan. Under a hail of musket shots
scripts from these traditions survive, whether in Arabic
he begged his master to retreat to a safer position with the
(mostly representing key works from the Islamic tradition)
words: “This is no place to discuss tawh:¯ıd (mystical union).”
or in Malay or other regional languages such as Javanese. The
He has been identified with a scholar-jurist-diplomat Fayd
Arabic manuscripts, some doubtless copied on the instruc-
Allah Bambari, known as Sadr-i Jahan, who was sent by King
tions of, or at least the permission of, a teacher in the Muslim
Ayaz from Gujarat via Jidda to negotiate a defensive wall
Holy Land are of various levels of difficulty. Of works of
from Hormuz to Malacca against the Portuguese incursion
tafs¯ır, that known as Al-Jala¯layn is the most popular. Van
into the Indian Ocean. He arrived in Malacca by ship in
Ronkel (1913) lists a significant number of manuscripts from
1509 to stiffen Malaccan resistance to the Portuguese and is
various parts of the archipelago, some with interlinear trans-
presumed to have been killed during the sack of the city. The
lations, or at least annotations, in Malay or Javanese, some-
identification is not wholly certain. Nevertheless, the evi-
times with a dedication to a local ruler. There may be a temp-
dence is sufficient to show that as early as the fifteenth centu-
tation to look down on Al-Jalalayn. In fact it contains
ry, religious teachers from various parts of the Muslim world
multum in parvo and is an excellent work for early levels of
took part in the religious life of the Southeast Asian
study, ideally suited for students who, though trained in an
sultanates.
Islamic school, are not native speakers of Arabic. After Al-
Jala¯layn, al-Bayd:a¯w¯ı’s Anwa¯r al-tanz¯ıl takes pride of place,
The propagation of Islam in Java is traditionally attri-
followed by al-Kha¯zin’s Luba¯b al-ta Dw¯ıl f¯ı ma Ea¯n¯ı al-tanz¯ıl.
buted to wali songo (nine saints) who made their debut be-
There are in addition fragments of S:u¯f¯ı commentaries, in-
tween thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The number nine
cluding al-Bayhaq¯ı’s Kita¯b al-tahdh¯ıb f¯ı al-tafs¯ır copied in
probably has more to do with cosmology than arithmetic,
1652, which for a manuscript with a Southeast Asian prove-
since this figure subsumes the eight points of the compass
nance is very early indeed. There is even a work by al-Da¯n¯ı
and the center. Each is associated with a different region of
on the seven recitations (qira¯ Dat) of the QurDa¯n. It should be
Java. They are associated with the origin of elements of Java-
stressed that these manuscripts represent the tip of the ice-
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
4663
berg in relation to the number of those unknown from that
which religious ideas are handled in his quotations suggests
period, or simply lost.
that he represents a culminating point in a long tradition.
Collections of h:ad¯ıth, especially those of al-Bukha¯r¯ı, are
Shams al-D¯ın. Another major figure is Shams al-D¯ın,
numerous, and with them commentaries; the same collec-
the guide and teacher of Iskandar Muda, sultan of Aceh from
tions of forty h:ad¯ıth (Al-arba¯ E¯ın), especially that of
1607 to 1636. Shams al-D¯ın reflects a tradition from North
al-Nawaw¯ı, were also popular. To these may be added a se-
India, in which the manifold self-manifestations of the Di-
lection of works on history and biography, jurisprudence, as-
vinity, the supreme Reality (al-Haqq) characteristic of the
tronomy, and tas:awwuf. A S:u¯f¯ı text that appears to have
Ibn al-EArab¯ı tradition was reduced to a convenient seven,
been popular, on the basis of the number of surviving manu-
and this framework, which was rapidly adopted by the
scripts, is Al-h:ikam al- EAt:a¯D¯ıyah of Ibn EAt:a¯D Alla¯h; this work
Naqshband¯ı, Sha¯dhil¯ı and Shat:t:a¯r¯ı orders, soon became part
too is often accompanied by commentaries. There are trea-
of the stock-in-trade of the mystical tradition in all parts of
tises on the Sha¯dhil¯ı, Naqshband¯ı, and EAlaw¯ı orders and a
the archipelago. An important figure of state, Shams al-D¯ın
sprinkling of works in the Ibn al-EArab¯ı tradition, both by
was the author of a significant corpus of writings in both Ara-
Ibn al-EArab¯ı himself and by his great commentator,
bic and Malay. He is in fact the first local author known to
al-Ka¯sha¯n¯ı. Of such manuscripts, one of the most striking
have written original works in Arabic, a tradition which was
contains the introduction to the commentary on Ibn
long to continue. The single most important work that he
al-Fa¯rid:’s poem Al-ta¯D¯ıyah al-kubra¯ by SaE¯ıd ibn EAl¯ı
used as the basis for his teaching was a summary of the key
al-Fargha¯n¯ı (d. 1299).
ideas of Ibn al-EArab¯ı’s system set out in a framework of
Given how heterogenous and arbitrary such a listing is,
seven grades of being proceeding from the undifferentiated
it is clear that these manuscripts have only survived by
Absolute through six manifestations to the Perfect Man first
chance. What has been lost begs the imagination. Neverthe-
formulated by the Indian Ea¯lim Muh:ammad ibn Fadl Allah
less, the evidence is enough to show that many basic Arabic
(d. 1590) and effectively displaced that of al-J¯ıl¯ı, which had
works were accessible to scholars in this region, and that a
been used by H:amzah Fans:u¯r¯ı.
variety of traditions was represented.
EAbd al-RaDu¯f. By the second half of the seventeenth
Pioneers of vernacularization. We have already men-
century, EAbd al-RaDu¯f (1615–1690) had prepared a full ren-
tioned interlinear translations, glosses, and annotations on
dering of the Jala¯layn tafs¯ır in Malay. It was extended by one
Arabic manuscripts. These represent in embryonic form be-
of his students, Da¯wu¯d al-Ru¯m¯ı, by selections from the
ginnings of the vernacularization of Islam and the Islamic
qira¯ Da¯t literature and citations from the tafs¯ırs of al-Kha¯zin
disciplines into Malay and the other regional languages. How
and al-Bayd:a¯w¯ı. It is still reprinted with the misattribution
early this began it is not possible to determine. The manu-
on the cover title Tafs¯ır al-Bayd:a¯w¯ı. This rendering into
scripts that are extant, surviving as they do largely by chance,
Malay of the Jala¯layn means in effect that there was a full
are not a sure guide as to the kind of works that were first
vernacularization of the QurDa¯n in Malay, albeit embedded
achieved in local languages.
in an authoritative commentary before the end of the seven-
H:amzah Fans:u¯r¯ı. The earliest Malay author known is
teenth century.
H:amzah Fans:u¯r¯ı (d. c. 1593). Few details of his life are
In addition to these works, others written in Malay in-
known, but a significant number of his writings have sur-
clude, for example, simple summaries of the Muslim creed,
vived. Apart from the ravages of a tropical climate, many
such as al-Sanu¯s¯ı’s Umm al-bara¯h¯ın (Mother of proofs), and
were destroyed by a later Ea¯lim who accused him of heresy.
hundreds of works on topics such as the mystical practice of
Those that do remain however show him to have been a great
various t:ar¯ıqahs (the Naqshband¯ıyah, Shat:t:a¯r¯ıyah, and
religious poet. From them it is clear that he made the pil-
Sha¯dhil¯ıyah in particular), the twenty attributes of God,
grimage to Mecca, and that he embraced a particular formu-
tawh:¯ıd (the unity of God), the application of Islamic law on
lation of S:u¯f¯ı theosophy, apparently an Arabo-Iranian one
various topics, and eschatology. One example is a four-
based on the Ibn al-EArab¯ı tradition as it was reformulated
volume abridgement of al-Ghaza¯l¯ıDs Ih:ya¯D Eulu¯m al-d¯ın (The
and extended by al-J¯ıl¯ı, and may have included Sh¯ıE¯ı ele-
revivification of the religious sciences) by an expatriate schol-
ments. If it had, this would at least be consistent with the
ar, EAbd al-S:amad of Palembang, who compiled it around
stories of Sh¯ıE¯ı heroes in Malay discovered in Aceh early in
1780 in T:a¯Dif, Arabia. It is still reprinted in various parts of
the seventeenth century.
Malaysia and Indonesia, and although there are now more
A verse from one of his sya Dir (poems made up of end
academically prepared translations of the full work in Indo-
rhyming quatrains) gives a good example of the ascetic theol-
nesian published in the Roman script, they have not totally
ogy of the Ibn al-EArab¯ı school of mysticism:
supplanted the earlier version.
Regard heat and cold as one and the same; Abandon greed
Progress from the study of the foundation texts of Islam
and avarice; Let your self will melt like wax, Then your
together with the religious disciplines deriving from them,
elusive goal you will gain.
and vernacularizing their content, to the generation of origi-
It should not be supposed that this is the earliest instance of
nal works reflecting the needs of the new environment was
original Islamic writing in Malay. The technical skill in
at first slow. In the premodern period, there is little in Malay
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4664
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
that can stand beside the literary and intellectual achieve-
ry. Early stories that have been discovered include Malay ren-
ments of Islam in Arabic, Persian or Turkish. In part this is
derings of the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, possibly
due to an extended dominance of the oral tradition in the
from a Persian source, was copied in 1604, and alongside it
transmission of knowledge. But in any case the cultural
versions of the story of Iskandar Dhu al-Qarnayn (Alexander
achievements of Islam in Southeast Asia are different in char-
the Great) and other stories of the prophets of Islam. The
acter to those of the Middle East. This is only to be expected
1612 rescension of The Malay Annals opens with a version
given the tremendous differences in the human ecology of
of the story of Alexander’s invasion of India and presents him
monsoon Southeast Asia and the wide range of traditions and
as the ultimate ancestor of the Malacca dynasty. This story
forms of social organization that had their home there from
then was well known, and the name Alexander popular. Is-
conditions prevailing in the Arab world.
kandar it may also be remarked, was the name of the greatest
ruler of Aceh (Iskandar Muda, r. 1607–1636).
Literary activities fecundated by Islamization. These
are of various kinds. Important among them is a historiogra-
Other stories that became popular from this period cen-
phy. Certainly there is an influence of both Arabic and Per-
tered on the Prophet’s uncle Am¯ır H:amzah and the Sh¯ıE¯ı
sian historiography on the writing of Malay court chronicles.
hero Muh:ammad ibn al-H:anaf¯ıyah. The Malay Annals sug-
Such works were given an Islamic flavor by the use of Arabic
gests that versions of these stories were preserved in the Ma-
words such as sejarah (Arab., shajara [t al-nasab]), meaning
lacca library and as of 1511 were held in great esteem. The
family line, chronicle, or history, and silsilah, or lineage, in
reference to them may be apocryphal: it indicates that they
the titles to indicate a genealogy or succession of rulers. The
were to be recited to the Malaccan soldiers to give them cour-
Malay chronicle of the kingdom of Malacca that purports to
age for battle against the Portuguese on the following day,
give an account of the antecedents and genealogy of the Ma-
a battle that was to end in the Portuguese occupation of Ma-
laccan sultanate (1400–1511), for example, is known as the
lacca. Nevertheless, their symbolic role was well known at the
Sejarah Melayu. Although popularly known in English as The
time that the 1612 rescension of The Malay Annals was com-
Malay Annals, the title really means a genealogy of the Ma-
piled. Equally important, the popularity of such works sug-
lays, by which is meant the Malay rulers of Malacca. The
gests at least the presence of a Sh¯ıE¯ı flavor to Islam in Aceh
work, it may be noted, although it spans a century, and pres-
during this period. Sh¯ıE¯ı or not, there is certainly a strong
ents vivid vignettes of court life, has no dates.
Persian flavor in the literary works that were rendered into
Malay, the most outstanding of which at this early period is
There are a number of similar court and dynasty based
a version of the T:u¯t:¯ına¯mah (Book of the parrot) known in
histories of the states of the Malay peninsula. Despite Arabic
Malay as Hikayat bayan budiman (Story of the wise parrot).
words in their titles, however, many of them have more in
common with the Malay folk tradition than of Arabo-
There is in addition a wholesale collection of stories of
Persian historiography. In fact, up to the late nineteenth cen-
Islamic provenance that has found its way into Malay and
tury only in a few cases did works of this kind develop with
Javanese and other related languages. Such stories derive
the concern for date and fact that characterizes Muslim histo-
more from the popular than the belletristic traditions, and
riography as a whole. One is the historical writing of Nu¯r
more of them have come via the Indian subcontinent than
al-D¯ın al-Ra¯n¯ır¯ı, an itinerant scholar of Gujarati origin (an
directly from the Arab Middle East, although even here the
illustration of the significant role expatriate Eulama¯D played
distinction is not absolute. Stories and fables in Arabic have
in the religious life of the region). Although only in Aceh be-
been rendered into a variety of local vernaculars, and thence
tween 1637 and 1642, he wrote in Malay the Bustan al-
passed on to reappear in the languages of the Malay-
Salatin (The garden of kings), a universal history, including
Indonesian archipelago.
a book on the history of Aceh, which is one of the most im-
It must be remembered that stories about the heroes of
portant and reliable sources for the history of the sultanate.
Islam, while having a role as religious instruction, were
(Aside from his importance as a historian, he was a vicious
equally important as entertainment and became widely pop-
polemicist, who while he enjoyed the patronage of the Aceh-
ular. As a result, these heroes became part of community ed-
nese court, had many of the writing of H:amzah Fans:u¯r¯ı and
ucation for all levels of society and all ages, and thus, by al-
Shams al-D¯ın burnt, and their followers executed.) Another
lowing popular audiences to share in the experience of other
example of historical writing in the Islamic tradition is the
communities of these heroes, they served to create a general
Tuhfat al-nafis (Dedication to the noble endeavour), a histo-
pan-Islamic consciousness. Manuscript catalogues include
ry of the Riau archipelago, by Raja Haji Ali of Riau, written
numerous copies of stories of Muh:ammad ibn al-H:anaf¯ıyah
in the wake of an Islamic revival in the late nineteenth centu-
and Am¯ır H:amzah; there are collections of stories of the
ry.
prophets and tales of the individual prophets including
Adam, Abraham, Noah, and Moses. In Java, the story of Jo-
In addition there are works literary in character, some
seph was especially popular.
of them based on the prophets of the pre-Muslim era, on
events in the life of the prophet Muh:ammad and his com-
To these, however, should be added stories quite di-
panions, and on the heroes of Islam. Some of these are extant
vorced from these religious figures, but which derive from
in manuscripts from the beginning of the seventeenth centu-
Islamic sources and which have an Islamic ethos. These in-
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
4665
clude many tales that appear in collections such as The 1,001
part of its energy from this ferment in Islam. It should not
Nights, and classics such as the T:u¯t:¯ına¯mah referred to earlier.
be imagined that the expansion of Islam was always peaceful,
Among other collections of stories are the Kal¯ılah and Dim-
or that even the relationships among different traditions of
nah, which was known as early as 1736, and the
Islam were without conflict. One need only recall the perse-
Bakhtiya¯r-na¯mah (Book of Bakhtiya¯r), a kind of reversal of
cution and book burning in Aceh between 1637 and 1642,
the 1,001 Nights that is a grand story of a young prince who
sometimes referred to as an attempt by the so-called
is accused by ten viziers of having an affair with a chamber-
Shuhu¯d¯ıyah (“unity of witness”) school of mysticism to sup-
maid, but who postpones his execution by telling stories
press the Wuju¯d¯ıyah (“unity of being”) tradition; the wars
until the truth is discovered. This theme, it may be noted,
waged by Sultan Agung’s successor, Amangkurat I, in the
was famous in Persian and Turkish popular literature, as well
1660s against the more shari Ea minded Muslim communi-
as in medieval Latin.
ties of the north coast of Java; and the scatological and even
How these tales were first rendered into Malay is not
obscene diatribes written in Javanese to make fun of the pro-
known: They may have been carried by the oral tradition and
fessional Eulama¯D in the nineteenth century.
set down in writing by court scribes, according to established
It must be emphasized however that the modes of par-
literary conventions, to be recited on royal occasions, or there
ticipation of Southeast Eulama¯D in the wider world of Islam
may have been some kind of committee composed of reader,
were complex and diverse. They were certainly not limited
oral translator, and scribe. It is certain, however, that such
to the transmissions of varying forms of Islamic radicalism.
stories were preserved in court libraries, that access to them
Much of their work and thinking was conveyed in treatises
was restricted to senior court officials, and that the sultan had
they wrote in Arabic. The Indonesian scholar Azyumardi
the authority to declare which might be read.
Azra has made a detailed study of the networks of religious
This composite Islamic tradition, whether formed di-
teachers binding together the geographically separate zone of
rectly from Arabic sources or mediated through Indian ver-
the Muslim world in the seventeenth and eighteenth centu-
naculars, remains popular throughout Muslim Southeast
ries. They continued and continue. Some of the works they
Asia in numerous retellings, adaptations, and even dramati-
produced are minor tracts devoted to issues that became
zations. In West Java, a cycle of Am¯ır H:amzah stories has
shibboleths, for example, whether the commencement of the
become part of the repertory of the puppet theater. Evidence
fasting month was to be decided by the sighting of the moon
of this past and present popularity, apart from observation,
or by calculation, or whether the formulation of intention
can be gleaned from the catalogues of Malay, Javanese, and
before beginning a ritual prayer should be made aloud or
Sundanese manuscripts, to mention only a few.
mentally. Such material has only a local and historical impor-
Revival and reform movements. Islamicized Southeast
tance. Occasionally, however, a substantial work appears and
Asia was an integral part of the Muslim world. In conse-
wins an established position. One such text was Marah labid
quence there was a sensitivity to and identification with an
(Rich pasture), a two-volume QurDa¯n commentary of about
Islamic ethos, which although at times not totally unequivo-
one thousand pages by a Muh:ammad Nawawi al-Jawi, schol-
cal, rendered such Muslim communities responsive to move-
ar from Banten, on the north coast of West Java. He was
ments that caught the imagination and fired the enthusiasm
born in 1815, went to study in the Muslim Holy Land in
of their coreligionists in other parts of the Muslim world.
1830, and died in Mecca in 1893. Published in Cairo by the
One such movement was the Wahha¯b¯ı uprising in Arabia
well-known firm of Halabi in 1887, Marah labid is still avail-
during the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Inspired by
able in the Middle East and remains popular as an intermedi-
the ideal of cleansing Islam from accretions and practices that
ate-level work in religious schools in many regions of Malay-
were held to be incompatible with tawh:¯ıd, the unity of God,
sia and Indonesia. His Arabic style is fluent and lucid, and
it resorted to force to put Islamic law and ritual observances
the great scholar, Fakhr al-D¯ın al-Ra¯z¯ı’s (d.1210) Mafatih
into effect. A group of Sumatran scholars in Arabia when the
al-ghayb is among his primary authorities. The work is ac-
Wahha¯b¯ıs conquered Mecca in 1803, returning home filled
cordingly rich in its spirituality and the sheer humanistic val-
with enthusiasm for the ideals of the movement led to the
ues that it expresses. It is also worth drawing attention to a
rise of the Padri movement in the Minangkabau area of Cen-
large (thousand-page) commentary on al-Ghazali’s Minhaj
tral Sumatra. This movement set itself against the traditional
al- Eabidin ila jannat rabb al- Ealamin by an East Javanese
elite, which it regarded as compromising with non-Islamic
scholar from the region of Kediri, recently republished in Su-
practices and values, whether reflected in the lifestyle of the
rabaya. In addition to such major works, there are hundreds
traditional rulers or in the matrilineal descent system of
of minor ones issuing from Arabic printing presses scattered
the region. Their reaction was to lead to a civil war that gave
over Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula, and Borneo, where
the Dutch government an opportunity to intervene on the
both private and state supported madrasah abound.
part of the traditionalists and to defeat the leader of the re-
Al-Afgha¯n¯ı EAbduh and the reformist movement. It was
volt, Ima¯m Bondjol, in 1842.
these same networks that were to bring the reformist move-
It may well have been also that the Java War (1826–
ment inspired by Jama¯l al-D¯ın al-Afgha¯n¯ı and Muh:ammad
1830) between rival members of the royal court likewise took
EAbduh from the Middle East to Sumatra, Java, and the
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
Malay Peninsula, to be diffused from there to southern Thai-
Lima¯dha¯ ta Dakhkhara al-Muslimu¯n wa-taqaddama
land, and paradoxically, from Hadrami communities in Java
al-a¯kharu¯n (Why do the Muslims lag behind and the others
back to southern Arabia.
progress?), which was in due course to be translated into
Malay. The episode is important because it indicates the seri-
It soon fecundated a vigorous counterpart in Southeast
ousness and care of the response of Egyptian scholars to the
Asia. In particular, students from the Malay world in the
queries and difficulties of their Southeast Asian coreli-
Middle East, especially those studying at al-Azhar University
gionists.
in Cairo, were inspired by EAbduh, Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯, and their
followers, and as they returned to Malaya and the Indies,
The educational dimension of the reform program
they carried the new ideas with them. It coincided with a
quickly made itself felt. Here a few examples will suffice. The
growing sense of national identity and resentment to Dutch
work of ToDKenali (1866–1933), a scholar from Kelantan,
and British rule. EAbduh’s reformist program was based on
an east-coast state of the Malay Peninsula, is representative
four main points: the purification of Islam from corrupting
of many, including some who became famous in Patani and
influences and practices; the reformation of Muslim educa-
Cambodia (Kampuchea) at the turn of the century. He went
tion; the reformation of Islamic doctrine in the light of mod-
to Mecca at the age of twenty and stayed in the Middle East
ern thought; and the defence of Islam. The establishment of
for twenty-two years before returning to Kelantan in 1908.
the reformist journal Al-mana¯r (The lighthouse), published
In 1903 he traveled to Egypt to visit al-Azhar and other edu-
between 1898 and 1936 under the editorship of EAbduh and
cational institutions. It is possible that he met EAbduh on this
later that of Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯, directly inspired two counterparts
occasion. There is no doubt, however, that he had absorbed
in the Malay world. Al-ima¯m (The ima¯m), published in Sin-
the educational ideals of the movement. He quickly became
gapore between 1906 and 1908, transmitted the views of
famous as a teacher was appointed assistant to the muft¯ı in
Al-mana¯r and EAbduh’s earlier journal, Al- Eurwah al-wuthqa¯
Kelantan with responsibility for Islamic education in the
(The indissoluble bond), and published translations of their
state, and set up a network of schools. He introduced Malay
articles into Malay. Its layout followed that of Al-mana¯r.
textbooks in religious knowledge and devised a system of
Al-mun¯ır (Illumination), established in the major West Su-
graded instruction in Arabic grammar. Indeed, one of his
matran port town of Padang, was published between 1911
students (born in Mecca of Malay parents in 1895), on re-
and 1916; it too referred regularly to Al-mana¯r and pub-
turning to Kelantan in 1910, was inspired by him to compile
lished translations from the Egyptian journal.
an Arabic-Malay dictionary with entries and definitions in
part based on the famous and widely respected Lebanese Ara-
Al-mana¯r in turn reflected the interest that it generated
bic-Arabic dictionary Al-munjid. His work was first pub-
in Southeast Asia: from the very year of its founding, it in-
lished in 1927, and is still available.
cluded articles, in Arabic, either written by Southeast Asian
Muslims studying in Cairo or contributed by Eulama¯D from
The reform, however, was reflected not only in text-
a wide range of places in the Indies, including Singapore, Ba-
books, but also in classroom organization. The traditional
tavia, Malang, Palembang, Surabaya, and Sambas (Borneo),
method of teaching was known as the h:alaqah (“study cir-
some on a range of Southeast Asia–related topic. An 1898
cle”), where students, irrespective of age, would sit in a circle
article, for example, reports on a request by some Javanese
around the teacher, who would present material to be
Muslims to the Dutch colonial government for them to be
learned by rote. The introduction of the classroom method,
where the students sat in rows and used graded texts, togeth-
allowed to acquire Ottoman citizenship; other articles ad-
er with the encouragement of active class participation, was
dress complaints of Dutch harassment of Muslims, problems
a remarkable change of style. No less remarkable was the in-
of marriages between sayyids (the Muslim elite) and Muslim
clusion of secular subjects in the curriculum. Schools in-
commoners, and the humiliations of quarantine regulations
spired by the reform movement multiplied in various parts
imposed on Muslims making the pilgrimage. A 1909 article
of the archipelago, sometimes identified with individuals,
from Palembang tells how Al-mana¯r had inspired the Mus-
sometimes initiated within the framework of an organiza-
lims of the region to form associations and financial unions
tion. Many sprang up and disappeared like mushrooms.
to support Islamic schools to teach Arabic, the religious disci-
plines, and secular subjects. Two years later, another interest-
Of those founded by individuals, one that became im-
ing entry praises the periodical for creating an intellectual
portant was the Sumatra Thawalib school founded in 1918.
movement among Muslims and describes how a school di-
Another was the Sekolah Diniyah Putri in Padang Panjang,
rector had been inspired by Al-mana¯r to introduce the Berlitz
a religious school for girls founded in 1921 by a woman
method of teaching foreign languages in his school. A 1930
named Rahmah al-Yunusiyah. Designed to train students in
communication from Sambas was particularly important, for
the basic rules and practices of Islam and in the understand-
it requested Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯ to put to the famous writer Shak¯ıb
ing of the principles and applications of Islamic law, particu-
Arsla¯n certain questions relating to reasons for the backward-
larly in matters of special concern to women, the school also
ness of Muslims and the progress of other peoples. The re-
set out to give girls an education in those matters that would
sponse to this request, first published in three parts in
enable them to run their homes efficiently and care for the
Al-mana¯r, was to become Arsla¯n’s well-known book
health and education of their children. While from one
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
4667
standpoint the discipline of the institution was strict and the
The Muhammadiyah’s strict and responsible methods
scope for individual development narrow, it won the confi-
of organization and financial management ensured its stabili-
dence of isolated village communities, and in fact, its stu-
ty, and by the 1930s it had established branches as far afield
dents gained wider horizons than those girls who remained
as North, Central, and South Sumatra, Borneo, and Sulawe-
in the interior. In fact it played an important role in advanc-
si, thus taking on a protonational character.
ing the status and self-respect of women in the community.
Another aspect of the reformist movement was its cam-
This school was, in fact, a strikingly original institution
paign against the S:u¯f¯ı t:ar¯ıqah. For the reformers the t:ar¯ıqah
(and was to inspire the founding of the Kull¯ıyat al-Bana¯t
represented the one element in traditional Islam that most
within al-Azhar in 1957). Yet it was based on simple prem-
contributed to the backwardness of Muslims and the lack of
ises: a universalistic presentation of Islamic teaching in com-
respect they had in the world. They held that the t:ar¯ıqah
bination with secular subjects—history, geography, book-
promoted a passive otherworldliness, that it discouraged ini-
keeping, domestic science and the like—and the founder’s
tiative, and that the dedication to the shaykh, the head of the
determination to establish an institution that would present
branch, overshadowed devotion to the Prophet and God
itself in every respect as an alternative to the Dutch system,
himself. In addition, the ascetic exercises of members and
from curriculum to the yearly cycle of festivals and the Islam-
their fondness for reciting sacred formulas were considered
ic calendar (Friday was the day off) to student dress. It guard-
intellectually harmful, often paving the way for the absorp-
ed its independence and refused offers of subsidy from the
tion of non-Islamic practices. In short, the reformists took
Dutch government. It still flourishes today and during the
over and applied all the arguments marshaled against the
1930s had branches in Java and the Malay Peninsula.
t:ar¯ıqah by the Al-mana¯r tradition. There is a reasonable doc-
umentation of debates between the two sides on the issue.
The Muhammadiyah. The most famous and long-lived
Conventional wisdom is that the S:u¯f¯ı orders in the Dutch
of all socioreligious reformist movements in the Indies was
East Indies, were almost a spent force by the 1930s, with
the Muhammadiyah, founded in 1912 in Yogyakarta (Cen-
their followers to be found only in the remoter rural areas.
tral Java) by Kiai H. A. Dahlan. At first it was an exclusively
Rumors of their demise have long been exaggerated, often
male organization, but before long it had as an affiliate a par-
by the Reformists. Certainly on the Malay Peninsula they
allel women’s organization called EADisyiyah, through which
continued to fare well, and maintained a social role there, as
women could play an independent role in furthering its
they still do. Indeed, one of the leading figures of religious
ideals. These included improving the basic observance of the
reform and revival in Kelantan was Wan Musa, who, when
norms of Islamic life, and a vigorous dedication to tabligh
he studied in Mecca with his father, was introduced to the
(religious instruction). But its goals went further than this.
theosophy of Muh:y¯ı al-D¯ın ibn al-EArab¯ı and inducted into
The organization was determined to propagate the ideas of
the Sha¯dhil¯ıyah t:ar¯ıqah. He introduced the reforms of
the reformists concerning the purification of Islam from tra-
EAbduh and Rash¯ıd Rida¯ into Kelantan and rejected taql¯ıd,
ditional accretions, in particular from the animistic beliefs
or unquestioning acceptance of precedent, yet defended the
that were so much part of the world view of the Javanese
institutional role of the t:ar¯ıqah and preserved the content of
peasantry, and from the religious attitudes and values of the
S:u¯f¯ı doctrine, stressing in his instruction the role of intellect,
upper classes, for whom the Hindu-Buddhist traditions of
intuition, and emotion.
the pre-Islamic period—traditions embodied in the Javanese
Some idea of the continuing role of the Indonesian
shadow theater—were still very much alive. A special target
t:ar¯ıqah at a public level by 1955 can be gained from the fact
for attack was the cult of saints’ tombs.
that an attempt to obtain representation for these move-
ments in the national parliament at the first general election
The organization consciously adopted the institutional
resulted in the election of one member, a Naqshband¯ı. This,
structures of the Dutch, and its members made a careful
of course, is not necessarily an index of the relative strength
study of the techniques of Christian missionary organiza-
of t:ar¯ıqah, only that many t:ar¯ıqah members did not see the
tions. Carrying on vigorous missionary activities, it expanded
national parliament as an appropriate forum for t:ar¯ıqah
into journalism and publishing and established mosques, re-
activity.
ligious endowments, orphanages, and clinics. But its central
role was in education, where it set up an entire system from
The Nahdlatul Ulama. The Reformist movement as
primary school to teacher training colleges. Like ToDKenali
represented by Muhammadiyah (today an estimated mem-
in Kelantan on the Malay Peninsula, the Muhammadiyah to-
bership of 20,000) and other organizations did not go un-
gether with EADisyiyah carried on the impulse generated by
challenged, and there has been a tendency to exaggerate its
Muh:ammad EAbduh to reform the traditional Islamic educa-
successes. The traditionalists had their own support base and
tional system—by grading teaching materials and classes, by
intellectual resources. They too developed their own organi-
sitting students at desks faced by teachers with blackboards,
zations in response to the challenge presented by the reform-
and by assessing their progress with formal examinations and
ists. Of them, the most important was the Nahdlatul Ulama
the award of individual marks that determined when they
(lit., “revival of the Eulama¯D”), founded in 1926, which is
could move from one grade to the next.
today (2003) the largest religious organization in Indonesia
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4668
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
with an estimated membership of thirty million, It stood for
guarantees of freedom for other religions. Race riots in 1969
the traditional role of the Eulama¯D. It accepted the realities
resulted in the declaration of a state of emergency. Constitu-
of development and history, and was tolerant of many of the
tional rule was restored in 1971 with the swearing in of a Na-
religious practices in religious life that the Reformists con-
tional Front coalition government, in which the PMIP took
demned. Thus it opposed the puritanical neo-Hanbalism
part. In 1973 it changed its name to Partai Islam Se-Malaysia
implicit in the Reformists’ reliance on the QurDa¯n and sun-
(PAS), and in 1977 was forced to withdraw from the Nation-
nah alone. One of its basic principles was the requirement
al Front government. PAS was from then on an opposition
to adhere to one or another of the four schools of law as the
party, its program based on a radical Islamization of the na-
basis for the application of fiqh, and in Indonesia this meant,
tion. Its influence has since waxed and waned. In the wake
in practice, the Sha¯fiEi school. Although defense of the
of the economic crisis of the 1990s and the dismissal and im-
t:ar¯ıqah was not a formal part of its program, in practice, as
prisonment of the deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in
a result of its cultural tolerance, it did so, and provided a
1998, it drew a significant measure of the support of Malay
wide space for the mystical tradition.
voters away from UMNO. It is however more important
than its parliamentary representation at the national level
The Japanese interregnum and beyond. By the end of
suggests. On the one hand it functions as a kind of Islamic
the 1930s there was a rich and diverse tapestry of Islamic
ginger group. By claiming to be more Islamic than UMNO,
thought, activity and aspiration in the region, although
it can impel UMNO towards more Islamic policies at the na-
under colonial rule, these did not have a high profile, nor any
tional level. But more seriously, it has a significant influence
direct or decisive role in government. The Japanese occupa-
at state level, and the lines between federal and state authori-
tion hastened the development of national self-awareness and
laid the groundwork for the organization and development
ty are not clearly drawn. PAS currently holds power in the
of movements that would undermine attempts to restore co-
two northern states of Kelantan and Trengganu, and has in-
lonial authority after the war. This was to have implications
fluence in a number of others. It urges a full implementation
for the role of Islamic movements in the newly independent
of Islamic law, and is concerned with the active promotion
states of Indonesia (proclaimed August 17, 1945) and Ma-
of what is deemed good, and the prohibition of evil. The re-
laya (established 1957, becoming the Federation of Malaysia
sult is that at state level aspects of what is deemed to be Islam-
in 1963). In each of these nations there have been differences
ic law is imposed on Muslims: the sale of alcohol banned,
in the articulation of Islamic movements, and hence a differ-
social relations between the sexes restricted, and offences
ent story that continues in progress.
such as taking food during the daylight hours of the month
of Ramad:a¯n, or failing to attend the Friday prayer are pun-
Malaysia. The current dominant political party at the
ishable by religious courts. Malay translations of the Bible
national level, is the United Malay National Organisation,
are not allowed to include words such as Alla¯h, ima¯n and
generally identified by its acronym UMNO. It was founded
rasu¯l that are deemed to be Islamically specific. A high profile
in 1946 in the wake of British constitutional proposals for
is accorded to Islam in the way the nation presents itself to
the territory after the Japanese surrender.
the world, although not much more than 50 percent of the
population is Muslim. Considerable funds from the public
In Malaya (after 1963 Malaysia), up to the time of inde-
purse are devoted to da Dwa, which can be understood as pre-
pendence in 1957 religious parties did not have a high politi-
senting Islam to the non-Muslim population, or making
cal profile: to be a Malay is, by definition, to be a Muslim,
those who are Muslims better Muslims, or both. By these
to live by Malay custom, and to speak the Malay language.
means, the government is trying to cut the ground from
At this time the Malays comprised little more than half the
under the feet of radicals. At the same time it is supporting
total population of the territory they shared with Chinese
programs that inculcate a broader understanding of religion.
and Indians. Their urban presence and participation in eco-
There are sophisticated programs in Islamic studies at uni-
nomic was limited. They could only manifest their identity
versity level, and in 1983 was founded the International Is-
in the persons and ceremonial role of the sultans of the nine
lamic University it Kuala Lumpur. It has established itself as
states on the peninsula and in the profession of Islam. The
a high quality institution with faculties across the disciplines
situation was one in which in which the Malay language and
alongside Islamic revealed knowledge and human sciences,
even survival of the Malay race was at stake. At first there was
Arabic, fiqh and us:u¯l al-fiqh. It has a highly trained and inter-
little scope for a competing religious party. In any case, to
nationally qualified staff, and over ten thousand students.
be a Malay was to be a Muslim, and the sultans were the ulti-
Languages of instruction are Arabic and English.
mate authorities over religion and Malay custom in their
states. Nevertheless, a dedicated religious party was founded
Indonesia. The role of Islam and Islamic movements in
in 1951, the Pan-Malayan Islamic Party (PMIP). Its concern
postcolonial Indonesia has been far more directly involved
was that the constitution of an independent Malaya be built
in the political process, on a far greater scale, and at times
on Islamic structures and institutions. At this stage it had lit-
to much greater dramatic effect. With the Japanese occupa-
tle direct influence on the outcome of policy, and in 1957,
tion, all Muslim associations were dissolved and then recon-
Malay became essentially a secular state, with Islam as the na-
stituted into an umbrella organization encompassing both
tional religion, and thus part of the state structure, but with
reformists and traditionalists, the Majlis Shura Muslimin In-
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
4669
donesia, or Consultative Assembly of Indonesian Muslims,
great human and material damage over West Java for more
known widely by its acronym Masyumi. After the war, the
than ten years. It plundered and destroyed farms and peasant
organization broke up into two main wings: the one that
holdings to get financial resources and was behind several at-
kept the name Masyumi became the political wing of the re-
tempts to assassinate President Sukarno.
formist movement and drew most of its strength from Suma-
tra and the large towns in Java, while the other, Nahdlatul
Two other major religious revolts inspired by the ideal
Ulama, now took a public role as a political party and derived
of making Indonesia an Islamic state and realizing in it a da¯r
most of its strength from the rural areas of East Java. An
al-Isla¯m (Arab., “abode of Islam”; Indon., darul Islam) were
index to the standing of the parties, and therefore the distri-
to break out. One was on the island of Sulawesi in 1952,
bution of attitudes, is furnished by the results of the 1955
with the leader of the movement, Kahar Muzakkar, accept-
elections, in which the Masyumi won 57 seats and the Nah-
ing a commission from Kartosuwirjo in West Java as com-
dlatul Ulama won 45 out of a total of more than 250. Even
mander of the fourth division of the Islamic army of Indone-
taking into account the seats held by minor religious parties,
sia. With varying levels of success he managed to maintain
this meant that more than half of the Muslim electorate had
his movement until early 1965, when he was encircled and
cast its vote for nonreligious parties.
shot by republican forces. The other revolt, in late 1953, was
led by Daud BeureuDeh in Aceh, a region already referred to
With the proclamation of Indonesian independence on
on several occasions for the strength of its Islamic traditions.
August 17, 1945, two days after the Japanese surrender, and
This rising too was associated with the West Javanese move-
with the transfer of sovereignty by the Dutch in 1950, Mus-
ment. Daud BeureuDeh proclaimed an Islamic state of Aceh
lim groups exerted considerable pressure to have Indonesia
and styled himself “Commander of the Faithful” (Am¯ır
declared an Islamic state, with the provisions of Muslim law
al-MuDmin¯ın, the historic title of the Muslim caliphs), but
binding on Muslims.
after nine years of struggle he made his peace with the central
government in 1962. The details of these struggles belong
It was only after long and bitter debates between reli-
more to political history than to that of Islam. It is important
gious factions and the secular nationalists in the few months
to observe, however, that these three very serious uprisings,
prior to the Japanese surrender that a compromise was
costly in human lives and property, were put down by Mus-
reached, and the Pancasila (“five pillars”), a set of five princi-
lim soldiers under a Muslim president of a national state
ples formulated by Sukarno, first president of the republic,
based on an ideology, the Pancasila, that did not recognize
were with certain qualifications accepted as the basis of the
exclusive claims on the part of any one religious tradition.
new state. Since the first of these principles was belief in one
Also that radical Islam on such a scale made its debut in
God, this formula made Indonesia a nonconfessional state
Southeast Asia many years before the Iranian revolution.
without making it a secular one. A corollary of this charter
was the establishment of a ministry of religion early in the
Islamic policies in opposition. On a predominantly
republic’s history. This ministry was to take care of the needs
political level, the years between 1950 and 1965 saw contin-
and interests of every religious community in the country (al-
ued but decreasingly successful efforts by the Muslim parties
though later there were to be difficulties as to the terms
to gain by political means the power required to make Indo-
under which the Hindu Balinese and the Javanese mystical
nesia an Islamic state. They were never sufficiently strong to
groups might be included within its terms of reference).
outnumber or wily enough to outmaneuver the alliance be-
tween the “secular” nationalists and the radical left-wing par-
Religious revolts. The compromise, however, did not
ties. In the last resort they could claim loyalty to the Indone-
last long. After the proclamation of independence, the secu-
sian state by recognizing the Pancasila as the state ideology.
lar nationalists dropped the references to the position of
And this they did by claiming that only Islamic theology
Islam in the state agreed to in it. For the hard-line Muslims,
could supply an adequate content to the first of these five
this was a confirmation of their worst fears. The disillusion
principles: belief in one God.
and bitterness generated on the Muslim side led to three
major risings against the republican government. The first
The elimination of Sukarno as a political force in 1965
and most dangerous broke out before independence from the
in the wake of an attempted communist coup, and the de-
Dutch had been secured. After several months of guerrilla ac-
struction of the Communist Party, led to a revival of Muslim
tivity, Kartosuwirjo (1923–1962), a former medical student,
expectations of a positive Islamic stance in government.
proclaimed the establishment of the Islamic state of Indone-
These expectations were again disappointed, although Mus-
sia on August 7, 1949, in the mountainous regions of West
lim mass action had one spectacular success in blocking a
Java and was inaugurated as ima¯m of the state. He and his
proposed marriage law which would have undercut the au-
movement conducted a guerrilla war, the Darul Islam revolt,
thority of religious courts, and allowed civil marriage in
against the government until 1962, when Kartosuwirjo was
1973. The position of the Suharto government was that
captured, and he and five of his associates were executed. The
Islam had no place in politics. Its role was spiritual and cul-
movement, while at first idealistic and attracting at least tacit
tural, and in the political arena it represented as much a dan-
support among some members of the Muslim political par-
ger to the integrity of the state as had the Communist Party.
ties, gradually degenerated into a terrorist group that caused
In 1973 the number of parties eligible to contest parliamen-
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4670
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
tary elections was reduced to four, and none was permitted
modern understanding and practice of Islam among profes-
to campaign in the name of a religion, or to use religious
sionally qualified people.
symbols, such as the Crescent Moon, or the KaEbah. Toward
These attempts to harness a growing commitment to
the end of the decade, the government began to insist that
Islam were not sufficient to save Suharto from a groundswell
every organization within the state accepted the Pancasila as
of discontent. In 1998 he was forced to resign. The then vice-
its sole ideological foundation, and in 1984 the Nahdlatul
president (Habibie) succeeded him, and one of his first deci-
Ulama—now a social religious and not a political body, ac-
sions was to permit the formation of new political parties.
cepted this stipulation.
Ninety were formed, of which twenty-nine were Islamic
During the 1980s, the former Muslim parties though
based (although not all qualified to stand for election). When
in secular garb were able to provide a significant measure of
general elections were held the following year, secular parties
dissent to the increasingly authoritarian and corrupt Suharto
gained 58.3 percent of the vote, and the five principal Islamic
government. If, during the 1950s their goal had been Indo-
based parties, 38.5 percent. And of the Islamic parties con-
nesia as an Islamic state, their role now was to raise a voice
testing the election, only three, representing no more than
of protest against corruption, secularism, consumerism, and
14.5 percent of the electorate, had Indonesia as an Islamic
the excesses of an open economy. At the same time the Islam-
state as part of their program. In the wake of these elections,
ic resurgence and ferment that began with the Arab-Israel
Abdurrahman Wahid, a former leader of the Nahdlatul
war in 1973 and shifted in high gear with the Iranian revolu-
Ulama was appointed president, and Megawati Sukarno
tion, did not bypass Southeast Asia.
Putri of a secular party became vice president. In 2001, Ab-
durrahman Wahid was impeached. Sukarno Putri thereupon
In Malaysia there have been waves of Islamic enthusi-
became president, and Hamzah Haz, leader of the other
asm since the early 1970s, and there is considerable pressure
major Islamic party became vice president.
to Islamize life in the country. This has taken the form of
moves to introduce Islamic banking; promulgation of rules
At a macro-level, the most striking result of this election
for social behavior, especially in the form of khalwat laws,
is the drop in support for the idea of an Islamic state. In
which prohibit situations of “suspicious proximity” between
1955, the two principal parties campaigning on the program
the sexes. There was a heightened concern that all products
of an Islamic state gained around 42 percent of the vote. In
handled should be h:ala¯l, not just those concerned with food.
1999, those in favor of an Islamic state gained around 14.5
Often Malays were reluctant to eat in non-Muslim house-
percent. In light of the high profile of Islamic radicals in the
holds in case non-h:ala¯l material had touched the crockery.
region, these figures are significant. Relatively few Indone-
Such concerns resulted in conditions being imposed on the
sian Muslims support Islamic political movements. The ma-
handling and selling of pork that virtually excluded it from
jority is content to live and work within the status quo, Java-
the menus of international hotels.
nese dominated though it is, and with Islamic styles of
behavior and forms of worship tacitly accepted as religious
People thus were becoming aware of their Muslim heri-
norm of social life.
tage and identity. Increasingly women wore the Islamic
head-covering. There was a growing preoccupation with the
CONCLUSION. In a sense, no conclusion is possible, for the
observance of the prayer times and the Ramad:a¯n fast. Islamic
story is open-ended. An account of such events at what one
schools saw a surge in enrollments, and Islamic symbols and
might call the macro-level gives very little sense of Islam as
motifs were used even in the commercial advertising of ev-
it is lived, its dynamics, values, aspirations, frustrations, and
eryday products.
the challenges it faces in a rapidly changing world among the
Muslims of the region. Among them is great variety, and a
During this period observers have noted a marked in-
wide range of emphases.
crease in religious fervor. This is particularly evident in the
To the superficial observer, there is at first sight little
university campuses and among civil servants: it is reflected
outward evidence of Southeast Asia’s widespread Islamic alle-
in the observance of daily prayers and the fast, in the num-
giance. There is little of the exuberant architecture that so
bers of Muslims making the pilgrimage to Mecca, and in
characterizes Muslim civilization in South and West Asia.
women’s dress. In addition, various religious associations
Traditional forms of music and the dance, styles of dress, so-
have sprung up, all dedicated to spreading Islamic teachings,
cial structures, systems of inheritance, and personal and fam-
but with different emphases.
ily law all suggest a complex of cultures that owes little to
In response to this developing situation, President Su-
Islam. Observers coming from the Middle East, taking as a
harto, in Riddell’s phrase, became a born-again Muslim. He
norm outward manifestations of Islam in the Arab world,
made the pilgrimage with a fanfare of publicity in 1991. He
where so much that was local custom at the time of the
presided over the establishment of a state Islamic Bank, and
Prophet is now inseparable from the Islamic tradition, may
the launch of a government sponsored Islamic newspaper,
be perplexed at the variety and distinctiveness of Southeast
Republika. The vice-president, B. J. Habibie played a major
Asian Islam. They may even regard much of what they see
role in founding the Indonesian Association of Muslim Intel-
there as non-Islamic, forgetting that in the early years of
lectuals (ICMI), designed to develop a sophisticated and
Islam, much in Middle Eastern culture was non-Islamic, but
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
4671
with the passage of time was transmuted and given an Islamic
ing, and to produce graduates with a well-rounded education
meaning and identity.
qualified to serve in the various departments of religious ad-
ministration in the public service.
In each of the nation-states of the region, Islam has a
different profile. In Thailand, it is represented by a minority,
Alongside the government system there is a large num-
ethnically Thai, but in general geographically limited to the
ber of smaller institutions that teach in Arabic and graduate
southeast of the country. In Malaysia Muslims are today up
hundreds of students who travel overseas for higher learning;
to 60 percent of the population. Islam is to a high degree an
sometimes these students attend secular institutes in Austra-
emblem of Malay ethnicity and Malay kingship. To be a
lia, Britain, and Canada, for example, but of course they go
Malay is to be a Muslim, and it is through their profession
more often to religious ones in India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,
of Islam that the Malays define their identity in relation to
and Egypt. Indeed, students from Indonesia and Malaysia
other races in their multiracial nation, notably the Chinese.
have a very high profile at al-Azhar in Cairo, and at the cele-
In Singapore, Muslims are a small minority in what is essen-
bration of the millennium of al-Azhar in April 1983, South-
tially a Chinese state, and almost all are ethnically Malay. In
east Asian students were the most prominent community of
Indonesia, Muslims are an overwhelming majority, almost
foreigners studying at the institution, as indeed they are on
90 percent of the population, but are distributed among a
the pilgrimage to Mecca. Nevertheless, the diffusion of grad-
variety of (related) ethnicities which while having an individ-
uates of these institutions is uneven, and there is a significant
ual ethnic region as a point of origin, are widely dispersed,
number of Muslim thinkers who have developed an intellec-
and share in taking part in national civic life on equal terms
tual interest in the role of religion in the modern world, out-
in the professions and the instrumentalities of government.
side of the traditional Islamic disciplines of fiqh and kala¯m,
In the Philippines, Muslims are a minority, largely defined
some under the influence of the minority Lahore
by ethnicity, and geographically concentrated in the south.
Ah:madiyah, who have a small presence in Indonesia.
For the great majority of Muslims in all these regions,
Thus there is a deep reservoir of concern for and exper-
being a Muslim is as natural, as unreflective as breathing,
tise in religious matters that study clubs, workshops and asso-
whether a particular community places a high or low value
ciations can draw on vigorously to debate religious issues.
on external observances such as the fast and the ritual prayer
Such issues include the validity of traditional procedures of
and whatever the regional observances it chooses to decorate
QurDa¯n interpretation, the status of many of the positive pre-
and enhance its Islamic practice at rites of passage. Religion
scriptions of fiqh, and the authority religious institutions
then has to do primarily with personal devotion, morality,
should exercise in society. Riddell gives an account of these
and events in the life cycle. To the superficial observer, many
debates in Islam and the Malay-Indonesian World. Striking
of the Javanese peasantry, for example, might not appear to
are the words of Abdurrahman Wahid, former president of
be Muslims at all. Yet relatively few claim exclusive allegiance
Indonesia, speaking of why he declined to join ICMI, “As
either to Buddhism, which is enjoying a revival, or to the
long as they think Islam is an ideology, then I will not partic-
mystical sects. For the great majority, what perception they
ipate. Islam is a way of life. Its adherents should follow it vol-
have of transcendence is of Islamic transcendence. Even if
untarily, not needing any legislation from the state.” There
this is the limit of their commitment, it is sufficient for them
is however in the region as much as in the wider world of
to be identified as Muslims.
Islam a simmering cauldron of ideas on the realization and
rethinking of Islam in the contemporary world, that has gen-
The governments of both Malaysia and Indonesia have
erated a baffling range of terms to designate various tenden-
invested a great deal of effort and funding in Islamization
cies—traditionalists, modernists, neo-modernists, reformists
projects, projects designed to raise the level of Islamic con-
without even coming to the usual catalogue of terms of abuse
sciousness, and strengthen belief and practice within the
and mutual recrimination among such groups.
framework of constitutional government and civil adminis-
tration. In so doing, they are attempting to cut the ground
Events such as the September 11, 2001, outrages in the
from under the feet of the Muslim radicals for whom any for-
United States, the consequent American-led invasion of Af-
mal recognition of religious pluralism is anathema. The inev-
ghanistan, the increasing bitterness between Israelis and Pal-
itable result is that despite good intentions, non-Muslim reli-
estinians, the Bali bombing in October 2002, and finally the
gious communities, though tolerated and even respected, do
invasion of Iraq in 2003, have heightened the sensitivities of
not have the same right to present themselves in public life
many exposed nerves among numbers of Muslims. In our re-
as have Muslims.
gion, as elsewhere, there are groups of radicals inspired by
the ideas of H:asan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brother-
Islamic education at tertiary level has an important con-
hood, Mawdudi, and the writings of Sayyid Qutb—readily
tribution to make. Reference has already been made to the
available in Indonesian/Malay translation.
International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur. Indonesia
has established IAIN (State Universities of Islamic Studies)
The mentality exemplified by the Egyptian Takfir wa
in virtually every province which combine training in the re-
al-Hijra (Denounce and Abandon) groups, and in turn
ligious disciplines with secular subjects. They are designed
al-Qa¯Eidah, has its representatives in Southeast Asia. It is rep-
to produce graduates in Islamic law, education, and preach-
resented in the JamaDa Islamiyya (al-JamaEatuDl-Islamiyya) as-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4672
ISLAM: ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
sociated with the Bali bombings in October 2002, itself an
and lucid A History of Modern Southeast Asia: Colonialism,
heir of the Darul Islam movement that terrorized large areas
Nationalism, and Decolonization (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,
of Indonesia in the 1950s. It is expressed in the activities of
1968) makes sense of the region as a whole, from Burma to
the Abu Sayyaf movement in the Philippines, and likewise
the Philippines. D. G. E. Hall’s A History of South-East Asia,
in the violence of the virtual civil war with Christians in the
4th ed. (London, 1981), is still the basic work for a historical
Moluccas, and the bombing of churches in different parts of
survey of Southeast Asia as a whole from the earliest times
up to 1950. A very useful source book is Readings on Islam
the country in Christmas 2000.
in Southeast Asia, edited by Ahmad Ibrahim (Singapore,
The leaders of such fringe groups, with international
1985). See also Barbara Andaya and Leonard Andaya’s A
backing, can draw on latent resentment at past wrongs, and
History of Malaysia (London, 1982) and M. C. Ricklefs’s A
the frustrations and despairs attending much of daily life in
History of Modern Indonesia, c. 1300 to the Present (Bloom-
ington, Ind., 1981).
Indonesia, to create a turmoil, totally disproportionate to
their numbers.
The Modern Period
C. van Dijk’s Rebellion under the Banner of Islam: The Darul Islam
It is clear that virtually every movement in the Islamic
in Indonesia (The Hague, 1981) is an admirably lucid analy-
world and every emphasis and school has found a counter-
sis of revolts against the republican government in Indonesia
part in Southeast Asia alongside local responses to them.
between 1950 and 1965 directed toward the transformation
Even in the architecture of the mosque, there is a distinctive
of the nation into an Islamic state. Clifford Geertz’s The Reli-
regional style alongside the domes and minarets and arched
gion of Java (Chicago, 1976) is a masterpiece of sensitive eth-
masonry imported from the Middle East: splendid timber
nographic description, despite its somewhat mechanistic di-
structures with rising tiers of tapering hipped roofs sup-
vision of Javanese society into Santri (Muslim), abangan
ported on multiple columns. I have referred to the long tradi-
(peasant), and Prijayi (aristocratic bureaucrat), and its lack
of depth in understanding the historical context of Javanese
tion of local Eulama¯ D settling as expatriates in the Middle
religion. Peter G. Gowing’s Muslim Filipinos: Heritage and
East, either permanently or on a long-term basis. Indonesian
Horizon (Quezon City, Philippines, 1979), an excellent sur-
and Malaysian Muslims have not gone to the Middle East
vey of the Muslim communities in the Philippines from the
only to study. Numbers of them have gone west as volunteers
earliest days up to the 1970s, has a particularly useful bibliog-
to fight for what they perceived as the defense of Islam,
raphy. The Crescent in the East: Islam in Asia Major, edited
whether in Bosnia, Afghanistan, or Iraq. There is likewise the
by Raphael Israeli (London, 1982), includes chapters on
continuing tradition of Eulama¯ D from the Middle East and
Islam in Burma, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the
South Asia becoming domiciled in Southeast Asia. There is
Philippines. Islam in Public Life, edited by John L. Esposito
a strength and vitality in Islamic life expressed in a wide
(New York, 1986), includes chapters on Islam in public life
range of religious perceptions and enthusiasms both at indi-
in Malaysia and Indonesia that give a reasonable account of
vidual and community levels. The region is not simply a pas-
the state of play in each nation. See also B. J. Boland’s The
Struggle of Islam in Modern Indonesia (The Hague, 1982);
sive, partial and selective recipient of Islam. It has its tradi-
G. W. J. Drewes’s “Indonesia: Mysticism and Activism,” in
tionalists, it has its jihadi warriors, but also among its
Unity and Variety in Muslim Civilization, edited by Gustave
scholars are pioneers of new ways of acculturating Islam in
E. von Grunebaum (Chicago, 1955), pp. 284–310; my “An
the modern world and facing its challenges. Every issue is
Islamic System or Islamic Values?: Nucleus of a Debate in
faced, not least those to do with the position of women in
Contemporary Indonesia,” in Islam and the Political Economy
society. They are faced with an outspokenness and courage
of Meaning: Comparative Studies in Muslim Discourse, edited
that would not be tolerated in many other areas of the Islam-
by W. R. Roff (Berkeley, 1986); and Astri Suhrke’s “The
ic world. How the balance of the various elements will shift
Thai Muslims: Some Aspects of Minority Integration,” Pa-
for good or for ill in the years ahead is an unanswerable ques-
cific Affairs 43 (Winter 1970–1971): 531–547.
tion. Whatever the future holds, Southeast Asia is a distinc-
Specialized Studies
tive and vibrant cultural zone of the Islamic world, which in
S. Q. Fatimi’s Islam Comes to Malaysia (Singapore, 1963) is a
some areas gives leadership to it. Further consideration of it
short, provocative, but delightfully written book that elabo-
merely as a periphery of that world (sadly still fashionable in
rates a role attributed to S:u¯f¯ıs in the preaching of Islam in
some quarters) should be put to rest.
Southeast Asia, with a particularly interesting analysis of the
inscribed pillar discovered at Phanrang. Islam in South-East
S
Asia, edited by M. B. Hooker (Leiden, 1983), a collection
EE ALSO Acehnese Religion; Javanese Religion; Modern-
ism, article on Islamic Modernism; Southeast Asian Reli-
of seven essays that add up to a fresh and vigorous approach
gions, article on Insular Cultures; T:ar¯ıqah.
to Islam in Southeast Asia, brings together perspectives de-
rived from studies in ethnography, Islamic philosophy and
law, and literature. Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje’s The Ache-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
hnese, 2 vols., translated by A. W. S. O’Sullivan (Leiden,
Unfortunately no single basic work on Islam in Southeast Asia yet
1906), is a classic work of description of what from many as-
exists. What follows should serve as a guide to the general
pects is the single most important Muslim community in
reader and not as an exhaustive list. For the historical context
Southeast Asia. Islam in Asia, vol. 2, Southeast and East Asia,
within which Islam plays its various roles in Southeast Asia,
edited by Raphael Israeli and myself (Boulder, Colo., 1984),
John Sturgus Bastin and Harry J. Benda’s exquisitely written
includes such topics as a sociological analysis of Islamization
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
4673
in Java, QurDanic exegesis in Malaysia and Indonesia, and the
G. W. J. Drewes’s The Admonitions of Seh Bari (The Hague,
reciprocal relationships between Islamic Southeast Asia and
1969) is an edition and translation of a manuscript of a Java-
the heartlands of Islam. Clive S. Kessler’s Islam and Politics
nese Primbon (student notebook) brought back to Europe
in a Malay State: Kelantan 1838–1969 (Ithaca, N.Y., 1978)
around 1598; his Directions for Travellers on the Mystic Path
is an excellent microstudy of a small town in a Malay state
(The Hague, 1977) includes a very valuable index and bibli-
that has wide implications for all Malaysia. Conversion to
ography. Richard Winstedt’s A History of Classical Malay Lit-
Islam, edited by Nehemia Levtzion (New York, 1979), is a
erature (Kuala Lumpur, 1969) is a difficult book to read, in
very useful collection of essays providing a foundation for a
a number of ways insensitive and obtuse, but nevertheless de-
comparative study of conversion to Islam. Kelantan: Religion,
serving sympathetic, careful study. See especially those chap-
Society, and Politics in a Malay State, edited by W. R. Roff
ters dealing with Muslim legends, cycles of tales from Mus-
(Kuala Lumpur, 1974), is a most useful collection of material
lim sources, and Islamic theology, jurisprudence, and
on Islamic life and movements in Kelantan that also presents
history. See also L. F. Brakel’s The Hikayat Muhammad
a convincing paradigm for other regions. See also Muham-
Hanafiyyah (The Hague, 1975).
med Abdul Jabbar Beg’s Arabic Loan-Words in Malay: A
Comparative Study (Kuala Lumpur, 1982); C. C. Berg’s “The
A. H. JOHNS (1987 AND 2005)
Islamisation of Java,” Studia Islamica 4 (1955): 11–142;
Christine E. Dobbin’s Islamic Revivalism in a Changing Peas-
ant Economy: Central Sumatra, 1784–1847 (London, 1983);
my “Islam in Southeast Asia: Reflections on New Direc-
ISLAM: ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
tions,” Indonesia, no. 19 (April 1975): 33–55; and Deliar
Muslims have been present in Europe almost as long as Islam
Noer’s The Modernist Muslim Movement in Indonesia, 1900–
has existed, most commonly as merchants traveling across
1942 (Singapore, 1973).
the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, but also as captives in
Esposito, John L., ed. Islam in Asia: Religion Politics and Society.
war and, less commonly, as slaves. Before modern times there
Oxford, 1987. This includes chapters on Malaysia and Indo-
were three main periods that left significant traces of a Mus-
nesia giving a competent and lucid account of developments
lim presence in Europe. In 711 CE a mainly Berber army
in both countries up to the date of publication.
crossed from North Africa into Spain at Gibraltar, quickly
Hefner, Robert W. Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in
expanding northwards until they were stopped by Charles
Indonesia. Princeton, N.J., 2000. A general and sympathetic
Martel (c. 688–741) at the Battle of Poitiers in 732. Muslim
account of the adaptation of Islamic movements in Indonesia
rule was thus established in most of Spain. Centered in Se-
in coming to terms with civil society.
ville and Córdoba, its hold over the northern provinces was
Hooker, Virginia, and Norani Othman, eds. Malaysia: Islam, Soci-
never firm, and it was from that direction that the Christian
ety and Politics. Singapore, 2003. A collection of essays taking
reconquista gradually pushed back Muslim rule beginning
as a point of departure the work of Clive S. Kessler, a sociolo-
around the late tenth century. The kingdom of Granada held
gist who has specialized in the role of PAS in the northern
out for more than two centuries until its defeat in 1492
states of the Malay Peninsula.
marked the end of Muslim rule in the region. It was to be
Laffan, Michael Francis. Islamic Nationhood and Colonial Indone-
another century before the remaining Muslim populations,
sia: The Umma below the Winds. London, 2003. A study of
in the meantime forcibly relocated to the northeast, were fi-
the contribution of study in the Middle East (Egypt, Mecca,
nally expelled. During these centuries, Muslim Spain was a
and Madina) by southeast Asian students towards the end of
major center of culture and learning and, together with a
the nineteenth century to the evolution of Indonesian (and
much shorter period of Muslim domination in Sicily and
Malaysian) nationalism.
southern Italy (approximately two centuries until the late
Riddell, Peter G. Islam and the Malay-Indonesian World Transmis-
eleventh century), the region served as a rich route for the
sion and Responses, London, 2001. A recent, important, pio-
diffusion of Arabic and Islamic culture into Europe.
neering work with an emphasis on intellectual development
from primary sources, up to the year of publication.
The second and third periods are interrelated, and they
Riddell, Peter G. “The Diverse Voices of Political Islam in Post-
commence with the spread of a series of Mongol empires
Suharto Indonesia.” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
across Central Asia into the Middle East and eastern Europe
13, no. 1 (2002): 65–84. A lucid and succinct account of
in the thirteenth century. Originally holding various sha-
rapid changes taking place in the Muslim political scene after
manist beliefs, the Mongol rulers controlling the kingdoms
the resignation of President Suharto.
after the rapid breakup of the empire became Muslim. Of
Salim, Arskal, and Azumardi Azra, eds. Shari Ea and Politics in
these kingdoms, the most significant for the purposes of this
Modern Indonesia. Singapore, 2003. An account of debates
entry was that of the Khanate of the Golden Horde, whose
concerning the feasibility of implementing ShariEa law in In-
territories covered southern Russia and western Siberia. Dur-
donesia.
ing the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the khans were
Literature
gradually pushed back by the growth of the Ottoman and
For an introduction to Islamic writing in the regional vernaculars,
Russian states, until the final fall of the Khanate of Kazan
C. C. Brown’s S˘ejarah M˘elayu; or, Malay Annals (Kuala
to Russia in 1552. The population, known in Europe as Tar-
Lumpur, 1970) is a somewhat mannered but readable
tars, were then able to move around within the growing Rus-
translation of the 1612 rescension of the Sejarah Melayu.
sian Empire, leaving major Muslim communities in present-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4674
ISLAM: ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
day western Ukraine and the regions of the Crimea and the
feat in 1918, the fortunes of the Muslim communities de-
Volga River valley. During the period of Joseph Stalin
clined, only to resume growth during World War II when
(1879–1953) and World War II, large portions of this popu-
the Third Reich recruited extensively among the Muslim na-
lation were forcibly removed to Soviet Central Asia with
tionalities of the Soviet Union.
great loss of life. Only since the 1980s have their descendants
The Austro-Hungarian Empire of the Habsburgs shared
been able to return to their homes.
much of this history, with the major difference that, as the
The growth of the Ottoman Empire constitutes the
Ottoman Empire retreated in southeastern Europe during
third period. Starting less than a century after the first Mon-
the nineteenth century, Austria-Hungary actually acquired
gol conquests, the Ottoman family established a small state
direct rule over territories inhabited by substantial Muslim
in Anatolia and soon became a major competitor to what was
populations. This happened in 1878 when the Austro-
left of the Byzantine Empire. Over a period of two hundred
Hungarian Empire occupied Ottoman Bosnia-Herzegovina.
years, the Ottomans were able to expand both in Anatolia
Smaller Muslim communities had existed on the margins of
and into the Balkans, until they finally conquered Constanti-
Habsburg territory, and even before 1878 laws had been
nople in 1453 and made it their new capital, Istanbul. Over
passed governing Muslim family affairs. Soon after 1878
the following centuries, Muslim merchants, craftsmen, sol-
there was a resident muft¯ı in Vienna. In 1909, Austria incor-
diers, and administrators settled in all the towns and cities
porated Bosnia-Herzegovina formally, and three years later
of Ottoman southeast Europe. At the same time, parts of the
passed a law recognizing the “followers of Islam of the Hana-
indigenous population converted to Islam, especially in such
fite rite as a religious community,” a facility available within
communities as the Bogomils, which had developed forms
the 1867 constitution.
of Christianity that found them persecuted by both the Or-
In the United Kingdom and France, the history of Mus-
thodox and the Roman Catholic churches. On the whole,
lim settlement is even more directly linked to the history of
these converted communities lived in the countryside and
empire than is the case with Germany, whose relationship
only started moving into towns in the nineteenth and twenti-
to Istanbul before 1914 might be termed “proto-imperial.”
eth centuries. Significant communities of Turkish descent re-
Already in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the East
main in present-day southeast Europe only in Serbia, Bulgar-
India Company was crewing many of its ships from the terri-
ia, and Greece, while the descendants of the indigenous
tories of its factories in India. When these ships returned to
Slavic and Albanian communities are spread across the
ports in Britain, these men were laid off and left to fend for
southern half of the Balkans: Albanians in Albania itself, as
themselves, until public outrage forced the company to es-
well as in southern Serbia and Kosovo, Macedonia, and
tablish boarding houses for them in the 1820s. The Muslim
northwestern Greece; and Slavs in Bosnia-Herzegovina, with
component in Britain grew significantly after the opening of
small numbers, usually called Pomaks, in Bulgaria and
the Suez Canal in 1869. Companies shipping to and from
Greece.
India now recruited cheap labor at the new coaling station
WESTERN EUROPE—ISLAM BEFORE 1945. The contempo-
in Aden, which led directly to the establishment of Yemeni
rary presence of Muslim communities in western Europe
and Somali settlements in British ports. By the end of the
constitutes a fourth period in this historical context. Before
century, these communities were finding religious structure
1945, three countries led the way, namely Germany, Britain,
and identity with the arrival of a shaykh of the EAlaw¯ı S:u¯f¯ı
and France. There are records of early Muslim immigration
order, an order of Algerian origin that had developed an off-
and settlement in German-speaking lands following the ear-
shoot in Yemen.
liest contacts in southeastern Europe with the expanding Ot-
In the major ports of Liverpool and London, Muslim
toman Empire. The two failed sieges of Vienna in 1529 and,
settlers came not only from India and Aden but also from
especially, in 1683 left behind stragglers, deserters, and pris-
West Africa. British merchants and aristocrats started to
oners of war. More Muslims arrived and settled during the
forge links with their counterparts in various parts of the em-
eighteenth century as Prussia expanded its interests eastward.
pire and occasionally supported the education in Britain of
Thus a group of Tartar cavalry ended up in the hands of
the sons of the native colonial elites. Others Muslims, espe-
Frederick I the Great (1712–1786), who made arrangements
cially from Indian princely families, found their own way to
for them to observe weekly prayer in the barracks at Pots-
Britain. The first formal mosques were established in Lon-
dam. By the mid-nineteenth century a Muslim cemetery had
don and Liverpool around 1890. The circle around the
been established in Berlin, and in 1866 a mosque was
mosque in London, at Woking, obtained support both from
opened. The Muslim presence in Germany, which had been
the British establishment and certain Indian princes, as well
united by Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898), grew substan-
as from the Saudi ambassador, so that it was possible in 1944
tially as the country developed its diplomatic and economic
to acquire land in Regent’s Park and start the planning for
relationships with the Ottomans in the last few decades be-
what was to become London’s Central Mosque and Islamic
fore the outbreak of World War I. By this time provisions
Centre, which opened in 1977.
were being made jointly by the German and the Ottoman-
Turkish governments to address the spiritual needs of Mus-
The foundations of Muslim settlement in France are
lim prisoners from Russia, Britain, and France. After the de-
linked closely to the French imperial project in North Africa,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
4675
where Algeria was invaded in 1830. Businessmen, students,
still in the tens of thousands. The economic crisis caused by
and exiles were most noticeable among the early French
the rise of oil prices in the two years after 1972 put the brakes
Muslim community, including such figures as Jama¯l al-D¯ın
on the influx of Muslims into Europe, as most mainland Eu-
al-Afgha¯n¯ı (1838/9–1897) and Muh:ammad EAbduh (1849–
ropean countries closed their doors to labor immigration.
1905), who were exiled for a time from Egypt towards the
In the United Kingdom this halt to immigration had
end of the century by the British. But labor migration was
taken place already in 1962. Following a period dominated
an early dimension, especially with thousands of Algerians
by immigration from the Caribbean and India, social ten-
working in the olive oil industry around Marseille shortly be-
sions were beginning to appear. In response to riots in Lon-
fore World War I. During the war, the need for both agricul-
don in 1958, a national debate initiated limits on immigra-
tural and industrial labor grew massively, especially when the
tion from colonies and former colonies, which until that
French government started forcible requisition of Algerians,
point had been unrestricted. The debate alerted other groups
possibly as many as two thirds of the 200,000 or so who ar-
to the danger that access might be cut off, and during the
rived during the war. In recognition of the Algerians, Moroc-
next several years, until the Commonwealth Immigration
cans, and Tunisians who had served as civilians and soldiers
Act of 1962 came into effect, large numbers of Muslim im-
during the war, the French government provided funding for
migrants arrived, including nearly 100,000 from Pakistan
the building of the Paris Mosque and Islamic Centre, which
alone. Smaller groups had also arrived during this period, in-
opened in 1929. Labor migration continued erratically after
cluding Greek and Turkish Cypriots who were fleeing crises
the war, and after the French defeat in 1940 the Vichy Re-
in their home country. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, sig-
public requisitioned Algerian laborers to help build the Ger-
nificant numbers of Asian Muslims, mostly of Gujarati ori-
man Atlantic defenses. North Africans in France, and partic-
gin, arrived in Britain from Kenya and Uganda, where Afri-
ularly Algerians in Paris and Marseilles, became involved in
canization policies had made their positions untenable.
the campaigns for independence as early as the 1920s. Some
observers have suggested that the rebellion, which started in
The closing of the gates in 1962, and again from 1973
the mid-1950s and led to independence in 1962, was essen-
to 1974, did not lead to an overall decline in immigration,
tially financed by Algerian émigrés in France.
however. To the contrary, instead of young men coming
W
with the intention of returning home after a few years, they
ESTERN EUROPE—IMMIGRATION AFTER 1945. After the
end of World War II, the devastated economies of western
now decided to stay and bring in wives and children. In Brit-
Europe initially met their growing labor needs from the pool
ain the result was that the number of people of Pakistani and
of returning soldiers. But by the early 1950s it became clear
Bangladeshi origin in the 1981 census was about 360,000,
that the sources had to be widened. In mainland Europe, the
and ten years later 636,000. In France, while the number of
first regions that provided workers for the industrial heart-
Algerians stabilized in the two decades after 1973, the num-
lands of northern Europe were the countries of southern Eu-
ber of Moroccans more than doubled to over 570,000 in
rope: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Yugoslavia. But
1990 and the Tunisians by about 50 percent to over
there were early signs that this was not sufficient. The first
200,000. In Germany over the same period, the number of
immigrants to Britain from the Caribbean arrived in 1948,
Turks also more than doubled to 1.5 million.
and through the 1950s large numbers of people started arriv-
By this time, Germany was also beginning to show signs
ing from India. In 1957 an agreement between Turkey and
of a new phase in immigration, in which the emphasis was
the German state of Schleswig-Holstein assured the first offi-
increasingly on refugees and asylum seekers. This change was
cial arrival in Europe of Turkish workers, while in France the
caused by two basic factors. The relentless and progressive
numbers of Muslims coming from the traditional North Af-
restrictions on immigration for work and immigration of de-
rican sources continued to increase gradually.
pendents made the refugee route gradually more attractive,
despite its costs both in cash and in terms of involvement
During the 1960s immigration of Muslims into Europe
with criminal networks. In addition, the Muslim world wit-
expanded almost explosively. Nearly half a million Moroc-
nessed a number of destabilizing political crises that uproot-
cans arrived in France in the decade beginning in 1962,
ed populations and devastated economies. As a result, Leba-
while the Algerian number doubled to 750,000, and the first
non, Iran, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine joined
140,000 Tunisians arrived. Labor migration into Germany,
the list of sources for Muslim migrants to western Europe.
the Netherlands, Belgium, and the Scandinavian countries
tended to take place under the auspices of bilateral treaties
Common to the large majority of Muslim immigrants
between governments, particularly with Turkey, Morocco,
during these phases was their origins in certain rural regions
and Tunisia. In just three years (1960–1962), the number
or, in the case of Turkey in particular, in the rural immigra-
of Turkish workers in Germany increased tenfold, and it
tion areas of major cities of the countries of origin. The Mus-
continued growing until it reached over 600,000 in 1973.
lim immigrants to Europe therefore came from the more cul-
In addition there were many thousands of other nationalities
turally conservative sections of society, in which religion had
of Muslim background. Similar developments took place in
continued to play an important role. Most of the labor mi-
Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Swit-
grants found semiskilled or unskilled labor, and a high pro-
zerland, although in these areas the figures were, by 1973,
portion of them had only a primary school background—the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
first generation of women immigrants were often illiterate.
often turned out to be in vain), the annual number of new
It is to this background that some social scientists attribute
mosques jumped to between twenty and thirty. A similar de-
the low rates of educational success and high rates of unem-
velopment can be observed in other western European coun-
ployment among young people, which often characterize
tries after the 1973 to 1974 period.
Muslim communities in Europe at the beginning of the
Mosques and prayer houses were usually founded by
twenty-first century. The causes are not unequivocally clear,
local communities to meet specific needs, primarily the per-
but the experience of, for example, East African Asians in
formance of regular prayer, especially the congregational Fri-
Britain, would seem to support the analysis, as there seems
day noon prayer, jum Eah, and the Islamic instruction of chil-
to be little correlation between religion and educational and
dren. Most communities initially employed people from
economic success among this mixed Muslim, Hindu, and
their home villages or regions to perform these tasks. In Brit-
Sikh group whose urban roots are to be found in commerce
ain this tended to mean men who met the accustomed
and the professions.
criteria of a village or small-town ima¯m, usually someone
A further factor is the encounter with racism and xeno-
with minimum training and without any serious Islamic
phobia, widespread in European cities, both west and east.
scholarship or experience of the country of settlement.
This has encouraged minority communities to construct and
Not long after this first stage of local organization, orga-
preserve internal solidarity and has supported tendencies to-
nizations with regional or national significance in the coun-
wards residential concentrations in specific parts of the cities
tries of origin began to establish themselves, either by invita-
and towns where they live. This is also a factor in contribut-
tion of the communities or individuals settled in Europe or
ing to widespread educational failure and partial or complete
by their own initiative. Given the official sponsorship of
exclusion from a number of occupations.
much Turkish settlement in Germany, it was natural that
SETTLEMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF MUSLIM COMMUNI-
Turkish religious institutions should have immigrated with
TIES. The closing of the gates of labor immigration in 1962
the settlers. This development included Turkey’s official De-
in the United Kingdom and in 1973 and 1974 on mainland
partment of Religious Affairs, the Diyanet, as well as several
western Europe was a turning point. Leading as it did to the
of the unofficial Islamic movements prevalent in Turkey.
settlement of families, it also, in effect, contributed to mak-
These groups had the added advantage that they could func-
ing Islam visible and to the forming of consciously Muslim
tion much more freely in Germany than in Turkey, although
communities. Until that point, with a few notable excep-
there were joint German-Turkish efforts to limit their activi-
tions, migrant workers had related to their host societies in
ties after the September 1980 military coup d’état in Turkey.
almost exclusively economic terms. They lodged cheaply,
The same Turkish institutions quickly came to pay a role in
often in boarding houses run by people from their own back-
other countries with Turkish settlement, especially the Neth-
ground. In industry, Muslim workers tended to be concen-
erlands, Belgium, and Switzerland. They found their activi-
trated in specific sectors and often worked in their own gangs
ties to be more difficult in Sweden, where the government
or shifts, with employment mediated, again, by people of
actively discouraged external interference; in Britain, where
their own background. With the arrival of Muslim families,
the Turkish communities mostly came from Cyprus and had
however, interaction with the institutions of the host society
little interest in control from Ankara; and in France, where
necessarily expanded, especially in terms of access to housing,
the rigid divide between state and religion was a major
health and social services, and education.
obstacle.
It is significant that the countries into which these im-
North African governments, especially those of Algeria
migrants arrived had extensive state welfare systems, in which
and Morocco, similarly attempted to retain a degree of con-
the price of gaining benefits was a broad and deep contact
trol over their émigrés, and they established a number of or-
with complicated official bureaucracies. Women were espe-
ganizations in such countries as France, the Netherlands, and
cially affected in the areas of health and education, often in
Belgium. Some of these organizations have had a degree of
ways that men in their cultural tradition were unused to deal-
independence, while others, especially Moroccan ones, were
ing with, but which at the same time frequently touched on
long controlled directly by the respective embassies. Paki-
aspects of individual and family honor, personal hygiene,
stani and Bangladeshi state structures have not intervened in
and religious ritual. By such routes, Islam suddenly became
the affairs of their communities in Europe. In the United
a matter of conscious significance, and ways of dealing with
Kingdom, it has often been a matter of political parties in
these issues were sought.
the country of origin seeking support, especially financial
support. In addition, various mainstream Islamic movements
It is thus no coincidence that an immediate conse-
that were independent of their governments were often quick
quence of the beginnings of family reunion was the growth
to establish roots among the new Muslim communities in
of the number of mosques and prayer houses in Europe. Brit-
Europe, sometimes at their own initiative and sometimes at
ish official statistics show that from the mid-1960s, starting
the initiative of followers who had joined the migration.
from a base of only thirteen, an average of seven new
mosques were registered annually. From 1975, when hopes
Eastern Europe. The presence of Muslim communities
grew of financial support from the Middle East (hopes that
in eastern Europe can be traced back many centuries to the
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
4677
existence of Mongol/Tartar states and the Ottoman Empire.
that these minorities have been under close observation and
The region referred to here does not fully coincide with the
control by their respective governments. As a result, both
eastern Europe of the pre-1990 Soviet system; rather it in-
governments have repeatedly been found remiss in their ap-
cludes Albania, the former Yugoslavia, and Greece, but not
plication of article 9 of the European Convention on Human
eastern Germany, the former Czechoslovakia, or the Baltic
Rights, which deals with religious freedom, to which both
states. In those countries, which were members of the War-
countries are signatories.
saw Pact, the official ideology of the network of Communist
parties initially regarded nationalities as being of secondary
During the 1980s, as the old order was beginning to dis-
importance compared with the solidarity of the proletariat.
play its weaknesses, some Communist politicians sought to
But by the time most of these countries came under Soviet
maintain their position by appealing to national chauvinism.
domination after World War II, Soviet ideology had moved
In Yugoslavia, the targets of this increasingly violent trend
towards an acknowledgement of a role for nationalities with-
were, during the 1990s, the “Muslims in the national sense,”
in the overall system. This is of significance in a region where
namely the Bosnian Muslims and the Albanians of Kosovo
traditional religious adherence was a major factor in deter-
and Macedonia. In Bulgaria, the regime also adopted this
mining national identities during the nineteenth and early
tendency and in the mid-1980s implemented a “national”
twentieth centuries.
policy that involved forcing people with Muslim names,
Turks or Pomaks, to adopt Bulgarian names. The ensuing
The Warsaw Pact countries followed the Soviet lead by
mass exodus to Turkey was a major factor leading to the fall
exercising very tight control over all religions within a gener-
of the Communist regime in that country.
ally antireligious ideology and public policy. All public mani-
festations of traditional religion, in the form of religious
Since the collapse of the Soviet system, all of the coun-
buildings, organizations, and education, were often brutally
tries of this region have had to review their policies towards
suppressed. In the case of Islam, official institutions were
their religious minorities, including their Muslim communi-
sponsored and controlled by the government, usually with
ties, especially after signing the European Convention on
an officially recognized head who was given the title of muft¯ı
Human Rights. On the whole, while there remain Muslim
or chief muft¯ı. The few mosques that were allowed to func-
institutions that have inherited the mantle of the official bo-
tion were placed under the direction of the official institu-
dies of the Communist period, they have become more dis-
tion, and the content of the Friday sermon was often dictated
tanced from the state. At the same time, it has become possi-
centrally.
ble for other Muslim organizations and movements to
establish themselves, and there has been a major growth in
In Albania, especially under the rule of Enver Hoxha
the number of mosques sponsored by local communities. In
(1908–1985), atheist policy went further and all forms of re-
many of the countries concerned, a growth in immigration
ligion, organized or otherwise, were banned and persecuted.
from the Muslim world has also been recorded. Some of the
Data from the 1930s suggest that over 70 percent of the Al-
roots of this development can be found in students from the
banian population was Muslim at that time. In Yugoslavia,
Arab world who were sponsored by the Communist govern-
the government of Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980) decided in
ments. But other Muslim immigrants are businesspeople and
the 1960s to recognize the Slavic population of Bosnia-
people looking for work. In Bulgaria a large proportion of
Herzegovina of Muslim heritage as a nationality distinct
those who fled the Communist name-changing policy re-
from the Croats and the Serbs, although all of them shared
turned to their properties after the regime changed, but
essentially the same language. For reasons having to do with
many subsequently returned to Turkey to escape the eco-
both domestic and international politics, the term used to
nomic collapse. Like most of the other countries under con-
refer to them was “Muslims in the national sense.” Most reli-
sideration here, Bulgaria has, since the late 1990s, begun at-
gious communities in the region had experienced a very
tracting immigrants from various parts of the Muslim,
strong process of secularization, which Communist rule has-
especially Arab, world.
tened. This was the case very markedly with the Muslims of
Bosnia and Albania, so the Yugoslav concept of Muslim by
Austria. A small, generally well-educated Bosnian Mus-
nationality carried strong contradictions.
lim community was established in Vienna during the late
Habsburg period until the empire fell apart during World
Muslims in Greece were for decades after World War
War I. Most of the contemporary Muslim population in
I synonymous with Turks. The postwar settlement had in-
Austria immigrated as workers during the 1970s, particularly
cluded massive exchanges of population between Greece and
from Turkey. During the 1980s, when labor migration
Turkey, with thousands of ethnic Greeks leaving their homes
slowed down, more Muslim immigrants arrived as business-
in western Anatolia, especially in and around Smyrna/Izmir,
people, students, and diplomats attached to the international
and, similarly, with large numbers of ethnic Turks leaving
institutions in Vienna, to be followed during the 1990s by
Western Thrace. The position and rights of remaining com-
a new wave of workers brought in by demand from employ-
munities on both sides were governed by peace treaties, espe-
ers, as well as thousands of refugees from the wars in the for-
cially the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. On both sides, the mutu-
mer Yugoslavia. Turks constituted about half of the estimat-
al mistrust that has been sustained into the present has meant
ed 300,000 Muslims in Austria in 1997, some 4 percent of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
the total population of the country. Only a minority of Aus-
that between four and five million Muslims, up to 7 percent
trian Muslims have acquired citizenship, and about half of
of the population, lived in France at the end of the twentieth
the Muslim population lives in and around Vienna, with the
century. By far the largest proportion come from North Afri-
rest living in the northern and western industrial regions of
ca, of which over 1.5 million are Algerians, with approxi-
the country.
mately one million Moroccans and about 350,000 Tuni-
Belgium. The Muslims of Belgium originate from Mo-
sians, as well as some 450,000 so-called Harkis, the
rocco (125,000 in 1999) and Turkey (71,000), followed by
descendants of Algerians who sided with the French during
other Arab nations (Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Syria),
the war of independence. There are a further 350,000 Turks,
as well as Bosnians and Pakistanis, making up altogether
some 250,000 Muslims from sub-Saharan Africa, and over
about 370,000, or 3.7 percent of the Belgian population.
100,000 Muslims from the Middle East. The major period
Most Muslim immigrants arrived in Belgium in the 1960s
of immigration occurred in the three decades before 1974,
and early 1970s, followed by smaller numbers of refugees in
after which Algerian figures stabilized due to a subsidized
the 1980s and 1990s. Changes in the laws of citizenship in
policy of return, while the numbers of Muslim immigrants
1984 and 1991 have led to almost half of these immigrants
from other regions continued to increase. The largest con-
acquiring Belgian citizenship. Turks are concentrated in the
centrations of Muslims are to be found in the industrial areas
industrial areas of north Belgium, while most Moroccans live
of Paris, Lyon, and Marseilles, as well as in smaller towns in
in Brussels and in the south.
eastern France. Turks are also prevalent in forestry and light
industry in the Alsace-Moselle region. Most Muslims of
Bulgaria. The 2001 Census recorded 967,000 Sunni
North African origin have French citizenship, and the rate
Muslims and some 53,000 Sh¯ıEahs, making up some 12.9
of naturalization among Turks grew during the 1990s.
percent of the total population. In terms of ethnicity, there
were 747,000 Turks (a decline of over 50,000 since the 1992
Germany. In 2000, just over three million Muslims
census, mainly due to emigration to Turkey), 150,000 Bul-
were estimated to be resident in Germany, making up 3.2
garians (“Pomaks”), 140,000 Roma (“Gypsies”), and about
percent of the population. Three-quarters of these are of
5,000 Tartars and Circassians.The more than 5,000 Arab
Turkish origin, followed by Bosnians, Iranians, Moroccans,
settlers, concentrated in 1992 in the major cities, especially
and Afghans. Germany long maintained that it was a country
Sofia, have increased significantly in number since then. Eth-
of temporary migration, not immigration and settlement.
nic Turks are concentrated in the south, southeast, and
The majority of Turks arrived in Germany during the 1960s
northeast, with Pomaks in the Rhodope Mountains of the
and early 1970s, while the other nationalities arrived mainly
south, and Roma dispersed all over the country.
as students or refugees. Only in 1998 did Germany ease ac-
Denmark. Denmark’s estimated total of 150,000 Mus-
cess to citizenship, so about 90 percent of Germany’s Mus-
lims in 2000, making up about 2.8 percent of the popula-
lims remain legal foreigners. Most Muslims live in the former
tion, is among the most ethnically mixed in Europe. Major
West Germany in the limited inner city districts of Berlin,
groups include Turks, former Yugoslavs (especially Bosni-
Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, and Frankfurt am Main, and
ans), Somalis, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Palestinians, and Moroc-
in the Ruhr district cities of Düsseldorf and Duisburg.
cans, as well as smaller groups of other Arab and South and
Greece. The main Muslim populations in Greece are
Central Asia nationalities. This reflects the accumulated ef-
those of Western Thrace, whose rights as a religious and eth-
fect of labor migration occurring during the 1967 to 1973
nic minority are protected by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne,
period, as well as refugee flows in the 1980s. Acquisition of
and the Albanians, mostly immigrants from Albania and
Danish citizenship has been slow. Denmark’s main concen-
Macedonia since the early 1990s, making up altogether
trations of Muslims are found in Copenhagen, Aarhus, and
about 370,000 people (3.7 percent of the total population)
Odense, with significant smaller groups in the industrial
at the beginning of the twenty-first century. While the Turks
towns of eastern Denmark.
remain concentrated in the towns and villages of Western
Finland. Official statistics for 1999 allow an estimate
Thrace, Albanians have spread to wherever there is dynamic
of some twenty-thousand Muslims in Finland, or about 0.4
economic activity, including both the major cities and the
percent of the population. A small group, less than one thou-
countryside and, more recently, also the islands. Significant
sand, are Tartars whose presence, mostly in Helsinki and
numbers of immigrants from the Muslim world, in particu-
Turku, dates back to the nineteenth century when Finland
lar the Middle East, have settled in Athens and other major
was part of Russia and their forebears arrived as traders. The
cities since the 1980s, but figures are unreliable.
majority of Muslims living in Finland today have come from
the eastern Arab world and Somalia, mostly as refugees dur-
Hungary. The majority of the twenty to thirty thou-
ing the 1980s and 1990s. Most of them live in and around
sand Muslims in Hungary came as students from Arab,
Helsinki, with smaller numbers in the main cities of the
South Asian, and Central Asian countries. They make up less
south and southwest.
that 0.3 percent of the Hungarian population.
France. Estimates of the number of Muslims in France
Ireland. A small community of Muslims of different or-
are based on statistics concerning nationality, which suggest
igins, mostly students and businesspeople, are concentrated
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
4679
in Dublin. They total approximately 15,000, or 0.3 percent
tion was caused by the decolonization processes of the 1970s
of the Irish population.
and 1980s.
Italy. Due to the high proportion of unregistered immi-
Romania. A total of about sixty thousand Muslims
grants in Italy, figures are unreliable, but best estimates sug-
make up less that one quarter of 1 percent of Romania’s total
gest a Muslim population of as many as 700,000, or about
population. The majority are citizens of the centuries-old
1.2 percent of Italy’s total population. The largest groups are
Turkish, Tartar, and Albanian communities, concentrated in
Moroccans and Albanians, followed by smaller but still sig-
the Dobruja region of southeast Romania. In recent decades
nificant numbers of Tunisians, Senegalese, Egyptians, Paki-
small numbers of students and traders, especially from the
stanis, Algerians, and Bosnians. Less than 5 percent of the
Arab world and Central and South Asia, have settled in Ro-
Muslims in Italy have Italian citizenship. With few excep-
mania.
tions, most arrived during the 1980s and 1990s, among
them a high proportion of refugees, especially from Albania
Spain. According to Spain’s 1996 census, there were be-
and Bosnia. Most live in Italy’s northern industrial regions
tween 300,000 and 400,000 Muslims in the country, com-
and around Rome.
prising about 1 percent of Spain’s population. Nationality
statistics for 2000 indicate that about 250,000 originate from
Luxembourg. According to Muslim estimates there
North Africa, mostly Morocco, and about 22,000 from sub-
were upwards of seven thousand Muslims in Luxembourg
Saharan Africa, with smaller numbers from the Middle East
(1.6 percent of the population) in 2000, two-thirds being
and South Asia. Only a minority of Spain’s Muslims have
from Bosnia-Herzegovina. The principality signed a labor
Spanish citizenship. The main period of immigration started
agreement with Yugoslavia in 1970, which led to the first
in the 1980s, with immigrant workers settling around Cata-
wave of immigrants, who were followed by refugees during
lonia and Madrid, and subsequently as workers in the tourist
the 1990s.
industry of the Mediterranean coast.
Netherlands. Official statistics record almost 700,000
Sweden. Estimates for 2000 indicate between 250,000
Muslims in 1999 in the Netherlands, equivalent to 4.6 per-
and 300,000 Muslims live in Sweden, about 4 percent of the
cent of the population. The two largest groups are the almost
population. Although some arrived during the 1960s and
300,000 Turks and 250,000 Moroccans, with smaller num-
1970s looking for work, most came as refugees during the
bers of Surinamese, Iraqis, Somalis, Iranians, Pakistanis, and
1980s and the 1990s from a number of countries, with
Afghans. Over half have become Dutch citizens. The major
Iraqis, Iranians, Turks (especially of Kurdish descent), Bosni-
immigration of Turks and Moroccans took place during the
ans, and Palestinians from Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan being
1960s and 1970s to meet the demand for labor. Later arrivals
the largest groups. By far the largest numbers of Sweden’s
came primarily as refugees. The population is overwhelming-
Muslims live in and around Stockholm, with sizable commu-
ly urban, concentrated particularly in Amsterdam, Rotter-
nities also in Gothenburg and Malmö.
dam, The Hague, and Utrecht.
Switzerland. The federal census of 2000 recorded ap-
Norway. During the 1970s and 1980s, people from Pa-
proximately 310,000 Muslims, or 4 percent of Switzerland’s
kistan, Morocco, and Turkey started arriving in Norway in
total population. Over half have their origins in the former
search of work. Since then more have arrived as refugees. Es-
Yugoslavia, especially Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
timates at the end of the twentieth century suggest a Muslim
Many immigrated for work before the collapse of Yugoslavia,
population of between 100,000 and 150,000, or about 3 per-
while many of the later arrivals came as refugees. About 20
cent of Norway’s population. Most of Norway’s Muslims
percent of Switzerland’s Muslims are of Turkish origin,
live in and around Oslo, with smaller numbers in other
mostly arriving during the 1970s and early 1980s. They are
major cities.
settled in all the major cities, particularly Zurich, Bern, Basel,
Poland. With a total of about fifteen thousand people
Lausanne, and Geneva. Few of the Muslims living in Swit-
concentrated in the major cities, Muslims make up only
zerland have succeeded in meeting the country’s strict citi-
0.038 percent of Poland’s population. About one-third of
zenship requirements.
the country’s Muslims are Polish citizens of Tartar origin,
United Kingdom. The United Kingdom’s 2001 census
mostly from areas near the Ukrainian border. The rest came
recorded some 1.6 million Muslims, constituting 2.7 percent
as students during the 1980s, or as traders and refugees in
of the population. The main period of immigration was dur-
the following decade.
ing the 1960s and 1970s, with continued family reunion oc-
Portugal. Between half and three-quarters of Portugal’s
curring thereafter, along with a rise in the number of refugees
Muslims are citizens; most came from colonial Mozambique
during the 1990s. People of South Asian origin make up
and are of Indian origin. The remainder of Portugal’s thirty
more than half of the country’s Muslims, about half of whom
to forty thousand Muslims (0.3 to 0.4 percent of the popula-
were of Pakistani origin. Other significant groups come from
tion) came from former Portuguese colonies, particularly
the Arab world, Turkish Cyprus, and the commonwealth
Guinea-Bissau, and from Arab countries. The latter arrived
countries of western and eastern Africa. Outside of London,
mostly during the 1990s, while the earliest major immigra-
which has the most mixed population, including the most
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4680
ISLAM: ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
Arabs, the largest Muslim communities, with South Asians
That such national Muslim representation developed in
dominant, are to be found in the West Midlands, West
France and Britain is due in part to the citizenship status of
Yorkshire, Manchester, and Glasgow.
most people of Muslim background in these countries. In
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. At the official level, one of the
Great Britain, commonwealth citizens have the right to vote
major challenges to European states with Muslim popula-
and to stand for election, and access to citizenship for the
tions has been how to incorporate Islam, as well as other reli-
children of residents is accorded by birth or a relatively unre-
gions that have appeared in Europe since 1945, into the pat-
stricted process of naturalization after five years of residence.
terns of church-state relations that have been built up
French rules are slightly different, but the principle of citi-
through centuries of sometimes conflicted history. Although
zenship by birth is also the legal foundation there. So in both
society and politics during the late twentieth century became
countries there has been a long tradition of political partici-
increasingly secular in nature, most European states are not
pation, which is only gradually spreading to the rest of Eu-
formally secular in the sense of a clear separation between
rope as laws are changed. This was the case in Germany at
church and state. Patterns range from the clear church-state
the end of the 1990s, when limited access to dual citizenship
separation introduced in France in 1905 and integral to the
and citizenship by birth were introduced. In some countries,
constitutions of Ireland and most nations of eastern Europe,
such as the Netherlands and in the Scandinavian countries,
to countries such as Denmark and Greece that retain a state
political participation at the local level was encouraged by the
church or one church in a highly privileged position. In be-
introduction during the 1980s of the right to vote and to
tween are states such as Belgium, Austria, Spain, and Germa-
stand for election in local government for foreigners of lon-
ny that offer official forms of recognition for religions, and
ger than three years of residence.
others, such as Italy, that retain concordats with Rome. But
EDUCATION. Education has been a priority for Europe’s
the official status often does not reflect the influence of tradi-
Muslim communities. For most Muslim parents, education
tionally dominant churches. In some cases they have an im-
has been seen as the key to a better future for their children
pact far above their official status, as in the case of the Catho-
and their families, and European governments have regarded
lic Church in Ireland and Poland, or, conversely, far below
their educational systems as one of the main tools for build-
their official status, as with the Evangelical Lutheran Church
ing national identity and, therefore, for the integration or as-
in Denmark.
similation of people of foreign origin. At the same time,
Muslims have had to find their way through this confu-
modern child-centered educational thinking, linked with a
sion, and they have achieved legal recognition in several
liberal and pluralist view of Europe, has required a recogni-
countries where it is available, including Austria (1979), Bel-
tion and validation of children’s cultural identities.
gium (1974), and Spain (1992). In other such countries, in-
cluding Germany, some of the Swiss cantons, and the Alsace-
The United Kingdom was among the first countries to
Moselle region of France, such legal recognition was still to
restructure syllabuses of religious education to take into ac-
be obtained as of 2004. Recognition brings with it different
count the presence of faiths other than Christianity, when
privileges in different countries. In Austria, legal recognition
local authorities introduced “multi-faith” religious education
gives Muslims access to the state broadcast media and pro-
during the 1970s. The Education Reform Act of 1988 speci-
vides for religious instruction in schools, the latter a privilege
fied for the first time that Christianity was the be the main
that also comes with recognition in Belgium. For a long time
faith taught, but the law also guaranteed the teaching of
it was the view in Germany that recognition was required be-
other religions, most prominent among which have been
fore access to religious instruction in state schools was possi-
Islam and Judaism. In other European countries where reli-
ble. More recently, German politicians and educators have
gion is taught in state schools, the curriculum was tradition-
begun supporting the view that religious education can go
ally linked to a specific Christian tradition. In some cases,
ahead without recognition.
as in Germany, the churches have cooperated in expanding
the curriculum to include knowledge of other world reli-
Whatever the legal situation, for most European Mus-
gions, especially Islam and Judaism, while some countries,
lim communities, acknowledgment of them as an inherent
including Norway and Sweden, have restructured their offi-
part of public life is more than a mere formality. During the
cial programs on British lines. In Eastern Europe since the
1990s the French government became involved in the spon-
collapse of Communist regimes, changes are only slowly tak-
sorship of a Muslim representative body. To achieve this,
ing place, since in most cases the priority has been the rein-
French authorities have had to enter into ever greater com-
troduction of religious instruction in the parents’ faith after
promises with the country’s Muslim communities. A broadly
decades of atheistic indoctrination.
based Conseil Français du Culte Musulman, sponsored by the
Ministry of the Interior, was elected in April 2003. The es-
As the teaching of Islam has spread in schools, so Mus-
tablishment of the Muslim Council of Britain in 1997 served
lim organizations have become increasingly involved in de-
a similar purpose for a number of years, but it never suc-
signing syllabuses and teaching materials, as well as contrib-
ceeded in broadening its initial base of support among Brit-
uting to the training of teachers. Since the national,
ain’s Muslim communities, and its role as interlocutor with
linguistic, and cultural origins of Muslims in many countries
the government remained circumscribed.
are mixed, Muslims have had to become accustomed to an
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN MODERN EUROPE
4681
internal pluralism that was often absent from the regions of
Görü¸s. But a few movements have crossed ethnic and na-
origin. This involvement in education has thus often re-
tional borders, above all the Tablighi-jama¯Eat. This move-
quired Muslim participants to reach a consensus on what
ment originated in the context of the Indian Deobandi
should be taught as Islamic faith and practice, and also how
movement but spread around the world during the 1950s
to deal pedagogically with the variety of cultural forms
and 1960s. During the 1980s it particularly found followers
through which Islam finds expression in society. It remains
in France among North Africans, where it was know as Foi
a fact, however, that the main cultures of origin continue to
et pratique, and very soon after the regime changes in eastern
influence the image of Islam that is variously presented in
Europe itinerant Tabligh preachers were seen in Bulgarian
schools across Europe.
villages.
ISLAMIC MOVEMENTS AND TRENDS. The countries of origin
S:u¯f¯ı networks, although generally less visible than other,
have also played a major role in determining the Islamic
more formal organizations, have developed a strong presence
trends that became established in various places. The vast
in Europe. In the Balkans the Bekta¯sh¯ı network, traditional-
majority of Muslims in western Europe are Sunn¯ıs who tend
ly strong among Albanians, is also to be found among ethnic
to identify with the legal and ritual schools (madhhab) of
Turks in Bulgaria. Related to the Bekta¯sh¯ıs, and currently
their parents. There are a number of Sh¯ıE¯ı communities in
going through major revival and change, are the so-called Al-
the United Kingdom, notably Ithna¯Eashar¯ıs and Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıs;
evis. Originating in Anatolia (and not to be confused with
they are primarily of Iranian, Arab, and South Asian origin.
the Syrian group of the same name), many Turks and Kurds
The Iranian government has long played a role that, in the
of Turkish nationality are now publicly professing to be Al-
Hamburg Mosque on the Alster Lake, predates the Islamic
evis. In some instances, especially among the Balkan village
revolution of 1979. But other groups are also to be found,
communities, it is difficult to distinguish between these
such as the Khoei Foundation in London with its link to the
movements and isolated traditional popular religious prac-
eponymous family of Iraqi Sh¯ıE¯ı scholars. The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı com-
tices, but it is also clear that, with the growth of communica-
munity has a major center in London, and promotes philan-
tions and freedom of movement, the two forms of expression
thropic and developmental activities through the Aga Khan
are being linked.
Development Network.
Other more traditional S:u¯f¯ı orders are also widespread,
However, it is often the Muslim movements that arose
especially various branches of the Naqshband¯ı order, preva-
in the Muslim world during the nineteenth and twentieth
lent among both Turks and South Asians. Among communi-
centuries that have been most visible. So among Muslims of
ties from sub-Saharan West Africa, especially among the Sen-
Indian subcontinent origin, the Deobandi and Brelwi move-
egalese, the marabout networks retain significant influence,
ments remain strong and continue to reproduce their mutual
including economic influence. New European cross-border
controversies after settling in Europe. To them must be
networks have arisen as offshoots from the more traditional
added the network of organizations emanating from the
orders, the most well-known of these probably being that of
Jama¯Eat-i-Isla¯m¯ı, founded by Abu¯’l ADla Mawdu¯d¯ı (1903–
the Cypriot Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani (b. 1922), whose fol-
1979). Among North African Arabs, branches of the Nation-
lowers, although limited in number, range from Central Asia
al Liberation Front continued to exercise influence for many
through Europe to North America.
years, but during the 1990s younger Arabs increasingly
found themselves attracted to organizations linked to the
Smaller, more extreme groups have made themselves
Muslim Brotherhood, a trend also to be noted among Mus-
noticed since the early 1990s, usually when the media have
lim students elsewhere in western Europe, and in some cases
temporarily linked them to political events. This was the case
institutions supported and funded by individuals or organi-
at the time of the Bosnian crisis early in the decade, the peri-
zations from the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia.
od of the Algerian civil war from the middle of the decade,
and in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on
From the beginning, Turks were split between an edu-
the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Most well-
cated minority that tended to support the official secularism
known among these groups is the H:izb al-Tah:r¯ır network,
of the tradition of Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) and a majori-
which has appeared in most European countries and in for-
ty that through the 1970s became increasingly organized
mer Soviet Central Asia.
through federations of mosques. These federations were run
As a younger, educated generation appears in the Mus-
by either the local representatives of the Diyanet, a network
lim communities in both eastern and western Europe, many
that was expanded significantly after the September 1980
European Muslims are beginning to develop European forms
coup in Ankara; the Milli Görü¸s movement; or the more
of Islam. On the one hand, they are loosening their adher-
S:u¯f¯ı-oriented Süleymanli movement.
ence to the culturally specific forms of Islam identified with
While most movements remain ethnically identified,
their parents and countries of origin; on the other hand, they
some have established high levels of cooperation across bor-
are working out those dimensions of Islam that they regard
ders based on a sympathy of ideas. This has most clearly been
as essential to being a Muslim, while also exploring how to
the case in cooperation between organizations based in the
be Muslim in ways that harmonize with being European.
Muslim Brotherhood, the Jama¯Eat-i-Isla¯m¯ı, and the Milli
This has, among other things, given rise to a debate within
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4682
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
Muslim circles concerning an Islamic “minority law”: fiqh
SLAVES AND PLANTATION COMMUNITIES. Significant num-
al-aqalliya¯t. It is this field above all that will determine dur-
bers of African Muslim slaves were literate in Arabic, making
ing the first quarter of the twenty-first century the extent to
them unique in the slave community. There exist short biog-
which European Islam can integrate and to which the central
raphies of at least seventy-five of these slaves who were
Islamic lands will continue to influence Muslim identity in
brought to North America between 1730 and 1860. The ear-
Europe.
liest known biography is a fifty-four-page volume, Some
Memories of the Life of Job Ben Solomon, written in 1734 by
BIBLIOGRAPHY
an Englishman. From these and other accounts, what
There has been an explosion in literature on this subject since the
emerges is a clear history of the struggle to retain Muslim
early 1990s. Detailed bibliographies can be found in Wasif
faith and Arabic literacy. Most researchers agree that the
Shadid and P. Sjoerd van Koningsveld, eds., Religious Free-
slaves who proved most difficult to convert to Christianity
dom and the Position of Islam in Western Europe: Opportunities
and Obstacles in the Acquisition of Equal Rights (Kampen,
were the Muslims. Muslims were also the most difficult to
Netherlands, 1995); Felice Dassetto and Yves Conrad, eds.,
keep in slavery: the first slave revolt in the New World was
Musulmans en Europe occidentale: Bibliographie commentée
led by Muslims in 1522. Catholics sought to convert Mus-
(Paris, 1996); and Jochen Blaschke et al., eds., Muslims in
lims because conversion provided a moral justification for
Europe: A Bibliography (Berlin, 2002). Much of the present
the institution of slavery, while Protestants generally op-
entry is based on Jorgen S. Nielsen, Muslims in Western Eu-
pressed slaves on the grounds that they would be morally
rope, 2d ed. (Edinburgh, 1995), together with the substantial
bound to free slaves that had been converted to Christianity.
thematic discussion and updating, including Eastern Euro-
Forced and mass conversions were persistently resisted by
pean material, to be found in Brigitte Maréchal, Stefano Al-
many Muslims, as shown by rebellions in the French West
lievi, Felice Dassetto, and Jorgen Nielsen, eds., Muslims in
Indies and in North America.
the Enlarged Europe (Leiden, 2003), which includes an exten-
sive bibliography. The country statistics are from Brigitte
There are a variety of reports on the religious life of
Maréchal, ed., L’Islam et les musulmans dans l’Europe élargie:
Muslim slaves in historical documents, ranging from the re-
Radioscopie (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, 2002).
ports of slave masters to Works Progress Administration ac-
JO⁄RGEN S. NIELSEN (2005)
counts from descendants of slaves in the early twentieth cen-
tury. The Muslim practices of s:ala¯t (prayer) and s:awm
(fasting), along with the retention of Arabic words and
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
phrases, stand out in these accounts. Though prayer was one
Muslims have been arriving in the New World from the six-
religious practice often hidden by slaves, accounts of public
teenth century to the present. The horrors of the lives of
prayers were recorded. The story of Yarrow Mamont praying
Muslim slaves mark the first accounts, while the horrors of
in public is reported by Charles Peale, who painted his por-
the lives of Muslim immigrants in the aftermath of the trage-
trait in 1819. Other non-Muslim slaves, such as Charles Ball,
dies of September 11, 2001, mark the latest accounts. Mus-
writing in the early nineteenth century, tell of hearing
lims have settled in almost every part of the Americas. Their
prayers spoken in Arabic. Muslims slaves in Brazil used
relationships with other immigrants and with indigenous
prayer rugs—pieces of cloth or animal skins—and are report-
peoples have been as varied as their success in planting Islam
ed to have actively fasted during the month of Ramad:a¯n, and
in the religious landscape.
to have celebrated the feast that marks the end of Ramad:a¯n.
There have been problems with accurately documenting
Though impoverished, slaves are even said to have made gifts
the earliest arrivals. Various accounts of Muslims arriving in
of whatever they possessed.
North America prior to Columbus have yet to be proven. Re-
Through faith, practice, and dreams, Islam did survive
cent research on Muslim slaves from West Africa, however,
in the Americas despite the brutalities and dislocations of
has been much more definitive. It is now documented that
slavery. The willpower of African Muslim slaves was remark-
Muslims were among the first African slaves to arrive in the
able. The distinctive lifestyle of the Muslim was imprinted
New Worlds, as early as 1501. These Muslims were from re-
on the consciousness of descendents. Muslims had much dif-
gions ranging form Senegal to Chad and from the southern
ficulty maintaining modesty in the face of degradation. As
border of the Sahara to the northern fringes of the tropical
much as slave owners tried to keep slaves humiliated by keep-
forest. The African Muslim diaspora was spread from North
ing them nude, Muslim slaves put on as many clothes as they
America to the Caribbean and on to South America. The size
could find, including head wraps and caps. The use of Arabic
of the African diaspora is still in dispute; estimates range
names along with slave names assisted in identity preserva-
from 9.5 million to 20 million, with Muslims comprising
tion, and Muslim names can presently be found among peo-
anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of slaves over a period of
ple all over the Americas and the Caribbean. For example,
three hundred and fifty years. While data now exists on the
the Sea Islands off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia
numbers and percentages of various ethnic groups, in only
provide a significant slave-made reservoir of African Muslim
a few countries is religious affiliation noted in censuses.
names. Muslim slaves also maintained Islamic dietary regula-
What is uncontested is the fact that Muslim African slaves
tions against pork despite the meager, limited offerings of
were scattered across every region of the Americas.
plantation living.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
4683
Muslims are forbidden to eat dead meat, blood, and the
zil, though it is known that there were some schools estab-
flesh of swine and to drink wine or other forms of alcohol.
lished on the North American continent. The most
In the Caribbean, slaves were forced to drink alcohol as part
renowned religious slave manuscript is the Ben-Ali diary,
of a diet designed to increase productivity and were given it
which is a thirteen-page document in Arabic. Arabic was not
as a bonus for hard work. Muslim slaves rejected both alco-
only used in the context of attempts to practice and preserve
hol and pork with such consistency that at least one Caribbe-
Islam, however. It was also used to transmit the plans for up-
an governor complained in writing that continued punish-
risings. One letter confiscated in 1835 during a revolt in
ment was not working. There are additional documented
Bahia, Brazil, was a call to “take the country and kill the
accounts of Muslim slaves’ refusal to eat non-halal meats
whites.” The separation of people in each tribe was a tried-
(meats not slaughtered according to Islamic law). Other Is-
and-true method of keeping control of communication and
lamic traditions, such as circumcision and polygamy, were
possible revolt. This generally worked on captives, but not
also retained. There are accounts from Brazil of Muslim
for Muslims who, though separated from members of their
slaves practicing circumcision on boys at ten years of age.
tribes, could still communicate using QurDanic Arabic.
The practice of polygamy, though not wide-spread in the
Americas, was understood in the West as an expression of the
Islam endured in the Americas primarily due to the per-
natural immorality of slaves.
sistence of the Atlantic slave trade, which resulted in a con-
tinuous arrival of slaves. It was only in the last decades of the
In several historical accounts, Muslim slaves are de-
nineteenth century that the steady flow of new arrivals began
scribed as “uppity” or “arrogant” because of their persistence
to wane. By then, many descendants of African Muslim
in pursuing their religious practices and literacy. One ac-
slaves were so removed in time (up to more than fifteen gen-
count from Cuba claimed that Muslims stayed to themselves.
erations) from their homelands that much of the Islamic tra-
The deliberate separation of slaves from the same ethnic
dition was lost. Some descendants turned to Christianity,
groups had much the same effect on Muslims as it had on
some turned to a blend of Christianity and Islam, while oth-
other slaves—it created loneliness and depression. The only
ers gave up on religion. Many researchers currently assert
difference was that the practices of Islam and knowledge of
that Islamic influences can be readily observed in black syn-
Arabic acted as cultural bridge-builders between Muslims of
cretic religion. There is overwhelming scholarly agreement,
different ethnic groups. Though some Muslim slaves were
however, that Muslim communities comprised of Americans
literate and others semi-literate, slavery remained the circum-
of African descent were not seen again until the twentieth
stance of almost all African Muslims for generations in
century.
North America. In 1837, however, decades before the Eman-
cipation Proclamation, Sir Andrew Halliday reported that
ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS: NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH
Trinidad boasted a free Muslim community. In Brazil, as
CENTURIES. After the horrendous period of chattel slavery,
early as 1850, many Muslim indentured servants were able
Islam was spread through most of the Americas by immi-
to pool their resources to buy their freedom and then either
grants, exiles, and refugees from the Muslim world—
remain in the country or go back to Africa.
primarily from the Arab world and South Asia. In some re-
gions Muslims formed exclusivist communities that only en-
The resourcefulness of Muslim slaves in the Americas
gaged the majority community when necessary. Other
extended to obtaining QurDa¯ns and to communication across
Muslims actively engaged themselves in the social and politi-
the Americas, especially to and from Brazil. One document-
cal life of their adopted country. In the Caribbean, where de-
ed report speaks of the importation of QurDa¯ns from Europe
scendants of African Muslims remained after slavery, immi-
for sale to Muslim slaves. Slaves went into debt, buying
grant (primarily South Asian) Muslims made no efforts to
about one hundred QurDa¯ns every year. It is also documented
blend into and strengthen the existing Muslim community.
that Arabic QurDa¯ns were in use on the Sea Islands. The sale
On the other hand, in those places where the majority of im-
and transport of slaves between the Caribbean and North
migrants were Arab Muslims, there were significant efforts
America also facilitated the transmission of QurDa¯ns. Slaves
to merge with any existing Muslim community.
also wrote their own QurDa¯ns from memory. Benjamin Lar-
ten, a Jamaican slave, apparently displayed his QurDa¯n in
ISLAM IN THE CARIBBEAN AND SOUTH AMERICA. The terms
1835 to author Richard Madden.
Caribbean and South American refer to aggregations of coun-
tries, not to specific areas within legally defined boundaries.
Some of those Muslim slaves who previously had been
Thirty-one countries form the Caribbean, which is divided
teachers continued to teach, especially in Brazil. As a result
into English, French, Spanish, and Dutch linguistic regions.
of various revolts, some of the names of these slaves and
The majority of the countries are English-speaking. The total
freedmen are known. Newspapers published accounts of the
Muslim population by country varies from 4 to 15 percent.
revolts and the names of the participants to aid in their recap-
The largest Muslim populations are in English-speaking
ture. In addition, the names of slaves who were tried in court
countries such as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. There
for holding classes appear in legal documents; two such
are small communities made up of Muslims of African de-
names are Dandea Aprigio and Sanem. Evidence of struc-
scent, but the greatest number of Muslims are descendents
tured QurDanic schools among slaves is mostly found in Bra-
of immigrants from India and Indonesia who came as inden-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4684
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
tured servants. In French-speaking countries, such as Guade-
building of a mosque. In the late twentieth century, a repre-
loupe, Guyana Françoise, Haiti, and Martinique, the Mus-
sentative of the Muslim World League making his own solic-
lim community is mainly composed of African Muslim
itations on behalf of Cuban Muslims referred to the example
immigrants from West Africa. Martinique is also home to a
of a small town, Pilaya de Rosacio, which has a Muslim pop-
very wealthy immigrant Palestinian Muslim community sup-
ulation of 40 percent.
ported by Saudi Arabia.
If the number of Muslim organizations and centers is
Muslims on the Spanish-speaking islands—Cuba, the
any indication, there are Muslims all over other areas of
Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico—claim an Islamic
South America. The origins of Islam in Chile have not been
heritage in the Americas dating back to the days of slavery
researched, but census reports show that in 1854 two Mus-
and trace their history prior to slavery back to Islamic Spain
lims from the Ottoman Empire came to Chile. Given that
during the eighth to fifteenth centuries. Thus, many trace
the Ottoman Empire (the last Muslim empire), which fell
their ultimate cultural ancestry to northern Africa and the
in 1929, covered a great deal of the Arab world, it is difficult
Moriscos—Moors who were forcibly converted to Christian-
to state ethnic origins of these immigrants. It is also only pre-
ity. These Muslims are aware that Moriscos were enslaved
sumed that they were Muslim, for religion was not noted in
with other Africans during the Atlantic slave trade. There are
the Chilean census of 1865. However, by 1895 the census
also much Islamic and Moorish retention in this sector of
did note the presence of 58 Muslims who lived in Tarapaca,
Caribbean society, especially in language and names.
Atacama, Valparaiso, and Santiago—all in the north of the
country. By 1907 there were approximately 1,500 Muslims,
In the Caribbean, Muslims continue to experience life
all of them immigrants. The first Islamic institution in Chile
as minorities. Christian missionaries continue to try to con-
was the Society of Muslim Union of Chile, founded in 1926.
vert Muslims—though there is also increasing evidence that
Interestingly, the numbers of Chilean Muslims rises and falls
Muslims are trying to convert Christians. In 2002, reports
throughout the twentieth century for reasons that are unac-
in local newspapers asserted that of the few conversions that
counted for in any reports. Through the 1970s and 1980s
take place, most are from Christianity to Islam.
there were no religious leaders or mosques in Chile. In the
The history of Muslims in Mexico is difficult to trace.
1990s the construction of Al-Salam Mosque was begun, fol-
Spanish conquistadors from both Cuba and Spain came to
lowing which other mosques were built in Temuco and Iqui-
pillage Mexico’s resources in the early 1500s. The indigenous
que. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is esti-
population was subdued and forcibly converted to Catholi-
mated that there are 3,000 Muslims in Chile, many of whom
cism during this time. Many in the native population died
are Chilean by birth. The majority are Sunn¯ı, but there are
as a result of the importation of European diseases and from
both Sh¯ıE¯ı and S:u¯f¯ı communities present as well. Muslims,
starvation, as Europeans devastated the farming land and de-
still a small minority group, generally face great pressure to
pleted water resources. Mexicans themselves regained control
convert to Christianity.
only in the 1900s.
In times past, Rio de Janeiro was one of the disembarka-
Historians are divided over when Islam came to Mexico
tion points for those millions abducted or sold from Muslim
and who brought it. Some claim it was introduced by Syrian
Africa. The native population learned about Islam primarily
immigrants, whereas others point to Turkish immigrants.
through Muslim behavior—prayer and abstention from pork
One recent (2002) study estimated that 10 percent of the
and alcohol. Islamic revivals are reported to have occurred
Syrian-Lebanese immigrant community were Muslim.
frequently enough over the centuries to leave a permanent
Today this community is one of the richest and contains
mark. In 1899 the Cairo-based magazine Al-Manar pub-
more than 250,000 people. The history of Islam in Mexico
lished in its August issue an article entitled “Islam in Brazil.”
is largely undocumented, with the exception of a sixteenth-
Here it was noted that the Muslim communities in Rio were
century book called Un Herehe y un Musulman. Written by
made up of direct descendants of Muslim slaves. During the
Pascual Almazan, this recounts the exploits of Yusuf bin Ala-
1920s, Arab immigrants and traders added to Brazil’s Islamic
baz, who came to Mexico after expulsion during the Recon-
presence. Now, university students lead the way in teaching
quista in Spain. Today, Islam is a recognized entity following
about Islam. There are currently five large Islamic organiza-
the establishment of the Muslim Center de Mexico in 1994
tions in Brazil: in Sa˜o Paulo, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Boa
in Mexico City. There are also centers in Monterrey, Tor-
Vista, and Florianopolis.
rion, Guadalajara, and San Cristobal de las Casa.
Venezuela currently has fifteen Islamic civic associations
Islam in Cuba has not been documented before the
in ten states. Arab immigrants, Venezuelans, and Creoles
twentieth century. At the start of the twenty-first century,
have come together to make Islam a known tradition. The
Muslims in Cuba continue to pray at home because there is
closest estimate of when Islam came to Venezuela is “centu-
no mosque where they can freely congregate. There is an
ries ago.” Estimates of the number of Muslims range from
Arab House built by a wealthy Arab in the 1940s, which
700,000 to almost a million. Venezuelan Muslims have
houses an Arabic museum, a restaurant, and a prayer space
many of the same problems as Muslims in other countries
for diplomats. Monies are currently being solicited for the
where Muslims are a minority and Islam is a potentially com-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
4685
peting faith—issues revolving around dress, political partici-
Muslim residents. The first mosque, Al-Rashid, was built in
pation, civic concerns, and Christian missionizing.
Edmonton, Alberta, in 1938. Canadian Muslims hail from
Muslims in Peru trace their ancestry to the Spaniards
at least forty different countries from all over the Muslim
and the Moros. As Moros fled persecution in Spain, they set-
world and all over the Americas. Until the census of 2001,
tled in many South and Latin American countries. In Peru
the largest non-Christian minority were Jews, but Muslims
they have had a lasting influence on dress, food, architecture,
now hold this distinction. A significant Muslim presence first
and both the social and political systems. Women who cov-
began to develop in the 1970s, after the “White Canada”
ered their hair were called las tapadas Limenas (The covered
policy of 1891 was abandoned, with immigration coming
ones from Lima). There are also the famous balcones lumenas,
predominately from the Arab world and South Asia.
which are protruding balconies done in a style known as Ara-
Mosques, which are mostly in major cities, are found in nine
bescos—a term clearly referring to an Islamic heritage. Twen-
of the ten Canadian provinces, the exception being Prince
tieth-century Islam in Peru is dominated by Palestinian
Edward Island. A few dozen of these mosques have Islamic
Arabs who arrived in the 1940s, fleeing Jewish persecution.
schools associated with them.
Today, after several aborted construction projects, Peruvian
Canadian Muslims initially put their energies into
Muslims (there are no estimates of their numbers) still have
building or acquiring facilities for prayers. This quickly ex-
no mosques, but they do have the Asociacion Islamica del
tended to procuring additional spaces for religious education
Peru in Lima and a school.
on the weekends. By the 1980s, full-time schools were estab-
Argentinean Muslims currently number between
lished, and by the 1990s, specialized social services organiza-
900,000 and one million. If Arabs and other ethnic groups
tions were in place. The focus of these social services organi-
are included this number increases to three million. It is re-
zations was on pre- and post-marital counseling, teaching
ported that Muslims first arrived in Argentina around 1870
parenting skills, spiritual counseling, domestic and substance
from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Today, there are
abuse issues, and ima¯m training. Though the QurDa¯n encour-
mosques all over the country, as well as nine Islamic centers.
ages Muslims to extend their social projects to the non-
Bolivia traces its Islamic heritage to immigrants from the Ot-
Muslim communities in which they live, this has only hap-
toman Empire, but as with Chile the ethnicities of the Mus-
pened in a few instances.
lims who came is unknown. The first mosque however, was
On the other hand, Canadian Muslims have been much
not commissioned until 1992, in Santa Cruz. There are al-
more successful than their U.S. counterparts regarding the
ready three civic organizations, known as Centro Islamico
media. Canada has a multifaith television channel, Vision
Bolivanos.
TV, on which one host, a Muslim woman, uses two thirty-
What is significant about the Islamic presence in the Ca-
minute weekly programs to facilitate discussion of issues in-
ribbean and South America is that it has survived for so long.
volving Muslims and Islam.
The patterns that lie behind the introduction of Islam into
One study completed in the 1990s in Ottawa concluded
various countries appear to be multifold: in some countries
that Muslims found “their comfort level fairly high” in Cana-
the Islamic presence can be traced to the Atlantic slave trade;
da. Because many Muslim immigrants to Canada are profes-
in others it is due to the influx of refugees caused by the
sionals who earn enough to live quite comfortably, this expe-
Spanish persecution of non-Christians in Spain; in yet others
rience is almost a foregone conclusion. With regard to less
it is the result of Muslims fleeing a ravaged Ottoman Empire
tangible issues, however, there are many concerns. Many
in search of opportunities or of Arab refugees fleeing persecu-
Muslims find that the general media are hostile to Islam and
tion by Jews in Palestine; and in others still it is attributable
Muslims. They discern “unfair or inaccurate stereotyping of
to the arrival of Muslim Indians, both indentured servants
their cultures” in movies, documentaries, and television se-
and immigrants seeking better opportunities. Regardless of
ries. On the other hand, many Muslims are hostile to media
the origin of the Islamic presence, it has endured and is cur-
that exalt alcohol, causal sex, and lifestyles that are at best im-
rently growing.
modest. Even though Canadian society places a high premi-
ISLAM IN CANADA. The Canadian Census of 2001 lists
um on tolerance and pluralism, there is ongoing debate over
579,640 people, or 2 percent of Canada’s population, as
the rising numbers of “nonwhite” citizens. Despite the offi-
Muslim, an increase of 128.9 percent from the 1991 census.
cial abandonment of the White Canada policy in the late
Ontario Muslims have more than doubled to 352,500, while
1960s, the desire to maintain the “whiteness” of Canada per-
the number of Muslims in Quebec increased by 141.8 per-
sists.
cent. The median age is 28.1 years. As of 2004, there were
There are also substantial problems with racism inside
more than eighty mosques, with additional locations rented
the Muslim community. Many of the ethnic communities
or leased for prayers, such as Masjids and Islamic Centers.
are extremely ethnocentric. There is little brotherhood or sis-
There are, in addition, various other centers where Muslims
terhood when it comes to interracial marriages among Mus-
congregate for prayers and community activities.
lims. Assertions of a “color-blind” Islam fall by the wayside
The earliest authenticated account of Muslims in Cana-
when it comes to marriage and private spaces. Other conten-
da is provided by the census of 1871, which lists thirteen
tious issues arise out of the impact of influences from the
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
larger Canadian community. Gender issues have become in-
The potential for detention and deportation in the
creasingly significant, as Muslim women from all ethnic
United States, meanwhile, has caused some U.S. Muslims to
groups learn of the efforts of the women’s movement to en-
flee to Canada. These new immigrants, largely Pakistani in
hance the quality of women’s lives. This has led to disagree-
origin, have come in the hundreds. In January 2003 in On-
ments over pervasive male-only leadership in most commu-
tario alone, over four hundred Pakistanis sought asylum,
nity functions and organizations.
though only about 55 percent will have their applications ac-
cepted. Those who are denied must return to the United
Observers of and participants in the Canadian Muslim
States, where they will be detained and possibly deported. As
community note that Muslim communities in Canada are
the United States continues to surveil and arrest its Muslim
not doing a good job of dealing with interethnic tensions,
citizens and residents, Canadian Muslims fear that their lives
parent-youth tensions, and the frustrations of women. Some
will become even more difficult.
say that Muslims, despite being drawn to the relatively com-
fortable lifestyle of the West, are still conditioned by the op-
ISLAM IN THE UNITED STATES: NINETEENTH AND TWENTI-
pressive and repressive cultures of the Muslim world. For
ETH CENTURIES. In 2000, Cornell University and Zogby In-
many Canadian observers, and for many young Muslims as
ternational published two separate surveys of Muslims in the
well, the Muslim community seems terrified of social free-
United States. Working from a figure of seven million Mus-
doms and of working cooperatively with other faith-based
lims, they estimated that almost half of U.S. Muslims are Af-
communities.
rican American and almost half are immigrants. Though the
United States census does not track religious affiliation and
Whereas many Christian communities actively pursue
surveys have margins of error, some useful information can
interreligious dialogue, Muslims, with the exception of a few
be gleaned from their findings. Over half of the U.S. Muslim
individuals and communities, generally do not. Even where
population is under forty years of age and more than half
multifaith awareness is critical—in prisons, hospitals, and
have a college degree. More than half of the Muslim popula-
hospices—Muslim involvement in dialogue and outreach is
tion earns more than $50,000 per year in occupations that
limited. Though Muslims are everywhere in the work force,
range from entrepreneurial ventures to medicine. However,
intercultural exchange is infrequent. Some prominent Cana-
Muslims are virtually absent in professions that make public
dian Muslims lament a focus on the “homeland” that has
policy and consciously assert influence over public opinion,
been slow to change, even in the wake of repression of the
and these numbers are not changing. Muslim families are at
community since the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
least 25 percent larger than the average American family. The
story of how Muslims are faring in the United States is really
Since September 11, 2001, some Canadian Muslims
two separate stories: one of indigenous Americans and one
have found themselves targeted. Provincial governments
of immigrant Americans.
have reactivated their use of “security certificates,” which
give them the power to vote extrajudicially on “whether an
During the nineteenth century the Muslim presence in
immigrant should be shipped back to his or her country (if
the United States was negligible. Muhammad Alexander
an immigrant) or stripped of citizenship (if he or she is al-
Webb, a multi-talented convert who worked as a diplomat,
ready a citizen).” With one exception, the security certificate
founded the American Islamic Propaganda Movement in
has only been used against Muslims. Project Shock provides
1893. He lectured on Islam, wrote books, and published a
subjects for the security certificate. This sixty-million-dollar
periodical entitled The Moslem World. Few traces of his
Mountie-led effort, shadows, documents, and interrogates
movement remained after his death in 1916, however. In the
Muslims in Canada as part of the fight against terrorism.
early decades of the twentieth century a few hundred Arab
Under this effort, Canadian governments formed Integrated
Muslims from Syria represented the primary presence of
National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETs) that secret-
Islam in the United States, along with a few fledgling com-
ly investigate potential suspects. Civic commitment and
munities of African Americans. For many of these largely un-
community renown have not protected Muslims from co-
educated but entrepreneurial immigrant Muslims, life was
workers who call police or INSETs to report suspicious be-
severe in Jim Crow America. The Immigration Act of 1897
havior. The increase in racial profiling and human rights vio-
had limited immigration from the Ottoman Empire under
lations is currently becoming increasingly alarming.
the overarching category of restrictions on Orientals, mim-
icking Canada’s White Canada policy. Arab immigrants
In a recent poll by Tandem News, 43 percent of Cana-
(mostly male) settled in the Midwestern states and along the
dians said they supported the idea of requiring immigrants
East Coast. While many changed their given names to En-
to carry photo identification. At the same time, many Cana-
glish nicknames to facilitate assimilation, others viewed their
dians (64 percent) opposed declaring war on Iraq with the
tenure in the United States as temporary. A shortage of Mus-
United States, and after September 11, 2001, many non-
lim women led to marriage to Christian women for some and
Muslim Canadians have sought out information on Islam
a bachelor life for others.
and Muslims. Muslim groups in Canada have begun the
planning for a class-action suit in Ottawa against the security
Even with restrictive immigration policies, the United
certificates and unlawful detentions.
States also admitted about forty thousand Turks, Kurds, Al-
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
4687
banians, and Bosnians between 1900 and 1925. Almost si-
gained a reputation for clean living, honesty, and frugali-
multaneously, Islam was developing a presence in some of
ty—a reputation reflected in some of the works of the Har-
the segregated black communities of the East Coast and
lem Renaissance. Moors were also entrepreneurial. They
Midwest. Sometime during the second decade of the twenti-
manufactured and sold oils and herbal remedies throughout
eth century, the Moorish Science Temple, led by Noble
the black community. The popularity of Moorish Science
Drew Ali, emerged. The 1920s witnessed the creation of the
enabled Noble Drew Ali to open ten chapters within ten
Ah:madiyah movement in Islam (1921), the Universal Islam-
years in cities in both the Northeast and Midwest. By 1928
ic Society (1926), the First Muslim Mosque of Pittsburgh
he had established seventeen temples in fifteen states.
(1928), and the Islamic Brotherhood (1929). This collage of
In the face of competition from numerous other ideolo-
philosophies and ideological positions marked the beginning
gies seeking the allegiance of the black community, the
of an expansion of Islam among African Americans that
Moorish Science temple taught a very simple definition of
would eventually make them the biggest single ethnic group
Islam: “The cardinal doctrine of Islam is the unity of the Fa-
among U.S. Muslims. While immigrant Muslims sought the
ther, Allah, we believe in One God.” Perhaps because his
American Dream, Americans of African descent sought ref-
community did not follow all of the tenets of Islam and be-
uge from their American nightmare.
cause of his heretical designation of himself as prophet, Drew
The first sixty-five years of the twentieth century was an
Ali did not refer to his movement’s religion as Islam, but as
especially horrible and violent time for black Americans. In-
Islamism.
equality was enforced through Jim Crow laws (extensions of
Another Islamic movement embraced by some in the
the slave codes) in southern states, and through convention
black community was Ah:mad¯ıyah, which has its origins in
in many of the northern states. Complete or nearly complete
South Asia. Ah:mad¯ı publishing houses in India were prolific
segregation in all public places was basic to the U.S. social
in the production of English-language Islamic materials.
order. Blacks had no rights that whites had to respect. In re-
During the early years of the twentieth century, most of the
action to strict segregation, a wave of lynchings, and suffering
English QurDa¯ns, English study materials, biographies of the
caused by the Great Depression, blacks began increasingly
prophet Muh:ammad, and Islamic history texts distributed
to turn to Islam. The rise of ideologies that use Islam as their
in the United States were produced by them. Most African
basis, at least in part, owes everything to the state of the
American Muslims had little knowledge of the debates and
nation.
conflicts associated with this particular Islamic reform move-
The Moorish Science Temple of America, founded in
ment in its country of origin, and they eagerly embraced the
Newark, New Jersey, in 1913 by Timothy Drew (later Noble
limited brand of Islamic harmony it advocated. In a social
Drew Ali), was the first of these ventures into Islam. Noble
environment in which prophets were many and varied and
Drew Ali believed that Morocco was the original land of Af-
the safety of every descendant of slaves was at risk, the
rican Americans, whom he called Asiatics and Moors. Drew
Ah:mad¯ı version of Islam became popular. As these South
Ali claimed that after traveling to Morocco he converted to
Asians embraced African Americans and publicly decried the
Islam and received permission to spread Islam in America.
violence against them, Islam gained a further foothold in the
This account has been spread for almost a century by com-
black community. One difference with this community
munity members, but the evidence for this voyage and for
however, was the absence of black nationalism.
meetings between Drew Ali and various Islamic dignitaries
Druse Mohammed, son of a Mamlu¯k military com-
has never been documented. Some researchers assert that
mander, also reported to be a mentor of Marcus Garvey, was
Drew Ali may have met Muslims from various parts of the
a pan-African founder of the Universal Islamic Society in
world who had immigrated to the East Coast. However it
Detroit in 1926. An apparently tireless advocate for human
was that he came into contact with Islam, Drew Ali took ele-
rights, he challenged Europeans to accept an Islam-based
ments of Islam and combined them with other religious
universalism as an extension of Enlightenment ideals. He saw
teachings to formulate the Holy Koran of the Moorish Science
Islam as an alternative to Western imperialism. His ideas
Temple of America. The book’s cover asserts that the book
were readily embraced by African Americans, for whom the
had been “divinely prepared by the Prophet Noble drew Ali,
Islamic ideal of universal brotherhood was a welcome alter-
by the guiding of his father, God, Allah.”
native to the racist practices of Protestant Christianity. Un-
fortunately, the only accounts of the Universal Islamic Soci-
Members of the Moorish Science Temple constructed
ety that exist are a few small pamphlets.
a new way of life for themselves. They abstained from alco-
hol, gambling, and pork consumption and embraced clean
Shaykh Daoud Ahmed Faisal’s Islamic Brotherhood
living, fasting, and prayer. Women covered their heads with
(1924; also incorporated as the State Street Mosque and the
turbans made from seven yards of cloth, while men donned
Islamic Mission) was the first African American Sunn¯ı Mus-
fezzes. Modesty of dress was evidenced through the wearing
lim group in the United States. Here, as with the Ah:mad¯ıyah
of loose clothing. The Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Tem-
movement, the QurDa¯n, biographies of Prophet Muh:ammad,
ple provided a template for personal relationships and eti-
and accounts of Islamic history formed the central texts. Un-
quette for the public sphere. Moors, as members were called,
like Ah:mad¯ıyah and the Garvey movement, Shaykh Faisal
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
focused his community efforts directly on the social prob-
temptation to overspend during the Christmas season, and
lems of the black community. Just as Noble Drew Ali sought
to counteract the focus on Christian celebrations, which im-
publicly to distinguish his movement from philosophies of
aged the Creator, God, as a white man.
Ethiopianism, black Christian sects, and Garvey’s move-
As the Nation of Islam matured, it established temples
ment, Faisal distinguished Sunn¯ı Islam from both the previ-
across the United States in every major city. It is estimated
ously mentioned movements and the Moorish Science Tem-
that at its peak there were more than 500,000 registered
ple. There are nevertheless some curious similarities between
members. Many researchers assert that much of the growth
Drew Ali and Faisal. Shaykh Faisal also asserted that he re-
of the Nation during the 1950s can be attributed to media
ceived a letter—in his case from Jordan, in 1925—
focus on the charismatic leadership of Malcolm X (formerly
authorizing him to spread Islam. Whatever the genesis of the
Malcolm Little; also known much later as El Hajj Malik Sha-
Islamic Brotherhood, it has been estimated that the group
bazz). The Nation organized itself around Islamic notions of
inspired over sixty thousand conversions to Islam during
abstention from consumption of pork, gambling, alcohol,
Shaykh Daoud Faisal’s lifetime. This community initially
narcotics, and lewd behavior. Women were required to at-
used the QurDa¯ns and other Islamic literature published by
tend Muslim Girls Training class in order to learn home eco-
the Ah:madiyah, but then began producing their own transla-
nomics, and Civilization classes to learn about world and
tions.
black history. Men were required to become members of the
By 1930, Islam was firmly planted in the black religious
Fruit of Islam, from which they learned about the proper na-
landscape. The Great Depression had taken more of a toll
ture of marital relationships, how to conduct themselves pri-
on blacks than on whites, and the resultant stress led to the
vately and publicly, crafts, and the martial arts. While the
emergence of more prophets and more Muslim communi-
men donned suits with white shirts and bow ties, the women
ties. The First Mosque of Pittsburgh (1928), a Sunn¯ı congre-
wore a uniform consisting of a long tunic over a long skirt,
gation, was originally affiliated with the Ah:madiyah move-
with a matching veil.
ment, but, armed with knowledge of the QurDa¯n and Arabic,
Building a “righteous nation” that would be indepen-
they began to challenge the core tenets of the Ah:mad¯ı Mis-
dent of whites was the goal. The Nation quickly developed
sion and its focus on its founder as a prophet. After ten years
the best drug and narcotics detoxification programs around,
of fund-raising, this black community bought out the
and simultaneously developed a wide range of businesses,
Ah:mad¯ı and moved fully into Sunn¯ı Islam. The 1930s also
both to keep members away from the temptations of drug
witnessed the beginnings of the Nation of Islam, a black
use and to provide a road to self-esteem. Their efforts result-
community that spoke to the hearts of many black Ameri-
ed in the first black parochial school system, a nationwide
cans and raised the reactionary hatred of white and black
chain of food stores, cleaners, clothing-manufacturing facto-
Christian communities.
ries, and restaurants. They acquired farms and, in order to
The Nation of Islam had its origins in a collaboration
import various goods, entered into contracts with Muslims
between Wali Fard Mohammed (his ethnicity is still being
overseas. They published a national newspaper, books, and
debated) and Elijah Poole (later known as Elijah Moham-
pamphlets. The black community took pride in these accom-
med). It did not become known for its form of Islam, but
plishments and identified, though distantly, with the Na-
for its rhetoric attacking Protestant Christian America’s
tion’s efforts. Perhaps because of the Nation’s success, but
more likely because of its rhetoric, the U.S. media decided,
treatment of blacks. By publicly labeling whites “the Devil”
in the 1950s, that the Nation was the only important mani-
and detailing the many ways whites sought black genocide,
festation of Islam in the African American community. Nat-
the Nation of Islam insured its popularity among blacks and
urally, this paved the way for confrontations with other ex-
the hatred and fear of whites. Unlike the Moorish Science
pressions of Islam, especially Sunn¯ı Islam. This antagonistic
Temple, the Nation used the Holy QurDa¯n as its focus, aug-
relationship between different strains of African American
mented by Elijah Mohammed’s How to Eat to Live and Mes-
Islam characterized the greater portion of the twentieth
sage to The Black Man, and a compilation of Fard Moham-
century.
med’s lectures called the Supreme Wisdom. Like the Moorish
Science Temple, the Nation claimed an Asiatic heritage and
The Nation of Islam, with a great deal of media assis-
declared Islam to be original religion of the black man. Also
tance, became strongly associated with opposition to the
like the Moorish Science Temple, the Nation deviated from
methodologies used by the civil rights movement. Media cast
Islamic orthodoxy by declaring the holy status of its found-
the conflict as one between black separatism and integration-
ers: according to their teachings, Fard Mohammed was God
ism, totally ignoring the root cause of all black protest—
in person and Elijah Mohammed was the messenger of God.
white oppression. Most African American Muslims opposed
The Nation practiced most of the central tenets of Islam,
Martin Luther King’s tactics of putting women and children
though it adapted them to the social needs of blacks in Amer-
at the front of protest lines to face armed white men with
ica. One example was their adaptation of the practice of
attack dogs. While black Christians hoped that white Chris-
Ramad:a¯n (the month of self-restraint), which they moved to
tians would eventually find their faith incompatible with the
December. This shift was seen as necessary both to avoid the
continued persecution of blacks, most African American
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
4689
Muslims believed that if white society’s understanding of
sharing knowledge of Islam with the general black popula-
Christianity had permitted the violence thus far, change was
tion of Washington, D.C. While there are only a few publi-
unlikely. These opposing views became associated with their
cations from this community, they had a very positive and
most ardent voices—Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.
influential impact on black Washington, as they worked to
During this period, African American Muslim inmates
reform drug users and prostitutes and provide tutorial and
began to sue the federal government for the right to use Ara-
mentoring services.
bic/Muslim names and for the freedom to practice Islam—
One community that became especially renowned
including the right to have halal meat, QurDa¯ns, prayer rugs,
among young musicians is the Five Percent Nation, an off-
and so on. After a series of successful litigations, these prison-
shoot of the Nation of Islam. Formally known as the Nation
ers firmly established Islam as a part of America’s religious
of Gods and Earths, this group was founded in New York
landscape. Despite the fact that the actual number of African
City in 1964 by Clarence 13X, a former member of the Na-
American Muslims was not that large, Islam began to exert
tion of Islam. The name of the group came from the Nation
a great deal of influence in the black community. In fact, one
of Islam’s “Lost Found Nation Lessons.” The Five Percent
of the reasons that African Americans of all religious persua-
were those who taught righteousness, freedom, justice, and
sions supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was that it re-
equality to the entire human family. They were destined to
voked the Oriental Exclusion Act of the 1920s, which pre-
be poor, righteous teachers and to struggle especially against
vented immigration from the Muslim world.
the elite. Their connection to Islam, though tenuous at best,
By the 1970s, African American Muslim communities
remains, and they have been a conduit for young African
had grown in size and religious sophistication. The original
Americans seeking to explore Islam as a worldview.
communities—the Moorish Science Temple, the
Ah:mad¯ıyah, and the Nation of Islam—all widened their
With the death of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in
membership within the black community. Shaykh Daoud
1975, the Nation of Islam fell into philosophical debates that
Faisal’s community developed into separate entities under
reached their zenith in a split. Wallace Muhammad declared
the general umbrella of Darul Islam (The Abode/House of
that his father, Elijah, had always been leading the communi-
Islam). There were at least fourteen philosophically different
ty toward Sunn¯ı Islam, though he was in error in taking so
expressions of Islam in the African American community.
long. Louis Farrakhan and other ministers disagreed. Wal-
The original communities maintained their organizational
lace (now known as Warithudeen) led those Nation mem-
structures, practices, and beliefs, while the newer communi-
bers who followed him through a series of doctrinal and or-
ties sought out contact with the Muslim world. Members of
ganizational changes. His group first called themselves
the Darul Islam communities traveled to the Sudan, Jordan,
Bilalians after Bilal ibn Ribah, an Abyssinian slave who con-
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco to learn Arabic and pur-
verted to Islam and was the first muezzin (person who calls
sue Islamic studies. Controversy over the definitions of Islam
the community to prayer). Several years later (1982), they
in the United States increased at an accelerated rate. Despite
emerged as the American Muslim Mission. Since the 1990s
the debates, African American Muslims introduced Islam
the community has been called the Muslim American Soci-
into the worlds of music, sports, education, health care, and
ety, though it is involved in a dispute with an immigrant
social services, all fields in which they were represented in sig-
group over the rights to the name. The original Nation has
nificant numbers.
also gone through changes and further divisions.
The Ansarullah Nubian Islamic Hebrews, led by As-
Many in the Nation who did not follow Warithudeen
Sayyid Isa Al-Haadi, developed communities across the
Muhammad gave their allegiance to Louis Farrakhan. Some
United States. Starting in 1971 they published over 200
of the philosophical changes that occurred under Louis Far-
books, almost three hundred cassette tapes, and dozens of
rakhan’s leadership mimicked the changes initiated by
videotapes and newspapers. The community in New York
Warithudeen Muhammad, but they developed over a much
City owned a recording studio that provided a base for
longer period of time. In the 1980s Minister Farrakhan solic-
rhythm-and-blues, rap, and pop musicians. Members of this
ited aid from African Muslim ima¯ms in slowly moving his
community lived communally, practicing collective owner-
group into the fold of a more traditional Islam, while main-
ship and control of property and goods. Children were raised
taining the focus on the concerns in the black community.
with Arabic as their only language and were schooled inside
Others in the original Nation chose neither Farrakhan nor
the community. Leveling charges of racism and “sectism” at
Muhammad as their leader. Rather they selected another
Saudi Arabia, this community found its origins in the Sudan.
very outspoken minister, Silas Muhammad. Minister Silas
Yusuf Muzaffaruddin Hamid led the Islamic Party of
Muhammad has primarily made his presence felt in the in-
North America, which was based primarily in Washington,
ternational arena of human rights debates in the Hague. Still
D.C., but had extensions later on in Georgia and the Carib-
others chose Elijah Muhammad’s brother, John Muham-
bean. Hamid journeyed throughout the Muslim world to
mad, while some decided to continue with the original plat-
study the various popular Islamic movements of the 1960s.
form of the Nation, acknowledging only the Honorable Eli-
When he returned, he built an organization dedicated to
jah Muhammad as leader.
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ISLAM: ISLAM IN THE AMERICAS
Most communities of African American Muslims are
professionals, scientists, and technology experts, brought an
still in the process of maturation. Members of most commu-
Islamic presence to places where it had not previously been.
nities have continued to study overseas in the Muslim world,
It is estimated that Muslims currently comprise a significant
but there has not been much in the way of literary produc-
percent of the physicians, architects, and scientists in large
tion. Represented most heavily in the worlds of music and
corporations and hospitals. The architect of the Sears Tower
sports, African American Muslims rarely enter the political
in Chicago was a Muslim.
fray. Their apolitical stance is attributable both to the fatigue
Immigrant Muslims in the United States come from
and despair that followed the civil rights movement and to
eighty-four countries. Predominately, they are Sunn¯ı Mus-
the discouragement of “learned” members of the immigrant
lim, but there are also Sh¯ıE¯ı, S:u¯f¯ı, and Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı communities.
communities. Recently, however, there has been some in-
Researchers report that Sh¯ıE¯ı and Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı Muslims make up
crease in political activism and a number of Muslims have
15 to 20 percent of the immigrant Muslim population, and
run for and now hold political and judicial offices.
that the majority of Muslim university professors belong to
European-American Muslims have been present in
one of these two groups. In the various Sunn¯ı Muslim com-
Islam in the United States at least since the conversion of Al-
munities, the competition for leadership is fierce. Arabs have
exander Webb in the late nineteenth century. Though few
the greatest say in defining Islam, while South Asians vie
in number, their diligence regarding outreach across ethnic
with them and with each other for authority. Some differ-
barriers and to the larger white society, along with their nov-
ences between groups are becoming sharper, while at the
elty, has kept them in the forefront of the communities to
same time recognition of common ground is also increasing.
which they belong. The number of European-American
Most of the immigrant communities still tend to be ethno-
Muslims is growing, and is currently estimated to be in the
centric, staying away from each other and from the larger
tens of thousands.
American community.
Latino Americans have been converting to Islam for the
Both Arab and South Asian Muslims have formed a
last thirty years, largely from Catholicism but also from Pen-
number of professional and social organizations, many of
tecostal Christianity. Since many do not change their names
which are national. These organizations have assisted them
upon conversion, there numbers are hard to track. One re-
in settling in the United States and provide venues for discus-
cent survey of mosques found Latino mosques in New York,
sions of intracommunity issues and general social gatherings.
Los Angeles, Newark, and Chicago. This survey also con-
They also facilitate marriages between young adults. Wheth-
cluded that 6 percent of American converts are Latino. Most
er Sunn¯ı or Sh¯ıE¯ı, most immigrants marry endogamously,
Latino-American Muslims consider Islam a natural heritage
maintain traditional customs at home, and predominately
and point to the many Arabic words and names in Spanish.
speak Arabic, Urdu, or their mother tongue.
Many converts to Islam have spoken at conferences and sem-
inars on their conversions, citing differences with the Catho-
S:u¯f¯ı orders have increased their numbers in the last two
lic Church over the concept of the Trinity and also the no-
decades. Some are Sunn¯ı, others Sh¯ıE¯ı. Most of the members
tion of “mysteries of the Church” behind such concepts.
are white, middle- and upper-middle-class American con-
verts, but there are also a small number of immigrant and
Alianza Islamica, founded in 1975 by a group of Puerto
African American converts. African Muslim immigrants
Rican converts, was the first Latino Muslim association in
come from a variety of countries, but they are small in num-
the United States. Working closely with African American
ber, with Somali refugees forming what is perhaps the largest
Muslims, they are at the forefront of battles against urban
single ethnic group. All immigrant communities have estab-
gang activity, drug dealing, and prostitution. They sponsor
lished an informal economy through networks connecting
mentoring and cultural programs, along with forums on
them with their former homelands.
HIV and AIDS. Like African American Muslims, they have
had myriad problems with immigrant Muslims. Since the
Few Muslims live in rural America. The suburbs of
founding of Alianza Islamica, quite a few Latino Muslim or-
major cities continue to be where residential communities
ganizations have emerged, such as the Latino American
are established and mosques are built. Yet immigrant Mus-
Dawah Organization, which works to educate Latinos about
lims have not yet become an integral part of these suburban
Islam.
communities. The Islamic presence, however, is visible. This
visibility and lack of community participation has led to van-
Students and professionals from the Muslim world
dalism of mosques and attacks on individual Muslim fami-
began immigrating to the United States in the late 1960s.
lies, especially in the period since September 11, 2001.
At first, many immigrants prayed with African Americans,
but as their numbers grew they formed communities based
Since that date, 13,740 Muslims have been detained
on common language, common ethiniticty, and, when possi-
and ordered into deportation proceedings (as of 2004).
ble, common regional origin. Arab Muslim students formed
Many Muslims from countries targeted by the U.S. govern-
the first Muslim Student’s Association (MSA) in 1963. The
ment for support of terrorist activities have fled to Canada
MSAs firmly established Islam as an available worldview
or simply gone “home.” The immigrant Muslim community
among the educated elite. Muslims, recruited as healthcare
lives in perpetual fear of night raids, of their coworkers call-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
4691
ing the FBI or CIA, and of mosque invasions and deporta-
various recent events with special significance for Islamic-
tions. The actions of the U.S. government have encouraged
Americans, especially in relation to the September 11 terror-
various media personalities to attack Islam and Muslims,
ist attacks.
leading in turn to several Constitutional debates about the
Pulis, John W. Religion, Diaspora, and Cultural Identity: A Reader
First Amendment. As a result, immigrant Muslims are debat-
in the Anglophone Caribbean. Library of Anthropology, no.
ing to what extent they can or should become “Americans.”
14. Amsterdam, 1999. This volume is a much-needed and
long overdue addition to the literature of Caribbean studies.
SEE ALSO African American Religions, article on Muslim
Drawing upon ethnographic and historical research in a vari-
Movements; Malcolm X; Nation of Islam.
ety of contexts and settings, its contributors explore the rela-
tionship between religious and social life.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Quick, Abdullah Hakim. Deeper Roots: Muslims in the Americas
Balderston, Daniel, Mike Gonzalez, and Ana M. López, eds. Ency-
and the Caribbean before Columbus to the Present. London,
clopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cul-
1996. A brief look at the history of Islam in the Caribbean
tures. New York, 2000. This volume contains sections on
that provides some amazing material concerning early Mus-
topics such as: General History, Religion and Politics, Glo-
lim settlements—long before the arrival of Columbus.
balization and Latin American Religion, and the Transna-
Richardson, E. Allen. Islamic Cultures in North America: Patterns
tional Character of Latin American Religion.
of Belief and Devotion of Muslims from Asian Countries in the
Brah, Avtar. Cartographies of Diaspora: Contesting Identities. New
United States and Canada. New York, 1981. A very descrip-
York, 1996. Explores the interrelationships of race, gender,
tive book.
class, sexuality, ethnicity, generation, and nationalism in dif-
Waines, David. An Introduction to Islam. Cambridge, U.K., 1995.
ferent discourses, practices, and political contexts. Maps the-
A fairly comprehensive look at Islam and its spread, from the
oretical and political shifts in approaches to questions of dif-
perspective of a believer.
ference and diversity.
Waugh, E. H., Baha Abu-Laban, and Regula B. Qureshi, eds. The
Diouf, Sylviane A. Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in
Muslim Community in North America. Edmonton, Alberta,
the Americas. New York, 1998. An impressive book drawing
1983. One of the first comprehensive treatments of immi-
on Diouf’s Senegalese heritage, her familiarity with Islam
grant Muslims in North America, especially Canada. Com-
and Arabic, and her translations of relevant French, Spanish,
munity concerns and issues are explored in detail.
and Portuguese documents from both sides of the Atlantic.
Yousif, Ahmad. Muslims in Canada: A Question of Identity. Otta-
Forte, Maximilian Christian. Against the Trinity: An Insurgent
wa, Ontario, 1993. An excellent review of old and new Cana-
Imam Tells His Story: Religion, Politics, and Rebellion in Trin-
dian immigrant communities. Family life and mosque- and
idad and Tobago. Binghamton, N.Y., 1996. A personal nar-
school-building projects are explored along with attendant
rative.
issues and concerns.
Gomez, Michael A. “Muslims in Early America.” Journal of South-
AMINAH BEVERLY MCCLOUD (2005)
ern History 60, no. 4 (November 1994): 671–718. Gomez
examines the diverse African regions and cultures from which
Muslim slaves came, and establishes links between these cul-
tures and the present-day African American community.
ISLAMIC LAW
This article was later expanded in Gomez’s Exchanging Our
This entry consists of the following articles:
Country Marks: The Transformation of African Identities in the
Colonial and Antebellum South (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1998).
SHAR¯IEAH
PERSONAL LAW
Korom, Frank J. Hosay Trinidad: Muharram Performances in an
Indo-Caribbean Diaspora. Philadelphia, 2002. Beyond basic
historical and ethnographic data, Hosay Trinidad offers a
ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
thoughtful and rigorous exploration of the Trinidadian Mu-
Shar¯ı Eah is an Arabic term used to designate Islamic law. It
harram: its contradictions and controversies and the complex
originally referred to a path trodden by camels to a water
interaction of the local and global influences that shape it.
source, and the commonly used Arabic phrase al-shar¯ı Eah
Mallon, Elias. Neighbors: Muslims in North America. New York,
al-isla¯m¯ıyah may be translated as “the Islamic way.” In the
1989. In an effort to facilitate interfaith relations, this book
case of Islamic law, the way is one that leads the righteous
provides interviews with Muslims who talk about their fami-
believer to Paradise in the afterlife. The shar¯ı Eah is not
lies, their work, and their spiritual journeys.
deemed a religious law by virtue of the subject matters it cov-
Nimer, Mohamed. The North American Muslim Resource Guide:
ers, for these range far beyond the sphere of religious con-
Muslim Community Life in the United States and Canada.
cerns strictly speaking and extend to the mundane affairs of
New York, 2002. This useful resource offers an overview of
everyday life. Rather, its religious character is due to the
mainstream Muslim life in North America and provides
basic information about Muslim Americans and Muslim Ca-
Muslim belief that it derives from divinely inspired sources
nadians. It includes population statistics, as well as immigra-
and represents God’s plan for the proper ordering of all
tion information that tracks the settlement of Muslim people
human activities. Although Muslims agree that they are
in the Americas. American Muslim participation in the polit-
bound by the shar¯ı Eah, the interpretations of its require-
ical process is given special attention. The book also reviews
ments have differed historically according to sectarian and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4692
ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
school divisions and, in modern times, also according to dif-
Day of Judgment each Muslim will be held to account for
fering views of how the shar¯ı Eah applies in the changed cir-
any personal failures to comply with the commands and pro-
cumstances of present-day societies.
hibitions of the shar¯ı Eah.
The interpretations of the requirements of the shar¯ı Eah
Classification of acts. The dual nature of the shar¯ı Eah
are contained in the fiqh. In a general sense, fiqh means
as positive law and deontology, serving the combined func-
“knowledge” or “understanding,” but it is also used in the
tions of law and of what in some other religious systems
more specific sense of Islamic jurisprudence. Shar¯ı Eah and
might be moral philosophy, is reflected in the fact that Mus-
fiqh are often treated as synonymous terms designating the
lim jurists distinguish between two fundamentally different
body of rules constituting Islamic law. However, fiqh can
ways of classifying human acts. One way is to assess the
also refer to the science of interpreting the shar¯ı Eah.
moral character of acts, an assessment that corresponds to the
O
deontological quality of the shar¯ı Eah. For this task there ex-
RIGINS AND NATURE. The historical origin of the shar¯ı Eah
lies in the revelation that Muslims believe was given to the
ists a fivefold scheme of classification, according to which an
prophet Muh:ammad by God through the vehicle of the
act may be mandatory, recommended, neutral (that is, en-
archangel Gabriel in the last decades before the Prophet’s
tailing no moral consequences), blameworthy, or prohibited.
death in 632
Knowledge of this classification scheme enables pious Mus-
CE. This divine revelation was later recorded
in a text known as the QurDa¯n. Although only a small portion
lims to follow a meritorious course of conduct that will en-
of the QurDa¯n concerns strictly legal questions, it sets forth
sure their salvation on the Day of Judgment.
a number of general principles regarding how Muslims are
The second way of classifying acts reflects the fact that
to conduct themselves. The QurDa¯n is replete with com-
the shar¯ı Eah is meant to be used as the positive law of Muslim
mands to believers to abide by God’s limits, to obey God and
societies. The fundamental distinction made by Muslim ju-
his Prophet, and to judge according to what God has laid
rists in this connection is between acts that are legally bind-
down. It contains many references to God’s laws and com-
ing and valid and those that are of no legal effect or invalid.
mands. The prevailing view among Muslims is that the
They also distinguish between licit acts and illicit acts war-
QurDa¯n laid the underpinnings for a distinctively Islamic
ranting the imposition of penalties or exposing the actor (and
legal order and one that all Muslims are bound to follow as
potentially persons in privity with the actor) to legal liability.
a token of their submission (isla¯m in Arabic) to the will of
The classifications in the two schemes are not correlated;
God.
from knowledge of how an act is to be evaluated from the
From this kernel the shar¯ı Eah grew into a vast corpus
ethical standpoint, one cannot draw any automatic conclu-
of law. One of the great, challenging issues of Islamic intel-
sions about the legal validity or invalidity of an act or wheth-
lectual history has been that of defining the relationship be-
er it is punishable or goes unpunished by worldly authorities.
tween the text of divine revelation and subsequent legal de-
Likewise, one cannot safely make assumptions about how
velopment, an effort that has entailed the working out of a
acts will be classified from an ethical standpoint based on
theory of resources to provide an Islamic theoretical basis for
whether they are legally valid or not or whether they entail
resolving legal problems not explicitly addressed in the
penalties or legal liability.
QurDa¯n.
The precise nature of the relationship between the
shar¯ı Eah and Islamic theology is not easy to delineate and has
Shar¯ı Eah rules were part of the positive law applied by
been the subject of disagreement among Muslim scholars of
the government of the early Muslim community, which was
Islamic philosophy, theology, and law over the centuries.
originally conceived as an entity where political and religious
However, throughout the history of Islam there has been a
loyalties would be coterminous. At the same time, the
tendency to emphasize the elaboration of exact standards for
shar¯ı Eah was also understood as a system of moral guidance
conduct rather than setting detailed standards for what Mus-
for the individual believer.
lims should believe, and, by extension, to require adherence
In the Islamic view, governments exist only to ensure
to the standards of orthopraxis rather than demanding ortho-
that the shar¯ı Eah is properly administered and enforced.
doxy of creed.
Governments are subordinate to the shar¯ı Eah and must exe-
Principal divisions. The two principal divisions of the
cute its commands and prohibitions. In other words, what
shar¯ı Eah are based on the subject categories of legal rules. The
Islam envisages is a scheme of divine nomocracy, in which
first category is that of the Eibada¯t, or strictly religious obliga-
the law is the medium of social control—truly, a government
tions. These comprise the believer’s duties vis-à-vis the deity.
of laws, not of men.
In this category one finds very extensive rules regarding pre-
Should the government of a Muslim society fail in its
cisely how to carry out the acts of worship and religious ob-
obligation to uphold the shar¯ı Eah as the positive law, or the
servances incumbent on the individual Muslim. The perfor-
judges of this world fail in their obligation to administer jus-
mance of daily prayers (s:ala¯t), the pilgrimage to Mecca (h:a¯jj),
tice in accordance with the shar¯ı Eah, the individual believer
the practice of fasting during the month of Ramad:a¯n (s:awm),
would still be held to the responsibility incumbent upon all
and the payment of the alms tax (zaka¯t) are all regulated by
Muslims to conform their behavior to the shar¯ı Eah. On the
the rules of Eibada¯t. These, along with the profession of faith
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ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
4693
(shaha¯dah), constitute the so-called pillars of the faith in
Umayyad dynasty (661–750) came to power, the communi-
Islam. Ancillary rules such as those for identifying sources of
ty was ruled by four leaders known as the Ra¯shidu¯n, or the
ritual pollution and setting forth the requirements for the ab-
“Rightly Guided [Caliphs].” The assumption of leadership
lutions necessary to achieve a state of ritual purity, the tech-
by the Umayyads had great consequences for both sectarian
niques for correct preparation of a corpse for burial, and the
and legal developments. Repudiating the Umayyads, the
selection of a prayer leader in a given congregation are like-
Sh¯ıE¯ı and Kha¯rij¯ı factions both broke away from the main
wise included in the Eibada¯t category.
body of Muslims, who came to be called Sunn¯ıs, and their
The Islamic concern for orthopraxis in religious matters
respective legal orientations thenceforth diverged. The
clearly emerges from any examination of the very exacting
Kha¯rij¯ıs (also known as the Ibadiyah) believed that the lead-
scheme of Eibada¯t rules. While some specific provisions of
ership of the Muslim community should be determined by
Eibada¯t rules vary according to sectarian and school divisions,
elections and that Muslims had the right to rebel against an
one finds considerable agreement on the fundamental fea-
unqualified ruler. This Kha¯rij¯ı position has generally been
tures of the shar¯ı Eah in this area. Within a given sect, the
regarded as heretical by other Muslims, and although small
rules of Eibada¯t have tended to remain relatively stable and
Kha¯rij¯ı communities have survived in remote areas of the
uncontroversial over the centuries.
Muslim world, Kha¯rij¯ı thought has been marginalized by the
majority. The Sh¯ıE¯ı faction believed that the first three ca-
The other main category of shar¯ı Eah rules is that of the
liphs had usurped the rule of the community, which in their
muEamala¯t, which regulate the conduct of interpersonal rela-
view should have passed to the fourth of the Ra¯shidu¯n, EAl¯ı
tions rather than the relationship of the believer to the deity.
ibn Ab¯ı T:a¯lib (d. 661), a cousin and son-in-law of the
There is considerable diversity among the sects and schools
Prophet. While Sunn¯ı Muslims subsequently looked to the
regarding the shar¯ı Eah rules in this category. In the early
pronouncements and examples of all of the Ra¯shidu¯n for au-
twenty-first century there is also significant controversy
thority on how the community should be governed and for
about the degree to which these rules, originally formulated
guidance on questions of Islamic law, the Sh¯ıEah repudiated
by medieval jurists, need to be updated and reformed in the
the authority of all but the caliph EAl¯ı.
light of modern circumstances.
H
Not only did the Sh¯ıEah believe that the caliph EAl¯ı had
ISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. The question of the historical
development of the shar¯ı Eah cannot be fairly discussed with-
been the rightful successor of the Prophet, but they also be-
out acknowledging the deep and persistent cleavage between
lieved that leadership of the community rightfully still be-
the views set forth in modern Western scholarship and the
longed to EAl¯ı’s blood descendants after the civil war that re-
views of the majority of Muslim scholars. The positions that
sulted in his death and the establishment of a hereditary
have been taken by Western scholars regarding the historical
monarchy by the victorious Umayyads. Those of the caliph
development of Islamic law challenge deeply held convic-
EAl¯ı’s descendants who inherited his authority were known
tions of most Muslim scholars and are strongly reprehended
as ima¯ms, and like him they were believed by the Sh¯ıEah to
by the latter. The nature of the differing views and their im-
share the same divine inspiration that had enabled the
plications will be explained in what follows.
Prophet, while himself not divine, to make authoritative pro-
nouncements on shar¯ı Eah law. That is, their ima¯ms were
The relation of the QurDa¯n to previous law. As already
qualified to interpret the divine will for humankind and
noted, the QurDa¯n provided the original kernel of shar¯ı Eah
could thus serve as an ongoing link between God the Lawgiv-
law. Most of the QurDa¯nic verses dealing with legal questions
er and the community after the death of the Prophet. The
were transmitted to the Prophet in the decade after the Hij-
Sh¯ıE¯ı community subsequently split into subsects over ques-
rah, or flight from Mecca to Medina (622 CE).
tions of who was entitled to succeed to the position of ima¯m.
An unresolved dispute in Islamic jurisprudence stems
The largest of the subsects, the Twelvers, believes that the
from the question of whether the rules set forth in the
last imam, who disappeared in 874, went into a state of oc-
QurDa¯n should be regarded as a break with the preexisting
cultation from which he is expected eventually to return,
system of western Arabian customary law or whether the rev-
while the other subsects follow lines of ima¯ms whose descent
elations came to modify and reform some aspects of that law
has continued into the modern era.
while otherwise retaining it. Some Muslim scholars have
The earliest stage of shar¯ı Eah law. For Sunn¯ıs the pos-
concluded that the great unevenness in depth of coverage of
sibility of divine revelation and the making of new Islamic
different topics in QurDanic legislation should be taken to
law ceased with the death of the Prophet. Subsequent genera-
imply that the resulting gaps were intended to be filled by
tions of Muslims who were concerned with how to establish
reference to those pre-Islamic customary laws that were not
a legal system on an Islamic basis were thus faced with a
changed by the QurDa¯n, while others see in it a fresh starting
problem of scarce source material. Although there is little in-
point for legal development.
formation on the development of legal thought in the gener-
The Sunn¯ı-Sh¯ıE¯ı division. The death of the prophet
ations immediately following the death of the Prophet, it
Muh:ammad in 632 CE marked the end of the period of
does not appear that this problem was initially of great con-
QurDanic revelation to the Muslim community. Until the
cern to the leaders of the community, who were preoccupied
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4694
ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
with the challenges of meeting the military threats to the
ed traditions, known as h:ad¯ıth (pl., ah:ad¯ıth), which purport-
growing Islamic polity and administering its rapidly expand-
ed to record the Prophet’s sayings and his reactions to the
ing territory. Ad hoc measures and a spirit of pragmatism ap-
different situations he had confronted.
pear to have characterized much of the decision making of
Unlike the QurDa¯n, the final version of which was writ-
the early political leaders, who also served as judges.
ten down in 653 and which most Muslims believe accurately
A view common in Western scholarship is that as the
represents God’s speech, the authenticity of the h:ad¯ıth litera-
new empire absorbed its early conquests of Syria, Iraq,
ture was immediately challenged by Muslim scholars unsym-
Egypt, and Iran, it was also exposed to influences from the
pathetic to the traditionists’ thesis. The early traditionists
local civilizations, which included the very highly developed
tried to meet their opponents’ criticisms by developing
legal cultures of Romano-Byzantine law, Jewish law, Sasanid
criteria for distinguishing sound h:ad¯ıth from those that were
law, and the law of the Eastern Christian churches. An as-
not genuine, an effort that resulted in the development of
sumption commonly made by Western scholars is that edu-
an elaborate science of h:ad¯ıth criticism. The dispute regard-
cated converts to Islam from these cultures perpetuated the
ing the authenticity of the h:ad¯ıth has persisted to the present
legal traditions of the conquered civilizations, which, in a
and has meant that a substantial part of Islamic jurispru-
syncretic process, were assimilated into the nascent Islamic
dence is and always has been a source of controversy among
legal culture. According to this perspective, the ostensibly Is-
Muslims.
lamic derivation of much of shar¯ı Eah law is the product of
The genuineness of the h:ad¯ıth literature is yet another
later attempts to create Islamic pedigrees for legal principles
point on which modern Western scholars tend to find them-
actually borrowed from other legal traditions by linking
selves in disagreement with many of their Muslim counter-
them to Islamic sources. Most Muslim scholars absolutely re-
parts. The prevailing view among Western scholars has been
ject this view and take the position that shar¯ı Eah law owes
that most, if not all, of the h:ad¯ıth are pious forgeries put into
no debt whatsoever to any non-Islamic tradition. In any
circulation by traditionists of the first and second Muslim
event, it must be said that the historical and comparative
centuries with a view to creating Islamic pedigrees for rules
legal research that would be needed to prove or disprove sci-
of law that had originally been the products of juristic rea-
entifically either of these two theses has never been un-
soning or judicial practice, that were inherited from Arabian
dertaken, and the dispute about the relation of the shar¯ı Eah
customary law, or that were borrowed from other legal cul-
to other legal traditions in the areas first conquered by the
tures. Western scholarship has generally evaluated the tradi-
Islamic empire cannot be resolved at present.
tional science of h:ad¯ıth criticism as inadequate for differenti-
Ancient law schools. The jurisprudence of the Sunn¯ı
ating historically accurate accounts from later fabrications.
branch of shar¯ı Eah law had its beginnings in what are called
In the view of most Muslims, including those who have res-
the ancient schools of law. Within a century of the Prophet’s
ervations about the genuineness of some of the h:ad¯ıth and
death there were prominent law schools in various cities in
the adequacy of h:ad¯ıth scholarship, these Western criticisms
Iraq, Syria, and the H:ija¯z. It appears that the scholars in these
are excessively harsh. Wholesale dismissals of the h:ad¯ıth liter-
ancient schools felt free to resort to ratiocination to develop
ature as a product of later forgeries and of the traditional sci-
legal rules for new situations and that they may also have
ence of h:ad¯ıth criticism as defective are rarely encountered
been influenced in their approach to legal questions by the
in Muslim scholarship.
judicial practice of the tribunals set up by the Umayyad rul-
The beginnings of the classical law schools. Despite
ers. While individual scholars did attain renown in this peri-
the initial resistance that it encountered, the traditionists’ po-
od, what was viewed as the normative legal standard was the
sition steadily gained ground at the expense of the influence
consensus of the scholars in a given locality, or the sunnah—
of the ancient schools of law in the second century after the
roughly, “custom”—of the school. Some attempts were
death of the Prophet. The ancient schools did not disappear
made to establish Islamic derivations for such local custom,
but adapted in differing degrees to the new trends in legal
which might be ascribed to early authorities in the first gen-
thought. It is in the second century AH (ninth century CE)
eration of the Muslim community, including the Prophet
that the foundations were laid for the development of what
himself.
were subsequently to become the classical shar¯ı Eah schools.
Each school came to be referred to by the name of an epony-
The traditionist movement. Meanwhile, a second
mous founder, but it should be noted that the views of the
movement was under way, that of the traditionists, who
scholars who gave their names to schools did not always pre-
began to make their influence felt in the course of the second
vail among their immediate disciples, much less among their
century after the Prophet’s death. The traditionists did not
later followers.
accept the authority of the sunnah of the ancient schools, nor
did they accept the practice of the scholars of those ancient
The oldest of the classical Sunn¯ı schools is the Ma¯lik¯ı,
schools who relied on juristic opinion to resolve legal ques-
which originated in Medina and was named after the promi-
tions. Instead, the traditionists proposed that accounts relat-
nent legal scholar and traditionist Ma¯lik ibn Anas (d. 796).
ing the sayings and doings of the Prophet should be treated
Respect for the sunnah of Medina as the place most closely
as legally binding statements of law. The traditionists collect-
associated with the mission of the Prophet and the first Mus-
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ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
4695
lim community persisted in the legal thought of the Ma¯lik¯ı
dividual H:anbal¯ı scholars have taken diverging opinions on
school.
questions of jurisprudence. The doctrines of the H:anbal¯ı
school, and particularly those of its more idiosyncratic mem-
The H:anaf¯ı school was meanwhile developing in the
bers, are difficult to characterize, so that it is necessary to be
context of the legal community in Kufa in southern Iraq. Al-
wary of generalizations purporting to describe broad features
though the school was named after a prominent local jurist,
of H:anbal¯ı doctrine.
Abu¯ H:an¯ıfah (d. 767), its followers actually often showed
greater deference to the views of two of his disciples, Abu¯
Other schools of law founded in the first centuries of
Yu¯suf (d. 798) and al-Shayba¯n¯ı (d. 805). The H:anaf¯ı school
Islam have not survived into the modern era. Perhaps the
bore many traces of influences from the Iraqi environment
most influential of these was the Z:a¯hir¯ı school founded by
in which it developed. H:anaf¯ı jurists attached great impor-
Da¯wu¯d ibn Khalaf (d. 884). It takes its name from the Arabic
tance to systematic consistency in legal thought and the re-
z:a¯hir, meaning “that which is apparent” and referring to the
finement of legal principles. They used juristic speculation
insistence of this school that the shar¯ı Eah required literal ad-
to develop rules and characteristically resolved legal questions
herence to the words of the QurDa¯n and the sunnah. In the
through formalistic approaches.
Z:a¯hir¯ı school, human interpretations of their meanings were
not binding.
Muh:ammad ibn Idr¯ıs al-Sha¯fiE¯ı (d. 820), the founder
of the school that bears his name, was associated with the city
The development of the legal doctrines of the early Sh¯ıE¯ı
of Medina. He ranks prominently in the history of Islamic
schools, aside from their shared doctrine regarding the
legal thought and promoted the eventual triumph of the
ima¯ms’ title to succeed to the leadership of the community,
traditionist thesis in classical Islamic legal thought. Accord-
seems to have begun somewhat later. It is important to note
ing to al-Sha¯fiE¯ı, the sunnah of the Prophet as embodied in
that while sectarian disputes in Islam often led to the devel-
the h:ad¯ıth totally superseded the sunnah of the ancient
opment of bitter intellectual antagonisms and sometimes
schools as a normative legal standard. Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı thus elevated
took on political dimensions, within the Sunn¯ı sect legal
the sunnah of the Prophet to the status of a source of law co-
scholars generally demonstrated great tolerance of and even
equal with the QurDa¯n. He articulated the view, which subse-
respect for divergent opinions on the part of members of the
quently found widespread acceptance, that the sunnah of the
four classical schools, all four of which were regarded as
Prophet explained the meaning of the QurDa¯n.
equally orthodox.
Having established the QurDa¯n and the much more ex-
The Islamizing impetus in Islamic legal development
tensive corpus of h:ad¯ıth literature as the material sources of
that had been encouraged by the traditionist movement was
the shar¯ı Eah, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı rejected the use of juristic opinion or
also promoted by the official policies of the Abbasid dynasty,
speculative reasoning in formulating legal principles and in-
which justified its overthrow of the Umayyads in 750 on the
sisted that jurists be restricted to the use of analogical reason-
basis of its greater claims to Islamic legitimacy and piety. The
ing (Qiya¯s), to extend principles in the sources to cover prob-
Abbasids manifested a desire that all persons in their do-
lems not explicitly addressed in the texts of the QurDa¯n and
mains, including the rulers, should follow the commands
h:ad¯ıth. In his view, only by insisting that jurists limit them-
and prohibitions of the shar¯ı Eah. They elevated the shar¯ı Eah
selves to such careful, piecemeal extensions of principles in
to the status of the official law to be applied in the courts
the texts could one be sure that the jurists were not injecting
by qa¯d:¯ıs, or judges, who were required to be well versed in
undue subjective elements into their interpretations of
it. However, before many decades passed, it became abun-
shar¯ı Eah requirements or distorting the rules set forth in the
dantly clear that for the Abbasids, promoting the cause of the
sources. Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı also refused to accord any weight to juris-
shar¯ı Eah was entirely subordinate to the achievement of their
tic consensus and held that the only binding consensus
dynastic political objectives. As a result, many jurists who
would be one among all members of the Muslim communi-
were unwilling to readjust their idealistic views of the role
ty. Despite his prestige, al-Sha¯fiE¯ı was unable to prevail on
that Islamic law should play in the governance of the Muslim
this last point even among members of his own school, who,
community to the dictates of political expediency retreated
like most Sunn¯ı Muslims, came to believe that ijma¯ E, or the
from all contact with government and the administration of
consensus of all the jurists in a given generation, could con-
justice. It became common for great jurists to shun positions
clusively validate the correctness of a legal proposition and
in courts and to retire to lives of scholarship and academic
foreclose further debate. In general outlines, the jurispru-
disputations. With this abjuring of political involvement, the
dence developed by later members of the Sha¯fiE¯ı school has
basic elements in Sunn¯ı law on the subject of how the Mus-
much in common with that of the H:anaf¯ı school.
lim community should be governed tended to remain fixed
at the stage of elaborating models derived from the era of the
The last of the classical Sunn¯ı schools crystallized
Ra¯shidu¯n caliphs, despite the fact that the practical relevance
around Ah:mad ibn H:anbal (d. 855), a traditionist from
of these models had been superseded by changed historical
Baghdad who traveled widely among different centers of
realities.
learning. Subsequent members of the H:anbal¯ı school have
shared Ibn H:anbal’s traditionist orientation and his concern
Us:u¯l al-fiqh. With the development of the classical
for the consensus of the companions of the Prophet, but in-
schools of Islamic law came the articulation of the principles
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ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
of us:u¯l al-fiqh, the roots or sources of jurisprudence. Al-
that the Prophet was a perfect human being and thus worthy
though the us:u¯l are often called sources of the shar¯ı Eah, only
of emulation, but also that he enjoyed divine inspiration and
the QurDa¯n and the sunnah are material sources. Ultimately,
thus could make no error in matters of religion or shar¯ı Eah
the study of us:u¯l al-fiqh is concerned with establishing a sci-
law. As noted, challenges to the authenticity of the h:ad¯ıth
ence of proofs of the Islamic derivation of substantive legal
literature on which the understanding of the Prophet’s sun-
principles, thus enabling the jurist to discern which legal
nah rested generated a science of h:ad¯ıth criticism to weed out
rules are correct statements of shar¯ı Eah principles. The rules
unsound or dubious accounts. In addition, methodologies
shown by this science to be authentically Islamic are known
were worked out to reconcile seeming contradictions and in-
as the furu¯E al-fiqh, the branches of jurisprudence. The study
consistencies in different h:ad¯ıth and between h:ad¯ıth and
of us:u¯l has been one of the major preoccupations of Muslim
verses of the QurDa¯n. As in the case of the QurDa¯n, reading
jurists over the centuries and continues to be so in the early
the h:ad¯ıth literature without a grasp of how orthodox Islamic
twenty-first century. As the subsequent history of the devel-
scholarship interprets the legal implications of the h:ad¯ıth and
opment of the shar¯ı Eah demonstrates, the influence of
the relevant jurisprudence can lead to erroneous conclusions.
al-Sha¯fiE¯ı on the fomulation of the classical Sunn¯ı theory of
Most Sunn¯ı Muslims have taken the view that the
us:u¯l al-fiqh—a formulation that was basically complete by
h:ad¯ıth assembled in certain classic collections, such as those
the ninth century—was considerable.
of al-Bukhari and Muslim, which date from the latter part
The first root of the fiqh is the QurDa¯n. In the prevailing
of the third century AH, should be regarded as genuine, while
view, it is to be treated as the eternal and uncreated word of
members of the other sects rely on their own h:ad¯ıth collec-
God, part of his essence. Although the QurDanic revelation
tions, which include many h:ad¯ıth accounts that conflict with
constitutes the starting point for the development of the
those in other collections and support their respective sectari-
shar¯ı Eah, a relatively small portion of shar¯ı Eah rules can be
an legal positions. Challenges to the authenticity of the
traced directly to the text of the QurDa¯n. Aside from setting
h:ad¯ıth, which have repeatedly arisen in various forms over
forth rules regarding acts of worship and the rituals that they
the history of Islam, have important implications for the
entail, the QurDa¯n includes extensive provisions on intestate
shar¯ı Eah. Since the h:ad¯ıth literature is very extensive (classi-
succession, many on domestic relations and the status of
cal collections contain more than four thousand reports) and
women, a few criminal laws, and some rules of evidence and
covers a much wider range of topics than the legal verses in
contracts.
the QurDa¯n, it has supplied the Islamic rationale for a major
part of shar¯ı Eah law, which would forfeit its Islamic legitima-
Muslim jurists developed an elaborate methodology to
cy if the h:ad¯ıth literature were discredited.
interpret the QurDa¯n, and, in fact, the legal significance of
Qiya¯s, reasoning by analogy, is a method for expanding
the QurDa¯n cannot be properly understood without an appre-
the rules in the QurDa¯n and sunnah to cover problems not
ciation of this methodology. Muslim jurists themselves have
expressly addressed in the sources. Most Sunn¯ıs accept qiya¯s
differed over the legal significance of many specific lines of
as the third root of fiqh. Qiya¯s involves the application of a
the QurDa¯n. Some differences in the legal principles derived
legal ruling from a case mentioned in the QurDa¯n or sunnah
from the QurDa¯n relate to the sectarian divisions of Islam;
to a subcase not mentioned in the text but sufficiently related
perhaps the most striking example lies in the laws of intestate
to permit coverage by analogical extension. Even though
succession among the Sunn¯ıs and the Twelver branch of the
many jurists insisted on the use of qiya¯s on the theory that
Sh¯ıEah. From the same QurDanic verses, which are more ex-
extending the scope of principles in the QurDa¯n and sunnah
tensive on this subject than on any other legal topic, the two
by analogical reasoning minimized the risk of distorting
groups have derived markedly contrasting legal rules. In the
those principles, a number of Sunn¯ı jurists remained critical
Sunn¯ı view, the QurDa¯n meant to retain, with only limited
of its limitations on the grounds of the subjective element
modifications, the pre-Islamic Arabian scheme of agnatic
it involved. The extension of rules through qiya¯s ultimately
succession, in which males inheriting through the male line
involves human judgment, since it is first necessary to identi-
got a major part of the estate. By contrast, the Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı
fy the reason underlying the original rule set forth in the text.
jurists held that, in designating inheritance shares for females
In practice, jurists have been far from unanimous in their
and the children and parents of the deceased, the QurDa¯n was
identification of these underlying reasons, with the result
implicitly repudiating the customary law of pre-Islamic Ara-
that they have extended the rules of the QurDa¯n and sunnah
bia and setting forth a completely different scheme of succes-
in different ways. The reliance on analogical reasoning meant
sion. As a result, Sunn¯ı law favors inheritance by agnatic
that Sunn¯ı jurists analyzed series of concrete instances of ap-
kinsmen, while that of the Twelvers favors the inheritance
plication of specific rules rather than trying to abstract gener-
by the children and parents of the deceased, including
al rules from the sources. As new issues arose and generated
females.
Islamic rules coined by the use of analogy, these rules were
Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı succeeded in persuading subsequent jurists
added to the earlier compilations without attempts to syn-
that the sunnah of the Prophet should be treated as the sec-
thesize and codify the underlying legal principles.
ond root of Islamic jurisprudence and a source co-equal with
Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı jurists do not accept the Sunn¯ı model of
the QurDa¯n. It is generally accepted among Muslims not only
qiya¯s. Many of them use forms of juristic reasoning that are
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ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
4697
not limited to drawing analogies in order to construe the
(pl., fuqaha¯ D), came to enjoy great prestige as a result of his
meaning of the QurDa¯n and sunnah. Known as the Us:u¯l¯ıyah,
monopoly of expertise regarding the sacred law. The promi-
Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı jurists who believe that shar¯ı Eah rules can be
nence and power of the fuqaha¯ D as a class in Muslim societies
extended by human reason have historically been opposed by
has in some instances led to the misperception that Islam en-
another faction of jurists, the Akhbariyah, who insist that
visages a theocratic system of government. In fact, it is the
rules generated by human reason cannot be binding state-
shar¯ı Eah itself that is supposed to be the instrument of social
ments of shar¯ı Eah law and argue that the QurDa¯n and the sun-
control, and the fuqaha¯ D, in theory powerless to alter the law,
nah of the Prophet and the Sh¯ıE¯ı ima¯ms alone provide trust-
are no more than its faithful interpreters. For the most part,
worthy guidance.
the fuqaha¯ D have eschewed direct participation in the affairs
of government and an overt role in political life.
Ijma¯ E refers to the retroactive ratification of the correct-
ness of an interpretation of shar¯ı Eah requirements. Most
The task of interpreting the requirements of the
Sunn¯ıs treat ijma¯ E, which is constituted by the consensus of
shar¯ı Eah is termed ijtiha¯d, and the person performing the in-
all the jurists of one generation, as the fourth root of fiqh.
terpretation is termed a mujtahid. The exercise of ijtiha¯d by
According to the majority Sunn¯ı position, once a legal prin-
the early jurists defined the basic contours of the shar¯ı Eah by
ciple has won such unanimous endorsement, it becomes de-
the start of the tenth century CE. It has been widely believed
finitively established and cannot be challenged by subse-
that in Sunn¯ı jurisprudence, the fuqaha¯ D were deemed to be
quent generations. Al-Sha¯fiE¯ı’s different view of ijma¯ E has
bound by the solutions to legal problems that had been
already been noted. Prominent H:anbal¯ı scholars have been
reached by jurists of earlier generations on the grounds that
among those who have rejected the binding force of ijmaE as
the latter, being closer in time to the prophet Muh:ammad,
defined by the majority; they claim that only the consensus
were less likely to fall into error than scholars of later genera-
of the companions of the Prophet could bind later Muslims.
tions. This bar to reexamination of previously decided ques-
Also among the critics of the Sunn¯ı view of ijma¯ E are the
tions of shar¯ı Eah law has been termed “the closing of the door
Twelver Sh¯ıEah, who have historically taken a variety
of ijtiha¯d.” Never recognized by Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı law, deference
of positions on the significance of ijma¯ E and how it is con-
to established tradition may have inhibited innovative
stituted.
thought and retarded legal reform in Sunn¯ı circles, although
This bare summary of the basic principles of us:u¯l al-fiqh
not in the H:anbal¯ı school, where many jurists denied that
does not begin to do justice to the tremendously complex
they could be bound by the ijtiha¯d of their predecessors.
and subtle analysis that Islamic legal scholarship is capable
However, the proposition that the doctrine of taql¯ıd, or obe-
of bringing to bear on questions of the Islamic derivation of
dience to established legal authority, immutably fixed
legal rules. Problems of us:u¯l al-fiqh have attracted the atten-
shar¯ı Eah doctrines at an early stage and had a stultifying im-
tion of many of the finest Muslim scholars over the centuries
pact on the evolution of shar¯ı Eah law has been challenged.
and are still capable of generating controversy and provoking
Whether and to what degree taql¯ıd actually inhibited jurists
important intellectual developments.
from adjusting legal doctrines to respond to the exigen-
cies of their changing environment needs to be reevaluated.
In addition to the fundamental rules of us:u¯l al-fiqh,
there are subsidiary law-finding principles that are used to
Of course, even if Sunn¯ı jurists did consider themselves
interpret the requirements of shar¯ı Eah law. These principles
bound in areas where there had been ijtiha¯d by the jurists
provide the jurist with guidelines for resolving questions of
of the first centuries, they were left free to resolve questions
shar¯ı Eah law where the usual sources offer no unequivocal
that had not been definitively settled by their predecessors.
answer or where the facts of the case mean that the applica-
In Muslim societies, important new problems of shar¯ı Eah law
tion of an otherwise dispositive principle will produce an un-
were traditionally referred for resolution to a qualified mu-
satisfactory result. Predictably, these subsidiary principles
jtahid. In Sunn¯ı environments this function was exercised by
vary considerably according to school and sectarian affilia-
scholars who had attained the status of muft¯ı, meaning that
tions, and even within one school individual jurists may dis-
they were able to issue fatwa¯s, or binding legal rulings, on
play different views on their use. An example of such a sub-
such problems. A muft¯ı might act in a private capacity, advis-
sidiary principle is mas:lah:ah (considerations of public
ing individuals who came to him with inquiries about how
welfare), which was particularly emphasized in Ma¯lik¯ı juris-
the shar¯ı Eah applied to a problem, but jurists were appointed
prudence. By reference to the criterion of mas:lah:ah, Muslim
as official or governmental muft¯ıs by rulers. Fatwa¯s that were
jurists can adjust their interpretations of shar¯ı Eah require-
widely respected and collected for further use and study
ments to promote the well-being of society.
could be incorporated in fiqh works and could acquire con-
siderable currency and authority.
Jurists and the development of the shar¯ıEah. With the
foundation of the classical schools of Islamic law and the for-
In contrast to the important role played by fatwa¯s in the
mulation of the fundamental principles of us:u¯l al-fiqh, the
development of shar¯ı Eah rules, only rarely were decisions
shar¯ı Eah became a jurists’ law, and exhaustive training in law
rendered by qa¯d:¯ıs in actual cases treated as authoritative in
and ancillary disciplines was essential for interpreting how
the fiqh literature. Most of the fuqaha¯ D did not recognize ju-
the shar¯ı Eah applied to a given problem. The jurist, or faq¯ıh
dicial precedent as binding, perhaps because in the wake of
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ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
the disenchantment with government after the first Abbasids
school that would become the official norm in his domains
many of the more eminent fuqaha¯ D preferred to disassociate
and would be applied by the courts. In some large cities,
themselves from the court system and often declined to serve
court staffs would include judges from different schools and
when offered judgeships. The one important exception in
sects, so that the law applicable in a given case could be se-
this regard occurred in Morocco, where Eamal, or judicial
lected to correspond to the affiliations of the parties.
practice, was considered authoritative.
It should be recalled that all of the four classical Sunn¯ı
THE MATURE CLASSICAL LAW SCHOOLS. From the tenth
schools are considered equally orthodox. Although concerns
century until the disruptive impact of European imperialism
for doctrinal consistency and coherence mandated that a ju-
made itself felt in India in the eighteenth century, and in the
rist follow the established doctrine of his school, it was not
other parts of the Muslim world in the nineteenth century,
unusual for jurists to study the fiqh of other Sunn¯ı schools
there was no major discontinuity in the development of doc-
or even to refer extensively to the opinions of other schools
trines of the classical law schools. Instead, one could say that
in treatises. This approach was less common, however, when
this period was devoted to refining and amplifying the early
fiqh principles of other sects were involved. The protracted
treatments of Islamic jurisprudence.
polemics between the Sunn¯ı and Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı camps on the
As the schools matured, their doctrines became more
question of temporary marriage, which the former claim is
elaborate—often, as already noted, deviating from the views
prohibited and akin to prostitution and which the latter
of their eponymous founders. Although the schools did not
argue is clearly established in the QurDa¯n and the h:ad¯ıth, is
require that all members adhere to precisely the same doc-
an example of the hostile attitudes that were engendered by
trines, within each school there tended to be a core of doc-
sectarian disputes about interpretations of the requirements
trines that enjoyed widespread acceptance and that em-
of shar¯ı Eah law. However, Sunn¯ı jurists have been prepared
bodied a distinctive approach to the resolution of legal
to accord some deference to the fiqh of the Zayd¯ı Sh¯ıEah,
problems. The jurists of the different schools wrote treatises
since the Zayd¯ıyah are considered to be more moderate and
on fiqh that were evaluated and reevaluated by their peers
closer to Sunn¯ıs in their views than the other Sh¯ıE¯ı sects.
and successors. Some works gained particular renown and re-
Geographical distribution of the schools. The long
spect and were widely circulated and studied. The same work
sponsorship of H:anaf¯ı law by the Ottoman sultans meant
would often be recopied with added commentaries and su-
that the H:anaf¯ı school came to predominate in most of their
percommentaries in the margins by subsequent scholars. As
former territories in the eastern Mediterranean. As the major
the fiqh literature expanded, it was typical for the jurists in
Sunn¯ı school of the Indian subcontinent as well, the H:anaf¯ı
a given locality to select one of the more highly regarded trea-
school is by far the largest school of law.
tises from what was the dominant legal school as the authori-
tative statement of legal doctrine in their jurisdiction. They
The adherents of the Ma¯lik¯ı school tend to be concen-
also prepared summaries of the classical statements of a
trated in the western portions of the Muslim world, particu-
school’s doctrine, which were meant to be easier to use and
larly in North and West Africa, although one does find them
understand than the scholarly originals. Even so, works of
in other parts of the Arab world, including the Hejaz and
fiqh were intelligible only to learned specialists. Institutions
Kuwait. The distribution of members of the Sha¯f¯ıE¯ı school
of higher learning were set up to train students in fiqh and
tends to correspond to patterns of major trade routes, with
related fields, the first and most enduringly influential of
Sha¯f¯ıE¯ı communities mostly concentrated in coastal areas.
which was al-Azhar in Cairo, founded in 972.
One finds large numbers in East Africa, Ceylon, Malaysia,
and Indonesia. The H:anbal¯ı school has dwindled in size to
One of the ancillary subjects essential for aspiring
such a point that its adherents are scarcely found outside cen-
fuqaha¯ D to master was classical Arabic, the language of God’s
tral Saudi Arabia. The widely appreciated originality and in-
speech in the QurDa¯n and the language of the h:ad¯ıth. Arabic
tellectual distinction of some of its medieval fuqaha¯ D has,
has continued to be the essential language for the study of
however, allowed it to retain an influence entirely out of pro-
the shar¯ı Eah. No translated versions of the QurDa¯n or the
portion to its numbers.
h:ad¯ıth are adequate for use in scholarly investigations. All of
the classical fiqh works are also in Arabic. Although some
The Twelvers, by far the most numerous branch of the
have become available in translations, these are of very un-
Sh¯ıEah, claim the adherence of a majority of the people of
even quality and must be used with great caution.
Iran and, probably, Iraq, as well as sizable minorities in Paki-
stan, eastern Arabia, and Lebanon. Since 1501 Twelver Shi-
The schools spread far from their original settings. Ad-
ism has been the official religion of Iran, and it has come to
herence to one school or another, as well as sectarian alle-
be particularly identified with that country. As noted, a deep
giances, changed in accordance with the many political up-
and important cleavage in Iranian Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı legal
heavals and vicissitudes suffered by the different parts of the
thought has divided the Akhba¯r¯ı and Us:u¯l¯ı subschools.
Muslim world over the centuries, and the patterns of school
and sect distribution varied significantly at different eras of
The followers of the Aga Khan belong to the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı
Islamic history. One of the prerogatives of the Muslim ruler
branch of Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam. His ancestors once ruled an Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı
was to select the law of a sect or, more commonly, of a Sunn¯ı
state, the powerful and intellectually influential Fatimid em-
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ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
4699
pire (909–1171), from their capital in Cairo, but in the early
fully urged the Abbasid caliph al-Mans:u¯r to end the confu-
twenty-first century the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah are everywhere in the
sion and disparities in the shar¯ı Eah resulting from conflicting
minority and are widely scattered around the globe. Sizable
interpretations by the jurists of the early law schools by syste-
communities remain in the Indian subcontinent and East Af-
matizing and codifying the shar¯ı Eah. He argued that the
rica. The Zayd¯ıyah are concentrated in the Yemen Arab Re-
shar¯ı Eah should be enacted into uniform legislation that
public (North Yemen), which was ruled until the 1960s by
would apply throughout the caliph’s domain; his failure to
a Zayd¯ı ima¯m.
convince others of the correctness of his ideas meant that the
shar¯ı Eah continued to be viewed as a jurist’s law independent
A very small but intellectually significant group whose
from and untouchable by political authorities.
law cannot receive its due here is that of the Kha¯rij¯ıs or
Iba¯d:¯ıyah, many of whom have managed to survive in the
Before its extinction, the once-influential Z:a¯hir¯ı school
more remote parts of the Muslim world, such as the Berber
enjoyed a flowering in Muslim Spain. The most famous and
areas of North Africa and in Oman.
distinguished Z:a¯hir¯ı thinker was Ibn H:azm (d. 1065), a vig-
orous polemicist who made many enemies in the course of
Although a ruler is free to select the school of law that
his harsh attacks on the doctrines of other law schools. He
will apply on his territory, this selection binds only the for-
challenged the authenticity of much of the h:ad¯ıth literature,
mal legal system. In the absence of unusual external pressures
rejected qiya¯s and the rules it produced, limited ijma¯ E to that
mandating a change in allegiance, individual Muslims re-
of the companions of the Prophet, and insisted that, in the
main free to follow the school of their choice. Typically,
absence of explicit commands in the QurDa¯n and sunnah, all
Muslims consider themselves followers of the same school as
conduct should be regarded as outside the concern of reli-
their fathers, and even within the Sunn¯ı sect, where all four
gious law.
schools are deemed equally orthodox, it is unusual for a Mus-
lim to change school affiliation.
One of the most eminent figures in Islamic intellectual
history, al-Gha¯zal¯ı (d. 1111) examined the teachings of the
Comparisons of the rules of the classical fiqh. In de-
shar¯ı Eah in relation to his own theological and philosophical
tail the rules of the various Sunn¯ı schools are often different
views. Although he is best known for his searching inquiry
enough to affect the outcome of a legal dispute. On the aver-
into the theological fundamentals of Islam, al-Gha¯zal¯ı also
age legal question, the degree of doctrinal difference between
wrote a number of important books of ShafiEi fiqh. In his
a given Sunn¯ı school and a Sh¯ıE¯ı school is often not much
greatest work, Ih:ya¯D Eulu¯m al-d¯ın (The revivification of reli-
greater. Notwithstanding the different approaches that
gious sciences), al-Gha¯zal¯ı sought to achieve a synthesis of
Sunn¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı fiqh purport to have to the sources of law,
the teachings of Islam and to define the role of the shar¯ı Eah
aside from their differences regarding who should rule the
in relation to other aspects of religion. His work may consti-
Muslim community, one finds few major divergencies except
tute the most accomplished statement of what passed for
on some points of religious ritual and worship, certain rules
Sunn¯ı orthodoxy in medieval Islam.
of marriage and divorce, and the laws of inheritance.
One of the most original medieval jurists was the
A comparison of the muEamala¯t rules of the medieval
H:anbal¯ı Ibn Taym¯ıyah (d. 1328), who had an influential
fiqh literature with rules in other medieval legal systems of
disciple in Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyah (d. 1350). Ibn Taym¯ıyah
the Middle East and Europe, whether secular or religious, re-
strongly attacked the doctrine of taqlid that bound Muslims
veals many broad similarities. The single most distinctive ac-
to the interpretations of the early jurists. He argued that
complishment of the medieval fuqaha¯ D from the standpoint
qualified Muslim thinkers should be free to return to the
of comparative legal history lies in their very sophisticated
QurDa¯n, sunnah, and consensus of the companions of the
and complex schemes of intestate succession.
Prophet and interpret them afresh. Muh:ammad ibn EAbd
Principal figures. The founders of the schools of Sunn¯ı
al-Wahha¯b (d. 1792), the leader of the puritanical Wahha¯b¯ı
law and the imams of the Sh¯ıE¯ı sects, who enjoyed the same
reform movement that won many followers in Arabia and
capacity as the prophet Muh:ammad to make authoritative
elsewhere, invoked Ibn Taym¯ıyah’s ideas in his rejection of
pronouncements regarding the requirements of the shar¯ı Eah,
the authority of the classical law schools and his insistence
would have to be ranked in the forefront of the principal fig-
on fresh ijtiha¯d.
ures in the history of Islamic law. Given the vast corpus of
Theories about the need to identify and follow the fun-
writings on the shar¯ı Eah, it is impossible to present any sum-
damental policies underlying shar¯ı Eah provisions and to in-
mary treatment without risking unfair omissions of out-
terpret these provisions in a manner responsive to social
standing figures. The following list must therefore be under-
needs were developed by the Ma¯lik¯ı jurist al-Sha¯tib¯ı
stood to be only a selection of persons who are representative
(d. 1388). Ibn Nujaym (d. 1562) was a H:anaf¯ı jurist who
of some of the important aspects of the Islamic legal heritage
extracted what he saw as the fundamental shar¯ı Eah principles
and suggestive of its variety and richness.
from the specific instances of applications of rules set forth
An early jurist who is notable for a conception of the
in the fiqh. While not himself a jurist, the Mughal emperor
role of the shar¯ı Eah different from that of his more orthodox
Awrangzib EA¯lamg¯ır (d. 1707) made his mark on Islamic
contemporaries was Ibn al-MuqaffaE (d. 756). He unsuccess-
legal history by ordering the composition of the famous
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4700
ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
Fata¯wa¯ EA¯lamg¯ır¯ıyah, a thorough compilation of H:anaf¯ı
lutely binding on his followers. He took the view that public
fiqh.
law was not a true concern of the shar¯ı Eah and stressed in-
stead its ethical dimensions. The single most important
Muh:ammad EAbduh (d. 1905) served as Grand Muft¯ı
Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı jurist is Qa¯d:¯ı al-NuEma¯n (d. 974), who served as the
of Egypt and in that capacity and in his writings on Islamic
highest judge in the Fatimid empire and also wrote a great
law proposed rationalist and liberal reformist interpretations
treatise of Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı law.
of the shar¯ı Eah. The influential Salaf¯ıyah movement inspired
by EAbduh and led by his disciple Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯ advocated a
Principal subjects. Classical fiqh works have similar, al-
return to a purified version of the shar¯ı Eah meant to be more
though not always identical, subject divisions. They begin
authentic than the versions developed in the course of the
with a section on the very extensive Eibada¯t, the obligations
centuries devoted to the study of medieval fiqh. An example
of the individual to God discussed above. The remaining
of EAbduh’s approach may be seen in his famous argument
subjects belong to the muEamala¯t category, including (in a
that the shar¯ı Eah prohibits polygamy. Dismissing traditional
representative, though not exhaustive, list) marriage, divorce,
support for polygamy among the fuqaha¯ D, EAbduh returned
manumission of slaves, oaths, criminal penalties, relations
to the QurDa¯n and offered a novel reading of two critical
between the Muslim community and non-Muslims, treasure
verses, which he claimed were to be taken together, although
troves, missing persons, partnership, religious trusts, sales,
they had previously been held to apply to different issues.
guarantee contracts, transfers of debts, rules for judges, evi-
Sura¯h 4:3 of the QurDa¯n was traditionally interpreted to
dence, legal claims, acknowledgments of legal obligations,
allow a man to wed up to four women at a time, with a moral
gifts, hire, the purchase of freedom by slaves, the defense of
injunction to marry only one if he could not treat additional
compulsion, incapacity, usurpation and damage of property,
wives justly. Sura¯h 4:129, which says it is not possible for a
preemptive purchases, partition, agency, contracts for culti-
man to deal equally with his wives, was traditionally inter-
vation of agricultural land, slaughter of animals (for food),
preted as offering reassurance to the polygamous husband
animal sacrifice, hateful practices, cultivation of waste lands,
that he was not sinning if he felt stronger attraction to and
prohibited drinks, hunting and racing competitions, pledge,
affection for one of his wives. Treating the injunction to deal
personal injuries, blood money and fines, intestate succes-
equally with wives in the earlier verse as a legally binding pre-
sion, and wills.
condition for a valid marriage, EAbduh used the later verse
Historically, the areas of shar¯ı Eah law that were most de-
as evidence that this precondition could not in practice be
veloped in the classical fiqh corresponded to the areas where
met, so that in the shar¯ı Eah, no polygamous marriage could
qa¯d: Eis in the shar¯ı Eah courts were best able to retain jurisdic-
be valid. EAbduh’s practice of interpreting shar¯ı Eah rules to
tion over disputes, while legal issues in other areas tended to
serve the ends of enlightened social policies had far-reaching
be dealt with by secular tribunals with more flexible proce-
intellectual repercussions. His ideas encouraged many Mid-
dures and greater enforcement powers, such as the police tri-
dle Eastern Muslims in the first half of the twentieth century
bunals. The shar¯ı Eah rules of intestate succession and family
to accommodate liberal political, economic, and social re-
law are the two most developed portions of the shar¯ı Eah, and
forms in their interpretations of Islamic law.
recourse to shar¯ı Eah courts was very common for resolution
of disputes on these subjects. The shar¯ı Eah courts also had
Among the principal figures of Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı jurispru-
jurisdiction over pious endowments (awqa¯f; sg., waqf),
dence, Muh:ammad ibn al-H:asan al-T:u¯s¯ı (d. 1067) wrote a
which were very important legal institutions in traditional Is-
number of works that became treated as classic statements
lamic societies, allowing for the consolidation and protection
of principles of Sh¯ıE¯ı fiqh, as were the writings of Muhaqqiq
of private property and often providing the financial basis for
al-H:ill¯ı (d. 1277). An important representative of the Akh-
schools, hospitals, mosques, and other public institutions.
bari faction of Twelver Shiism was Muh:ammad Ba¯qir
Waqfs continued to serve such functions until the twentieth
al-Majlis¯ı (d. 1699), who, in addition to producing an ency-
century, when they were generally abolished or significantly
clopedic statement of fiqh, also served as a judge and became
reformed. The shari Eah law of contracts, and particularly of
the most powerful judicial figure under the Safavids. After
sales contracts, is also quite extensive. The difficulties of
the Safavids made Twelver Shiism the state religion of Iran,
complying with some of the shar¯ı Eah contract rules—such
he, like many major Sh¯ıE¯ı jurists, attempted to define the
as the prohibition of interest—spawned an ancillary legal lit-
proper political relationship between the Sh¯ıE¯ı clergy and the
erature by some H:anaf¯ı and Sha¯fiEi jurists on how to circum-
state. Al-Majlis¯ı conceived of a powerful, independent politi-
vent inconvenient rules by means of ingenious exploitation
cal role for the clergy. A jurist of similar eminence, but repre-
of legal technicalities (the so-called h:iyal, or “legal tricks”).
senting very different tendencies in Twelver thought, was
T
Murtad:a¯ Ans:a¯r¯ı (d. 1864). A member of the Us:u¯l¯ı school,
HE SITUATION IN RECENT TIMES. The situation of the
shar¯ı Eah in recent times has two significant dimensions,
which predominated in Iran in the nineteenth century, he
corresponding to its dual nature as a positive law and a de-
wrote a major treatise on the Us:u¯l¯ı theory of sources. His
ontology.
writings promoted the view that each layperson was bound
to follow the legal interpretations of the most learned of liv-
Beginning in the nineteenth century, the shar¯ı Eah was
ing jurists, the marjaE-i taql¯ıd, whose ijtiha¯d became abso-
increasingly supplanted as a positive law in the legal systems
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
4701
of Muslim countries by borrowed European law. Historical-
1947. Algeria was part of France from 1830 until indepen-
ly, substantive shar¯ı Eah rules survived in the legal systems of
dence in 1962, and as a French colony, it also developed a
modern Muslim countries in rough proportion to the impor-
hybrid legal system, known as le droit musulman algérien,
tance traditionally accorded to the subject area involved, but
which incorporated many French features.
even in those areas where the shar¯ı Eah was able to maintain
Eager to strengthen their relatively backward and weak
itself, it was nonetheless subjected to some reforms. In the
societies in the face of threatened European domination,
twentieth century, shar¯ı Eah reform became one of the major
most elites in the independent countries of the Muslim
legal problems faced by Muslim societies and provoked pro-
world tended to see the shar¯ı Eah as an obstacle to the achieve-
tracted political and intellectual controversies. Despite popu-
ment of essential modernization. Governments first replaced
lar and clerical support for retention of the shar¯ı Eah, govern-
those parts of the shar¯ı Eah that were viewed as impeding eco-
ments have generally moved as quickly as political
nomic transformation, such as shar¯ı Eah commercial law, or
constraints permit in the direction of westernization. In the
those possessing features that seemed particularly archaic by
1970s the political influence of forces favoring the retention
modern standards, as in the cases of shar¯ı Eah procedural and
and/or renewal of the shar¯ı Eah began to make itself felt, and
criminal law.
a process of abrogating westernizing reforms and reinstating
shar¯ı Eah law began in Libya, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan,
It was not always the substance of shar¯ı Eah rules that
and Kuwait. How far the process of Islamization will proceed
troubled modernizers. Their arcane formulation and their
and what the future role of the shar¯ı Eah as a positive law will
diffuse mode of presentation in medieval fiqh treatises meant
be are at present uncertain.
that only specialists with a mastery of medieval legal Arabic
and an extensive traditional training could find answers to
Also in the twentieth century, Muslim intellectuals con-
legal questions in a reasonably efficient manner. The cum-
cerned with questions of fiqh subjected the medieval versions
bersome form of the fiqh works could be compared with the
of the shar¯ı Eah to critical reexamination and brought new in-
streamlined, systematized legal compendia to be found in
terpretive approaches to the shar¯ı Eah sources. The variety in
nineteenth-century continental European codes. Growing
modern approaches to the shar¯ı Eah is reminiscent of the situ-
impatience with the fiqh works encouraged a definite prefer-
ation prevailing in the first centuries after the death of the
ence for codified law.
Prophet, before the doctrines of the classical schools co-
At the early stages of this legal reform process, one possi-
alesced. There are still many conservative thinkers who de-
bility for saving the shar¯ı Eah from eclipse by Western law
fend the validity of the medieval fiqh. Arrayed against them
seemed to be that of vastly simplifying and systematizing its
are many who support new interpretations of what the
presentation. Attempts were made to codify the shar¯ı Eah in
shar¯ı Eah means. Adding to the fragmentation of legal doc-
the late nineteenth century, the most notable accomplish-
trines is the fact that with the spread of educational opportu-
ment being the promulgation of the Ottoman Majalla in
nities and the increase in literacy, many Muslims who are ed-
1877. Starting with some general principles of shar¯ı Eah law
ucated but have not pursued a traditional course of study at
taken from Ibn Nujaym, the Majalla presents a codification
a religious institution are contributing interpretations of the
of the law of obligations derived from the views of various
shar¯ı Eah. In other words, laypersons who belong to the
H:anaf¯ı jurists. The Majalla proved its utility, surviving for
modern educated elite do not necessarily feel that they must
decades in former Ottoman territories well after they had ob-
defer to the specialized knowledge of the fuqaha¯ D and are pre-
tained their independence from the empire. A later code, the
pared to challenge the monopoly formerly enjoyed by the
Ottoman Family Rights Law of 1917, constituted an original
fuqaha¯ D to make authoritative statements on shar¯ı Eah law. As
attempt to codify shar¯ı Eah law on that subject by reference
a result, it has become very difficult to make generalizations
to the doctrines of more than one Sunn¯ı law school. This
about contemporary shar¯ı Eah doctrines.
was the first important instance of the application of the
The westernization of legal systems in the Muslim
technique of takhayyur, or picking and choosing the most apt
world. The westernization of the legal systems of Muslim
principles from the doctrines of different schools and com-
countries began with the impact of European imperialism on
bining them in an arrangement that had no precedent in the
Muslim societies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
classical fiqh. However, the preference for wholesale importa-
The legal systems of Muslim societies subjected to direct co-
tion of Western law codes was ultimately so strong that there
lonial rule underwent distinctive transformations in relation
was soon little incentive to pursue projects for devising fur-
to the legal culture of the colonizing power. Thus, there de-
ther codes on a shar¯ı Eah basis.
veloped in Muslim parts of India under British rule a pecu-
Another factor mandating change from the old shar¯ı-
liar blend of common law and elements of the shar¯ı Eah that
Eah-based system of law was the international political set-
became known as Anglo-Muhammadan law. This unique,
ting. The rulers of Muslim states in the nineteenth and twen-
hybrid law was progressively reformed to eliminate what
tieth centuries were obliged to deal with a historical reality
were regarded as the more archaic features of the shar¯ı Eah ele-
that was vastly different from what had been contemplated
ments, and it remained influential in the legal systems of
in early shar¯ı Eah theory. The shar¯ı Eah was originally con-
India and Pakistan after they achieved independence in
ceived as a law whose application would be coextensive with
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4702
ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
religious affiliation. The world was to be converted to Islam,
a unified national legal system and entailed exposure to risks
and there would result one community of believers with a
of compromising the sovereignty and national dignity of the
common political allegiance and a common obligation to fol-
Muslim states. The reluctance of governments to continue
low the shar¯ı Eah. This conception did not envisage the ap-
to make such sacrifices provided an impetus for law reform
pearance of obstacles in the way of the realization of this
that would place legal systems in Muslim countries on a par
ideal, such as the fragmentation of the Muslim community
with the emerging modern international standard.
into separate and mutually hostile political units, the devel-
The formation of modern nation-states in the Muslim
opment of national identities and the rise of modern nation-
world starting in the nineteenth century and the subsequent
alism, the failure of large non-Muslim communities within
collapse of the Ottoman Empire in World War I prompted
the Muslim world to convert, and the need to deal with non-
Muslims to reassess the relationship between the shar¯ı Eah law
Muslim countries possessed of greater economic and military
and the new political entities into which the Muslim world
resources.
had been divided. Although the claims of the Ottoman sul-
The continued existence of non-Muslim communities
tans to be the legitimate successors of the Prophet had been
had necessitated one legal adaptation at an early stage of Is-
based on tenuous legal and historical arguments, some
lamic history, namely, the allowance of separate religious
Sunn¯ıs saw in the sultan-caliphs an embodiment of the origi-
laws and courts for minority communities. Members of the
nal shar¯ı Eah notion that religious allegiance—not nationali-
minority religious communities on Muslim territory were
ty—should determine political loyalties. With the ouster of
permitted to follow their own religious laws in matters of
the last of the Ottoman sultan-caliphs in 1924, there ended
personal status and in transactions between themselves while
any real chance in the Sunn¯ı world of preserving an Islamic
remaining subject to the shar¯ı Eah in their interactions with
caliphate, a government under which all Muslims would
outsiders or in their public activities. This practice was highly
share a common political and religious allegiance.
developed under the Ottoman Empire, where it was known
Iran’s Eulama¯D faced a momentous question at the turn
as the millet system.
of the twentieth century, when a growing movement favored
Under outside pressures, this system was further modi-
the establishment of a democratic government, and the Con-
fied by a practice of according a special legal status to non-
stitutional Revolution of 1905–1909, led to the overthrow
Muslims from the powerful European states: from the medi-
of the Qajar dynasty. To the Eulama¯D, accepting this revolu-
eval period onward, certain states exacted from Muslim gov-
tion meant acknowledging the legitimacy of a government
ernments agreements, or “capitulations,” according
based on the principle of popular sovereignty and the law-
extraterritorial status to their nationals. Originally granted
making authority of the people’s representatives. Such
only by way of exception, capitulatory privileges were ex-
changes were seen by some as a challenge to the theoretical
panded apace with growing European influence. An example
primacy of the imamate and the exclusive prerogative of the
of the resulting system of extraterritoriality can be seen in the
Eulama¯D to determine and declare the law. Other important
powerful Mixed Courts of Egypt, set up in 1875, expanded
jurists, such as Muh:ammad NaD¯ın¯ı (d. 1936), however, took
after the British occupation in 1882, and continuing until
the position that, pending the return of the Hidden Ima¯m
1949. Originally established as alternatives to the “native
from the state of occultation, it was impossible to have a gov-
courts” for cases involving foreigners, the Mixed Courts were
ernment that truly accorded with shar¯ı Eah ideals and that it
able to extend their jurisdiction to a wide variety of cases, in-
was therefore permissible for Iran to adopt a constitutional
cluding those involving Egyptians, in instances where the
form of government in the interim.
courts detected some “foreign interest” in the outcome. One
The acceptance of the idea in the Sunn¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı
reason for the exaction of these concessions, the demands for
camps that laws should be enacted on a national basis by rep-
which became increasingly onerous as Muslim power and
resentatives of the people did not by itself entail a reduction
wealth declined and that of the West grew, was the Western
of the role of the shar¯ı Eah. However, the attendant pressures
perception that the substantive provisions of the shar¯ı Eah
for systematic uniformity meant that statutes enacted by the
were “primitive” and “barbaric” by modern European legal
state inevitably replaced the old, decentralized system of ju-
standards, and that the justice meted out by the traditional
rists’ law. Thus, the realization that laws would henceforth
courts was arbitrary. European powers also objected to the
be made by national governments encouraged the acceptance
inferior legal status accorded to non-Muslims under the
of the idea that there should be neutral, secular laws that
shar¯ı Eah and exploited this as a pretext for political interven-
could apply to all persons on the national soil. The typical
tion. In attempts to forestall such intervention, the Ottoman
pattern in Muslim countries in the nineteenth century, and
sultan promulgated the Hat:t:-i S:erïf of Gülhane in 1839 and
more particularly in the twentieth century, was to abandon
the Hat:t:-i Humâyûn of 1856, officially establishing the prin-
the shar¯ı Eah in favor of imported European law save in mat-
ciple that Ottoman citizens regardless of their religion should
ters of personal status and religious trusts, and occasional
be equal in terms of their legal rights and obligations.
token provisions in other fields such as the law of contracts.
Retention of shar¯ı Eah law as the law of the land in these
The timing of the adoptions of Western law was related
political circumstances thus presented obstacles to setting up
to the chronology and extent of various countries’ exposure
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
4703
to European imperialism. The Ottoman Empire was there-
shar¯ı Eah heritage, the fuqaha¯D also retained prestige and a
fore the first Muslim state to adopt Western laws, followed
popular following among the masses. Meanwhile the forces
shortly by the semiautonomous province of Egypt. The first
of what has come to be known as political Islam, in which
French-based codes to be introduced in the Ottoman Empire
Islam was converted to a populist political ideology, won
were in the areas of commercial law (1850), penal law
support from disaffected urban dwellers for their proposals
(1858), and commercial procedure (1861). The countries
for Islamization.
that remained most insulated from such influences—
The political potency of this combination was illustrat-
Afghanistan, the Yemen, and Saudi Arabia—were the last to
ed in the 1978–1979 Islamic Revolution, which was spear-
undertake westernization of their legal systems. In most
headed by prominent Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı faqih, Ayatollah
countries, legal westernization was largely completed by the
Khomeini, who had as one of his goals the reinstatement of
1950s. Alone among Muslim countries, Turkey, under the
shar¯ı Eah law. Khomeini had written prior to the revolution
leadership of Kemal Atatürk after the collapse of the Otto-
about the requirements for Islamic government and posited
man Empire, abandoned the shar¯ı Eah in favor of a complete-
that the state should be ruled by the foremost faqih of the
ly secular legal system. At the opposite extreme, Saudi Arabia
era. Although other Iranian fuqaha¯ D disputed the correctness
has retained the shar¯ı Eah, or more specifically, H:anbal¯ı fiqh,
of Khomeini’s views, his accession to power and the ability
as the official norm, which has prevented the government
of allied fuqaha¯ D to ensconce themselves in leading positions
from openly undertaking legislative activity, including the
in the government meant that Iran was transformed into a
enactment of a constitution.
theocracy. Western law was replaced by shar¯ı Eah principles
In contemporary Muslim countries the desire on the
in many areas, sometimes with variations on the traditional
part of the governments for legal modernization combined
shar¯ı Eah rules that reflected the politics of the revolutionary
with the need to show respect for the shar¯ı Eah has resulted
situation. The unpopularity of theocratic rule jeopardizes the
in various compromises. In the area of personal status, a
survival of this attempt to establish a new version of Islamic
number of reforms, by and large modest ones, have been en-
government.
acted in Muslim countries with a view to improving the sta-
Regimes in the Muslim world have responded to the
tus of women in matters of marriage, divorce, support, and
demonstrated popularity of Islamization programs by enact-
child custody. The boldest reforms in this area were enacted
ing selected principles of shar¯ı Eah law in statute form. Libya
in the Tunisian Code of Personal Status of 1956, the Iranian
was the first country to undertake such initiatives in the
Family Protection Law of 1967 (since abrogated by the revo-
1970s, and its example was subsequently imitated in Paki-
lutionary government), and the South Yemen Family Law
stan and Sudan and to a lesser degree in some other coun-
of 1974. Only a few very cautious reforms of aspects of the
tries. These measures did not mean that the governments
shar¯ı Eah law of intestate succession have been undertaken.
were relinquishing control over the legal systems, which re-
Even Muslim states with westernized legal systems gen-
mained basically Western in character and structure. The
erally enshrine Islam in the national constitution as the state
major emphasis in such Islamizing legislation tended to be
religion and stipulate that the shar¯ı Eah is a source of law or
on reenactment of QurDanic criminal laws and imposing re-
even the source of all laws. In some constitutions there are
straints on women in the name of protecting morality. Dur-
provisions stating that laws must accord with the shar¯ı Eah or
ing the brief rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan (1996–
that they may be reviewed and nullified if they are found to
2001), an Islamic emirate was established committed to im-
violate the shar¯ı Eah. In the past such provisions often had lit-
plementing a particularly harsh version of Islamic law. It is
tle more than symbolic significance, but as supporters of the
premature to predict the long-term consequences of the
shar¯ı Eah gained political strength in the 1970s throughout
turnabout in the fortunes of the shar¯ı Eah, but it is clear that
the Islamic world, there was increasing pressure for reinstate-
the position of imported Western laws in the legal systems
ment of shar¯ı Eah rules and the abrogation of imported laws
of the Muslim world is not secure and that the shar¯ı Eah re-
that conflict with shar¯ı Eah principles. Thus, the shar¯ı Eah is
tains considerable potency as a countermodel.
tending to be treated more and more as a fundamental law
Contemporary reformulations of the shar¯ıEah. At the
in the legal systems of Muslim countries.
same time that there is mounting pressure for the reinstate-
ment of the shar¯ı Eah, there is growing diversity of opinion
Islamization campaigns. The circumstances in which
on what the requirements of the shar¯ı Eah are and how they
the replacement and reform of the shar¯ı Eah took place result-
should be applied in modern circumstances. Previously set-
ed in political tensions between the westernized elites and
tled issues of Islamic law are being reopened and reexamined.
other, more traditional segments of Muslim societies. The
masses remained attached to the idea of the supremacy of
While some contemporary Muslims, particularly those
shar¯ı Eah law, anticipating that its reinstatement would cure
educated in traditional Islamic institutions of higher learn-
endemic political, economic, and social ills. The fuqaha¯ D
ing, consider medieval fiqh treaties authoritative, there is a
continued to study and defend the shar¯ı Eah and were offend-
marked and growing tendency to treat such works as second-
ed by their displacement by the new class of lawyers and
ary legal sources that are useful but not conclusive guides on
judges trained in Western law; as traditional guardians of the
questions of shar¯ı Eah science and substantive rules. The old
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4704
ISLAMIC LAW: SHAR¯IEAH
hierarchies of sources and the established methodologies for
members of the other sect is growing. Thus, on the theoreti-
interpreting them are also questioned by contemporary
cal level, all the old doctrinal certainties are now challenged
thinkers. Although the traditional techniques of legal reason-
by modern attempts to understand the shar¯ı Eah in relation
ing from the sources are also rejected by many modern stu-
to the great political, economic, and social questions con-
dents of the shar¯ı Eah, no consensus about what new method-
fronting Muslim societies. It is premature to predict which
ology should replace the ones used by the traditional scholars
of the many presently competing versions of the shar¯ı Eah will
is discernible.
ultimately find favor with the majority of Muslims, but it is
clear that many Muslims believe that the answers to these
Increasingly, Muslims turn directly to the QurDa¯n and
questions must be sought by reference to the shar¯ı Eah.
sunnah for guidance. The tendency has also mounted to give
precedence to the QurDa¯n over the sunnah—because of either
SEE ALSO Abu¯ H:an¯ıfah; Abu¯ Yu¯suf; H:ad¯ıth; H:ana¯bilah;
a more critical appraisal of the reliability of the h:ad¯ıth litera-
Ijma¯E; Ijtiha¯d; Madhhab; Ma¯lik ibn Anas; Mas:lah:ah; Pil-
ture or a conviction that the QurDa¯n was intended to serve
grimage, article on Muslim Pilgrimage; Qa¯d:¯ı; Qiya¯s;
as the primary source of shar¯ı Eah principles. While it is rare
QurDa¯n; S:ala¯t; S:awm; Sha¯fiE¯ı, al-; Shaha¯dah; Sunnah;
for Muslims to reject the authenticity of the entire h:ad¯ıth lit-
EUlama¯D; Us:u¯l al-Fiqh; Worship and Devotional Life, article
erature, it has become more common for them to evaluate
on Muslim Worship; Zaka¯t.
negatively the traditional science of h:ad¯ıth criticism. As a re-
sult, there has been a greater willingness to discard or dis-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
count the legal value of h:ad¯ıth that are not demonstrably
An older study offering a general reference with extensive indexes
genuine.
and bibliography is Joseph Schacht’s An Introduction to Is-
A noteworthy development in contemporary Sunn¯ı
lamic Law (Oxford, 1964). An excellent reference work is
legal thought is that on questions of methodology and sub-
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 4 vols. and supplement (Leiden,
stance alike there is a tendency to disregard the former school
1913–1938), and its condensed version, the Shorter Encyclo-
divisions. When seeking enlightenment from past scholar-
paedia of Islam (1953; reprint, Leiden, 1974). A new edition
of the larger version has been issued alphabetically in fascicles
ship, modern Sunn¯ıs commonly treat the views of all the
since 1960. To use these works it is necessary to know the
classical Sunn¯ı schools and also the extinct schools as deserv-
Arabic terms for different aspects of Islamic law.
ing of consideration. Thus, the process of takhayyur exempli-
fied in the Ottoman Family Rights Law of 1917 is now rou-
A bibliography of works in many languages is Erich Pritsch and
tinely utilized.
Otto Spies’s “Klassisches Islamisches Recht,” in Orientalis-
ches Recht (Leiden, 1964), pp. 220–343, suppl. vol. 3 of Der
Many contemporary interpretations of the shar¯ı Eah
Nahe und der Mittlere Osten, first part of Handbuch der
tend to reflect ideological visions of the social order that
Orientalistik. An old but still usable general book is Nicolas
should result from the application of the shar¯ı Eah. In these
P. Aghnides’s Muh:ammadan Theories of Finance (New York,
interpretations the shar¯ı Eah does not function only as a crite-
1916), with a much broader scope than the title suggests.
rion for the legal validity or permissibility and ethical charac-
Materials on recent scholarship on Islamic law are included
ter of human acts but as a blueprint for the perfect ordering
in A Bibliography of Islamic Law, 1980–1993, edited by Laila
Al-Zwaini and Rudolph Peters (Leiden, 1994).
of all social relations and the solution to the problems of
achieving social harmony and justice. The latest ideologized
Unparalleled in its depth of analysis and a uniquely valuable con-
versions of the shar¯ı Eah reflect all the different ideological
tribution to the comparative study of Islamic jurisprudence
currents that are contending for the loyalties of peoples in
is Yvon Linant de Bellefonds’s Traité de droit musulman com-
the Muslim world from the most conservative to the most
paré, 3 vols. (Paris, 1965–1973), covering aspects of contract
and family law. A readable short historical survey of the de-
radical, so that this ideologization of Islamic legal thought
velopment of the shar¯ı Eah from the beginnings to the mod-
has led to a polarization of opinions. Topics that have given
ern period is Noel J. Coulson’s A History of Islamic Law
rise to particularly important disagreements include remedies
(1964; reprint, Edinburgh, 1971). A general survey by an
for maldistribution of wealth, the sanctity of private proper-
important Muslim scholar is S. R. Mahmassani’s Falsafat
ty, the nature of Islamic government, human rights, and the
al-TashriE fi al-Islam: The Philosophy of Jurisprudence in Islam,
role of women. At the same time that new feminist interpre-
translated by Farhat J. Ziadeh (Leiden, 1961). A. A. Fyzee’s
tations of the sources are winning popularity, other theories
Outlines of Muhammadan Law, 4th ed. (Bombay, 1974),
calling for drastic curbs on women’s rights are being put
combines a general introduction to the shar¯ı Eah with a dis-
forward.
cussion of features of Anglo-Muhammadan law.
Because the latest ideological perspectives characteristic
A thorough and critical examination of the doctrines of the Ma¯lik¯ı
school in comparison with the Sha¯fiE¯ı school can be found
of contemporary Islamic thought have few counterparts in
in David Santillana’s Istituzioni del diritto musulmano
the traditional fiqh and do not correspond to any of the tradi-
malichita, 2 vols. (Rome, 1925–1938). One of the great me-
tional school or sectarian divisions of the shar¯ı Eah, they have
dieval encyclopedias of fiqh is that of the H:anbal¯ı scholar
created new divisions and alliances along ideological lines.
Muwaffaq al-D¯ın ibn Quda¯mah, Al-mughn¯ı, 12 vols., edited
The willingness on the part of Sunn¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı Muslims to
by Ta¯ha¯ Muh:ammad al-Zayn¯ı (1923–1930; reprint, Cairo,
utilize the economic and political theories presented by
1968–), notable for its balanced treatment of the doctrines
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC LAW: PERSONAL LAW
4705
of the different Sunn¯ı schools and still a standard reference
devotes greater attention to subjects such as marriage, di-
work. An erudite exposition on the early development of the
vorce, and inheritance than it does to any other legal topic.
shar¯ı Eah is Joseph Schacht’s The Origins of Muhammadan Ju-
In this sense the law of personal status represents an en-
risprudence (Oxford, 1950), now contested by Wael Hallaq
trenched part of the religion, and Muslims have by and large
in A History of Islamic Legal Theories: An Introduction to
regarded adherence to its principles as a criterion of the reli-
Sunn¯ı us:u¯l al-fiqh (New York, 1997). A collection of essays
gious propriety of individuals and governments. It is, there-
of high scholarly merit is Robert Brunschvig’s Études
fore, not surprising to find that the shar¯ı Eah law of personal
d’islamologie, 2 vols. (Paris, 1976). Useful chapters on the in-
terrelationship of theology and law in Islam can be found in
status has remained largely applicable in Muslim countries
the short volume edited by G. E. von Grunebaum, Theology
today in spite of recent reforms that have adapted many as-
and Law in Islam (Wiesbaden, 1971). An older work on this
pects of the classical law to suit the requirements of modern
topic by one of the major European scholars of Islam is
life. Reform of the shar¯ı Eah law is a phenomenon of the
Ignácz Goldziher’s Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law,
twentieth century and, because of the continuing relevance
published in German in 1910 and translated by Andras and
of the law of personal status to the Muslim community, has
Ruth Hamori (Princeton, N. J., 1981). A thorough treat-
been concentrated mainly in that area. Other portions of the
ment of the legal position of non-Muslims in Muslim society
shar¯ı Eah, such as criminal law, taxation, and constitutional
is Antoine Fattal’s Le statut légal des non-musulmans en pays
law, have either fallen into abeyance or remained relatively
d’Islam (Beirut, 1958). The doctrines of the different law
untouched by modern reformist legislation. Under the re-
schools regarding intestate succession are clearly set forth in
Noel J. Coulson’s Succession in the Muslim Family (Cam-
newed influence of Islamic movements in the 1970s and
bridge, U.K., 1971). The administration of justice in the set-
1980s, however, these other areas of the law have also begun
ting of traditional Islamic civilization is Émile Tyan’s His-
to attract the attention of reformers as the effort is made to
toire de l’organisation judiciaire en pays d’Islam, 2d ed.
revive their significance.
(Leiden, 1960). An informative collection of studies of
fatwa¯s is Islamic Legal Interpretation: Muft¯ıs and Their
In modern-day Islam, the H:anaf¯ı school commands a
Fatwa¯s, edited by Muh:ammad Khalid Masud et al. (Cam-
greater following than any other school of law. This survey
bridge, Mass., 1996). A probing examination of medieval ju-
is, therefore, based on shar¯ı Eah law as developed within the
risprudence on political resistance and rebellion can be found
framework of the H:anaf¯ı school. Wherever H:anaf¯ı law di-
in Khaled Abou El Fadl, Rebellion and Violence in Islamic
verges from the law of the other three Sunn¯ı schools (Sha¯fiE¯ı,
Law (Cambridge, U.K., 2001).
Ma¯lik¯ı, and H:anbal¯ı), their differences are outlined. Refer-
Valuable assessments of Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı law are in Le Sh¯ı E¯ısme
ences to Sh¯ıE¯ı law generally relate to the Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı
ima¯mite: Colloque de Strasbourg, 6–9 mai 1968, edited by
school, which is mainly adhered to in Iran and has the largest
Toufic Fahd et al. (Paris, 1970). A useful examination of
following of all the branches of Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam.
Twelver Sh¯ıE¯ı legal doctrines is Harold Löschner’s Die dog-
matischen Grundlagen des Sh¯ı E¯ıtischen Rechts (Cologne,
MARRIAGE. Like any other private contract, marriage under
1971). Islamic institutions and the role of the clergy in Iran
shar¯ı Eah law is concluded by the mutual agreement, oral or
are examined in detail in Shahrough Akhavi’s Religion and
written, of the parties or their representatives. The only for-
Politics in Contemporary Iran (Albany, N.Y., 1980). An in-
mality required is the presence of two witnesses at the con-
sightful comparative study of Islamic family law is Ziba Mir-
clusion of the contract, and even this is not necessary under
Hosseini, Marriage on Trial: A Study of Islamic Family Law
Sh¯ıE¯ı law. Formalities usually observed, such as ceremonies
(London, 1993).
performed in the presence of a religious leader, are matters
A distinguished assessment of early liberal reformist thought is
of customary practice and not a legal requirement.
Malcolm H. Kerr’s Islamic Reform: The Political and Legal
Theories of Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida (Berkeley,
The requirements of a marriage contract are basically
Calif., 1966). A survey of reform of the shar¯ı Eah in legal sys-
the same in all shar¯ı Eah schools. First, the parties or their rep-
tems in the Muslim world is presented in J. N. D. Ander-
resentatives must be legally competent persons, and second,
son’s Law Reform in the Muslim World (London, 1976). A
there must be no legal impediment to marriage. Sanity and
proposal for an enlightened approach to interpreting the re-
majority are the basic requirements of the legal capacity to
quirements of Islamic law can be found in Fazlur Rahman’s
contract. Legal majority is established with physical puberty,
Islam and Modernity (Chicago, 1982). Feminist perspectives
which is attained upon proof of sexual maturity rather than
on Islamic law from many different sources and countries are
at a specific age. Unless proven otherwise, a boy below the
published by the nongovernmental organization Women
age of twelve and a girl below the age of nine are legally pre-
Living under Muslim Laws.
sumed to be minors. Similarly, both sexes are presumed to
ANN ELIZABETH MAYER (1987 AND 2005)
have attained majority with the completion of the fifteenth
year. A boy or girl who has reached the minimum age of ma-
jority but is still below fifteen is permitted to marry provided
he or she shows signs of puberty. A person who has attained
ISLAMIC LAW: PERSONAL LAW
majority (ba¯ligh) and is of sound mind ( Ea¯qil) has rights and
The area of personal law is often considered to be the main
obligations, must fulfill religious duties, and incurs criminal
bastion of Islamic law. One reason for this is that the QurDa¯n
responsibility. The minor (sagh¯ır) and the insane (majnu¯n)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
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ISLAMIC LAW: PERSONAL LAW
are wholly capable of contracting marriage. The idiot
In addition, difference of religion is a bar to marriage:
(ma Etu¯h) and the imbecile, who are incapable of managing
A Muslim woman may not marry a non-Muslim man unless
their own affairs, have the capacity only to conclude purely
he professes Islam. A Muslim man is, on the other hand, al-
advantageous transactions, such as the acceptance of a gift,
lowed to marry a kita¯b¯ıyah, that is, a woman who follows
but they are not permitted to contract marriage. A major
a religion that has a revealed scripture, such as Judaism or
who is incompetent (saf¯ıh) may be subjected to interdiction
Christianity. The QurDa¯n further prohibits both Muslim
(h:ajr) and placed under the supervision of the authorities,
men and women from marrying polytheists or fire worship-
and this procedure could lead to restrictions on his capacity
ers. Finally, a man may not marry a woman who is already
to contract. An adult woman has the capacity to contract her
married or who is observing Eiddah, that is, the waiting peri-
own marriage only in H:anaf¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı law. According to
od that a woman must observe following a divorce, with the
the other three Sunn¯ı schools, her marriage guardian (wal¯ıy)
exception of a divorce ending an unconsummated marriage.
must conclude the contract on her behalf. All schools recog-
EIddah usually lasts for three menstrual cycles or, where the
nize, in principle, the compulsory power of the marriage
wife proves to be pregnant, until the delivery of the child.
guardian, which is known as ijba¯r. The guardian is accord-
The main purpose of Eiddah is to determine a possible preg-
ingly authorized to contract his ward, whether the ward is
nancy prior to marriage. A widow must observe a waiting pe-
male or female, in marriage at his discretion regardless of the
riod of four months and ten days following the death of her
ward’s wishes. But the precise extent of this power varies
husband.
among the schools. In H:anaf¯ı law, only minor wards are sub-
The marriage contract is classified into three types,
ject to ijba¯r, and the power is absolute only when exercised
namely valid (s:ah:¯ıh:), irregular (fa¯sid), and void (ba¯t:¯ıl). A
by the father or paternal grandfather. In all other cases, the
marriage contract is valid when it fulfills all the legal require-
ward has the right to repudiate the marriage on attaining pu-
ments. This contract brings about a fully effective union that
berty. This option of puberty (khiya¯r al-bulu¯gh) is, however,
renders intercourse lawful between the spouses, entitles the
lost by the affirmative act of consummating the marriage.
wife to dower and maintenance, obligates the wife to be
Guardianship in marriage is vested in the nearest male rela-
faithful and obedient to the husband, and creates prohibited
tives in accordance with the order of priorities that is applied
degrees of relations and mutual rights of inheritance between
in inheritance, that is, the father, grandfather, brother, neph-
the spouses.
ews, uncles, and cousins, and failing them, the female
relatives.
A void (ba¯t:¯ıl) marriage is one that is unlawful from the
outset and that does not create any rights or obligations be-
Under the H:anaf¯ı doctrine of kafa¯Dah (equality), the
tween the parties. In such a marriage no illicit sexual inter-
guardian of an adult female may oppose the marriage of his
course (zina¯ D) is considered to have been committed if the
ward on the ground that the prospective spouse is not her
parties were unaware that the marriage was void. Marriage
equal. This doctrine is, however, mainly applicable to the
with a woman within the prohibited degrees and marriage
man, who is required to be the equal of his prospective wife
that is brought about without the consent of the adult parties
in respect of lineage, religion, freedom (as opposed to slav-
are void. The offspring of a ba¯t:¯ıl marriage is illegitimate.
ery), piety, means, and profession. If, however, both the
guardian and bride fail to raise the question of equality be-
An irregular (fa¯sid) marriage, on the other hand, is not
fore the contract, neither can have the marriage annulled
unlawful in itself, but involves some irregularity of a tempo-
upon discovery that the husband is not the equal of his wife.
rary nature that could be rectified by means of a new con-
In both the Sha¯fiE¯ı and Ma¯lik¯ı schools, the adult virgin is de-
tract. Marriage without witnesses, marriage with a fifth wife
nied the right to conclude her own marriage; because the
(the maximum limit being four), marriage with a
guardian himself is concluding the marriage, the doctrine of
non-kita¯b¯ıyah (a woman who is neither Jewish nor Chris-
kafa¯ Dah is not applicable under these schools.
tian), and marriage with a woman undergoing Eiddah are ex-
amples of fa¯sid marriages. Such a marriage may be terminat-
Marriage is prohibited between close relatives. Relation-
ed by either party or by a judge, should it come to his notice.
ships that constitute permanent impediments to marriage fall
A fa¯sid marriage has no legal effect before consummation,
into three categories: (1) blood relationship (gara¯bah), which
but when consummated, the wife is entitled to dower and
implies that a man may not marry any of his lineal descen-
maintenance, and the issue of the marriage is legitimate. A
dants, lineal ascendants, the offspring of his parents, or the
fa¯sid marriage does not create any right of inheritance be-
immediate child of any grandparent; (2) affinity
tween the parties.
(mus:a¯harah), which creates a bar to marriage between a man
and the ascendants or descendants of his wife, or the wife of
Islamic law requires the husband to pay his wife a dower
any of his ascendants or descendants; (3) fosterage (rad:a¯ E),
(mahr). The amount of dower and the terms of its payment
which arises when a woman breast-feeds the child of some-
are matters of agreement between the parties. Anything that
one else. Fosterage creates a bar to marriage not only between
can be considered as goods (ma¯l) may be given as a dower,
foster brothers and sisters, but also between the foster mother
but objects that are prohibited in Islam, such as wine and
and all her relatives on the one side, and her foster children,
pork, are excluded from the definition of ma¯l. If no dower
their spouses, and descendants on the other.
is specified in the contract, the wife is entitled to a “proper”
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC LAW: PERSONAL LAW
4707
dower (mahr al-mithl), that is, a dower that is equivalent to
transactions with regard to her own property as if she were
the dower usually received by women of similar status. A
not married. Indeed, the law recognizes no merger of either
dower may be paid at the time of the contract, or it may be
the personality or the property of the wife into that of her
deferred, in whole or in part, subject to the agreement of the
husband’s. Separation of property is the norm in shar¯ı Eah
parties. A deferred dower remains a debt on the part of the
law and is presumed to apply unless the parties make a specif-
husband and is payable upon the dissolution of the marriage
ic agreement to the contrary. If a man beats his wife without
by death or divorce. In the event of a divorce prior to con-
reason (even lightly), or beats her for cause but exceeds mod-
summation, the wife is entitled to half the specified dower;
eration, he is liable to punishment following her complaint
if no dower is specified in the contract, the wife is entitled
to the court.
to a gift (mut Eah), which consists of a set of clothing.
Islam allows a man to marry up to four wives simulta-
The husband is bound to maintain his wife as soon as
neously provided that he does not combine, as co-wives, two
she cohabits with him. Should she refuse to cohabit or refuse
women so closely related that if either of them were a male,
herself to him, the husband is relieved of his duty, unless her
they would themselves be within the prohibited degrees of
refusal is for a lawful cause such as the husband’s failure to
marriage. Each of the co-wives is entitled to a separate dwell-
pay the dower or unsuitability of the lodging for a person of
ing and to an equal portion of the husband’s time and com-
her status. In such cases, the wife’s refusal to cohabit does
panionship.
not relieve the husband of his duty of maintenance, which
Modern legislation in Muslim countries has either
includes food, clothing, and accommodation. According to
sought to restrict the practice of polygamy or to abolish it
the majority of jurists, the wife is entitled to maintenance in
altogether. At the one extreme is the Tunisian law of 1957,
a style that conforms to the husband’s status, regardless of
which prohibits polygamy outright. At the other is the Mo-
her own premarital position. Should the husband desert his
roccan law of 1958, which entitles the wife to seek judicial
wife without providing for her maintenance, a judge may au-
divorce if she has suffered injury as a result of polygamy.
thorize the wife to make the necessary arrangements at her
Syria, Iraq, and Pakistan have adopted a middle course by
husband’s expense. The wife is not, however, entitled to a
requiring official permission before a polygamous marriage
decree for past maintenance unless the claim is based on a
is contracted. The modernists have generally justified their
specific agreement. Sha¯fiE¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı law, on the other hand,
reforms by direct resort to the QurDa¯n and a reinterpretation
entitle the wife to claim her past maintenance. The general
of the QurDanic verse on polygamy (5:4), which permits po-
rule in maintenance is that no individual who is capable of
lygamy but at the same time expresses the fear of injustice
maintaining himself is entitled to receive maintenance from
in polygamous relationships. Modern reformers have rea-
others; the only exception is the wife, who is entitled to
soned that the fear of injustice in a polygamous marriage is
maintenance regardless of her own financial status. The fa-
bound to be present in every case of polygamy and therefore
ther is bound to maintain his sons until they attain puberty,
have concluded that abolishing polygamy is consistent with
and his daughters until they are married; he is also responsi-
the QurDanic dispensations.
ble for the maintenance of a widowed or divorced daughter.
Marriage under Sunn¯ı law is a lifelong union, and any
The law entitles every blood relative to maintenance provid-
stipulation that sets a time limit to it nullifies the contract.
ed that, if male, he is a child and destitute, and if a female,
Sh¯ıE¯ı law, however, recognizes temporary marriage, known
she is destitute whether a child or an adult. A widow is not
as mut Eah. This is a contractual arrangement whereby a
entitled to maintenance during the period of Eiddah follow-
woman agrees to cohabit with a man for a specified period
ing her husband’s death, because in this case she would be
of time in return for a fixed remuneration. Mut Eah does not
entitled to a share of the inheritance. The liability of a person
give rise to any right of inheritance between the parties, but
to support these relatives is generally proportionate to his or
the issue of mut Eah is legitimate and entitled to inheritance.
her share of their inheritance.
As the reader will note, mut Eah also signifies a gift of consola-
The shar¯ı Eah entitles the husband to discipline his wife
tion to a divorced woman; the word appears in the QurDa¯n
lightly when she transgresses. The law is not precise as to how
in both senses (2:236, 4:24), hence the origin of its double
and when the husband is entitled to do so, nor indeed as to
legal meaning.
what amounts to a transgression (ma Es:iyah). She must not
Modern legislation in most Muslim countries compels
dishonor him, refuse herself to him without lawful excuse,
marriage registration, and failure to comply is usually liable
or cause him loss of property that is deemed unacceptable
to legal sanctions. The law similarly requires the express con-
according to normal social usage. The wife is entitled to visit
sent of the parties to a marriage in order for it to be valid.
her parents once a week and other relatives once a year, even
To facilitate meeting the consent requirement, parties to a
without the permission of her husband. She may also leave
marriage contract must be of marriageable age. This age is
the husband if he refuses to pay her a dower. Similarly, un-
almost everywhere enacted at sixteen for females and eigh-
reasonable requests by the husband—that she should accom-
teen for males. Modern reforms concerning the age of mar-
pany him on long journeys, for example—may be refused by
riage have thus departed from the classical shar¯ı Eah, which
her. The wife retains her full capacity to enter contracts and
stipulated no specific age for marriage and only presumed the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4708
ISLAMIC LAW: PERSONAL LAW
minimum and maximum ages of legal majority; the age of
marital tie by offering the husband financial consideration,
marriage established under the new codes also signifies the
commonly the return of the dower, which is accepted by the
age of majority for all legal purposes. A marriage in which
husband; or muba¯ra Dah, which is a dissolution of marriage
the parties have not reached the specified age is denied regis-
on the basis of mutual release of the spouses from any out-
tration and may render the parties liable to statutory penal-
standing financial commitments arising from the marriage.
ties. As a result of the enactment of a statutory age for mar-
In both cases, the divorce is final and extrajudicial, effected
riage, child marriage has been effectively abolished in most
simply by the mutual agreement of the parties.
Muslim countries. Similarly, the powers that the marriage
guardian enjoys under classical shar¯ı Eah law have, as a result
With respect to judicial dissolution, H:anaf¯ı law is the
of the age provisions, been either abolished or substantially
most restrictive of all the shar¯ı Eah schools. This law allows
restricted.
a woman to seek a dissolution (faskh) of her marriage from
a qa¯d:¯ı (Islamic judge) under four specific conditions: If she
DIVORCE. Marriage under shar¯ı Eah law may be dissolved ei-
was married at a young age by a guardian other than her fa-
ther by the husband at his will, by mutual agreement of the
ther or grandfather, she can ask the qa¯d:¯ı to dissolve the mar-
spouses, or by a judicial decree. All the shar¯ı Eah schools rec-
riage upon attaining puberty; if insane, upon regaining her
ognize the husband’s right of unilateral repudiation, known
sanity; if the husband is sexually impotent; or if he is a miss-
as t:ala¯q. Sunn¯ı law requires no formalities as to the manner
ing person and ninety years have elapsed since the date of his
in which a t:ala¯q may be pronounced. A husband of sound
birth. All the other schools, including the Sh¯ıE¯ı, authorize
mind who has attained puberty may effect t:ala¯q orally or in
the qa¯d:¯ı to grant a judicial divorce in cases where the hus-
writing without assigning any cause. Any words indicative
band is suffering a physical or mental disease. Whenever it
of repudiation may be used, and no witnesses are necessary
is proved that the disease is incurable, the court is to order
for the pronouncement. In Sh¯ıE¯ı law, t:ala¯q must be pro-
dissolution immediately, but if it is a disease that requires
nounced in the presence of two witnesses, and the exact term
time to cure, the court must order a stay of judgment for one
t:ala¯q must be used. Whereas in H:anaf¯ı law t:ala¯q pro-
year. The Sha¯fiE¯ı and H:anbal¯ı schools also consider a hus-
nounced by way of jest or in a state of intoxication is none-
band’s willful refusal to support his wife and a husband’s de-
theless valid, in both Sha¯fiE¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı law, t:ala¯q is valid only
sertion as valid grounds for a judicial divorce. Even more lib-
when accompanied by a definite intention.
eral is the Ma¯lik¯ı school, which recognizes the husband’s
The husband can delegate his power of t:ala¯q to his wife
illness, his failure to maintain, desertion for more than one
or to a third person who may then pronounce it according
year for whatever reason, and injurious treatment (d:arar) as
to the terms of the authorization (tafw¯ıd:). Thus there can
valid grounds for judicial divorce. According to the last
be a valid agreement between the spouses authorizing the
ground, the wife can demand a judicial dissolution by claim-
wife to repudiate herself if the husband marries a second
ing that cohabitation with her husband is injurious to her
wife, and the wife can exercise the power when the occasion
in a way that makes the continuation of marital life impossi-
arises.
ble for a person of her status. A decree of divorce granted on
any of these grounds is final, except in the case of failure to
In Sunn¯ı law, t:ala¯q is classified as “approved” (t:ala¯q al-
maintain, where the court’s degree effects only a revocable
sunnah) or “disapproved” (t:ala¯q al-bid Eah), according to the
divorce, and the husband can resume normal marital rela-
circumstances in which it is pronounced. The former is gen-
tions during the period of Eiddah if he proves that he can sup-
erally revocable, whereas the latter is irrevocable and termi-
port his wife.
nates the marriage tie immediately upon pronouncement.
The “approved” t:ala¯q may consist of either a single repudia-
And finally, apostasy from Islam by either of the spouses
tion pronounced during a clean period, that is, a period be-
operates as an immediate and final dissolution of the mar-
tween menstruations, known as t:uhr, followed by abstinence
riage without any judicial intervention. If both spouses re-
from sexual intercourse for the whole of the waiting period
nounce Islam simultaneously, their marriage is permitted to
( Eiddah), or it may consist of three repudiations pronounced
endure. Conversion to Islam by the husband alone where
during three successive t:uhrs. In the former case, t:ala¯q be-
both spouses were Jewish or Christian does not impair the
comes final after the expiration of the Eiddah, whereas in the
marriage, and the wife may retain her religion. However, if
latter, it becomes final upon the third pronouncement. Until
a Christian or Jewish woman, married to a man of the same
the t:ala¯q becomes final, the husband has the option to revoke
faith, becomes a Muslim, the marriage is dissolved unless the
it, and this may be done either expressly or by implication,
husband also adopts Islam.
through the resumption of normal marital relations. The
A final divorce, whatever its mode may be, renders sexu-
“disapproved” t:ala¯q may consist of a single repudiation
al intercourse unlawful and entitles the wife to remarry after
which is expressly declared to be final, or it may consist of
completing the waiting period of Eiddah. If the marriage is
three repudiations pronounced at once. Sh¯ıE¯ı law does not
not consummated, she is free to marry immediately. A triple
recognize the “disapproved” form of t:ala¯q.
t:ala¯q renders remarriage between the divorced couple unlaw-
Divorce by mutual agreement may take one of two
ful until the woman marries another person; only after the
forms: khul E, in which the wife secures her release from the
dissolution of this latter marriage may she remarry her for-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC LAW: PERSONAL LAW
4709
mer husband. Upon a final divorce, mutual rights of inheri-
be excluded from succession, have their share reduced, or in
tance cease between the parties, and any outstanding dower
some circumstances, become entitled to a larger share. In all
becomes immediately payable to the wife. She is entitled to
cases, the present heirs are, according to the majority view,
maintenance only during her Eiddah.
entitled to take their minimal shares and reserve the largest
share for the unborn child. This is the share of a male child
Modern reforms of divorce law in Muslim countries
under H:anaf¯ı law, whereas the Sha¯fiE¯ı, H:anbal¯ı, and Sh¯ıE¯ı
have been primarily directed at restricting the husband’s
law assume that twin boys or twin girls will be born, and the
power of unilateral divorce on the one hand, and at increas-
other heirs are entitled to the share they would receive in one
ing the remedies available to the wife in cases of injurious cir-
case or the other, whichever is less. In Ma¯lik¯ı law the distri-
cumstances on the other. The main restriction on the hus-
bution is completely suspended until the birth of the child.
band’s power of unilateral t:ala¯q comes from the abolition of
All schools are unanimous, however, in suspending the dis-
the irrevocable forms of t:ala¯q. The husband is thus no longer
tribution of the estate in the event that all the other heirs
able to terminate his marriage immediately by pronouncing
would be totally excluded by the birth of the child. Excluded
a final and irrevocable t:ala¯q. Legislation in some Muslim
from succession are the following: one who has caused the
countries also entitles the wife to financial compensation for
death of the deceased; a non-Muslim as the heir of a Muslim
any injury she may have sustained as a result of the husband’s
and vice versa (a bequest, however, can be made to a non-
abuse of his power. In the traditionally H:anaf¯ı countries, the
Muslim), and a slave who, under classical law, is not capable
wife’s position has been enhanced by legislative measures,
of owning property.
which entitle her to a judicial divorce on grounds substantial-
ly the same as those recognized under Ma¯lik¯ı law. Modern
The heirs are mainly divided into three groups: those
legislation has also departed from the H:anaf¯ı position that
who are entitled to a prescribed share, known as QurDanic
ignores intention in t:ala¯q by adopting provisions under
heirs (dhawu¯ furu¯d:); those who receive the remainder,
which t:ala¯q is only valid if accompanied by a definite inten-
known as agnatic heirs ( Eas:abah); and distant kindred
tion. The Tunisian law of 1957 is the most far-reaching of
(dhawu¯ al-arh:a¯m), persons who are related to the deceased
the modern reforms in that it abolishes all forms of extrajudi-
in the female line and fall into neither of the first two catego-
cial divorce, whether by t:ala¯q or by mutual consent. By abol-
ries. In the absence of all three, the estate goes to the public
ishing the husband’s power of unilateral t:ala¯q, the Tunisian
treasury (bayt al-ma¯l).
law effects complete equality between the spouses in divorce.
The QurDa¯n allots shares to eight relatives, namely the
INHERITANCE. In pre-Islamic Arabia, succession was purely
daughter, mother, father, husband, wife, brothers, and sis-
tribal and agnatic, that is, the heirs were normally the closest
ters. But the rules regarding the daughter have been extend-
male relatives, and women and minors were excluded. A fun-
ed, by analogy, to the daughter of a son, and those regarding
damental reform that the QurDa¯n brought about was to as-
the parents, to the grandparents. In addition, a distinction
sign definite shares to female relatives. According to the Is-
has been made between a full sister, a half sister on the fa-
lamic scheme of inheritance, a female generally receives half
ther’s side, and a half sister on the mother’s side. The total
the share of a male. The deceased fictitiously remains the
number of QurDanic heirs has thus been raised to twelve.
owner of the estate until his obligations are fully discharged.
The creditors can, therefore, only assert their claims against
A daughter who has no brothers is entitled to half the
the estate and not against the individual heirs. All funeral ex-
estate, and two or more daughters share equally in a portion
penses, debts, and bequests have to be paid in full before the
of two-thirds. But if daughters inherit along with sons, they
estate can be distributed among the heirs.
become Eas:abah and receive half the portion of the sons. A
son’s daughter without brothers inherits half the estate; if
An essential condition of inheritance is that the heir
there are two or more son’s daughters, their share is two-
must survive the deceased. In doubtful cases, arising, for ex-
thirds. A son’s daughter is excluded if that son has two or
ample, when persons who would inherit from one another
more sisters inheriting along with him. The father inherits
have died without proof of who died first, neither can inherit
one-sixth in the presence of a son, and in the presence of a
from the other according to the majority, but Sh¯ıE¯ı and
daughter or a son’s daughter, one-sixth plus any residue. In
H:anbal¯ı law entitle both to inherit from one another. Simi-
the absence of descendants, the father inherits as the nearest
larly, inheritance can only pass to an heir who exists at the
Eas:abah. The father’s father inherits one-sixth, but he is ex-
time of the death of the deceased, except when a man leaves
cluded if the father is alive. The mother’s portion is one-sixth
a pregnant widow, in which case the share of an unborn male
if there are children and one-third if there are none. The
child is reserved for the offspring. If the child is female, she
mother’s mother inherits one-sixth, but she is excluded if the
will receive her normal share of inheritance, and the remain-
mother is alive. One full sister in the absence of brothers in-
der of the reserved portion reverts back to the estate to be
herits one-half, and two or more, two-thirds. A half sister on
redistributed among the heirs proportionate to their normal
the father’s side receives the same share as a full sister, but
shares.
both are excluded in the presence of a son, or a son’s son,
The birth of a child, whether male or female, may affect
or the father. Both a half brother and a half sister on the
the position of an heir in a variety of ways. He or she may
mother’s side receive one-sixth, and two or more share a
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4710
ISLAMIC LAW: PERSONAL LAW
third among them, but they are excluded by descendants and
quest that exceeds the bequeathable third does not take effect
male ascendants. The husband receives a quarter if there is
without the consent of the surviving heirs. In Sunn¯ı law,
a descendant, and in the absence thereof, a half. The wife in-
such consent must be obtained after the death of the testator,
herits one-half of what the husband would receive under the
whereas in Sh¯ıE¯ı law it may be obtained either before or after
same circumstances.
the testator’s death. Sh¯ıE¯ı law also permits the testator to be-
queath to any person, including a legal heir, within the limit
Sometimes the number of qualified QurDanic heirs or
of one-third. Without the consent of the surviving heirs, be-
the sum of their shares may be larger than the whole of the
quests amounting to more than one-third of the estate must
estate. In this case, their shares are reduced under the princi-
be reduced to the maximum of one-third.
ple of proportionate reduction, known as Eawl. For example,
if the deceased is survived by a husband and two full sisters,
A testator may specify the order in which several of his
their shares will be one-half and two-thirds respectively,
bequests are to be executed, and this order will be observed
which exceed unity. Hence, the share will be reduced to
until the bequeathable third is exhausted. If no order is speci-
three-sevenths and four-sevenths respectively.
fied and the limit of one-third is exceeded, the abatement
The agnatic heirs ( Eas:abah) inherit the remainder of the
will be proportionate in Sunn¯ı law, whereas under Sh¯ıE¯ı law
estate after the QurDanic heirs have received their shares. The
the first in chronological order prevails. A bequest is null and
Eas:abah are divided into the following classes, in order of pri-
void if made in favor of a person who has caused the death
ority: (1) the son and his descendants in the male line;
of the testator. And finally, if the legatee predeceases the tes-
(2) the father and his ascendants in the male line; (3) the
tator, the bequest lapses in H:anaf¯ı law, but passes on to the
male descendants of the father; (4) descendants of the pater-
heir of the deceased legatee in Sh¯ıE¯ı law.
nal grandfather; and (5) descendants of the paternal great-
PATERNITY. Paternity is the legal relation between father and
grandfather. Any member of a higher class totally excludes
child that is created by a legitimate birth. The paternity of
any member of a lower class, except that the brothers of the
a child is normally established by marriage between its par-
deceased are not excluded by the grandfather. Among the rel-
ents. Maternity on the other hand is not dependent upon
atives of the same class, the nearer in degree to the deceased
marriage. In Sunn¯ı law, the maternity of a child, whether the
excludes the more remote: In class three, for example, a
offspring of marriage or of adultery, is established in the
nephew will be excluded by the deceased’s brother. Among
woman who actually gives birth to the child. Thus if a man
agnatic relatives of the same class and the same degree, ger-
commits adultery and a child is born, it is considered to be
manes have priority over consanguines. Thus, for example,
the child of its mother and inherits from her and her rela-
the germane brother of the deceased totally excludes the con-
tions. But the man is not considered to be the father of the
sanguine brother.
child, for paternity is established only through marriage. In
If there is no Eas:abah and the QurDanic heirs do not ex-
Sh¯ıE¯ı law, however, an illegitimate child has no legal relation-
haust the estate, the remainder is proportionately distributed
ship with either its father or its mother.
among the QurDanic heirs under the principle of reversion,
The law normally presumes that a child born to a mar-
known as radd. For example, if the deceased is survived by
ried woman is the legitimate child of her husband. This pre-
his mother and a daughter, their shares will be one-sixth and
sumption, however, operates within the limits of what the
one-half; because these are less than unity, they will be in-
law recognizes as the minimum and maximum duration of
creased to one-quarter and three-quarters respectively.
the gestation period. According to all the shar¯ı Eah schools,
BEQUESTS. All the shar¯ı Eah jurists agree that a person who
the minimum period of gestation is six months. The maxi-
is adult and sane has the capacity to make a bequest, while
mum period varies between nine months (Sh¯ıE¯ı), two years
bequests made by a minor or a mentally defective person, a
(H:anaf¯ı), four years (Sha¯fiE¯ı), and five to seven years
person acting under compulsion, or under temporary loss of
(Ma¯lik¯ı). In H:anaf¯ı law, therefore, the paternity of the child
reason (through, for example, intoxication) are void. A be-
is ascribed to the husband if it is born after not less than six
quest may be oral or written, and any words, or even signs,
months of marriage, and within not more than two years
may be used provided they clearly indicate the testator’s in-
after the dissolution of marriage. The only method by which
tention. All free individuals, juristic persons, and fetuses in
the husband can challenge the presumption of legitimacy
the womb, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, and irrespective
and disown his child is to resort to the imprecation proce-
of domicile, are capable of receiving a bequest. Any object
dure, known as li Ea¯n. According to this procedure, the hus-
of value that is considered as goods (ma¯l), including income
band must swear four oaths that the child is not his and then
and usufruct arising out of the property owned by the testa-
invoke the curse of God upon himself if he is lying. This ef-
tor, may be given in bequest. A bequest is invalid if made
fects an immediate and final divorce according to the majori-
in pursuit of unlawful purposes, such as promoting a brothel.
ty view, whereas in H:anaf¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı law, the marriage sub-
Further, no Muslim may bequeath more than one-third of
sists until the court orders the parties to separate. If the wife
the residue of his estate after the payment of debts and other
confesses to the adultery, the penalty is imprisonment ac-
charges. In Sunn¯ı law, a bequest made in favor of a legal heir
cording to H:anaf¯ı law, and death by stoning according to
is void unless the other heirs consent to it. Similarly, a be-
the other schools (H:anaf¯ı law forbids the enforcement of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC LAW: PERSONAL LAW
4711
capital punishment for zina¯ D unless it is proven by the testi-
preceding the birth of a child would debar a claim of the le-
mony of four witnesses). Alternately, she may deny the
gitimacy of such a child. Syria, Tunisia, and Morocco have
charge by swearing four solemn oaths to plead her innocence
also adopted these measures with minor variations, and one
and finally calling upon herself the wrath of God if she was
year represents the maximum period of gestation in these
in fact guilty. Regardless of whether the wife confesses or de-
countries. It may be added that the modern law provision
nies the charge, as a consequence of li Ea¯n the child is dis-
enabling a husband to prove that he had no physical access
owned by the husband.
to his wife during the possible time of conception supersedes
the procedure of li Ea¯n. In appropriate circumstances, there-
Either of the spouses, or failing this, the judge, may ini-
fore, the new rules of evidence will determine the disputed
tiate the li Ea¯n proceedings. The traditional law of li Ea¯n does
paternity of a child. Proof of nonaccess, under modern law,
not, however, provide for the eventuality where the wife
would also seem to defeat the claim to inheritance of a child
might initiate a charge of adultery against the husband. In
in embryo, at least where the basis of such a claim is the legit-
the event that the wife accuses the husband of zina¯ D, she
imacy of the child, and would, in turn, overrule the provision
would normally be required to prove the accusation by the
of the traditional law concerning the reservation of a portion
testimony of four witnesses, in which case the husband
of the estate for such a child. The fundamental rules govern-
would be liable to the capital punishment for zina¯ D. But if
ing the custody of children (h:ad:a¯nah) are common to all the
she fails to provide the required proof, she would herself be
shar¯ı Eah schools. Following the dissolution of a marriage, the
liable to punishment for slanderous accusation (qadhf),
custody of the young children belongs to the mother, but she
which is eighty lashes. In neither case, however, would re-
loses this right if she remarries, in which case custody reverts
course be made to li Ea¯n, for the latter is invoked only when
to the father. The mother’s right to custody terminates with
the husband accuses his wife of zina¯ D, and not vice versa. If
the completion of seven years in the case of male children,
the husband accuses his wife of zina¯ D but fails to resort to
and in case of female children, with the onset of puberty.
li Ea¯n, he too would be liable to the punishment of qadhf.
Some jurists have held the view that the wife’s unproven ac-
cusation of zina¯ D would provide sufficient grounds for judi-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cial separation on the basis of injury (d:arar).
An accurate exposition of the shar¯ı Eah law of marriage and divorce
can be found in al-Marghina¯n¯ıs Al-hida¯yah, a twelfth-
Where the paternity of a child cannot be proved by es-
century source book of H:anaf¯ı law, translated by Charles
tablishing a marriage between the parents at the time of con-
Hamilton as The Hedaya, or Guide, 4 vols., 2d ed. (Lahore,
ception, the law recognizes acknowledgment (iqra¯r) as a
1957). A source book on the law of inheritance is Sira¯j
method whereby such a marriage and legitimate descent can
al-D¯ın al-Saja¯wandi’s Al-sira¯j¯ıyah, the text and translation of
be established. This method can be used only if real paternity
which will be found in a modern work by al-haj Mahomet
Ullah ibn S. Jung, The Muslim Law of Inheritance (Allah-
is possible; thus the acknowledged child must be at least
abad, 1934). The whole range of personal law is treated by
twelve and one-half years younger than the acknowledging
D. F. Mulla’s Principles of Mahomedan Law, 16th ed. (Bom-
parent, because this interval represents the minimum period
bay, 1968), a well-known H:anaf¯ı law text that is also infor-
of gestation added to the minimum age of puberty. In addi-
mative on the application of this law in India and Pakistan.
tion, one person may acknowledge the paternity of another
F. B. Tyabji’s Muslim Law: The Personal Law of Muslims in
on the following three conditions: the child is of unknown
India and Pakistan, 4th ed. (Bombay, 1968) is skillfully clas-
paternity; there is no definite proof that the child is the off-
sified and comprehensive on all the major schools of shar¯ı Eah
spring of adultery; and the acknowledgment does not contra-
law. A. A. Fyzee’s Outlines of Muhammadan Law, 4th ed.
dict another person’s presumption of paternity. An acknowl-
(Bombay, 1974) is more informative on Sh¯ıE¯ı personal law,
edgment need not be expressed in words, but may be implied
and its introductory chapter gives background information
on the sources and history of the shar¯ı Eah. The best single
by the deliberate conduct of one person who treats another
book on the law of inheritance and its modern reforms re-
as his legitimate offspring. Subject to repudiation by an ac-
mains Noel J. Coulson’s Succession in the Muslim Family
knowledgee who is adult and sane, an acknowledgment of
(Cambridge, U.K., 1971). A useful collection of the statuto-
paternity is binding for all purposes, and once effected, it is
ry laws of various Muslim countries, with special reference
irrevocable.
to modern reforms, can be found in Tahir Mahmood’s Fami-
ly Law Reform in the Muslim World (Bombay, 1972). Herbert
The shar¯ı Eah law of paternity has been criticized mainly
J. Liebesny’s Law of the Near and Middle East (Albany, N.Y.,
for accepting gestation periods of two years (H:anaf¯ı law) or
1975) is also very useful on the application of shar¯ı Eah law
more, which has encouraged people to claim the paternity
in various Muslim countries. For the status of women, see
of illegitimate children for purposes of inheritance. In a 1929
John L. Esposito, Women in Muslim Family Law (Syracuse,
law, the Egyptian legislature reduced the maximum period
N.Y., 1982).
of gestation to one year. Consequently, no claim of paternity
There are many good books in Arabic on the subject. Muh:ammad
on behalf of a child born more than one year after the termi-
abu¯ Zahrah’s Al-ah:wa¯l al-shakhs:¯ıyah (Cairo, 1957) is written
nation of the marriage can be heard in Egyptian courts. Fur-
in readable style and deals with the whole range of the
thermore, the Egyptian law provides that proof of nonaccess
shar¯ı Eah personal law. EAbd al-Rah:ma¯n al-Sabu¯ni’s Mada¯
between the spouses because their marriage or for one year
h:urriyat al-zawjayn f¯ı al-t:ala¯q, 2 vols., 2d ed. (Beirut, 1968)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4712
ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
is most comprehensive on the shar¯ı Eah law of divorce in its
ries, particularly in Iran and India, where commemorations
various schools. And finally, Muhammad Zayd al-Ibya¯ni’s
extend through the first ten days of the month. During this
Sharh al-ah:ka¯m al-shar¯ı Eah f¯ı al-ah:wa¯l al-shakhs:¯ıyah, 3 vols.
period women wear subdued colors, preferably black, with
(Beirut, 1976), is a useful modern work on the whole range
no jewelry. Men and women hold separate gatherings
of the shar¯ı Eah personal law.
(maja¯lis) during which a male or female preacher reminds the
M. HASHIM KAMALI (1987)
audience of the suffering of H:usayn and the other imams.
The preacher recounts legends of the events at Karbala; sing-
ers recite threnodies; and those present beat their breasts, call
blessings upon the Prophet, and profusely shed tears. “Weep-
ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY SEE FALSAFAH
ing for H:usayn opens the door to Paradise,” it is said, and
the tears themselves are collected for future use as a panacea.
During the first ten days of Muh:arram, special crafts-
ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS YEAR. The Islamic reli-
men prepare ta Eziyahs, or ta¯bu¯ts, tall, domed, wooden struc-
gious year is highlighted by two major events that are en-
tures (up to thirty feet high) that represent the tombs of the
joined by the QurDa¯n and that are celebrated all over the
imams. Beautifully carved and gilded or painted, they are
Muslim world. These are the pilgrimage, or h:a¯jj, which cul-
carried in the EA¯shu¯ra¯D processions along with colorful stan-
minates in the E¯Id al-Ad:h:a¯ (Feast of Sacrifice), in the last
dards lofted in memory of H:usayn’s standard-bearer, JaEfar.
lunar month, and Ramad:a¯n, the month of fasting, which
A lavishly caparisoned white horse is led as a symbol of
ends with the celebration of the E¯Id al-Fit:r (Feast of Fast
H:usayn’s mount, Dhu¯ al-Jana¯h:, and of the white horse on
Breaking) on the first day of the next month, Shawwa¯l. Be-
which the Hidden Imam is expected to ride when he finally
cause the twelve-month calendar of Islam is based on a pure-
reappears. During these processions many people flagellate
ly lunar year of 354 days, these events have no fixed relation
themselves with chains from which hang small knives
to the seasons of the 365-day solar year. Over the course of
(wounds thus inflicted never become septic), and fire walk-
years, they may occur in spring, summer, autumn, and win-
ing is sometimes performed. In some areas, such as the Dec-
ter. Thus, no connection with pre-Islamic solar feasts can be
can, EA¯shu¯ra¯D processions at times assumed almost carnivalis-
made, nor can any tradition of agricultural cults be traced.
tic aspects, as eighteenth-century miniatures show. Late in
(Celebrations of the solar seasons do occur in various parts
the day the small ta Eziyahs are buried in a place designated
of the Muslim world, but they are not based on the QurDa¯n
as “Karbala,” while the more precious ones are stored, along
or on h:ad¯ıth.)
with other implements, in Ea¯shu¯ra¯-kha¯nahs or ima¯m-ba¯rahs,
The beginning of each month of the Muslim calendar
large buildings for the meetings of the Sh¯ıE¯ı community. A
is reckoned from the appearance of the new moon, which
special dish with numerous ingredients is cooked in remem-
must, according to tradition, be reported by at least two
brance of the mixed food in Karbala, prepared from whatever
trustworthy witnesses. Because religious leaders in some
happened to be in the heroes’ bags. In Turkey, sharing this
Muslim countries do, in fact, rely on astronomical calcula-
as:ure with neighbors is a custom among both Sunn¯ı and
tion of the first appearance of the crescent while others con-
Sh¯ıE¯ı families.
tinue to follow the QurDanic prescription of actually seeing
In nineteenth-century Lucknow, ta Eziyah rites were
the moon, differences of one day in reckoning the beginning
continued until the tenth day of the following month of
or end of a month are common. The date may also vary ac-
S:afar, thus marking forty days of mourning from the start
cording to local weather conditions.
of Muh:arram. Among the Sh¯ıEah, no weddings are celebrat-
Certain days of the week are considered to be endowed
ed in Muh:arram, and the month has always been a time
with good or bad qualities, as can be understood from rele-
when communal or sectarian feelings run high. Not infre-
vant collections of h:ad¯ıth. Friday, the day of communal
quently, rioting results. The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı community, at least
prayer at noon, is always regarded as auspicious, and Monday
since the time of Aga Khan III (r. 1885–1957), does not par-
and Thursday carry positive aspects, as do the “white nights”
ticipate in Muh:arram because it has a h:azir ima¯m (“present
¨
before and after a full moon.
imam”) in the Aga Khan and need not look back to H:usayn’s
death.
The year begins with the month of Muh:arram. Its tenth
day, EA¯shu¯ra¯D, was suggested as a fast day by the Prophet but
Various literary and dramatic genres have also devel-
subsequently became associated with the death of
oped around the events at Karbala. The genre of maqtal
Muh:ammad’s grandson, H:usayn ibn EAl¯ı, who was killed in
H:usayn, poetry or prose telling of H:usayn’s suffering, has
the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muh:arram 81 / October 10, 680.
been known since the early Middle Ages, and the marthiyah,
Although this day is a time of mourning for all Muslims, it
or threnody, began to be developed by Indian poets about
is the Sh¯ıEah, the “party” of EAl¯ı, who have attached very spe-
the beginning of the seventeenth century. This latter genre,
cial significance to H:usayn’s martyrdom and to the entire
which originated in the Deccan and spread to northern
month of Muh:arram. Thus, Sunn¯ı Muslims do not sub-
India, found its finest expression at the Sh¯ıE¯ı court of Luck-
scribe to the elaborate celebrations developed in later centu-
now in the nineteenth century. In Iran, and to a lesser degree
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS YEAR
4713
in Iraq and Lebanon, the martyrdom of H:usayn came to be
order, the Qadiriyah, is the most widespread fraternity. The
re-created in ta Eziyah plays interweaving numerous mythical
month is therefore called simply Ya¯rh¯ıñ, meaning “eleven”
elements to establish the martyrdom as the central event in
in Sindhi. As on other saints’ days, flags are flown, meetings
the history of the universe.
are convened to recite eulogies for the saint, and food is
cooked and distributed in his name.
In the month of S:afar, which follows Muh:arram, a sad
mood used to prevail among Muslims because the Prophet
No religious events, other than local saints’ days, are
once fell ill during this period. The last Wednesday of the
noted for the following two months, Juma¯da¯ al-U
¯ la¯ (“first
month, when the Prophet felt better, was a day of rejoicing.
Juma¯da¯”) and Juma¯da¯ al-A¯khirah (“last Juma¯da¯”), but the
Rab¯ıE al-Awwal (“first Rab¯ıE”), the third lunar month,
seventh lunar month, Rajab, is blessed by celebration of the
is marked by the Mawlid al-Nab¯ı (“birthday of the Prophet”)
Prophet’s Mi Era¯j, his heavenly journey, which took place on
on the twelfth. The day is celebrated as the date of the Proph-
the night of the twenty-seventh. In Turkey, this is again a
et’s birth (m¯ıla¯d) although it was actually the date of his
kandil, or “lamp feast,” on which people fast during daytime.
death and is also widely commemorated in that connection.
In other areas, such as Kashmir, it used to be celebrated for
Nonetheless, the joyful celebration of Muh:ammad’s birth-
a whole week. Although the celebration of the Mi Era¯j cannot
day began comparatively early; it was introduced on a larger
vie in popularity with the Prophet’s birthday, the mystery of
scale in Fatimid Egypt, where the rulers, descendants of
the Prophet’s heavenly journey has deeply impressed Muslim
Muh:ammad’s daughter Fa¯t:imah, remembered the birthday
piety and poetry. Other events commemorated in Rajab in-
of their ancestor by inviting scholars and by distributing
clude the first nights of the month, ragha¯ Dib, celebrated in
sweets and money, a feature that has remained common.
some areas (notably Turkey) as the time when A¯minah con-
Ever since, the pious have felt that celebrations of the Mawlid
ceived the Prophet, as well as EAl¯ı’s birthday, celebrated by
have a special blessing power (barakah).
all Sh¯ıE¯ı communities on 13 Rajab.
The first major celebration of the Mawl¯Id al-Nab¯ı is de-
In the following month, ShaEba¯n, a non-QurDanic but
scribed for the year AH 604/1207 CE in Arbala¯D (modern
very popular feast is the Laylat al-Bara¯Dah (Pers., Shab-i
Irbil, in northern Iraq), where the S:u¯f¯ıs participated actively.
Bara¯t), celebrated on the night of the full moon. Historically
The Mawlid became increasingly popular first in the western
this is the night when the Prophet entered Mecca trium-
and then in the central Islamic lands. A special genre of poet-
phantly, but in Muslim folklore it is considered to be the
ry known as mawlu¯d developed in almost all Islamic lan-
night when the “writing conferring immunity is written in
guages. In Turkey the mevlûd by Süleyman Çelebi
heaven” or, more generally, the night during which the fates
(d. 1409), telling in simple verse the miracles connected with
for the coming year are fixed. Therefore pious Muslims fast,
the birth of the Prophet and describing his life, is still sung.
pray, and keep vigils. On the whole, however, and especially
In many countries, candles are lit—in Turkey the day is still
in Indo-Pakistan, the night is celebrated with illuminations
called Mevlûd Kandili (Lamp Feast of the Birth)—and the
and fireworks. Orthodox critics object to such displays as
Mawlid provides an occasion for donning festive clothes,
symptoms of Hindu influence, even though the Shab-i Bara¯t
burning incense, and distributing sweets. Orthodox circles
is mentioned in a non-Indian environment as early as the
have traditionally taken issue with the use of candles because
twelfth century, in a poem by Sana¯D¯ı of Ghaznah (d. 1131).
of the similarity to Christmas celebrations; likewise they have
The Sh¯ıE¯ı community celebrates the birthday of Imam
disallowed musical performances and deemed that only the
Mahdi, the last of the twelve imams, on this day.
recitation of the QurDa¯n seems permissible on a day that also
The month of Ramad:a¯n is the most demanding of the
marks the Prophet’s death. The stories that have been tradi-
Islamic year, especially when it falls in the hot season. Each
tionally recited reflect the people’s love and veneration of the
day, Muslims must fast from the moment there is enough
Prophet, whose birth, according to some eighteenth-century
light to distinguish white from black threads until the sun
writers, was “more important than the Laylat al-Qadr,” the
has completely set. The order to abstain from food, drink,
night when the QurDa¯n was first revealed, for it meant the
smoking, sex, and even from injections or intake of fragrance
arrival of “mercy for the worlds” (su¯rah 21:107). Lately,
requires a strong intention (n¯ıyah) of the fasting person. He
however, there is a growing tendency to demythologize the
or she will then break fast with an odd number of dates and
contents of Mawlid literature; the speeches and poems of-
some water before proceeding to the evening prayer. The
fered on that day, and throughout the month in many coun-
problem of how to keep the fast in northern countries during
tries, are meant to remind people of the ethical and social
the long summer days has aroused much controversy; one so-
role of the Prophet, the “beautiful model” (su¯rah 33:21) of
lution is to break fast at the time when the sun sets in the
his community. Newspapers and television publicize this at-
next Muslim country or on the forty-fifth degree of latitude.
titude.
For every day that the fast is neglected, or cannot be per-
The following month, Rab¯ıE al-Tha¯n¯ı (“second Rab¯ıE”),
formed because of illness, pregnancy, or menstruation, the
has no ritual justified by the QurDa¯n or h:ad¯ıth. However, in
observant Muslim is obliged to compensate either by fasting
many areas, especially in India and Pakistan, the eleventh
some other day or by feeding a number of the ever present
marks the anniversary of EAbd al-Qa¯dir al-J¯ıla¯n¯ı, whose S:u¯f¯ı
poor.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4714
ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS YEAR
The Laylat al-Qadr (“night of power”; su¯rah 97), during
year. The Eurs of Ah:mad al-Badaw¯ı in Tanta, Egypt, is cele-
which the first revelation of the QurDa¯n took place, is one
brated, however, according to the solar year in early June,
of the last odd-numbered nights in Ramad:a¯n, generally con-
when the Nile is rising, and may be connected with pre-
sidered the twenty-seventh. In its honor people may spend
Islamic fertility rites. In Turkey, the anniversary of the birth
the last ten days of Ramad:a¯n in seclusion, and those who do
of Mawla¯na¯ Ru¯m¯ı is now celebrated on December 17. Like-
not fast otherwise will try to do it during that period. The
wise, Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıs celebrate the Aga Khan’s birthday according
pious hope for the vision of the light that fills the world dur-
to the common era.
ing this blessed night. The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıs pray all night in their
Some Muslim festivals are connected with the solar year.
Jama¯Ea¯t-kha¯nah. Many people perform the tara¯wih: prayers
The most important is Nawru¯z, the Persian New Year, which
(a long sequence, including twenty to thirty-three rak Eahs of
occurs at the vernal equinox. It is celebrated in a joyous way
prayers and prostrations) after breaking the fast. Then they
wherever Persian culture spread, even in Egypt. It is custom-
may enjoy the lighter side of life: The illumination of
ary that seven items have to be on the table (in Iran, the
mosques and the activities of all kinds of entertainers that
names of these seven must begin with the letter s). Orthodox
used to be a regular part of every Ramad:a¯n night. A second
Muslims have often objected to the celebration of Nawru¯z,
meal is taken before the first sign of dawn.
but for most people the beginning of spring has always been
The E¯Id al-Fit:r (Feast of Fast Breaking), which brings
too delightful to be neglected. The Bektash¯ı order of S:u¯f¯ıs
release from the month-long abstinence at daylight, is called
in Turkey have explained Nawru¯z as EAl¯ı’s birthday and have
the “lesser feast,” but it is most eagerly awaited as a celebra-
thus Islamized it. Another Turkish celebration, Hidrellez,
tion of the return to normal life. Its Turkish name, S¸eker
combines the feasts of the saint-prophet Khid:r and of Ilya¯s,
Bayrami (“sugar feast”), points to the custom of distributing
associated with the biblical Elijah. The day falls on May 6
sweets. After the morning prayer of 1 Shawwa¯l in the spa-
and is connected with a change of winds and weather.
cious E¯ıdga¯h, it is customary to put on new clothes and to
An interesting way of depicting the sequence of the ritu-
visit friends. The sigh that one has no new clothes for the
al year is found in a poetic genre of Indo-Pakistan called
feast is a touching topic in Islamic love poetry.
ba¯rahma¯sa (“twelve months”). It is derived from Hindu tra-
After the E¯Id al-Fit:r there is no major feast in Shawwa¯l
dition and in its Islamized forms describes the twelve months
or in Dhu¯ al-QaEdah. The later month is used for prepara-
through the words of a lovesick young woman who experi-
tions for the pilgrimage (h:a¯jj), which takes place in Dhu¯
ences in Muh:arram the pain of seeing her beloved slain, cele-
al-H:ijjah.
brates his birthday in Rab¯ıE al-Awwal, and finally meets him
in Dhu¯ al-H:ijjah, when visiting either the KaEbah in Mecca
On 10 Dhu¯ al-H:ijjah, the E¯Id al-Ad:h:a¯, or E¯Id al-Qurba¯n
or the Prophet’s tomb in Medina.
(Feast of Sacrifice), called the “major feast,” is celebrated in
the valley of Mina¯, near Mecca, with thousands, and now
Muslim mystics, as strictly as they might have adhered
millions, of Muslims ritually slaughtering sheep or larger ani-
to ritual, have spiritualized the liturgical year. The Feast of
mals and thus reenacting the substitution of a ram for
Sacrifice—whether it be named E¯Id al-Ad:h:a¯, E¯Id al-Qurba¯n,
Isma¯E¯ıl, whom Abraham was willing to sacrifice (su¯rah
or E¯Id al-Nah:r—has meant, for them, to sacrifice themselves
37:102). Because this is the only feast in which the commu-
before the divine Beloved, and the true E¯ıd has been to see
nity celebrates the memory of a mythical event, every Mus-
the face of the Beloved whose very presence makes every day
lim is called upon to repeat the slaughter at home; theolo-
a feast for the lover.
gians do not accept the substitution of money for the
sacrificial animal, as some liberal Muslims have suggested.
SEE ALSO EA¯shu¯ra¯D; Mawlid; Nowru¯z; Pilgrimage, article on
Muslim Pilgrimage; S:awm; Worship and Devotional Life,
According to popular belief, the slaughtered animal will carry
article on Muslim Worship.
its owner across the S:ira¯t: Bridge to paradise. The meat of the
animal sacrificed at home is distributed to the poor, and the
hide is given to a charitable foundation. The Indo-Muslim
BIBLIOGRAPHY
designation of the feast as Baqar E¯Id (Cow Feast) and the
Gustave E. von Grunebaum’s Muhammedan Festivals (New York,
1951) gives a general survey of the Islamic festivals, mainly
slaughtering of cows have often caused Hindu riots during
based on classical sources. See also the article “Muslim Festi-
these days. The return of the pilgrims is duly celebrated, as
vals” in Hava Lazarus-Yafeh’s Some Religious Aspects of Islam
one can witness every year at the airports of Muslim coun-
(Leiden, 1981), pp. 38–47. E. W. Lane’s An Account of the
tries. Later in the month, on 18 Dhu¯ al-H:ijjah, the Sh¯ıE¯ı
Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, 3 vols., 3d ed.
community celebrates the E¯Id al-Ghad¯ır (Feast of the Pond),
(1846; reprint, New York, 1973) deals with the seasons as
the day on which Muh:ammad invested EAl¯ı as his successor
they were celebrated in early nineteenth-century Cairo, while
near the pond Khumm.
JaEfar Sharif’s Islam in India, or the Qanun-i-Islam, translated
by G. A. Herklots and edited by William Crooke (1921; re-
Every place in the Islamic world has special celebrations
print, London, 1972), describes the Muslim year as celebrat-
for commemorating local saints. Some of these festivities,
ed in India, particularly in the Deccan. For the Muh:arram
called Eurs (spiritual “wedding”), attract tens of thousands of
ceremonies, the best introduction is Ta Eziyeh: Ritual and
people. Almost all of them follow the rhythm of the lunar
Drama in Iran, edited by Peter J. Chelkowski (New York,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FIRST EDITION]
4715
1979), and the classic study of the h:a¯jj is still Christiaan
tries. It should be noted, however, that normative
Snouck Hurgronje’s Het Mekkansche feest (Leiden, 1880).
studies of Islam can also be undertaken by non-
Muslims, such as Christians seeking to proselytize
ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL (1987)
among Muslims or to develop a theology of religions in
which a particular place is assigned to Islam.
2. The nonnormative study of Islamic religion is usually done
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FIRST EDITION]. Islam-
in universities and covers both what is considered by
ic studies encompass the study of the religion of Islam and
Muslims to be true Islam (the Islamic religious sciences
of Islamic aspects of Muslim cultures and societies. At the
in particular) and what is considered to be living Islam
outset we must recognize that the word Islam itself is used
(the factual religious expressions of Muslims). This non-
in very different senses by faithful Muslims, for whom it is
normative study of Islamic religion can be pursued by
a norm and an ideal, and by scholars (Muslim and non-
Muslims and non-Muslims alike, wherever they observe
Muslim Islamicists), who refer to it as a subject of study or
the general rules of scholarly inquiry. This is the re-
a kind of symbol for the focus of their inquiry, as well as by
search that is generally called “Islamic studies.”
the larger public in the West who are outsiders and give dif-
ferent appreciations of what is felt by them to be “foreign.”
3. The nonnormative study of Islamic aspects of Muslim cul-
By extension, a sharp distinction must be made between nor-
tures and societies in a broader sense is not directed to-
mative Islam (the prescriptions, norms, and values that are
ward Islam as such. It takes a wider context into consid-
recognized by the community as embodiments of divine
eration, approaching things Islamic from the point of
guidance) and actual Islam (all those forms and movements,
view of history and literature or cultural anthropology
practices and ideas that have in fact existed in the many Mus-
and sociology, and not specifically from the perspective
lim communities in different times and places). In other
of the study of religion.
words, Islamic data sought for the sake of scholarly under-
My focus in this essay is on the two nonnormative forms of
standing are not the same as the ideals that Muslims as adher-
study, which we may call Islamic studies in the narrower (2)
ents of Islam attach to them, the meaning they attribute to
and the wider (3) sense. In the narrower sense of Islamic
them, or the truth they recognize in them.
studies, the focus is on Islamic religion as an entity in itself;
This familiar distinction between practice and ideal, fact
the wider sense of Islamic studies deals with data that are part
and (subjective) meaning of religious data must be main-
of given Muslim communities and are culled from the Islam-
tained not only for the purpose of analysis and understand-
ic experience but that may or may not possess a religious (i.e.,
ing but also for the making of valid comparisons. Practices
Islamic) significance for particular Muslim groups.
may be compared with practices, ideals with ideals, but the
In the case of studies of particular Muslim communities,
practice of something in one religion should not be com-
a further distinction can be made. On the one hand, some
pared with the ideal of the same thing in another religion.
general concept of Islam may be held implicitly or explicitly
From a scholarly point of view, moreover, we have no reason
by the researcher, even if the research is limited to one or to
to say that any particular Muslim society represents Islam as
a few concrete situations. In research of this kind, notwith-
a norm and an ideal better than another. We must proceed
standing its specialized character, Islam as a whole remains
by reporting the various ideas and practices that prevail in
within the horizon of the researcher. On the other hand,
one or another group and by trying to explain differences and
there are studies dealing with Muslim communities of a spe-
discover their implications. Whatever the eternal truth of
cific area and period that do not take into consideration any
Islam at all times and places, its ideas and practices at differ-
general concept if Islam. Yet this research still belongs im-
ent times and places are to be studied as they present them-
plicitly to Islamic studies in the wider sense to the extent that
selves.
Islamicists may find it useful.
THE SCOPE OF ISLAMIC STUDIES. On the basis of these dis-
HISTORY OF ISLAMIC STUDIES IN THE NARROWER SENSE.
tinctions, it is possible to identify three different enterprises
The rise of scholarly interest in Islam as a religion represents
that come under the general rubric of Islamic studies:
in part a critical response to numerous images of
1. The normative study of Islamic religion is generally carried
Muh:ammad and Islamic religion in general that were wide-
out by Muslims in order to acquire knowledge of reli-
spread in medieval Europe. Although Arab science and phi-
gious truth. It implies the study of the Islamic religious
losophy were appreciated and admired, Islam was projected
sciences: QurDanic exegesis (tafs¯ır), the science of tradi-
as the great adversary of Christianity. The first effort to ac-
tions ( Eilm al-h:ad¯ıth), jurisprudence (fiqh), and meta-
quire a more scholarly knowledge of the Islamic religion on
physical theology (kala¯m). Traditionally pursued in
the basis of the sources was made by Peter the Venerable,
mosques and special religious colleges (madrasahs), it is
abbot of Cluny (c. 1094–1156), who financed a team of
now usually carried out in faculties of religious law
translators working in Spain. One of the results was the first
(shar¯ı Eah) and of religious sciences ( Eulu¯m al-d¯ın) at
Latin translation of the QurDa¯n, which was completed in
universities or special Islamic institutes in Muslim coun-
1143 by Robert Ketton.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4716
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FIRST EDITION]
Since the beginning of the sixteenth century, Arabic and
ethnocentric bias toward the latter. Beyond the interest in
other so-called Islamic languages (notably Persian and Turk-
its origins, a certain predilection can be discerned for the
ish) have been studied in European universities; language
“classical” period of Islamic civilization, a preference that can
competency was the first prerequisite for the investigation of
also be observed in other branches of Oriental studies. Spe-
Islam. Another prerequisite was a serious study of Islamic
cialization increasingly led to detailed studies, and the ideal
history, carried out first (from the sixteenth century) as a his-
of a comprehensive view of Islam often came down simply
tory of Muslim peoples, especially the Turks, and later (from
to mastering an extraordinary mass of facts. Just as the pre-
the eighteenth century on) as a history of Islamic religion,
ponderance of facts in Oriental studies has given Islamic
which, thanks to the Enlightenment, could be appreciated
studies a rather “positivist” orientation, the approach to Is-
more adequately. Noteworthy indeed is the objective de-
lamic religion too has been essentially based on establishing
scription of Islamic religion, based on Muslim sources, pres-
historical facts with little attention being paid to the problem
ented by Adrian Reland in his De religione mohammedica
of the meaning of these facts, which is a problem of interpre-
libri duo (1705; 2d ed., 1717). Such approaches were to lead
tation.
to the rise of Islamic studies as a discipline based on textual
The nonnormative study of Islamic religion. The his-
criticism and historical analysis with a view to the writing of
tory of Islamic religion has been approached in three basic
a history of Islamic religion and culture. As a modern field
ways. A great number of historians, following the example
of scholarship, Islamic studies emerged around the middle
set by Julius Wellhausen (1844–1918) in his various studies
of the nineteenth century, with the publication of biogra-
on the early Islamic period, have focused on the external his-
phies of Muh:ammad by Gustav Weil (1843), William Muir
tory of Islam. Later historians such as Claude Cahen and
(1861; rev. ed., 1912), and Aloys Sprenger (3 vols., 1861–
Bernard Lewis have shown how much light can be thrown
1865). Early studies of the QurDa¯n were Weil’s Historisch-
on particular Muslim institutions and movements by view-
kritische Einleitung in den Koran (1844; 2d ed., 1878) and
ing them against the background of economic, social, and
Theodor Nöldeke’s Geschichte des Qorans (2 vols., 1860; 2d
political history.
rev. ed., 1909–1938). Alfred von Kremer’s Geschichte der
herrschenden ideen des Islams (1868) and Culturgeschichtliche
Another kind of historical research concentrates rather
Streifzüge auf dem Gebiete des Islams (1873) were the first at-
on what may be called the inner developments in Islamic re-
tempts to present the history of Islam as an integrated whole.
ligion and culture. This approach was introduced by one of
the major figures in the field, Ignácz Goldziher (1850–
Islamic studies as part of Oriental studies. The devel-
1921), who tried to establish the basic framework of an intel-
opment of Islamic studies in the nineteenth century was part
lectual history of Islam. Another scholar working along these
of the general development of Oriental studies, commonly
lines was Helmut Ritter (1892–1971), who revealed the
called “Orientalism.” This effort was the first serious intellec-
inner connections among a great number of religious con-
tual encounter between Europe and another civilization, al-
cepts, mainly theological and mystical, as they developed in
beit a unilateral encounter and one in which current cultural
history.
images of the “Orient” unavoidably played a role. Oriental
studies were largely patterned after the classical studies that
Somewhere between the general historians and the his-
had arisen in the sixteenth century; they were based on phi-
torians of religion are cultural historians of the medieval peri-
lology in the broad sense of the term, that is, the study of
od such as Carl Heinrich Becker (1876–1933), Jörg Kraemer
a particular culture through its texts. Islamic studies in this
(1917–1961), and Gustav Edmund von Grunebaum (1909–
sense lead to nonnormative accounts of Islamic religion as
1972), all of whom set religious developments within wider
described under (2), above. The field has always been a de-
cultural frameworks, which were related in turn to political
manding one, presupposing an intensive study of Arabic and
and military history. The name of Marshall G. S. Hodgson
other “Islamic” languages, on the basis of which text editions
(1921–1968) should also be mentioned here because of his
can be prepared and textual studies, including textual criti-
efforts to situate the total history of Islam within a culturally
cism and literary history, can be carried out. Familiarity with
oriented world history.
the texts, in its turn, is a prerequisite for the further study
These three types of historical study are also reflected
of history. Supplemented by the study of other Islamic ex-
in the vast number of specialized historical researches on par-
pressions in art and architecture and in present-day religious
ticular Muslim communities of the past, as well as in studies
life, textual, historical, and anthropological research together
dealing with the contemporary history of Muslim societies.
prepare the way for the study of Islamic culture and religion.
Here I must limit myself to indicating the major points of
the history of research into broad topics, mentioning some
Within the Orientalist tradition, Islamic studies were
names but omitting many others of no less significance. (The
conceived of as a cultural discipline and exhibited certain as-
categories that follow are those set out by Charles J. Adams
sumptions of European civilization of the time, notably the
in his 1976 survey, “Islamic Religious Tradition.”)
superiority of Western civilization and the excellence of its
scholarship. Stress has generally been laid on the differences
Muh:ammad. Various approaches have developed since
between Islamic civilization and European culture, with an
the mid-nineteenth-century biographies mentioned earlier.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FIRST EDITION]
4717
In a two-volume biography, Mohammed (1892–1895), Hu-
cal studies of the QurDa¯n and of Muh:ammad have offended
bert Grimme gave an account of the social factors in
some Muslim sensibilities in much the same way that source
Muh:ammad’s life and stressed the Prophet’s aspect as social
criticism of the Bible has offended some biblicist Christians.
reformer; Frants Buhl assembled all historical materials avail-
The study of the QurDa¯n implies that of Muslim com-
able at the time for a substantial biography of Muh:ammad
mentaries (tafs¯ırs) of the QurDa¯n. See Helmut Gätje’s Koran
in Das Leben Muhammed (1930; 2d ed., 1955). Tor Andrae
und Koranexegese (1971) and compare Mohammed Arkoun’s
studied later Muslim views of Muh:ammad as a prophet and
Lectures du Coran (1982).
paradigmatic figure in his Die person Muhammeds in lehre
und glauben seiner gemeinde (1918). A breakthrough in estab-
H:ad¯ıth. Goldziher’s critical stand in Muhammedanische
lishing the context of Muh:ammad’s life and work is W.
Studien, vol. 2 (1890; Eng. trans., 1971), with regard to the
Montgomery Watt’s two-volume study, Muhammad at
historical dating of h:ad¯ıths (“traditions”) that were ascribed
Mecca (1953) and Muhammad at Medina (1956), which fo-
to Muh:ammad or his companions but were in fact later cre-
cuses attention on the social and economic changes in Arabia
ations, was carried further by Joseph Schacht (1902–1969)
(Mecca) that Muh:ammad tried to address in his prophetic
in The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (1950) and led
activity. Maxime Rodinson’s thought-provoking biography,
to a debate on their authenticity not only among Muslims
Mohammed (1961; Eng. trans., 1971), interprets historical
but also in Western scholarship. Later work by Fuat Sezgin
data from a similar perspective but adds a psychological di-
in the first volume of his Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums
mension. An era in which Western scholarship recognizes the
(1967) has led to a reconsideration of the extreme criticism
originality of Muh:ammad’s achievements seems to have
by Goldziher and Schacht, although the falseness of many
dawned, following a period during which stress was placed
of the attributions to Muh:ammad remains acknowledged.
by Jewish scholars on the Jewish influences on Muh:ammad
Since the sunnah (consisting of h:ad¯ıths) is the second source,
and by Christian scholars on Christian influences. Biogra-
after the QurDa¯n, of religious knowledge and law in Islam,
phies of Muh:ammad written by Muslims are too numerous
here too Muslims are particularly sensitive to scholarly criti-
to be treated here in full. The classic one is that by Ibn Ish:a¯q
cism from outside. See G. H. A. Juynboll’s The Authenticity
(d. 767?), translated by A. Guillaume as The Life of Muham-
of the Tradition Literature: Discussions in Modern Egypt
mad (1955). E. S. Sabanegh studied some modern Egyptian
(1969).
biographies of Muh:ammad in his Muhammad b. Abdallah
Law. The structure of religious law (shar¯ı Eah) in Islam,
“le Prophete”: Portraits contemporains, Egypte 1930–1950
its ideal character, and the rules of juridical reasoning by
(1982).
Muslim jurists were first elucidated by Goldziher and by
The Qur Da¯n. After the important translation into En-
Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857–1936), who also stud-
glish by George Sale (1697?–1736), published in 1734 with
ied its application, side by side with customary law, in Indo-
a famous “preliminary discourse,” a great number of transla-
nesia. Further studies in depth were carried out by Éduard
tions of the QurDa¯n have seen the light. I may mention those
Sachau (1845–1930), Gotthelf Bergsträsser (1886–1933),
by Richard Bell (1937), A. J. Arberry (1955), and Mar-
and especially Joseph Schacht, who summarized his findings
maduke Pickthall (1930), this last being recognized by Mus-
in An Introduction to Islamic Law (1964). Current trends to-
lims. The classic study of the QurDanic text remains that of
ward Islamicization in Muslim countries are again arousing
Theodor Nöldeke in its three-volume second edition (1909–
interest in its juridical aspects. Among the scholars who have
1938), enlarged and revised with the help of colleagues. Ar-
worked on changes in the application of the shar¯ı Eah in mod-
thur Jeffery published two important studies, The Textual
ern Muslim states, the names of J. N. D. Anderson and Noel
History of the Qur Da¯n (1937) and The Foreign Vocabulary of
J. A. Coulson deserve particular mention.
the Qur Da¯n (1938). Rudi Paret’s conscientious German trans-
Metaphysical theology. It has been only in the course of
lation (1962) was subsequently accompanied by his impor-
the twentieth century that Islamic theological speculation
tant commentary (1971). Important is Angelika Neuwirth’s
(kala¯m) has been revealed in its originality. An important
Studien zur Komposition der mekkanischen Suren (1981).
study on early Muslim creeds is A. J. Wensinck’s The Muslim
John Wansbrough’s Quranic Studies (1977) has brought the
Creed (1933). Georges Anawati and Louis Gardet’s Introduc-
accepted theory on the early collation of the QurDanic text
tion à la théologie musulmane (1948) demonstrates the struc-
into question.
tural similarity of medieval Islamic and Christian theological
treatises. Here and in other works these authors stress the
It is noteworthy that while great progress has been made
apologetic character of Islamic theology. On the other hand,
with regard to the textual-critical, linguistic, and literary as-
Harry A. Wolfson, in The Philosophy of the Kala¯m (1976) is
pects of the QurDa¯n, the study of its contents, concepts, and
attentive to parallels between Islamic, Christian, and Jewish
worldview—that is, its meaning—has only started to take
theological thought. Important are recent studies by Richard
off. In this connection Toshihiko Izutsu’s semantic analyses
M. D. Frank and J. R. T. M. Peters on MuEtazil¯ı theology.
of the QurDa¯n, The Structure of the Ethical Terms in the
Qur Da¯n (1959; rev. ed., 1966) and God and Man in the Koran
Islamic philosophy. In the wake of T. J. de Boer’s hand-
(1964), have played a pioneering role. Needless to say, criti-
book on the subject, The History of Philosophy in Islam (1901;
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4718
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FIRST EDITION]
Eng. trans., 1903; reprint, 1961), philosophy in Islam was
Living Islam. Travelers, civil servants such as Christiaan
taken to be the continuation of Aristotelian philosophy with
Snouck Hurgronje, and anthropologists such as Edvard A.
Neoplatonic overtones. Important work on this philosophi-
Westermarck (1862–1939) had already in the nineteenth
cal line appears in Richard Walzer’s Greek into Arabic (1962).
century given descriptions of actual Muslim life, and this
Subsequently, however, it has become clear that there are
kind of research has increased considerably in the twentieth
other old philosophical traditions of a more gnostic nature
century, mainly through the efforts of anthropologists. Ru-
in Islam. They can be found in Sh¯ıE¯ı intellectual circles, both
dolf Kriss and Hubert Kriss-Heinrich, for example, wrote a
Iranian Twelvers and IsmaE¯ıl¯ı Seveners. We owe this discov-
handbook of popular Islam, Volksglaube im Bereich des Islams
ery mainly to the investigations of Henry Corbin (1903–
(2 vols., 1960–1962); Klaus E. Müller dealt with current be-
1978), whose works, such as En islam iranien (4 vols., 1971–
liefs and practices among sectarian groups in Islam in his
1972), revealed hidden but still living spiritual worlds. See
Kulturhistorische Studien zur Genese pseudoislamischer Sek-
also Heinz Halm’s Die islamische Gnosis: Die extreme Schia
tengebilde in Vorderasien (1967); and Constance Padwick has
und die EAlawiten (1982).
studied prayer manuals in actual use in Egypt in Muslim De-
votions (1961).
Mysticism. Muslim mystical thought and experience
have attracted serious scholarly attention in the West only
Since the 1960s several important studies of living Islam
in the course of the twentieth century, especially through the
in the broader context of society and its structure have been
work of Reynold A. Nicholson (1868–1945) and Louis Mas-
published by social scientists, among them Clifford Geertz,
signon (1883–1962). The former concentrated on certain
who, in Islam Observed (1968), compares Moroccan and
major works and their authors, such as The Mathnaw¯ıi of
Javanese Islamic structures. Other books in this vein, focus-
Jala¯l al-D¯ın Ru¯m¯ı; the latter focused on the development of
ing on S:u¯f¯ı structures, are Michael Gilsenan’s Saint and Sufi
mystical terminology and produced a four-volume biography
in Modern Egypt (1973) and Ernest Gellner’s two works on
of the tenth-century mystic al-H:alla¯j (1922; Eng. trans.,
Morocco, Saints of the Atlas (1969) and Muslim Society
1982). This line of study has been pursued for mystical poet-
(1981). To this same category belong the numerous writings
ry by A. J. Arberry (1905–1969) and later by scholars such
by Jacques Berque that deal with Arab society and the role
as Annemarie Schimmel in Mystical Dimensions of Islam
of Islam within it. The literature on the status of women in
(1976). Muslim mystical orders have also received consider-
Muslim societies is growing rapidly. See for instance Women
able attention, for instance by J. Spencer Trimingham and
in the Muslim World, edited by Lois Beck and Nikki R. Ked-
F. de Yong.
die (1978).
Islamic art and architecture. This field deserves a sepa-
Modern developments in Islam. Scholarly surveys of
rate status among the disciplines making up Islamic studies,
modern developments in Muslim countries commenced
since it deals with materials other than texts and is linked
with a 1932 volume edited by H. A. R. Gibb, Whither Islam?
with art history in general. Among scholars who deserve
A Survey of Modern Movements in the Moslem World, which
mention are K. A. C. Creswell (1879–1974), and Richard
was followed by the same scholar’s Modern Trends in Islam
Ettinghausen (1906–1979), and at present Oleg Grabar and
(1947) and by Wilfred Cantwell Smith’s Islam in Modern
Robert Hillenbrand. The study of this field is now becoming
History (1957). It has since become clear that recent develop-
more integrated into the broader cultural history of Islam.
ments should be described according to the country within
which they occur and that although certain patterns can be
Religious institutions. In recent decades important
established as valid for nearly all Muslim countries, in each
breakthroughs have been made in the understanding of the
country various groups, including the government, have
relationships between Islamic religious institutions and the
their own articulation of Islam. A major contribution to this
societies in which they function. In La cité musulmane
formulation is Der Islam in der Gegenwart, edited by Werner
(1954), Louis Gardet attempted to sketch the outline of the
Ende and Udo Steinbach (1984). Events in revolutionary
ideal society in terms of orthodox Islam, while H. A. R. Gibb
Iran have shown, moreover, that Islamicists in the Orientalist
and Harold Bowen addressed the eighteenth-century Mus-
tradition simply have not been adequately equipped to inter-
lim “religious structure,” especially with regard to processes
pret what happens in Muslim countries. On the other hand,
of modernization in parts 1 and 2 of Islamic Society and the
Religion in the Middle East: Three Religions in Concord and
West (1950–1957). Considerable attention has been paid to
Conflict, edited by A. J. Arberry (2 vols., 1969), may be men-
religious authorities ( Eulama¯D, S:u¯f¯ı shaykhs) with their dif-
tioned here as an example of objective and impartial infor-
ferent roles in society. Scholars, Saints and Sufis, edited by
mation about the three major religions that coexist in the
Nikki R. Keddie (1972), reflects much of this research
Middle East, in an environment ridden with political ten-
through the early 1970s. Important in this respect is A. C.
sions, where religions can be abused for all kinds of purposes,
Eccel’s study Egypt, Islam and Social Change: Al-Azhar in
and where good relations among the three traditions have
Conflict and Accommodation (1984). See also Michael Gilse-
been hampered by claims of exclusivity.
nan’s Recognizing Islam: An Anthropologist’s Introduction
(1982) and Islamic Dilemmas: Reformers, Nationalists and In-
PRESENT-DAY ISLAMIC STUDIES IN THE WIDER SENSE. As
dustrialization, edited by Ernest Gellner (1985).
in other scholarly fields and disciplines, new issues have come
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FIRST EDITION]
4719
under discussion in Islamic studies, whether through the in-
particular interpretations of Islam, and who are the lead-
ternal development of scholarly research or through current
ers of these groups?
developments in Muslim countries, which developments de-
2. How do particular changes occurring in the religious in-
mand interpretation.
stitutions (or in institutions legitimized by religion) re-
Methodological issues. Intense epistemological de-
late to changes in society at large, and what are the con-
bates seem to have been absent from Islamic studies until the
sequences of such social changes for the institutions
1960s, chiefly because of the inherited pattern established by
concerned (and vice versa)?
the scholarly tradition. Yet there have been other currents in
3. What general social functions do various Islamic ideas
Islamic studies too, and with the incorporation of textual re-
and practices perform within particular Muslim socie-
search within a larger cultural and even religious perspective,
ties, apart from the specifically religious meaning they
scholars such as Louis Massignon, Gustav E. von Grune-
are meant to have?
baum, Wilfred Cantwell Smith, and Clifford Geertz have
been able to see the Islamic universe in new ways. We shall
Such questions can also be asked about Muslim societies of
point here to three matters of paramount importance: (1) the
the past, provided that historical data are available to answer
questioning of Islamic identities, (2) the increased assertion
them. Indeed, it is a mark of epistemological progress that
of Islamic identities, and (3) Islam as a living religion and
subjects excluded from investigation fifty years ago for lack
faith.
of methodological tools can now come under the purview of
Islamic studies. We can think of the distinctions that can be
Questioning Islamic identities. Among Western scholars
made now between religious and other (e.g., political) mean-
who have reevaluated accepted readings of the Islamic tradi-
ings of Islamic data, and of our better insight in the appeal
tion, John Wansbrough has opened up critical research with
that particular Islamic ideas and practices can have for specif-
regard to the text of the QurDa¯n in the aforementioned Qu-
ic groups.
ranic Studies and has extended this inquiry to early Islamic
history in The Sectarian Milieu (1978). In an even more con-
Tradition in a wider sense. The notion of tradition, too,
troversial work, Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World
has attracted new attention in Islamic studies among both
(1977), Patricia Crone and Michael Cook have argued that
historians and anthropologists, who recognize that successive
the historical formation of Islamic religion and civilization
generations of Muslims have interpreted their lives, their
can be explained in terms of a complex network of Jewish-
world, and history through the religious and cultural frame-
Arab relations. While their argument has found little favor,
work, or “tradition,” of the society into which they have been
it may well lead other scholars to reconsider the role of his-
born. On the one hand, we have the normative “great” tradi-
torically falsified material in their research.
tion with elements ranging from the QurDa¯n and parts of the
shar¯ı Eah to particular creeds, practices of worship, and para-
Asserting Islamic identities. The growing participation
digmatic figures and episodes in Islamic history. On the
of Muslim scholars in the field of Islamic studies has had the
other hand, for each region we must add numerous elements
opposite effect to that mentioned above. An intention to as-
of the local “little” tradition, including legendary events in
sert Islamic identities becomes evident in books such as Is-
the history of the region, miracles and blessings of particular
lamic Perspectives: Studies in Honor of Sayyid Abul Ala
saints, the meritorious effect of particular practices, and so
Mawdudi, edited by Khurshid Ahmad and Zafar Ish:a¯q An-
on, all of which constitute local, popular religion.
sari (1979), and Islam and Contemporary Society, edited by
Salem Azzam (1982). One important contribution of Mus-
New topics of research. As a result of these and other
lim scholars is that of making Muslim forms of understand-
methodological issues, new topics of research have come
ing available to other Islamicists; their work should lead,
within our horizon, of which the following may be men-
moreover, to discussions within the Muslim community.
tioned as examples.
Noteworthy, for instance, is Mohammed Arkoun’s semiotic
Revitalization of Islam. Different forms of Islamic revi-
approach in Lectures du Coran (1983) and Fazlur Rahman’s
talization have been signaled by both Muslim and non-
studies on the history of Islamic thought, for instance in his
Muslim observers in a number of countries. While the media
Prophecy in Islam: Philosophy and Orthodoxy (1979).
have addressed the political and “exotic,” even abhorrent di-
Islam as a living religion. Recent methodological and
mensions of this revitalization, scholarly investigation is
epistemological concerns have been stimulated in large part
needed to distinguish various sectors of life and society in
by a growing interest in Islam as a living religion and faith,
which such revitalization takes place (as well as its religious
which is connected with certain political solidarities and so-
from its nonreligious aspects) according to both Islamic
cial and economic issues. As a result, the meaning of events
criteria and criteria developed by the scientific study of reli-
and processes in Muslim countries is studied more and more
gion. Preceding movements of reform and renewal should be
in their contemporary cultural and Islamic framework. Three
taken into account.
questions are paramount in these Islamic studies in the wider
Ideologization of Islam. During the last hundred years
sense:
a great number of Islamic ideologies have developed; what
1. Which kinds of groups support and transmit various
for centuries was considered a religion based on revelation
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4720
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FIRST EDITION]
seems to have evolved in certain quarters into an Islamic sys-
linked, in turn, to political and other relationships. The re-
tem or ideology of a cognitive nature, in which the dimen-
cent establishment of considerable Muslim communities liv-
sion of faith and religious knowledge seems to have given
ing side by side with a non-Muslim majority in a number
place to a definite set of convictions and values. This ideolog-
of Western societies may also have made both North Ameri-
ization responds to a need for rationalization and may serve
ca and Western Europe more sensitive to the plurality of reli-
apologetic purposes, against criticism from the West, for in-
gions and cultures in daily life.
stance, or against secularizing trends within society. Often
the predicate “Islamic” suggests that a correspondence is
Study of religion in Islamic societies. The study of re-
sought between the older cultural and religious tradition and
ligion as a focus of Islamic studies has received considerable
the solutions proposed for the problems of the present.
attention in the work of Wilfred Cantwell Smith, especially
in his On Understanding Islam (1980). The major epistemo-
Islam, political action, and social and economic behav-
logical problem in Islamic studies is still apparently the diffi-
ior. After a period of Western domination in which a politi-
culty involved in correlating scholarly categories of descrip-
cal articulation of Islam was mostly impossible, Islam has
tion, analysis, and interpretation with the adequate
again come to play various political roles, in both more con-
“reading,” conceptualization, and translation of the raw data
servative and more progressive quarters, usually bypassing
of Islamic realities. Since “Islam” is not an empirical datum
the authority of those schooled in religious law (the Eulama¯D).
in the same way as is an actual text, a practice, or even an
So the question arises: what are the possibilities and the lim-
ideal, the way in which Islam is “thematized” and what is
its of the political, social, and economic use and abuse of
held to be the “reality” of Islam largely depend on the con-
Islam? Islam has permitted very different economic systems
cepts and categories with which a particular scholar is work-
(including a form of capitalism) as Maxime Rodinson (1966)
ing. It is only logical that certain sets of concepts will lead
has demonstrated. We may go on to ask in what ways Islam
to Islam being denied any “reality,” or at least to the denial
can be related positively or negatively to economic develop-
of the possibility of scholarly knowledge of any such reality.
ment, and to determine what basic values economic develop-
This does not mean that such a position precludes important
ment is subordinated to within the Islamic framework. That
work in Islamic studies but rather that, in this case, the con-
Islam is articulated basically as a way of life and as social be-
cept of “Islam” makes little scholarly sense.
havior has become evident again, for instance, by the recur-
rence of the veil and by expressions of solidarity with Mus-
How should we then approach and study religion in the
lims in other parts of the world.
context of Islamic studies? Our starting point must be the
recognition that Islam is always linked to persons, to socie-
Muslim self-interpretations. In the course of the history
ties, and to the Muslim community at large. Whereas texts,
of Islamic studies, serious hermeneutical mistakes, that is, er-
monuments, social practices, and so on, be they sacred or
rors of interpretation, have been made. Western scholars for
profane, somehow exist in themselves, this is not the case for
instance tended to reify Islam, forgetting that “Islam” in itself
“Islam,” which exists first of all as a meaning for people, both
does not exist, that “Islam” is always Islam interpreted, and
Muslims and outsiders (including non-Muslim Islamicists).
that Muslims keep this interpretive process going. Much
The subjective meaning of a particular datum, however, may
more attention should be paid to what Muslim authors,
be different for each person; in abstract terms, religious
speakers, groups, and movements actually mean when they
meanings are not inherent in particular facts. If we are inter-
express themselves in particular situations, free from inter-
ested in such meanings, accurate scholarly study of the reli-
pretations or explanations imposed from outside. Carrying
gious aspects of Islam should avoid using general terms de-
out study in collaboration with Muslim researchers is appro-
rived from Western parlance, such as religion, worldview,
priate here as in many fields.
ideology, faith, and so on, and should instead start by looking
at those data that possess significance for groups of Mus-
Interaction and image formation. It is perhaps a sign of
lims—data that can be said to have a semiotic or symbolic
renewal of Islamic studies that Islam is no longer studied
value for Muslims.
only as an isolated culture, tradition, and religion that may
have assimilated outside influences, but that more attention
Islam as a religion, in the strict sense of the word, can
is given to the spread of Islam, processes of interaction with
probably best be called a network of signs, or a semiotic sys-
other communities, and Muslim images of other religions
tem; when such signs are internalized, they become symbols.
and of the non-Muslim world generally. This direction of in-
Interestingly enough, the QurDa¯n hints at this process. In-
quiry is evidenced first by works of Arab scholars like Albert
deed, Islam constitutes the right human response to the a¯ya¯t
Hourani, Abdallah Laroui, and others, as well as by publica-
(“signs,” sometimes translated as “symbols”) that have been
tions like Bernard Lewis’s The Muslim Discovery of Europe
provided mankind in the QurDa¯n, in nature, and in history.
(1982) and Euro-Arab Dialogue: Relations between the Two
The a¯ya¯t are nexus points of divine revelation and human
Cultures, edited by Derek Hopwood (1985). This area of
reflection. Making full use of reason, Muslims are enjoined
study has been opened up as a consequence of the recogni-
to draw right conclusions from these a¯ya¯t for their lives on
tion of Islamic religion and culture as an autonomous part-
earth, for the life and order of society, and for eternal bliss.
ner in international religious and cultural relations, which are
Muslims are called upon to abandon themselves to the God
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
4721
who sent the a¯ya¯t and to obey his will as communicated
the Arabs in Spanish Scholarship, Sixteenth Century to the Pres-
through them. They should appeal to others to follow and
ent (Leiden, 1970).
understand the signs as well. They should, before all else, un-
Islamic studies in the West have not escaped criticism by Muslim
derstand the QurDa¯n itself as a “sign” revealed to humankind.
Islamicists. See, for instance, A. L. Tibawi’s English-Speaking
Religion in the Islamic sense is faith (in God), knowledge (of
Orientalists: A Critique of Their Approach to Islam and Arab
the God-given signs), and a way of life accordingly.
Nationalism (Geneva, 1965) and Second Critique of English-
Speaking Orientalists and Their Approach to Islam and the
Insofar as this interpretation corresponds with the Is-
Arabs (London, 1979). The following works also deserve
lamic notion of what religion is, it avoids stamping Islamic
mention in this connection: Anouar Abdel Malik’s “Orien-
data with Western-coined concepts that are part of ideals,
talism in Crisis,” Diogenes 44 (1963): 103–140; Abdallah
views, ideologies, and faiths fundamentally alien to Islam as
Laroui’s The Crisis of the Arab Intellectual (Berkeley, 1976);
Muslims see it. Paralleling the Muslim’s focus of interest, this
Edward Said’s Orientalism (New York, 1978); and Sadiq al-
approach discovers the sense of the universe, humanity, and
Azm’s “Orientalism and Orientalism in Reverse,” Hamsin 8
society, and the rules of right behavior and correct thinking,
(1981): 5–26.
by means of the study of the a¯ya¯t that are recognized as pro-
Finally, I have discussed methodological issues at greater length
viding meaning, orientation, and guidance. A study of Islam
in “Islam Studied as a Sign and Signification System,” Hu-
as a network of signs will reveal certain permanent vehicles
maniora Islamica 2 (1974): 267–285; “Islamforschung aus
of religious meaning, which permit communication between
religionswissenschaftlicher Sicht,” in XXI. Deutscher Orien-
Muslims despite varying circumstances of place and time. By
talistentag, 24–29. März 1980 in Berlin: Ausgewählte Vor-
approaching Islam as a communicative, religious sign system,
träge, edited by Fritz Steppat (Wiesbaden, 1982),
we avoid the one extreme of reifying Islam (and the concomi-
pp. 197–211; and “Assumptions and Presuppositions in Is-
tant search for an eternal essence), as well as the other ex-
lamic Studies,” Rocznik Orientalistyczny 43 (1984):
treme of denying any reality to Islam as measured against the
161–170. For an application, see Islam: Norm, ideaal en
werkelykheid, edited by me (Weesp, Netherlands, and Ant-
material world.
werp, 1984).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
JACQUES WAARDENBURG (1987)
Full bibliographic data for the literature referred to in the section
on the history of Islamic studies, above, can be found in
Charles J. Adams’s “Islamic Religious Tradition,” in The
Study of the Middle East, edited by Leonard Binder (New
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FURTHER CONSID-
York, 1976), pp. 29–96. For further bibliographic data, see
ERATIONS]. The study of Islam is both an ancient and
A Reader’s Guide to the Great Religions, 2d ed., edited by
a modern endeavor. It has its roots among Muslims in a
Charles J. Adams (New York, 1977), pp. 407–466.
long-established and continuing tradition of scholarship and
Islamic Studies: A Tradition and Its Problems, edited by Malcolm
interpretation of their own faith. Among others, particularly
H. Kerr (Malibu, Calif., 1983), deals admirably with the full
medieval Christians, the study was motivated by polemical
scope of Islamic studies. On the history of Islamic studies,
ends aimed at establishing self-authenticity and preeminence
see Maxime Rodinson’s “The Western Image and Western
by attributing to Islam, often pejoratively, error or willful
Studies of Islam,” in The Legacy of Islam, 2d ed., edited by
misappropriation. This tendency has lingered on, though the
Joseph Schacht with C. E. Bosworth (Oxford, 1974),
medieval constructions and assaults on Islam have assumed
pp. 9–62. Rodinson has elaborated his views in his La fasci-
different forms and emphases. The academic study of
nation d’Islam (Paris, 1980).
modem Islam, on the other hand, grew primarily out of the
My own study, L’Islam dans le miroir de l’Occident, 3d ed. (Paris,
Enlightenment tradition of European scholarship and inter-
1970), focuses on five prominent Islamicists: Goldziher,
est in Asian and African cultures and peoples, and by the
Snouck Hurgronje, Becker, Macdonald, and Massignon.
nineteenth and twentieth centuries it had assumed some of
This work may be supplemented with my essay “Changes in
Perspective in Islamic Studies over the Last Decades,” Hu-
the normative contours and institutional patterns that are as-
maniora Islamica 1 (1973): 247–260.
sociated with the general discipline of thought and expertise
known as Oriental studies or Orientalism.
The following works treat the development of Islamic studies in
particular European countries. England: A. J. Arberry’s Ori-
Orientalism, Edward Said’s (1935–2003) critique of the
ental Essays: Portraits of Seven Scholars (New York, 1960).
discipline, its assumptions, and practitioners, first published
France: Claude Cahen and Charles Pellat’s “Les études arabes
in 1978, elicited a steady stream of responses, some of which
et islamiques,” in Cinquante ans d’orientalisme en France,
were denunciatory and hastened to defend the discipline and
1922–1972, a special issue of Journal asiatique 261 (1973):
its authority; others, more self-reflective, began submitting
89–107. Germany: Rudi Paret’s The Study of Arabic and
Islam at German Universities: German Orientalists since Theo-
the discipline to greater introspection and even rethinking
dor Nöldeke (Wiesbaden, 1968) and Johann Frick’s Die ara-
in the light of developments in other disciplines. What is
bischen Studien in Europa (Leipzig, 1956). Netherlands: J.
noteworthy is that such a turn towards self-reflection, though
Brugman and F. Schrödder’s Arabic Studies in the Nether-
stimulated in this case by someone outside the discipline, was
lands (Leiden, 1979). Spain: James T. Monroe’s Islam and
by no means the first of its kind. Such a process has had its
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4722
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
own history within Islamic studies and Orientalism and was
confines of philologically oriented scholarship to a more
part of a general trend in academic culture after World
open-ended discourse, from which, in certain cases, they em-
War II.
braced uncritically the many new theories that had emerged.
In 1953, a conference of leading European Islamicists
The community of scholars in Islamic studies had in-
was organized by Gustav von Grunebaum (1909–1972) as
deed grown larger and more diverse, and the subject matter
part of a larger effort to examine the relationship among
too complex, to be contained any longer within one interpre-
Muslims, as well as between Islam and the various cultures
tive community. The debate about “Orientalism” reflected
and civilizations to which it had spread over time. This
and heightened the ambivalence within the field. Its signifi-
marked probably the first organized and self-conscious en-
cance, in retrospect, seems to lie more in the way it highlight-
deavor in recent times to undertake a historical and critical
ed this predicament through wider public discourse and by
self-understanding of the discipline in the light of developing
placing it within ongoing academic debates than in its partic-
methods and theories in the social sciences, particularly Rob-
ular claims and critique against European scholarship.
ert Redfield’s notion of “great” and “little” traditions. It was
Said’s claims and insights regarding the historical and
noted at the time that the methods and assumptions used to
ideological conditions necessary to produce a discipline such
study the history of Islam lagged a century behind those used
as Islamic studies intertwined issues of representation and
for European history.
construction of the discipline to reveal a Eurocentric pattern
A year later, at another conference, Claude Cahen
of domination and authority. At a time of cultural and politi-
(1909–1991) reemphasized the point, quoting Bernard
cal collision and preoccupation with assertions of identity
Lewis (b. 1916) to the effect that the history of the Arabs had
and difference in some parts of the Muslim world, his linking
been written in Europe chiefly by historians who knew no
of power and knowledge and his arguments against a hege-
Arabic and Arabists who knew no history. Cahen argued that
monic misrepresentation of Muslims by the West played into
a new direction was necessary, one that would go beyond the
the hands of rhetoricians emboldened by its anti-imperialist
hitherto philological orientation and study Muslim society
and anti-Western stance. This narrow focus and the contro-
as a total integrated organism. The sponsors and participants
versy the book aroused diverted attention from the scholarly
of such conferences, which took place against the backdrop
task and the opportunity to engage in a wider intellectual di-
of events and changes in the Muslim world, noted and em-
alogue and exchange. The theorizing and extension of the
phasized the need to better understand Muslim civilization
boundaries of knowledge was by no means limited to Islamic
and history, and thereby the social and political problems of
studies. Broadly speaking, the process reflected the larger de-
the Near East. They were conscious that the assumptions and
bate (some might say disarray) among various communities
methods of past generations of scholars, though meritorious
of interpretation in the humanities and the social sciences on
in their own right, had become increasingly outmoded and
the questions of the role of intellectuals and scholarly settings
detached from developments in other disciplines, as well as
in representing and misrepresenting various human groups
the changing realities in the relationship between Europe,
and cultures and upon the stability of authors and texts as
the Americas, and the Muslim world.
repositories of meaning.
There also developed, in due course, as each European
The next two decades of the 1960s and 1970s represent-
power established trade and colonies, a need to undertake
ed for Asia and Africa the era of decolonization, nationalism,
studies of structures and peoples in their immediate settings,
and revolution, whose impact was no longer local or regional
in particular the study of existing legal and social practices.
but was becoming increasingly global. These were turbulent
While much of the collection of such information was an of-
times in the academic community as well. A newer, more as-
ficial task, it did involve individuals with scholarly interests,
sertive tone emerged to which many scholars from the now
who subsequently helped encourage greater interest in the
so-called Third World allied themselves. It argued for the
study of Muslim society, contemporary to them. However,
dismantling and deconstruction of established metaphysical
the primary source of Islamic studies remained textual (based
and epistemological systems and the “Eurocentric” institu-
on available and selected texts) and the mode of analysis re-
tional apparatus that accompanied them. This would not be
mained philological (with Arabic, Persian, and Turkish hav-
the only straw in that wind of change, but, among other
ing priority). The history of European scholarship was by no
things, it caused a questioning and revising of many of the
means monolithic. At times, it appears as competing and is
assumptions of humanistic and social-scientific inquiry into
certainly diverse. It also reflected the economic and religious
other cultures. This debate, whose contemporary games are
involvement of these various countries and their own power
played out within interdeterminate frameworks called post-
relations within Europe.
modernism and post-structuralism, but also across disci-
plines in programs of “cultural studies,” affected Islamic
However, the pattern of historical-linguistic scholarship
studies only marginally. In part, this insulation explains both
on Islam remained general for a long time and was often in-
the defensiveness of the established community of Islamicists
sulated from developments in other areas of humanistic
against criticisms and the need felt by an emerging group of
scholarship that affected academic trends in fields such as
dissatisfied younger scholars to escape from the narrower
history and literature. The 1953 conference referred to earli-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISLAMIC STUDIES [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
4723
er marked something of a departure, particularly for the
War concerns, strategies, and ambiguities. This led to a frag-
study of economic and social history and institutions. The
mentary approach that very often separated and pitted those
focus of traditional Islamic studies, the Middle and Near
who were in the humanities against their counterparts in the
East, was shifted to include interactions between Muslims,
social sciences who were studying the same region. The vari-
Africans, and other Asian peoples, and current sociological
ous uses to which the conclusions of Thomas Kuhn’s Struc-
and anthropological perspectives came to be employed in the
ture of Scientific Revolutions (first published in 1962) could
analysis of the spread and development of Islam.
be applied suggested how even the most objective pursuits
of scientific knowledge could be analyzed to understand how
Two new global factors would affect the study of Islam
these conclusions operated within contingent and histori-
in the 1960s: the institutionalization of the Cold War and
cized contexts. The presumed failure of “bias-free” assump-
the decolonization and creation of new nation-states in much
of Africa and Asia, including the Muslim regions of these two
tions and methods came to be evoked in those social-science
continents. There was a corresponding development in the
disciplines that studied other cultures and societies. This un-
growth of higher education and research in Europe and
dermining of confidence in the inherited paradigms was also
North America (accompanied by the migration of scholars
exacerbated by the availability of many works by those who
and ideas from the former to the latter), and a transplanting
lived or wrote from the perspective of the Third World. In
of emerging intellectual trends in the theory and practice of
time, as these ideas took hold, the construction of knowledge
scholarship. These factors highlighted attempts to study
became linked to issues of power and representation. Exist-
what were presumed to be the disorienting effects of colonial
ing textual authority came to be questioned, and many pre-
rule and the need to develop institutional strategies necessary
tentious and arbitrary claims came to be made for and against
to address the challenges, as well as the asymmetries, created
established “canons.” Said’s work was a reflection and a de-
by independence.
velopment of this trend. The history of Islamic studies re-
veals that there never was at any time in the past a fixed para-
A colloquium held in 1961, the Colloque sur la Sociologie
digm that operated universally; the boundaries were
Musulmane, affirmed the need to refine methods and devel-
constantly being revised, not always by design but invariably
op new concerns informed by social science. Baber Johansen,
because the dynamics of Muslim engagement with their his-
in discussing the development of Islamic studies in Germa-
tory and heritage was changing as dramatically as the rela-
ny, reflected on the loss of the dominant paradigm of histori-
tionship of Europe and North America with the Muslim
cism since the 1960s. The changes in German society after
world.
World War II, and the subsequent breakdown of the colonial
system, led to university reform and a restructuring of Orien-
The abundance of current scholarship portrays the intel-
tal studies. Scholarly authority shifted to the disciplines of
lectual, spiritual, and institutional pluralism of Islam, show-
social sciences, with their promise of better understanding of
ing the development of a wide variety of Muslim societies
the transformation of economic, political, and social life at
within local and global contexts and illustrating the diversity
home and abroad. The same patterns can be said to have af-
that exists among individual Muslims, traditions, and peri-
fected Britain, France, the Netherlands, and other Western
ods of history. This scholarship also suggests Western schol-
European countries during the same period. The Russian ex-
ars need to rethink the ways in which they have geographical-
ample (and that of some other Eastern European countries)
ly and intellectually mapped the Muslim world. Past legal
presents a special case. It suggests the strong constraint of
constructs such as “Dar al-Islam” and “Dar al-Harb” have
ideologically grounded scholarship of a different kind—
become irrelevant, which is not to say that they cannot be
molded as it was by assumptions that governed intellectual
invoked for ideological reasons. The manner in which Euro-
and cultural life in the Soviet Union. In its engagement with
pean scholarship in the past perceived the Muslim world,
some countries of the Muslims world an effort was also made
with a presumed center—the “Near East” or “Middle
to infiltrate intellectual life in these countries with a compet-
East”—led to the marginalization of large groups of Muslims
ing agenda meant to foster the Soviet Union’s hegemonic as-
who did not inhabit that geopolitical space, and this margi-
pirations. The collapse of the Soviet Union has opened up
nalization affected the focus and practice of scholarship.
the space both in Russia and various Central Asian Republics
In addition to resisting the imposition of old bounda-
to a revision and a restatement. The contours of this new
ries, there is the caveat against present-mindedness and the
trend are still uncertain, though considerably new archival
undue focus on what has been termed Islamist or radical ex-
and manuscript material has become available.
pressions, and the violent behavior associated with it on a
It is also during this period that the study of Islam ex-
global scale. While their relevance to contemporary politics
panded in Canada and the United States, in particular with
and current affairs cannot be dismissed, it would be errone-
the establishment of area-studies centers funded by govern-
ous and limiting to make it the primary expression of Mus-
ment sources and foundations. It has been argued that such
lim identity in the modern world. There is among contem-
centers, particularly in the United States, while advancing
porary Muslims, as in all religious traditions, an inherent
the study of regional languages and cultures, tended to have
tension. One pattern expresses the growing differentiation in
their intellectual rationale subverted by the matrix of Cold
and separation of spheres and activity of life in which the in-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4724
EIS:MAH
herited tradition occupies a place of differing degrees of per-
Abou El Fadl, Khaled. And God Knows the Soldiers: The Authorita-
sonal and collective commitment. Another seeks to reinte-
tive and Authoritarian in Islamic Discourse. London, 2001.
grate all spheres within a totalizing conception of “Islam,”
Abu Lughod, Lila, ed. Remaking Women: Feminism and Identity
which some wish to impose on other Muslims. Still others
in the Middle East. Princeton, 1998.
seek broader intellectual, ethical, and practical directions
Akbar, Ahmed. Postmodernism and Islam: Predicament and Prom-
without assuming a parochial or doctrinaire approach. The
ise. London, 1992.
tools of intellectual modernity that are employed in all cases
Bunt, Gary. Islam in the Digital Age: E-jihad, Online Fatwas, and
cannot be homogeneous. The task of scholarship is to further
Cyber Islamic Environments. London, 2003.
develop and refine mediating categories and tools of compre-
Cooke, Miriam. Women Claim Islam: Creating Islamic Feminism
hension that allow one to negotiate the space between con-
through Literature. London, 2000.
cept and practice, embeddedness and expression, past and
Erturk, Korkut A., ed. Rethinking Central Asia: Non-Eurocentric
present.
Studies in History, Social Structure, and Identity. Reading, Pa.,
An encouraging trend in Islamic studies is the cosmo-
1998.
politan profile of the scholars and their methods in the field.
Geertz, Claude. Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretive An-
A number of modern universities in the Muslim world have
thropology. New York, 1983.
established specific centers or institutes for the study of Islam
Gole, Nilufer. The Forbidden Modern: Civilization and Veiling.
to complement more traditional and normative places of ad-
Ann Arbor, Mich., 1998.
vanced study. A new generation of Muslim scholars is being
Hodgson, Marshall G. Rethinking World History: Essays on Europe,
created in countries such as Indonesia, Turkey, and Malaysia
Islam, and World History. Introduction by Edmund Burke
whose interests are less parochial and whose methods are
III. Cambridge, U.K., and New York, 1993.
linked to those practiced in academic institutions in the rest
Hourani, Albert. Islam in European Thought. Cambridge, U.K.,
of the world. The migration of European scholars to the
1991.
Americas has been followed by the migration of scholars
Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remak-
from the Muslim world to both Europe and the United
ing of World Order. New York, 1996.
States. As Muhsin Mahdi (b. 1926) points out, one cannot
Kerr, Malcolm, ed. Islamic Studies: A Tradition and Its Problems.
easily separate contemporary scholarship in terms of “West-
Malibu, Calif., 1980.
ern” and “Muslim.” When combined with the rapid changes
Macfie, A. L., ed. Orientalism: A Reader. Edinburgh, 2000.
in communication made possible by advances in technology,
Nanji, Azim, ed. Mapping Islamic Studies. Berlin and New York,
such as the internet, collaboration between scholars within
1997.
a continent and across continents has become much easier.
Rahman, Fazlur. “Approaches to Islam in Religious Studies: Re-
This cross-fertilization is reflected in the fact that Islamic
view Essay.” In Approaches to Islam in Religious Studies, edited
studies now radiates from within many departments and dis-
by Richard C. Martin. Tucson, Ariz., 1985.
ciplines and finds expression in collaborative projects, insti-
Ramadan, Tariq. Western Muslims and the Future of Islam. New
tutes, journals, and associations. This new constellation of
York, 2004.
interests and constituencies has generated a profusion of
Said, Edward. “Orientalism Reconsidered.” In Literature, Politics,
scholarship and augurs well for a transnational scholarly
and Theory: Papers from the Essex Conference, edited by Fran-
landscape.
cis Baker et al. London, 1986.
The field of Islamic studies will continue to be more di-
Sells, Michael A., and Emran Qureshi, eds. The New Crusades:
verse and encompassing in its scope than in the past. There
Constructing the Muslim Enemy. New York, 2003.
are many possibilities open for adding to its subject matter
Waardenburg, Jacques. Islam: Historical, Social, and Political Per-
and methods, including the role of Islam as a cultural force
spectives. Berlin, 2002.
of great diversity; the increasing public participation in soci-
World Policy Institute Dialogue. “Clash of Civilizations or Clash
ety by women (whose contributions and role still await de-
of Perceptions: In Search of Common Ground for Under-
tailed study within Islamic studies); the history of rural, agri-
standing.” Granada, Spain, 2002.
cultural, and mountainous peoples of the Muslim world; and
AZIM NANJI (2005)
new interactions among Muslims now living in the West. In
this way, a vibrant humanistic scholarship can contribute to
knowledge, linking the fifth of humanity that is Muslim to
EIS:MAH. The Arabic term Eis:mah means “immunity”
others, among whom Muslims live and with whom they in-
from sin or error. EIs:mah is discussed by the Sunn¯ıs in rela-
creasingly share the task of building mutual understanding.
tion to the Prophet Muh:ammad and other prophets, and by
the Sh¯ıEah in relation to not only the prophets but, most im-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
This essay is meant to supplement the article by Jacques Waarden-
portantly, the ima¯ms, the charismatic descendants of EAl¯ı ibn
burg in the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Religion and
Ab¯ı T:a¯lib who stand at the center of Sh¯ıE¯ı piety. The paths
to introduce some broader perspectives and developments in
taken by Sunn¯ıs and Sh¯ıEah with regard to Eis:mah throw
the field. It is based primarily on the “Introduction” in Azim
much light on the different development and character of the
Nanji’s Mapping Islamic Studies (1997).
two traditions.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
EIS:MAH
4725
The idea of immunity is latent in the tendency of Homo
quality that prevents sin as freedom from all covetousness,
religiosus to attribute outstanding qualities to special persons.
envy, anger, and appetite, and calling it “ Eis:mah.”
This tendency was already evident in the first centuries of
By at least the late eighth century, immunity was also
Islam in efforts to dissociate Muh:ammad from polytheism
taken up by the great rationalist theologians of Islam, the
in his early life and S:u¯f¯ı and Sh¯ıE¯ı exaltation of the saints
Mu Etazilah, perhaps initially because of contacts with Sh¯ıEah
and ima¯ms. It was, however, only in the eighth century (AH
but finally because of a certain fit with the MuEtazil¯ı world-
second century), under the influence of theology and in an-
view. The MuEtazilah insisted that a just God was bound to
swer to problems raised by possible error on the part of reli-
do the best for his creatures, and thus, they concluded, he
gious authorities, that immunity was made explicit and ex-
would not allow revelation to be compromised through
pounded systematically. This development may be
faults on the part of its bearers. Because the aim of the
contrasted with the case of Judaism, in which theology did
MuEtazilah was not to idealize any personality but to secure
not gain as much importance and the question of inerrancy
a principle of their system; they spoke of the prophets alto-
was consequently not raised, so that the prophets and other
gether, not even necessarily privileging Muh:ammad. Rigor-
revered figures were largely left with their errors and sins.
ous logic caused them to extend Eis:mah to any circumstance
The word Eis:mah itself is not found in the QurDa¯n, but
that might damage that principle, to the time not only after
other forms of the base root E-s-m do appear, for example,
but also before a prophet’s mission and to “any trait,” as the
“God will protect [E-s-m] you from the people” (5:67), “those
Qa¯d:¯ı EAbd al-Jabba¯r puts it in the eleventh century, “liable
who take refuge [E-t-s-m] in God” (4:146). It thus seems like-
to cause aversion.”
ly that the choice of the term for immunity, in which God
The Sh¯ıE¯ı theological argument for Eis:mah was finally
“protects” certain persons from error, was indirectly suggest-
assembled as they themselves adopted the MuEtazil¯ı rational-
ed by the QurDa¯n; related words are used in similar senses be-
ist worldview. The argument was that God could not grant
fore Eis:mah ever acquires a technical sense—for example, a
supreme authority, whether in religion or temporal rule, to
community can be maEs:u¯m, specially taken care of or “pro-
any person liable to error or sin, because such persons would
tected” by God.
then lead others into the same error, which would mean that
God had failed to do the best possible for his creation and
The QurDa¯n itself, however, is unconcerned with prob-
was thus not perfectly just. Therefore, so the reasoning goes,
lems raised by the capacity for error or sin on the part of the
there must necessarily exist persons who are immune to
prophets whose stories it relates. One passage (80:1–10) even
whom such authority may be given; and these are none other
tells how the Prophet of Islam was reproached by God for
than the prophets and their successors, the ima¯ms, to whom
turning away from a blind man who wanted to hear his
complete allegiance is consequently owed. This is the basic
preaching. Apart from tendencies toward semi-deification
argument of the Sh¯ıE¯ı doctrine of immunity to this day.
seen in some Sh¯ıE¯ı and S:u¯f¯ı circles, early Muslim non-
theological tradition also accepted prophets and other re-
The theological notion of Eis:mah was entirely in harmo-
vered persons as merely human, albeit outstanding humans
ny with veneration of the ima¯ms and soon spread over the
who may work miracles. The canonical books of Sunn¯ı
rest of the tradition. Early-tenth-century exegetical works
h:ad¯ıth, collected in the mid- to late ninth century, contain
such as the tafs¯ırs of EAyya¯sh¯ı and Qumm¯ı are unconcerned
traditions that freely admit lapses on the part of the prophets
with the errors and sins of prophets related in the QurDa¯n;
(e.g., Adam’s sin, the Prophet’s warning to his followers that
modern editors add long notes to “correct” them on this
he might judge in error). Early Sh¯ıE¯ı h:ad¯ıth texts—including
point. Not long after, however, the traditionist Ibn
the mid-tenth-century canonical al-Ka¯f¯ı —do not refer to
Ba¯bawayh (d. 991) presents textual instead of rational proofs
Eis:mah or construct any theory of immunity, even as they vir-
to establish the necessity (wuju¯b) of immunity, also pointing
tually imply it by referring to the pure essence and perfect
out that because immunity is an inner quality, it is only
knowledge of Muh:ammad and the ima¯ms. Later Sh¯ıE¯ı works
through the designation of the text (nas:s:) that the ma Es:u¯m
that wish to uphold Eis:mah are compelled to rely mostly on
can be known. The scholars move on to treat the many prob-
statements attributed to the ima¯ms that do not address the
lematic passages of the QurDa¯n and tradition; Shaykh T:u¯s¯ı
subject directly, or on clearly late material such as long dis-
(died c. 1067), for instance, argues that it is not possible that
quisitions attached to the eighth ima¯m, EAl¯ı al-Rid:a¯. Never-
Muh:ammad would have turned away from the blind man,
theless, by the mid-eighth century the belief that the ima¯ms,
since that would be contrary to his demonstrated character
or at least EAl¯ı, did not commit any fault was already attribut-
and prophetic mission, the one who turned away being rath-
ed to an unnamed group of Sh¯ıEah. The belief must have
er one of the Quraysh nobles hostile to him. Proof texts for
E
been an extremist one, for these persons did allow that the
is:mah are also adduced, for example, QurDa¯n 33:33: “God
Prophet committed faults. The pioneering Sh¯ıE¯ı theologian
wills, O People of the Household, that all impurity be re-
Hisha¯m ibn al-H:akam (d. 179/795–796) then begins to sys-
moved from you and that you be cleansed most thoroughly.”
tematize this belief, explaining that the Prophet may sin be-
EIs:mah entered Sunnism also from the direction of the-
cause he can be corrected by revelation (which the ima¯ms
ology. It is first mentioned in the tenth-century H:anaf¯ı creed
cannot); Sh¯ıE¯ı sources also credit Hisha¯m with describing the
Fiqh Akbar II (in which some scholars have also detected
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4726
EIS:MAH
Mu Etazil¯ı influence). Sunn¯ı theologians continued to affirm
central to Sh¯ıE¯ı piety, in which the twelve ima¯ms, the Proph-
immunity, but they were more reticent than their Mu Etazil¯ı
et, and Fat:imah are referred to collectively as the fourteen
and Sh¯ıE¯ı counterparts, for they were not as willing to under-
ma Esums. Any questioning of immunity would be for
take the extensive interpretation of the scriptures required to
Twelver Sh¯ıEah a very great heresy, partly because of the deep
make them accord with Eis:mah, and they were also wary of
sectarian emotions attached to it. Thus, opponents of the
blurring the boundary between human and divine. Thus,
controversial Lebanese cleric Sayyid Muh:ammad Fad:lalla¯h
many Sunn¯ıs allowed sin and error (excluding unbelief) be-
have accused him of undermining the prophets’ Eis:mah, a
fore the prophets’ missions, and even minor sins after,
charge he has strongly denied.
though with some added proviso, such as that they would
Contemporary popular Sunnism has been pulled in the
be unintentional or not of the kind that would affect their
opposite direction. Partly under the growing influence of the
preaching.
spirit of Wahhabism, Sunn¯ıs are likely, while still venerating
Sunn¯ı scholars had originally been drawn into giving
the prophets, to insist on their humanity, one of the
qualified assent to the doctrine of Eis:mah by the problem laid
QurDanic proof texts commonly cited being “I [Muh:ammad]
before them of establishing a guaranteed starting point for
am only a mortal like you. . .” (18:110).
religion. Already by the eighth century, however, they found
a partial escape by locating immunity in the consensus
BIBLIOGRAPHY
For the positions of additional sects and thinkers, including Sh¯ıE¯ı
(ijma¯ E) of the scholars, as expressed in the h:ad¯ıth, “My com-
groups who have held views different than those of the ma-
munity shall never commit an error.” This solution had the
jority Twelvers, refer to W. Madelung and E. Tyan’s
added virtue of securing the ongoing process of the tradition,
“EIs:mah” in The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., edited by
and the Sh¯ıEah were later to adopt a version of it by asserting
H. A. R. Gibb, vol. 4, p. 182 (Leiden, Netherlands, 1977).
that the unanimous consensus of their own scholars was cer-
al-Asada¯ba¯d¯ı, EAbd al-Jabba¯r ibn Ah:mad. Sharh: al-us:u¯l al-
tainly correct, since the infallible Twelfth Ima¯m was also a
khamsah. Edited by EAbd al-Kar¯ım EUthma¯n. Cairo, 1965.
scholar hidden among them.
AshEar¯ı, Abu¯ al-H:asan. Maqa¯la¯t al-isla¯m¯ıy¯ın, 2d ed. Edited by
Muh:ammad Muh:yi al-D¯ın EAbd al-H:am¯ıd. Cairo, 1969–
Though the groups most attached to the literal meaning
1970.
of the QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıth, the H:anbal¯ıs and extremist
Bar-Asher, Meir M. Scripture and Exegesis in Early Ima¯m¯ı Shiism.
“H:ashaw¯ıyah,” were drawn by their fideism toward some ac-
Leiden and Jerusalem, 1999.
ceptance of the prophets’ sins, the grandfather of modern
Bin Ba¯z EAbd al-EAz¯ız. Majmu¯ fata¯wá wa-maqa¯la¯t mutanawwi Eah.
H:anbal¯ı-Wahha¯bism, Ibn Taym¯ıyah (d. 1328), does affirm
E
17 vols., see vol. 6, pp. 290–291. Riyad, Saudi Arabia, 1421
is:mah. The Wahha¯b¯ıs are fiercely opposed to any venera-
(2001–2002).
tion of humans, including the Prophet; but they too have
Calverley, Edwin E., and James W. Pollock, eds. and trans. Na-
been compelled to admit Eis:mah in order to secure the
ture, Man and God in Medieval Islam. 2 vols. Leiden, Nether-
QurDa¯n and especially, h:ad¯ıth on which they rely so heavily.
lands, 2002.
Thus, Shaykh Bin Ba¯z, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia until
Donaldson, Dwight M. The Shiite Religion. London, 1933.
his death in 1999, explains that all the prophets were ma Es:u¯m
Ibn Ba¯bawayh. Ma Ea¯n¯ı al-akhba¯r. Mashhad, Iran, 1408 (1987–
in that which they communicated from God, and that
1988).
Muh:ammad was immune from major sins, though not from
Ibn Bat:t:ah, EUbayd Alla¯h ibn Muh:ammad. al-Sharh: wa-al-iba¯nah
minor sins or error in worldly affairs concerning which he
Ealá us:u¯l al-sunnah wa-al-diya¯nah (Profession de foi d’Ibn
did not express certainty or issue any command—in which
Batta). Translated by Henri Laoust. Damascus, Syria, 1958.
case God made him aware of the sin or error so that he then
Laoust, Henri. Essai sur les doctrines sociales et politiques de Taki-d-
desisted from it.
Din Ahmad b. Taymiyya. Cairo, 1939.
The Sh¯ıEah have tended to maximize immunity. This
McDermott, Martin J. The Theology of al-Shaikh al-Mufid. Beirut,
Lebanon, 1978.
tendency is driven partly by the theological impulse toward
Majlis¯ı, Muh:ammad Ba¯qir. Bih:a¯r al-anwa¯r. 2d revised edition,
systematization; the logic of Eis:mah in order for it to hold
110 vols; see vol. 11, pp. 72–126, vol. 17, pp. 108–110, vol.
must be applied to all bearers of revelation and all circum-
25, pp. 191–211. Beirut, Lebanon,: 1403 (1983).
stances in the life of a ma Es:u¯m. Thus, the Shar¯ıf al-Murt:adá
Schmidtke, Sabine. Theologie, Philosophie und Mystik im Zwölfer-
(d. 1044 or 1045) composed a book entitled Complete Exon-
schiitischen Islam des 9./15. Jahrhunderts. Leiden, 2000.
eration of [All] the Prophets and Ima¯ms; and the immunity of
Schmidtke, Sabine. The Theology of al-Allamah al-Hilli. Berlin,
the ma Es:u¯ms is finally extended not only to the time before
1991.
their missions but even unintentional commission of minor
Shar¯ıf al-Murtad:á. Tanz¯ıh al-anbiya¯’ wa-al-a’immah. Beirut,
sins and (against all other Muslim opinion) inadvertent error
1989.
(sah:w). Immunity for the Sh¯ıEah also embraces nonreligious
T:u¯s¯ı, Muh:ammad ibn al-H:asan. al-Tibya¯n f¯ı tafs¯ır al-Qur Da¯n.
affairs. Modern Sh¯ıE ¯ı scholars continue to produce a consid-
Beirut, 1990.
erable literature explaining and defending Eis:mah.
Zayn al-EA¯bid¯ın, EAbd al-Sala¯m. Mura¯ja Ea¯t f¯ı Eis:mat al-anbiya¯’
The Sh¯ıE¯ı focus on Eis:mah is driven primarily, however,
min manz:u¯r Qur’a¯n¯ı. 1421 (2000).
by veneration of the ima¯ms, and here it becomes absolutely
L. CLARKE (2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISRAELITE LAW: AN OVERVIEW
4727
ISMAILIS SEE SHIISM, ARTICLE ON ISMA¯E¯IL¯IYAH
nunna—which are considered to be descriptions of legal
practice, in order to teach and exercise legal decision-making.
The law codes were arranged for two purposes: on the one
ISRAEL SEE JACOB; JEWISH PEOPLE; ZIONISM
hand, for the education of scribes, on the other hand, for the
sophisticated propagation of legal reforms—like the Middle-
Assyrian laws—or for the documentation of such a reform—
ISRAELITE LAW
like the Hittite laws. On a secondary stage of literary devel-
This entry consists of the following articles:
opment, such law collections—like that of Hammurabi—
AN OVERVIEW
may have been framed by a prologue or an epilogue, accord-
PERSONAL STATUS AND FAMILY LAW
ing to the royal ideology that serves for the public presenta-
PROPERTY LAW
tion of the king’s function to enforce laws. Likewise in this
CRIMINAL LAW
STATE AND JUDICIARY LAW
function, the laws remained descriptive and did not bind the
judgments of the court to which the gods—particularly Sha-
mash—were entitled through their cultic decision-making.
ISRAELITE LAW: AN OVERVIEW
In Persian jurisprudence of the Achaemenids, the decrees of
In all societies, law is an absolutely necessary bracket that,
the king functioned as unchangeable laws for the courts.
through a common compulsory way of acting, guarantees the
However, in Persia, as in Egypt, law collections were not
ties between individuals, groups, and communities usually
codified. In Persia, they also restrained the function of the
drifting apart due to their different material and ideal inter-
king for dispensation to jurisdiction by enacting laws togeth-
ests. Law assumes this task of promoting the cohesion of so-
er with the state god Ahura Mazda¯. But in addition to the
ciety through two basic functions. First, it minimizes vio-
decrees of their king, the Persians allowed the enforcement
lence by regulating social conflicts; second, it secures norms
of codified local laws in provinces of defeated nations for
by means of sanctions and thus stabilizes expectations of be-
order’s sake.
havior into socially acceptable actions.
T
In the ancient Near East, laws never gained a critical dis-
HE CODIFICATION OF LAW IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST
tance from the king and thus from the state as well. Only
AND IN ISRAEL. Norms of behavior enforced through the
in Israel and Greece, where the legal sphere kept its distance
penalty of sanctions and the rules for minimizing violent
from the king, laws—in Israel given by God or in Greece by
conflicts were primary forms of law originally transmitted
the will of the people—confronted the state in written form
orally. In state-run societies, legal functions tended to be
through a prescriptive character bestowed on them. The
taken over by the state or were put under public supervision.
written legal texts took over functions which were usually
In monarchies, if and for what function laws were written
filled by the king in the ancient Near East. With the words
down and codified depended upon the scope of the incarna-
“the law is the king of all” (nómos ho pánto¯n basileús), Pindar
tion of legal functions in the king who embodied public
(born about 520
power.
BCE) furnished a conception for a break-
through which was true of the Hellenic form of justice and
In Egypt, the king’s competence for legal decisions
also applied to Israel. But in contrast to Greece, Jewish law
could not be restricted by written laws or laws arranged in
was not legitimated by the will of the people in the polis, but
collections of legal rules. This was because the pharaoh, the
it expressed God’s will, the source of law and justice
son of the sun-god, was looked upon as the incarnation of
(miˇspatusdaqa¯). In Greece, nómos was the commonly valid
justice and law (ma Dat). Thus there were not any Egyptian
norm which an individual was not allowed to violate; never-
law collections from the pre-Persian period but only several
theless, it could be altered by the polis. The act of writing
legal decrees of the king. In Mesopotamia, the gods empow-
down the laws allowed them to be revised, making legal re-
ered the king to enforce the law. The king could delegate his
form possible. However, the consistent deduction of the law
task to subordinate authorities. Contrary to Egyptian law
from God’s will in Israel confined Old Testament law in a
and justice (Akkadian: kittu[m] u m¯ıˇsaru[m]), the law and
way that prohibited legislation or judicial revision initiated
justice incarnated in the king were of meta-divine origin, be-
by the people. Furthermore, this raised problems concerning
cause the gods themselves—like the sun-god Shamash, who
the adaptation of laws revealed by God as a legal source to
is the god of justice—have obtained law and justice. Thus
new sociohistorical circumstances because God cannot be
they were only viewed as non-derivable powers who even
contradictory to himself. Within the Bible, legal revisions
transcended the gods’ universe as well as the king’s functions,
can only be mediated by scribal techniques in order to prove
including the instruction of the gods to the king to enforce
the identity of revised and revising law and of God’s will.
the law. Due to this difference between Egypt and Mesopo-
This form of inner-biblical judicial revision became the ori-
tamia concerning the legitimation of the legal functions of
gin of the methods of Rabbinic interpretation of the Bible.
the king, it was possible to codify and collect laws in Meso-
A HISTORY OF BIBLICAL LAW. The Israelite laws had their
potamia without restricting his legal functions.
origins in three functions: first, to secure expectations of so-
At first, the Mesopotamians began to write down and
cially acceptable behavior by criminal law, second, to regu-
to arrange law collections—like that of old Babylonian Esh-
late conflicts by compensation law (thereby decreasing vio-
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4728
ISRAELITE LAW: AN OVERVIEW
lence), and third, to regulate intercourse with the divine
the function of the laws in settling conflicts and securing
sphere by sacral law. The form-historical differentiation of
norms was self-evident due to general prevention. But when
Israelite law, which analyzes the typical forms and structures
in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE social stratification
of biblical texts into a casuistic and an apodictic type covered
of Israelite society increased, implying poor and rich classes,
these different functions. The casuistic laws (miˇspatim), con-
the natural obviousness of the establishments of laws became
sisting of a protasis (i.e., the definition of the case) and an
lost. A vertical law concerned with providing protection for
apodosis (i.e., the legal consequence, as in Ex. 21:18–19)
the benefit of underprivileged people had to be established
served the regulation of conflicts. They stemmed from the
in addition to a horizontal law relating to the regulation of
judicial practice at local courts where conflicts between fami-
conflicts (Ex. 21:2–11; 22:20–26; 23:10–12). In order to en-
lies were settled. The apodictic laws as criminal law
force the vertical law against the interests of the political and
(hoq/huqqa¯h/mis wa¯h/Torah) comprised the legal rules of
economic elite, it needed a religious legitimation. Judean
capital law (e.g., Ex. 21:12.15–17), the prohibitives of the
priests took over the small law collection that was compiled
Decalogue, the bans on incest (Lv. 18), and the law of curse
for educational reasons, and treated them like the sacral laws
(Dt. 27). The apodictic laws originated in the family but in
by attributing their legal source to YHWH. The ruptures of
the preexilic period were transferred to the local courts which
social conflicts enforced the religious legitimation of law and
begin to settle cases of family law, as well. In pre-
can be learned from the covenant code in Exodus 21–23,
Deuteronomic sacral law, the intercourse with the divine
which got its name from the covenant ceremony in Exodus
sphere was defined by the order of festivals (Ex. 23:14–19;
24:3–8, where Moses read it out. In that way, Zadokite
34:18–26), by the law on first fruits or firstlings (Ex. 22:28–
priests at the temple of Jerusalem transferred their compre-
30), on the fallow year and the rest day (Ex. 23:10–12), as
hension of law, which had its source in the sacral law, to the
well as by the sacral commands of taboos (Ex. 22:17–19).
law-collections which were formed in the course of legal edu-
cation. Intellectuals from priestly circles, not looking to pro-
At local courts, initiatives were taken to collect legal
mote their own interests, worked for the benefit of under-
rules of casuistic law on similar themes. Exodus 22:6–14 con-
privileged people in society. Already in the covenant code,
tains a small collection of three laws dealing with depositing,
they charted the program of a society that was based on the
herding, and renting of animals. In this manner, cases of
solidarity with poor people and thus expressed God’s will.
human negligence can be delimitated from those of force
majeure. Such collections served the purpose of contributing
After the laws of the covenant code had been supplied
to the continuance of juridical decisions by transmitting
with a theological legitimation, the priests of Judea could use
them in written form and by inferring abstract laws from the
them as a tool for defying cultural and political claims to he-
decisions. Moreover, rule authority was enhanced by mutual
gemony in the seventh century BCE that were laid by the su-
explanation of the legal rules. That entailed a larger diversifi-
preme power of Late Assyria. They inserted a revision of the
cation concerning the delimitation of cases. More complex
covenant code (Dt. 12;14–26) into a loyalty oath (Dt. 13;
collections were those of the law of property (Ex. 21:33–
28) that was adopted in a subversive way from a loyalty oath
22:14), law of bodily injuries (Ex. 21:18–32), and family law
to the neo-Assyrian king Esarhaddon by referring the royal
(Dt. 21:15–21a; 22:13–29; 24:1–5; 25:5–10). These collec-
demand for loyalty to YHWH, thus divesting the Assyrian
tions had ingeniously been arranged through editorial net-
king of it. The revision of the covenant code in the Deutero-
working by the scribe-scholars of wisdom literature and
nomic law responded to the centralization of the cult com-
served to educate, as did the cuneiform law codes originally
bined with the reorganization of the judicial system by King
in Mesopotamia. Most of the legal rules of the above-
Josiah (622/21 BCE) and elaborated on the social program of
mentioned biblical collections, however, had an indigene Is-
the covenant code through release of debts (Dt. 15:1–11)
raelite origin and were not received from Mesopotamian law.
and prohibition of usury (Dt. 23:20–21). The cult of the As-
This is also true of the law on the “goring ox” (Ex. 21:35–36)
syrian imperial god Assur, which had its center at the temple
which had an Israelite origin although a parallel law exists
of Assur in the city of Assur, made up the counterpart to the
in the codex of Eshnunna from the first half of the second
cult of YHWH centralized in Jerusalem (Dt. 12). If evidence
millennium; the similarity does not have to be explained
is found implying that the Judean legal tradition was superior
through legal reception. The notion of “common law” can
to the Assyrian one, it must be shown that there are not any
only be applied in Mesopotamia and Israel in so far as in
inconsistencies, despite the contradictions to the covenant
both countries compilations of legal rules serve for education
code which are due to the revision. Law legitimated by its
and the legal rules are descriptive in character.
divine origin must be free of tensions; God cannot contradict
himself. The scribe-authors accomplished this task by turn-
In the pre-Deuteronomic period, the direct influence of
ing the text of Deuteronomy, which interprets the covenant
cuneiform law on Israelite law was confined to editorial com-
code, into the hermeneutical key of the interpreted text in
pilation techniques of legal rules for the purpose of educa-
the covenant code. The legislation of asylum illustrates this
tion. Neither the individual laws applied in daily legal prac-
process in a paradigmatic way. While in Exodus 21:13–14 the
tice nor their compilations in the framework of the scribes’
respective local sanctuaries were declared to be an asylum,
curriculum required an explicit legitimation of law, because
the verses in Deuteronomy 19:2–13 provided cities of asylum
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISRAELITE LAW: AN OVERVIEW
4729
all over the country after abolishing local sanctuaries and
river Jordan (Dt. 29–30), but it also fostered the expectation
centralizing the cult. Henceforth Exodus 21:13–14 is consid-
that the faults would be expiated after the death of the sinful
ered to be a reference to the asylum function of the central
older generation and that a new history would start on taking
sanctuary in Jerusalem. Therefore the revised laws of the cov-
possession of the land.
enant code were not “recycled,” as Bernard M. Levinson sug-
Furnishing the idea of the covenant in Moab, the exilic
gests, but continued to be valid together with the revised law.
Deuteronomy stood out against the rival conception of the
This explains why the covenant code could be located in the
priestly code which also stemmed from the period of exile
Pentateuch pericope in terms of being a part of the Sinai rev-
and which declared that God’s indwelling in the tabernacle
elation, whereas the Deuteronomic link with Moab renders
of the congregation as well as the establishment of the expia-
this emphasis impossible.
tory cult ministered by the Aaronite priests was the goal and
In the late preexilic period, Deuteronomy was held as a
summit of creation and universal history (Gn. 1–11). The
direct expression of God’s will which was linked to the cen-
covenant with Israel was transferred to the time of the Patri-
tral sanctuary in Jerusalem and did not yet refer to Moses as
archs and linked to Abraham (Gn. 17). Furthermore, it was
an intermediary. But after the loss of the Temple, Deuterono-
held to be a covenant made by mere grace, independent from
my had to be adapted to the new situation of the exilic peri-
the law.
od. This was done by setting Deuteronomic law in a frame
In consequence for the priestly code, all of Israel could
(Dt. 5:9–10; 28:1–14, 45–68) that combined the law with
not fail the covenant once again. Only individuals who re-
Moses and God’s mount and incorporated the Decalogue
fused circumcision should be expelled from the ethnic com-
into Deuteronomy 5. Moreover, Deuteronomy was now read
munity. According to the priestly code, the liability to the
as an interpretation, thus imposing the covenant obligations
law was not particularly imposed on Israel but on all man-
on God’s people at God’s mount (Dt. 26:16–19). In the cov-
kind as follows from the Noachite commands (Gn. 9:1–7).
enant code and preexilic Deuteronomy, the king was not
Mankind also can neither fail the Noachite commands nor
mentioned at all, because the legal functions of the king were
the covenant made with them on the basis of those com-
replaced by the written text of the laws as expression of God’s
mands as God promises to refrain from another flood and
legal will. In the exilic period, when there was no longer an
thus from the extinction of mankind.
acting king, the Deuteronomists integrated the theme of
kingship into the Deuteronomic law (Dt. 17:14–20) but di-
The postexilic scribes faced the task to jointly mediate
vested it programmatically of all political functions and styl-
the two different exilic drafts of the narrative foundation of
ized the king to be the first pious man of Torah among his
Israel’s revelation of the law of the Torah, as expressed in
people. The king was now no longer the source of law as in
Deuteronomy and the priestly code. If YHWH, the God of
the ancient Near East but subdued under the divine Torah.
Israel, was One according to the First Commandment in the
Decalogue, hence his history with Israel and his revealed will
After the fall of kingship even the understanding of
of the Torah respectively can be only one. In this respect the
time, which in the ancient Near East was embodied in the
postexilic literary history of the Torah theologically was a
king and therefore was only conceivable as royal time, be-
function of the First Commandment in the Decalogue. The
came separated from the king by transferring the origin of
postexilic scribes accomplished the task to adapt the priestly
the law to Mount Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai. Now
code and the law of Deuteronomy which was combined with
the law was embedded in a time structure of an ideal “histo-
the Book of Joshua. They succeeded in doing so by means of
ry” as a story of Israel’s origin which was remote from the
their scribal erudition. In the fifth century BCE they formed
king. In this way the Torah created a link between law and
a Hexateuch (Gn. 1 through Jos. 24) in which possession of
historical narrative. At the same time free prophecy was do-
the land of Israel (Jos. 13–21) was the goal of creation and
mesticated by restricting it to Mosaic prophecy as the only
universal history (Gn. 1–11). In that way they rejected the
legitimate one according to prophetic law (Dt. 18:9–22).
claim of the Persian imperial ideology that the god
Previously, prophecy was blamed for the fractionation of the
Ahura-Mazda¯ had assigned an appropriate place to all na-
society in Israel and in Judah, thereby entailing its fall, as the
tions in the world, the center of which was Persepolis. While
contradiction between true and false prophecy could not be
the authors of the Hexateuch considered the possession of
solved. At this point the triumphant advance of law over
the land to be the central Heilsgut (fruit of salvation), the Za-
prophecy began, an event which would be finished in the
dokite priests in the Diaspora challenged this view because
postexilic period (Zec. 13:2–6). In an additional framework
they identified the Torah as this good of salvation. They held
of Deuteronomy (Dt. 1–3; 29–30), the revelation at Mt.
that Israel was present wherever Jews observe the Torah of
Horeb appeared to be a prelude for the proclamation of the
YHWH. Ezra 7 preserved the remembrance that the Diaspo-
law by Moses and for the covenant making in the land of
ra theology was adopted in Jerusalem, beginning with Ezra.
Moab. Thus Deuteronomy not only encouraged the second
This process was also reflected in the Pentateuch. The Book
generation (Dt. 1:19–46) to hope for their return from exile
of Joshua became separated from it and the Sinai pericope was
by scheduling the promulgation of Deuteronomy on the day
expanded instead by interpolating the Decalogue, the cove-
before their entrance into the Promised Land beyond the
nant code, and the holiness code (Lv. 17–26). Thus this pe-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4730
ISRAELITE LAW: PERSONAL STATUS AND FAMILY LAW
ricope became the typical location for the revelation of the
cient Near East. Sheffield, U.K., 1998. Collection of papers
Torah kat exochen.
related to aspects of gender-studies in ancient Near East and
biblical law.
Prophetic circles of the postexilic period examined the
Torah-theology of the Pentateuch in a critical way. Circles
Otto, Eckart. Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments. Stuttgart,
that felt bound to the tradition of the prophet Ezekiel re-
Germany, 1994. Basic ethics of the Hebrew Bible in a wide
range of ancient Near East legal history.
quired a “new spirit” as precondition for fulfilling the Torah
which was fixed in a written form by Moses (Ez. 11:19;
Otto, Eckart. Das Deuteronomium. Politische Theologie und Rechts-
36:26–27). Other circles that stood by the tradition of the
reform in Juda und Assyrien. Berlin, 1999. Study of the liter-
prophet Jeremiah depreciated the written Torah of Moses
ary and legal history of Deuteronomic law.
and expected a Torah which was written by God on the
Otto, Eckart. Das Deuteronomium im Pentateuch und Hexateuch.
human heart (Jer. 31:31–34). Consequently they declared
Tübingen, Germany, 2000. Study of the Book of Deuterono-
the scribes’ erudition of the Torah to be useless (Jer. 8:8–9).
my as part of the Pentateuch.
The draft of a constitution of the post-exilic Israel in Ezekiel
Roth, Martha T. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia
40–48 did not combine the Torah with Moses and Sinai but
Minor. Atlanta, Ga., 1995. Best collection of texts and trans-
with the Temple in Jerusalem instead. It could not prevail
lations of cuneiform law.
as a part of the Torah and only entered into the canon under
Watts, James W. Reading Law: The Rhetorical Shaping of the Pen-
the protecting authority of the priest-prophet Ezekiel. The
tateuch. Sheffield, U.K., 1999. Rhetorical criticism that ex-
subsequent Temple Scroll that bound the Temple to the
plains the literary formation of the Pentateuch.
Torah looked for a connection with the Sinai tradition of
Weinfeld, Moshe. Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School. Ox-
the Pentateuch (Ex. 34), but the Temple Scroll was ruled out
ford, 1972; reprint, Winona Lake, Ind., 1992. Important
and did not get accepted into the canon of the Hebrew Bible.
study of intellectual impacts on Deuteronomy.
Weinfeld, Moshe. Justice in Ancient Israel and the Ancient Near
SEE ALSO Law and Religion.
East. Jerusalem and Minneapolis, 1995. Important study of
ancient Near East patterns to realize social justice.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alt, Albrecht. Die Ursprünge des israelitischen Rechts. Leipzig, Ger-
Westbrook, Raymond. “Biblical and Cuneiform Law Codes.”
many, 1934. Translated by Robert A. Wilson as Essays on
Revue Biblique 92 (1985): 247–264. Study that proves the
Old Testament History and Religion. Garden City, N.Y.,
descriptive character of ancient Near East and biblical law.
1967, pp. 101–171. Basic study and critical analysis of apo-
Westbrook, Raymond. Studies in Biblical und Cuneiform Law.
dictic and casuistic law in the Old Testament.
Paris, 1988. Collection of studies that promote the hypothe-
Greengus, Samuel, and Rifat Sonsino. “Law.” In The Anchor Bible
sis of an ancient Near East and biblical “common law.”
Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedmann, vol. 4,
Westbrook, Raymond, ed. A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law,
pp. 242–254. New York, 1992. A short summary of the de-
2 vols. Leiden, Netherlands, 2003. Basic collection of studies
velopment of biblical law with a good bibliography.
of all fields of ancient Near East legal history, with good bib-
Houtman, Cornelis. Das Bundesbuch. Ein Kommentar. Leiden,
liographies.
Netherlands, 1997. Basic commentary on the covenant code.
ECKART OTTO (2005)
Jackson, Bernard S. Studies in the Semiotics of Biblical Law. Shef-
field, U.K., 2000. Theories of cognitive development are
used to explain the development of biblical law.
ISRAELITE LAW: PERSONAL STATUS AND
Lafont, Sophie. Femmes, Droit et Justice dans l’Antiquité orientale.
FAMILY LAW
Fribourg, Switzerland, and Göttingen, Germany, 1999.
Basic study of gender aspects in ancient Near East criminal
Biblical laws concerning personal status may relate to indi-
law.
viduals as members of larger segments of society (slaves,
poor, aliens, women), or they may govern relations between
Levinson, Bernard M., ed. Theory and Method in Biblical and Cu-
neiform Law: Revision, Interpolation, and Development. Shef-
persons in a household, as in laws governing the treatment
field, U.K., 1994. Critical discussion of R. Westbrook’s hy-
of slaves, and those stipulating the relations between mem-
pothesis of an ancient Near East “common law.”
bers of the family. These categories are followed in the dis-
cussion below.
Levinson, Bernard M. Deuteronomy and the Hermeneutics of Legal
Innovation. New York, 1997. Application of proto-
PERSONAL STATUS. One of the essential characteristics of Is-
rabbinical exegetical methods, described by Michael Fish-
raelite law is that there are no legally defined social classes
bane (Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel. Oxford, 1985)
among free Israelites. This contrasts with the laws of Ham-
to the revision of the covenant code in Deuteronomy.
murabi, which assume two classes of free men, the awilum
Lévy, Edmond, ed. La codification des lois dans l’Antiquité. Paris,
(“man,” the higher class) and the mushkenum (a poorer class,
2000. Important contributions to the motives for codifica-
perhaps only partially free, partially in royal service), with
tion of law in antiquity.
notable differences in the treatment of each, as, for example,
Matthews, Victor H., Bernard M. Levinson, and Tikva Frymer-
in the prescription of penalties for assault by a member of
Kensky, eds. Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the An-
one group against a member of the other. In Israelite society
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISRAELITE LAW: PERSONAL STATUS AND FAMILY LAW
4731
the economic differences between rich and poor never result-
bath (Ex. 20:10, 23:12; Dt. 5:14–15). Slaves could be beat-
ed in differences in their treatment before the law. Neverthe-
en; but if they died of a beating, their death would be
less, there are clear distinctions between free Israelites and
avenged (Ex. 21:20), and if they were permanently injured,
slaves, between men and women, between adults and mi-
they were to be set free (Ex. 21:26–27). Slaves could acquire
nors, and, to a lesser extent, between Israelites and foreigners,
their own property and might ultimately be able to redeem
and between king and subjects.
themselves (Lv. 25:29).
Slaves. Israelite law distinguishes between foreign and
The poor. Although there were no formal classes in Is-
Israelite slaves and, to a lesser extent, between male and fe-
raelite society, there were distinctions between wealthy and
male slaves. Foreign slaves could be bought or, theoretically,
poor. The “book of the covenant” stipulates that one should
acquired as prisoners of war. Once acquired, they were ex-
not impose usury on loans to the poor (Ex. 22:25), that
pected to be slaves permanently (Lv. 25:46). Israelites, how-
cloaks taken as pledges be returned by sundown (Ex. 22:26–
ever, could not be slaves permanently. The law allowed a free
27; cf. Dt. 24:12–3), and that poverty not result in mistreat-
man to sell his children into slavery or to sell himself in order
ment before the law (Ex. 23:6). Deuteronomy further stipu-
to escape poverty or debt (Lv. 25:39); he is required to sell
lates that a hired worker be paid immediately (Dt. 24:14–15)
himself if he cannot otherwise pay the penalty for having
and prescribes the giving of charity to the poor even when
committed a robbery (Ex. 22:2). An Israelite would also be
the Sabbatical is near (Dt. 15:7–11), at which time the pro-
a slave if he or she were born to slaves (Ex. 21:4). But the
duce was to be left for the poor (Ex. 23:11). The seventh year
male Israelite “slave” (almost certainly the meaning of Eeved
was to some extent a time for the redistribution of wealth,
Eivri) was to be set free in the Sabbatical (seventh) year unless
in that debts were to be canceled (Dt. 15:1). The difference
he chose to make his status permanent, which decision was
between rich and poor may have increased after the develop-
formalized in a ceremony in which his ear was pierced. Ac-
ment of the monarchy, and the unequal distribution of
cording to Exodus 21:7–8, female slaves were not freed ac-
wealth is an important theme of the prophets, who con-
cording to the laws that freed male slaves; this may be be-
demned the accumulation of capital by the rich.
cause a woman was sold as an amah, a term which may imply
Resident aliens. Immigrants to Israel and the original
concubinage, for she was to be set free if her master’s sons
inhabitants of the land were considered gerim (sg. ger, “resi-
denied her matrimonial rights (Ex. 21:11). In Deuteronomy
dent alien”). This designation also extended to the Levites,
15:12–17 female slaves were treated like male slaves, possibly
who had no tribal territory of their own, and, in the early
an indication that by this time it was written (no later than
days, to an Israelite outside the territory of his own tribe.
the seventh century BCE) Hebrew women were not sold into
Gerim are often grouped with the poor, widows, and or-
concubinage. Foreign women could be taken as concubines
phans, who were to be allowed to collect fallen fruit and ol-
in war; they could subsequently be divorced but not sold (Dt.
ives and glean at harvest time (Lv. 19:10, 23:22; Dt. 24:19–
21:10–14). Deuteronomy 15:12–17 requires that freed slaves
21) and to share in the tithe of the third year (Dt. 14:29) and
be given substantial provisions. According to Leviticus 25:40,
the produce of the Jubilee (Lv. 25:6). The Israelites were to
debt-slaves were to be released in the Jubilee (fiftieth) year.
treat them well, remembering that they too had been gerim,
Yet there is some indication in Jeremiah 34:8–16 that people
in Egypt (e.g., Ex. 22:20); the laws that apply to them, thus,
in ancient Israel were not punctilious about obeying the laws
are generally found within law addressed to the free Israelites.
regarding manumission.
Gerim had equal status with Israelites in civil and criminal
law; in religious law the one recorded difference is the state-
Although a fully recognized institution, slavery was con-
ment in Deuteronomy 14:21 that a ger may eat a dead carcass;
sidered an undesirable state of existence. There was a death
Leviticus 17:15, however, forbids this. Gerim observed the
penalty for kidnapping free Israelites to use or sell as slaves
Sabbath (Ex. 20:10, Dt. 5:14) and the Day of Atonement
(Ex. 22:15, Dt. 24:7). Israelites discovered to be slaves of
(Lv. 16:29); they offered sacrifices (Lv. 17:8, e.g.) and partic-
non-Israelites were to be redeemed (Lv. 25:47–54), and fugi-
ipated in religious festivals (Dt. 16:11, 16:14); and they ob-
tive slaves (Israelite or foreign) were not to be given up to
served the laws of purity (Lv. 17:8–13) and, if circumcised,
their masters (Dt. 23:16–17). Israel was to ameliorate the
could partake of the Passover sacrifice (Ex. 12:48–49).
condition by treating slaves well and treating Israelite slaves
as if they were hired laborers (Lv. 25:40, 25:53). The law ad-
Minors. A person was considered a fully adult member
jured these efforts on the slaves’ behalf in the remembrance
of Israel, counted as such in the census, at age 20 (Ex. 30:14);
that the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt (Dt. 15:15) and
this was also the age above which the Israelites who had come
that they continued to be the slaves of God, who had re-
out of Egypt were condemned to die in the desert without
deemed them (Lv. 25:55). Slaves were to be considered
reaching the promised land (Nm. 14:29). At least in theory,
members of the household: They were to be circumcised
children below that age were under the jurisdiction of their
(Gn. 17:23) and could thereupon eat the Passover sacrifice
father, who could contract marriages for them and even sell
(Ex. 12:44); priest’s slaves could eat of the holy offerings (Lv.
them into slavery to pay his debts and to whom they owed
22:11). Slaves shared in sacrificial meals (Dt. 12:11–12,
allegiance. A rebellious son could be accused by his parents
12:18) and in feasts (Dt. 16:11, 16:14) and observed the Sab-
and thereupon stoned (Dt. 21:18–21). There are no specific
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4732
ISRAELITE LAW: PERSONAL STATUS AND FAMILY LAW
regulations relating to minors. They were, however, treated
Women. The laws present a picture of women as social-
as individual persons before the law in matters of punish-
ly inferior to men. In terms of family life, a woman was ex-
ment, for, unlike the ancient Near Eastern codes, biblical law
pected to be subordinate first to her father and then, when
did not allow the punishment of children for the crimes of
married, to her husband. This subordination also found ex-
their parents. For example, the death of a victim who was
pression in economic matters. Women did not normally
a minor son did not entail the execution of the minor son
hold property, though they could inherit if there were no
of the offender in biblical law as it did in Babylonian law (Ex.
male heirs. This right of inheritance is presented in the Bible
21:31; cf. laws of Hammurabi 229f.).
as a special divine decree to answer the needs of the daughters
The king. The king in Israel occupied a special intimate
of Zelophehad (Nm. 27:1–11), which was soon modified to
relationship with God: As God’s appointed and anointed, his
require daughters who inherited their father’s property to
person was inviolable (2 Sm. 1:14), and cursing the king was
marry within the “family of the tribe of their father” in order
tantamount to cursing God and was punishable by death (2
to keep the ancestral holdings in the paternal estate (Nm.
Sm. 19:21–22; 1 Kgs. 21:10, 21:13). The Israelite king was
36:1–9). A comparison with near Eastern law shows that the
not regarded as divine, and his close relationship with God,
laws of Lipit-Ishtar, written in Sumerian about 1900 BCE,
expressed as sonship (2 Sm. 7:14), was understood to arise
contain a proviso whereby if a man had no sons, his unmar-
from adoption (cf. Ps. 2:7) rather than divine paternity. The
ried daughters could inherit his property.
king was not a lawgiver but his role in the legal system was
The inferior economic position of women is also indi-
twofold: to uphold the laws in his capacity as judge and to
cated by the fact that when a person took a vow to dedicate
obey fully the laws of God, who is Israel’s only legitimate
members of his family (to temple service?) or to donate their
lawgiver. A king who disobeyed God’s laws might lose all of
monetary worth, an adult male was valued at fifty shekels and
his kingdom, as did Saul (1 Sm. 13:13) and Jeroboam (1 Kgs.
a woman at thirty (Lv. 27:3–4). It is also clear that women
14:7–11), or part of his domain, as did David. The divine
did not have equal right of disposition of the family property,
promise of a dynasty to the House of David made the rulers
for the male head of the household could annul the vows of
of the southern kingdom of Judah less concerned with the
women under his authority if he did so the day that he heard
possibility of losing the throne. However, the deeds or mis-
them (Nm. 30:5–8). Nevertheless, there is no hint that
deeds of a king could influence the fortunes of the land, for
women could be considered thieves if they took or sold fami-
God could bring pestilence, military defeat (as under David,
ly property (as is the case in the Middle Assyrian laws, ac-
2 Sm. 24:13), or drought as a consequence or royal apostasy
cording to which the wife who took something and gave it
(as under Ahab, 1 Kgs. 17:1).
to another is labeled a thief, and the receiver, a fence); on
the contrary, the “woman of valor” of Proverbs 31 is particu-
Two passages deal with royal prerogative. In one, in his
larly praised for her commercial ability and independent en-
effort to discourage the people from establishing a monarchy,
terprise.
Samuel warns them that a king will take their sons as soldiers
and their daughters as domestics, that he will tithe their
Some of the laws of sexual purity were applicable to
property, and that he will appropriate their fields to give to
both men and women. After sexual intercourse, both part-
his servants (1 Sm. 8:11–18). The other passage, Deuterono-
ners had to bathe in water and were considered impure until
my 17:14–20, sets limits to the grandiosity of the monarch,
the evening (Lv. 15:16–18). In case of genital discharges (as
declaring that the king should not acquire many horses or
in gonorrhea), both men and women were isolated until
wives or much wealth and that he should copy a book of the
seven days after the discharge stopped and were then to bring
Law, keep it with him, and read it so that he learns to keep
an offering of two birds (Lv. 15:1–15, 15:25–29). In addi-
the law and not act arrogantly toward his people. Despite
tion, women were instructed to remain isolated during men-
Samuel’s warning that a king would appropriate fields, the
struation (Lv. 15:19–24) and childbirth (Lv. 12:1–8). The
kings did not simply commandeer property. David bought
impurity of menstruation was contagious: A man would be-
a threshing floor (2 Sm. 24:24); Omri bought the hill of Sa-
come impure by having sexual relations with a menstruating
maria (1 Kgs. 16:24); and even Ahab did not feel free to sim-
woman (for which he could also expect divine punishment).
ply commandeer the vineyard of Naboth (1 Kgs. 21). Kings
Furthermore, he would become impure by touching her, sit-
did, however, confiscate the land of those who had commit-
ting on a seat on which she sat, or eating food that she had
ted treason: David took Mephibosheth’s land to give to Ziva
cooked. This resulted in total isolation, although it is not
after Ziva reported that Mephibosheth was planning to take
known whether women were isolated in their own homes or
the throne (2 Sm. 16:1–4) and Ahab set out to take Naboth’s
spent the week in women’s hostels (to which there is no tex-
vineyard after Naboth was falsely convicted and executed for
tual reference). The “impurity” of the menstruating woman
having cursed the king (1 Kgs. 21:13–16). Nor did the kings
was not believed to bring danger to others (as is the case in
of Israel exercise unrestrained power over their subjects’ lives:
many other cultures). Nevertheless, it became a metaphor for
Jezebel made sure that Ahab was convicted and executed by
contamination (Jer. 13.20, Lam. 1.9, Ez. 36.17) and clearly
the courts, and David maneuvered Uriah so that he would
was used to the denigration of women.
be killed in battle (2 Sm. 11)—neither king killed the incon-
Despite the image portrayed by the legal documents, the
venient subjects outright.
biblical narratives indicate that women did not have a partic-
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ISRAELITE LAW: PERSONAL STATUS AND FAMILY LAW
4733
ularly weak position with respect to their husbands. The
Eastern law collections also envision polygyny, or rather
Shunammite woman entertained Elijah without prior con-
bigyny (having two wives), but severely limit the circum-
sent from her husband (2 Kgs. 4:8–17), and Abigail com-
stances under which a man could take a second wife.
mandeered large amounts of her husband’s supplies to bring
them to David (1 Sm. 25). The legal documents may, there-
Marriage. The stages by which a marriage was contract-
fore, be affirming ideals rather than prescribing reality.
ed are not detailed in the biblical laws, but information is
available, from both biblical narrative and the Near Eastern
Women were generally expected to fit into a domestic
legal compilations, and the close agreement between these
niche, as wife and/or mother. However, there were also non-
sources indicates that they reflect a biblical and Near Eastern
domestic roles. The queen had a powerful position, and
reality. A preliminary agreement was reached between the fa-
might, as Jezebel and Athaliah did, exercise the power of the
thers (or between the groom and the bride’s parents), and
throne (1 Kgs. 18–19; 2 Kgs. 9:30–37, 11:1–16); the position
then the groom or, frequently, the groom’s father, paid a
of queen-mother also seems to have had some importance,
sum, the “bride-price,” to the girl’s father. There was also a
as may be inferred from the fact that Asa removed his mother
dowry, though this does not seem to have been essential, and
Maacah from that position (1 Kgs. 15:13). “Wise women,”
there was another custom, not universally observed, in which
who are mentioned in the time of David (2 Sm. 14, 20:16–
the father of the bride returned the bride-price to the couple
22), may have been some sort of village elders. Deborah was
at the completion of the marriage (unlike Lagan, who did
a political and judicial leader (Jgs. 4–5); Deborah, Miriam
not; Gn. 31:15). The bride-price was not a purchase, for the
(Nm. 12:2), Huldah (2 Kgs. 22:14–20), and Noadiah (Neh.
girl was not considered property, but it did guarantee the
6:14) are recorded as prophetesses.
groom certain rights over the girl. At this point, once the
FAMILY LAW. This picture of family law is incomplete: The
bride-price was paid, the girl was “betrothed,” which was an
law corpora were not intended to be comprehensive, and fre-
inchoate form of marriage. The marriage could still be can-
quently they omit matters that were well known in that cul-
celed by either party (with appropriate financial penalties).
ture or were not of concern to the writers. The picture can
Nevertheless, the bridegroom at that point owned the girl’s
be filled in to some extent with details from the few narrative
sexual and reproductive capacity, and any sexual relations
accounts of family life contained in the historical books. Im-
with a betrothed girl was considered adultery. The betrothed
portant information also comes from the law collections of
girl would stay in her father’s house until the groom came
the ancient Near East, because it is clear that there was a
to call for her (which could be a duration of years if she had
common jurisprudential tradition in the area.
been betrothed very young). At that point he would bring
her to his house, and the marriage was complete.
The Bible reveals two social systems. The first, the older
system, is the extended family of the patriarchal period. The
Divorce. The details of divorce are also not clearly de-
male head of the family had great power over his children,
fined in the Bible. The laws in Exodus do not mention di-
both male and female, in that he could contract marriages
vorce; Deuteronomy does not describe the procedure but does
for them. Girls would leave their father’s house in order to
mention the requirement of a bill of divorce (Dt. 24:1) and
enter the dominion of the head of the family into which they
the stipulation of the two occasions on which the husband
were marrying. In the event of the husband’s death, the
cannot divorce his wife: when he has acquired his wife after
woman stayed in her new family, either as the mother of chil-
rape (Dt. 22:28–29) or when he has falsely accused his wife
dren or, if there had been no children, by being given in mar-
of not having been a virgin as a bride (Dt. 22:13–21). These
riage to her deceased husband’s brother through the institu-
laws prevented men, to some extent, from divorcing unloved
tion of the levirate. In such a system women were completely
brides who would have been at a great disadvantage in the
dependent on the kindness and attentiveness of the males in
Israelite socioeconomic system. Because the details are not
their lives and could affect events only by influencing them,
provided, it is not known whether divorce was always at the
as through persuasion or trickery. If a man were abusive, a
prerogative of the husband; the laws of Hammurabi indicate
woman had no recourse, and the principle of male disposi-
that a woman could apply to the court for divorce (with the
tion of women lent itself to such abuses as Lot’s offer of his
risk that her case would be investigated; and if she were
daughters to the men of Sodom (Gn. 19:8), the Levite’s offer
found to have been a bad wife, she would be executed).
of his concubine to the men of Gibeah (Jgs. 19:24), and
There is evidence that early Jews on Elephantine (in Egypt)
Jephthah’s sacrifice of his daughter (Jgs. 11).
and in Palestine believed that the Bible allowed female-
initiated divorce. In the postbiblical period it has been taken
The other major social pattern is the monogamous fam-
for granted that only husbands could initiate divorce pro-
ily depicted in Genesis 3:6. This was the dominant pattern
ceedings.
during the history of the biblical state (apart from the royal
family, which continued the patriarchal pattern). At mar-
Extramarital relations. A woman’s sexual capacities
riage, the girl moved from her father’s house to that of her
were under the control of the head of the household. Girls
husband, and was thereafter under her husband’s (rather
were expected to be virgins at marriage. If a bridegroom ac-
than her father’s or father-in-law’s) domination. Polygyny
cused his bride of not being virginal, their bedsheets were to
was possible, but certainly not the norm. The ancient Near
be examined: if there was no blood on the sheets, she would
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4734
ISRAELITE LAW: PROPERTY LAW
be stoned; if she was proved innocent, her husband could
Turnham, Timothy John. “Male and Female Slaves in the Sab-
never divorce her (Dt. 22:13–21). If a nonbetrothed girl was
bath Year Laws of Exodus 21:1–11.” SBLSP 26 (1987):
seduced, the seducer had to pay the full virgin’s bride-price
545–549.
to her father, who decided whether to give her in marriage
Westbrook, Raymond. Property and the Family in Biblical Law.
(Ex. 22:16–17). Deuteronomy provides that the seducer must
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Se-
pay the bride-price, take the girl as his wife, and never di-
ries, no. 113. Sheffield, U.K., 1991.
vorce her (Dt. 22:28–29); it is possible that the Deuteronom-
TIKVA FRYMER-KENSKY (1987)
ic rule concerned rape, but it may also have applied to any
Revised Bibliography
illicit sex with a virgin. The penalty for adultery was death
for the married woman and her lover (Lv. 20:10); the extra-
marital relations of a married man were not considered adul-
ISRAELITE LAW: PROPERTY LAW
tery. If a man suspected his wife of adultery, he had the right
Like Israelite law in general, Israelite property law is marked
to accuse her, and she would then undergo a solemn oath
by a concern for the rights of the individual. In particular
procedure (drinking the “bitter waters”). If, innocent, she
an attempt is made, at least in theory, to safeguard the rights
suffered no ill effects, she could return to her husband. If she
of the less fortunate (the poor, widows, orphans, etc.). As will
were guilty, she would ultimately be punished by God, who
be seen in this article, Israelite property law shares many
could cause her belly to swell and her thigh to fall; that is,
points of contact, both in actual detail and in terminology,
some disaster to her fertility could occur, possibly a prolapsed
with property laws found elsewhere in the ancient Near East.
uterus (Nm. 5:11–31). Even if she did not suffer these dire
CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTY. As expressed ideally in the laws
consequences and, moreover, demonstrated her fertility by
of the Hebrew Bible, the only transference of property in an-
later bearing a child, her husband could not be penalized for
cient Israel should be through inheritance. Every Israelite
making a false accusation.
family was allocated a plot of land at the original apportion-
ment, traditionally held to have been in the time of Moses
SEE ALSO Kingship, article on Kingship in the Ancient
and Joshua (Nm. 26:52–54, 33:54; Jos. 13–22), and it was
Mediterranean World; Menstruation.
believed that this ancestral plot should remain, if not in the
family’s possession, then at least in the possession of the clan.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Thus there really should be no sale of land. Theological justi-
Boecker, Hans Jochen. Law and the Administration of Justice in the
fication for this point of view is given in Leviticus: “But the
Old Testament and Ancient East. Translated by Jeremy
Moiser. Minneapolis, 1980.
land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine;
you are but strangers resident with Me” (Lv. 25:23). This
Driver, G. R., and John C. Miles, eds. and trans. The Babylonian
view regards God as owner of all property and the Israelites
Laws. 2 vols. Oxford, 1952–1955.
as only temporary tenants who may not buy or sell land. The
Falk, ZeDev. Hebrew Law in Biblical Times: An Introduction. Jeru-
duty of redemption and the institution of the Jubilee year
salem, 1964.
(for both, see below) tend to corroborate this point of view,
Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. “The Strange Case of the Suspected
as does the complete absence in the Bible of laws concerning
Sotah.” Vetus Testamentum 34 (January 1984): 11–26.
the renting of property.
Vaux, Roland de. Ancient Israel, vol. 1, Social Institutions. 2d ed.
Sale of land. While there is some evidence that this view
Translated by John McHugh. London, 1965.
of the inalienability of property was current in monarchical
Whitelam, Keith W. The Just King: Monarchical Judicial Authority
times (as can be gathered from Naboth’s response to Ahab
in Ancient Israel. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
in 1 Kings 21:3), there can be little doubt that the very emer-
Supplements, no. 12. Sheffield, 1979.
gence of the monarchy and the growth of the cities led to
New Sources
sweeping sociological changes as far as land ownership was
Glass, Zipporah G. “Land, Slave Labor and Law: Engaging An-
concerned. Because of debt, many small farmers were forced
cient Israel’s Economy.” JSOT 91 (2000): 27–39.
to sell their farms to a new landed aristocracy. The situation
Matthews, Victor H., Bernard Levinson, and Tivka Frymer-
became so serious that by the time of the eighth century the
Kensky, eds. Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the An-
old Israelite society based on the small farmer had been de-
cient Near East. Sheffield, U.K., 1998.
stroyed. This was the situation that attracted the opposition
Pressler, Carolyn. The View of Women Found in the Deuteronomic
of the prophets who denounced the land-grabbing practices
Family Laws. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentli-
of the new aristocracy. For example, Isaiah complains, “Ah,
che Wissenschaft, no. 216. Berlin and New York, 1993.
those who add house to house and join field to field, till there
Rattray, Susan. “Marriage Rules, Kinship Terms and Family
is room for none but you to dwell in the land!” (Is. 5:8). Sim-
Structure in the Bible.” SBLSP 26 (1987): 537–544.
ilarly, Micah condemns those who “covet fields, and seize
Rofé, Alexander. “Family and Sex Laws in Deuteronomy and the
them; houses and they take them away. They defraud men
Book of Covenant.” Henoch 9 (1987): 131–159.
of their homes, and people of their land” (Mi. 2:2).
Tappy, Ron E. “Lineage and Law in Pre-exilic Israel.” Revue
Contracts of sale. The Bible records a number of prop-
Biblique 107 (2000): 175–204.
erty transactions, including Jacob’s purchase of land at She-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISRAELITE LAW: PROPERTY LAW
4735
chem (Gn. 33:18–20), David’s purchase of the threshing
The Jubilee year. The law of the Jubilee year (shenat
floor from Araunah (2 Sm. 24:24), Omri’s purchase of the
ha-yovel) is set out in Leviticus 25. Three regulations concern-
hill of Samaria, site of his future capital, from Shemer (1 Kgs.
ing property ought to be mentioned here:
16:24), and Boaz’s purchase of a field from Naomi (Ru. 4:9).
(1) Anybody who is forced to sell ancestral lands may re-
Two transactions are recorded in detail: when Abraham pur-
claim them every fiftieth year, pointing to the principle
chases the Cave of Machpelah (Gn. 23:3–20) and when Jere-
that land cannot be irrevocably sold (Lv. 25:10, 25:13,
miah, fulfilling his duty as near kinsman, redeems (pur-
25:28).
chases) the land in Anathoth from his impoverished cousin
Hanamel (Jer. 32:6–15). In these two transactions there are
(2) Because land cannot be irrevocably sold, what can be
elements that conform to standard ancient Near Eastern real
sold is only so many harvests (Lv. 25:15–16). Conse-
estate documents.
quently every sale of land becomes a kind of lease for
a number of years before the next Jubilee.
In Abraham’s purchase, one can discern the strict atten-
tion that is paid to ensure that the transaction conforms to
(3) Town houses, other than those belonging to Levites, are
all the details of ancient Near Eastern law. Thus, as required
not subject to the Jubilee law. If they are not redeemed
by early Mesopotamian law, two stages in the transfer of the
within one year of purchase, then the seller can never
property can be seen: payment of the price by the transferee
reclaim them (Lv. 25:29–30).
to the transferor and taking possession of the property by the
The terminology used to describe property that cannot be
transferee. Hence it is twice said that the field was transferred
reclaimed is tsemitut (“beyond reclaim”), a term that has both
to Abraham, once after Abraham weighed the silver for
semantic (tsamit, “beyond reclaim”) and functional parallels
Ephron, that is, after payment of the price (Gn. 23:17), and
in real estate documents from Ugarit in the thirteenth centu-
then again after he buried Sarah (Gn. 23:20), that is, after
ry BCE.
he took possession of the field.
The original intention of the Jubilee law is much debat-
Another reflection of Mesopotamian law may be seen
ed. There are two major schools of thought. One holds that
in the passage about Jeremiah’s redemption of land that de-
in the Jubilee law the old tribal principle of inalienability of
scribes in detail the writing of a real estate contract (Jer.
the land was affirmed, but because of the new social realities,
32:6–15). Two copies of the deed of sale are made and wit-
the land laws were relaxed. Hence when the new economic
nessed, all “according to rule and law” (Jer. 36:11). Both are
order, which was not tied to the land or to patrimony, came
kept in the archives, but one is sealed as the official perma-
into being, irrevocable sales in the cities were permitted
nent record, and the other is unsealed for consultation when
(Weinfeld, 1980). The other school believes that the law is
necessary. This reflects the Mesopotamian practice of enclos-
a later (postexilic) reworking of the Sabbatical year (on which
ing a contract in a clay envelope that shows a copy of the
all agree it is patterned) by the Priestly school. The principle
same contract on the outside.
here is that of restitutio in integrum, “a restoration to an origi-
REDEMPTION OF HEREDITARY LAND AND THE JUBILEE
nal state”: The land has to be returned to its original owner
YEAR. In accordance with the principle, expressed above, of
and thereby effect a restoration of the structure of Israelite
the inalienability of land, a person’s patrimony should ideally
society as it had been divinely ordained in ancient days
never be sold. However, should a man, due to economic
(Noth, 1977).
straits, have to sell his land, then the law provides relief for
Scholars also differ on the question of whether the Jubi-
its retrieval in two ways. First, the debtor’s nearest family
lee law was ever actually put into effect. The problem is ag-
member is given the option of first refusal to the property
gravated because of the paucity of references in the rest of
(redemption). Second, in the absence of a family redeemer,
the Bible. The Jubilee is not referred to in any historical text,
the property ultimately reverts back to the debtor in the Jubi-
not even in postexilic ones. Outside of Leviticus 25, it is men-
lee year.
tioned only in Leviticus 27:17–25 and briefly in Numbers
Redemption. Among the Israelites, the redemption of
36:4 and Ezekiel 46:17. The protests of the prophets con-
property from indigent family members was regarded not
cerning land monopoly may indicate that the Jubilee law was
only as a moral obligation but also as a noble form of social
not observed in preexilic times, and, because Nehemiah
action (Lv. 25:25–34). Two examples in the Bible of family
makes the people promise to observe the Sabbatical year but
members redeeming property (already mentioned) are Jere-
says nothing about the Jubilee year (Neh. 10:32), the same
miah redeeming his cousin’s field at Anathoth (Jer. 32:6–9)
may probably be said for postexilic times as well.
and Boaz redeeming the field belonging to Naomi (Ru. 4:1–
RIGHTS OF INHERITANCE. The norm in ancient Israel was
10). Note that in these cases the land is not restored to the
that a man’s property was inherited by his sons, the firstborn
impoverished kinsman but becomes the property of the re-
receiving a double share (Dt. 21:15–17). In the event that
deemers. (For a contrary opinion, see Levine, 1983). Under
a man had no sons, the line of inheritance was transferred
the laws of the Jubilee, however, the land reverts back to the
through a scale of family members: from daughters to broth-
original owner. In both cases, the clan is protected from the
ers to uncles and, ultimately, to the nearest kinsman of the
alienation (loss) of the property.
deceased (Nm. 27:8–11). It is noteworthy that there is no
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4736
ISRAELITE LAW: PROPERTY LAW
provision in this list for a man’s widow (see below). While
Childless couples. In the ancient Near East, having an
the principle of primogeniture was the rule, there are numer-
heir was of paramount importance. Should a wife remain
ous cases recorded in which the firstborn did not get the pref-
childless, her husband could marry another woman. To fore-
erential share. Indeed, a significant motif in the narrative sec-
stall this, the woman might give her own personal slave to
tions of the Bible is that the younger son eventually supplants
her husband to bear the children for her. Children born of
the older both in cases where property is concerned (e.g., Ish-
such unions were thought of symbolically as the wife’s. Ex-
mael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Reuben and Joseph, and
amples of barren women giving maids to their husband in-
Manasseh and Ephraim) and in cases of succession to the
clude Sarah, who gives Hagar to Abraham (Gn. 16:3), Ra-
throne (e.g., Eliab and David and Adonijah and Solomon).
chel, who gives Bilhah to Jacob (Gn. 30:3), and even Leah,
who, not barren but no longer bearing children, gives Zilpah
Rights of daughters. According to Numbers 27:1–11,
to Jacob (Gn. 30:9–13). Children of such marriages had the
daughters originally were not eligible to inherit any part of
same rights of inheritance as natural children (e.g., Ishmael
the family estate. Only after the case of the daughters of
in Gn. 17:18, 21:10).
Zelophehad was provision made for daughters to inherit on
a limited basis: They could inherit providing the deceased
Another method that was very common in the ancient
had no sons (Nm. 27:8) and they married within the clan,
Near East, and to which childless couples often resorted, was
so that the patrimony would not be transferred to another
adoption. Although there are no laws of adoption in the
tribe (Nm. 36:6–9). There is a reference in the Book of Job
Bible, the institution may underlie some of the patriarchal
to Job’s daughters inheriting alongside their brothers
narratives, for example, in Abraham’s complaint that because
(42:15). However, because of the fact that Job is set in a non-
he was childless, Dammesek Eliezer would inherit from him.
Israelite locale, scholars generally do not regard this as stan-
(Gn. 15:2–4).
dard Israelite practice.
Rights of widows. As already indicated, the line of in-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
heritance in Numbers makes no provision for the widow, not
There is as yet no work exclusively dealing with Israelite property
laws of ownership and inheritance. Material on this subject
even for the usufruct of her husband’s property. This is un-
can be garnered from general works on Israelite law and insti-
usual because in most ancient Near Eastern law collections
tutions. Still the classic among these is the chapter “Econom-
(e.g., the Code of Hammurabi and Hittite and Assyrian laws)
ic Life” by Roland de Vaux in his Ancient Israel, vol. 1, Social
the widow is appropriately provided for. This omission is
Institutions, 2d ed. (London, 1965), pp. 164–177. Particular-
usually explained by the supposition that it was incumbent
ly useful is the survey of Israelite law by S. E. Loewenstamm
on the eldest son, who receives a preferential share of the es-
in his article “Law” in The World History of the Jewish People,
tate, to provide for his mother and the unmarried female
edited by Benjamin Mazar, vol. 3, Judges (Tel Aviv, 1971),
members of the family. It is also pointed out that widows,
pp. 231–267.
although not specifically mentioned in the line of inheri-
On specific topics, Edward Neufeld’s article “The Emergence of
tance, were provided with some degree of protection in the
a Royal-Urban Society in Ancient Israel,” Hebrew Union Col-
laws concerning the levirate.
lege Annual 31 (1960): 31–53, is helpful for understanding
the changing economic conditions in Israel at the time of the
The laws of the levirate state that should a man die with-
monarchy. Baruch A. Levine’s study “Late Language in the
out leaving a son, the brother of the deceased must marry
Priestly Source: Some Literary and Historical Observations,”
the widow. The first child of this marriage is to be considered
in Proceedings of the Eighth World Congress of Jewish Studies
the heir of the deceased (Dt. 25:6). By this device, the estate
. . . , Bible Studies and Hebrew Language (Jerusalem, 1983),
of the deceased would be preserved, because his inheritance
pp. 69–82, deals with the terminology of land tenure. Robert
would pass to the child. However, there are indications that
North’s Sociology of the Biblical Jubilee (Rome, 1954) is a full-
these laws were not widely observed (e.g., in the story of
length treatment of most aspects of the Jubilee, which may
Judah and Tamar; see Gn. 38), and the penalties for nonob-
be supplemented by the relevant sections in Martin Noth’s
servance were insignificant (Dt. 25:7–10, Ru. 4:7–8). There
Leviticus (Philadelphia, 1977), pp. 181–193, and in Moshe
Weinfeld’s Mishpat: u-tsedaqah be-Yisra Del uva- Eamim (Jeru-
was no incentive other than moral duty for the brother to
salem, 1985), pp. 104–106. Articles dealing with different
perform what may well have been regarded as a most onerous
aspects of rights of inheritance are Zafrira Ben-Barak’s “In-
and unwelcome task (Davies, 1981). For by assuming the
heritance by Daughters in the Ancient Near East,” Journal
duty, the brother not only lost his claim to his own brother’s
of Semitic Studies 25 (Spring 1980): 22–33; Eryl W. Davies’s
estate—because if there were no heir, he and his brothers
“Inheritance Rights and the Hebrew Levirate Marriage,”
would be next in line (Nm. 27:9)—but in certain cases per-
Vetus Testamentum 31 (1981): 138–144, 257–268; and
formance of the levirate could actually be damaging to his
Tikva Frymer-Kensky’s “Patriarchal Family Relationships
own estate (by having to take responsibility for the widow
and Near Eastern Law,” Biblical Archeologist 44 (Fall 1981):
as well as managing his dead brother’s land). Performance
209–214.
of the levirate must therefore have been considered a mag-
New Sources
nanimous act by the brother: He was assuming obligations
Heltzer, Michael. “About the Property Rights of Women in An-
without necessarily deriving any corresponding benefits.
cient Israel.” In Shlomo: Studies in Epigraphy, Iconography,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISRAELITE LAW: CRIMINAL LAW
4737
History and Archaeology in Honor of Shlomo Moussaieff, edited
Clearly, the lines between private and public offenses were
by Robert Deutsch, pp. 133–138. Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel,
drawn differently from those of modern, Western societies.
2003.
Some offenses like battery (Ex. 21:18–19 [verse citations un-
Mbuwayesango, Dora Rudo. “Can Daughters Be Sons? The
less otherwise specified are to the Eng. version]) and theft
Daughters of Zelophehad in Patriarchal and Imperial Soci-
(Masoretic text Ex. 21:37, 22:3), which today are criminal
ety.” In Relating to the Text: Interdisciplinary and Form-
or public, were still considered to be private torts in the
Critical Insights on the Bible, edited by Timothy J. Sandoval
Bible. Conversely, offenses such as witchcraft (Ex. 22:18, Lv.
and Carleen Mandolfo, pp. 251–262. London, 2003.
20:27, 1 Sm. 28:3), adultery (Lv. 20:10; Dt. 22:20–24; Ez.
Ollenburger, Ben Charles. “Jubilee: ‘The Land Is Mine; You Are
16:38–41, 23:45–49), and violation of the Sabbath (Ex.
Aliens and Tenants with Me.’” In Reclaiming the Old Testa-
31:14–15, 35:2; Nm. 15:32–36), which in modern secular
ment: Essays in Honour of Waldemar Janzen, edited by Gor-
societies are either private torts or nonactionable, were in the
don Zerbe, pp. 208–234. Winnipeg, Man., 2001.
Bible considered serious public offenses or crimes.
Sicherman, Harvey. “‘Foremost in Rank and Foremost in Power:’
Conflict over the First-born in Israel.” Jewish Bible Quarterly
There are no special Hebrew terms for crime and crimi-
31 (2003): 17–25.
nal; the same words, sin, transgress, and so forth, are used to
Westbrook, Raymond. Property and the Family in Biblical Law.
describe both human offenses against other people and those
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Se-
against God. Religious and secular concerns are commin-
ries, no. 113. Sheffield, 1991.
gled, and most of the extant criminal laws are presented as
DAVID MARCUS (1987)
God’s own pronouncements. In this sense, all crimes are of-
Revised Bibliography
fenses against God. But one cannot assert that all sins are
crimes. God may punish all sins, but the term crime is here
reserved to describe only those public offenses that were pun-
ISRAELITE LAW: CRIMINAL LAW
ished by Israelite (i.e., human) society.
Criminal law is a modern legal concept that relates to puni-
CRIMES AGAINST KING, PARENTS, AND CIVIL AUTHORITIES.
tive actions taken by society when confronted by conduct
The biblical narratives relate that the death penalty was
that is considered socially harmful, morally offensive, or a
meted out by the king for treason (1 Sm. 22:13–19; 1 Kgs.
threat to fundamental values or norms. Crimes are public of-
1:50–53, 2:23–24), regicide (2 Sm. 1:14–16, 4:9–12; 2 Kgs.
fenses because the community, often acting through its au-
14:5–6), cursing God or king (2 Sm. 19:21–23; 1 Kgs. 2:46,
thoritative representation, punishes the offender. The claims
21:9–16; cf. Ex. 22:28, Lv. 24:10–16), “treasonous” prophe-
of any injured individual are submerged into the public ac-
cy against the state (Jer. 26:8–24, 2 Chr. 24:19–21), and
tions of the community; society as a whole reacts as if it were
witchcraft (1 Sm. 28:9–10). These executions were carried
the injured party. The punishment imposed on the criminal
out by the king’s men; at other times, by mass actions such
offender is often corporal: death, mutilation, or beating.
as stoning, preceded by a public trial. “Treasonous” prophe-
Punishment might also be exile, imprisonment, or public hu-
cy was sometimes treated as a minor crime, punished by im-
miliation. Sometimes monetary fines are imposed as well,
prisonment, beating, or exile (1 Kgs. 22:13–27; Jer. 20:2,
but these go to the state, not to an injured individual.
32:2–3; Am. 7:9–13).
In modern times, crimes are to be distinguished from
There was a stated duty to obey both parental and civil
torts, which belong to the category of civil law. Torts are of-
authority. The death penalty was prescribed for those who
fenses that society is satisfied to leave private. To redress a
rebelled against the courts (Dt. 17:8–13) as well as against
tort, the injured individual either acts alone or seeks the aid
the ruler (Jos. 1:18). There are similar provisions for striking
of kinfolk or powerful allies (self-help). In more developed
a parent (Ex. 21:15), cursing a parent (Ex. 21:17, Lv. 20:9),
societies, the king or government might help the individual
or rebelling against parental commands (Dt. 21:18–21).
enforce his claims. But the injured individual acting privately
SEXUAL OFFENSES. The death penalty was also prescribed for
in civil law can exact only indemnity or monetary compensa-
a variety of sexual offenses: adultery (in addition to the refer-
tion from the offending party.
ences cited above, see Gn. 20:3, 38:24; Dt. 22:22–24), sexual
BIBLICAL CONCEPTS. The literary books that constitute the
relations of a man with his father’s or son’s wife (Lv. 20:11–
Hebrew Bible only partially reveal the legal practices of an-
12) or with his mother or daughter (Lv. 20:14), rape of a
cient Israelite society. One can, however, discern elements
married or even a betrothed woman (Dt. 22:25–27), bestiali-
of criminal law among the stated commandments or prohibi-
ty (Ex. 22:19, Lv. 20:15–16), male homosexuality (Lv.
tions and casuistic legal formulations as well as in the details
20:13), and prostitution engaged in by the daughter of a
of narrative elements. All of this ancient evidence must be
priest (Lv. 21:9).
considered, although, to be sure, one does not know the ex-
IDOLATRY. The biblical laws reflect the long conflict with
tent to which it reflects the ancient realities or actual
idolatry and polytheism that came to a climax at the end of
practices.
the monarchy. The death penalty is prescribed for a variety
One cannot tell whether the ancient Israelites articulat-
of idolatrous acts (Lv. 20:2–5, Dt. 17:2–7) as well as for pro-
ed a conscious distinction between criminal and civil law.
moting idolatry to others (Dt. 13:1–5, 13:6–11, 18:20–22;
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4738
ISRAELITE LAW: CRIMINAL LAW
cf. the general slaughter of idolaters in Exodus 32:27). Deu-
penalty (Ex. 22:2). This same distinction, between daytime
teronomy 13:12–18 assigns the death penalty to an entire city
and nocturnal theft, also appears in the Babylonian laws
and its livestock; all other possessions and goods were consid-
from Eshnunna (modern-day Tell Asmar, Iraq; sections 12–
ered h:erem, that is, to be dedicated to God and burned by
13). The taking of property belonging to God (h:erem) was
fire (cf. Ex. 22:20).
punished by death (Jos. 7:1, 7:18–26).
HOMICIDE AND MANSLAUGHTER. The biblical response to
MULTIPLE PENALTIES. One encounters the actual commin-
homicide hovers between the spheres of private and public
gling of private and public concerns in cases where a criminal
law. The relatives and allies of the victim retained the right
penalty was imposed in addition to the payment of compen-
to take action; society allowed them to slay the offender or
sation. The man who brought a false charge of adultery
to accept monetary compensation for the death of kin. Their
against his betrothed wife was punished on two levels: The
choice of action, however, depended upon whether death
father of the woman received monetary compensation, and
was due to negligent homicide, involuntary manslaughter, or
the man was beaten (Dt. 22:13–19). Beating could apparent-
murder; the free or unfree status of the victim was also a fac-
ly also be added, as a criminal penalty, to the settlements
tor to be considered. The negligent owner of the ox that fa-
reached in civil or private disputes (Dt. 25:1–3).
tally gored a person (Ex. 21:28–32) only owed compensation
for a dead slave but was subject to the death penalty if the
TALION. Battery, as noted above, was normally a private of-
victim was a free man. The owner, however, was allowed to
fense. But battery became a criminal or public matter if it
negotiate compensation in that case, too; but the ox was put
caused serious, permanent injury or death (Ex. 21:20–23).
to death in either case. A man who committed involuntary
The criminal penalties varied according to the injuries sus-
manslaughter could rightfully be slain by the relatives of the
tained; one finds repeated expression of this principle of lex
victim; but the civil authorities could intervene to grant the
talionis (Ex. 21:23–25, Lv. 24:19–20; for false accusation, see
manslayer asylum (a form of exile) in a “city of refuge” (Ex.
Dt. 19:15–21). The harshness of the talionic rules has led
21:12–13, Nm. 35:1–34, Dt. 19:1–13). The normal penalty
some interpreters, both ancient and modern, to question
for murder was death (Gn. 9:6, Ex. 21:14). In most cases,
their literal application, especially in noncapital cases. One
vengeance was taken by kin or allies of the victim (Gn. 4:11–
could compare the offering of compensation in place of the
15, 2 Sm. 14:4–11; cf. the case of wrongful vengeance, 2 Sm.
death penalty for homicide, discussed above. Yet there are
3:26–30, 1 Kgs. 2:5–6). Public outrage could sometimes boil
instances where talion was literally imposed: the cutting off
over into community action against the slayer (Ex. 21:14; Dt.
of thumbs and toes in Judges 1:6 and mutilation for battery
19:11–12; Jgs. 20:12–13; Ez. 16:38–41, 23:45–49).
leading to serious injury in Deuteronomy 25:11 (there is no
The giving of compensation in cases of murder is
exact talionic parity between male and female in this case).
strongly condemned in Leviticus 24:21 and Numbers 35:31–
There is some textual evidence that the harsher practices
34 (cf. Lv. 24:18), because biblical law generally considers
of earlier times were gradually modified or eased in later
murder a public, not private, offense. Glimpses of that prac-
times. This is reflected, for example, in the discontinuation
tice, however, may be seen in 2 Samuel 21:1–4 and 1 Kings
of the practice of assigning collective guilt for crimes com-
20:39. There is evidence that compensation was given for a
mitted by one individual (Dt. 24:16, 2 Kgs. 14:5–6; cf. 2 Sm.
number of other offenses where the death penalty was pre-
21:1–9, 2 Kgs. 9:24–26). Similarly, for the change in the
scribed. Compensation for adultery is suggested in Proverbs
treatment of the corpses of the executed, one may contrast
6:30–35 (in Leviticus 19:20–22 the slave status of the female
obviates punishment). Compensation replaces the death
2 Samuel 21:9–14 with Deuteronomy 21:22–23.
penalty for breaking a solemn oath in 1 Samuel 14:24–46 but
CRIMINAL LAW AND SACRED LAW. Divine as well as human
not in Judges 11:30–40. One may also note the institution
punishment was expected for some criminal offenses, such
of Eerekh (“monetary equivalents”), which could be offered
as cursing a parent (Dt. 27:16), bestiality (Dt. 27:21), sexual
in place of a dedicated object, including persons (Lv. 27:1–
relations of a man with his son’s or father’s wife (Dt. 27:20,
33), except in the case of h:erem (Lv. 27:29). EErekh is offered
27:23), Sabbath violation (Ex. 31:14). These mark points of
in order to redeem potential victims of exile or death in 2
overlap between criminal and sacred law. Sacred law in-
Kings 23:35.
volved God and human, and it transcended the human agen-
THEFT. Even more than the response to homicide, the re-
cies of court, judge, and so forth. It has been noted that the
sponses to theft hover between public and private law. Kid-
Decalogue (Ex. 20:2–17, Dt. 5:6–21) addresses areas of con-
napping and sale of a person was punished by death (Ex.
cern that are also treated in the criminal laws; similarly, Levit-
21:16, Dt. 24:7), but the theft of animals was settled by com-
icus 18:8–23 promises divine punishment for offenses that
pensation (MT Ex. 21:37, 22:3). There are, nevertheless,
are given societal penalties in Leviticus 20:10–21. (Jewish
hints of capital punishment in the outbursts of King David
commentators of late antiquity came to consider offenses
in 2 Samuel 12:5–6 (cf. 1 Sm. 26:16) and of Jacob in Genesis
lacking societal penalty to be a category of lesser crime, pun-
31:32. A thief caught stealing during the day was not to be
ishable by beating; see Mishnah Makkot 3.1–10 and Mai-
killed, but a thief caught in the night could be slain without
monides’ Mishneh Torah, Sanhedrin 18–19.)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISRAELITE LAW: STATE AND JUDICIARY LAW
4739
BIBLIOGRAPHY
structed by Donald A. McKenzie (1964). The adversaries
Diamond, A. S. Primitive Law, Past and Present. London, 1971.
would come before the elders (normally at the town gate) to
A good general historical introduction to ancient law.
lay out their case. The elders would take their seats; the de-
Greenberg, Moshe. “Some Postulates of Biblical Criminal Law.”
fendant would be given a prominent place (1 Kgs. 21:9) with
In Yehezkel Kaufmann Jubilee Volume, edited by Menahem
the plaintiff on his right (Zec. 3:1). The witnesses would be
Haran, pp. 5–28. Jerusalem, 1960.
sitting and later would rise to bear testimony; if the case were
Haase, Richard. “Körperliche Strafen in den altorientalischen Re-
very important, citizens would be summoned to attend (1
chtssammlungen.” Revue internationale des droits de
Kgs. 21:9). The plaintiff would state his case; then the defen-
l’antiquité 10 (1963): 55–75. A comparative study of corpo-
dant would state his, after which the witnesses would rise to
ral punishments in ancient Near Eastern law collections.
This work adds useful perspective to the consideration of
bear witness (Dt. 19:16. Ps. 35:11). The elders would discuss
biblical materials.
the matter and rise to give their verdict (Ps. 3:8, 35:2), declar-
Jackson, Bernard S. “Reflections on Biblical Criminal Law.” In his
ing the defendant innocent or guilty. In the case of a guilty
Essays in Jewish and Comparative Legal History, pp. 25–63.
verdict, they would then oversee an immediate punishment.
Leiden, 1975. Contains a thoughtful critique of earlier
The informality of such procedures is indicated in chapter
studies.
4 of Ruth, in which Boaz waits at the gate for his kinsman
Phillips, Anthony. Ancient Israel’s Criminal Law. Oxford, 1970.
and then convenes a court with what seems to be a random
Useful for its bibliography and scope; Phillips approaches the
ten of the elders of the town.
subject from a viewpoint different from Diamond’s.
Alongside this local system was the jurisdiction of the
New Sources
kings. There is a strong tradition, shared by Israel and Meso-
Chinitz, Jacob. “Eye for an Eye—An Old Canard.” Jewish Bible
Quarterly 23 (1995): 79–85.
potamia, that the kings were responsible for upholding jus-
Dyk, Peet J. van. “Violence and the Old Testament.” Old Testa-
tice. The kings of Israel, however, were not lawgivers, for Is-
ment Essays 16 (2003): 96–112.
rael’s laws were held to come directly from God. They were,
Falk, ZeDev Wilhelm. Hebrew Law in Biblical Times: An Introduc-
however, responsible for judging fairly, for seeing that justice
tion. 2d ed. Provo, Utah, and Winona Lake, Ind., 2001.
was done, and for upholding the cause of the powerless.
Greenberg, Moshe. “More Reflections on Biblical Criminal Law.”
From the revelation of the Law, biblical narrative depicts Is-
Scripta Hierosolymitana 31 (1986): 1–17.
rael’s leaders as arbiters of justice: Moses is seen as a judge
Phillips, Anthony. “The Decalogue—Ancient Israel’s Criminal
(Ex. 18:13); the charismatic leaders of the premonarchical
Law.” Journal of Jewish Studies 34 (1983): 1–20.
period (the “Judges”) are said to have judged Israel; Samuel
rode a justice circuit (1 Sm. 7:15–16); and both David and
SAMUEL GREENGUS (1987)
Revised Bibliography
Solomon are shown making judicial decisions (2 Sm. 15:2,
1 Kgs. 3:16–28). However, there is no instance in which a
case was referred from the elders to the king, nor is there any
ISRAELITE LAW: STATE AND JUDICIARY LAW
case in which a king overrode the decision of a local court.
In ancient Israel, laws were regarded as divinely ordained.
The royal system seems to have operated separately and may
The upholding of the laws, therefore, devolved upon the
have been open to any citizen.
state, the religious establishment, and the people. Although
The stories of the decisions of the king, moreover, do
the state could, presumably, impose sanctions for breaches
not show formal trials. In the two phony disputes that David
of law, most cases were decided on the local level, and pun-
“decided,” the parables of Nathan (2 Sm. 12:1–6) and of the
ishment was executed by the people as a whole (as in ston-
wise woman of Tekoa (2 Sm. 14:4–7), only one party is
ing), by the family of the victim (as in cases of murder), and
heard—an outsider (Nathan) or a pleader. Similarly, when
by God.
the woman whose son Elisha had restored to life comes be-
JURISDICTION. There were several different strands of juris-
fore the king to reclaim her lands, nothing is heard of or from
diction and authority in ancient Israelite law. Priests were in
whoever is presently working those lands (2 Kgs. 8:1–6). The
charge of religious matters, which included the important
impression one gets from these stories is that individuals
determination of secular and profane, pure and defiled (Lv.
would come to plead their case before the king in order to
10:10, Ez. 44:23; cf. Dt. 33:10). They oversaw the expiation
convince him—without formal process—and thus have the
of those misdeeds that could be expiated (Lv. 5:1–13; see
king become their advocate. It is in this sense that Absalom
below); they were involved in the trial of false witnesses; and
tells the Israelites coming to David for justice that they will
they were members of the superior court envisioned in Deu-
find no “hearer” from the king (2 Sm. 15:2–6), that is, that
teronomy (Dt. 17:8–13) and in the judicial reform under Je-
the king will not grant them a sympathetic audience and act
hoshaphat (2 Chr. 19:11). Alongside this priestly jurisdiction
on their requests. Similarly, Josiah is said to have judged the
was a secular legal system that included the elders of the
case of the poor (Jer. 22:15–16). The only known case in
towns, the king, and judges and their officers.
which the king heard from both litigants is that of the two
Trials were usually held in the villages before the local
prostitutes before Solomon (1 Kgs. 3:16–28). The kings do
elders. The typical procedure for such trials has been recon-
not appear to have instituted trials at which they would pre-
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4740
ISRAELITE LAW: STATE AND JUDICIARY LAW
side. Even in the case of Naboth, where the charge was trea-
mine whether an accused were guilty (1 Sm. 14:38–42). Nei-
son (cursing the king), Jezebel and Ahab did not preside: Jez-
ther method of divination is heard of after the full establish-
ebel went through the regular channels of the elders and
ment of the monarchy. Solomon’s willingness to decide the
nobles of the city in order to have Naboth convicted (by per-
case of the two prostitutes (in which there were no witnesses)
jured testimony) (1 Kgs. 21:8–14).
may be an indication that the monarchy now considered it-
self strong enough not to need divine legitimation for its de-
At some time during the monarchy, most probably
cisions; the recorded feeling of the people was that “the wis-
under Jehoshaphat, the system of trial by elders or by king
dom of God was in him to do judgment” (1 Kgs. 3:28).
was either augmented or superseded by the appointment of
judges and their executives throughout the land and by the
Decision by oracle is heard of in such cases as blasphemy
establishment of a superior court in Jerusalem to which the
(Lv. 24:12) and Sabbath offenses (Nm. 15:34); the accused
local elders and judges could bring cases that they could not
would be put under guard until a divine decision was heard.
decide. In the organization of the judiciary under Jehosha-
Such matters may have continued to be decided by divine
phat (2 Chr. 19:5–11), the superior court had a dual compo-
oracle even under the monarchy, for 2 Chronicles records that
sition: Matters relating to God were referred to the priest in
people might come to the superior court for the argument
charge, Amariah; the “king’s matters,” to Zebadiah. This sys-
of a case or for God’s judgment (2 Chr. 19:8).
tem of installing royally appointed judges throughout the
God could also be involved in the judicial process by
land, as well as a superior court to which they could refer,
means of an exculpatory oath by the accused, in which the
is also envisioned in Deuteronomy (Dt. 16:18–9, 17:8–13).
accused placed himself under God’s jurisdiction in affirming
DECISION MAKING. Israelite trials were based on an accusa-
his innocence (Ex. 22:7–10, Lv. 5:20); the court would be-
torial system in which the plaintiff bore testimony against the
lieve him under the supposition that he would not risk divine
defendant. In effect, there was no difference between an ac-
retribution for commiting a falsehood. A particularly solemn
cuser and a witness. This system is inherently vulnerable to
form of exculpatory oath is the procedure for the suspected
the subverting of justice by false witnesses. Two mechanisms
adulteress (Sot:ah): The woman accused by her husband
act to minimize this danger: the requirement of two (male,
stood “before the Lord” and drank a potion that contained
free, Israelite) witnesses for conviction and the institution of
dust from the sanctuary and the dissolved words of the oath
retributive punishment for bearing false witness or making
in which she affirmed her innocence and her belief that the
a false accusation. Deuteronomy 19:15–21, as the laws of
waters would not harm her if she was innocent but would
Hammurabi in Mesopotamia, requires the false witness or
cause infertility if she was guilty (Nm. 5:11–31). After drink-
accuser to receive the punishment that the accused would re-
ing the potion, the woman was free to go and would “bear
ceive if convicted: payment of equivalent damages if the case
her penalty” (that is, she would await divine retribution). If
was pecuniary, and forfeiture of life if the case was capital.
she was guilty, “her belly shall distend and her thigh shall
This provision is a change from the Sumerian system, which
fall,” which may indicate a prolapsed uterus and certainly in-
prescribed a fine for false witnesses, but is similar to the laws
dicates future infertility. If she was innocent, she would ulti-
of Hammurabi. These precautions were not entirely suffi-
mately be totally vindicated by becoming pregnant, and her
cient; they did not prevent Jezebel from finding two witness-
husband would not be penalized for making a false accusa-
es willing to commit perjury (1 Kgs. 21:10), nor the two el-
tion. Although this procedure is sometimes called an ordeal,
ders in Susanna from perjuring themselves; the Pharisaic
it differs from true ordeals in two ways: (1) no divine deci-
insistence on intense cross-examination of witnesses in capi-
sion is immediately apparent and (2) God himself rather
tal cases was meant to increase the safeguards against false
than the human court is expected to punish the woman.
conviction by means of witnesses.
EXECUTION OF THE DECISION. There are several different
kinds of penalties. Fines might be exemplary, multiple pay-
In the absence of two witnesses, the courts did not have
ments such as the repayment of double, fourfold, or fivefold
the authority to decide a case. This is the reason for the in-
damages for theft (Ex. 22:1–4). Or, specific penalties could
dictment of someone who hears the alah (here a judicial
be prescribed, such as the guilt offering (asham) of a ram im-
curse meant to call out witnesses) but does not speak up (Lv.
posed for violating a slave woman designated to marry (Lv.
5:1). Certain cases could not be left undecided, and recourse
19:20–21) or the payment of the standard bride-price to the
would be had to divine intervention, either through divina-
father of a deflowered virgin (Ex. 22:16–17). In certain cases
tion, an oracle, or an oath procedure. Two types of divina-
the amount of the penalty is determined by the family of the
tion used in Israel were lots and the Urim and Tummim.
injured party. Thus, after an ox had gored someone to death,
Lots could be used to determine whether an accused person
its owner was to pay whatever was demanded of him in order
was guilty, as in the case of finding the culprit who took
to ransom his own life (Ex. 21:30), and after having caused
booty from Jericho (Jos. 7:14–15). They would not be suffi-
a woman to miscarry, one was to pay whatever the woman’s
cient to convict; for after Achan was selected by the lots, his
husband and the judge decided (Ex. 21:22).
tent was searched, and even after the goods were found, he
was asked to confess (Jos. 7:22–25). The Urim and Tummim
There is little corporal punishment in the Bible. The
were in the hands of the priests and also functioned to deter-
most common instance of it is scourging, or flogging, limited
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ISRAELITE LAW: STATE AND JUDICIARY LAW
4741
by law to forty lashes (Dt. 25:1–3). A woman who touched
Israel (Nm. 35:9–34, Dt. 19:1–12). The blood redeemer is
a man’s genitals while protecting her husband in a fight
normally taken to mean the closest male relative of the slain,
could have her hand cut off (Dt. 25:11–12). This was the
whose job it would be to protect the family. Anthony Phillips
only specific mutilation prescribed in the Bible, in contrast
(1970), however, has argued that the blood redeemer was,
to Babylonian and Assyrian law (e.g., Laws of Hammurabi
on the contrary, the appointed representative of the local
192, 193, 194, 205, 218, 282; Middle Assyrian Laws 4, 5,
court, whose job it was to carry out the court’s instructions.
8, 9, 15, 18, 20, 44, 52).
EXPIATION. Despite the fact that Israel’s law had a funda-
A question is raised by the law of talion (lex talionis) that
mentally religious base, there was little expiation in the legal
requires equal retaliation in cases of assault and battery (Lv.
system. Someone who ignored the charge for witnesses and
24:19–21). Given the lack of mutilation practiced in Israel,
did not come forth, who swore a false oath, or who touched
it has been suggested that talion is a statement of judicial
impurity might bring a conscience sacrifice, the asham (Lv.
principle rather than a concrete description of practice and
5:1–13, traditionally translated as “guilt offering”). In the
that the actual penalty was the payment of compensation
case of the discovery of a murdered corpse when the murder-
money computed by talionic principles. This is almost cer-
er cannot be found, the elders of the city were to perform
tainly the case with the other two statements of the talionic
the ritual of the heifer whose neck is broken, attesting to their
principle in the Bible, the accidental injury to a pregnant
lack of culpability, averting the blood pollution of their land,
woman (Ex. 21:23–25) and the penalty for false witnesses
and expiating the failure of the legal system (Dt. 21:1–9).
(Dt. 19:19–21): If there were no judicial penalties of mutila-
tion, then the mention of talionic mutilations must have
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Falk, ZeDev. Hebrew Law in Biblical Times: An Introduction. Jeru-
been a judicial maxim to express the principles of equivalent
salem, 1964.
retaliation. Equivalent retaliation stopped with the accused.
In Mesopotamia the child or wife of a perpetrator could be
Finkelstein, J. J. The Ox That Gored. Transactions of the Ameri-
can Philosophical Society, vol. 71, pt. 2. Philadelphia, 1981.
punished for a misdeed against the child or wife of the in-
jured party. In Israel this was not allowed (Ex. 21:31, Dt.
Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. “Tit for Tat: The Principle of Equal Retri-
24:16), although a belief that God would punish and reward
bution in Near Eastern and Biblical Law.” Biblical Archeolo-
gist 43 (Fall 1980): 230–234.
the children (Ex. 20:5) was held until the days of Jeremiah
and Ezekiel (Jer. 31:30, Ez. 18).
Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. “Pollution, Purification and Purgation in
Biblical Israel.” In The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth, ed-
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. Death by burning is prescribed for
ited by Carol L. Meyers and M. O’Connor. Winona Lake,
two sexual offenses (Lv. 20:14, 21:9, cf. Gen. 38:24). Death
Ind., 1983.
by the sword is prescribed for an idolatrous city (Dt. 13:15;
Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. “The Strange Case of the Suspected
cf. 1 Kgs. 18:40, 2 Kgs. 23:30). The most common penalty
Sot:ah.” Vetus Testamentum 34 (January 1984): 11–26.
mentioned in capital cases is stoning. The stoning was to be
Greenberg, Moshe. “Crimes and Punishments.” In The Interpret-
held before the judges; the witnesses cast the first stone, fol-
er’s Dictionary of the Bible, edited by George A. Buttrick, vol.
lowed by the rest of the people (Dt. 17:7), who were thus
1, pp. 733–744. Nashville, 1972.
collectively acting to rid themselves of the guilt of the mis-
McKenzie, Donald A. “Judicial Procedure at the Town Gate.”
deed. There is a difference of opinion as to whether stoning
Vetus Testamentum 14 (1964): 100–104.
was in fact the common mode of execution (Phillips, 1970),
Milgrom, Jacob. Cult and Conscience: The Asham and the Priestly
or whether it is specifically mentioned only for those cases
Doctrine of Repentance. Leiden, 1976.
in which it was used, cases in which there had been a major
Phillips, Anthony. Ancient Israel’s Criminal Law: A New Approach
offense against the hierarchical order of the universe (J. J.
to the Decalogue. Oxford, 1970.
Finkelstein, 1981; Tikva Frymer-Kensky, 1983).
Ploeg, J. P. M. van der. “Les anciens dans l’Ancien Testament.”
In cases of murder, the agent of execution was the
In Lex Tua Veritas: Festschrift für Hubert Junker, edited by
“blood redeemer” (go Del ha-dam), who was obligated to
Heinrich Gross and Franz Mussner, pp. 175–191. Trier,
avenge the murdered party. He was to chase the culprit, who
1961.
could escape to one of the cities of refuge, set up to be places
Ploeg, J. P. M. van der. “Les juges en Israel.” Populus dei: Studi
where a person who had accidentally killed someone could
in honore del card. Alfredo Ottaviani per il cinquantesimo di
go for a trial. If the person was found to be an intentional
sacerdozio, vol. 1, pp. 463–507. Rome, 1969.
murderer, he was handed over to the blood redeemer; if
New Sources
found to be an accidental murderer, he stayed in the city of
Ball, Milner S. Called by Stories: Biblical Sagas and Their Challenge
refuge (a kind of quarantine) until the death of the priest.
for Law. Durham, N.C., 2000.
If he left before that, the blood redeemer was charged with
Carmichael, Calum M. “Biblical Laws of Talion.” Hebrew Annual
executing him. The reason for this law is explicit: The blood
Review 9 (1985): 107–126.
of the slain pollutes the Land of Israel; thus accepting money
Fitzpatrick-McKinley, Anne. The Transformation of Torah from
as restitution for murder or even allowing an accidental mur-
Scribal Advice to Law. Journal for the Study of the Old Testa-
derer to leave the city of refuge would pollute the Land of
ment Supplement Series, no. 287. Sheffield, U.K., 1999.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4742
ISRAELITE RELIGION
Friedmann, Daniel. To Kill and Take Possession: Law, Morality,
the only god in Israelite religion. Like a king in his court,
and Society in Biblical Stories. Peabody, Mass., 2002.
Yahweh was served by lesser deities, variously called “the
Hanks, Gardner C. Capital Punishment and the Bible. Scottdale,
Sons of God,” “the Host of Heaven,” and similar titles. This
Pa., 2002.
host (the word also means “army”) sometimes fought battles
Knoppers, Gary N. “The Deuteronomist and the Deuteronomic
of holy war (cf. the battle of Jericho, where Joshua meets the
Law of the King: A Reexamination of a Relationship.” ZAW
divine “captain of Yahweh’s army”; Jo. 5:13–15) and were
108 (1996): 329–346.
also represented as stars (Jgs. 5:20: “the stars fought from
Rofé, Alexander. “The Laws of Warfare in the Book of Deuteron-
heaven;” also Jb. 38:7). These lesser deities attend Yahweh
omy: Their Origins, Intent and Positivity.” JSOT 32 (1985):
in heaven, as in the prophet Micaiah’s vision: “I saw Yahweh
23–44.
seated on his throne with all the Host of Heaven standing
beside him, to his right and left” (1 Kgs. 22:19). At times they
TIKVA FRYMER-KENSKY (1987)
Revised Bibliography
are also equated with the gods of other nations: “He estab-
lished the boundaries of the nations according to the number
of the Sons of God” (Dt. 32:8 with Qumran and the Septua-
gint; similarly, Dt. 4:19). A third category of divine beings
ISRAELITE RELIGION. In 1979 two silver amulets
(after Yahweh and the Sons of God) consisted of messenger
dating to the late seventh to sixth centuries BCE were discov-
gods, called angels. The angels carry Yahweh’s messages to
ered in a burial cave in Ketef Hinnom, outside of Jerusalem.
earth, as illustrated by Jacob’s dream vision of the angels as-
The smaller of these amulets reads: “Blessed be [he or she]
cending and descending the celestial staircase that links heav-
by Yahweh, the helper and dispeller of evil. May Yahweh
en and earth (Gn. 28:12). In late biblical books, the Sons of
bless you (and) protect you, and may he cause his face to
God and the angels merge into a single category and prolifer-
shine upon you and grant you peace.” The larger amulet
ate: In Daniel’s vision of the heavenly court, “thousands
mentions “the covenant” and Yahweh’s “graciousness to
upon thousands serve him” (Dn. 7:10).
those who love him,” refers to Yahweh as “our restorer,” and
The tripartite hierarchy of the divine world—Yahweh,
concludes with the benediction: “May Yahweh bless you and
the Sons of God or Heavenly Host, and the angels—derives
protect you, may he cause his face to shine. . . .” This bless-
from the earlier structure of Canaanite religion. According
ing is a slight variant of the priestly benediction in Numbers
to the texts from Ugarit (c. 1200 BCE) and other Canaanite
6:22.
sources, the high god of the Canaanite pantheon was El,
These two amulets, worn by the deceased, provide an
whose wife, the mother of the gods, was Asherah. The other
entry into a number of aspects of ancient Israelite religion.
gods of the pantheon are collectively called the Children of
They show the interplay between family religion and state
El and are subservient to El’s authority, although some—
religion, linking domestic burial practice with the religion of
particularly Baal, Anat, Astarte, and Resheph—are promi-
the Jerusalem Temple, where priests recited the priestly
nent deities. A third category consists of servants and messen-
benediction during the sacrificial rites; they show how do-
ger gods. This hierarchy is structurally equivalent to that of
mestic religion placed Yahweh in the protective role of helper
Israelite religion, with some striking differences. On the level
and dispeller of evil; they show the importance of the cove-
of high god, El seems to have merged with Yahweh, who ab-
nant to individual Israelites; and they suggest that the dead
sorbs El’s name and has many of his attributes. Asherah in
too belong to Yahweh’s covenant and require Yahweh’s pro-
Israelite religion becomes the name of a sacred pole or tree
tection. Some of these ideas were rejected by various biblical
in local Yahwistic shrines, although there are hints in some
writers, particularly the aspects linked to magic and the cult
texts that she was worshiped as a goddess in some times and
of the dead. Nonetheless, the amulets provide a counter-
places. The second tier of deities, the Children of El (bn Dil),
voice, testifying to authentic Israelite belief and practice in
have the same title in Israelite religion (Sons of God; bene
the late preexilic era. They provide a perspective onto the
Del or bene haDelohim), but in Israelite religion have been de-
complex weave of Israelite religion, involving the nature of
moted into relatively powerless beings. Resheph, for exam-
God, the relationship between God and humans, the func-
ple, rather than an independent god of war and disease,
tions of the covenant, the Temple, and sacrifice, the varieties
seems to become a personification of disease, accompanying
of religious practice and belief, and the status of sacred texts.
Yahweh’s awesome march into battle (Hb. 3:5). Yahweh re-
Each of these topics was subject to controversy, negotiation,
places or absorbs the functions of all of the active gods of the
and reinterpretation during the course of Israelite history.
pantheon, hence like El, he is the beneficent patriarch and
G
judge; like Baal, he is the divine warrior; and like Asherah
OD AND THE GODS. Yahweh (hwhy) is the proper name of
the God of ancient Israel. He is also called El, literally “God,”
and her daughters, he dispenses “blessings of breast and
and Elohim, also meaning “God,” although the latter was
womb” (Gn. 49:25). Israelite religion, like Israel’s language
originally a plural noun meaning “gods, pantheon.” By a re-
and culture, is a child of the Canaanite or West Semitic
markable act of theological reduction, the complex divine hi-
world.
erarchy of prior polytheistic religion was transformed into
One of the distinctive features of Israelite religion is the
the authority of a sole high god. However, Yahweh was not
absence of a wife or consort for Yahweh. Yahweh is a male
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ISRAELITE RELIGION
4743
god, but he is not depicted as a sexual being. It is possible,
has a sorceress summon the ghost of the prophet Samuel, she
although far from certain, that some local traditions may
calls the ghost an Elohim (1 Sm. 28:13). Elsewhere the
have rectified this situation. Several inscriptions from the
shades of the dead are called gods (Is. 8:19) and “holy ones”
eighth century invoke blessings “by Yahweh and his ashe-
(Ps. 16:3). Although divination by consulting the shades of
rah.” The grammar of these invocations most likely indicates
the dead is prohibited in Deuteronomy 18:11, it may have
that “his asherah” refers to a sacred pole or tree rather than
been a fairly common local practice. Statues called teraphim
a goddess, because a proper name cannot have a possessive
were also used for divination (Ez. 21:26; Zec. 10:2) and are
suffix, and sacred poles or trees called asherahs are mentioned
once referred to as gods (Gn. 31:30). These were probably
in the Bible as features of local shrines. However, Asherah
statues of dead ancestors who bestowed blessings on their de-
is El’s wife in Canaanite religion, and she might be Yahweh’s
scendants and could be invoked for divination. These prac-
wife in these local cults, perhaps represented by the sacred
tices indicate that the dead were not connected to the world
pole or tree. In several instances in the Bible, the name Ashe-
of the gods as full-fledged deities, but as shadowy intermedi-
rah clearly refers to a goddess: According to the Book of Kings,
aries between the world of the living and the divine realm.
King Asa’s mother made a statue of Asherah, which King Asa
The world of the dead was the subterranean Sheol, not in
destroyed (1 Kgs. 15:13); 400 prophets of Asherah were sup-
heaven where Yahweh and his divine entourage dwelled, but
ported by Queen Jezebel (1 Kgs. 18:19; lacking in the Septu-
somehow their shadowy existence was in some respects di-
agint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures); and
vine and included godlike foresight into the future.
a statue of Asherah was placed in the Jerusalem Temple by
On a different level the human king functioned as a
King Manasseh and later destroyed by King Josiah (2 Kgs.
quasidivine intermediary between the divine and human
21:7; 23:6). Whether these statements are historically accu-
realms. The king is at times referred to as the son of God (Ps.
rate or whether in some cases they are false accusations
2:7; 2 Sm. 7:14) and the firstborn of God (Ps. 89:28), and
against “wicked” royalty (like Jezebel and Manasseh), they
in one text the king seems to be addressed as Elohim (Ps.
nonetheless clearly attest that Asherah could be understood
45:7). The language of divine kinship in these texts indicates
as the name of a goddess. The symbolism of the sacred pole
that God adopts the reigning king as his earthly son, which
or tree called the asherah or asherim (the plural form is mas-
corresponds to the king’s role as God’s chosen representative
culine in gender) remains suggestive but obscure. It may be
or intermediary on earth. As portrayed in the royal psalms,
a depersonalization of Asherah into a religious symbol of
the king is the earthly guarantor of cosmic order, defeating
Yahweh worship, perhaps representing an attribute of Yah-
the enemies—both human and cosmic—and establishing
weh’s divinity such as fertility or abundance (in the metony-
harmony and peace. The king partakes of the divine through
my of the tree); it may signify that the goddess Asherah was
the sacral office of kingship, which ideally ensures “abundant
worshiped alongside Yahweh; or perhaps more likely, the sa-
authority and peace without end” (Is. 9:6). In the Second
cred pole or tree was subject to differing interpretations, with
Temple period (536
a floating symbolic register.
BCE–70 CE), in the absence of a reigning
king, the concept of the king as a quasidivine intermediary
Early biblical texts seem to acknowledge that gods of
stimulated the expectation of a royal messiah, the future
other nations exist (Dt. 32:8). The nations each have their
Davidic king, hedged with divinity, who will defeat chaos
own god, but Yahweh is Israel’s god. This seems to be the
once and for all.
earliest sense of the first commandment, “You shall have no
HUMANS AND GOD. Aside from the special status of the
other gods beside me” (Ex. 20:3). Yahweh is Israel’s high
king, humans have varying kinds of relationship with God.
god, who delivered his people from slavery and oppression,
In the priestly creation account of Genesis 1, God creates hu-
and therefore he is entitled to Israel’s worship and loyalty.
mans “in the image of God,” a phrase that suggests a democ-
Moreover, Yahweh is superior to the other gods, as pro-
ratization of the king’s status. As God’s earthly image, hu-
claimed in the early hymn, the Song of the Sea: “Who is like
mans are collectively to rule the earth and all of its creatures
you among the gods, O Yahweh? Who is like you, glorious
(Gn. 1:26–28). Humans—including male and female—are
in holiness, awesome in praise, working wonders?” (Ex.
god-like mediators between God and the world. To be creat-
15:11). Other national gods exist, but Yahweh is Israel’s god
ed in “the image of God” also implies a spiritual, moral, or
and he is the greatest god. The worship of Yahweh functions
intellectual component that transcends ordinary creaturely
as a unifying agent of Israelite culture and religion. This type
existence. Humans are more than animals but less than gods,
of worship is sometimes called monolotry (the worship of
and they are the pinnacle of creation (see also Ps. 8:4–9). A
one god without denying the existence of others) or henothe-
less exalted status is given to humans in the Yahwistic (denot-
ism (belief in one god without denying the existence of oth-
ed as J) creation myth in the Garden of Eden (Gn. 2:4–3:24).
ers). A more thoroughgoing monotheism, which denies the
There the first human is created as a laborer, “to work and
existence of other gods, is a product of the prophetic and
protect” the garden (Gn. 2:15). This status is similar to that
Deuteronomistic critique during the eighth through the
in older Mesopotamian creation myths, in which humans are
sixth centuries BCE.
created to be the laborers of the gods. In the course of the
In addition to the major categories of divine beings, the
Garden of Eden story, the humans become “like gods, know-
human dead are also referred to as gods. When King Saul
ing good and evil” (Gn. 3:5, 22), gaining a god-like aspect
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4744
ISRAELITE RELIGION
comparable to the lofty status of humans in Genesis 1. In this
offspring, abundance, healing, and protection for members
story the desire to be god-like leads to higher knowledge and
of a household or lineage. The worship of the “god of the
self-awareness, but also leads to pain, suffering, hard agricul-
father” and the reverence for the lineage ancestors were com-
tural subsistence, and consciousness of death, that is, the or-
plementary features of family religion. Problems of infertility
dinary fare of human existence. Unlike the original situation
(e.g., Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel), marriage (e.g., Isaac, Jacob),
in paradise, the human world is limited by pain and mortali-
inheritance (e.g., Ishmael and Isaac, Jacob and Esau), family
ty, but it is also enriched by a god-like knowledge of good
strife (e.g., Jacob and Laban, Joseph and his brothers), and
and evil. This divine quality includes moral discernment of
famine (e.g., Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) are occasions when fam-
good and evil and, through the semantic range of the verb
ily religion becomes prominent in these stories and in Israel-
“to know,” sexual maturity (“they knew that they were
ite domestic life.
naked,” Gn. 3:7; “the man knew his wife, Eve,” Gn. 4:1).
Human existence contrasts with the perfection of paradise
Archaeological excavations shed additional light on
or divine existence, yet humans have some degree of divinity,
family religion. Many Israelite houses had domestic shrines
or likeness to divinity.
featuring incense altars and cultic stands, where incense and
food offerings were made, probably accompanied by prayers
Humans, however, also have a propensity toward evil.
and vows. Also common in these domestic shrines were
This flaw gives rise to various problems and solutions. In
bowls of sheep or goat knuckles, which were used for divina-
Genesis 6, God responds to the collective problem of human
tion, and clay figurines (including females with prominent
evil by sending the flood. In both versions of the flood story
breasts, horses with male riders, birds, and rattles), whose
(the Yahwistic and priestly versions, edited together in Gn.
function is unknown. These clay objects presumably figured
6–9), God saves the sole righteous man and begins a new era
in family religion, although it is unclear whether they were
of human existence. This new era, according to the Priestly
deities, ancestors, the worshiper, or had other functions or
version, is distinguished by the first laws and covenant (Gn.
uses. Ethnographic parallels indicate that such inexpensive
9:1–17), establishing clear limits to human violence, particu-
figurines could be used in a variety of ways: as religious icons,
larly the slaughter of animals and murder. The Noachic cov-
decorations, or even toys. It is possible that the female figu-
enant and its laws, which apply to all earthly creatures, are
rines represented major or minor goddesses in Israelite reli-
a first step toward the great promulgation of laws and cove-
gion. A variety of other religious practices were at home in
nant to Israel at Mount Sinai. In the Yahwistic version of the
family religion, including memorial offerings to the dead (Ps.
flood, human evil is not decisively controlled, rather Yahweh
16:3–4; Dt. 26:14), divination by means of statues of the an-
resigns himself to the persistence of human evil, promising
cestors, and protective magic (cf. the mortuary amulets from
that despite their corrupt nature he will never again destroy
Ketef Hinnom and the biblical references to male and female
humans (Gn. 8:21). In the Yahwistic narrative the problem
sorcerers).
of evil is relieved by Yahweh’s compassion for humans, and
The worship of gods other than Yahweh is occasionally
later by his election of Abraham, who will teach justice and
attested in domestic contexts in the biblical text, such as the
righteousness to his children, and through whom all the
family worship of the Queen of Heaven (probably a local
earth’s peoples will be blessed (Gn. 12:1–4; 18:19).
form of Ishtar or Astarte; Jer. 7:17–18; 44:15–25); women
The human propensity for evil creates the need for reli-
planting ritual gardens and mourning for Adonis, Tammuz,
gion, which, through its stories, rites, and laws, teaches mo-
or Baal (Is. 17:10–11; Ez. 8:14; Zec. 12:11); and the offering
rality, regulates behavior, and restores a beneficial relation-
of incense to the Host of Heaven on rooftops (Jer. 19:13;
ship with God and the cosmos. People—including Israelites
Zep. 1:5). The latter, at least, is the worship of Yahweh’s
and foreigners—can choose to disobey the religious norms,
heavenly entourage. It is possible that family religion also in-
in which case God will send destruction (e.g., Sodom and
cluded a ritual of passing children through fire as a rite of
Gomorrah). But there remains a mutuality of interest in the
initiation or redemption, perhaps called a molech offering (or
continuance of human existence: God desires justice and
mulk) or an offering to the god Molech (e.g., Dt. 18:10; 2
morality, and from Israel he also desires worship, and in re-
Kgs. 23:10). This may have been a symbolic attenuation of
turn he grants his blessing. God and humans are linked in
an older rite of child sacrifice. Many of the practices of family
a relationship of mutual benefit, regulated by a divinely sanc-
religion were deplored by various biblical writers (e.g., Dt.
tioned cosmic order. In situations in which this cosmic order
18:9–11), and they were officially anathematized by King Jo-
has been disrupted or destroyed, God’s relationship with Is-
siah (2 Kgs. 23).
rael, or with humans generally, becomes a critical problem.
State religion was rooted in the public structures of po-
FAMILY RELIGION AND STATE RELIGION. The worship of
litical authority and descends from the prestate tribal reli-
God took different forms in various social contexts in ancient
gion. In the early period, tribal and pan-tribal identity was
Israel. The most notable distinction is between family reli-
activated most directly during pilgrimage festivals and mili-
gion and state religion. In the domestic domain of family re-
tary crises. For example, the Song of Deborah (Jgs. 5) de-
ligion, portrayed most directly in the patriarchal narratives,
scribes the call of the tribes to war (not all of them come)
Yahweh is the “god of the father” who provides blessings of
and depicts Yahweh as the mighty divine warrior and savior
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
ISRAELITE RELIGION
4745
of the tribal confederation. The Song of the Sea (Ex. 15),
Israel at the time of Moses does God reveal his true name,
perhaps recited at tribal festivals, describes Yahweh as the
Yahweh, which signals his most complete self-revelation (Ex.
mighty warrior and national savior in his triumph over Pha-
6:3). The Mosaic covenant consists of rules or stipulations
raoh’s army at the Exodus and his delivery of his people to
that Israel must abide by, and in return Yahweh will make
the Promised Land. Jerusalem became the royal capital and
his sacred presence dwell in the midst of the people in his
the center of the state religion for the southern kingdom of
Tabernacle. Hence the construction of the Tabernacle—a
Judah, whereas Dan and Bethel were the official state shrines
desert image of the Temple—has a prominent place in the
for the northern kingdom of Israel. State religion regulated
account of the covenant at Sinai (Ex. 25–40). The covenant
the system of sacrifices offered at the central shrines, which
is a divine–human bond between Yahweh and Israel and is
supported the guild of official priests. The king was the pa-
also an interhuman bond—a system of law, ethics, and ritual
tron of the state religion, which in turn provided the charter
practice—that regulates Israelite life.
for his sacral authority; the king maintained the Temple (or,
in the northern kingdom, the official shrines), appointed the
Preeminent among these laws are the Ten Command-
chief priests, and at times presided over the sacrificial cere-
ments (Ex. 20:1–14; Dt. 5:6–18), which crystallize the basic
monies (e.g., 1 Kgs. 8:62–66). The Jerusalem Temple and
tenets of the covenant. In their present form, the first five
the dynasty of Davidic kings were symbolically linked, as il-
commandments are explicitly religious, each referring to
lustrated by the proximity and names of the two institutions:
Yahweh, and the second five are more explicitly secular and
the Temple was the House of Yahweh (bet yhwh), which
do not refer to Yahweh. In the earlier form of the Ten Com-
stood next to the somewhat larger palace of the royal dynasty,
mandments, which apparently consisted of ten brief sen-
the House of David (bet david). The centralization of wor-
tences, this twofold division may have more naturally fallen
ship at the Temple, promulgated by Kings Hezekiah and Jo-
between the fourth commandment (“remember the Sabbath
siah, concentrated the sacrificial tribute in Jerusalem and ex-
day, to make it holy”) and the fifth commandment (“honor
alted and extended the authority of the royal house.
your father and mother”). In any case, the sacred and the sec-
ular commands are complementary aspects of the covenant,
It is useful to distinguish a third type or level of religious
together forming a coherent religio-ethical order. Notably,
worship, local religion, which mediates between family and
the Ten Commandments are addressed to the people Israel
state religion. Regional shrines served local families and lin-
as a series of exhortations (“You [plural] shall. . . .”) and
eages, functioning as a unifying feature in Israelite society.
has no explicit penalties. The Commandments are commu-
There is evidence that Yahweh was worshiped in various local
nity rules anchored not by penalties but by the authority of
manifestations: He was invoked in blessings as “Yahweh of
Yahweh. This authority is rooted in the memory of his salvi-
Samaria” and “Yahweh of Teman” in eighth-century inscrip-
fic deeds on Israel’s behalf: “I am Yahweh your God, who
tions from Kuntillet EAjrud, and Absalom speaks of his vow
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
to “Yahweh in Hebron” (2 Sm. 15:7). These local manifesta-
slavery” (Ex. 20:1). The legal and ethical order of the cove-
tions of Yahweh were no doubt conceived as the same god,
nant is guaranteed by the past deeds of Yahweh that created
but worshiped with local variations and accents. The local
the conditions for Israel’s existence. Israel’s willing assent to
shrines—and the local priests who gained their living by the
the laws (“all that Yahweh has spoken we will do and obey”;
sacrifices offered there—were anathematized by the prophets
Ex. 24:7) is an expression of covenant loyalty to her divine
and Deuteronomy. The exhortation “Hear O Israel, Yahweh
patron.
our God, Yahweh is one” (Dt. 6:4) may be a criticism of the
multiplicity of Yahwehs worshiped at the local shrines and
The effective consequences of the covenant are made ex-
an affirmation of Yahweh as worshiped in the Jerusalem
plicit in the blessings and curses in Leviticus 26 and Deuter-
Temple. In some respects state religion was a version of local
onomy 27 and 28 (which show some borrowings from the
religion, because Yahweh in Zion is a local manifestation of
curses in contemporary Assyrian treaties). If Israel obeys the
Yahweh who becomes the authorized state god, a jealous god
covenantal stipulations, Yahweh will grant Israel his bless-
inimical to the local cults.
ings; if Israel disobeys, Yahweh will send curses and destruc-
COVENANT AND LAW. Ancient Israel called itself Eam yhwh
tion. This collective responsibility for Israel’s destiny be-
(the people of Yahweh; Jgs. 5:11; 1 Sm. 2:24; 2 Sm. 1:12).
comes the historiographical key for the Deuteronomist’s
This term implies a relationship of kinship or fealty between
account of Israelite history in the books of Deuteronomy
the people and their god. In many biblical texts, particularly
through Kings. The destruction of the northern kingdom by
from the eighth century BCE and later, this relationship is
Assyria and the southern kingdom by Babylon are due to
called a berit (covenant, pact; e.g., Hos. 6:7; 8:1; Ex. 24:7–8).
both kingdoms’ disobedience to the covenant, particularly to
The Priestly source structures its portrayal of history as a se-
the first and second commandments (2 Kgs. 17:7–23; 23:26–
quence of three covenants: the Noachic covenant (Gn. 9:8–
27). The classical prophets’ oracles of doom also rest on this
17), the Abrahamic covenant (Gn. 17), and the Mosaic cove-
covenantal foundation: Because the people have disobeyed
nant (beginning with Ex. 6:1–8). According to this scheme
the covenant, Yahweh will deliver them to destruction. The
all creatures have a covenant with God (the Noachic cove-
preexilic prophets occasionally provide a glimpse of Yah-
nant), but Israel has a special covenant with God. Only to
weh’s blessings should Israel repent, and this prospect of fu-
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4746
ISRAELITE RELIGION
ture blessing becomes a prominent theme in the exilic and
shiper has only one wish: “to dwell in the House of Yahweh
postexilic prophets (and in the postexilic expansions of previ-
all the days of my life, to see the beauty of Yahweh, and to
ous books). The conceptual fabric of the covenant is implicit
contemplate [him] in his Temple” (Ps. 27:4). This experi-
in much prophetic discourse, including in its pointed social
ence of divine presence is available in the sacred space and
criticism, prophecies of doom, and evocations of an ideal
sacred time of the Temple, where Yahweh once celebrated
order.
his victory over chaos (Ps. 24:1–2, 7–10). At the Temple, the
worshiper joyfully feasts in God’s presence, drinks from the
TEMPLE AND PSALMS. The local shrines in Israel served as
“fountain of life,” and sees the light of God (Ps. 36:9–10).
sacred centers where earth and heaven meet and where the
It is an earthly experience of a divine paradise, a place where,
worshiper could draw near to Yahweh’s presence. The foun-
for a time, one can return to the perfect existence that hu-
dation legend of the shrine at Bethel in Genesis 28 illustrates
mans once had in the Garden of Eden.
the cosmic function of Israelite shrines: Jacob sees “a staircase
standing on the earth with its top reaching to heaven” (Gn.
Because the Temple was the divinely sanctioned cosmic
28:12) and encounters God. At Bethel Yahweh grants the pa-
center, its destruction by the Babylonian army in 586 BCE
triarchal blessing to Jacob and promises to protect him, and
was a major religious crisis. In the psalms this event is depict-
Jacob makes a vow: “If I return in peace to my father’s house,
ed as a reversion to primeval chaos, when evil forces ran riot.
Yahweh will be my God, and this rock that I set up as a
Thus Psalm 74 invokes “God, my king from of old” to re-
standing stone will be a house of God (bet Delohim), and of
store the order of creation as he did in primeval times when
all that you give me, I will give a tenth to you” (Gn. 28:21–
he defeated the dragons of chaos. In this mythic construal
22). The sacred site of Bethel (lit., “house of God”) is a cos-
of historical events, the enemy’s destruction of the Temple
mic axis where the human and the divine realms meet, where
is a temporary victory, because the divine king will once
the ancestor enters into a bond with God, and where his de-
more arise to vanquish the enemy. The tragedy of the present
scendants renew this bond. At this holy site the worshipers
is an interlude between God’s victories of the primeval past
offer vows, libations, tithes, and sacrifices. As seen in its
and the imminent future. This cyclical or periodizing view
name, this “house of God” is a place where God dwells on
of history is a key ingredient in the rise of apocalypticism:
earth, where the worshiper can enter into God’s holy pres-
the expectation that God and his holy allies (angels and one
ence.
or more messiahs) will soon appear to vanquish evil and suf-
fering. In the new era to come, God will build a new Temple,
The Temple in Jerusalem partakes of all these aspects
more glorious than the first (see Ezekiel’s angelic tour of the
of the local shrines and eventually displaced them. As the
new Temple in Ezekiel 40–48), and the rivers of paradise will
central shrine of state religion, it had the patronage of the
once more flow from the Temple (Ez. 47:1–12).
king and was graced (according to 1 Kgs. 6) with the finest
Phoenician workmanship. It was built with Lebanon cedars,
SACRIFICE. The major ritual action at the Israelite sacred
elsewhere called “cedars of God” (Ps. 80:11; cf. “cedars . . .
shrines was sacrifice. Usually this involved the killing and of-
in the garden of God,” Ez. 31:8). A divine quality seems to
fering of an animal from the domestic flocks (sheep, goat,
inhere in this wood (the Cedar Forest of Lebanon is de-
or cattle), although grain offerings could serve as a substitute.
scribed as a divine preserve in the ancient Babylonian epic
Sacrifices in general are referred to as a gift (minh:a), a slaugh-
of Gilgamesh and is considered “the secret abode of the
ter (zebah:), or an offering or bringing-near (qorban). These
gods”). The Temple is an image of divine paradise, as evoked
terms point to some of the basic dimensions of sacrifice. The
by the engravings of trees, flowers, and protective cherubim
sacrifice is a ritualized meal or feast in which meat is slaugh-
on the cedar panels and gold overlay. Similar to the Garden
tered (the consumption of meat was a special occasion in or-
of Eden, the Temple is a sacred place where God dwells and
dinary life, as in Gn. 18:1–8), transferred from the domestic
where ordinary humans cannot enter. (Only priests could
setting to sacred space, where it takes on the character of gift
enter the Temple’s interior, and only the high priest could
or tribute to the deity and celebrates the bond between wor-
enter its most holy inner sanctum, and then only once a year
shiper and deity. The sacrificial system has various compo-
on the Day of Atonement.) Unlike the Garden of Eden, the
nents, each of which has distinctive shades of meaning.
Temple’s location was known, and worshipers could ap-
proach God’s holy presence in the Temple courtyard, and
The types of sacrifice most commonly referred to are the
indeed were required to do so. There they would bring sacri-
voluntary sacrifices called burnt offering ( Eola) and well-
fices and hear (or chant) sacred songs.
being offering (shelamim). The burnt offering is the type of-
fered by Noah after the flood (Gn. 8:20) and by Abraham
Many of the poems in the book of Psalms are sacred
at Mount Moriah (Gn. 22:13), and both types are offered
songs about the Temple, some sung in the Temple courts
by Moses at Mount Sinai (Ex. 24:5) and Solomon at the ded-
and some by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. In the lan-
ication of the Jerusalem Temple (1 Kgs. 8:64). Both types are
guage of these songs, the Temple is on Yahweh’s “holy
commanded by Yahweh at Mount Sinai in one of the few
mountain,” where worshipers who are pure of hands and
passages that comment on their significance: “You shall
heart (i.e., deeds and spirit) can enter into his salvific pres-
make for me an earthen altar, and sacrifice on it your burnt
ence and receive his blessing (Ps. 24:3–6). The humble wor-
offerings and your well-being offerings from your flocks and
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ISRAELITE RELIGION
4747
herds. In every place where I cause my name to be remem-
temporarily “out of place,” whether physically, legally, or so-
bered, I will come to you and bless you” (Ex. 20:21). Per-
cially. A special purification offering is performed by the high
forming these sacrifices at the sacred sites is a way of worship-
priest on the Day of Atonement to cleanse the Temple of the
ing or remembering Yahweh, and with each ritual of
Israelites’ deliberate transgressions (Lv. 16:16). The system
remembrance, Yahweh grants his blessing. Memory and the
of purification offerings ensures the continued availability of
circulation of blessings are the focus of the ritual. The wor-
Yahweh’s presence in the Temple by keeping it cleansed
shiper remembers Yahweh and pays homage to him, and also
from the “dirt” of Israel’s impurities and sins. It also provides
remembers the great sacrificial events of the past that
a solution to the problem of human evil by regulating and
founded the people (e.g., the Sinai covenant, the dedication
cleansing its effects, thereby warding off another divine pun-
of the Temple). Yahweh remembers his bond with his people
ishment like the great flood. The priestly system of sacrifice
and responds to their tribute with his blessing, which recapit-
is, in this respect, a ritual theodicy, in which Yahweh for-
ulates the pattern of his relationship with the ancestors. In
swears punishment as long as Israel atones for its sins.
this ritual event, which takes place in family, local, and state
Several of the classical prophets criticize the legitimacy
religion, the social roles of the Israelites in their families,
of sacrifice, stating that Yahweh does not want or accept the
clans, and tribes are reaffirmed and sacralized, as is the wor-
people’s sacrifices (Am. 5:21–25; Hos. 6:6; Is. 1:10–17; Mi.
shiper’s metaphysical role in the larger structures of reality.
6:6–8; Jer. 7:21–23). These prophetic texts set up a contrast
between ritual and ethics; Yahweh denounces the former and
The burnt offering and well-being offering form a com-
requires only the latter. It is not clear whether this contrast
plementary pair and were usually offered in sequence. The
in prophetic rhetoric is absolute or relative; that is, whether
burnt offering, performed first, is entirely burnt into smoke,
ritual is empty under any circumstance, or whether it is
serving as a greeting-gift to Yahweh. The smoke is the pleas-
empty only under the current circumstance of unethical be-
ing odor that rises to Yahweh, summoning him to the sacri-
havior. In either case, the traditional practice becomes the
fice. The well-being offering, performed next, is shared by
object of critique and its meaning problematized. These
Yahweh and the worshiper, but with different portions and
questions about the relation between ritual practice and ethi-
by different culinary means. The fat or suet is burnt into
cal disposition provide the ground for later transformations
smoke (like the technique of the burnt offering), which rises
in Judaism and Christianity, when sacrifice becomes obsolete
to Yahweh as his pleasing odor. The meat is boiled in a pot
after the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE). Some
for the worshipers, with a portion going to the officiating
of the meanings and functions of sacrifice were preserved in
priests. The well-being offering is sometimes aptly rendered
other significant rites, most prominently the Passover Seder
as a “communion offering,” because in it the worshiper and
(a ritual meal which recalls the Passover sacrifice) and the Eu-
Yahweh share a ritual meal in each other’s presence. Yet even
charist (a ritual meal which recalls both the Passover Seder
as they share a common meal, the difference of their respec-
and Jesus’ sacrifice).
tive portions signifies the metaphysical difference between
T
Yahweh and humans. Yahweh’s portion is smoke—a nonma-
HE PROPHETIC CRITIQUE. The religious critiques of the
classical prophets (eighth through the sixth centuries
terial substance, rising from the earth to heaven, pointing to
BCE) ef-
fected, over several centuries, significant shifts in the struc-
his divine nature. This is a substance that humans, as earthly
tures of belief and practice in Israelite religion. Many aspects
beings, cannot eat. The humans’ portion is meat stew, which
of traditional religious practice such as sacrifice, worship at
is solid and cooked in a pot, corresponding to human physi-
local sacred sites, and the use of various types of religious ico-
cality and material culture. Yahweh transcends human exis-
nography came under scathing attack. Veneration of other
tence, just as his sacrificial cuisine differs from theirs. The
divine beings, including Yahweh’s entourage, the Heavenly
ritual meal effects communion between the worshipers
Host, was defined as sacrilege. Political institutions, such as
and Yahweh but also expresses metaphysical difference and
kingship and the ruling elite, came under attack. The classi-
hierarchy.
cal prophets regarded Israelite society—particularly the rul-
In the priestly system of sacrifice (presented in Lv. 1–
ing classes—as ethically corrupt, and the major religious in-
16), several additional types of sacrifices are mandated for
stitutions and traditions were part of the problem. Hence
purification of sins. Each is a specialization of the well-being
they were defined as empty and abhorred by Yahweh.
sacrifice, with the suet burnt into smoke for Yahweh and the
Hosea’s writings against Samaria are the beginnings of the
meat boiled for the officiating priest. The most important
critique:
purificatory sacrifice is the “sin offering” (h:attaDt), sometimes
Israel rejects what is good. . . . They made kings, but
called the “purification offering.” This offering purifies the
not by me; They made officers, but not by my knowl-
worshiper and the Temple from the worshiper’s inadvertent
edge; With their silver and gold, they made im-
sins and impurities. Situations that require such purifying
ages. . . . (I) reject your calf, O Samaria, I am furious
sacrifices include physical contact with an unclean person or
with (it). . . . A craftsman made it, but it is not a god;
object, menstrual impurity, unintentional failure to testify in
Yahweh will shatter the calf of Samaria. (Hs. 8:3–6)
a legal matter, and transitions of ritual status such as the initi-
In this speech, kingship, the political administration, the sa-
ation of priests. These are all situations in which a person is
cred sites, and the religious iconography are all denounced.
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4748
ISRAELITE RELIGION
The “calf of Samaria” was the bull pedestal or throne of Yah-
variety of intellectual elites in what Karl Jaspers called the
weh at the royal shrines of Bethel and Dan. Analogous to the
Axial Age (Eisenstadt, 1986). The classical prophets are an-
sphinx-like cherubs above the Ark in the Jerusalem Temple,
cient Israel’s Axial critics.
the calf is a divine creature, but not a high god. But the phys-
ical representation of any divine being or aspect of divinity
The prophetic critique was appropriated by the royal
is castigated by the classical prophets, including the old
administration of Josiah (and perhaps earlier, Hezekiah) to
standing stones at the local shrines. This is a critique of reli-
justify the centralization of religious authority in the Jerusa-
gious symbolism as such. Sacrifice too is an empty rite, as in
lem Temple, the central shrine of state religion. Both kings,
Isaiah’s oracle:
according to the biblical texts, destroyed the local shrines (2
Kgs. 18:4–6, 22; 22:8–20). Sacrifice could henceforth only
What do I need of all your sacrifices, says Yahweh, I am
be offered at the Temple. This aggregation of power to the
sated with burnt offerings of rams, And the suet of fat-
capital city enhanced the prestige of the king and the Jerusa-
lings; The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats, I do not de-
lem priesthood. It may have been facilitated, in part, by the
sire. When you come to appear before me, Who asked
Assyrian destruction and depopulation of the Judean coun-
these of you, trampling my courts? (Is. 1:11–12)
tryside during the reign of Hezekiah and the concomitant ex-
The critique of traditional religious symbols and practices
pansion of Jerusalem’s population. Josiah’s renewed efforts
comes to a climax in Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon: “Thus says
to consolidate religious centralization in Jerusalem was ac-
Yahweh of Hosts, God of Israel, Make good your ways and
companied by the discovery of “the scroll of the law” (2 Kgs.
actions, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not place
22; an early form of Deuteronomy), which mandated that Is-
your trust in empty words, saying ‘The Temple of Yahweh,
rael only worship at one site, “the place that Yahweh your
the Temple of Yahweh, the Temple of Yahweh.’ . . . You
God will choose, among all your tribes, to place his name
are placing your trust in empty words which are of no avail”
there” (Dt. 12:5). Deuteronomy, a sublimely spiritual book,
(Jer. 7:3–8). In a situation in which the people are morally
integrated the prophetic critique with the triumph of the
corrupt, even the Temple—the religious institution par ex-
state religion.
cellence—is devoid of value. In the absence of ethical behav-
OTHER THEODICIES. The classical biblical view of the rela-
ior, all religious symbols and rituals are vacant.
tion between God’s justice and human suffering can be seen
As part of the prophets’ religious critique, the divine
most clearly in the psalms of lament and thanksgiving. Wor-
realm is reconceived such that Yahweh becomes the sole high
shipers, who are suffering or have recently been delivered
god of all the nations. Rather than being the best of gods,
from suffering, attribute their painful state either to their
as in older texts, Yahweh is the only god: “Yahweh is the true
own sins or to the malefic influence of their enemies. The
God, He is the living God and eternal King” (Jer. 10:10).
worshipers trust that God will deliver them from suffering
The gods of other nations are mere illusions. Second Isaiah
and evil or offers thanks for already having been delivered.
(i.e., the “second author” who wrote segments of the book
At the end, the worshipers rejoice and offer sacrifices of
of Isaiah) makes this point in his exilic oracles: “I am God,
thanksgiving to Yahweh. The sequence of importuning,
there is no other; I am god, there is none like me” (Is. 46:9).
trust, deliverance, and thanks is typically dramatized with
In this new conception of God, the former anthropomorphic
motifs from the old myth of God’s primeval victory over his
traits are purged: God is beyond human imagination, omni-
cosmic enemies. As in the Canaanite myth of Baal, the cos-
scient and omnipresent. The prophetic critique produced the
mic enemies par excellence are Sea and Death. For example,
classical monotheism of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
the suffering that afflicts the worshipers are “the ropes of
Death . . . the flood-torrents of Belial . . . the ropes of
The new conceptual forms of the prophetic critique are
Sheol . . . the snares of Death” (Ps. 18:5; similarly, Ps.
closely related to the classical prophets’ social positions as li-
69:2–3, 15–16; 88:4–8; 116:3; Jon. 2:3–4). God rescues the
minal or status-inconsistent figures. Unlike kings and priests,
worshiper from these chaotic regions with his mighty hand:
the authority of these prophets derived from their verbal
“He reached down from on high, he took me, he drew me
power and personal qualities, outside of inherited or ap-
from the mighty waters, he saved me from my fierce enemy”
pointed hierarchies. (There were other prophets who were
(Ps. 18:17); and “he lifted me out of the desolate Pit, the
royal retainers; e.g., Nathan in David’s court.) The prophets
miry clay” (Ps. 40:3; similarly, Ps. 30:4; Jon. 2:7). In these
whose social backgrounds are cited had inconsistent status:
psalms, the victory of God over evil and suffering are por-
Amos was a southern rancher prophesying in the northern
trayed as a recapitulation of his primeval victories over chaos.
kingdom, Jeremiah was from a disenfranchised priestly lin-
The myth of the Divine Warrior forms the master plot for
eage, and Ezekiel was a priest in exile. As prophets they were
his victory over evil and suffering in the present.
religious mediators, hearing Yahweh’s words in heaven and
relating them to humans on earth. From their betwixt-and-
The classical prophets transformed this constellation of
between positions, they drew new distinctions between sym-
ideas in their concept of the Day of Yahweh, which will be
bol and reality, signs and things, in a manner unthinkable
directed against Israel for its evil deeds (Am. 5:18–20; Is.
within the traditional structures of religious thought. This
2:12–17; Zep. 1:2–18). The leaders and people of Israel are
practice of social and religious critique is characteristic of a
now the “enemies,” and Yahweh will punish and destroy
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ISRAELITE RELIGION
4749
them for the injustices they have committed. The military
ent absence of divine justice. Ecclesiastes holds that God is
destruction of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians and
just, but what happens in the world is often unjust. Life and
the southern kingdom by the Babylonians vindicated these
wisdom are God’s gifts, and to ask for more is to invite an-
utterances of the classical prophets, thereby investing their
guish. “God made humans straightforward, but they have
writings with increased authority, leading to their eventual
sought great reasons for things” (Eccl. 7:29). Ecclesiastes, like
canonization.
Job, stresses the limits of human understanding, offering a
skeptical and pragmatic alternative to the traditional biblical
During and after the Babylonian exile (586–538 BCE),
views of theodicy.
new shifts occurred in the old patterns of theodicy. In the
proto-apocalyptic writings of Second Isaiah, Ezekiel, and
THE SCRIPTURALIZATION OF RELIGION. During the preexil-
other prophetic texts, God’s future victory over the enemy
ic period, religious knowledge circulated orally, particularly
(the Babylonians, other foreign nations; e.g., Gog of Magog
in the rites and festivals of family, local, and state religion.
and his allies in Ez. 38–39 and Death and the sea dragon Le-
Elders, priests, and prophets were the primary religious au-
viathan in Is. 25:8, 27:1) will lead to a golden age of peace
thorities. Toward the end of the monarchic period a shift be-
and joy. The divine destruction of evil and suffering will be
gins to occur in the locus of religious knowledge, from oral
a cosmic transformation in which this era will be no more
tradition to the written word. Second Kings 22 describes the
and a golden age will dawn. These apocalyptic ideas grew in
discovery in the Jerusalem Temple of a “scroll of the teach-
force in the late Second Temple period, particularly after the
ing” (sefer hatorah; probably an early version of the book of
Antiochene persecutions, stimulating the formation of apoc-
Deuteronomy) that authorizes King Josiah’s religious reforms.
alyptic communities at Qumran (an Essene order) and
Deuteronomy 17:18–20 instructs the king to read a scroll that
among the early Christians. In these apocalyptic groups, the
is “a copy of this teaching” throughout his days to ensure his
cosmic enemies are both earthly and heavenly. The earthly
just rule. In these scenes the authority of the written word
enemies include Rome and other foreign nations, and also
begins to take the place of the prophets and priests—the lat-
Jews who are not in the inner group of the righteous elect.
ter are limited to copying the scroll or pronouncing on its
The heavenly enemies are Satan and his armies of wicked an-
authenticity. The image of God’s word as a textual product
gels and demons, who will be vanquished in cosmic battle
is vividly portrayed in the initiatory vision of the prophet
with God, his angelic army, and one or more messianic
Ezekiel, who becomes a prophet when God commands him
figures.
to swallow a scroll: “I ate it, and it became as sweet as honey
in my mouth” (Ez. 3:3). God’s word has become a text,
An alternate transformation of the old pattern of theodi-
which the prophet recites to the people.
cy occurs in the poetic dialogues of the book of Job. Job la-
ments his suffering in language rooted in the psalms of la-
Henceforth the history of Israelite religion is inseparable
ment, but maintains that he is innocent of any sin or
from the history of the text and its interpretation. The ca-
wrongdoing. His comforters, who maintain the traditional
nonical moment for this history, according to the biblical
claim that suffering is merited by past sinful acts, are repudi-
portrayal, is Ezra’s reading of “the scroll of the teaching of
ated by Job and later by God (Jb. 42:7). Job insists that God
Moses” (sefer torah moshe; an early version of the Pentateuch;
is treating the innocent man as his enemy (“Am I the Sea or
i.e., the first five books of the Bible) accompanied by learned
the Dragon?”; Jb. 7:12), which impugns the idea of divine
men who “explain the teaching to the people” (Neh. 8:7).
justice. When God appears to Job in the storm cloud, he uses
The function of religious specialists was now to read and in-
the language of divine mastery over chaos to intimidate Job
terpret the authoritative text to discern the true meaning of
into silence. God’s ways are beyond Job’s understanding, and
God’s already textualized word. A striking example of the
he recants: “I spoke without understanding, of things too
new concept of divine revelation during the Second Temple
wondrous for me, which I did not know” (Jb. 42:3). After
period is Daniel’s vision in Daniel 9, in which the pious Dan-
recanting, Job is delivered from suffering, but the reasons are
iel reads the book of Jeremiah to learn when the redemption
not the traditional ones. God’s relationship to human evil
of Jerusalem will occur, then he prays, mourns, and fasts.
and suffering is no longer comprehensible, if any such rela-
The angel Gabriel arrives from heaven to reveal the scriptural
tionship even exists. Humans seem to be more or less insig-
secrets: “Daniel, I have now come to impart knowledge to
nificant in God’s sight, and his victory over cosmic chaos—
you” (Dn. 9:22). God’s word is contained in a text, but it
represented by Leviathan and Behemoth—no longer has any
takes further divine revelation to understand its true
metaphoric relation to the defeat of human suffering.
meaning.
A similar view is articulated in the book of Ecclesiastes,
Once religion becomes textualized, each community
in which the language of the divine victory over chaos is en-
needs a divinely inspired or authorized interpreter, or class
tirely lacking. A general absence of meaning (hevel; empti-
of interpreters, to discern the scriptural secrets. The Teacher
ness, vanity, logical absurdity) pervades the world that we in-
of Righteousness at Qumran and Jesus of Nazareth are
habit, and human suffering is only alleviated by death.
prominent examples of inspired teachers of scriptural secrets
Humans should cultivate simple pleasures and a tempered
during the latter part of the Second Temple period. New in-
pursuit of wisdom, but not worry overmuch about the appar-
stitutions arose, such as the Pharisees and rabbis, whose au-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4750
ISSERLES, MOSHEH
thority was rooted in their ability to interpret scripture. Hil-
A thorough and judicious treatment of the relationship be-
lel, according to rabbinic tradition, “renewed the Torah” by
tween Yahweh and the Canaanite deities, including the diffi-
the wealth of his interpretations, touching many aspects of
cult issues of Asherah and the emergence of monotheism.
Jewish life and law (Sukkah 20a). As Gershom Scholem ob-
Toorn, Karel van der. Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Isra-
served, commentary became the major vehicle for religious
el: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life. Lei-
discourse in Judaism. In Christianity “the word become
den, 1996. A penetrating study of family religion in the an-
flesh,” but its gospel was also a text, and Christianity pre-
cient Near East, shedding important light on neglected
served its Jewish origins as a scriptural religion. By the end
aspects of Israelite religion.
of the Second Temple period, Israelite religion had been
Zevit, Ziony. The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallac-
transformed into a plurality (including Essenes, Pharisees,
tic Approaches. London, 2001. A thorough survey of archaeo-
Samaritans, Christians, Gnostics, and Platonists) of cultures
logical and textual data on the plurality of practices and be-
of interpretation.
liefs in Israelite religion in the preexilic period.
RONALD S. HENDEL (2005)
SEE ALSO Biblical Exegesis, article on Jewish views; Biblical
Literature, article on Hebrew Scriptures.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ISSERLES, MOSHEH (c. 1520–c. 1572), known by
Albertz, Rainer. A History of Israelite Religion in the Old Testament
the acronym RaMa (Rabbi Mosheh), was a Polish rabbi,
Period. 2 vols. Louisville, Ky., 1994. The most comprehen-
halakhist, and scholar. Isserles was born in Kraków to one
sive recent history of Israelite religion, marked by attentive-
of the most powerful families of the Jewish community of
ness to differences of social context and corresponding dis-
tinctions of religious perspective and practices.
sixteenth-century Poland and rose very rapidly to a position
of prominence in the rabbinical world of Ashkenazic Jewry.
Barkay, Gabriel, Marilyn J. Lundberg, Andrew Vaughn, and
Isserles’s wealth and social status, as well as his ties by mar-
Bruce Zuckerman. “The Amulets from Ketef Hinnom: A
New Edition and Evaluation.” Bulletin of the American
riage to other prominent intellectual and communal figures
Schools of Oriental Research 334 (2004): 41–71. The fullest
in Polish Jewry, allowed him to wield substantial authority
decipherment of two important inscriptions.
at a young age, primarily through the important yeshivah that
Cross, Frank M. Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the
he established in Kraków. His contributions to Jewish law
History of the Religion of Israel. Cambridge, Mass., 1973. The
and learning were vastly influential, and he was one of the
major synthesis of the relationship between Canaanite and
few eastern European rabbis of his age to be venerated as a
Israelite religion. A rich source of insights into many aspects
saintly leader for centuries after his death.
of Israelite religion.
Isserles was trained in the Talmudic academy of Shalom
Dearman, John A. Religion and Culture in Ancient Israel. Peabody,
Shakhna of Lublin, where he imbibed a fundamental com-
Mass., 1992. A fine introduction to the subject, with careful
mitment to the Ashkenazic traditions brought to Poland
attention to sociopolitical contexts and analyses.
from Germany in the fifteenth century. He returned to his
Eisenstadt, S. N., ed. The Origins and Diversity of Axial Age Civili-
native Kraków to take up the position of its chief rabbi and
zations. Albany, N.Y., 1986.
remained in this post in the Polish capital until his death.
Levenson, Jon D. Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible.
The Rama synagogue in Kraków, which he built with his
Minneapolis, 1985. A thoughtful presentation of key topics
own wealth in 1553 as a memorial to his first wife, stands
such as monotheism, covenant, and the symbolism of sacred
to this day as one of the most significant emblems of Jewish
space in Israelite religion.
religiosity and learning in eastern Europe.
Miller, Patrick D. The Religion of Ancient Israel. Louisville, Ky.,
2000. A comprehensive study of some major topics, includ-
Isserles’s prowess in Jewish law was revealed in his re-
ing the origins and diversity of Israelite religion, sacrifice, ho-
sponsa, first published in Kraków in 1640, that displayed a
liness and purity, and religious specialists.
distinctive synthesis of rigor and flexibility. While adhering
Niditch, Susan. Ancient Israelite Religion. New York, 1997. An en-
to the Ashkenazic tradition of conservative interpretation,
gaging introduction to aspects of Israelite religion, with at-
the Rama’s rulings argued for a considerable degree of lenien-
tention to folkloric perspectives.
cy in situations of severe economic or social stress and em-
Ringgren, Helmer. Israelite Religion. Translated by David E.
phasized his belief in the importance of local customs in de-
Green. Philadelphia, 1966; reprint, Lanham, Md., 1988. A
termining law. One responsum also detailed Isserles’s
classic study marked by wide learning and sound judgment
controversial dedication to the study of philosophy: Taken
and the best general introduction to the subject.
to task by his senior colleague Shelomoh Luria for citing Ar-
Scholem, Gershom. “Revelation and Tradition as Religious Cate-
istotle as an authority of note, Isserles proclaimed his com-
gories in Judaism,” The Messianic Idea in Judaism. New York,
mitment to the Maimonidean view of the relation between
1971. A seminal essay on the centrality of biblical interpreta-
philosophy and theology while explaining that he had only
tion in the history of Judaism.
read Aristotle through the medium of medieval Hebrew
Smith, Mark S. The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other
texts. Isserles opposed the contemporary practice of teaching
Deities in Ancient Israel. 2d ed. Grand Rapids, Mich., 2002.
mysticism to the young and untried. However, in a number
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
¯
IS´VARA
4751
of quasi-philosophical works, the most important of which
ISˇTAR SEE INANNA
was Torat ha- Eolah (The doctrine of the offering; 1570), a
symbolic analysis of the commandments concerning the an-
cient Temple in Jerusalem, he attempted to demonstrate the
confluence of Jewish philosophy and Qabbalah.
¯
IS´VARA, meaning “the lord,” is the chief term used in In-
dian religion and philosophy to designate a supreme personal
Isserles also published a large number of commentaries
god. Goddess worshipers employ the feminine form, ¯ı´svar¯ı.
and glosses on various parts of the Bible, the Talmud, and
The noun comes from the Sanskrit root v¯ı´s, which means
other rabbinic literature. But his major scholarly accomplish-
to own, rule, be master of, or be powerful. The meaning of
ment and claim to fame was his participation in one of the
the term developed over the history of South Asian literature.
crucial legal enterprises in Jewish history, the creation of the
Shulh:an Earukh. As a leading but relatively inexperienced ju-
In the earliest strata, the hymns of the R:gveda (c. 2000
rist, Isserles recognized the need for a guide to Jewish law
BCE) prefer the epithets ¯ı´san:a or ¯ı´sa (from the same root) to
that would collate the rulings of recent scholars with classic
designate the power of such deities as the universal sovereign
interpretations and traditions. He had only begun to prepare
Varun:a, guardian of the cosmic order; Agni, the god of fire;
such a compendium when he learned that the great Sefardic
Indra, lightning-hurling leader of the gods; and Purus:a, the
sage Yosef Karo of Safad had just published his Beit Yosef,
Cosmic Person, who was dismembered to create the uni-
an exhaustive code of Jewish law. Isserles revised his plan and
verse. Though powerful, these early “lords” are not supreme
produced his Darkhei Mosheh, which abridged Karo’s work
personal deities. The term ¯ı´svara itself first occurs in the lat-
yet differed from it by insisting on the authority of local cus-
est collection of Vedic hymns, the Atharvaveda, where it is
tom and recent precedents in determining correct rulings.
extended from the god Agni (fire) to Vayu (wind), Pra¯n:a (life
Ten years later, Karo himself issued an abridgement of his
energy), and Ka¯la (time)—all later associated with the su-
original work, now entitled the Shulh:an Earukh—the “set
preme god, Rudra-S´iva, also called Great Lord (Mahe´svara).
table.” Isserles responded by writing his Mappah—the “ta-
Later the Bra¯hman:as, priestly books elaborating sacrifice, ele-
blecloth”—which was an extensive commentary on Karo’s
vate the god Praja¯pati (Lord of Progeny), as the embodiment
work that argued for the pertinence of Ashkenazic customs
of Vedic sacrifice, creator, preserver, and ruler of the world.
and recent rulings. Immediately accepted as a critical ampli-
This lord is equated with brahman, the underlying Absolute.
fication of Karo’s work, Isserles’s glosses were incorporated
In the last portion of the Veda, the Upanis:ads (800 BCE–
into the now collaborative Shulh:an Earukh, which became
200 CE), where the mystical link between brahman and the
the authoritative codification of Jewish law and the object
innermost soul (a¯tman) are explored, the concept of ¯ı´svara
of continuous scholarly interest and debate.
emerges fully. Although early Upanis:ads focus more on the
mystical equation of brahman and a¯tman, later Upanis:ads,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
such as the S´veta¯´svatara coalesce personal and impersonal
There exists no critical scholarly study of Mosheh Isserles or his
conceptions of divinity into ¯ı´svara as a single, supreme, gra-
works. The most successful reverential treatment is Asher
cious, personal god. Here Rudra (“the howler”), a Vedic
Siev’s Rabbi Mosheh Isserles (New York, 1972), in Hebrew.
storm god also known as S´iva (“the beneficent one”), creates
A useful summary of Isserles’s legal works can be found in
the world, pervades it, and dwells in humans as their soul,
the standard, if dated, history of Jewish law, Haim Cher-
ruling all. Though he is lord of the external world, it is
nowitz’s Toldot ha-posqim, vol. 3 (New York, 1947),
knowledge of the lord in meditation (yoga) as the inner soul
pp. 36–73. An excellent description of Isserles’s role in com-
that brings ultimate liberation.
posing the Shulh:an Earukh is available in Isadore Twersky’s
elegant essay “The Shulhan EAruk: Enduring Code of Jewish
The roughly contemporaneous Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ (c. 200
Law,” reprinted in The Jewish Expression (New Haven,
BCE), the most popular portion of the epic Maha¯bha¯rata, de-
Conn., 1976), edited by Judah Goldin. Chapters 4–6 of
velops the concept even further with respect to Vis:n:u-Kr:s:n:a,
Moses A. Shulvass’s Jewish Culture in Eastern Europe: The
the other principle deity to whom the term ¯ı´svara is applied.
Classical Period (New York, 1975) may also be consulted.
Like S´iva, Vis:n:u is an early Vedic god who grows in stature
New Sources
as he is identified over time with popular divinities, here with
Ben Sason, Yonah. Mishnato ha-iyunit shel ha-Rema. Jerusalem,
Va¯sudeva, Na¯ra¯yan:a, and Kr:s:n:a. With Kr:s:n:a as avata¯ra, or
1984.
the incarnate “descent” of the transcendental lord as an
Fishman, David Eliahu. “Rabbi Moshe Isserles and the Study of
earthly prince, ¯ı´svara becomes vividly personal. The
Science among Polish Rabbis.” Science in Context 10 (1997):
Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ establishes devotion (bhakti) as a new path to
571–588.
salvation, alongside the earlier paths of ritual action (karma)
and inner knowledge (jña¯na). Kr:s:n:a is seen as Supreme Lord
Shulman, Yaacov Dovid. The Rema: The Story of Rabbi Moshe
(parame´svara), the very foundation of brahman, beyond the
Isserles. New York, 1991.
universe, its creator and ruler. Kr:s:n:a is also revealed as the
MICHAEL STANISLAWSKI (1987)
ultimate person (purus:ottama), immanent within the human
Revised Bibliography
heart. While clearly preferring devotion, the spiritual disci-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4752
ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
plines (yogas) of the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ poetically synthesize the
Pande, Susmita. The Birth of Bhakti in Indian Religion and Art.
sacrificial, introspective, and devotional paths to liberation.
New Delhi, 1982.
This tendency to prefer and elevate the path of devotion
LLOYD W. PFLUEGER (2005)
(whether to Vis:n:u, S´iva, or in later times the goddess) to a
supreme personal deity continues in the sectarian literature
of the epics and Pura¯n:as, becoming from the medieval period
to modern times the mainstream of Hindu spirituality.
ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH SEE SHIISM, ARTICLE ON
ITHNA¯ EASHAR¯IYAH
In philosophical literature, other conceptions of ¯ı´svara
hold sway. Sa¯m:khya explains the world and its operation im-
personally, in terms of the dual principles of matter and pure
consciousness—without recourse to ¯ı´svara. The Yoga philos-
ITO
¯ JINSAI (1627–1705) was a Japanese kangakusha (Si-
ophy of Patañjali maintains a similar dualism, yet includes
nologist), educator, and Confucian philosopher. In 1681
¯ı´svara as the ultimate exemplar of pure consciousness. Here
Jinsai opened a private school, the Kogido¯, in Kyoto and thus
devotion to ¯ı´svara through repetition of his holy sound Om:
founded the Kogakuha, the school of Ancient Learning, a
is only seen as an optional means to achieving the meditative
school of thought opposed to the Shushigakuha and the
insight and absorption that alone grants liberation. In Yoga,
Yo¯meigakuha, based on the thought of the Chinese thinkers
¯ı´svara is neither the efficient nor the material cause of the
Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming, respectively. The Kogido¯,
universe. The philosophy of Karma M¯ıma¯m:sa¯, like hetero-
where Jinsai educated hundreds of students from the upper
dox schools of Buddhism and Jainism, emphasizes the law
classes, continued uninterruptedly under Ito family manage-
of cause and effect—the doctrine of karma—such that the
ment until 1871, when it gave way to the modern curricu-
need for an ¯ı´svara figure to create and maintain the universe
lum adopted from the West.
is unnecessary. The Nya¯ya-Vai´ses:ika schools, though proba-
Jinsai, known for his personal modesty, forgiving na-
bly opposed to ¯ı´svara originally, in later commentarial litera-
ture, and broadmindedness toward other convictions, such
ture support ¯ı´svara, the author and teacher of Vedic revela-
as Buddhism, deserves credit not only as an outstanding
tion, as an eternal being who combines eternally existing
moral teacher of the Tokugawa period but also as a scholar
atoms according to karma to create, maintain, and dissolve
whose interests lay beyond his country’s boundaries. Unlike
the universe.
the kokugakusha, the scholars of National Learning (Koku-
S´am
˙ kara’s nondual Veda¯nta philosophy has famously
gaku), he prepared Japan for the assimilation of Western
subrated ¯ı´svara as “lower brahman,” For S´am
˙ kara, “higher
ideas in the mid-nineteenth century. He was highly appreci-
brahman” is an absolute beyond all qualities (nirgun:a) and
ated by the Imperial House, and his main works were pres-
description. To ordinary worldly perception this higher
ented to the throne. His achievements were publicly recog-
brahman is ignorantly seen as ¯ı´svara, the personal god replete
nized by the Meiji emperor in 1907, and those of his gifted
with qualities (sagun:a). Alternatively, Ra¯ma¯nuja’s qualified
son To¯gai (1670–1736), by the Taisho¯ emperor in 1915.
nondual Veda¯nta understands ¯ı´svara as ultimately real, a
Jinsai’s grave can still be seen at the Nison’in, a Buddhist
personal deity eternally possessing all good qualities, distinct
temple in the Saga district, northwest of Kyoto.
from the material world and souls, though dwelling in it and
Based on two books, the Analects of Confucius and the
ruling them—a view more consistent with the growth of de-
Mencius, Jinsai’s thought has several features that are rare, if
votional theism in the last millennium.
not unique, for a Japanese Confucianist. Jinsai resolutely dis-
cards all Buddhist and Daoist accretions to authentic, pre-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Han Confucian doctrines. His cosmogony ascribes the origin
Chemparathy, George. An Indian Rational Theology: Introduction
of all things to a single cosmic yet anthropomorphous force.
to Udayana’s Nyayakusumajali. Vienna, 1972. Overview of
He honors the classic yinyang theory, which explains change
theism in Nya¯ya-Vai´ses:ika philosophy.
and motion, but sees the origin of both yin and yang in one
Gonda, Jan. Change and Continuity in Indian Religion. The
supreme ultimate, in turn equivalent to the moral concept
Hague, 1965.
of a supreme law governing all things. This law is benevolent
Gonda, Jan. Visnuism and Sívaism: A Comparison. London, 1970;
and free from defects. Jinsai takes his monism one step fur-
New Delhi, 1976.
ther in his definition of Heaven, whom he calls ruler, con-
Goyal, S. R. A Religious History of Ancient India, Up to c. 1200
server, supreme judge, and benefactor of humanity. Heaven
A.D.
Meerut, India, 1984–1986. A comprehensive treatment of
is personified, although it is not always clear whether it is dis-
Indian theism by an eminent historian.
tinct from nature. In daily life, Jinsai showed the utmost re-
Keith, Arthur Berriedale. The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda
spect for spiritual beings. With great forbearance he trusted
and Upanishads (1925). 2d ed. 2 vols. Westport, Conn.,
in Heaven as a witness to his sincerity.
1971. A classic source.
Jinsai’s moral system flows from his anthropomorphic
Klostermaier, Klaus K. Mythologies and Philosophies of Salvation in
cosmology: Humankind is originally good and bent toward
the Theistic Traditions of India. Waterloo, Ontario, 1984.
perfection. There is no need for Daoist or Zenlike abstention
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IUPITER DOLICHENUS
4753
and meditation. There is balance between intellect and will,
IUPITER DOLICHENUS. The god known in the
although freedom remains undefined beyond the pregnant
Latin-speaking part of the Roman Empire as Iupiter Doli-
phrase “Will means directedness toward good.” Practically,
chenus was a local god of Syrian origin. His cult as a major
virtue is manifest in the four cardinal virtues: humaneness
cosmic god became widespread in the Empire in the second
or love, justice, propriety, and wisdom. These are reducible
century CE, and he was given the majestic epithets of the
to two, humaneness and justice, whose apex unites in the su-
Roman Jupiter (Optimus and Maximus). Although honored
preme virtue, humaneness.
with Roman religious formulae, certain specific dedications
have nonetheless retained evidence of his exotic origin.
Jinsai’s life was a paean to that virtue, even though he
stood, with the dignity befitting a scholar, somewhat aloof
Doliche (modern Dülük, in Turkey, near Gaziantep)
from his surroundings. His educational principles paralleled
was a town of Commagene beside the Euphrates—and thus
his character, holding the middle between an exaggerated in-
at the crossroads of Anatolian, Syrian, and Iranian influ-
tellectualism and an unenlightened voluntarism. He was
ences—and had come under Roman sway at the time of
confident that a pupil, launched on his own way, runs no
Pompey (106–48 BCE). Its local god (whose sanctuary has
risk of being swept off his feet as long as he stands on the
not yet been excavated) was derived from the Hittite-
bedrock of classical learning and takes to heart the great les-
Hurrian Teshub, a weather god who had absorbed some of
sons of history.
the characteristics of the Aramaic Hadad, a Syrian storm god.
In the absence of literary sources giving details of his myth,
Among Jinsai’s works, the following are best known and
the way he is portrayed sheds light on his character. Typical
have gone through several editions: Do¯jimon (1707), a ques-
iconography shows him upright on a bull, holding a double-
tion-and-answer presentation condensing his philosophical
bladed axe and thunderbolt and wearing a Persian crown or
doctrines for classroom use; Go-Mo¯ jigi (1683), a commen-
Phrygian cap. From the Hellenistic period on, he also wears
tary on the Analects and Mencius; and the Kogakusensei bun-
military armor. The fixed religious formula describing the
shu (1717), an anthology prepared by To¯gai from his father’s
god—ubi ferrum nascitur (where iron is born)—recalls both
unpublished papers. Jinsai’s originality has been challenged,
his theogony and a powerful nature. The theology of the
but without success. Whether he came in contact with
great god providing prosperity, the universal lord, “eternal
Ricci’s Tianzhu shi yi, written to prove the existence of a
guardian of the entire cosmos” (Hörig and Schwertheim,
unique God, remains a moot point.
1987, no. 376), is displayed via complex symbolic ornamen-
The measure of Jinsai’s influence must be found not
tation, in which he is surrounded by attendants making clear
only in his life and writings; even more, it lies in the lives
his cosmic sovereignty (the Dioscuri, the Sun, the Moon).
and work of his many pupils. He imparted to them a critical
Like the Anatolian and Syrian master gods he is accompanied
spirit, for he doubted where others blindly believed, and he
by a female consort, whose character was borrowed from the
formed his own conclusions when it was still fashionable to
goddess Hebat/Hepet of the Hurrian/Hittite substrate. In
follow the Song masters. His philosophy has a peculiar
the Roman Empire she was known widely as Iuno Doli-
human appeal. The moral order is not a mere haphazard rule,
chena, or sometimes Regina, like the Roman goddess.
but a providential guide, based upon the inherent nature of
The cosmic power of the god explains his support
things.
among the military (around half the devotees in about 650
dedications). The geographical extent of his spread is along
Jinsai’s legacy is still highly regarded in Japan, because
the lines of the militarized areas as far as Hadrian’s Wall in
he penetrated to the very core of the national spirit. To no
Brittany, and sometimes the trade routes with the East. Even
mean extent, Jinsai could claim to be an educator of his peo-
in places where easteners were numerous, such as the Vrbs
ple. Not only did he stir in his followers something that they
(the City of Rome), the face of the cult was still romanized.
felt was deeply embedded in their national way of life, but
The oriental image of the god merged into the Roman melt-
he impressed on them that Confucianism is inherently asso-
ing pot during stages of integration: under Hadrian in Africa
ciated with the good that lies between two extremes. Jinsai’s
and Rome (two sanctuaries on the Equiline and the Aven-
lasting success is explained by the fact that, in his efforts to
tine), then from the middle of the second century in the
accomplish the ideal that he contemplated, he found a way
Danube provinces (Pannonia and Noricum, with the out-
to blend two seemingly paradoxical qualities: equanimity of
standing collection of Mauer-an-der-Url). The significant
mind and passionate devotion to a cause. In this, he found
number of soldiers highlights the fact that the majority of the
a way that is Japan.
faithful were male. However, the cult was not barred to
women, who took part in family dedications (Hörig and Sch-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
wertheim, 1987, no. 381) or offered silver plaques on their
The only monograph available in English is my own, Ito¯ Jinsai:
own (Hörig and Schwertheim, 1987, nos. 303 and 304).
A Philosopher, Educator and Sinologist of the Tokugawa Period
(1948; reprint, New York, 1967).
The military factor enlightens the period of time over
which the evidence is spread as well, from Hadrian (117–
JOSEPH J. SPAE (1987)
138) to Gallienus (253–268 [The last dedication is dated in
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4754
IZANAGI AND IZANAMI
260]). The growing interest for the god under the Severan
on a civic stamp that shows a dexiosis (shaking hands) be-
emperors betrays mainly the military situation rather than an
tween the god and an Imperator. Even so, the cult of Doli-
official support from a dynasty originating from Emesa. The
chenus was not, as one might think, an official army cult,
reasons for the cult’s disappearance have caused scholarly de-
a religion of the military camps. Of course, this god with a
bate. In the absence of clear proof of an “Illyrian backlash”
military aspect, and possibly in Roman guise, was well able
by Maximinus the Thracian (235-238), the military crisis,
to act as divine patron in the eyes of military units. More
which arose in 235, saw fighting and destruction in the fron-
generally, this god of victory, and thus of salvation, may be
tier regions, which are sufficient explanation of the disaffec-
seen as a “great” benevolent god, in keeping with the trend
tion with a cult that persisted elsewhere (in Rome, for exam-
of religious developments in the second and third centuries.
ple). Under Gallienus, who redrew the limes (frontier) along
the Rhine and the Danube, Shapur I captured Doliche and
SEE ALSO Aramean Religion; Blessing; Hittite Religion;
destroyed the temple. The disappearance around this time
Hurrian Religion; Roman Religion, article on the Imperial
of devotions in the Empire might mean that the Doliche as
Period; Teshub.
a religious metropolis played a significant part in the organi-
zation of the cult, perhaps by sending out priests (a number
BIBLIOGRAPHY
have Syrian names); most likely the existence of the city
Epigraphical and archaeological data are published by Monika
served as a symbolic point of reference.
Hörig and Elmar Schwertheim, Corpus Cultus Iovis Dolicheni
(Leiden, 1987); for Rome, see Gloria M. Belleli and Ugo
The cult was well organized. Even if it was not actually
Bianchi, eds., Orientalia Sacra Urbis Romae Dolichena et
sent out by the main temple, the priesthood, which was
Heliopolitana. Recueil d’études archéologiques et historico-
linked to Doliche, ensured a proper framework, which could
religieuses sur les cultes cosmopolites d’origine commagénienne
explain why the conception of the god was more or less con-
et syrienne (Rome, 1997). Rainer Vollkommer discusses
sistent. As far as we know, the structure of groups of the
iconographical typology in “Iuppiter Dolichenus,” Lexicon
faithful was established on a basis of collegia, at least in Rome.
Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae 8, no. 1 (1997):
Cult sites (more than fifteen have been excavated) were long-
471–478. The standard study is Pierre Merlat, Jupiter Dolic-
henus. Essai d’interprétation et de synthèse (Paris, 1960). It has
standing and well maintained (Hörig and Schwertheim,
been updated by Monika Hörig in “Iupiter Dolichenus, ” Auf-
1987, no. 547). The Dolichena (temples of the god) that have
stieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II 17, no. 4 (1984):
been preserved are varied in size with no “canonical” plan.
2136–2179, and by Elmar Schwertheim in “Iupiter Dolic-
We have only a partial idea of the rituals that took place,
henus. Seine Denkmäler und seine Verehrung,” in Die orien-
probably sacrifices with ritual meals (attested at Zugmantel
talischen Religionen in Römerreich, edited by Marteen J. Ver-
[Germania] and at the Aventine temple). Raised votive hands
maseren, pp. 193–212 (Leiden, 1981). German readers
and bronze triangles with complex symbolism might have
should see Michael P. Speidel, Juppiter Dolichenus. Der Him-
served as religious emblems for display or procession, and
melsgott auf dem Stier (Stuttgart, 1980). For a focus on the
mounted silver plaques served as an ornate display.
army issue, see Michael P. Speidel, The Religion of Jupiter
Dolichenus in the Roman Army (Leiden, 1978).
The two great heavenly lords of Doliche and Heliopolis
NICOLE BELAYCHE (2005)
in Syria, which had similar theologies, are jointly invoked on
Translated from French by Paul Ellis
several documents (Hörig and Schwertheim, 1987, nos. 183
and 221). Another Syrian Baal “from the mountain,” Jupiter
Turmasgades, was also sunnaos (housed in the same temple)
of Dolichenus (at Doura Europos and in Dacia). However,
IZANAGI AND IZANAMI, in Japanese mythology,
the god who was closest to Iupiter Dolichenus was Mithras,
are the universal parents and creators who produced the land,
due to the similar beliefs and social composition of their fol-
mountains, rivers, waves, trees, fields, wind, fog, and the dei-
lowers. Apart from these usual associations within polytheis-
ties ruling these things. According to the early written chron-
tic systems, the god of Doliche borrowed little from other
icle of Japan called the Kojiki, they appeared on the Takama
great gods, except the testimony of two bronze plaques,
no Hara, or High Plain of Heaven, as brother and sister.
which show an influence of Isis’ religion (Hörig and Schwer-
Standing on the Bridge of Heaven, they churned the ocean’s
theim, 1987, nos. 512 and 511). In contrast, the god is often
water with a jeweled spear, then drew the spear up. The brine
figured with the characteristics of a Latin Jupiter, with scep-
that dripped from the tip of the spear became the first Japa-
ter and thunderbolt, along with an eagle (Hörig and Schwer-
nese island, Onogoro. Izanagi and Izanami descended onto
theim, 1987, no. 515, for example).
the island, erected there a high pillar and a hall, then circled
Since the god of Doliche, like the Roman god Jupiter,
the pillar in opposite directions. When they met, they were
was a god of power and victory, his followers, some of them
united, and thus the islands of Japan were born.
high-ranking military officers, included the emperors and
After the birth of the islands, various other deities were
their families in their prayers. The link between the god of
born of the two creator-parents. But when the fire god
Doliche and the Empire started as early as his “meeting” with
Kagutsuchi was born, the mother goddess Izanami was
Rome at the beginning of the common era. It was figured
burned to death by the heat. Like the Greek Orpheus,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
IZANAGI AND IZANAMI
4755
Izanagi descended to the land of Yomi (the underworld) to
boring islands, but the myth must eventually have grown in
bring back his wife. His attempt ended in failure when he
scale to include the creation of all the islands of Japan.
peered into a dark room with his torch against Izanami’s
The Kojiki as well as the Nihonshoki record that the two
wishes, only to find there her decaying corpse. Pursued by
deities gave birth first to Awaji. According to another ac-
the enraged Izanami and her subordinate demons, Izanagi
count in the Nihonshoki, the fifth-century emperors Richu¯
fled. Finally, the two deities stood face to face at the entrance
and Ingyo¯ went hunting on this island, and through medi-
of the underworld and agreed upon a divorce. It was decided
ums were given oracles by Izanagi, Awaji’s guardian deity.
that Izanagi should rule the living and Izanami the dead (a
Then, as the fishermen migrated to or traded with other
motif paralleling that of Tane and Hina in Polynesia).
areas, their myths and formal worship were diffused. The
Izanagi then returned to the earth, where he purified himself
tenth-century Engishiki records several shrines dedicated to
in a stream. From his purified eyes and nose appeared three
Izanagi and Izanami in the Kinki area (the area enclosed by
great deities: Amaterasu (the sun goddess), Tsukiyomi (the
Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe). The oldest manuscript of the Ko-
moon god), and Susano-o (the violent god). These deities
jiki describes the worship of Izanagi at the Taga shrine in
were appointed rulers of heaven, night, and the ocean.
O
¯ mi (now Shiga prefecture). In later ages the Taga shrine
Izanagi thereupon returned to the celestial abode, where he
became the most famous and popular shrine for the worship
remained.
of the divine couple.
Somewhat different versions of the creation myth are re-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
corded in the other ancient Japanese chronicle, the Nihon-
Aston, W. G., trans. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest
shoki. In it, the three great deities are born of both Izanagi
Times to A.D. 697 (1896). Reprint, 2 vols. in 1, Tokyo, 1972.
and Izanami, not of Izanagi alone. There is no descent to the
Chamberlain, Basil Hall, trans. Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters
underworld by Izanagi, who retires permanently to a hidden
(1882). 2d ed. With annotations by W. G. Aston. Tokyo,
palace on the island of Awaji in the Inland Sea. Since ancient
1932; reprint, Rutland, Vt., and Tokyo, 1982.
times, there has been an Izanagi shrine on Awaji, and the di-
Matsumae Takeshi. Nihon shinwa no shin kenkyu¯. Tokyo, 1960.
vine couple have been worshiped by the fishermen and divers
Matsumoto Nobuhiro. Nihon shinwa no kenkyu¯. Tokyo, 1971.
of this and neighboring islands. The myth of kuni-umi
Matsumura Takeo. Nihon shinwa no kenkyu¯, vol 2. Tokyo, 1955.
(“birth of the islands from the sea”) seems to have originated
with the Awaji fishermen. In the most primitive form of the
Philippi, Donald L., trans. Kojiki. Princeton, N.J.,1969.
story the divine couple created only Awaji and its tiny neigh-
MATSUMAE TAKESHI (1987)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N


J
JACOB, or, in Hebrew, YaEaqov, also called Israel; the son of Isaac and grandson of
Abraham. The name Ya Eaqov is generally regarded as an abbreviation of ya Eaqov el, which
probably means “God protects” and is attested among the Babylonians in the early part
of the second pre-Christian millennium. The Bible relates it to forms of the Hebrew root
Eqv, meaning “heel” and “supplant,” pertaining to Jacob’s ongoing rivalry with his twin
brother, Esau. That struggle originated in the womb, leading their mother Rebecca to
seek a divine oracle from which she learned that the younger Jacob would rule over his
brother. Esau was born first, with Jacob grasping at his heel ( Eaqev). The theme of frater-
nal rivalry continued when, as a young man, Jacob exploited Esau’s hunger in order to
buy his birthright (bekhorah) and then stole his brother’s blessing (berakhah) by taking
advantage of his father Isaac’s blindness during Esau’s absence.
A second period in Jacob’s life was spent in Haran in northern Mesopotamia, where
he fled to escape his brother’s wrath. On the way, he had a vision of a stairway with angels
climbing from earth to heaven and back again while God promised that his descendants
would be numerous and possess the land all around. Jacob thus recognized the spot as
God’s house (Bethel), the gateway to heaven. In Haran, Jacob worked for his uncle Laban
in order to obtain Rachel as a wife. After the stipulated seven years, Laban deceived Jacob
by substituting Rachel’s older sister Leah under cover of darkness, just as Jacob had ex-
ploited his father’s inability to see in order to obtain the blessings intended for his older
brother Esau.
During his return to Canaan, Jacob engaged in physical conflict with an apparently
supernatural being (see Hos. 12:4), after which his name was changed to Israel (Heb., Yis-
raDel). Although the historical etymology of this name is uncertain, the Bible explains it
as meaning “he who has struggled with divine beings.”
The final period of Jacob’s life consists of various journeys and focuses primarily on
the story of his son Joseph. Jacob eventually died at the age of 147 in Egypt, where he
C LOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT CORNER. Tenth-century Gomate´svara in Sravanabelgola, India. [©Gian
Berto Vanni/Corbis]; The Egyptian god Anubis weighs the heart of a deceased person against
the feather of Maat, or truth, in the judgment hall of Osiris in a painting from the Book of
the Dead. British Museum. [The Art Archive/British Museum/Jacqueline Hyde]; Menorah
illumination by Joseph Assarfati, from the Cervera Bible, 1299. Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon.
[©Giraudon/Art Resource, N.Y.]; Stone relief of a jaguar from an Aztec sun calendar. [©Michel
Zabe/Art Resource, N.Y.]; Medieval illustration of Joan of Arc arriving at Chinon Castle in
1428. [©Bettmann/Corbis] .
4757
4758
JACOB BEN ASHER
was embalmed before being brought back to Canaan to be
The literary and historical background of Jacob’s rivalry with Esau
buried in the family tomb at Machpelah.
and similar biblical stories is discussed in Frederick E. Green-
spahn, When Brothers Dwell Together, The Preeminence of
Jacob’s role as the third of Israel’s patriarchs is central
Younger Siblings in the Hebrew Bible (New York, 1994).
to the biblical account. The proper historical setting for all
F
of the patriarchs is, however, currently a matter of scholarly
REDERICK E. GREENSPAHN (1987 AND 2005)
disagreement. Although a wide range of possible dates have
been proposed, most who accept the fundamental historicity
JACOB BEN ASHER
of these figures date them to the middle or late Bronze Age
SEE YA!AQOV BEN ASHER
on the basis of cultural similarities between the biblical de-
scriptions and what is known of those periods from archaeo-
logical and epigraphic discoveries. One striking characteristic
JACOB TAM SEE TAM, YA!AQOV BEN ME’IR
of these narratives is the way God is identified with individu-
al patriarchs, as in the title avir ya Eaqov (the “strong one” or
perhaps “bull” of Jacob).
JADE. The term jade readily evokes the concept of a hard
and precious, semitranslucent green stone. However, not
Many modern scholars consider the various patriarchal
only does jade appear in a wide variety of colors, such as
traditions to have come from different tribal groups. Some
white, brown, black, green, and even purple, but the term
even regard Jacob and Israel as two originally separate fig-
also describes two quite distinct stones, nephrite and jadeite.
ures, in which case Jacob probably comes from Transjordan
Nephrite, the stone of ancient China, is a silicate of calcium
(Gilead) and Israel from central Canaan (the region near Be-
and magnesium and exhibits a felted, fibrous structure re-
thel and Shechem). These traditions were merged with those
sembling wood grain as well as a soft, waxy luster. Jadeite,
relating to Abraham and Isaac as the various tribes of biblical
on the other hand, a pyroxene silicate of aluminum and sodi-
Israel coalesced. As his changed name attests, Jacob symbol-
um, has a cryptocrystalline structure, giving it an often grainy
izes the northern kingdom as well as the entire people of Isra-
appearance. It is not only harder than nephrite, polishing to
el, a perspective reflected also in the fact that his sons are
a glasslike finish, but it also appears in a wider variety of col-
named for the twelve tribes. Indeed, many actions, such as
ors, including emerald green as well as rich blues and purples.
his entrance into the land and journey to Shechem and Be-
Jade is universally admired for its beauty and durability as
thel, foreshadow events involving the people as a whole.
a precious stone, for its inexhaustible riches of color, and for
Many interpreters have been troubled by the devious
its variety of grain and texture. In earlier times, however, in
ways in which Jacob obtained his position of preeminence.
cultures as diverse as those of ancient China, Mesoamerica,
Rabbinic tradition, in which he represented all of Israel even
and Polynesia, jade also had a religious value.
as his rival Esau came to stand for Rome, sought to minimize
By the fifth millennium BCE various Chinese Neolithic
these negative traits, which seem so evident in the Bible. It
peoples were working nephrite jade into beads, pendants,
must be recognized that from the biblical point of view these
and other simple ornaments in both northern and southern
actions, whatever their moral character, serve primarily to en-
China. To the north the Hongshan people (c. 4700–2920
sure the fulfillment of God’s design indicated even prior to
BCE) created jade sculptures of cloudlike forms as well as early
Jacob’s birth. Moreover, the Bible clearly describes how
examples of the venerated dragon identified with rainmaking
Jacob paid for his behavior: he was forced to leave his home,
and rulership in traditional Chinese thought. Often termed
he was deceived by his uncle, he found his daughter raped,
pig dragons because of their blunt snouts, these Hongshan
his favorite wife died in childbirth, and her son was kid-
creatures typically appear as pendants, with the tightly coiled
napped.
tail almost touching the mouth. Other jade carvings feature
cicadas, creatures widely identified with resurrection in Chi-
SEE ALSO Rachel and Leah.
nese religion. The cicada is among the most frequently de-
picted creatures in traditional Chinese jade carving, as such
BIBLIOGRAPHY
objects were commonly placed in the mouths of the dead.
An excellent survey of modern scholarship on the patriarchs is
Aside from Hongshan, there is the slightly later Liangzhu
Nahum M. Sarna’s Understanding Genesis (New York,
culture situated in the lower Yangtze River Basin to the south
1966); more recent historical information relating to the date
(c. 3200–2000 BCE). Excavations have revealed lavish Liang-
and historicity of these figures is provided by Roland de
zhu graves containing massive amounts of jade. One of the
Vaux’s The Early History of Israel, translated by David Smith
most noteworthy forms is a hollow jade tube, squared on the
(Philadelphia, 1978). Rabbinic traditions on Jacob are col-
outside. Series of finely incised, superimposed heads often
lected in Louis Ginzberg’s The Legends of the Jews, 2d ed., 2
vols., translated by Henrietta Szold and Paul Radin (Phila-
appear on the corners of these remarkable objects, and it is
delphia, 2003). An insightful description of the Jacob story’s
quite possible that they refer to the four directions, thereby
literary characteristics is contained in Michael A. Fishbane’s
relating these jades to the concept of the four cosmic quarters
Text and Texture: Close Readings of Selected Biblical Texts
and world center. Another jade type found in these graves
(New York, 1979).
is a flat disk with a large central perforation.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JADE
4759
Both of these jade forms were commonly used in rituals
polished jade celts were offered to a sacred spring at El Mana-
during the later Zhou dynasty (1122–256 BCE). The Zhou
ti, Veracruz. The ritual context of these celts indicate that
li (Rites of Zhou) mentions six jade tablets that the ta-tsung
at this early date jade was already identified with water and
po (master of religious ceremonies) used in paying homage
agricultural symbolism. The later Olmec of the same region
to heaven, earth, and the four cardinal points. Aside from the
were the first Mesoamerican people to extensively work jade,
jades of the four directions, heaven was worshiped by a blue
and Olmec jade carvings constitute some of the finest jades
flat jade disk called bi, while earth was represented by a yel-
known from Mesoamerica. The apogee of Olmec jade work-
low jade cong, a tube with four squared exterior sides. Where-
ing occurred during the Middle Formative period (c. 900–
as the cong was no longer used after the Han dynasty (206
500 BCE), during which fine translucent blue and green jades
BCE–220 CE), the jade bi has remained one of the most im-
were fashioned into statues, pendants, and even life-size
portant symbols in the Chinese religious tradition. Jade was
masks. In addition, jade celts continued to be worked, and
also used as a sacrificial substance. Round blue pieces of jade
at times these objects bear incised images of the Olmec maize
were offered to the Lord on High, and square yellow pieces
god framed by four elements marking the world quarters.
were offered to Sovereign Earth. Several stories recount the
These images are schematic portrayals of the cosmos, with
offering of a jade ring to the god of the river to assure a safe
the maize god as the pivotal axis mundi at the world center.
crossing.
A number of Middle Formative Olmec caches feature jade
celts oriented to the four directions, a pattern strikingly simi-
During the Zhou dynasty a large variety of jade objects
lar to the Chinese use of jades to mark the cardinal points.
played important symbolic roles in a religious and political
Among the later Classic Maya, jade was also identified with
system focused on sacred kingship. As symbols of political
the maize god as the central world axis. A number of caches
sovereignty, the jade insignia worn by the emperor and his
from Copán, Honduras, contain jade images of the maize
officials were equally symbols of religious sanction. Ruling
god framed by other jades placed at the four directions.
as the Son of Heaven, the emperor stood at the head of an
elaborate ritual system, a sacral economy that found symbol-
Aside from being identified with verdant, life-giving
ic embodiment in a whole series of jade emblems. The em-
maize, jade was also a basic symbol of life and the breath soul
peror himself had the privilege of wearing ornaments of
in ancient Mesoamerica. Among both the Formative Olmec
white jade, in particular the “large tablet” and the “tablet of
and the later Classic Maya (c. 250–900 CE), breath is com-
power” that he wore as he offered the annual spring sacrifice
monly portrayed as a bead floating before the face. The six-
to the Lord on High (Shangdi). His officials were given jade
teenth-century chronicler Fray Bartolome de las Casas men-
emblems that varied in size, shape, and color according to
tions that at the death of Pokom Maya kings, the expiring
their rank.
breath soul was captured in a precious bead. The common
Mesoamerican funerary tradition of placing jade beads in the
Jade played a particularly important role in funeral prac-
mouth probably concerned this breath soul, and this is prob-
tices. This was undoubtedly due to the belief that jade, as the
ably also the case of the mosaic jade masks placed over the
embodiment of the power of heaven, would prevent the
faces of Classic Maya kings. One example from Calakmul,
decay of the body after death. Accordingly one finds all man-
Campeche, portrays breath volutes emerging from the nos-
ner of jade objects in the coffins of the deceased, often block-
trils and the corners of the mouth, much as if the jade mask
ing the nine natural openings of the body. Especially com-
constituted the breathing, living visage of the king. In Classic
mon were jade tablets placed upon the tongue and carved in
Maya art, jade beads and ear flares of floral form are often
the likeness of cicadas, perhaps as symbols of renewed life.
portrayed as exhaling breath. At times this breath or wind
During the Han dynasty one also finds body-sized funeral
is embodied by a serpent that emerges from the cavelike
suits made of jade.
opening of the ear flare, a convention also used by the later
Among the Daoists the religious symbolism of jade was
Aztec (c. 1250–1521 CE). In fact, the sixteenth-century Flor-
given a more precise focus. The Daoists believed that jade
entine Codex mentions that, according to Aztec belief, jade
embodied the principle of cosmic life and could thus ensure
sources are surrounded by verdant growth due to the moist
immortality if used in connection with certain alchemical
breath of the stone: “And thus do they know that this pre-
practices. These practices included the actual ingestion of
cious stone is there: [the herbs] always grow fresh; they grow
jade, because it was believed that jade could not only prevent
green. They say that this is the breath of the green stone, and
the decay of the body after death but could actually regener-
its breath is very fresh” (Sahagun, 1950–1982, 11:222).
ate it while alive. The importance of jade in Daoist thought
Aside from identifying jade with breath and rain-
is reflected in the name of the Daoist supreme being, the Jade
bringing wind, the Aztec also compared jade to life-giving
Emperor.
water. The Aztec referred to their goddess of terrestrial water
In the New World, jade working is best known in con-
as Chalchiuhtlicue, meaning She of the Jade Skirt. In Aztec
nection with ancient Mesoamerica. Although nephrite does
art, water is commonly portrayed with jade discs interspersed
occur in this region, the material used was almost exclusively
with shells.
jadeite, a material that derived from the Motagua River re-
The Aztec appear to have shared with the Chinese a be-
gion of eastern Guatemala. As early as 1500 BCE, beautifully
lief in the medicinal properties of jade. In particular jade
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4760
JAEFAR AL-S:A¯DIQ
seems to have been prescribed for relief from gastric pain—
cepting Isma¯E¯ıl, have survived into the twenty-first century.
the term jade, in fact, derives from the early Spanish term
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq’s contribution and influence, however, are far
for this purportedly medicinal stone, piedra de ijada, or
wider. He is cited in a wide range of historical sources, Sh¯ıE¯ı
“stone of the loins.”
as well as S:u¯f¯ı and Sunn¯ı, all of which acknowledge his in-
Aside from China and Mesoamerica, jade was also an
sightful learning, clearly testifying to his influence.
esteemed ritual item in areas of Oceania. In New Caledonia,
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq inherited the position of Sh¯ıE¯ı leadership
ceremonial nephrite axes of circular form denoted the rain-
from his father, al-Ba¯qir, and was acknowledged as a Sh¯ıE¯ı
making powers of high chiefs. Nephrite jade, or pounamu,
ima¯m. His family saw him as a last attempt to reconcile all
also attained a certain religious significance among the Maori
the diverse groups of Muslims. The first two decades of
of New Zealand, whose neck pendants, called hei-tiki, are
JaEfar’s imamate witnessed very turbulent times in early
made of jade. These are passed down from generation to gen-
Islam, with active revolts from some extremist Sh¯ıEah, the
eration, in the process becoming symbols of the ancestors.
uprising of the Zayd¯ıyah, and the EAbba¯sid movement of
Many of these pendants appear to have been recarved from
Ha¯shim¯ıyah unfolding from the Kaysa¯niyah. During this
ceremonial adzes, which are in themselves symbols of chiefly
time, JaEfar al-S:a¯diq remained distant and somewhat over-
status and power. Especially esteemed were jade hand clubs,
shadowed politically by the numerous claimants who became
or patu pounamu. Many of these were granted personal
embroiled in the power struggle. Some of JaEfar al-S:a¯diq’s
names and, with the hei-tiki, continue to be valued heirlooms
difficulties were also doctrinal and came from certain indi-
in the early twenty-first century.
viduals classed later as the ghula¯t. His father had already re-
pudiated some of them earlier. The fact that JaEfar managed
SEE ALSO Breath and Breathing; Dragons; Funeral Rites,
to keep out of politics allowed him time to participate not
overview article and article on Mesoamerican Funeral Rites;
only in scholarly activities, but also to hold private ses-
Symbol and Symbolism.
sions at his home in Medina, thus maintaining his family’s
practice.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
THOUGHT AND LAW. The Sh¯ıE¯ı community formed around
The classic study of jade in ancient China remains that of
JaEfar, who followed the foundations laid by al-Ba¯qir. Elabo-
Berthold Laufer, Jade: A Study in Chinese Archaeology and Re-
rating and consolidating some of the doctrines put forward
ligion (Chicago, 1912). To this may be added the more wide-
ranging and less technical works of Louis Zara, Jade (New
by his father, JaEfar al-S:a¯diq developed an extensive system
York, 1969), and Adrian Digby, Maya Jades (London, 1964).
of law and theology so that under him the Sh¯ıEah became
Roger Keverne, ed., Jade (London, 1991), contains many
very significant, with their own distinct rituals and religious
useful articles and excellent photographs. Frederick W.
doctrine. Al-Ba¯qir had already laid the foundations of the
Lange, ed., Precolumbian Jade (Salt Lake City, Utah, 1993),
madhhab ahl al-bayt with specific views on rites, rituals, and
discusses the geology and archaeology of ancient jadeite from
practices of Islam, a contribution acknowledged in JaEfar’s
Mexico and Central America. See also, Bernardino de
own words. Al-Ba¯qir’s juridical views spring from his episte-
Sahagun, Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of
mology, which meant that the ima¯m is endowed with the he-
New Spain, translated by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles
reditary knowledge that rendered him an ultimate source of
E. Dibble (Santa Fe, N.Mex., 1950–1982).
knowledge. It was on this basis that the legal pattern of the
DAVID CARPENTER (1987)
Sh¯ı Eah was to change and develop within the circle of his
KARL TAUBE (2005)
adherents under the leadership of his son and successor,
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq.
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq’s own contribution is readily apparent in
JAEFAR AL-S:A¯DIQ ( AHd. 148/765 CE) is one of the
the numerous traditions recorded from him in the various
leading figures in early Islam expounding the teachings from
Sh¯ıE¯ı, S:u¯f¯ı, and Sunn¯ı works. In Sh¯ıE¯ı literature (especially
the family of the Prophet. Active in Medina’s scholarly cir-
Ithna¯Eashar¯ı and Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı literature), the prominence of
cles, where he was born in 699 or 703, JaEfar al-S:a¯diq was
JaEfar’s traditions represent a wide range of subjects compris-
the most frequently cited authority on points of law and tra-
ing both the Eiba¯da¯t and the mu Ea¯mala¯t, incorporating top-
dition. His father, Muh:ammad al-Ba¯qir, was an established
ics such as faith, devotion, alms, fasting, pilgrimage, and
scholar in Medina’s learned circles. JaEfar al-S:a¯diq transmit-
jiha¯d, as well as food, drink, social and business transactions,
ted his family’s wisdom to Muslims of diverse backgrounds
marriage and divorce, inheritance, criminal punishments,
and exponents of other religions, theosophers as well as
and a host of other issues dealing with every conceivable as-
Gnostics, who frequented his house in quest of knowledge.
pect of life. As is well known, law in Islam is an all-embracing
body of religious commands and prohibitions, consisting not
In Sh¯ıE¯ı tradition, JaEfar al-S:a¯diq is a central figure and
only a proper legal system, but also of ordinances governing
the last common ima¯m recognized by both the Ithna¯Eashar¯ıs
worship and ritual.
and the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıs. After his death, the Sh¯ıE¯ı ima¯m¯ı commu-
nity became dispersed into several groups, two of which, the
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq’s teaching became so effective and influ-
Ithna¯Eashar¯ıs following Mu¯sa¯ al-Ka¯z:im and the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıs ac-
ential that the Ithna¯Eashar¯ı legal school is called the Ja Efar¯ı
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAEFAR AL-S:A¯DIQ
4761
madhhab after him. In addition, Fa¯t:imid Isma¯E¯ıl¯ı fiqh or ju-
sire to articulate this experience for others to recognize and
risprudence, codified by al-Qa¯d:¯ı al-NuEma¯n, is based mainly
emulate. This was his role as an ima¯m—to help others
on the traditions of al-S:a¯diq and al-Ba¯qir. It is practically im-
achieve this ma Erifah qalb¯ıyah (cognition of the heart). This
possible to envisage the development of the Sh¯ıE¯ı tradition
ma Erifah is channeled and communicated to the believers by
without JaEfar al-S:a¯diq; he is the most frequently quoted au-
the ima¯m, who helps the faithful achieve h:aq¯ıqah. Although
thority. Besides providing specific guidance to his own
JaEfar’s traditions communicate spirituality, he did not enter-
group, he was widely regarded as a central reference point
tain extreme Gnosticism with the insular, individualistic,
for many others who sought his advice amidst the legal prob-
and anti-intellectual implications found in some later S:u¯f¯ı
lems discussed and argued over in early Islam. Thus, within
movements. The vision of human hearts perceiving the reali-
the context of his contemporaries in the H:ija¯z and Iraq, JaEfar
ties of faith in human thought does not involve an esoteri-
was seen as a distinguished traditionist and jurist transmit-
cism refuting the authority of the intellect or that of the com-
ting his family’s views on a wide range of issues in his time.
munity. Self-sufficiency, a cardinal sin in the QurDa¯n, can
JaEfar also represented his own distinct position among
easily transpose into intellectual pride, and consequently ac-
the theological issues of his day, such as those of the MurjiDa,
cording to JaEfar, human Eilm is subordinated to God’s gift
the Qa¯dar ¯ı yah, the Jahmiyah, and the MuEtazilah, un-
of ma Erifah, and it is the prophets and the ima¯ms who form
doubtedly based on his own understanding of religious lead-
the point of this contact between humans and God.
ership. He taught a middle position on the question of deter-
minism, following his father’s views, which portrayed human
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq’s ideas were especially pervasive in the de-
responsibility but preserved God’s absolute authority.
velopment of the S:u¯f¯ı movement, where the same issues were
Knowledge was a central theme in his teaching and a duty
raised, though in a more individualistic manner. JaEfar’s ter-
for all Muslims to acquire through Eaql (intellect). For him,
minology made significant contributions to S:u¯f¯ı thought, es-
the intellect is that supreme faculty by which God is wor-
pecially in employing experience as a hermeneutical princi-
shiped and through which the knowledge of good and evil
ple. Paul Nywia (1970) emphasizes this contribution of JaEfar
is acquired; this knowledge, in turn, teaches people, among
al-S:a¯diq, referring to his esoteric interpretation of the
other things, how to struggle against tendencies of their own
QurDa¯n, collected by al-Sulam¯ı (d. 1021). Muslim con-
lower nature in order to purify the self. His views on the
science is not in the world of imagination but in the living
imamate and those on Eaql, Eilm (knowledge), Eama¯l (ac-
experience itself, and the external symbols have to be trans-
tion), and ¯ıma¯n were therefore geared towards self-
formed by experience to become the truth. It is therefore im-
actualization. His concern for personal ethics and morality,
portant to internalize the letters or symbols in the QurDa¯n
as well as individual communion with God, is thus aimed
through experience. JaEfar thus discerned in the QurDa¯n a
at obtaining that receptivity in the heart and mind that he
merger between the inner and the outer meanings, and he
sometimes refers to as ma Erifah (not to be confused with its
put forward a new exegesis that is no longer a reading of the
later usage).
QurDa¯n, but a reading of the experience in a new interpreta-
IMA¯M AND TEACHER. For the Sh¯ıEah, therefore, besides
tion of the QurDa¯n (taDw¯ıl).
building an impressive edifice of Sh¯ıE¯ı law and theology,
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq also played the role of a spiritual guide, ima¯m,
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq is also linked to several other major disci-
and teacher, initiating followers into the inner paths of
plines of divination, including alchemy; the science of jafr,
knowledge and wisdom. An important aspect of JaEfar’s
which includes letter-number correspondences; and the oc-
thought was a search for h:aq¯ıqah (truth) in the revelation,
cult arts, including pulmonancy (divination from body
and his teachings certainly reveal Shiism as the esoteric aspect
pulses) and hemerology (divination using calendars of auspi-
of Islam. Undoubtedly, the crux of his teaching is the con-
cious and inauspicious days). Many of these were popular
cept of the imamate, which perceives the perpetual need
among the Turks and Persians, and they have been reported
among humankind for an authoritative teacher who is both
in works known as fa¯l-na¯mas. On the Indian subcontinent
divinely guided and infallible.
the fa¯l-na¯mas played an important role in the popular life of
The ama¯nah or trust that the ima¯m undertakes from
Muslims, as well as Hindus, evidence of which is found in
God renders him a guarantor (h:ujjah) and a link (sabab) with
Sindhi poth¯ıs (private religious manuscripts). In South Asia,
the celestial world for individuals who accept his authority.
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq is credited with writing khab-na¯mas (interpre-
This authority of the ima¯m is part of the universal history,
tations of dreams), sometimes referred to in Sindhi literature
which begins with the pre-creation covenant, yawm
as risa¯la or baya¯n.
al-mitha¯q, manifested through the chain of prophets and
their legatees, the ima¯ms. The ima¯m’s task is therefore the
JaEfar’s multiple roles are clearly evident in the develop-
purification of humanity in order to prepare appropriate re-
ment of intellectual and spiritual currents of his time. His
ceptacles for the h:aq¯ıqah, which is the raison d’être of history,
seminal role in articulating Sh¯ıE¯ı thought provided a mo-
restoring human beings to their original home. JaEfar’s spiri-
mentum for the development of law and theology, apparent
tuality was not simply escapism, but expressed a genuine de-
in the monumental literature preserved in his name.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4762
JAGUARS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
mal and human features and qualities and epitomizes the
Amir Moezzi, Mohammad Ali. The Divine Guide in Early Shi Eism:
ways physical attributes and supernatural qualities could be
The Sources of Esotericism in Islam. Translated by David
fused to represent deities, spirits, shamans, and divine rulers.
Streight. Albany, N.Y., 1994.
Beautiful and deadly, the jaguar’s strength and agility made
EAt:t:a¯r, Far¯ıd al-D¯ın. Tadhkira¯t al-awliyaD, pt. 1. Edited by
it a paragon of predatory male human virtues associated with
Reynold A. Nicholson. London, 1905.
hunters, warriors, sacrifice, and war. Its stealth, night vision,
Dhahab¯ı, al-. Tadhkira¯t al-h:ufa¯z, vol. 1. Hyderabad, India, 1955.
and nocturnal hunting habits identified it with sorcery and
the spirit realm. Its widespread status as “Master of Animals”
Ebeid, R. Y., and M. J. L. Young. “A Treatise on Hemerology As-
cribed to G
¯ a¯Efar al-S:a¯diq.” Arabica 23, no. 3 (1976): 296–
probably derives from its ability to hunt on land, up trees,
307.
and in water, and from the fact that while all animals are its
prey, it is prey to none. Only humans kill jaguars, a fact that
Fahd, T. “G
¯ a¯Efar al-S:a¯diq et la tradition scientifique arabe.” In Le
Shi Eisme Ima¯mite Colloque de Strasbourg 6–9 mai 1968, ed-
may account for the perception that both share a spiritual
ited by T. Fahd, pp. 132–142. Paris, 1970.
equivalence as equals.
Jafri, S. Husain M. Origins and Early Development of Shi Ea Islam.
In Mesoamerica the jaguar icon first appeared in the art
Beirut, 1979.
of the Olmec civilization (1250–400 BCE) as monumental
Kulayn¯ı, Muh:ammad ibn YaEqu¯b al-. Al-Us:u¯l min al-Ka¯f¯ı. Tehe-
stone sculptures and intricate jade carvings, such as those
ran, Iran, 1968.
found at sites such as La Venta and San Lorenzo in eastern
Lalani, Arzina R. Early Shi Ei Thought: The Teachings of Imam Mu-
Mexico. A common image is a half-human, half-feline crea-
hammad al-Baqir. London, 2000.
ture with characteristic downturned snarling mouth, which
has been interpreted as a were-jaguar—the supernatural off-
Nywia, Paul. Exégèse coranique et le language mystique. Beirut,
1970.
spring of Olmec rulers and mythical jaguar beings. Some
sculptures depict what are regarded as shamans transforming
Qa¯d:¯ı al-NuEma¯n, Abu¯ H:an¯ıfa al-. Da Ea¯ Dim al-Isla¯m. Edited by
into spirit felines. Broadly contemporary was the cult center
Asaf A. A. Fyzee. 2 vols. Cairo, 1950 and 1960. First volume
of Chavín de Huántar in Peru (850–200
translated and annotated as The Pillars of Islam by Ismail K.
BCE), where star-
Poonawala. Oxford, 2002.
tling images of jaguars and animals and humans with jaguar
features were carved in stone, cast in gold, and worked in tex-
Sells, Michael A. “Early Sufi QurDa¯n Interpretation.” In Early Is-
tiles and pottery. A decorative frieze at Chavín shows a pro-
lamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur Dan, Miraj, Poetic, and Theological
cession of carved-stone jaguars and humans with feline fangs
Writings, translated and edited by Michael A. Sells,
pp. 75–89. New York, 1996.
and claws, some of which appear associated with the halluci-
nogenic San Pedro cactus and which in turn indicates a sha-
T:abar¯ı, Abu¯ JaEfar Muh:ammad ibn Jar¯ır al-. TaDr¯ıkh al-rusu¯l
manic religion.
wa-al-mulu¯k. Annales. Edited by M. J. de Goeje. Leiden,
1879–1901.
Once established, the symbolic and spiritual relation-
Taylor, John B. “JaEfar al-S:a¯diq: Spiritual Forebear of the Sufis.”
ship between the jaguar and human elites appears to have be-
Islamic Culture 40 (April 1966): 97–113.
come a widespread phenomenon. As an icon linking spiritual
Taylor, John B. “Man’s Knowledge of God in the Thought of
dominance, rulership, sacrifice, and war, jaguar imagery be-
JaEfar al-S:a¯diq.” Islamic Culture 40 (October 1966): 195–
came a recurring feature in art. Among Mesoamerica’s Clas-
206.
sic Maya (250–850 CE), jaguar pelts were worn by dynastic
YaEqu¯b¯ı, Ah:mad b. Ibn Wa¯d:ih: al-. TaDr¯ıkh, vol. 2. Beirut, n.d.
warrior kings and were used to cover royal thrones, them-
selves sometimes carved in feline form, as at Palenque and
ARZINA R. LALANI (2005)
Chichén Itzá. Elsewhere, jaguar and ocelot apparel featured
as war regalia, and jaguar imagery was associated with hiero-
glyphic texts referring to war and human sacrifice.
JAGUARS. The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest na-
Royal titles incorporated the jaguar icon, and deceased
tive American cat, and for over three thousand years it has
kings were sometimes buried with the animal’s skin, claws,
been one of Central and South America’s most important
and fangs. The sacrifice of fifteen jaguars by Yax Pac, king
symbolic animals. Sometimes associated with the puma (Felis
of Copán, to his ancestors suggests a spiritual identity be-
concolor) and ocelot (Felis pardalis), the jaguar was a recurring
tween royalty and the jaguar, exemplified perhaps by the
motif in the religious iconography of many major pre-
Classic Maya jaguar god of the underworld. At the later Tol-
Columbian civilizations, including the Olmec, Maya, and
tec-Maya city of Chichén Itzá, jaguars appear eating what
Aztec in Mesoamerica and the Chavín and Moche in South
may be human hearts—perhaps symbolic representations of
America. In the twenty-first century, throughout tropical
human sacrifice by a jaguar warrior elite. On Peru’s north
rain-forest areas, the jaguar still plays an important role in
coast, jaguar imagery was similarly associated with warfare
the spiritual beliefs of indigenous Amerindian societies.
and human sacrifice in the Moche culture (100–650 CE).
As with all animal symbols, jaguar imagery is more than
Master potters depicted sacrificial victims, perhaps prisoners
artistic depiction. It represents the symbolic joining of ani-
of war, alongside jaguar figures, mountains, and possibly the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAGUARS
4763
San Pedro cactus. Anthropomorphic figures appear with
estas, where young men dressed as jaguars fight to spill blood
snarling jaguar fangs, giving the impression of a shamanic re-
for the jaguar deity, who then sends rain to fertilize the
ligion based on the transformation of powerful individuals
maize. Jaguar masks can be mainly decorative and made of
into a supernatural jaguar being.
wood or fabric and worn as part of dance costumes, as at the
village of Totoltepec in the Mexican state of Guerrero. They
The jaguar played an equally important, though better
can also be more like helmets, made from toughened wild
documented, role in Mesoamerican Aztec religion and ico-
pig skin, and worn as protection during violent ritualised
nography. Known as ocelotl, it was regarded as the bravest of
fights between young men dressed as jaguars, as at the vil-
beasts, proud “ruler of the animal world.” Its association with
lages of Acatlán and Zitlala, also in the Mexican state of
warfare was acknowledged in eponymous metaphors describ-
Guerrero.
ing valiant soldiers, such as the elite Jaguar Warrior Society
(ocelomeh). Religion, mythology, and astrology combined in
In the tropical rain-forests of lowland South America,
the belief that those born under the calendrical sign ocelotl
the jaguar remains a more visceral spiritual force as well as
shared the jaguar’s aggressive nature and were well suited to
a feared and admired predator. In Amazonian mythology the
a warrior’s life. Aztec sorcerers wielded the jaguar’s pelt and
jaguar was the original possessor of fire, though now only a
claws as magical weapons during nocturnal rituals.
reflected glow can be seen in its mirrored eyes. Jaguar meta-
phors signify bravery in battle and success in hunting, both
Aztec rulers also appropriated jaguar imagery. The em-
in the physical world and the supernatural realm, where it
peror wore jaguar apparel in war and held court seated on
is the spirit helper of shamans and chiefs. For Amazonian In-
thrones draped with the animal’s pelt. Tezcatlipoca, the su-
dians, meeting a jaguar on a jungle path can be an unnerving
preme Aztec deity, was patron of royalty and inventor of sac-
experience, as one can never be sure whether it is the natural
rifice whose alter ego was a huge jaguar known as Tepeyolotl.
animal, the shade of an ancestor, or a malevolent shaman-
At the center of the Aztec universe—the Great Temple of
turned-jaguar on a mission of vengeance against some
Tenochtitlan (Mexico City)—complete feline bodies were
enemy.
interred with balls of jade gripped in their fangs. The temple
was regarded mythologically as the “cosmic water moun-
As the natural jaguar is the rain-forest’s most powerful
tain,” jade symbolized water, and the jaguar was associated
and resourceful hunter, so the supernatural jaguar is the most
with fertility.
potent and dangerous spiritual force. Dominant shamans
identify themselves with the jaguar, their reputation as suc-
The metaphysical associations of the pre-Columbian
cessful curers based on their superior ability to defeat illness-
jaguar survived into the colonial period, merging with the
bearing spirits. These jaguar-shamans may wear necklaces of
imagery of Old World lions and tigers and influenced by
jaguar fangs and claws, growl during trance, and eat the ani-
Christian beliefs. The animal’s spiritual ambivalence, vari-
mal’s magical strength-giving flesh. The spiritual equivalence
ously signifying good and evil, fertility and death, also per-
between jaguars and shamans is sometimes made explicit in
sisted. In sixteenth-century Mexico sorcerers known as nahu-
the widespread belief that, under the influence of hallucino-
allis were accused by the Spanish of devil worship, murder,
gens, some shamans transform into jaguars in body as well
insurrection, and changing into jaguars. Elsewhere in Me-
as spirit.
soamerica the jaguar became Christ’s defender, its pelt sym-
bolizing its protective role in the passion. At the Maya village
SEE ALSO Mesoamerican Religions; South American Indian
of Chamula, in the highlands of the Mexican state of Chia-
Religions.
pas, there is a New Year ritual called the “Jaguar Skin Dance”
understood as part of Christ’s passion. During this dance,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
civil and religious leaders take turns to dance wearing a jag-
Benson, Elizabeth P. “The Classic Maya Use of Jaguar Accesso-
uar skin that symbolizes God’s jaguar, which defended
ries.” In Fourth Palenque Round Table, 1980, edited by Eliza-
Christ against demons. The one who wears the skin imper-
beth P. Benson, pp. 155–156. San Francisco, 1985.
sonates the defender of Christ. Images of the jaguar also re-
Benson, Elizabeth P. “The Lord, the Ruler: Jaguar Symbolism in
placed the lion at the feet of St. Jerome, and for the Maya
the Americas.” In Icons of Power: Feline Symbolism in the
of Chamula only civic leaders and shamans could have the
Americas, edited by Nicholas J. Saunders, pp. 53–76. Lon-
jaguar as their animal soul companion. In Colombia, by con-
don, 1998.
trast, aggressive aspects of jaguar imagery were mobilized
Furst, Peter T. “The Olmec Were-Jaguar Motif in the Light of
against the Spanish in the ferocious “tiger men” who fought
Ethnographic Reality.” In Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the
Olmec, edited by Elizabeth P. Benson, pp. 143–175. Wash-
the white invaders.
ington, D.C., 1968.
In modern Central and South America, jaguar masks
Kubler, George. “Jaguars in the Valley of Mexico.” In The Cult
and costumes are popular folk art items. In rural areas they
of the Feline, edited by Elizabeth P. Benson, pp. 19–49.
are worn by dancers in religiously syncretic springtime festi-
Washington, D.C., 1972.
vals that mix Catholic beliefs with pre-Columbian ideas con-
Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo. The Shaman and the Jaguar: A Study
cerning the protection of crops and livestock. In remoter
of Narcotic Drugs among the Indians of Colombia. Philadel-
areas of Mexico echoes of ancient blood rituals survive in fi-
phia, 1975.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4764
JAINISM
Roe, Peter G. “Paragon or Peril? The Jaguar in Amazonian Indian
for the historicity of Pa¯r´sva is neither overwhelming nor con-
Society.” In Icons of Power: Feline Symbolism in the Americas,
temporaneous. Buddhist references to Jain ascetics following
edited by Nicholas J. Saunders, pp. 171–202. London, 1998.
four restraints (involving nonviolence, nonlying, not taking
Saunders, Nicholas J. “The Day of the Jaguar: Rainmaking in a
what has not been given, and nonpossession) of the sort tra-
Mexican Village.” Geographical Magazine 55 (1983):
ditionally attributed to Pa¯r´sva, as opposed to the five vows
398–405.
(the four restraints already mentioned, plus celibacy) taught
Saunders, Nicholas J. “Tezcatlipoca: Jaguar Metaphors and the
by Maha¯v¯ıra, suggest that some sort of ascetic community
Aztec Mirror of Nature.” In Signifying Animals: Human
descended from Pa¯r´sva was still in existence in the fifth cen-
Meaning in the Natural World, edited by Roy G. Willis,
tury BCE, although it is not clearly identifiable subsequently.
pp. 159–177. London, 1990.
To argue that Maha¯v¯ıra reformed a preexisting style of ascet-
Saunders, Nicholas J. “Architecture of Symbolism: The Feline
ic practice promulgated by Pa¯r´sva and fitted it into a wider
Image.” In Icons of Power: Feline Symbolism in the Americas,
doctrinal setting is merely to frame a hypothesis, but it is one
edited by Nicholas J. Saunders, pp. 12–52. London, 1998.
which makes sense of later Jain insistence that there was a
link between the two teachers.
NICHOLAS J. SAUNDERS (2005)
The broad trajectory of Maha¯v¯ıra’s career as conveyed
by tradition is stereotypical in that it was enacted by virtually
all the other Jinas. The main events of his life involved the
JAINISM. Jainism is a South Asian religious tradition
abandonment on reaching full maturity of a domestic life of
which takes its name from those (Sanskrit, Jaina; English,
royal ease, a subsequent austere search for knowledge, the
“Jain”) who follow the teachings and example of authorita-
gaining of full awakening, the subsequent conversion of fol-
tive teachers called Jina (conqueror). These teachers are also
lowers and founding of a community, and death at an ad-
called “makers of the ford” (Sanskrit, t¯ırtham:kara), signify-
vanced age followed by a cremation appropriate for a king.
ing their construction of a community of monks, nuns, lay-
Maha¯v¯ıra’s basic teachings, as opposed to the developed
men, and laywomen that provides the means to cross the
doctrine of classical Jainism that took final shape around the
ocean of rebirth. Jain tradition holds that twenty-four Jinas
beginning of the first millennium CE (see below), can be re-
appear in succession throughout regular temporal move-
constructed from what are accepted as being the oldest Jain
ments in the course of eternity and communicate the
texts. These teachings are anti-Brahmanic in their rejection
unchanging doctrine of correct knowledge (samyagjña¯na),
of the validity of the Vedic sacrificial ritual, and they fre-
correct faith (samyagdar´sana), and correct behavior
quently intersect with elements of other contemporaneous
(samyagca¯ritra).
renunciatory doctrines that circulated in the Ganges basin
As a soteriology, Jainism teaches that enlightenment in
area. It was surely Maha¯v¯ıra’s thoroughgoing analysis (quick-
the form of omniscience and subsequent freedom from re-
ly to be attributed to the quality of omniscience) of the mul-
birth can be attained by progressive renunciatory withdraw-
tilayered living world which encompasses human beings, and
al—manifesting itself most markedly as nonviolence
his call for a heroic change of stance toward that world which
(ahim:sa¯)—from physical and sensory interaction with the
provided a combination of the radically subversive and the
surrounding world, which is constituted at all levels by em-
inspirational, that was to render his teachings influential and
bodied life monads.
long lasting.
According to the census of 1991, there are about 3.35
According to Maha¯v¯ıra, the world is full of eternal life
million Jains living in India, while an estimated 100,000 are
monads called j¯ıva (from Sanskrit, j¯ıv [live]; the oldest Jain
domiciled abroad, largely in Africa, Britain, and North
texts also use the term a¯ya¯, equivalent to Sanskrit a¯tman
America.
[self], found in Brahmanic texts such as the Upanis:ads),
which in their purest form possess the qualities of complete
BEGINNINGS. The historical origins of Jainism can be located
knowledge, energy, and bliss. However, those life monads,
in the teachings of Pa¯r´sva and Maha¯v¯ıra, who are traditional-
trapped in the world of rebirth (sam:sa¯ra) as a result of their
ly regarded as the twenty-third and twenty-fourth Jinas of
violent activities, are of necessity embodied in not just
the present time-cycle. Both flourished in the Ganges Basin
human and animal shape, but also in plant and insect form,
region of eastern India. The evidence of early Buddhist writ-
extending down to those that exist in earth, water, air, and
ings confirms that Maha¯v¯ıra was a contemporary of the Bud-
fire. Interaction with this world of visible and invisible life-
dha, predeceasing him by some years. Since Western scholar-
forms, even through such basic activities as motion and
ship has reached near unanimity that the Buddha lived from
breathing, inexorably effects destruction (him:sa¯) that leads
approximately 480 to 400 BCE, Maha¯v¯ıra’s dates must of ne-
through rebirth to further embodiment and gradual debase-
cessity be changed from the traditional 599 to 527 BCE to
ment of status. The only way to escape this perilous situation
about 490 to 410 BCE.
is to withdraw from performing, promoting, and approving
The Jain scriptures maintain that Pa¯r´sva lived around
physical, mental, and vocal “action” (karman). The sole ap-
two centuries before Maha¯v¯ıra. He must therefore be dated
propriate mode of life that can facilitate the full practice of
to around the seventh century BCE. However, the evidence
nonviolence (ahim:sa¯) is ascetic renunciation.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAINISM
4765
HISTORY. A group of disciples (gan:adhara), originally
number of celebrated teachers, such as Siddhasena Diva¯kara
Bra¯hman:s, is credited with channeling Maha¯v¯ıra’s teachings
(S´veta¯mbara; sixth century) and Akalan˙ka (Digambara;
by putting them into textual form and taking over the direc-
ninth century). The S´veta¯mbara Haribhadra (of uncertain
tion of the community. Most significant among these
date, possibly sixth or ninth centuries) left a particularly im-
gan:adhara were Gautama Indrabhu¯ti, portrayed in the scrip-
pressive body of writings in a wide variety of genres and be-
tures as an interlocutor of Maha¯v¯ıra; Sudharman, credited
came a major authority for later tradition.
by the S´veta¯mbara sect (see below) with initiating its ascetic
Initially Jainism gained less consistent royal support
lineage; and Jambu¯, the last individual of this world age to
than Buddhism, although at least one monarch, Kha¯ravela
gain enlightenment.
(second century BCE) of the kingdom of Kalin˙ga (modern
The early history of Jainism can be broadly reconstruct-
Orissa in eastern India), was a devotee. However, Jainism
ed. Although the community never completely abandoned
subsequently deployed some of the imperial symbolism cur-
the area of its origins in the Ganges Basin, it quickly moved
rent in north India and presented itself in a manner conge-
along the main trade routes of ancient South Asia, and by
nial to aristocratic patrons as well as those of a trading back-
around the third to second centuries BCE it could be found
ground. This was particularly the case in medieval south
in the northwestern city of Mathura¯ and in the Tamil coun-
India, where Digambara Jainism, with its ideology of spiritu-
try in the far south of the peninsula. Archaeological and in-
al transformation couched in the imagery of heroic conquest,
scriptional evidence from Mathura¯ bears witness to the exis-
was patronized by rulers and feudatories of prominent dynas-
tence there of ascetic lineages, a largely bourgeois lay
ties such as the Ca¯lukyas and the Ra¯s:t:raku¯t:as. The greatest
community, and a cult centering on commemorative devo-
Jain monument to the interaction between royal power and
tional worship of the Jinas in iconic form.
ascetic renunciation is the fifty-two-foot-high image, erected
Mathura¯ and its environs seem to have been the center
by the general Ca¯mun:d:ara¯ya in 951 at S´ravan:a Bel:gol:a
of a monastic community that styled itself ardhapha¯laka
(south Karnataka), of Ba¯hubali, a prince who withdrew from
(partially clothed), owing to its members being completely
martial violence to become an ascetic and was, according to
naked apart from a distinctive strip of cloth carried over the
Digambara tradition, the first individual of this world age to
forearm. By the beginning of the common era, there existed
achieve liberation. The ritual anointment of this image,
a variety of styles of Jain monastic praxis, in which the wear-
which occurs every twelve years, attracts huge numbers of
ing or abandonment of clothes were emblematic. This origi-
onlookers and is one of India’s most spectacular religious cer-
nally fluid situation became polarized by around the fourth
emonies. Although Jainism was an integral part of south In-
to fifth centuries
dian culture and Digambara monks played an important role
CE with the formation of two sects, the
S´veta¯mbara (white-clad), whose monks and nuns wear white
in the early promulgation of literature in languages like
robes, and the Digambara (sky-clad), whose monks go
Tamil and Kannada, the religion gradually lost its access to
naked.
political power, and from the ninth to the thirteenth centu-
ries vigorous anti-Jain S´aiva movements supplanted it in
Further differences between these two groups were to
royal favor and effected large-scale conversions to Hinduism.
emerge, although there was no disagreement about the cen-
tral teachings of Jainism. The Digambaras were to reject the
From the medieval period, the religious affairs of the
authenticity of the scriptural canon that emerged among the
image-worshiping Digambara community have been con-
S´veta¯mbaras (see below) and also claimed, unlike the
ducted by orange-robed celibate clerics called bhat:t:a¯raka (a
S´veta¯mbaras, that the fully enlightened individual (kevalin)
title signifying “learned”), specialists in ritual and the scrip-
transcended normal human behavior in not needing to eat,
tures who occupy pontifical seats endowed with some of the
drink, or sleep. The S´veta¯mbaras have always accepted that
trappings of secular kingship. The most well-known
women are capable of gaining the goal of the religions in the
bhat:t:a¯raka seats are at S´ravan:a Bel:gol:a, Mu¯dbid:r¯ı, and
same manner as men, whereas the Digambaras deny this on
Hombuja in Karnataka and Kolha¯pur and Kara¯nja¯ in Maha-
the grounds that women cannot, for social reasons, go naked
rashtra. Those Digambaras, largely to be found in Madhya
like the true ascetic, and because they are incapable of any
Pradesh, who do not approve of image-worship and the pre-
form of intense moral action. There are today only a small
siding role of bhat:t:a¯rakas assign a prominent ritual position
number of Digambara nuns who accept that because of the
to sacred texts. The Digambara ascetic lineage was revived
necessity to wear clothing they will only be able to make seri-
in the nineteenth century after becoming virtually defunct
ous spiritual progress when reborn as males.
in the late medieval period. Today the Digambara Jains,
around one million in number, remain a numerically small,
While other Jain sects existed, such as the Ya¯pan¯ıyas
although resilient community in Maharashtra, Karnataka,
who eventually disappeared around the beginning of the sec-
Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu.
ond millennium CE, the S´veta¯mbara and Digambara sects
have remained the two main pillars of the Jain community,
Since the fifth century CE, the main center of
with each claiming its interpretation of the practice of Jain-
S´veta¯mbara Jainism has been in Gujarat in western India.
ism to be the more valid. The prestige of these two sects in
The Digambaras had lost serious influence in that region by
the first millennium was enhanced by the achievement of a
the eleventh century, according to S´veta¯mbara tradition, be-
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4766
JAINISM
cause of their failure in public debate. The greatest figure in
In the eighteenth century a monk called Bhiks:u left the
medieval Gujarati Jainism was Hemacandra (1089–1172),
Stha¯nakva¯s¯ı community in the Marwar region of Rajasthan
a polymath monk who became court scholar of the Caulukya
in rejection of its perceived laxity and founded a sect that
dynasty during the reigns of Siddhara¯ja and his nephew
came to be called Tera¯panth¯ı (Following the Thirteen Prin-
Kuma¯rapa¯la (1144–1173). Hemacandra is credited with
ciples). This sect, recognizable by its ascetics’ adoption of a
having persuaded Kuma¯rapa¯la to rule his kingdom in partial
mouth-shield more extended in shape than that of the
accordance with Jain ethical principles. The Yoga´sa¯stra, writ-
Stha¯nakva¯sins, was particularly radical in its espousal of a
ten by Hemacandra as a compendium of lay behavior and
scripturally derived mode of life, and it accordingly claimed
still an authoritative text, may have been intended to guide
that the duty of the ascetic lay in the attainment of his or
Kuma¯rapa¯la. Western India is the location of the most con-
her own liberation, not in facilitating the gaining of merit.
spicuous exemplifications of S´veta¯mbara religiosity, the great
From Bhiks:u’s time, sole authority in the Tera¯panth¯ı sect
temple complexes built on Mount S´atruñjaya near Pa¯lita¯na,
has been concentrated in the hands of each succeeding teach-
Mount Girnar near Junagad:h, and Mount A¯bu¯, the major
er, unlike the more fragmented situation prevailing in other
initial impetus for which came in the eleventh century. Of
Jain sects. In postindependence India, the Tera¯panth¯ı sect
particular note is the Dharna¯ Viha¯ra temple at Ra¯n:akpur in
was associated with a campaign to uplift public morals and
south Rajasthan, which was consecrated in 1441.
ban nuclear weapons.
Beginning in the eleventh century a variety of
SCRIPTURE. For Jain tradition, the scriptural corpus (a¯gama)
S´veta¯mbara sublineages (gaccha) appeared in western India,
formulated in identical manner by each Jina is eternal and
deriving from teachers who claimed to be reforming ascetic
totally authoritative in that it conveys the teaching of omni-
practice or who advocated ritual and calendrical innovations.
scient beings. Both the S´veta¯mbara and Digambara sects
While all represented themselves as promulgating the true
maintain that there were originally fourteen texts called
form of Jainism reaching back to Maha¯v¯ıra’s disciple Sud-
Pu¯rva (Prior) that eventually became lost, with some surviv-
harman and converted numerous lay followers, only three of
ing texts representing a residue of what had once been a huge
these have remained significant until the present day: the
quantity of textual material.
Kharatara Gaccha (founded in the eleventh century), the Añ-
Viewed historically, the Jain scriptural corpus as trans-
cala Gaccha (founded in the twelfth century), and the Tapa¯
mitted by the S´veta¯mbaras developed over a considerable pe-
Gaccha (founded in the thirteenth century). Of these, the
riod of time, with the version current today apparently hav-
Tapa¯ Gaccha is today by far the most prominent S´veta¯mbara
ing been established at the council of Valabh¯ı in the fifth
subsect in terms of numbers and intellectual and social
century CE, in the last of a series of redactions. Only a relative
prestige.
chronology can be established. While some portions of the
scriptures, such as the first chapter of the A¯ca¯ra¯n˙ga Su¯tra, can
During the premodern period, S´veta¯mbara Jainism in
realistically be dated back almost to the time of Maha¯v¯ıra,
western India often found itself in an embattled situation be-
when composition and transmission were oral, others are
cause of the dominance of Islam. On occasion, however, Jain
(from the stylistic point of view) productions of the early
monks had access to political authority and were able to in-
common era, by which time writing had become the pre-
tercede to gain privileges for their community. Most notably,
ferred method of transmission.
H¯ıravijaya Su¯ri (1527–1596), the head of the Tapa¯ Gaccha,
had a preceptorial relationship with the Moghul emperor
The language in which the canon was composed is
Akbar (r. 1555–1605), at times prevailing upon him to aban-
called Ardhama¯gadh¯ı (Half Ma¯gadh¯ı), signifying a connec-
don hunting and the slaughter of animals for food.
tion with the Magadha region of the Ganges Basin. Although
having a vernacular base, this most likely functioned as a
Controversies were to emerge within the S´veta¯mbara
scriptural language only and was never spoken as a mother
Jain community in the early modern period. In the fifteenth
tongue. Some demonstrably later portions of the canon are
century a layman called Lon˙ka¯ provided the impetus for the
composed in Maha¯ra¯s:t:r¯ı Pra¯krit, a literary vernacular of the
eventual appearance of new S´veta¯mbara lineages that adopt-
early common era.
ed a more radical approach to ascetic practice and abandoned
The scriptural canon as accepted today by image-
temple-oriented Jainism and its attendant image cult. The
worshiping S´veta¯mbaras consists of a large number of texts,
Stha¯nakva¯s¯ı (Living in Lodging Houses) sect emerged in the
divided into various subgroups. (There is no generally ac-
seventeenth century, gaining its name from the fact that its
cepted number of texts, as the Stha¯nakva¯sins and
ascetics took their temporary residence not in halls specially
Tera¯panthins omit thirteen from the total listed below and
built beside temples but in dilapidated or unused buildings.
other enumerations have also been in circulation.) The first
Stha¯nakva¯s¯ı monks and nuns adopted the permanent wear-
subgroup, the Twelve “Limbs” (An˙ga), consists of:
ing of the “mouth-shield” (muhpatt¯ı), hitherto only used on
ritual occasions, in token of their continual adherence to
1. The A¯ca¯ra¯n˙ga Su¯tra, which describes ascetic behavior
nonviolence through minimizing injury to organisms in the
and contains a biography of Maha¯v¯ıra.
air. The Stha¯nakva¯sins have remained an important compo-
2. The Su¯trakr:ta¯n˙ga Su¯tra, which contains a wide range of
nent of Jainism, particularly in Gujarat and Panjab.
material including accounts of non-Jain teachings.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAINISM
4767
3. The Stha¯na¯n˙ga Su¯tra.
Da´savaika¯lika Su¯tra, the A¯va´syaka Su¯tra, and (treated to-
4. The Samava¯ya¯n˙ga Su¯tra, encyclopedic texts listing sig-
gether) the Pin:d:aniryukti and Oghaniryukti—which set out
nificant categories for all aspects of Jainism.
the parameters of ascetic behavior and are to be studied at
the beginning of the renunciant career.
5. The Vya¯khya¯prajñapti Su¯tra, which records dialogues
between Maha¯v¯ıra and his disciple Indrabhu¯ti concern-
The fifth subgroup consists of the “Mixed” Texts, which
ing a wide range of cosmological, ontological, and disci-
are, according to the most common enumeration, eleven
plinary issues.
short (and generally late) works describing subjects such as
astrology and ascetic ritual.
6. The Jña¯ta¯dharmakatha¯h: Su¯tra, exemplary and legend-
ary narratives.
Finally, the sixth subgroup consists of two hermeneuti-
cal texts, the Nand¯ı Su¯tra and the Anuyogadva¯ra Su¯tra.
7. The Upa¯sakada´sa¯h:, narratives of pious laymen.
8. The Antakr:dda´sa¯h:, narratives of those who ended re-
There is at present no definitive critical edition of the
birth.
S´veta¯mbara Jain scriptures. An extensive exegetical literature
was produced from the early common era, with the oldest
9. The Anuttaraupapa¯tikada´sa¯h:, narratives describing
examples being the Prakrit mnemonic verses, called niryukti,
those reborn as gods.
attributed to the early–common era teacher Bhadraba¯hu.
10. The Pra´snavya¯karan:a¯ni, questions and answers about
The leading commentator in Sanskrit was Abhayadeva Su¯ri
doctrinal issues.
(eleventh century).
11. The Vip˙a¯ka´sruta, descriptions of the operation of
The Digambaras reject the authority of the S´veta¯mbara
karma.
scriptural canon in favor of texts that emerged at the begin-
12. The Dr:s:t:iva¯da, which were accepted as lost by the early
ning of the common era and are regarded as representing the
common era.
residue of the ancient tradition. The Prakrit in which they
are written, whose origins lie in the Mathura¯ region, is gener-
The second subgroup, made up of the Twelve “Subordinate
ally called Jaina S´aurasen¯ı. The S:at:khan:d:a¯gama (Scripture of
Limbs” (Upa¯n˙ga), includes:
Six Parts) attributed to the monk Dharasena (c. second cen-
1. The Aupapa¯tika Su¯tra, a description of a sermon by
tury CE) and the approximately contemporary Kas:a¯yapra¯b-
Maha¯v¯ıra and an account of non-Jain teachings and
hr:ta (Treatise on the Passions) are massive compilations deal-
ascetics.
ing with the soul and its varying connections with karma.
Also authoritative for the Digambaras are two early–
2. The Ra¯japra´sn¯ıya Su¯tra, a discussion between King
common era works on ascetic behavior, the Mu¯la¯ca¯ra (Basic
Prasenajit and a monk concerning ontological matters.
behavior) of Vat:t:akera and the Bhagavat¯ı A¯ra¯dhana¯ (Revered
3. The J¯ıva¯j¯ıva¯bhigama Su¯tra, which describes the various
accomplishing) of S´iva¯rya. Of slightly more uncertain date
categories of existence.
are the influential verse treatises of Kundakunda, which ad-
4. The Prajña¯pana¯ Su¯tra, which describes a wide range of
umbrate a radically interiorized, soul-oriented version of
epistemological and ontological topics.
Jainism and have remained highly influential to the present
day.
5. The Su¯ryaprajñapti Su¯tra.
Unless they are scholars, Jains of both sects have general-
6. The Jambu¯dv¯ıpaprajñapti Su¯tra.
ly had the scriptural tradition mediated to them in the form
7. The Candraprajñapti Su¯tra, cosmological and astro-
of practical canons consisting of short, often epitomizing
nomical texts.
texts that have sometimes been produced in relatively recent
times. For the last two millennia, Jain writers have been
8–12. A series of short narrative texts.
major contributors to Indian literature in a wide variety of
The third subgroup is formed by the Cheda Su¯tras, which
languages and in all the important literary genres. The liter-
consist of seven texts dealing with disciplinary matters. The
ary language known as Apabhram:´sa was employed predomi-
eighth chapter of the first, the A¯ca¯rada´sa¯h:, is the Kalpa Su¯tra.
nantly by Jain poets whose willingness to use popular song
This text, which contains a biography of Maha¯v¯ıra, disci-
meters ensured their compositions wide circulation in west-
plinary recommendations, and the early lineage of the Jain
ern India between 1000 and 1300. A vast number of Jain
ascetic community, is the focus of the most important period
hymns were composed in early forms of vernacular languages
of the S´veta¯mbara ritual year, Paryus:an, when it is publicly
like Hindi and Gujarati.
recited and illustrations of it are displayed. The Maha¯ni´s¯ıtha
TEACHINGS. Although tradition regards the teachings of
Su¯tra is, on the grounds of language and content, later than
Jainism as having been enunciated in full by Maha¯v¯ıra, it is
the other texts, and its status was a source of controversy dur-
possible to trace an evolution through the scriptural texts
ing the Medieval period.
that reveals the intermittent influence of non-Jain philosoph-
The fourth subgroup consists of the “Fundamental”
ical positions and attempts to tighten up doctrinal structures.
(mu¯la) Su¯tras—namely, the Uttara¯dhyayana Su¯tra, the
The introduction of the ontological categories of motion
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4768
JAINISM
(dharma) and rest (adharma) and an atomic theory to explain
cism (tapas), he gains pure omniscience and becomes an om-
the functioning of the material world are cases in point.
niscient kevalin (Jinahood is reached by a particularly rare
type of karma). When the karmically dictated period of life
The textual catalyst for the formulation of a definitive
reaches its end, the j¯ıva leaves its human shell to gain libera-
version of the teachings is the Tattva¯rtha Su¯tra (Su¯tra on the
tion (moks:a) and moves in one instant to the roof of the uni-
meaning of the reals) by Uma¯sva¯ti, a monk belonging to a
verse, where it dwells in a state of pure energy, bliss, and
northern lineage who flourished around the fourth century
knowledge along with but separate from all the other liberat-
CE. This su
¯tra is claimed, with some variants, by both the
ed (siddha) j¯ıvas. Although the path is presented in universal-
S´veta¯mbaras and Digambaras. Using the medium of the
ist terms, Jainism posits the existence of a category of j¯ıva
short rule formulated in Sanskrit (su¯tra), Uma¯sva¯ti identified
called abhavya that is innately and eternally incapable of
and explained the main components of Jain teaching as they
gaining liberation, thus ensuring that the world of rebirth
had developed throughout the canonical period in a manner
will never be emptied.
that has remained authoritative until the present day.
Jainism is both dualist—in that it posits that the soul
Since any epistemological judgment short of that based
is different from nature—and pluralist—in its acceptance of
on omniscience is necessarily incomplete, direct cognition
the existence of a multitude of separate entities in the uni-
and inference (along with two other advanced forms of
verse. Contrary to Brahmanic ideology, it teaches that there
knowledge accepted by Jainism, namely the ability to read
is no creator god and that the universe has existed and will
other people’s minds and clairvoyance) can only provide a
continue to do so throughout eternity. Reality, identified as
partially correct understanding of a multiform world that is
both permanent and subject to change, is composed of five
simultaneously permanent and changing. In acknowledge-
(or six) categories: the j¯ıva, or “life monad,” and the four (or
ment of the complex nature of reality, Jain teachers formulat-
five) categories of non-j¯ıva, namely motion, rest, atoms, and
ed the “Many-pointed Doctrine” (aneka¯ntava¯da), which
space (the Digambaras add time). The j¯ıva—while eternal
stipulates that any given object must be approached from
and in its purest form possessed of consciousness (including
seven standpoints (naya) in order to construct a valid judg-
the faculty of understanding), energy, and bliss—embodies
ment about it. The various judgments that can be formed
itself in six forms: earth-bodied, fire-bodied, air-bodied,
are nonetheless provisional and should ideally be prefaced
water-bodied, stationary (in the form of plants and trees),
with the word sya¯t (maybe, perhaps).
and moving (including insects, animals, men, gods, and hell-
In medieval times this pluralist style of analysis served
beings). These embodiments are further differentiated by the
the polemical purpose of destabilizing Bra¯hman: claims con-
number of senses they possess.
cerning permanent essences and Buddhist teachings about
The cause of the external differentiation and psychic
impermanent constructed entities, both regarded by the
degradation of the j¯ıva is karma, envisaged in Jainism as a
Jains as partial and inadequate explanations of reality. In
fine material substance not dissimilar to dust. Each modula-
more modern times, the Many-pointed Doctrine has enabled
tion of the j¯ıva, whether physical, mental, or vocal, inten-
liberal-minded Jains to present their religion as unique in
tional or unintentional, attracts karma to itself. The more in-
terms of its tolerance and promotion of peace.
tense the modulation, the more karmic substance is attracted
RENUNCIANT PRACTICE. Historically, the monk (most com-
to the j¯ıva to occlude the efficacy of its innate characteristics.
monly, muni, sa¯dhu; in the earliest period, nirgrantha [bond-
Some awkwardnesses in this explanation had to be resolved
less]) has been the main representative of Jain values. This
by later Jain systematizers. For example, an allowance for the
central role is commemorated within the most ubiquitous
possibility of intention as motivating the quality of action
portion of Jain liturgy, the “Five Homages” (Pañcana-
was introduced to modify what might otherwise have been
maska¯ra) mantra, in which homage is expressed in Pra¯krit to
an excessively severe moral vision. Jain theorists were to de-
the omniscient teachers, the liberated souls, the teachers and
velop, over almost a millennium and a half, a highly elabo-
preceptors, and all monks in the world.
rate taxonomy of karma, charting in detail the subdivisions
of the “harming” (gha¯tiya¯) type, responsible for the diminu-
According to the Kalpa Su¯tra, an order of nuns was in
tion of faith, knowledge, and energy and the creation of false
existence at Maha¯v¯ıra’s death that was three times as numer-
and deluded attitudes to the world, and the “nonharming”
ous as that of the monks, and female renunciation has been
(agha¯tiya¯), responsible for setting the parameters of existence
an important dimension of Jainism until the present day,
in terms of birth, gender, length of life, and quality of
with senior nuns having authority over the female order.
experience.
However, the Jain nun has always been in a subordinate posi-
tion to the monk and, invariably, female ascetic experience
Jainism is envisaged in ideal terms as a path of self-
and its obligations were vectored through the prescriptions
discipline that can progressively effect the “warding off”
of male practitioners. No writings by nuns appear to have
(sam:vara) of the influx of new karma and the “wearing away”
been produced before the modern period.
(nirjara¯) of that karma which has already been bound. When
a human being (the only creature in the universe capable of
The nascent Jain order seems to have taken the broad
this) destroys the harming karmas through the fire of asceti-
structure of its practice from Brahmanic models. The Vedic
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JAINISM
4769
term vrata (calling, vow) is used by the Jains to refer to the
whereas their Digambara counterparts seek food only once
“Great Vows” (maha¯vrata), the five main renunciatory vows
in the morning, eating from their cupped hands in front of
defining the practice of an ascetic. Ascetic initiation, which
the donor. No Jain ascetic is allowed to eat after dark because
is perceived as a form of radical transformation, is called
of the possibility of unwitting destruction of life forms. Fast-
d¯ıks:a¯, a term originally signifying the symbolic rebirth of the
ing, often over lengthy periods of time, is a regular feature
sponsor of the Vedic sacrifice.
of ascetic practice. Water can only be drunk after it has been
boiled and filtered by laypeople.
In order to enter the Jain ascetic community, the novice
(male or female) undergoes a preliminary initiatory period
An important structuring feature of Jain ascetic life is
during which key texts are memorized and the implications
regular ritual activity, the standard model for which was in
of ascetic life conveyed. In the formal ceremony of initiation
place by the early common era. The six “Obligatory Actions”
the presiding senior ascetic gives the novice, as tokens of
(A¯va´syaka) to be performed daily are equanimity (sa¯ma¯yika),
entry into a transformed mode of life, a new name and vari-
praise to the twenty-four Jinas (caturvim:´satistava), homage
ous implements (among the S´veta¯mbaras, a pair of robes, an
to the teacher (guruvandan:a), repentance (pratikramana),
alms bowl, a whisk emblematic of nonviolence, a staff, and,
laying down the body (ka¯yotsarga), and abandonment
for Stha¯nakva¯s¯ı and Tera¯panth¯ı initiates, a mouth-shield;
(pratya¯khya¯na). Equanimity is a form of temporary with-
among the Digambaras the fully initiated monk who must
drawal of the senses, traditionally to be maintained for a peri-
henceforth go naked is given only a whisk and a water pot
od of forty-eight minutes; praise to the Jinas involves a strong
for cleaning himself after evacuating bodily wastes). In an-
devotional and commemorative element; homage to the
cient times the novice pulled out his or her hair in token of
teacher betokens Jainism’s keen awareness of the transmis-
sexual and social renunciation, although the general custom
sion of the teachings (this ritual can be performed in front
today is for the head to be shaved. Thereafter, the ascetic will
of a symbolic representation of a dead teacher); repentance,
be a member of a lineage which traces its teacher-pupil rela-
to be performed twice daily by the ascetic, as well as at vari-
tionship back to Maha¯v¯ıra (in the case of the Digambaras)
ous significant times of the year, expresses a desire to atone
or his disciple Sudharman (in the case of the S´veta¯mbaras)
for acts of violence, witting or unwitting, inflicted on any liv-
and will be under the control of senior ascetics who convey
ing creature; laying down of the body is a temporarily as-
the wording and meaning of the scriptures and prescribe and
sumed motionless pose; and abandonment relates to pledges
keep watch over all aspects of behavior.
to abstain from types of action or from consumption of food
and drink in the future.
The life of the Jain ascetic is intended to provide the ap-
propriate environment for the enactment of the require-
Equanimity is perhaps the nearest approximation in
ments of nonviolence and the other vows, and thus effect a
Jainism to what in other religious paths is called “medita-
diminution of the passions. It is envisaged as involving a he-
tion.” However, little significant value is attributed to struc-
roic struggle to overcome the various physical and mental
tured meditation by Jain tradition, no doubt because of the
discomforts (par¯ıs:aha) that assail the renunciant. A continu-
prestige of asceticism as the predominant means of eliminat-
ally watchful and controlled life is schematized in the form
ing karma. In the early common era, contemplative activity
of three “Protections” (gupti) that involve the guarding of
(anupreks:a¯) directed toward subjects such as impermanence
mind, body, and speech, and five “Careful Actions” (samiti)
and human solitude was considered to be a component of
that enjoin continual care in movement, speech, seeking for
asceticism. However, Digambara Jain teachers in the medi-
food, receiving or putting down any object, and voiding the
eval period, such as Yog¯ındu (sixth century), did develop
bowels.
forms of soul-directed contemplative discipline, and in mod-
ern times the S´veta¯mbara Tera¯panth¯ı sect has promoted a
Wandering mendicancy punctuated by short periods of
form of meditative practice drawing on eclectic sources.
fixed residence is obligatory, other than for those ascetics
who are too infirm or engaged in scholarly activity and dur-
The ideal ending to life for the Jain ascetic is the freely
ing the period of the rains, when the peripatetic life is sus-
undertaken fast unto death called sallekhana¯, literally “scour-
pended and monks and nuns live (separately) in lodging halls
ing out negative factors.” This climactic and ritualized act of
provided by the laity. Study, religious exercises, and preach-
austerity, which should only be performed by developed
ing to the laity are the main occupations of ascetics during
practitioners (although in the medieval period laypeople
those periods when they spend time in villages and towns.
often ended their lives in this manner), involves progressive
withdrawal from food and drink and should conclude, in
As Jain ascetics are not permitted to possess money,
death, in a state of pious awareness. Such a heroic end will
cook food, or grow crops, they must seek suitable vegetarian
invariably ensure a positive rebirth. In modern times,
sustenance from (preferably) lay supporters or anybody ap-
sallekhana¯ has generally been practiced by aged or infirm as-
propriate who is disposed to give it. Acts of donation to as-
cetics near the conclusion of their lives and, most recently,
cetics are deemed to bring about merit for the donor.
by nuns of the Tera¯panth¯ı order.
S´veta¯mbara ascetics seek food (an activity called gocari [graz-
ing], in token of its supposedly random nature) in the morn-
Although the Jain renunciant life does involve unremit-
ing and before evening, consuming it out of sight of the laity,
ting austerity, the tradition has always stressed that benevo-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4770
JAINISM
lence, compassion, and friendship toward all living creatures
might lead to destruction of life forms, the standard occupa-
are its predominant characteristics.
tions of lay Jains in modern times have been in business or
LAY PRACTICE. An emphasis on the renunciatory dimension
professions such as law. More rarely, Jains are found as agri-
of Jainism obscures the extent to which the religion has also
culturalists, particularly in the area of the Maharashtra-
been followed throughout history by laymen and laywomen
Karnataka border.
(Sanskrit, ´sra¯vaka [hearer]; fem., ´sra¯vika¯) for whom abnega-
Jain laypeople, like ascetics, practice a stringent vegetari-
tion and social withdrawal do not inform the totality of their
anism that represents a vital component of their self-
lives. Although most early texts of the Jain scriptural tradi-
perception. Particular care is taken with food, which, as with
tion are almost exclusively preoccupied with ascetics, later
all Indian religions, is regarded as a potentially dangerous
portions contain exemplary stories, probably dating from the
substance. In addition to rejecting meat, fish, and eggs, Jains
early common era, of rich and pious laymen, often enduring
will avoid root and bulb vegetables, such as potatoes and on-
attack by jealous demonic beings. These laymen, at this early
ions. At religiously significant times of the year, many Jains
period called “servants” (upa¯saka; fem. upa¯sika¯) in token of
will also avoid green-leafed vegetables and, like ascetics,
their support of the ascetic community, are depicted in ideal-
avoid eating after dark.
ized fashion as advanced followers of the Jain path whose
lives gain fulfillment in ultimate abandonment of wealth and
The source of a layman’s social and business prestige is
renunciation.
perceived as deriving from his liberality (da¯na). The ancient
ritual of meritorious giving of food and shelter to ascetics was
Such stories, and the extensive literature produced by
transformed in the medieval period to include public enter-
monks during the medieval period that legislates (male) lay
prises such as temple building, the sponsorship of the copy-
behavior, have encouraged a picture of the Jain laity as fol-
ing of manuscripts, and the financing of public works. The
lowing a way of life that, if less intense in its ascetic enact-
thirteenth-century royal ministers Vastupa¯la and his brother
ment, is nonetheless like that of the initiated renunciant in
Tejapa¯la are proverbial exemplars of such activities. Today,
being totally directed toward the gaining of deliverance
prominent members of the Jain community are celebrated
(moks:a). In actuality, the Jain tradition perceived as a whole
for philanthropic work and their support for medical and ed-
is not oriented exclusively toward the realm of spiritual liber-
ucational establishments, social relief, and animal hospitals.
ation and the values of moks:a—it also markedly privileges so-
cial qualities such as prosperous well-being and auspicious-
PRACTICAL RELIGIOSITY. Jainism may reject the possibility
ness that, while informed by renunciatory ideology, very
of a creator god who has the power to intervene in human
much relate to positive attitudes toward worldly values.
affairs, but the religion is nonetheless strongly theistic and
While Jain laypeople regularly involve themselves in pious
devotional in idiom. God (Bhagava¯n) is envisaged both as
and merit-generating activities such as fasting, it would be
the totality of all the Jinas throughout eternity and as the
wrong to think of their lives as incomplete versions of those
spiritual principle within every living being, called by the Di-
of monks and nuns.
gambaras the “supreme self” (parama¯tman), which has the
potential to actualize itself in enlightenment.
The parameters of Jain lay life have been from early
times textually defined as centering around five “Small
Devotion to the Jinas in iconic form, perhaps deriving
Vows” (anuvrata) that parallel the five “Great Vows”
from an original ritual involving homage to the teacher and
(maha¯vrata) of the ascetic. These are ethical injunctions that
the desire to commemorate the illustrious dead, stretches
the typical layman must integrate into his public and domes-
back at least to the beginning of the common era and is com-
tic life, although they are almost invariably never formally
mon to the majority of Jains. However, S´veta¯mbara sects,
assumed. Such an individual should take care to avoid any
such as the Stha¯nakva¯sins and the Tera¯panthins, as well as
livelihood that might entail violence. He should not lie, par-
some Digambara groups, reject image worship on the
ticularly in business transactions. He should not steal, an in-
grounds that it is not a significant feature in the scriptural
terdict that can extend to any dishonest or improper deal-
tradition and involves a breach of the principle of nonvio-
ings. He should avoid excessive sexual activity, and in his
lence through digging in the earth to construct the temples
later years adopt total celibacy. He should not have excessive
in which images are housed.
or conspicuous possessions and should unburden himself as
Jain temples are envisaged as simulacra of the site of
much as possible of his wealth for charitable purposes. Fur-
each Jina’s first sermon. Allowing for regional and historical
ther restrictions, embodied in the three “Subsidiary Vows”
variation, they are structurally similar to Hindu shrines, most
(gun:avrata), are placed upon the layman’s behavior with re-
commonly having a series of halls (man:d:apa) leading to an
gard to unnecessary movement, excessive enjoyment, and
inner shrine where the image of the Jina, depicted in either
self-indulgent brooding. The four “Vows of Instruction”
seated or standing ascetic posture, is housed. Alternatively,
(´siks:a¯vrata) enjoin him to engage regularly in various forms
a temple can take the form of an axial hall with a quadruple
of contemplative and pious activity, such as fasting.
Jina image approached through doors located at each of the
In keeping with this idealized style of ethics that encour-
cardinal directions. It is not uncommon for laypeople to
ages self-development and an avoidance of activities that
worship at small domestic shrines.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAINISM
4771
Images represent a devotional focus and means of recall-
a reconfiguration of others to take account of altered circum-
ing the message of Jainism, for the significance of the Jinas
stances.
lies in the fact that having taught the doctrine they gained
Among both the image-worshiping S´veta¯mbaras and
freedom from rebirth and are thus not directly accessible to
Digambaras there has been a resuscitation of ascetic lineages
human beings. While particular images are often regarded as
that had come near to becoming defunct, and many senior
having special powers, a temple with a central Jina icon will
monks regained the prestige and celebrity of earlier times.
typically have ancillary shrines at its entrance dedicated to a
Noteworthy in this respect are Vijayavallabha Su¯ri
tutelary deity credited by devotees with the ability to inter-
(S´veta¯mbara, 1870–1954) and A¯ca¯rya S´a¯ntisa¯gara (Digam-
cede in worldly affairs. Goddesses such as Ambika¯ and
bara, 1873–1955). At the same time, the lay community,
Padma¯vat¯ı, who emerged into prominence in the medieval
while not seriously attempting to supplant ascetic authority,
period, are vital components of Jain religiosity.
organized itself in associations such as the Daks:in: Bha¯rat Jain
The most basic type of worship of Jina images, practiced
Sabha¯ (South Indian Jain Society) in order to disseminate the
by ascetic and layperson alike, is “seeing” (dar´sana), in which
values of Jainism, engage in educational projects, and mobi-
the worshiper brings his eyes into focus with those of the
lize membership in respect to issues of social reform, particu-
icon. Worship of images (pu¯ja¯) with material substances,
larly relating to the reduction of caste influence.
such as rice, flowers, camphor, and fruit, and often involving
There have also appeared neo-Digambara groups such
anointment with water or milk, can only be performed by
as the S´r¯ımad Ra¯jacandra movement and the Ka¯nj¯ı Sva¯m¯ı
laypeople (or, in their absence, temple servants). The idiom
Panth, whose leaders were laymen influenced by the mystical
of this form of worship, which is not structured in any bind-
dimensions of Jainism as taught by the early–common era
ing form, is one of abandonment, in that the offerings are
teacher Kundakunda and his successors, and in which initiat-
given up (the Jina being worshiped cannot in any way con-
ed ascetics play less-pronounced roles than elsewhere in Jain-
sume them). The mind of the devotee is turned toward the
ism. Ra¯ycandbha¯¯ı Maheta¯ (1867–1901), known as S´r¯ımad
qualities of the Jinas, with the resolve to emulate them. As-
Ra¯jacandra, was a Gujarati jeweler and mystic who was a
cetics are forbidden to have physical contact with images and
confidant of the young Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, while
can only engage in inner, mental worship.
Ka¯nj¯ı Sva¯m¯ı abandoned the Stha¯nakva¯s¯ı ascetic order to
promulgate an intensely soul-oriented path that he claimed
A wide repertoire of hymns can be used by Jains when
had been transmitted to him directly by Kundakunda. The
they worship. The Bhakta¯mara (Immortal Devotees), com-
Akram Vijña¯n movement, founded in western India in the
posed by Ma¯natun˙ga in the sixth century CE in honor of
1960s by A. M. Patel, who was born a Vais:n:ava Hindu, priv-
Rs:abha, the first Jina of this world age, is of particular popu-
ileges spiritual gnosis as the road to salvation and rejects
larity among all sects and the focus of much devotional and
scriptural and institutional authority.
esoteric commentary. Today, the composition and perfor-
mance of hymns, often set to current film tunes, is an impor-
The most significant development during the second
tant area of female religiosity.
half of the twentieth century was the arrival of many Jains
in the United Kingdom (generally via East Africa) and North
The Jains are no different from the adherents of other
America. It has not been easy for the full requirements of tra-
religions in experiencing many of the modalities of their faith
ditional Jainism to be followed in this new cultural context,
in the context of the rhythm of the sacred year. For the
in particular because image-worshiping S´veta¯mbara and Di-
S´veta¯mbaras, the central point of the year is Paryus:an (Abid-
gambara ascetics are not allowed to travel and teach outside
ing), which takes place over a period of eight days in August
India (although some Stha¯nakva¯s¯ı and lower-order
and September when there are recitations of the Kalpa Su¯tra
Tera¯panth¯ı ascetics are now permitted to do so). Instead, ele-
by monks and displays of illustrations from copies of it. The
ments of Jainism have been emphasized that are congenial
last day is called Samvatsar¯ı (Annual), during which laypeo-
to modern Western liberal opinion: nonviolence, vegetarian-
ple express repentance and a request for forgiveness for any
ism, contemplative practice, and a style of environmentalism
injuries committed during the previous year. The Digam-
in which the Jain path is presented as a philosophy with an
baras, who reject the authority of the Kalpa Su¯tra, listen to
ecological message at its center.
recitations of the ten chapters of Uma¯sva¯ti’s Tattva¯rtha Su¯tra
over a ten-day period called Da´salaks:an:aparvan (also referred
SEE ALSO Ahim:sa¯; Cosmology, article on Jain Cosmology;
to as Paryus:an). Both sects celebrate the birth of the last Jina
Jña¯na; Karman, article on Hindu and Jain Concepts;
as Maha¯v¯ıra Jayanti during March and April, and they also
Maha¯v¯ıra.
have in common Aks:aya¯ Tr:t¯ıya¯ (Undying Third), which oc-
curs in April and May and commemorates the first act of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alphen, Jan van, ed. Steps to Liberation: 2,500 Years of Jain Art
alms-donation of this world age: King S´reyam:sa’s giving of
and Religion. Antwerp, 2000. An outstanding collection of
cane juice to the Jina Rs:abha.
illustrations of Jain religious art.
MODERN DEVELOPMENTS. The nineteenth and twentieth
Balbir, Nalini. “Women and Jainism in India.” In Women in Indi-
centuries saw Jainism’s engagement with modernity lead to
an Religions, edited by Arvind Sharma, pp. 70–107. New
a reassertion of certain traditional features of the religion and
Delhi, 2002.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4772
JALA¯L AL-D¯IN RU
¯ M¯I
Cort, John E. Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in
Vallely, Anne. Guardians of the Transcendent: An Ethnography of
India. New York, 2001. A pioneering fieldwork-based study
a Jain Ascetic Community. Toronto, Buffalo, N.Y., and Lon-
that foregrounds the worldview of the S´veta¯mbara Jain laity
don, 2002. A study which focuses upon the religiosity of
in contemporary Gujarat.
nuns of the Tera¯panth¯ı sect.
Dundas, Paul. The Jains. 2d rev. ed. London and New York,
PAUL DUNDAS (2005)
2002. A study of Jainism throughout history, with extensive
bibliography.
Fischer, Eberhard, and Jyotindra Jain. Jaina Iconography. 2 vols.
Leiden, 1978. Contains a large number of illustrations per-
JALA¯L AL-D¯IN RU
¯ M¯I SEE RU¯M¯I, JALA¯L
taining to Jain ritual, practice, architecture, and iconogra-
AL-D¯IN
phy.
Folkert, Kendall. Scripture and Community: Collected Essays on the
Jains. Edited by John E. Cort. Atlanta, 1993. Contains a se-
ries of studies of the interaction between sacred texts and the
JAMA¯EAT-I ISLA¯M¯I (The Islamic Society), a Muslim
S´veta¯mbara Jain community.
religio-political organization in the Indian subcontinent, was
Hemacandra. The Yoga´sa¯stra of Hemacandra: A Twelfth-Century
founded in August 1941 on the initiative of Abu¯ al-AEla¯
Handbook on S´veta¯mbara Jainism. Edited and translated by
Mawdu¯d¯ı, who had issued a public invitation to all who were
Olle Qvarnström. Cambridge, Mass., 2002. A highly author-
interested to meet in Lahore. In his earlier life Mawdu¯d¯ı had
itative account prescribing S´veta¯mbara lay behavior written
worked as a journalist, but in 1932 he became editor of the
for Hemacandra’s patron, Kumarapa¯la Caulukya.
religious monthly Tarjuma¯n al-Qur Da¯n, which later served as
Jacobi, Hermann. Jaina Sutras. 2 vols. Oxford, 1884–1895. Pio-
the principal organ of the Jama¯Eat. During the 1930s
neering translations of the A¯ca¯ra¯n˙ga Su¯tra, the Kalpa Su¯tra,
Mawdu¯d¯ı participated in the debates about India’s political
the Su¯trakrta¯n˙ga Su¯tra, and the Uttara¯dhyayana Su¯tra,
future and opposed both the united Indian nationalism of
which, though outdated in many ways, have never been ade-
the Indian National Congress and the Muslim nationalism
quately replaced.
of the Muslim League. All nationalism he thought contrary
Jaini, Padmanabh S. Gender and Salvation: Jaina Debates on the
to Islam and insisted that the identity of Muslims derives
Spiritual Liberation of Women. Berkeley, Calif., 1991. Richly
from Islam alone.
annotated translation of key sources relating to the debate
between the S´veta¯mbaras and Digambaras concerning the re-
In 1940 the Muslim League passed its famous Lahore
ligious status of women.
Resolution calling for the creation of Pakistan as a homeland
Jaini, Padmanabh S. The Jaina Path of Purification. Rev. ed. New
for Indian Muslims. Mawdu¯d¯ı later said that the Lahore Res-
Delhi, 1998. A clear account of doctrine and practice, in-
olution triggered his long-cherished plan to establish a soci-
valuable for its Digambara perspective.
ety for the promotion of Islam. Earlier he had concentrated
Jaini, Padmanabh S. Collected Papers on Jaina Studies. Delhi,
on criticism and reform of individual Muslim life; now, how-
2000. An essential collection of often seminal studies.
ever, there was need for organized activity. At the initial
Kelting, Mary Whitney. Singing to the Jinas: Jain Laywomen, Man-
meeting a constitution was adopted, and Mawdu¯d¯ı was
dal Singing, and the Negotiations of Jain Devotion. New York,
elected the first am¯ır, or leader. The Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı has ever
2001. A study of female religiosity among a S´veta¯mbara Jain
since been inseparably wedded to its founder. Not only was
community in Pun:e in the context of the production and
he its leader from the beginning until he retired in 1972, but
performance of devotional hymns.
his writings have provided the Jama¯Eat’s interpretation of
Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. The Peaceful Liberators: Jain Art from India.
Islam and its political beliefs.
Los Angeles, 1994. Contains illustrations of many important
The period between 1941 and 1947 was one of intense
images and manuscripts.
activity devoted to promoting the Jama¯Eat. The organiza-
Schubring, Walther. Die Lehre der Jainas, nach den alten Quellen
tion’s activities remained at the level of individual persua-
dargestellt. Berlin and Leipzig, Germany, 1935. Translated as
sion, however, and it had almost no influence on India. Al-
The Doctrine of the Jainas, Described after the Old Sources. 2d
though Mawdu¯d¯ı opposed the nationalist view of Pakistan
rev. ed. Delhi, 2000. An authoritative account of canonical
held by the Muslim League, and bitterly criticized their lead-
Jainism by the leading Western scholar of the last century.
ership, when India was partitioned in August 1947, he opted
The German edition contains a still valuable bibliography of
primary sources.
for Pakistan. He moved from East Punjab to Lahore with a
portion of his followers, leaving another part of the Jama¯Eat
Sha¯nta¯, N. The Unknown Pilgrims: The Voices of the Sa¯dhvis: The
to remain in India. Since that time the Indian and Pakistani
History, Spirituality, and Life of the Jaina Women Ascetics.
Translated by Mary Rogers. Delhi, 1997. This diffuse study,
branches have been entirely separate, and the Indian one has
originally written in French, presents Jainism from the his-
been relatively less important.
torical and contemporary perspective of nuns of all sects.
HISTORY. In Pakistan the Jama¯Eat first worked to assist the
Uma¯sva¯ti. That Which Is: Tattva¯rtha Su¯tra. Translated by Nath-
refugees pouring into the country from India. In early 1948,
mal Tatia. San Francisco, London, and Pymble, Australia,
however, it leapt into political prominence by espousing the
1994. The classic summation of Jain doctrine.
cause of the Islamic state and becoming the focal point of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAMA¯EAT-I ISLA¯M¯I
4773
nationwide agitation. Pakistan, Mawdu¯d¯ı reasoned, had
did not make the specifically Islamic provisions enforceable
been won in the name of Islam; it was, therefore, imperative
in the courts. Acceptance of the constitution robbed the Is-
that a truly Islamic system be established in the country.
lamic state issue of its viability, and the Jama¯Eat turned to a
Since this position evoked a wide public response, it was
campaign for “true democracy” in Pakistan centered upon
troublesome for the liberal leadership of the Muslim League
a demand for separate electorates for Muslims and antisecu-
government, who could afford neither to reject the Islamic
larist propaganda.
state nor to embrace it in the form demanded by the
In 1958 a military coup brought Field Marshal
Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı.
Muh:ammad Ayyu¯b Kha¯n to power in Pakistan. The
The Jama¯Eat quickly came into confrontation with the
Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı fell under the ensuing martial law banning
government. Four things drew government wrath: (1) stri-
political parties and was thus not allowed to function until
dent criticism of the leadership, (2) statements by Mawdu¯d¯ı
the promulgation of a new constitution in March 1962. The
that the war against India over Kashmir was not a proper
Jama¯Eat bitterly opposed Ayyu¯b, whom it saw as a dictator
jiha¯d (“war in the way of God”), (3) Mawdu¯d¯ı’s stand
who had frustrated democracy to keep the Islamic forces in
against oaths of unconditional loyalty to the government,
check. It rejected the political system established by the new
and (4) a prepartition stand of the Jama¯Eat against recruit-
constitution but nonetheless worked within it. The Jama¯Eat’s
ment in the army. Mawdu¯d¯ı and other leaders were arrested
ire was especially stimulated by the Muslim Family Law Or-
and held in jail for more than a year, but the campaign for
dinance, which introduced changes into Muslim personal
the Islamic state continued.
law. Its activities led Ayyu¯b to ban the Jama¯Eat and to arrest
Mawdu¯d¯ı once again in early 1964. The courts, however, de-
When the Objectives Resolution of the Pakistan Con-
clared the ban and the arrest illegal. During Ayyu¯b’s time the
stituent Assembly was passed in 1949, it was acclaimed by
Jama¯Eat first adopted the policy of allying itself with other
the Jama¯Eat as Pakistan’s declaration of intent to be an Islam-
parties in combined opposition to the government. In the
ic state; the issue then became election of a leadership to im-
1965 elections it supported Fa¯t:imah Jinna¯h: for president,
plement the Islamic ideal. Thus the way was opened for the
despite its teaching that Islam disapproved a woman as head
Jama¯Eat’s active participation in elections. This decision to
of state, and following the brief India-Pakistan war of 1965,
seek political office would subsequently, in 1957–1958, be-
it added its voice to the protests against the Tashkent Decla-
come the cause of a major rift in the Jama¯Eat that would lead
ration. In the 1970 elections the Jama¯Eat joined other right-
to the resignations of several important members.
wing groups in opposing both the socialism of Zulfiqa¯r EAl¯ı
¯
In 1951 Mawdu¯d¯ı reached the peak of his prominence
Bhutto and the demands of Muj¯ıb al-Rah:ma¯n’s Awami
in Pakistan and enjoyed respect even among the Eulama¯D
League; these elections, however, were a crushing defeat for
(“religious scholars”), with whom he often differed. He was
the Jama¯Eat throughout the country. When Yah:ya¯ Kha¯n
the principal figure at the conference of Eulama¯D convoked
launched military action against East Pakistan in March
in Karachi in January 1951, in response to the controversial
1971, the Jama¯Eat supported the actions of the government
report of the Basic Principles Committee of the Constituent
and the army and thereby lost the little support it had in Ben-
Assembly. The twenty-two points describing an Islamic
gal. After Bhutto’s rise to power it posed a demand for the
state upon which the Eulama¯D agreed were largely due to his
Niz:a¯m-i Mus:t:afa¯ (“prophetic system”) against the socialist
influence.
tendencies of the People’s Party. When Bhutto was over-
thrown by General Z:iya¯ al-H:aqq (Ziya al-Haq), the Jama¯Eat
In 1952 and 1953 there was widespread agitation in Pa-
was at first favored by the new government by several ap-
kistan against the Ah:mad¯ıyah sect, resulting in riots, loss of
pointments to cabinet posts, but it was soon reduced to im-
life, and destruction of property. Although the Jama¯Eat did
potence by the government’s interdiction of all political ac-
not officially sanction the “direct action” against the
tivity.
Ah:mad¯ıyah, much of what happened had its tacit approval.
O
Mawdu¯d¯ı published a pamphlet entitled Qa¯diya¯n¯ı Mas Dalah
RGANIZATION. The Jama¯Eat’s constitution has been
amended several times to compensate for changing circum-
condemning the group as non-Muslim. When martial law
stances. It provides for a highly centralized organization.
was declared in March 1953, he was again arrested, along
Most power rests with the am¯ır, who is elected for a five-year
with numerous Jama¯Eat leaders, and was condemned to
term but who may hold office for life. Seven different central
death. The sentence, however, was commuted, and he was
offices function under his direct supervision. He is assisted
released from prison in April 1955. During Mawdu¯d¯ı’s sev-
by a majlis-i shu¯ra¯, or consultative body, whose opinions,
eral imprisonments, others, such as Am¯ın Ah:san Is:la¯h:¯ı and
however, are not binding on him, and by a majlis-i Eumala¯D,
Sult:a¯n Ah:mad, served as temporary amirs of the Jama¯Eat.
or executive committee. There is also an executive assistant,
When the 1956 Pakistani constitution was promulgat-
the qayyim, who acts as secretary general. Duplicated at the
ed, the Jama¯Eat-i Islami welcomed it as meeting most of the
district, circle, and provincial levels, this central organization
requirements of an Islamic state. It did so even though the
is of great significance, for it is precisely that detailed for the
constitution did not declare Islam the official religion of Pa-
ideal Islamic state. It was plainly the Jama¯Eat’s intention that
kistan, did not make the shar¯ı Eah the law of the land, and
it should become the government in the event of its political
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4774
JAMA¯L AL-D¯IN AL-AFGHA¯N¯I
success. Membership in the organization, sharply restricted
There are also two accounts of the Jama¯Eat’s history by its
to persons meeting high standards of Islamic knowledge and
founder: Jama¯ Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı, uska¯ maqsad, taDr¯ıkh, awr la¯ Dih-i
personal conduct, has never been large. The majority of the
Eamal (Lahore, 1952) and Jama¯ Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı k¯e 29 sa¯l (Lahore,
Jama¯Eat’s associates are muttafiq¯ın, or sympathizers, who
1970).
provide its principal political support and much of its fi-
New Sources
nances. It is not uncommon for members to be expelled for
Esposito, John L., ed. Political Islam: Revolution, Radicalism, or Re-
misconduct or disinterest, and a number of the full members
form? Boulder, Colo., 1997.
work full time for the Jama¯Eat. Great attention is paid to
Grare, Frédéric. Political Islam in the Indian Subcontinent: The Ja-
training, and regular training sessions are held. Other activi-
maat-i-Islami. New Delhi, 2001.
ties include publication of journals and newspapers, the
Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza. The Vanguard of the Islamic Revolution:
maintenance of reading rooms, mobile clinics, disaster relief,
The Jama’ati Islami of Pakistan. Comparative Studies on
and work with labor unions. There are also associated organi-
Muslim Societies, vol. 19. Berkeley, 1994.
zations, the principal one of which is the Isla¯m¯ı Jama¯Eat-i
Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza. “Democracy and Islamic Revivalism.” Po-
T:ulaba¯D, a militant student group with powerful influence
litical Science Quarterly, 110 (Summer 1995): 261–286.
in Pakistani universities.
Sikand, Yogrinder. “The Emergence of the Jama’at-i-Islami of
THEOLOGY. The Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı holds Islam to be an ideol-
Jammu and Kashmir.” Modern Asian Studies, 36 (July 2002):
ogy comprising a complete set of principles for human life.
705–752.
Just as nature acknowledges the sovereignty of its creator by
CHARLES J. ADAMS (1987)
obedience to natural laws, so also should humans submit to
Revised Bibliography
the divine law for their existence. That law is known primari-
ly through the QurDa¯n and the sunnah of the Prophet. The
Jama¯Eat lays great emphasis on the all-inclusiveness of its ide-
JAMA¯L AL-D¯IN AL-AFGHA¯N¯I SEE AFGHA¯N¯I,
ology; Islam is not merely a matter of the relationship be-
JAMA¯L AL-D¯IN AL-
tween the individual and God but must also govern social,
economic, and political life. True Islamic faith demands that
Muslims hold political power and that the state be ruled ac-
cording to Islamic principles. There an be no political parties
JAMES, E. O. (1888–1972), was an English academic
and no opposition in such a state since there is only one cor-
anthropologist, folklorist, and historian of religions. Edwin
rect Islamic viewpoint. Neither can the state make law. Sov-
Oliver James was born in London on March 30, 1888. He
ereignty belongs to God alone and all legitimate law must
was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, where he took a di-
derive from his expressed will. Thus, the Jama¯Eat insisted that
ploma in anthropology under R. R. Marett, and at Universi-
policy-forming offices must be held by pious Muslims whose
ty College, London. From 1911 to 1933 he served as a priest
duties include suppression of rival ideologies. Non-Muslims
of the Church of England, chiefly in parishes in London and
have a protected status in the Islamic state but are treated as
Oxford, while maintaining a scholarly interest in anthropol-
second-class citizens who must live under certain restrictions.
ogy, comparative religion, and folklore. During the 1920s
The Jama¯Eat envisages a totalitarian state united in obedience
and 1930s he was associated with the diffusionist school of
to a single ruler whose word prevails so long as it accords with
Elliot Smith and William James Perry, and with the “myth
the divine law. Such a state was considered democratic, how-
and ritual school” that emerged out of it. Thus he became
ever, since the ruler was elected and could be removed; it was
one of the earliest British “myth and ritual” writers, contrib-
also a welfare state obligated to meet the basic needs of its
uting to the school’s first two symposia. For Myth and Ritual,
citizens. Despite the implicit authoritarianism of the ideolo-
edited by S. H. Hooke (London, 1933), he wrote “Initiatory
gy, the Jama¯Eat has consistently held revolutionary violence
Rituals,” and for its sequel, The Labyrinth, also edited by
to be illegitimate and the way to the Islamic state to lie in
Hooke (London, 1935), “The Sources of Christian Ritual.”
peaceful democratic methods.
Although he had published several books on anthropology,
his first major work was Christian Myth and Ritual (1933),
BIBLIOGRAPHY
in which he applied the methods of the myth and ritual
The role of the Jama¯Eat-i Isla¯m¯ı in the early phases of Pakistani
school to questions of Christian origins and to later Christian
history is treated fully by Leonard Binder in Religion and Pol-
ceremonies.
itics in Pakistan (Berkeley, 1963) and by Keith Callard in Pa-
In 1933 James became professor of the history and phi-
kistan: A Political Study (London, 1957). The only full-
losophy of religion at the University of Leeds, and in 1945
length treatment of the organization in English is Kalim
he moved to a similar post at the University of London
Bahadur’s The Jama¯ Eat-i-Islâmi of Pakistan (New Delhi,
1977). I have discussed the society’s ideology and teachings
(King’s College), where he remained until his retirement in
in “The Ideology of Mawlana Mawdudi,” in South Asian Pol-
1955. From 1960 until his death on July 6, 1972, he was
itics and Religion, edited by Donald Smith (Princeton, 1966),
chaplain of All Souls’ College, Oxford. Throughout his ac-
and “Mawdudi’s Conception of the Islamic State,” in Voices
tive life he was a member of numerous learned societies, in-
of Resurgent Islam, edited by John Esposito (Oxford, 1983).
cluding the Folklore Society, of which he was president from
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAMES, WILLIAM
4775
1930 to 1932, and in 1954 he was instrumental in founding
materialism. Plagued by illness and “neurasthenic” by tem-
the British section of the International Association for the
perament, he was long uncertain about a career. He tried his
History of Religions.
hand at painting with fair success, but after joining the zoolo-
James published a large number of books and articles
gist Louis Agassiz on a fifteen-month expedition to Brazil,
on a wide variety of subjects connected with anthropology
James studied chemistry and medicine at Harvard, receiving
and comparative religion. The best known were perhaps Ori-
his medical degree in 1869.
gins of Sacrifice (1934), Introduction to the Comparative Study
James soon decided against medical practice and began
of Religion (1938), and Prehistoric Religion (1957). He was
to teach anatomy and physiology at the university. The work
not, however, an original writer or theorist, being content for
of the new German school of physical psychology attracted
the most part to have assimilated, and to reproduce, the find-
him, and he prepared to teach the subject, establishing the
ings of others. In matters of controversy he habitually took
first psychology laboratory in the United States (and perhaps
a mediating position, which left him without a strong profile
in the world). After a few years, during which he produced
of his own. In theology he was an Anglo-Catholic; in anthro-
some noted papers, he seized the opportunity in 1878 to add
pology he was initially an evolutionist but at a later stage was
to his teaching a course in philosophy—later famous as Phil.
prepared to modify his views in response to changes of em-
3. He spent the rest of his life teaching psychology and phi-
phasis. He was not, for instance, despite his theological posi-
losophy at Harvard and lecturing widely at home and
tion, disposed to accept all the findings of the school of Wil-
abroad. He died in Chocorua, New Hampshire, on August
helm Schmidt concerning “high gods.” Thus, although he
26, 1910.
wrote that “High Gods do in fact stand alone, head and
JAMES’S WORKS. James’s Principles of Psychology, which ap-
shoulders above all secondary divinities,” he insisted that
peared in two volumes in 1890, was hailed as the summa of
“the belief in High Gods among low races cannot be
current knowledge, much of it based on his own previously
described as a true monotheism” (Prehistoric Religion,
published research. When it was reissued in the 1950s, re-
pp. 206–208).
viewers in journals of psychology called it still able to inspire
James’s significance lay in his capacity to assimilate and
and instruct. James next published The Will to Believe
interpret a vast body of material about comparative religion
(1897). Its title essay, first published in 1879, was his first
and to present it for a wider public. At a time when the study
mature statement on the nature of faith, including religious
of religion in Britain was at a fairly low ebb, he served as an
faith. His later volumes, Pragmatism (1907), A Pluralistic
admirable interpreter, and as a mediator between positions
Universe and The Meaning of Truth (both 1909), and the
that were often polarized internationally. His best work was
posthumous Some Problems of Philosophy (1911) and Essays
done in the 1930s, for some of his later works were little
in Radical Empiricism (1912), rounded out his philosophic
more than compilations of material readily available else-
vision. Between the Psychology and these works James deliv-
where.
ered the Gifford Lectures in Edinburgh, published as The
Varieties of Religious Experience (1902). Both hailed and criti-
B
cized, its influence was immediate and lasting. Widely read
IBLIOGRAPHY
A full bibliography of James’s writings up to 1963 can be found
then and one hundred years later, it stands as a classic in the
in The Saviour God: Comparative Studies in the Concept of
study of religion.
Salvation, Presented to Professor E. O. James to Commemorate
James framed The Varieties in terms of two questions,
His Seventy-fifth Birthday, edited by S. G. F. Brandon (Man-
the first having to do with the nature and origin of religion
chester, 1963). See also D. W. Gundry’s “Professor E. O.
James, 1888–1972,” Numen 19 (August–December 1972):
and the second with its meaning and significance. The first
81–83.
was, for James, a historical question having to do with func-
tion and causation; the second was a question of value. In
ERIC J. SHARPE (1987)
contrast to many scientists of his era, James maintained that
the value of a thing should be assessed not on the basis of
its origins but on the basis of its distinctive function.
JAMES, WILLIAM (1842–1910), American psycholo-
For the purpose of his lectures, James defined religion
gist and philosopher, was the eldest son of Henry James Sr.
in terms of religious experience, that is, “the feelings, acts,
(1811–1882), a writer on social and religious subjects es-
and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as
teemed in his day but never famous. William was born in
they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever
New York City on January 11, 1842. His early education at
they may consider divine” (James, 1985, p. 34). Although
his father’s hands was supplemented by much travel abroad
evangelical Protestants traditionally used the term religious
and some schooling in Boulogne, France, and at the Univer-
experience to refer to the Protestant conversion experience,
sity of Geneva, where his scientific bent developed. Later he
James imbued the term with a broader, more generic mean-
attended lectures at the University of Berlin and elsewhere
ing, including under that rubric lectures on religious person-
in Germany. James was a voracious reader of philosophy and
ality types (the healthy-minded and the sick soul), the divid-
was particularly concerned with the question of science and
ed self, conversion, saintliness, and mysticism. In keeping
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4776
JAMES, WILLIAM
with the revival of interest in mysticism at the beginning of
2002). Eugene Taylor argues that James’s interest in psychol-
the twentieth century, James claimed “personal religious ex-
ogy is evident throughout his intellectual career, but that his
perience has its root and centre in mystical states of con-
understanding of psychology shifts from the positivistic, cog-
sciousness” (James, 1985, p. 301).
nitive psychology that predominates in The Principles to the
humanistic understanding, grounded in developments in ab-
James utilized firsthand autobiographical accounts—
normal psychology and psychical research, that informs his
mostly but not exclusively Christian—as his primary data.
He was particularly interested in what he referred to as “‘ge-
metaphysics of radical empiricism during the late 1880s and
niuses’ in the religious line,” persons who were frequently
early 1890s (Taylor, 1996, p. 39). This argument allows
subject to extremes of experience, such as voices, visions, and
Taylor to read the VRE as a psychological text (Taylor, 1996,
falling into trance. (James, 1985, p.15). In contrast to many
pp. 84–96). David C. Lamberth (1999), who is primarily in-
later psychologists of religion, James was convinced that the
terested in James’s philosophy of religion, also argues for a
more extreme cases would shed the greatest light on religious
shift from positivistic psychology to a metaphysics of radical
experience as a whole. He utilized comparison both to ex-
empiricism, locating this shift in the early 1890s, again well
plain the origins of such experiences and to identify their
prior to the publication of the VRE. Locating James’s formu-
unique function. In many instances he adopted a method of
lation of his metaphysics prior to the publication of the VRE
“serial study,” in which he arranged phenomena along con-
allows Lamberth to read the VRE with an eye toward James’s
tinua of various sorts to better understand them. The distinc-
metaphysics of pure experience (Lamberth, 1999,
tion between origins and function allowed James to compare
pp. 97–145).
the more extreme forms of religious experience with experi-
Edward S. Reed contends that Taylor and countless
ences considered pathological without fear of discrediting re-
others “have (mis)interpreted The Principles as propounding
ligious experience in the process.
a variant of the new positivist psychology when it was in fact
The central function of religion, in James’s view, con-
an all-out assault on the turn psychology had taken in the
sists in the healing of the self through a connection with “the
1870s” (Reed, 1997, p. 215). Reed points out that key essays
higher powers.” All religions consist of two parts: an uneasi-
published in The Will to Believe in 1897 were actually written
ness and its solution. At the moment of salvation, the indi-
in the late 1870s and early 1880s, arguing that “because
vidual “becomes conscious that this higher part [of oneself]
James left these arguments out of The Principles . . . their
is conterminous with and continuous with a MORE of the
connection with his psychological work has not been appre-
same quality, which is operative in the universe outside of
ciated” (Reed, 1997, p. 215). In contrast to those that argue
him” (James, 1985, p. 400). James considered the objective
for a shift in focus, Reed argues that James’s entire career was
truth of “the more” by asking whether it originated in or be-
underpinned by his youthful interest in applying Darwinian
yond the self. He offered Frederick Myers’s notion of the
ideas to the study of the mind. Reed’s view supports Henry
subconscious as a means of mediating between the claims of
S. Levinson’s (1981) Darwinian reading of the VRE, in
science and religion, while leaving the ultimate explanation
which he argues that for James the ideas that emerge from
of “the more” as a matter of “over-beliefs” informed by meta-
the subconscious of religious geniuses are, in effect, sponta-
physical convictions.
neous mental variations that survive when they prove them-
selves “fit” in a competitive environment.
James’s own metaphysical commitments were such that
he did believe, as he indicated in his conclusion and post-
Other scholars who, like Reed, see continuity over time,
script, that there were higher powers that might act through
nonetheless question whether James’s thought can be under-
the subconscious self. James, however, did not link origins
stood as unified at any given point in time. In The Divided
with value. Parallels between the experiences of geniuses, the
Self of William James (1999), Richard Gale stresses the diffi-
religiously devout, and the mentally unstable led James to
culties involved in reconciling the epistemological claims of
suggest their common subconscious origins and to insist that
his tough-minded pragmatism and his tender-minded mysti-
such experiences must be evaluated not in terms of their ori-
cism. Wesley Cooper takes up Gale’s challenge in The Unity
gins but in terms of their value for life. In the end, he
of William James’s Thought (2002), arguing for a “Two-
stressed, the final test of a belief is “not its origin, but the
Levels View” that distinguishes between empirical and meta-
way it works on the whole” (James, 1985, p. 24).
physical levels of truth. The unifying thread for Cooper, run-
INTERPRETATIONS OF JAMES. There has been considerable
ning from the Principles through his posthumous Essays in
discussion among James scholars regarding the place of The
Radical Empiricism, is the “concept of sensation,” which
Varieties of Religious Experience (VRE) in James’s thought
James later renamed as “pure experience.” This metaphysi-
more generally. Scholars have traditionally located the VRE
cally postulated concept, which is neither mental nor physi-
in the midst of James’s transition from psychologist to phi-
cal yet potentially either, is, according to Cooper, “the cen-
losopher during the late 1890s. Late twentieth-century schol-
terpeice of James’s metaphysics” (Cooper, 2002, p. 140).
arship has located that transition earlier (Taylor, 1996, 2002;
The Gale-Cooper debate suggests that both psychological
Lamberth, 1999) and in some cases argued against the idea
and metaphysical readings of the VRE are legitimate, while
of a transition altogether (Reed, 1997; Gale, 1999; Cooper,
it leaves open the question of how they are related. Gale
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAMES, WILLIAM
4777
would argue that the scientist of religion and the metaphysi-
Within religious studies, much of the late-twentieth-
cian are two different and unintegrated Jamesian “selves.”
century discussion of the VRE took place among philoso-
Cooper would read the VRE on two levels—empirical and
phers of religion and scholars of mysticism. James’s chapter
metaphysical—and would argue, like Lamberth, that James’s
on mysticism has often been cited in attempts to call upon
metaphysics of pure experience provides the theoretical link
religious (and specifically mystical) experience in defense of
between them.
theism. Lamberth rejects this line of thinking, arguing in-
James and his family have had many notable biogra-
stead for the relevance of James’s metaphysics of pure experi-
phers (e.g., Perry, 1935; Allen, 1967; Simon, 1998), most
ence understood socially (rather than individually) for con-
of whom have attended to James’s difficulties deciding on
temporary philosophy of religion and theology. Matthew C.
a career and a wife, made note of his complicated relation-
Bagger (1999) mounts a more extended critique of attempts
ship with his father, and speculated on James’s personal stake
to call upon religious experience to defend theism. G. Wil-
in the writing of the VRE. Most agree that the VRE allowed
liam Barnard (1997) provides the most nuanced explication
James to work through his relationship with his father’s reli-
and defense of James’s understanding of mysticism. Essays
gious views (see Taylor, 2002). In the process, most also
by David Hollinger, Wayne Proudfoot, and Richard Rorty
make note of two first-person accounts in the VRE, one attri-
in William James and a Science of Religions (Proudfoot, 2004)
buted to Henry James Sr., and one (the vision of the epileptic
explore the relationship between religion, pragmatism, and
patient) William later ascribed to himself. Virtually all of
science in the VRE. In many respects Henry S. Levinson
James’s biographers have associated the latter account with
(1981) still provides the most comprehensive treatment of
a period of near suicidal depression in the late 1860s that
James as a scientist of religion. David M. Wulff (1997) pro-
James ostensibly resolved while reading an essay by Charles
vides an excellent chapter on James as a psychologist of reli-
Renouvier. The classic account of James’s “crisis and recov-
gion with an extensive discussion of the critical responses to
ery” has been undercut by Linda Simon (1998) and sharply
the VRE. Carol Zaleski (in Capps and Jacobs, 1995) defends
challenged by Louis Menand (1998). Menand argues that
the VRE against its critics in an attempt to establish the con-
there is no way to date the autobiographical fragment, and
temporary relevance of the VRE for the study of religion.
thus no way to link it to the Renouvier episode. Building on
Ann Taves (2003) discusses the experimental research, both
Simon’s contention that James suffered from depressive epi-
clinical and psychical, that underlies James’s theory of the
sodes his entire life, Menand dismisses the crisis and recovery
subconscious and calls for renewed attention to both his the-
narrative as inadequate. In a move paralleling that of Gale
ory of the subconscious and his comparative method in the
and Cooper, Menand suggests that the story of the epileptic
study of religion. Jeremy Carrette (2002) calls for the revital-
patient and the Renouvier entry in James’s diary represent
ization of the psychology of religion through an engagement
two enduring poles in James’s emotional life: the optimism
of the writings of founders such as James with new research
of the healthy-minded pragmatist and the pessimism of the
in the neurosciences.
sick soul.
SEE ALSO Psychology, article on Psychology of Religion; Re-
Much attention has also been paid to James’s life and
ligious Experience.
thought in the context of late-nineteenth-century intellectual
and cultural history. Bennett Ramsey (1993), Paul Jerome
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Croce (1995), Menand (2001), Kim Townsend (1996), and
Primary Sources
Charlene Haddock Seigfried (1996) all locate James’s
James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience. (1902) Cam-
bridge, Mass., 1985.
thought in relation to the erosion of intellectual certainty
characteristic of the modern era. Ramsey emphasizes the per-
James, William. The Works of William James. Cambridge, Mass.,
1975–1988.
ceived contingency of the self in the decades following the
James, William. The Correspondence of William James. Edited by
Civil War and James’s response to it. Croce emphasizes the
Ignas K. Skrupskelis and Elizabeth M. Berkeley. Charlottes-
erosion of certainty with respect to both religious and scien-
ville, Va., 1992–.
tific knowledge in the postwar period, describing James’s
Secondary Sources
thought as an effort to enjoy “the benefits of certainty witout
Allen, Gay Wilson. William James: A Biography. New York, 1967.
an epistemology of certainty” (Croce, 1995, p. 229). Me-
Bagger, Matthew C. Religious Experience, Justification, and History.
nand locates the rise of pragmatism with its emphasis on the
Cambridge, U.K., 1999.
mutability of ideas as a modernist response to the competing
Barnard, G. William. Exploring Unseen Worlds: William James and
certainties of the Civil War. Townsend places James within
the Philosophy of Mysticism. Albany, N.Y., 1997.
the context of shifting cultural discourses of “manliness”
Capps, Donald, and Janet L. Jacobs, eds. The Struggle for Life: A
among late-nineteenth-century Harvard intellectuals. Seig-
Companion to William James’s “The Varieties of Religious Ex-
fried provides a feminist critique of James’s relations with
perience.” West Lafayette, Ind., 1995.
women. In the VRE the erosion of certainty is reflected in
Carrette, Jeremy. “The Return to James: Psychology, Religion,
James’s pragmatic criteria for ascertaining the value of reli-
and the Amnesia of Neuroscience.” In The Varieties of Reli-
gious experiences and the minimalism of his own “over-
gious Experience, centenary ed., pp. xxxix–lxiii. London,
beliefs.”
2002.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4778
JANUS
Cooper, Wesley. The Unity of William James’s Thought. Nashville,
of the Indo-European root ei- (“to go”). This abstract term,
2002.
signifying “passage,” alternates between the stem form -u-
Croce, Paul Jerome. Science and Religion in the Era of William
and the stem form -o-. From the first are formed the deriva-
James. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1995.
tives Ianuarius (“January”), ianu-al (a biscuit reserved for
Gale, Richard M. The Divided Self of William James. Cambridge,
Janus), and ianu-a (“door”). From the second comes iani-tor
U.K., 1999.
(“porter”), Iani-culum (Janiculum Hill), and Iani-gena
Lamberth, David C. William James and the Metaphysics of Experi-
(daughter of Janus). In the Roman pantheon Janus is an orig-
ence. Cambridge, U.K., 1999.
inal figure who has no Greek homologue (Ovid, Fasti 1.90).
The Etruscan name Ani, which appears on the sculpture of
Levinson, Henry Samuel. The Religious Investigations of William
an augur’s liver found at Piacenza, is a borrowing from either
James. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1981. This is a comprehensive ac-
count of James’s understanding of religion.
Latin or an Italian dialect. Because, as Cicero emphasizes (De
natura deorum 2.67), the god embodies the motive of “pas-
Menand, Louis. “William James and the Case of the Epileptic Pa-
sage,” it is characteristic of him to be at the beginning, in line
tient.” New York Review of Books, December 17, 1998.
with the scholar Varro’s definition cited by Augustine (City
Menand, Louis. The Metaphysical Club. New York, 2001.
of God 7.9): “To Janus comes everything that begins, to Jupi-
Myers, Gerald E. William James, His Life and Thought. New
ter everything that culminates” (“Penes Ianum sunt prima,
Haven, Conn., 1986. Myers provides a thorough overview
penes Ioven summa”).
of James’s thought.
Perry, Ralph Barton. The Thought and Character of William James.
This primacy is verified in the liturgy: Janus is invoked
2 vols. Boston, 1935. The classic starting point in James re-
first in ceremonies. On the same basis he is patron, along
search.
with Juno (whence his epithet Iunonius), of all the calends.
Proudfoot, Wayne, ed. William James and a Science of Religions.
The first member of the priestly corps, the rex sacrorum
New York, 2004.
(“king of the sacrifices”), offers him a sacrifice at the begin-
ning of each month (Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.15.10). In the
Putnam, Ruth Anna, ed. The Cambridge Companion to William
James. Cambridge, U.K., 1997.
same way, the first official sacrifice of each year, the Agonium
of January 9, is directed to Janus. Sculpted images of him
Ramsey, Bennett. Submitting to Freedom: The Religious Vision of
with two faces—corresponding, according to the interpreta-
William James. New York, 1993.
tions, to opening and closing or to past and future—gained
Reed, Edward S. From Soul to Mind. New Haven, Conn., 1997.
for him the names of Janus Bifrons (“with double forehead”),
Seigfried, Charlene Haddock. “The Feminine-Mystical Threat to
Janus Biceps (“two-headed”), and Janus Geminus (“twin”).
Scientific-Masculine Other.” In Pragmatism and Feminism,
pp. 111–141. Chicago, 1996.
Other qualificatives have functional value. Thus tradi-
Simon, Linda. Genuine Reality: A Life of William James. New
tion points to Janus Curiatius, who must have presided over
York, 1998.
a rite of passage of young men into the tribal subgroups
called curiae, and to Janus Quirinus, mentioned in the “royal
Taves, Ann. Fits, Trances, and Visions: Experiencing Religion and
laws” as associated with the time when the third share of the
Explaining Experience from Wesley to James. Princeton, N.J.,
1999.
spolia opima was allotted to the god Quirinus (Festus, ed.
Lindsay, 1913, p. 204 L.). This last is the most ancient title
Taves, Ann. “Religious Experience and the Divisible Self: William
given to Janus, who sits in the old Forum in the “ancient
James (and Frederick Myers) as Theorist(s) of Religion.”
Journal of the American Academy of Religion 71, no. 2 (2003):
sanctuary provided with an altar” (Ovid, Fasti 1.275). Ac-
303–326.
cording to whether its doors were shut or open, he “indicated
the state of peace or war” (Livy, 1.19.2). Augustus, who re-
Taylor, Eugene. William James on Consciousness beyond the Mar-
stored this cult to a place of honor, boasted of having closed
gin. Princeton, N.J., 1996.
the temple on three occasions (Res gestae 13). This explains
Taylor, Eugene. “The Spiritual Roots of James’s Varieties of Reli-
the appellation of Janus Quirinus: He is the god who pre-
gious Experience.” In The Varieties of Religious Experience, cen-
sides over the passage from war to peace. This is the poet
tenary ed., pp. xxxix–lxiii. London, 2002.
Horace’s interpretation when he illustrates the “Quirinal”
Townsend, Kim. Manhood at Harvard: William James and Others.
orientation of Janus by the expression “Ianus Quirini” (Odes
New York, 1996.
4.15.9), which he takes up elsewhere in a more prosaic and
Wulff, David M. The Psychology of Religion: Classic and Contempo-
explicit phrase, “Janus, the guardian of peace” (Epistles
rary Views. 2d ed. New York, 1997.
2.1.255).
JACQUES BARZUN (1987)
ANN TAVES (2005)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dumézil, Georges. Archaic Roman Religion. 2 vols. Translated by
Philip Krapp. Chicago, 1970.
JANUS. According to most linguists, the word ianus seems
Gagé, Jean. Augustus, Emperor of Rome, 63 B.C.–14 A.D.: Res Gestae
to be based upon the root ia¯, which constitutes an extension
divi Augusti. Paris, 1977.
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JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4779
Schilling, Robert. Rites, cultes, dieux de Rome. Paris, 1979. See
from the continent of Asia. Invariably, the religion of the
pages 220–262 on Janus.
people was changed as they adopted and adapted the con-
Wissowa, Georg. Religion und Kultus der Römer. 2d ed. Munich,
cepts, symbols, rituals, and art forms of Confucianism, Dao-
1912. See pages 103–113.
ism, the yin-yang school, and Buddhism. Although all of
New Sources
these religious and semi-religious systems kept a measure of
Briquel, Dominique. “Le Fanum Voltumnae: remarques sur le
their own prior identity, they were by no means considered
culte fédéral des cités étrusques.” In Dieux, fêtes, sacré dans
by the people to be mutually exclusive.
la Grèce et la Rome antiques, edited by André Motte and
It is worth noting in this connection that the term
Charles M. Ternes, pp. 133–159. Turnhout, 2003.
shukyo¯ (religion) is a neologism not used prior to the nine-
Capdeville, Gérard. “Les épithètes cultuelles de Janus.” Mélanges
teenth century. In Japanese traditions, religious schools are
École Française Rome 85 (1973): 395–436.
usually referred to as do¯, to¯, or michi (way), as in butsudo¯ (the
Gagé, Jean. “Sur les origines du culte de Janus.” Revue d’Histoire
way of the Buddha) or shinto¯ (the way of kami), implying
des Religions 195 (1979): 3–33 and 129–151.
that these are complementary ways or paths within the over-
Pfligersdorffer Georg. “Ovidius Empedocleus. Zu Ovids Ianus-
arching Japanese religion. Various branches of art were also
Deutung.” Grazer Beiträge 1 (1973): 177–209.
called do¯ or michi, as in chado¯ (also sado¯, “the way of tea”)
Richard, Jean-Claude. “Ion-Janus ou de l’anonymat. À propos
in the medieval period. This usage reflects the close affinity
d’IGR, 2, 1–4.” In Hommages à Henri Le Bonniec. Res sacrae,
in Japan between religious and aesthetic traditions.
edited by Danielle Porte and Jean Pierre Néraudau,
PREHISTORIC BACKGROUND. The Japanese archipelago lies
pp. 387–394. Brussels, 1988.
off the Asian continent, stretching north and south in the
Simon, Erika. “Ianus Curiatius und Ianus Geminus im frühen
western Pacific. In ancient times, however, there were land
Rom.” In Beitrage zur altitalischen Geistesgeschichte. Festschrift
connections between the continent and the Japanese islands.
Gerhard Radke, pp. 269–297. Münster, 1986.
Animal and human populations thus were able to reach pres-
Simon, Erika. “Culsu, Culsans e Ianus.” In Atti del Secondo con-
ent Japan from different parts of the continent. Although we
gresso internazionale etrusco (Firenze 26 maggio–2 giugno
cannot be certain when and how the first inhabitants migrat-
1985), pp. 1271–1281. Rome, 1989.
ed to the Japanese islands, the scholarly consensus traces
Syme, Ronald. “Problems about Janus.” American Journal of Phi-
Japan’s Paleolithic age back to between ten and thirty thou-
lology 100 (1979): 188–212.
sand years ago, when the inhabitants of the islands were
Thomas, Joël. “Janus, le dieu de la genèse et du passage.” Euphros-
primitive hunters and food gatherers who shared religious
yne 15 (1987): 281–296.
and cultural traits similar to their counterparts in other re-
Turcan, Robert. “Janus à l’époque impériale.” In Aufstieg und
gions of the world.
Niedergand der Römischen Welt 2.17.1, pp. 374–402. Berlin
Japan’s prehistoric period is divided into two phases: (1)
and New York, 1981.
the Jomon period (jomon literally means “cord pattern,” re-
ROBERT SCHILLING (1987)
ferring to pottery decoration), extending roughly from 8000
Translated from French by Paul C. Duggan
BCE to about 250 BCE, and (2) the Yayoi period (so named
Revised Bibliography
because pottery of this period was unearthed in the Yayoi dis-
trict of present-day Tokyo), covering roughly the era from
250 BCE to 250 CE. Further subdivisions of both the Jomon
JAPANESE RELIGIONS
and Yayoi periods, as proposed by various archaeologists, are
This entry consists of the following articles:
not relevant for our purpose. Archaeological evidence reveals
AN OVERVIEW
a gradual development in the use of fishing and hunting
POPULAR RELIGION
THE STUDY OF MYTHS
tools, but in the artistic qualities of pottery making and de-
RELIGIOUS DOCUMENTS
signs and in the living patterns of the Jomon people, we still
have few clues regarding their religious outlooks or practices.
Thus, we can only infer that the practice of extracting certain
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
teeth, for example, probably indicates a puberty rite, while
Like many other ethnic groups throughout the world, the
female figurines may have been used in fertility cults.
earliest inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago constructed
and lived in a religious world of meaning. To them the whole
There is no clear-cut date for dividing the Jomon and
world was permeated by sacred power, authenticated by
the Yayoi periods, because the Yayoi culture emerged in
myths. In the early historical period, local traditions were
western parts of Japan while the Jomon culture was still de-
consolidated around the emergent imperial cult in a form
veloping in the eastern parts. Nevertheless, the transition be-
that later came to be designated as Shinto¯, or “the way of
tween these cultural forms was sufficiently marked so that
kami.” Many aspects of the archaic traditions have been pre-
some scholars even postulate the migration during the early
served as basic features of an unorganized folk religion.
third century BCE of a new ethnic group from outside. Yayoi
Meanwhile, through contacts with Korea and China, Japan
pottery is more sophisticated in design and manufacturing
came under the impact of religious and cultural influences
techniques and more utilitarian than Jomon ware. Yayoi
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4780
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
jugs, jars, and pots were used both for cooking and for pre-
tlers. This group, which had an efficient military organiza-
serving food. Moreover, Yayoi culture was based on rice cul-
tion, shared with the Tunguz group religious and cultural
tivation, employing hydraulic technology. Evidently, com-
traits such as a vertical cosmology, Siberian-type shamanism,
munities were established in places of low altitude, and many
and a patriarchal clan (uji) system. Its most powerful family
farmhouses had raised floors, the space beneath them serving
emerged as the imperial house in the historic period.
as storehouses for grain. As the Yayoi period coincided with
the Qin (221–206
Oka carefully avoids the question of the origin and de-
BCE) and the Han (206 BCE–220 CE)
dynasties in China, and as Chinese political and cultural in-
velopment of the Japanese people and culture in a chrono-
fluence was penetrating the Korean peninsula, some features
logical sense. Although his hypothesis has been severely criti-
of continental civilization must have infiltrated into western
cized by other scholars, it represents one of the most all-
Japan. This infiltration may account for the development in
embracing efforts to explain the pluralistic nature of Japanese
the Yayoi period of spinning and weaving and the use of iron,
social structure, culture, and religion. Despite the lack of
bronze, and copper. We cannot say with precision, however,
agreement concerning the details of the culture complex thus
what religious significance or uses bronze mirrors, bronze
developed, it is widely agreed that, by the end of the Yayoi
bells, dolmens (stone monuments), and funeral urns had.
period, the inhabitants of the Japanese islands had attained
a degree of self-consciousness as one people sharing a com-
The Ainu controversy and a culture-complex hy-
mon culture.
pothesis. Although it is safe to assume that migrations of
people to the Japanese islands were a part of larger move-
The Yamatai controversy. One of the age-old contro-
ments of archaic peoples from Eurasia to North America, it
versies regarding Japan in the Yayoi period centers around
is difficult to determine the ethnic identity of the first settlers
the geographical location of the state of Yamatai (Yamadai),
in Japan. In this connection a heated controversy has been
an important state in the Japanese islands and one that is
carried on in recent decades as to whether or not the Ainu—
mentioned in such Chinese dynastic histories as the record
who have lived on the Hokkaido¯, Sakhalin, and Kuril Is-
of the Eastern (Later) Han dynasty (25–220 CE) and that of
lands, but who throughout history have never been fully as-
the kingdom of Wei (220–265 CE). We learn from these doc-
similated into the cultural life of the Japanese—were indeed
uments that there were more than one hundred “states” in
the original inhabitants of the Japanese islands. Scholarly
Japan, and that they acknowledged a hereditary ruler who
opinion at the turn of the twenty-first century holds that the
resided in the state of Yamatai. These documents also record
Ainu lived in northern Japan as early as the Jomon period,
that the first Japanese emissary was dispatched to the Chinese
but that there was never, at least until the twentieth century,
court in 57 CE. A series of similar diplomatic missions fol-
any significant amount of intermarriage between them and
lowed in the second and third centuries. These same ac-
other inhabitants of the Japanese islands.
counts reveal that during the second half of the second cen-
tury, political turmoil developed in Japan owing to the
Although the exact identity of the Jomon people still re-
absence of a ruler. An unmarried female shamanic diviner,
mains unsettled, it is widely assumed that a number of ethnic
Pimiko or Himiko, who occupied herself with magic and
groups came to the Japanese islands from various parts of the
sorcery, bewitching people, then became the ruler, and order
Asian continent during the prehistoric period, bringing with
was restored. The Chinese court offered her the title Queen
them various religious and cultural elements. A comprehen-
of Wo (Wa) Friendly to Wei. Evidently she lived in seclusion
sive culture-complex hypothesis proposed by Oka Masao in
in a palace, protected by armed guards. She was attended by
1933 suggests that there were five major typological compo-
a thousand female servants, while only a single male relative
nents in late prehistoric and early historic Japanese culture,
transmitted her instructions and pronouncements, presum-
mythology, religion, and social structure. According to Oka,
ably utterances she made in a state of trance. When she died
various ethnic groups from South China and Southeast Asia
a great mound was raised, and one hundred attendants fol-
with Melanesian, Austroasian, and Austronesian (Microne-
lowed her to the grave. After her death a king was placed on
sian) cultural and religious traits—the secret society system;
the throne, but since the people did not obey him, a young
horizontal cosmology; female shamans; mythical motifs of
girl of thirteen, Iyo, was made queen, and order was once
brother-sister deities; initiation rites; cultivation of taro, yam,
again restored. From these Chinese records we learn, among
and rice; and other characteristics—provided the foundation
other things, that political stability in prehistoric Japan de-
for the agricultural society and culture of the Yayoi period.
pended heavily on magico-religious authority. The intrigu-
ing question still remains, however, whether or not the state
A Tunguz group originally from Siberia or Manchuria,
of Yamatai was located in the western island of Kyushu, as
on the other hand, contributed a vertical cosmology, an ex-
some scholars now believe, or in the central part of the main
ogamous patrilineal clan system, and a belief in deities (kami)
island where the so-called Yamato kingdom was established
who descend from heaven to mountaintops, trees, or pillars.
in the early historical period.
Finally, an Altaic pastoral tribe that had subjugated other
tribes in Manchuria and Korea migrated to Japan toward the
EARLY HISTORICAL PERIOD. The early historical period of
end of the Yayoi period or the early part of the historic peri-
Japan corresponds to what archaeologists call the Kofun (tu-
od, establishing itself as the ruling class over the earlier set-
mulus) period (c. 250–600 CE), so named because of the gi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4781
gantic mausoleums constructed during this time for the de-
tended by the uji chieftain. Indeed, sharing the same kami
ceased of the ruling class in the present Nara and Osaka
was ultimately considered more important to communal co-
prefectures. These great tombs are the visible remains of the
hesion than blood relationship.
early Yamato kingdom. It is significant that Japan was not
As far as we can ascertain, the early kami cults did not
mentioned in Chinese records between the mid-third and
have fixed liturgies. Most religious functions took place ei-
the early fifth century. Many scholars conjecture that during
ther at home or around a sacred tree or sacred rock, in the
this shadowy period, the Yamato kingdom was established
paddy field, or on the seashore. Because the uji group tended
in the present Nara prefecture and gained a foothold on the
to reside in the same locality, the kami of the uji often had
southern tip of the Korean peninsula. During the fourth cen-
the quality of local or regional kami. Also, there were numer-
tury, according to Korean sources, Yamato became an ally
ous other spirits who controlled the health, fortune, and lon-
of Paekche, one of the Korean states, and Korean artisans and
gevity of people. They were variously called mono (spiritual
scholars migrated to Japan, introducing new arts and tech-
entities) or tama (animating spirits) and were believed to be
niques in weaving, ironwork, and irrigation, as well as the
attached to human and other beings or natural things. Equal-
Chinese script and Confucian learning. In 391 Japanese ex-
ly prevalent was the notion of “sacred visitors” (marebito) or
peditionary forces crossed the sea and fought against the
ancestral spirits who came from distant places to visit human
northern Korean state, Koguryo˘, but were badly defeated.
communities. Celestial bodies (the sun, moon, and stars),
Following the military defeat in Korea, Yamato turned to the
meteorological phenomena (wind and storms), and awe-
Chinese court to secure Chinese recognition and support for
inspiring natural objects (mountaintops, tall trees, forests,
its claim of suzerainty over Korea. In fact, the Sung shu (a
the ocean, and rivers) were also considered sacred and, thus,
history of the Liu Song dynasty, covering the years 420–479)
were venerated. Not surprisingly, then, a variety of per-
mentions the names of five Yamato rulers who sent emissar-
sons—fortune-tellers, healers, magicians, sorcerers, and di-
ies to the Chinese court. During the sixth century, Yamato
viners—served as intermediaries to these divine forces.
sought to restore its influence on the Korean peninsula. In
this connection Buddhism was introduced officially from
Religion and government. The early Yamato kingdom
Paekche to the Yamato court in 538 or 552.
was a confederation of semiautonomous uji, each of which
owned and ruled its respective members. The Yamato rulers
Prior to the introduction of Sino-Korean civilization
paid tribute to China and in return received a monarchical
and Buddhism, religion in the Japanese islands was not a
title from the Chinese imperial court. Gradually, the Yamato
well-structured institutional system. The early inhabitants
rulers solidified their influence over other uji chieftains with
took it for granted that the world was the land where they
their military power and with their claims to genealogical de-
lived. They also accepted the notion that the natural world
scent from the sun deity. They thus exercised the preroga-
was a given. Yet their religious outlook had a strong cosmo-
tives of conferring such court titles as O-muraji (“great mag-
logical orientation, so that their early religion might be char-
nate,” presented to the hereditary vassal families of the
acterized as a cosmic religion. Although they did not specu-
imperial uji) and O-omi (“chief of chieftains,” conferred
late on the metaphysical meaning of the cosmos, they felt
upon heads of former rival uji that had acknowledged the
that they were an integral part of the cosmos, which to them
imperial authority); granting sacred seed at spring festivals
was a community of living beings, all sharing kami (sacred)
to all uji groups; and establishing sacred sites for heavenly
nature. The term kami, a combination of the prefix ka and
and earthly kami, as well as regulating matsuri (rituals) for
the root mi, signifies either a material thing or an embodied
them.
spirit possessing divine potency and magical power. The
term kami, thus, refers to all beings that are worthy of rever-
The term matsuri has the connotation “to be with,” “to
ence, including both good and evil beings. The people ac-
attend to the need of,” “to entertain,” or “to serve” the kami,
cepted the plurality of kami residing in different beings and
the soul of the deceased, or a person of high status. Prior to
objects, but their basic affirmation was the sacrality of the
a matsuri, the participants were expected to purify themselves
total cosmos.
and to abstain from certain foods and from sexual inter-
course. It was understood that the most important duty of
Equally central to the early religious outlook was the no-
the Yamato emperor (enno) was to maintain close contact
tion of uji (lineage group, clan), which provided the basic
with the sun deity—the imperial family’s tutelary and ances-
framework for social solidarity. Although the uji was not
tral kami—and other heavenly and earthly kami by attending
based on the strict principle of consanguinity, some blood
to their needs and following their will, which was communi-
relationship, real or fictitious, was considered essential for
cated through oracles, dreams, and divinations and which
communal cohesion. Each uji had clansmen (ujibito), groups
concerned government administration (matsurigoto). Thus,
of professional persons (be) who were not blood relations of
in principle, at this level there was no line of demarcation
the clansmen, and slaves (nuhi), all of whom were ruled by
between the sacred and the profane dimensions of life or be-
the uji chieftain (uji no kami). Each uji was not only a social,
tween religious rituals (matsuri) and government administra-
economic, and political unit but also a unit of religious soli-
tion (matsurigoto). Both were the prerogatives of the sover-
darity centered on the kami of the uji (ujigami) who was at-
eign, who was by virtue of his solar ancestry the chief priest
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4782
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
as well as the supreme political head of the kingdom. The
works that the society, which had been based on archaic
sovereign, in turn, was assisted by hereditary religious func-
communal rules and the uji system, appropriated certain fea-
tionaries and hereditary ministers of the court. This principle
tures of Confucian ethical principles, social and political the-
of the unity of religion and government (saisei-itchi) re-
ories, and legal and educational systems.
mained the foundation of Japanese religion when it later be-
came institutionalized and acquired the designation of
The introduction of Buddhist art equally revolutionized
Shinto¯ in contradistinction to butsudo¯ (Buddhism).
Japanese religion, which despite its aesthetic sensitivities had
never developed artistic images of kami in sculpture or paint-
Impact of Chinese civilization and Buddhism on
ing. Understandably, when Buddhism was officially intro-
Japanese religion. With the gradual penetration of Chinese
duced to the Japanese court in the sixth century, it was the
civilization—or, more strictly, Sino-Korean civilization—
Buddha image that became the central point of contention
and Buddhism during the fifth and sixth centuries, Japanese
between the pro- and anti-Buddhist factions there. Anti-
religion was destined to feel the impact of alien ways of view-
Buddhist leaders argued that veneration of a “foreign kami”
ing the world and interpreting the meaning of human exis-
would offend the “native kami.” After this initial controversy
tence. In order to create a designation for the hitherto rela-
regarding statues of the Buddha, however, the chieftain of
tively unsystematized religious, cultural, and political
the powerful Soga ujis secured imperial permission to build
tradition, the Japanese borrowed two Chinese characters—
a new clan temple in order to enshrine Buddha images. Soon,
shen (Japanese, shin) for kami, and dao (Japanese, to or do)—
thanks to the energetic advocacy of the Soga, Buddhism was
for “the way.” The adoption of the name Shinto¯ only magni-
accepted by other aristocratic families, but not because the
fied the profound tension between the indigenous Japanese
profound meaning of Buddhist law (the Dharma) was fully
understanding of the meaning of life and the world—
appreciated. Rather, Buddhist statues were believed to have
authenticated solely by their particular historic experience on
magical potencies that would bring about mundane benefits.
the Japanese islands—and the claims of Confucianism and
Thus the statues of Shaka (S´a¯kyamuni), Miroku (Maitreya),
Buddhism that their ways were grounded in universal laws
Yakushi (Bhaisajyaguru), Kannon (Avalokite´svara), and
and principles, the Confucian Dao (the Way) and Buddhist
Amida (Amita¯bha) were venerated almost indiscriminately
Dharma (the Law).
in the uji-based Buddhism of sixth- and early-seventh-
century Japan.
There is little doubt that the introduction of Chinese
script and Buddhist images greatly aided the rapid penetra-
PRINCE SHO¯TOKU. The regency of Prince Sho¯toku (574?–
tion of Chinese civilization and Buddhism. As the inhabi-
622?), who served under his aunt, Empress Suiko (r. 592–
tants of the Japanese islands had not developed their own
628), marks a new chapter in the history of Japanese religion.
script, the task of adopting the Chinese script, with its highly
By that time Japan had lost its foothold on the southern tip
developed ideographs and phonetic compounds, to indige-
of the Korean peninsula, while the powerful Sui dynasty had
nous words was a complex one. There were many educated
unified China after centuries of disunity. To protect Japan’s
Korean and Chinese immigrants who served as instructors,
survival in the precarious international scene, Sho¯toku and
interpreters, artists, technicians, and scribes for the imperial
his advisers attempted to strengthen the fabric of national
court and influential uji leaders of the state. Over the course
community by working out a multireligious policy reconcil-
of time, the intelligentsia learned the use of literary Chinese
ing the particularistic Japanese religious tradition with the
and for many centuries used it for writing historical and offi-
universal principles of Confucianism and Buddhism.
cial records. Poets, too, learned to express themselves in Chi-
Sho¯toku’s mentor here was clearly Emperor Wen (r. 581–
nese verse or, as in the Man’yo¯shu¯, the eighth-century poetry
605) of the Sui dynasty, who unified the races, cultures, and
anthology, utilized Chinese characters as a form of syllabary
vast and diverse areas of China by utilizing Confucianism,
to render their oral verses. The people accepted Chinese as
Buddhism, and to a lesser degree Daoism as the arms of the
a written, but not a spoken, language. Even so, through this
throne. Moreover, his claim to semidivine status was sanc-
one-sided medium the inhabitants of the Japanese islands
tioned and authenticated by various religious symbols.
gained access to the rich civilization of China, and Chinese
culture became the major resource and model for the emerg-
Sho¯toku himself was a pious Buddhist and is reputed
ing state of Japan.
to have delivered learned lectures on selected Buddhist scrip-
tures. Yet his policies, as exemplified in the establishment of
Through written media, the Japanese came to know the
the Chinese-style “cap ranks” of twelve grades for court min-
mystical tradition of philosophical Daoism, which enriched
isters or in the promulgation of the Seventeen-Article Con-
their aesthetic tradition. The Japanese also learned of the yin-
stitution, represented an indigenous attempt to reconcile
yang school’s concepts of the two principles (yin and yang),
Buddhist and Confucian traditions with the native Japanese
the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth), and
religious tradition. Sho¯toku envisaged a centralized national
the orderly rotation of these elements in the formation of na-
community under the throne, and he advocated the venera-
ture, seasons, and the human being. The yin-yang school
tion of Buddhism as the final refuge of all creatures. More-
thus provided cosmological theories to the hitherto nonspec-
over, he held the Confucian notion of li (propriety) to be the
ulative Japanese religion. It was also through written Chinese
key to right relations among ruler, ministers, and people.
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JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4783
Sho¯toku was convinced that his policy was in keeping with
od (640–655). The government also elevated the Office of
the will of the kami. In his edict of 607, he states that his
Kami Affairs (Kanzukasa) to a full-fledged Department of
imperial ancestors had venerated the heavenly and earthly
Kami Affairs (Jingikan), charged with supervising all official-
kami and, thus, the winter (yin, negative cosmic force) and
ly sponsored Shinto¯ shrines and overseeing the registers of
summer (yang, positive cosmic force) elements remained in
the entire Shinto¯ priesthood and other religious corpora-
harmony, with their creative powers blended. He urged his
tions. The Jingikan was given equal rank with the Great
ministers to do the same.
Council of State (Dajokan).
Prince Sho¯toku took the initiative in reestablishing dip-
NARA PERIOD (710–784). During the eighth century Japa-
lomatic contact with China by sending an envoy to the Sui
nese religion reached an important stage of maturity under
court. He also sent a number of talented young scholars and
Chinese and Buddhist influence. It was a golden age for the
monks to China to study. Although Sho¯toku’s reform mea-
Ritsuryo¯ state and the imperial court. Thanks to the newly
sures remained unfulfilled at his untimely death, the individ-
acquired Chinese script, the two mythohistorical writings—
uals he sent to China later played important roles in the de-
the Kojiki and the Nihonshoki—as well as the Fudoki (Re-
velopment of Japanese religions and national affairs upon
cords of local surveys), the Man’yo¯shu¯ (Anthology of myriad
their return.
leaves), and the Kaifuso (Fond recollection of poetry) were
compiled. Also in this century, the Yoro Ritsuryo¯ (Yoro
THE RITSURYO¯ SYNTHESIS. Prince Sho¯toku’s death was fol-
penal and civil codes), the legal foundation of the Ritsuryo¯
lowed by a series of bloody power struggles, including a coup
state, was fixed in writing.
d’état in 645, which paradoxically strengthened the position
of the throne. The Taika reforms of 645 and 646 attempted
The immanental theocratic principle of the Ritsuryo¯
to consolidate the power of the centralized government by
state was based on the myth of the solar ancestry of the impe-
such Chinese-style measures as land redistribution, collec-
rial house. Similarly, the compilation of the Kojiki and the
tion of revenues, and a census. During the second half of the
Nihonshoki was ordered by Emperor Tenmu in 673 to justify
seventh century the government, utilizing the talents of those
his accession to the throne. Thus, although the format of
who had studied in China, sponsored the compilation of a
these chronicles was modeled after Chinese dynastic histo-
written law code. Significantly, those penal codes (ritsu; Chi-
ries, their task was to sort out myths, legends, and historical
nese, lü) and civil statutes (ryo; Chinese, ling), which were
events in such a way as to establish direct genealogical con-
modeled after Chinese legal systems, were issued in the name
nections between the contemporary imperial house and the
of the emperor as the will of the kami. The government
sun deity. With this objective in mind, the chroniclers
structure thus developed during the late seventh century is
worked out a transition from the domain of myths (narra-
referred to as the Ritsuryo¯ (imperial rescript) state. Although
tives with divine actors), classified as the “age of kami,” to
the basic principle of the Ritsuryo¯ state was in a sense a logi-
the “historical” accounts of legendary emperors, who were
cal implementation of Prince Sho¯toku’s vision, which itself
presumed to be direct ancestors of the imperial house. Al-
was a synthesis of Buddhist, Confucian, and Japanese tradi-
though the chronologies in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki were
tions, it turned out to be in effect a form of immanental the-
obviously fabricated, these mythohistorical writings provide
ocracy, in which the universal principles of Dao and Dharma
a rich source of myths in which the ethos and meaning struc-
were domesticated to serve the will of the sovereign, who
ture of early Japanese religion unfold. Later, under the guide
now was elevated to the status of a living or manifest kami.
of nativist scholars (kokugakusha), these two chronicles came
to be regarded as semi-canonical scriptures of Shinto¯.
The government’s effort to consolidate the Ritsuryo¯
structure was initially resisted by the former uji chieftains
The Man’yo¯shu¯ is as important as the chronicles for our
and provincial magnates who had residual power in the
understanding of early Japanese religion. In its literary form,
court. Ironically, after usurping the throne from his uncle,
the Man’yo¯shu¯ utilized Chinese characters only for their
Emperor Tenmu (r. 673–686) managed to bring new ele-
sound value, disregarding their lexical meaning. Many of the
ments into the rank of court nobility and to reorganize the
poems in this anthology portray an interpenetration of what
governmental structure. Tenmu ordered the compilation of
we now call religious, aesthetic, and political values. The
two historical writings, the Kojiki (Record of ancient matters,
Man’yo¯shu¯ also reveals the crucial religio-political role oral
completed in 712) and the Nihongi (or Nihonshoki, the
poets played in public and ritual declamations of the sacred
Chronicle of Japan, completed in 720). Tenmu is also credit-
order of the heavens and the human realm.
ed with canonizing Amaterasu, the sun deity, as the ancestral
In contrast to earlier periods, when Korean forms of
kami and with making her Grand Shrine of Ise the tutelary
Buddhism influenced Japan, early eighth-century Japan felt
shrine of the imperial house.
the strong impact of Chinese Buddhism. In 710 the first cap-
One characteristic policy of the Ritsuryo¯ state was to
ital, modeled after the Chinese capital of Chang’an, was es-
support and control all of the religious ways. Thus, the gov-
tablished in Nara, which was designed to serve as the reli-
ernment enforced the Soniryo, or Law Governing Monks
gious as well as the political center of the nation. During the
and Nuns, which was modeled after a Chinese code, the Law
Nara period, the imperial court was eager to promote Bud-
Governing Daoist and Buddhist Priests, of the Yonghui peri-
dhism as the religion best suited for the protection of the
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4784
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
state. Accordingly, in every province the government estab-
moted by reported oracles from the Great Sun Deity of the
lished state-sponsored temples (kokubunji) and nunneries
Inner Shrine of Ise and from the kami Hachiman of the Usa
(kokubunniji). In the capital city the national cathedral,
Shrine in Kyushu. Indeed, Hachiman was explicitly equated
To¯daiji was built as the home of the gigantic bronze statue
with a Buddhist bodhisattva. This Shinto¯-Buddhist amalga-
of the buddha Vairocana. The government sponsored and
mation, which began in the eighth century and later came
supported six schools of Chinese Buddhism. Of the six, the
to be called Ryobu (two aspects) Shinto¯, remained the insti-
Ritsu (Vinaya) school was concerned primarily with monas-
tutional norm until the forced separation of Buddhism from
tic disciplines. The other five were more like monastic
Shinto¯ shrines in the late nineteenth century.
schools based on different philosophical traditions than sec-
E
tarian groups. For example, the two H¯ınaya¯na schools—the
ROSION OF THE RITSURYO
¯ IDEAL. In 794 the capital was
moved from Nara to a remote site and then again ten years
Kusha (deriving its name from the Abhidharmakósa) and the
later to the present Kyoto. The new capital in Kyoto, called
Jojitsu (deriving its name from the Satyasiddhi)—were de-
Heiankyo (capital of peace and tranquility), was modeled
voted to cosmological and psychological analysis of elements
after the Chinese capital. Although Kyoto remained the seat
of the universe, whereas the Sanron (Ma¯dhyamika) school
of the imperial court until the nineteenth century, the Heian
specialized in dialectic analysis of concepts in order to sup-
period covers only the period from the late eighth to the late
press all duality for the sake of gaining perfect wisdom. The
twelfth century, when political power was concentrated in
Kegon school (deriving its name from the Avatam:saka Su¯tra)
the capital. Eager to restore the integrity of the Ritsuryo¯ sys-
was a form of cosmotheism, viewing the cosmos itself as di-
tem, the leaders of the Kyoto regime forbade the Nara Bud-
vine, and the Hosso¯ (Yoga¯ca¯ra), probably the most influen-
dhist schools to move into the new capital. Instead, the impe-
tial system during the Nara period, stressed analysis of the
rial court favored, side by side with Shinto¯, two new
nature of things and a theory of causality. Only those who
Buddhist schools, Tendai (Chinese, Tiantai) and Shingon
had taken vows at one of the three official ordination plat-
(Chinese, Zhenyan), introduced by Saicho¯ (767–822) and
forms were qualified to be ordained monks. With govern-
Ku¯kai (774–835), respectively. Both Saicho¯ and Ku¯kai had
ment subsidies, the monks were able to devote their lives to
been disillusioned in their youth by the formalism and moral
the study of the doctrinal intricacies of their respective
decadence of the Buddhist schools in Nara, both had studied
schools.
in China, and both were to exert great influence on the fur-
Despite such encouragement and support from the gov-
ther development of Japanese religion.
ernment, monastic Buddhism did not have much impact on
Saicho¯, also known by his posthumous name, Dengyo¯
the populace. More important were three new religious
daishi, established the monastic center of the Tendai school
forms that developed out of the fusion between the Japanese
at Mount Hiei, not far from Kyoto, and incorporated the
religious heritage and Buddhism. The first new form was the
doctrines of the Saddharmapun:d:ar¯ıka (Lotus of the good
Nature Wisdom school (Jinenchishu), which sought enlight-
law) Su¯tra, esoteric (i.e., Tantric) forms of meditation and
enment by meditation or austere physical discipline in the
ritual practice, Zen (Chinese, Chan) meditation, and monas-
mountains and forests. Those who followed this path, in-
tic discipline (Vinaya) into his teachings. He was conciliatory
cluding some official monks, affirmed the superiority of en-
to the kami cults and his form of Shinto¯-Buddhist (Tendai)
lightenment through nature to the traditional Buddhist dis-
amalgam came to be known as Sanno¯ Ichijitsu (one reality)
ciplines and doctrines. The indigenous acceptance of the
Shinto¯. Shortly after Saicho¯’s death, the Tendai school in-
sacrality of the phenomenal world was thus reaffirmed.
creasingly stressed its esoteric elements to the extent that it
Second, a variety of folk religious leaders, variously
came to be styled Taimitsu (Tendai Esoterism). The Tendai
called private monks (shidoso) and unordained monks (uba-
monastic complex at Mount Hiei remained for centuries a
soku; from Sanskrit upasaka), emerged. Many of them were
most powerful institution and produced many prominent re-
magicians, healers, and shamanic diviners of the mountain
ligious figures during the medieval period.
districts or the countryside who came under nominal Bud-
dhist influence, although they had little or no formal Bud-
Ku¯kai, known posthumously as Kobo Daishi, estab-
dhist training. Their religious outlook was strongly influ-
lished the Shingon monastic center at Mount Koya, not far
enced by the popular religious traditions and Daoism, but
from present-day Osaka. He also served as the head of the
they also appropriated many features of Buddhism and
prestigious Toji (Eastern Temple) in Kyoto. As a result,
taught simple and syncretistic folk Buddhism among the
Ku¯kai’s teachings are often referred to as To¯mitsu (Eastern
lower strata of society.
esoterism). Ku¯kai was noted for his exceptional erudition.
His scheme of the ten stages of spiritual development includ-
A third new form grew out of the interpenetration and
ed teachings from all the major Buddhist schools and also
amalgamation of the kami cults and Buddhism, whereby
from Hinduism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Moreover, he
Shinto¯ shrines found their way into the compounds of Bud-
taught that the essential truth of esoteric teaching could be
dhist temples and Buddhist chapels were built within the
revealed in art, thus affirming the mutual penetration of aes-
precincts of Shinto¯ shrines. This development can be seen
thetic and religious experiences. The Shingon school provid-
in the history of the construction of To¯daiji, which was pro-
ed the theoretical basis for Ryobu Shinto¯, as mentioned earli-
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JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4785
er. According to both the Tendai and Shingon traditions of
grandson, Ninigi, and his descendants to “reign” and “rule”
the Shinto¯-Buddhist amalgam, Shinto¯ kami were believed to
the world, meaning Japan, in perpetuity. Ironically, during
be manifestations (suijaku) of the buddhas who were the
the Heian period the two institutions that were most closely
original realities (onji).
related to the throne, namely, the Fujiwara regency and rule
by retired monarchs (insei), undercut the structure of the
Meanwhile, in an important step toward restoring the
Ritsuryo¯ system. The regency had been exercised before the
Ritsuryo¯ system, the government sponsored the Shinsen sho-
ninth century only by members of the royal family and only
jiroku (New compilation of the register of families), complet-
in times when the reigning monarch needed such assistance.
ed in 815. It divided the aristocracy into three categories: (1)
But from the late ninth century to the mid-eleventh century,
descendants of heavenly and earthly kami (shinbetsu); (2) de-
the nation was actually ruled by the regency of the powerful
scendants of imperial and other royal families (kobetsu); and
Fujiwara family. The institutionalization of the regency im-
(3) descendants of naturalized Chinese and Koreans (banbet-
plied a significant redefinition of the Ritsuryo¯ system by the
su). The preface to this register acknowledged that provincial
aristocracy. The aristocratic families acknowledged the sa-
records had all been burned. Thus, in the absence of reliable
crality of the throne, but they expected the emperor to reign
documents, many commoners pretended to be scions of no-
or act ritually only as the manifest kami and not to interfere
blemen, while the children of naturalized Chinese and Kore-
with the actual operation of the government. The latter was
ans claimed to be the descendants of specific Japanese kami.
believed to be the prerogative of the aristocratic officials.
Despite the admission of the impossibility of the task in-
Moreover, the Fujiwaras, who had managed to marry off
volved, the register presented the purported genealogies of
their daughters to reigning monarchs, claimed added privi-
1,182 families as an essential instrument in the hands of the
leges as the titular sovereigns’ maternal in-laws.
nation.
Nearly a century after the compilation of the Shinsen
The custom of rule by retired monarchs began in the
shojiroku, the government undertook the ambitious enter-
eleventh century, when ambitious monarchs abdicated for
prise of collecting all supplementary rules to previously pro-
the purpose of exercising power from behind the throne with
mulgated edicts and ceremonial rules known during the Engi
the claim that they were still legitimate heads of the patriar-
era (901–922). Of the fifty books that comprise these docu-
chal imperial family. This institution of insei was weakened
ments, the Engishiki, the first ten are devoted to minute rules
by the end of the twelfth century and effectively ended owing
and procedures of dealing with various aspects of Shinto¯,
to the growth of political power held by provincial warrior
such as festivals, the Grand Shrine of Ise, enthronement cere-
families.
monies, ritual prayers (norito), and a register of kami. Of spe-
The Heian period witnessed the phenomenal growth of
cial importance to the understanding of Japanese religion are
wealth and political influence of ecclesiastical institutions,
the ritual prayers, some of which might be traced back to the
both Shinto¯ and Buddhist, equipped with lucrative manors
mid-sixth century when ritualized recitation of prayers, in-
and armed guards. However, among the members of the
spired by the Buddhist example of reciting scriptures (su¯tras)
lower strata of society, who were largely neglected by estab-
developed. The remaining forty books of the Engishiki are
lished religious groups, magico-religious beliefs and practices
detailed descriptions of rules and regulations of all the bu-
of both indigenous and Chinese origins prevailed. In addi-
reaus under the Grand Council of State (Dajokan), includ-
tion to healers, diviners, sorcerers, and the practitioners of
ing numerous references to affairs related to Shinto¯. The sec-
onmyo¯do¯ (yin-yang and Daoist magic), mountain ascetics
tion on the Bureau of Yin-Yang (Onmyoryo), Book 16,
(shugenja)—heirs of the shamanistic folk religious leaders of
mentions the duties of masters and doctors of divination and
the Nara period—attracted followers in places high and low.
astrology in reciting the ritual prayers (saimon) addressed to
In the course of time, mountain ascetics allied themselves
heavenly and earthly kami.
with the Tendai and Shingon schools and came to be known
The underlying principle of the Engishiki, which epito-
as the Tendai-Shugendo and the Shingon-Shugendo, respec-
mized the Ritsuryo¯ ideal, was that the imperial court was the
tively.
earthly counterpart of the heavenly court. Just as the court
Female religious figures of various sorts also helped to
of the Sun Deity included various functionaries, the imperial
spread Buddhism among the masses, while lay religious itin-
court included religious and administrative functionaries,
erants also helped to spread the fame of certain temple-shrine
and the stylized daily rituals of the court, properly per-
complexes. Such literary works as the Genji monogatari (Tale
formed, had great bearing on the harmonious blending of
of Genji) by Lady Murasaki and the Makura no soshi (Pillow
the yin and yang elements in the cosmos, as well as on the
book) by Lady Sei-shonagon also reveal that during this peri-
welfare of the people. Though the Engishiki was completed
od many calamities, ranging from earthquakes, fires, floods,
in 927, it was not put into effect until 967, by which time
and epidemics to civil wars, were widely believed to have
the very ideal of the Ritsuryo¯ system was again eroding.
been caused by the vengeance of angry spirits (goryo). Some
The foundation of the Ritsuryo¯ system was the sacred
of these spirits came to be venerated as kami and shrines were
monarchy, authenticated by the mythohistorical claim that
built to honor—but also to confine—them. Festivals for
Amaterasu, the Sun Deity, had given the mandate to her
such angry spirits (goryo-e), with music, dance, wrestling,
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4786
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
archery, and horse racing, as well as Shinto¯, Buddhist, and
ing standard improved a little under the Kamakura regime,
yin-yang liturgies, were held in order to pacify the anger of
were attracted to new religious movements that promised an
goryo and, thus, to protect the populace.
easier path to salvation in the dreaded age of degeneration
(mappo¯). On the other hand, the Zen traditions, which had
Frequent occurrences of natural calamities also precipi-
been a part of older Buddhist schools, gained independence
tated the widespread belief that the apocalyptic age of the
under the influence of the Chinese Chan movement and
Latter Days of the Law (mappo¯) predicted in Buddhist scrip-
quickly found patronage among the Kamakura rulers.
ture was at hand. This may also account for the growing pop-
ularity of the Buddha Amida (Sanskrit, Amita¯bha, the Bud-
Significantly, all the leaders of new religious movements
dha of Infinite Light, or Amitayus, the Buddha of Infinite
during this period began their careers at the Tendai head-
Life), who had vowed to save all sentient beings and had
quarters at Mount Hiei, but all had become disillusioned
promised rebirth in his Pure Land to the faithful. Amida
with the established schools for one reason or another. Three
Buddhism was to become a powerful spiritual movement in
of these leaders altered their religious resolutions when they
the following centuries. The Heian period, and the elegant
found certitude of salvation in reliance on the compassionate
culture it produced, vanished in the late twelfth century in
Amida by nembutsu (recitation of the Buddha’s name). They
a series of bloody battles involving both courtiers and war-
then became instrumental in the establishment of the three
riors. It was followed by a new age dominated by warrior
Pure Land (Amida’s Western Paradise) traditions. They were
rulers.
respectively, Ho¯nen (Genku, 1133–1212) of the Jo¯do (Pure
Land) sect, who is often compared with Martin Luther;
RELIGIOUS ETHOS DURING THE KAMAKURA PERIOD. The
Shinran (1173–1263) of the Jo¯do Shin (True Pure Land)
country was ruled by warrior-rulers from the late twelfth to
sect, a disciple of Hönen, who among other things initiated
the nineteenth century, even though the emperor continued
the tradition of a married priesthood; and Ippen (Chishin,
to reign throughout these centuries. This is a matter of con-
1239–1289) of the Ji (Time) sect, so named because of the
siderable significance for the development of Japanese reli-
practice of reciting hymns to Amida six times a day. On the
gions. There were three such feudal warrior regimes (bakufu
other hand, Nichiren (1222–1282), founder of the school
or shogunates): (1) the Kamakura regime (1185–1333); (2)
bearing his name and a charismatic prophet, developed his
the Ashikaga regime (1338–1573); and (3) the Tokugawa re-
own interpretation of the Hokekyo (Lotus Su¯tra), the
gime (1600–1868). Unlike the Ritsuryo¯ state, with its elabo-
Saddharmapun:d:ar¯ıka Su¯tra, as the only path toward salva-
rate penal and civil codes, the warrior rule—at least under
tion for the Japanese nation.
the first two regimes—was based on a much simpler legal sys-
tem. For example, the legislation of the Kamakura regime
In contrast to the paths of salvation advocated by the
consisted of only fifty-one pragmatic principles. This allowed
Pure Land and Nichiren schools, the experience of enlight-
established Shinto¯ and Buddhist institutions more freedom
enment (satori) was stressed by Eisai (Yosai, 1141–1215),
than they had had under the cumbersome structure of the
who introduced the Rinzai (Chinese, Linji) Zen tradition,
Ritsuryo¯ state. It also set the stage for the development of
and Do¯gen (1200–1253), who established the So¯to¯ (Chi-
new religious movements, many with roots in the folk tradi-
nese, Caodong) Zen tradition. Zen was welcomed by Kama-
tion. Moreover, over time the power of major Buddhist insti-
kura leaders, partly because it could counterbalance the pow-
tutions and schools, including the Tendai, Shingon, and the
erful and wealthy established Buddhist institutions and
Pure Land, was severely curtailed by brutal wars waged by
partly because Zen priests could introduce other features of
Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) and other warriors against the
Song Chinese culture, including neo-Confucian learning.
so¯hei (monk-soldiers) and adherents of these religious groups.
The Zen movement was greatly aided by a number of émigré
Chan monks who settled in Japan.
Unlike the Fujiwara noblemen and retired monarchs,
Despite the growth of new religious movements, old re-
who had wielded power from within the framework of the
ligious establishments, both Shinto¯ and Buddhist, remained
imperial court, the Kamakura regime established its own ad-
powerful during this period. For example, both gave military
ministrative structure consisting of three bureaus: military,
support to the royalist cause against the Kamakura regime
administrative, and judiciary. The warriors, for the most
during the abortive Jokyu rebellion in 1221. On the other
part, were not very sophisticated in cultural and religious
hand, confronted by a national crisis during the Mongol in-
matters. Many of them, however, combined simple Buddhist
vasions of 1274 and 1281, both Shinto¯ shrines and Buddhist
piety with devotion to the tutelary kami of their families
monasteries solidly supported the Kamakura regime by offer-
rather than those of the imperial Shinto¯ tradition. In part,
ing prayers and incantations for the protection of Japan.
the cohesion of the warrior society, not unlike the early Ya-
mato confederation of semiautonomous clans, was based on
A short-lived “imperial rule” from 1333 to 1336 fol-
the uji and the larger unit of uji federation. Accordingly, the
lowed the decline of the Kamakura regime. This rule aided
tutelary kami of warrior families (for example, Hachiman,
the Ise Shinto¯ movement, which tried, not very successfully,
the kami of war of the Minamoto uji, the founders of the
to emancipate Shinto¯ from Buddhist and Chinese influence.
Kamakura regime) increased in prominence. At the same
Ise Shinto¯ influenced the royalist general Kitabatake Chika-
time, the peasantry, artisans, and small merchants, whose liv-
fusa (1293–1354), author of the Jinno¯ sho¯to¯ki (Records of the
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JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4787
legitimate succession of the divine sovereigns). The imperial
trade, So¯seki’s temple, Tenryu¯ji, sent ships to China for this
regime was also instrumental in shifting the centers of Zen
purpose. Many Zen priests served as advisers to administra-
and Song learning, established by the Kamakura regime in
tive offices of the regime. With the rise of the Ming dynasty
the Chinese-style Gozan (“five mountains”) temples, to
(1368–1644), which replaced Mongol rule, the third Ashika-
Kyoto.
ga shogun resumed official diplomatic relations with China,
again depending heavily on the assistance of Zen priests.
ZEN, NEO-CONFUCIANISM, AND KIRISHITAN DURING THE
After the third shogun regularized two Gozan (the five offi-
ASHIKAGA PERIOD. Unlike the first feudal regime at Kama-
cially recognized Zen temples) systems, one in Kyoto and the
kura, the Ashikaga regime established its bakufu in Kyoto,
second in Kamakura, Gozan temples served as important fi-
the seat of the imperial court. Accordingly, religious and cul-
nancial resources for the regime. Many Zen priests earned
tural development during the Ashikaga period (1336–1573,
reputations as monk-poets or monk-painters, and Gozan
also referred to as the Muromachi period) blended various
temples became centers of cultural and artistic activities.
features of warrior and courtier traditions, Zen, and Chinese
cultural influences. This blending in turn fostered a deeper
Zen priests, including émigré Chinese Chan monks,
interpenetration of religious and aesthetic values. All these
also made contributions as transmitters of neo-Con-
religious and cultural developments took place at a time
fucianism, a complex philosophical system incorporating not
when social and political order was threatened not only by
only classical Confucian thought but also features of Bud-
a series of bloody power struggles within the bakufu, but also
dhist and Daoist traditions that had developed in China dur-
by famines and epidemics that led to peasant uprisings. The
ing the Northern Song (960–1127) and Southern Song
devastating O
¯ nin War (1467–1477) accelerated the erosion
(1127–1279) periods. It should be noted that neo-
of Ashikaga hegemony and the rise of competing daimyo¯, the
Confucianism was initially conceived in Japan as a cultural
so-called sengoku daimyo¯ (feudal lords of warring states), in
appendage to Zen. Soon, however, many Zen monks upheld
the provinces. In this situation of shifting fortunes and power
the unity of Zen and neo-Confucian traditions to the extent
vacuums, villages and towns sometimes developed some-
that the entire teaching staff and all the students of the Ashi-
thing analogous to self-rule. Merchants and artisans formed
kaga Academy, presumably a nonreligious institution devot-
guilds (za) that were usually affiliated with established Bud-
ed to neo-Confucian learning, were Zen monks.
dhist temples and Shinto¯ shrines, whereas adherents of Pure
The combined inspiration of Japanese and Song Chi-
Land and Nichiren sects showed themselves willing to de-
nese aesthetics, Zen, and Pure Land traditions, coupled with
fend themselves as armed religious societies. Into this com-
the enthusiastic patronage of shoguns and daimyo¯, made
plex religious, cultural, social, and political topography, Eu-
possible the growth of a variety of elegant and sophisticated
ropean missionaries of Roman Catholicism, then known as
art: painting, calligraphy, renga (linked verse), stylized No¯
Kirishitan, brought a new gospel of salvation to Japan.
drama, comical kyogen plays, flower arrangement, and the
Throughout the Ashikaga period, established institu-
cult of tea. Some of these art forms are considered as much
tions of older Buddhist schools and Shinto¯ (for example, the
a religious “way” or discipline (do¯ or michi) as the “ways” of
Tendai monastery at Mount Hiei, the Shingon monastery
kami or the Buddha, implying that they are also soteriologi-
at Mount Koya, and the Kasuga Shrine in Nara) remained
cal paths.
both politically and economically powerful. However, the
THE COMING OF KIRISHITAN. When the O
¯ nin War ended
new religious groups that had begun to attract the lower stra-
in 1477, the Ashikaga regime could no longer control the
ta of society during the Kamakura period continued to ex-
ambitious provincial daimyo¯ who were consolidating their
pand their influence, often competing among themselves.
own territories. By the sixteenth century Portugal was ex-
Some of these new religious groups staged a series of armed
panding its overseas empire in Asia. The chance arrival of
rebellions—such as Hokke ikki (uprisings of Nichiren fol-
shipwrecked Portuguese merchants at Tanegashima Island,
lowers) and ikko¯ ikki (uprisings of the True Pure Land fol-
south of Kyushu, in 1543 was followed by the arrival in Kyu-
lowers)—to defend themselves against each other or against
shu in 1549 of the famous Jesuit Francis Xavier. Although
oppressive officialdoms. The Order of Mountain Ascetics
Xavier stayed only two years in Japan, he initiated vigorous
(Shugendo) also became institutionalized as the eclectic Shu-
proselytizing activities during that time.
genshu (Shugen sect) and promoted devotional confraterni-
ties (kosha) among villagers and townspeople, competing
The cause of Kirishitan (as Roman Catholicism was
with the other new religious groups.
then called in Japanese) was greatly aided by the strongman
Oda Nobunaga, who succeeded in taking control of the capi-
Zen and neo-Confucianism. By far the most influen-
tal in 1568. Angry that established Buddhist institutions
tial religious sect during the Ashikaga period was Zen, espe-
were resisting his scheme of national unification, Nobunaga
cially the Rinzai Zen tradition, which became de facto the
took harsh measures. He burned the Tendai monastery at
official religion. The first Ashikaga shogun, following the ad-
Mount Hiei, killed thousands of Ikko (True Pure Land) fol-
vice of his confidant, Muso¯ So¯seki established a “temple for
lowers, and attacked rebellious priests at Mount Koya to de-
the peace of the nation” (ankokuji) in each province. As eco-
stroy their power. At the same time, ostensibly to counteract
nomic necessity compelled the regime to turn to foreign
the residual influence of Buddhism, he encouraged Kirishi-
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4788
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
tan activities, a policy reversed after his death. Nevertheless,
1. Political order. The Tokugawa form of government,
by the time Nobunaga was himself assassinated, there were
usually known as the baku-han, was a national adminis-
reportedly 150,000 Japanese Catholics, including several
tration (bakufu) under the shogun combined with local
daimyo¯.
administration by daimyo¯ in their fiefs (han).
The initial success of Catholicism in Japan was due to
2. Social order. Under the Tokugawa regime, Japanese so-
the Jesuits’ policy of accommodation. Xavier himself adopt-
ciety was rigidly divided into warrior, farmer, artisan,
ed the name Dainichi (the Great Sun Buddha, the supreme
and merchant classes, plus special categories such as im-
deity of the Shingon school) as the designation of God.
perial and courtier families and ecclesiastics. According-
Later, however, the name was changed to Deus. Jesuits also
ly, one’s birth dictated one’s status as well as one’s duties
used the Buddhist terms jo¯do (pure land) for heaven and so
to nation and family and one’s role in social relations.
(monk) for the title padre. Moreover, Kirishitan groups fol-
3. Legal order. The Tokugawas formulated a series of ad-
lowed the general pattern of forming tightly knit religious
ministrative and legislative principles, as well as rules
societies as practiced by the Nichiren and Pure Land groups.
and regulations (hatto) that dictated the boundaries and
Missionaries also followed the common Japanese approach
norms of behavior of various imperial, social, and reli-
in securing the favor of the ruling class to expedite their evan-
gious groups.
gelistic and philanthropic activities. Conversely, trade-
hungry daimyo¯ eagerly befriended missionaries, knowing
4. Philosophical order. The Tokugawa synthesis was based
that the latter had influence over Portuguese traders. In fact,
on the neo-Confucian principle that the order of Heav-
one Christian daimyo¯ donated the port of Nagasaki to the
en is not transcendental but rather is inherent in the sa-
Society of Jesus in 1580, hoping to attract Portuguese ships
crality of nation, family, and social hierarchy.
there, which would in turn benefit him, not least by supply-
5. Religious order. In sharp contrast to the principle of sa-
ing modern firearms. Inevitably, however, Jesuit-inspired
cred kingship that authenticated the immanental theo-
missionary work aroused strong opposition not only from
cratic state as the nation of the kami, the Tokugawas
anti-Kirishitan daimyo¯ and Buddhist clerics but from jealous
looked to the throne to add a magico-religious aura to
Franciscans and other Catholic orders as well. Furthermore,
their own version of immanental theocracy. They
the Portuguese traders who supported the Jesuits were now
grounded this notion in what they felt were the “natu-
threatened by the arrival of the Spanish in 1592, via Mexico
ral” laws and “natural” norms implicit in human, social,
and the Philippines, and of the Dutch in 1600.
and political order. The first shogun, Ieyasu, was deified
Meanwhile, following the death of Oda Nobunaga, one
as the Sun God of the East (Tosho) and was enshrined
of his generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–1598), endeav-
as the guardian deity of the Tokugawas at Nikko¯. Ac-
ored to complete the task of national unification. Deter-
cording to the Tokugawas, all religions were to become
mined to eliminate the power of Buddhist institutions, he
integral and supportive elements of the Tokugawa syn-
not only attacked rebellious monastic communities, such as
thesis. However, they tolerated no prophetic judgment
those in Negoro and Saiga, but also conducted a thorough
or critique of the whole system.
sword hunt in various monastic communities. Hideyoshi was
6. Moral order. Running through the Tokugawa synthesis
interested in foreign trade, but he took a dim view of Cathol-
was a sense of moral order that held the balance of the
icism because of its threat to the cause of national unifica-
total system. Its basic formula was simple: the Way of
tion. He was incensed by what he saw in Nagasaki, a port
Heaven was the natural norm, and the way of govern-
that was then ruled by the Jesuits and the Portuguese. In
ment, following the principle of benevolent rule (jinsei),
1587 he issued an edict banishing missionaries but did not
was to actualize this moral order. This demanded some-
enforce it until 1596, when he heard a rumor that the Span-
thing of each person in order to fulfill the true meaning
ish monarch was plotting to subjugate Japan with the help
of the relations (taigi-meibun) among the different sta-
of Japanese Christians. In 1597 he had some twenty-six
tus groups. Warriors, for example, were expected to fol-
Franciscans and Japanese converts crucified. The following
low Bushido¯ (“the way of the warrior”).
year, Hideyoshi himself died in the midst of his abortive in-
Kirishitan under Tokugawa rule. The religious policy
vasion of Korea.
of the Tokugawa regime was firmly established by the first
THE TOKUGAWA SYNTHESIS. The power struggle that fol-
shogun, who held that all religious, philosophical, and ethi-
lowed the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi was settled in 1600
cal systems were to uphold and cooperate with the govern-
in favor of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616), who established
ment’s objective, namely, the establishment of a harmonious
the bakufu in 1603 at Edo (present Tokyo). The Tokugawa
society. The first shogun stated in an edict of 1614: “Japan
regime, which was to hold political power until the Meiji res-
is called the land of the Buddha and not without rea-
toration in 1868, was more than another feudal regime; it
son. . . . Kami and the Buddha differ in name, but their
was a comprehensive sixfold order—political, social, legal,
meaning is one” (quoted in Sir Charles Eliot, Japanese Bud-
philosophical, religious, and moral—with the shogun in its
dhism, p. 309). Accordingly, he surrounded himself with a
pivotal position.
variety of advisers, including Buddhist clerics and Confucian
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4789
scholars, and shared their view that the Kirishitan religion
Zhuxi) tradition, tried to relate the ri (Chinese, li, “reason,
could not be incorporated into the framework of Japanese
principle”) of neo-Confucianism to Shinto¯. Another Shushi
religion and would be detrimental to the cause of social and
scholar, Yamazaki Ansai (1618–1682), went so far as to de-
political harmony. Nevertheless, the Tokugawa regime’s ini-
velop a form of Confucian Shinto¯ called Suika Shinto¯. The
tial attitude toward Catholicism was restrained. Perhaps this
Shushi school was acknowledged as the official guiding ideol-
was because the regime did not wish to lose foreign trade by
ogy of the regime and was promoted by powerful members
overt anti-Kirishitan measures. But in 1614 the edict ban-
of the Tokugawa family, including the fifth shogun. Espe-
ning Kirishitan was issued, followed two years later by a stric-
cially noteworthy was Tokugawa Mitsukuni (1628–1701),
ter edict. A series of persecutions of missionaries and Japa-
grandson of the first shogun and the daimyo¯ of Mito, who
nese converts then took place. Following the familiar pattern
gathered together able scholars, including Zhu Shunshui
of religious uprising (such as Hokke ikki and ikko ikki),
(1600–1682), an exiled Ming royalist. He thereby initiated
armed farmers, fishermen, warriors, and their women and
the Mito tradition of Confucianism. The Dainihonshi (His-
children, many of whom were Kirishitan followers, rose in
tory of great Japan), produced by Mito scholars, subsequent-
revolt in 1637 in Shimabara, Kyushu. When the uprising
ly provided the theoretical basis for the royalist movement
was quelled, Kirishitan followers were ordered to renounce
in the nineteenth century.
their faith. If they did not do so, they were tortured to death.
The second tradition of neo-Confucianism, Oyomei-
The regime also took the far more drastic measure of en-
gaku or Yomeigaku (the school of Wang Yangming) held
forcing national seclusion (sakoku) when it cut off all trade
that the individual mind was the manifestation of the univer-
and other relations with foreign powers (with the exception
sal Mind. This school also attracted such able men as Nakae
of the Netherlands). Furthermore, in order to exterminate
Toju (1608–1648) and Kumazawa Banzan (1619–1691).
the forbidden religion of Kirishitan, every family was re-
Oyomeigaku provided ethical incentives for social reform
quired to be registered in a Buddhist temple. However, hid-
and came to have some characteristics of a religious system.
den Kirishitan groups survived these severe persecutions and
Quite different from the traditions of Shushi and Oyomei
have preserved a distinct system of belief and practice into
was the Kogaku (ancient learning) tradition, which aspired
the twenty-first century.
to return to the classical sources of Confucianism. One of
its early advocates, Yamaga Soko (1622–1685), left a lasting
Buddhism and the Tokugawa regime. The Tokugawa
mark on Bushido¯, while another scholar of this school, Ito
regime’s anti-Kirishitan measures required every Japanese
Jinsai (1627–1705), probed the truth of classical Confucian-
citizen to become, at least nominally, Buddhist. Accordingly,
ism, rejecting the metaphysical dualism of Zhu Xi.
the number of Buddhist temples suddenly increased from
13,037 (the number of temples during the Kamakura peri-
Throughout the Tokugawa period, Confucian scholars,
od) to 469,934 during the Tokugawa period, although the
particularly those of the Shushigaku, Oyomeigaku, and Ko-
latter number is disputed. Under Tokugawa rule a compre-
gaku schools, exerted lasting influence on the warriors-
hensive parochial system was created, with Buddhist clerics
turned-administrators, who took up Confucian ideas on the
serving as arms of the ruling regime in charge of thought
art of governing and on the modes of conduct that were ap-
control. In turn, Buddhist temples were tightly controlled by
propriate for warriors, farmers, and townspeople, respective-
the regime, which tolerated internal doctrinal disputes but
ly. Certainly, such movements as Shingaku (mind learning),
not deviation from official governmental policy. Since Bud-
initiated by Ishida Baigan (1685–1744), and Hotoku (repay-
dhist temples were in charge of cemeteries, Buddhism was
ing indebtedness), championed by Ninomiya Sontoku
highly visible to the general populace through burial and me-
(1787–1856), were greatly indebted to Confucian ethical in-
morial services. The only new sect that emerged during the
sights.
Tokugawa period was the O
¯ baku sect of Zen, which was in-
S
troduced from China in the mid-seventeenth century.
HINTO
¯ REVIVAL AND THE DECLINE OF THE TOKUGAWA
REGIME. With the encouragement of anti-Buddhist Confu-
Confucianism and Shinto¯. Neo-Confucianism was
cianists, especially those of Suika Shinto¯, some Shinto¯ leaders
promoted by Zen Buddhists prior to the Tokugawa period.
who were overshadowed by their Buddhist counterparts dur-
Thus, it was taken for granted that neo-Confucian scholars
ing the early Tokugawa period began to assert themselves.
were also Zen clerics. Fujiwara Seika (1561–1619) first advo-
Shinto¯ soon found a new ally in the scholars of Kokugaku
cated the independence of neo-Confucianism from Zen. By
(National Learning) notably Motoori Norinaga (1730–
his recommendation, Hayashi Razan (1583–1657), one of
1801), whose monumental study, Kojiki, provided a theoret-
Seika’s disciples, became the Confucian adviser to the first
ical basis for the Fukko (return to ancient) Shinto¯ move-
shogun, thus commencing the tradition that members of the
ment. Motoori’s junior contemporary, Hirata Atsutane
Hayashi family served as heads of the official Confucian col-
(1776–1843), pushed the cause of Fukko Shinto¯ even fur-
lege, the Shoheiko, under the Tokugawa regime. Razan and
ther. The nationalistic sentiment generated by the leaders of
many neo-Confucians expressed anti-Buddhist sentiments,
the Shinto¯ revival, National Learning, and pro-Shinto¯ Con-
and some Confucian scholars became interested in Shinto¯.
fucians began to turn against the already weakening Toku-
Razan, himself an ardent follower of the Shushi (Chinese,
gawa regime in favor of the emerging royalist cause. The au-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4790
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
thority of the regime was threatened further by the demands
War II, Shinto¯ priests were prohibited by law from preaching
of Western powers to reopen Japan for trade. In time, the
during Shinto¯ ceremonies, although they were responsible—
loosening of the shogunate’s control resulted in political and
as arms of the government bureaucracy—for the preservation
social disintegration, which in turn precipitated the emer-
of State Shinto¯.
gence of messianic cults from the soil of folk religious
traditions. Several important messianic cults developed, in-
In order to keep State Shinto¯ from becoming involved
cluding Kurozumikyo, founded by Kurozumi Munetada
in overtly sectarian activities, the government created be-
(1780–1850); Konkokyo, founded by Kawate Bunjiro
tween 1882 and 1908 a new category of Kyoha (sect) Shinto¯
(1814–1883); and Tenrikyo¯, founded by Nakayama Miki
and recognized thirteen such groups, including the “new reli-
(1798–1887). These so-called new religions have survived
gions” Kurozumikyo, Konkokyo, and Tenrikyo¯, which had
down to the present and remain significant religious commu-
emerged in the late Tokugawa period. Like Buddhist sects
nities.
and Christian denominations, these groups depended on
nongovernmental, private initiative for their propagation, or-
MODERN PERIOD. The checkered development of Japanese
ganization, and financial support. Kyoha Shinto¯ groups,
religion in the modern period reflects a series of political, so-
however, have very little in common. Some consider them-
cial, and cultural changes that have taken place. These
selves genuinely Shinto¯ in beliefs and practices, whereas oth-
changes include rapid urbanization and demographic shifts;
ers are marked by strong Confucian features. Still others be-
industrialization, modernization, and (in some ways) West-
tray characteristic features of folk religious traditions, such
ernization; the toppling of the Tokugawa regime (1868), fol-
as the veneration of sacred mountains, cults of mental and
lowed by the restoration of imperial rule under the Meiji em-
physical purification, utopian beliefs, and faith healing.
peror (r. 1868–1912); the increasing influence of Western
thought and civilization, as well as Christianity; the Sino-
In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries other
Japanese War (1894–1895); the Russo-Japanese War (1904–
“new religions” emerged. One of the most important histori-
1905); the annexation of Korea (1910); World War I, fol-
cally is Omotokyo¯, founded by Deguchi Nao and greatly ex-
lowed by the short-lived Taisho Democracy; the economic
panded under the leadership of her son-in-law, Deguchi
crisis followed by the rise of militarism in the 1930s; the Jap-
Onisaburo. Numerous Omotokyo¯ followers split off over the
anese invasion of Manchuria and China followed by World
decades, founding their own religious movements and com-
War II; Japan’s surrender to the Allied forces (1945); the Al-
munities. In addition, it is important to note that women
lied occupation of Japan; and postwar rebuilding and re-
found leadership roles and positions of power in these reli-
newed economic prosperity. The particular path of develop-
gious movements by practicing and adapting older forms of
ment of Japanese religion was, of course, most directly
shamanic mediumship and forms of faith healing. Figures
affected by the government’s religious policies.
such as Nakayama Miki, earlier in the nineteenth century,
and Deguchi Nao represent the manner in which women
Meiji era. Although the architects of modern Japan wel-
used their experiences of divine possession as authorization
comed many features of Western civilization, the Meiji re-
to speak out against patriarchal oppression and governmental
gime was determined to restore the ancient principle of the
attempts to control religious beliefs and practices. An illiter-
“unity of religion and government” and the immanental
ate former ragpicker, Deguchi Nao came to be seen as a real
theocratic state. Their model was the Ritsuryo¯ system of the
threat to the national government and, consequently, was
seventh and eighth centuries. Accordingly, sacred kingship
imprisoned; in addition, her group was repeatedly harassed
served as the pivot of national policy (kokutai). Thus, while
by government authorities into the twentieth century. This
the constitution nominally guaranteed religious freedom and
fact testifies to the manner in which religious visionary expe-
the ban against Christianity was lifted, the government creat-
rience became, in the hands of lay men and women in Japan,
ed an overarching new religious and ideological system called
a powerful weapon of the weak.
State Shinto¯, which was designed to supersede all other reli-
gious groups. In order to create such a new official religion
Buddhism. The Buddhist establishment was destined
out of the ancient Japanese religious heritage, an edict sepa-
to undergo many traumatic experiences in the modern peri-
rating Shinto¯ and Buddhism (Shin-Butsu hanzen rei) was is-
od. The Meiji regime’s edict separating Shinto¯ and Bud-
sued. The feeling of leading bureaucrats and politicians was
dhism precipitated a popular anti-Buddhist movement that
that the Shinto¯-Buddhist amalgam of the preceding ten cen-
reached its climax around 1871. In various districts temples
turies was contrary to indigenous religious tradition. After
were destroyed, monks and nuns were forcibly laicized, and
the abortive Taikyo Sempu (dissemination of the great doc-
the parochial system, the legacy of the Tokugawa period,
trine) movement and the compulsory registration of Shinto¯
eroded. Moreover, the short-lived Taikyo Sempu movement
parishioners, the government decided to utilize various other
mobilized Buddhist monks to propagate taikyo, or govern-
means, especially military training and public education, to
ment-concocted Shinto¯ doctrines. Naturally, faithful Bud-
promote the sacred “legacy of the kami way” (kannagara).
dhists resented the Shinto¯-dominated Taikyo movement and
This led to the promulgation of the Imperial Rescript to Sol-
advocated the principle of religious freedom. Thus, four
diers and Sailors (1882) and the Imperial Rescript on Educa-
branches of the True Pure Land sect managed to secure per-
tion (1890). Significantly, from 1882 until the end of World
mission to leave the Taikyo movement, and shortly afterward
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4791
the ill-fated movement itself was abolished. In the meantime,
Japan was due to the convergence of several factors. These
enlightened Buddhist leaders, determined to meet the chal-
included pressures both external and internal, both from
lenge of Western thought and scholarship, sent able young
Western powers and from enlightened Buddhist leaders, who
monks to study in Western universities. Exposure to Europe-
demanded religious freedom. Initially, the Meiji regime, in
an buddhological scholarship and contacts with other Bud-
its eagerness to restore the ancient indigenous polity, arrested
dhist traditions in Asia greatly broadened the vista of previ-
over three thousand “hidden Kirishitan” in Kyushu and sent
ously insulated Japanese Buddhists.
them into exile in various parts of the country. However, for-
The government’s grudging decision to succumb to the
eign ministers strongly protested to the Meiji regime, which
pressure of Western powers and to lift the ban against Chris-
was then eager to improve its treaties with Western nations,
tianity was an emotional blow to many Buddhists who had
and urged the government to change its anti-Christian poli-
been charged with the task of carrying out the anti-Kirishitan
cy. Responding to these pressures, the government lifted its
policy of the Tokugawa regime. Thus, a large number of
ban against the “forbidden religion.” This opened the door
Buddhists, including those who had advocated religious free-
to missionary activity by Protestant, as well as Roman Catho-
dom, allied themselves with Shinto¯, Confucian, and nation-
lic and Russian Orthodox, churches. From that time until
alist leaders in an emotional anti-Christian campaign called
1945, Christian movements in Japan walked a tightrope be-
haja kensei (refutation of evil religion and the exaltation of
tween their own religious affirmations and the demands of
righteous religion). After the promulgation of the Imperial
the nation’s inherent immanental theocratic principles.
Rescript on Education in 1890, many Buddhists equated pa-
The legal meaning of religious freedom was stated by
triotism with nationalism, thus becoming willing defenders
Ito Hirobumi (1841–1909), the chief architect of the Meiji
and spokesmen of the emperor cult that symbolized the
Constitution:
unique national polity (kokutai). Although most Buddhists
had no intention of restoring the historical form of the
No believer in this or that religion has the right to place
Shinto¯-Buddhist amalgam, until the end of World War II
himself outside the pale of the law of the Empire, on
they largely accepted Buddhism’s subordinate role in the
the ground that he is serving his god. . . . Thus, al-
though freedom of religious belief is complete and ex-
nebulous but overarching superreligion of State Shinto¯.
empt from all restrictions, so long as manifestations of
Confucianism. Confucians, too, were disappointed by
it are confined to the mind; yet with regard to external
the turn of events during the early days of the Meiji era. It
matters such as forms of worship and the mode of prop-
is well to recall that Confucians were the influential guard-
agation, certain necessary restrictions of law or regula-
ians of the Tokugawa regime’s official ideology. In the late
tions must be provided for, and besides, the general du-
Tokugawa period, though, many of them cooperated with
ties of subjects must be observed.
Shinto¯ and nationalist leaders and prepared the ground for
This understanding of religious freedom was interpreted
the new Japan. Indeed, Confucianism was an intellectual
even more narrowly after the promulgation of the Imperial
bridge between the premodern and modern periods. Al-
Rescript on Education. Spokesmen for anti-Christian groups
though the new regime depended heavily on Confucian ethi-
stressed that the Christian doctrine of universal love was in-
cal principles in its formulation of imperial ideology and the
compatible with the national virtues of loyalty and filial piety
principles of sacred national polity, sensitive Confucians felt
taught explicitly in the Rescript. Some Christian leaders re-
that those Confucian features had been dissolved into a new
sponded by stressing the compatibility of their faith and pa-
overarching framework with heavy imprints of Shinto¯ and
triotism. Although a small group of Christian socialists and
National Learning (Kokugaku). Confucians also resented the
pacifists protested during the Sino-Japanese and Russo-
new regime’s policy of organizing the educational system on
Japanese wars, most Christians passively supported the war
Western models and welcoming Western learning (yogaku)
effort.
at the expense of, they felt, traditionally important Confu-
cian learning (jugaku). After a decade of infatuation with
During the time of infatuation with things Western, cu-
things Western, however, a conservative mood returned,
rious or iconoclastic youths in urban areas were attracted by
much to the comfort of Confucians. With the promulgation
Christianity in part because of its foreignness. As a result,
of the Imperial Rescript on Education and the adoption of
Westernized intellectuals, lesser bureaucrats, and technicians
compulsory “moral teaching” (shushin) in school systems,
became the core of the Christian community. Through
Confucian values were domesticated and represented as in-
them, and through church-related schools, universities, and
digenous moral values. The historic Chinese Confucian no-
philanthropic activities, the Christian influence made a far
tion of wang-dao (the way of true kingship) was recast into
greater impact on Japan than many people realize.
the framework of kodo (the imperial way), and its ethical uni-
Christian churches in Japan, many of which had close
versalism was transformed into nihon-shugi (Japanese-ism).
relationships with their respective counterparts in the West,
As such, “nonreligious” Confucian ethics supported State
experienced difficult times in the 1930s. Under combined
Shinto¯ until the end of World War II.
heavy pressure from militarists and Shinto¯ leaders, both the
Christianity. The appearance—or reappearance, as far
Congregatio de Propaganda Fide in Rome and the National
as Roman Catholicism was concerned—of Christianity in
Christian Council of the Protestant Churches in Japan ac-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4792
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
cepted the government’s interpretation of State Shinto¯ as
weakened the Buddhist parish system (danka), as well as the
nonreligious. In their view, obeisance at the State Shinto¯
Shinto¯ parish systems (ujiko).
shrines as a nonreligious, patriotic act could be performed
The abrogation of the ill-famed Religious Organizations
by all Japanese subjects. In 1939 all aspects of religion were
Law (enacted in 1939 and enforced in 1940) also radically
placed under strict government control. In 1940 thirty-four
altered the religious scene. Assured of religious freedom and
Protestant churches were compelled to unite as the Church
separation of religion and state by the Religious Corpora-
of Christ in Japan. This church and the Roman Catholic
tions Ordinance, all religious groups (Buddhist, Christian,
Church remained the only recognized Christian groups dur-
Shinto¯—now called Shrine Shinto¯—and others) began ener-
ing World War II. During the war all religious groups were
getic activities. This turn of events made it possible for new
exploited by the government as ideological weapons. Indi-
religions and Buddhist or Sect Shinto¯ splinter groups to be-
vidual religious leaders who did not cooperate with the gov-
come independent. Sect Shinto¯, which comprised 13 groups
ernment were jailed, intimidated, or tortured. The only reli-
before the war, developed into 75 groups by 1949. With the
gious freedom at the time was, as stated by Ito Hirobumi,
emergence of many more new religions, the total number of
“confined to the mind.”
religious groups reached 742 by 1950. However, with the en-
Japanese religion in the twentieth century. In the
actment of the Religious Juridical Persons Law (Shukyo hojin
modern world, the destiny of any nation is as greatly influ-
ho) in 1951, the number of government recognized religions
enced by external events as by domestic ones. As far as mod-
was reduced to 379—142 in the Shinto¯ tradition, 169 Bud-
ern Japan was concerned, such external events as the Chinese
dhist groups, 38 Christian denominations, and 30 miscella-
Revolution in 1912, World War I, the Russian Revolution,
neous groups. This was done by subsuming some groups
and the worldwide depression intermingled with events at
under others.
home and propelled Japan onto the world stage. Ironically,
In the immediate postwar period, as many people suf-
although World War I benefited the wealthy elite, the resul-
fered from uncertainty, poverty, and loss of confidence, a
tant economic imbalance it produced drove desperate masses
large number of men and women were attracted by what the
to rice riots and workers to labor strikes. Marxist student or-
new religions claimed to offer: mundane happiness, tightly
ganizations were formed, and some serious college students
knit religious organizations, healing, and readily accessible
joined the Communist Party. Many people in lower social
earthly deities or divine agents. The real prosperity of the
strata, benefiting little from modern civilization or industrial
new religions in Japan, though, came after the Korean War,
economy and neglected by institutionalized religions, turned
with the intensification of urbanization. Not only did the
to messianic and healing cults of the folk religious tradition.
urban population increase significantly, but much of the na-
Thus, in spite of the government’s determined effort to con-
tion assumed the character of an industrialized society. In
trol religious groups and to prevent the emergence of new
this situation some of the new religions, especially two Bud-
religions, the number of “quasi religions” (ruiji shukyo) in-
dhist groups, So¯ka Gakkai and Rissho¯ Ko¯seikai, gained a
creased from 98 in 1924 to 414 in 1930 and then to over
large number of followers among the new middle class. Some
one thousand in 1935. Many of them experienced harass-
of these new religions took an active part in political affairs.
ment, police intervention, and persecution by the govern-
For example, as early as 1962, So¯ka Gakkai scored an impres-
ment, and some of them chose for the sake of survival to affil-
sive success in the elections of the House of Councillors, run-
iate with Buddhist or Kyoha Shinto¯ sects. Important among
ning candidates under its own political party, Ko¯meito¯. In
these groups were Omotokyo¯, founded by Deguchi Nao
this way, So¯ka Gakkai enjoyed a bargaining power that no
(1836–1918); Hito no Michi, founded by Miki Tokuharu
other religiously based group had achieved in modern Japa-
(1871–1938); and Reiyukai, founded jointly by Kubo Kaku-
nese politics. Other groups have also attempted to gain polit-
taro (1890–1944) and Kotani Kimi (1901–1971). After the
ical influence by campaigning for their favorite candidates
end of World War II, these religious groups and their spiritu-
for political offices. Under pressure, however, the formal ties
al cousins became the so-called new religions (shin shukyo).
between So¯ka Gakkai and Ko¯meito¯ were severed in the
1980s.
The end of World War II and the Allied occupation of
Japan brought full-scale religious freedom, with far-reaching
It has not been easy for older Buddhist groups to adjust
consequences, to Japan. In December 1945 the Occupation
to the changing social situation, especially since many of
force issued the Shinto¯ Directive dismantling the official
them lost their traditional financial support in the immediate
structure of State Shinto¯; on New Year’s Day 1946 the em-
postwar period. Also, religious freedom fostered schisms
peror publicly denied his divinity. Understandably, the loss
among some of them. Nevertheless, the strength of the older
of the sacral kingship and State Shinto¯ undercut the mytho-
Buddhist groups lies in their following among the intelligen-
historical foundation of Japanese religion. The new civil code
tsia and the rural population. Japanese buddhological schol-
of 1947 effectively abolished the traditional system of inter-
arship deservedly enjoys an international reputation. Japa-
locking households (ie seido) as a legal institution, so that in-
nese Buddhist leaders are taking increasingly active roles in
dividuals were no longer bound by the religious affiliation
pan-Asian and global Buddhist affairs, while at the same time
of their households. The erosion of family cohesion greatly
attending to such issues as peace and disarmament at home.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: AN OVERVIEW
4793
For their part, some Shintoists now promote Shinto¯ as a
SEE ALSO Ainu Religion; Amaterasu O
¯ mikami; Amita¯bha;
“green religion,” an ecologically oriented nature religion.
Buddhism, article on Buddhism in Japan; Bushido¯; Chris-
In the highly technological industrial society of postwar
tianity, article on Christianity in Asia; Confucianism in
Japan, nationalists, intellectuals, and the mass media have
Japan; Do¯gen; Domestic Observances, article on Japanese
collectively created and promulgated the image of a timeless
Practices; Drama, article on East Asian Dance and Theater;
Gozan Zen; Hijiri; Hirata Atsutane; Ho¯nen; Honjisuijaku;
Japanese religiosity and spirituality. While historically unten-
Ippen; Jo¯do Shinshu¯; Jo¯doshu¯; Kami; Kingship, article on
able, this invented tradition has demonstrated a remarkable
Kingship in East Asia; Kokugaku; Konko¯kyo¯; Kurozumikyo¯;
appeal both to the Japanese people and to foreigners. The
Li; Mappo¯; Motoori Norinaga; Muso¯ So¯seki; Nakayama
construct of “Japanese religion”—singular—has come to
Miki; New Religious Movements, article on New Religious
mean for many people a nostalgic and comforting nature re-
Movements in Japan; Nichiren; Nichirenshu¯; Norito;
ligion. Moreover, in the work of Japanese folklorists and for-
O
¯ motokyo¯; Onmyo¯do¯; Poetry, article on Japanese Religious
eign Japanophiles, Japanese religion is touted as proof that
Poetry; Reiyu¯kai Kyo¯dan; Rissho¯ Ko¯seikai; Saicho¯;
the social intimacy of the traditional village or small town
Shingonshu¯; Shinran; Shinto¯; Sho¯toku Taishi; Shugendo¯;
is still accessible in spite of the alienating and isolating as-
So¯ka Gakkai; Tendaishu¯; Tenrikyo¯; Yinyang Wuxing; Zen.
pects of the high-tech and industrial world of global capital-
ism. The Japanese, we are told, still feel close to nature, still
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A significant part of Japanese religious life continues to
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New Age religions. The latter groups are extremely diverse
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and eclectic in their beliefs and practices. Most such groups
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are media savvy and have exploited new communication
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technologies to gather followers. These groups are generally
Bock, Felicia G., trans. Engi-Shiki: Procedures of the Engi Era,
tolerated by the government and the public, but only if they
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do not threaten the status quo in any major way. The media
Bock, Felicia G., trans. Classical Learning and Taoist Practices in
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Engi-Shiki. Tucson, Ariz., 1985.
Shinrikyo¯ in the late twentieth century indicates the tenuous
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nature of religious freedom in contemporary Japan. Aum
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cated in the release of poisonous nerve gas in the Tokyo sub-
Philippi, Donald L., trans. Norito: A New Translation of the An-
cient Japanese Ritual Prayers. Tokyo, 1959.
way and the murder of some of its critics. The sarin gas attack
was part of a misguided attempt to bring about the millenni-
Philippi, Donald L., trans. Kojiki. Tokyo, 1970.
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Piggott, Joan. The Emergence of Japanese Kingship. Stanford,
the Aum affair, the government took what some have called
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now labeled “cults.” In the late twentieth and the beginning
Abe, Ryuichi. The Weaving of Mantra: Ku¯kai and the Construction
of the twenty-first century, numerous examples of what the
of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse. New York, 1999.
sociologist of religion Shimazono Susumu has labeled “post-
Adolphson, Mickael S. The Gates of Power: Monks, Courtiers, and
modern religion” have emerged in Japan. Religion in its di-
Warriors in Pre-modern Japan. Honolulu, 2000.
verse manifestations remains an important component of the
Breen, John, and Mark Teeuwen, eds. Shinto in History: Ways of
lives of many Japanese.
the Kami. Richmond, U.K., 2000.
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JAPANESE RELIGIONS: POPULAR RELIGION
Faure, Bernard. Visions of Power: Imagining Medieval Japanese
Smyers, Karen A. The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Mean-
Buddhism. Princeton, N.J., 1996.
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Faure, Bernard. The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity, and Gen-
Tanabe, George J., Jr., ed. Religions of Japan in Practice. Princeton,
der. Princeton, N.J., 2003.
N.J., 1999.
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JOSEPH M. KITAGAWA (1987)
in Japanese History. Berkeley, Calif., 1992.
GARY L. EBERSOLE (2005)
Groner, Paul. Saicho¯: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai
School. Honolulu, 2000.
Klein, Susan Blakeley. Allegories of Desire: Esoteric Literary Com-
mentaries of Medieval Japan. Cambridge, Mass., 2002.
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: POPULAR RELIGION
Morrell, Robert. Early Kamakura Buddhism: A Minority Report.
In this article “popular religion” will be taken to include both
Fremont, Calif., 2002.
“folk religion”—by which is meant the diverse and at most
Payne, Richard K., ed. Re-Visioning “Kamakura” Buddhism. Ho-
only locally organized attitudes, beliefs, and practices that to-
nolulu, 1998.
gether constitute a people’s customary observance—and
popular or lay aspects of ecclesiastical bodies whose organiza-
Ruppert, Brian D. Jewel in the Ashes: Buddha Relics and Power in
Early Medieval Japan. Cambridge, Mass., 2000.
tion and solidarity transcend local boundaries. What is not
included, then, is the religion promoted by elites such as
Sharf, Robert H., and Elizabeth Horton Sharf, eds. Living Images:
priests, monks, and nuns, as well as by governments upon
Japanese Buddhist Icons in Context. Stanford, Calif., 2002.
occasion, including the rites, beliefs, and theoretical system-
Stone, Jacqueline. Original Enlightenment and the Transformation
atizations that such elites officially promulgate or defend. It
of Medieval Japanese Buddhism. Princeton, N.J., 1999.
should be understood that in practice often no sharp line can
ten Grotenhuis, Elisabeth. Japanese Mandalas: Representations of
be drawn between any of these categories. Even religious
Sacred Geography. Honolulu, 1999.
elites often exhibit “folk” behavior and attitudes not justified
Tyler, Royall. The Miracles of the Kasuga Deity. New York, 1991.
by official doctrines; similarly, mutual diffusion can occur
Tyler, Susan C. The Cult of Kasuga Seen through Its Art. Ann
between official doctrines and folk attitudes and practices.
Arbor, Mich., 1992.
These distinctions, however, are presented for the conve-
Religions in Early Modern and Modern Japan
nience of the student of religion and culture; they are usually
Davis, Winston. Dojo: Magic and Exorcism in Modern Japan. Stan-
not a part of the thought patterns of religious practitioners
ford, Calif., 1980.
themselves.
Davis, Winston. Japanese Religion and Society: Paradigms of Struc-
For the purposes of this article, Japanese history will be
ture and Change. Albany, N.Y., 1992.
divided into the following periods:
Hardacre, Helen. Kurozumikyo¯ and the New Religions of Japan.
Princeton, N.J., 1986.
Prehistoric and protohistoric
–645 CE
Hardacre, Helen. Shinto¯ and the State, 1868–1988. Princeton,
Classical (Asuka, Nara, Heian)
645–1185
N.J., 1989.
Medieval (Kamakura, Ashikaga)
1185–1600
Hardacre, Helen. Marketing the Menacing Fetus in Japan. Berke-
ley, Calif., 1997.
Premodern (Tokugawa or Edo)
1600–1868
Harootunian, H. D. Things Seen and Unseen: Discourse and Ideolo-
Modern (Meiji, Taisho¯, Sho¯wa)
1868–present
gy in Tokugawa Nativism. Chicago, 1988.
Popular religion in Japan is composed primarily of elements
Heisig, James W., and John C. Maraldo, eds. Rude Awakenings:
that can be assigned Shinto¯ or Buddhist origins, although el-
Zen, the Kyoto School, and the Question of Nationalism. Hono-
ements deriving from Chinese folk religion—usually labeled
lulu, 1994.
Daoist—are also important, along with those of an elite Chi-
Jaffe, Richard. Neither Monk nor Layman: Clerical Marriage in
nese tradition, Confucianism, and, more recently, aspects of
Modern Japanese Buddhism. Princeton, N.J., 2002.
Christianity. In addition, the term Shinto¯ must be under-
Ketelaar, James E. Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan. Prince-
stood in its most inclusive sense, namely, as denoting all of
ton, N.J., 1990.
the indigenous religious attitudes and practices of the Japa-
Nelson, John K. Enduring Identities: The Guise of Shinto in Con-
nese people prior to the influence of Chinese civilization
temporary Japan. Honolulu, 2000.
(roughly beginning in the sixth century CE), as well as those
Nosco, Peter, ed. Confucianism and Tokugawa Culture. Princeton,
that evolved from these native traditions in later centuries.
N.J., 1984.
Shinto¯ itself reached the more complex status of an elite tra-
Oooms, Emily. Women and Millenarian Protest in Meiji Japan:
dition only at the beginning of the classical period, with the
Deguchi Nao and Omotokyo¯. Ithaca, N.Y., 1993.
establishment of an official cult with imperial patronage and
Reader, Ian. Religion in Contemporary Japan. Honolulu, 1991.
the eventual promulgation of an official mythology, codifica-
Reader, Ian, and George J. Tanabe, Jr., eds. Practically Religious:
tion of rituals, and establishment of a priestly hierarchy. Even
Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan. Honolu-
during this time, however, popular Shinto¯ continued largely
lu, 1998.
unaffected by these elite events; further, official Shinto¯ itself
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: POPULAR RELIGION
4795
clearly was derived from the vast reservoir of folk practices
shrines flanking the paths that meander about the mountain.
that had regulated the religious lives of the Japanese people
Typical of the etiological tales associated with many shrines
from time immemorial.
and temples is the legend that tells of the founding of
INDIGENOUS FOLK RELIGION. The fundamental religious
Fushimi Inari shrine. In 711, many years before the founding
concept of Shinto¯ past and present is kami, a widely inclusive
of the capital at Kyoto, a nobleman was practicing archery
term embracing the notion of sacred power from a mana-like
by shooting at a ball of cooked rice tossed into the air. All
impersonal force inherent in all things and concentrated in
at once the rice was transformed into a white bird that flew
the unusual, to personal and therefore godlike beings such
away and alighted at the peak of Mount Fushimi. There the
as culture heroes, the geniuses of particular places or things,
nobleman built the shrine to the rice god.
species deities, and ancestors. Originally there were two
Virtually all Inari shrines have statues of a pair of foxes
major ways of interaction with kami: through matsuri
flanking the main place of worship, a fact that illustrates syn-
(“rituals”) that sought either to receive the blessings of the
cretistic tendencies of popular religion. These foxes, now
sacred powers or to turn aside their wrath, or through sha-
popularly understood to be the messengers of the rice god,
manic séances using the method of kami possession (kamiga-
or sometimes even identified with the god himself, were
kari), by which the will of the kami could be made known
probably derived from popular Chinese lore concerning fox
through the oracular utterances of the shaman. Intermediate
spirits. Certainly there exists in Chinese a large body of folk
forms such as divination, omen reading, and oath swearing
tales depicting the dangers of fox spirits, who usually take the
were also common. Although imperial recourse to miko (fe-
form of a beautiful woman in order to seduce and ruin un-
male shamans) is well documented in the legendary period,
suspecting or weak-willed men. That these tales also have be-
this element was largely lost to elite Shinto¯ in the course of
come naturalized in Japan discloses a much more general pat-
its development. Miko flourished among the common peo-
tern of popular acceptance of Chinese cultural and religious
ple, however, and have declined only in the modern period.
elements; it also suggests the association of the fox as a
On the other hand, public rituals, which take place at the
symbol of sexual desire and Inari as a deity of fecundity and
thousands of Shinto¯ shrines and mostly at regularly sched-
plenty.
uled times throughout the year, have continued at all levels
IMPACT OF CHINESE CULTURE AND RELIGION. At the begin-
of Shinto¯.
ning of the classical period Japan experienced a cultural revo-
An important class of kami were the ujigami, or ances-
lution brought about by the assimilation of Chinese techni-
tral deities of the large clans that came to dominate Japanese
cal, philosophical, aesthetic, and religious elements.
social, political, and religious organization in the protohis-
Buddhism took its place as a more or less equal partner with
toric period; in modern times the ujigami survive at the vil-
Shinto¯ in the official structure of government and in the reli-
lage level, although without their former importance, as do-
gious practice of the aristocracy. Confucianism was adopted
zokushin. Indeed, the ujigami was probably the most
as a theory of government and a guide to personal conduct.
important kami to the early Japanese; as high priest, the clan
Daoism was used to provide a ritual structure and to assist
head needed the shamanic services of his wife to ensure that
both Shinto¯ and Buddhist efforts to ensure the well-being of
the will of this kami was carried out for the weal of all.
the nation. To be sure, this revolution began among the Jap-
anese elite and for many years was largely confined to it. By
Probably the most important kami of popular religion
the Nara period, however, despite the government’s attempts
has been Inari, the rice deity, whose shrines are found every-
to control its spread, Buddhism had begun to reach the com-
where, even in modern urban settings. Although not a part
mon people. The famous Buddhist tale collection, Nihon
of the official mythology, Inari became associated in later
ryo¯iki, which used the folktale genre as a means of converting
classical times with such mythic kami as Ugatama, the female
the masses and of inculcating Buddhist virtues, was produced
kami of food and clothing; Sarutahiko, the monkey kami,
by a monk for use by popular Buddhist preachers. The Nara
whose special province was fecundity; and Ame no Uzume,
period also saw the paradoxical rise of the hijiri, or holy men,
the goddess who, through exposing her genitals in an ecstatic
who were popular preachers and miracle workers whose ac-
dance, wielded the feminine kami power to bring back the
tivities were proscribed by the government on the grounds
life-giving sun to a darkened and dying world. Such associa-
that they “misled” the people. While not all hijiri were Bud-
tions illuminate both the character of the folk deity Inari and
dhist, most combined a Buddhist understanding of a bodhi-
the process by which popular religious elements were en-
sattva’s compassion with a sometimes indiscriminate mixture
grafted to the elite strata in Japan. Inari shrines still are places
of magico-religious practices in attempting to ameliorate the
where farmers go to pray for abundant crops, but they are
physical as well as the spiritual condition of the masses. The
also places where both rural and urban dwellers pray for aid
most famous of the hijiri was Gyo¯gi, whose elevation to the
in conception, childbirth, and child rearing, as well as more
head of the official Buddhist hierarchy by Emperor Shomu
generally for success in any endeavor.
in 745 expressed not only the pious emperor’s desire to unify
The most famous Inari shrine is at Fushimi in the city
the nation under the banner of Buddhism, but also the grow-
of Kyoto, where the elaborate main shrine dedicated to the
ing recognition on the part of the elite of the popular forms
official cult is almost shouldered aside by the many popular
of that religion.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4796
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: POPULAR RELIGION
Another result of Buddhist penetration at the popular
tion of self as in the Holy Path, the Pure Land schools
level was reinforcement of native belief in malevolent spirits,
(called, by way of contrast, jo¯domon, or Path of Pure Land)
known in the classical period as goryo¯shin. Buddhism gave
brought about the transformation of Buddhism into an in-
such beliefs a strongly moralistic tone; previously, it was be-
strument of salvation open to all.
lieved that kami power was concentrated in many kinds of
beings, some of which were by their nature destructive. Now,
Another way in which Buddhism accommodated itself
however, destructive supernatural power could be under-
to the popular mind can be seen in the rise of the yamabushi,
stood as justified by human events. Just as motivation was
or mountain ascetics, whose tradition goes back to the classi-
discovered in the Buddhist psychology and its expression en-
cal period. Both of the dominant schools of Buddhism in the
sured by the law of karman, so did Buddhism present a new
Heian period, Tendai, headquartered on Mount Hiei, and
problem to the people. Goryo¯shin, as particularly the ghosts
Shingon, headquartered on Mount Koya, established ad-
of humans who had been wronged in life, had to be propiti-
junct orders of yamabushi. Of these, one that was allied to
ated or exorcised by Shinto¯ rites and saved from their suffer-
Shingon, Shugendo¯, has survived into the modern age. The
ing by Buddhist prayers and priestly magic.
members of the yamabushi orders were differentiated by their
varying degrees of initiation into the group’s mysteries. In
MEDIEVAL POPULARIZATION OF BUDDHISM. The collapse of
addition, the yamabushi did not follow the Buddhist monas-
the classical social and political order, completed by the year
tic rules: they were laymen who lived ordinary lives except
1185, not only brought on the medieval period of Japanese
for certain times of the year when they would gather to go
history but also resulted in the virtual destruction of official
on pilgrimages and conduct their own secret rites deep in
Shinto¯. To be sure, the imperial court continued to perform
their sacred mountains. A famous no¯ play by Zeami (Taniko)
some of the old Shinto¯ rituals in the name of the emperor
depicts one of the Shugendo pilgrimages.
and for the benefit of all the nation, but in fact these rites
increasingly became the private cult of the imperial family
Belief in sacred mountains appears to be a native Shinto¯
and the ever more impoverished old aristocracy. But the rela-
phenomenon in Japan, although both Daoism and Bud-
tive decentralization of the times allowed a number of popu-
dhism brought from China their own traditions of encoun-
lar forms of Buddhism to become institutionalized indepen-
tering the sacred among mountains, traditions that served to
dently of the old Buddhist schools. Among these, the Pure
strengthen and sometimes modify indigenous attitudes.
Land schools are especially noteworthy. These schools com-
Mountains were the special abodes of the Daoist xian (Jpn.,
bined elite elements derived from monastic cults of the savior
sennin), or immortals, as well as the saints and recluses that
Buddha Amida (Skt., Amita¯bha) and popular practices of
the personalistic side of that tradition promoted. These tradi-
using Buddhist chanting to overcome evil influences. The so-
tions, especially in the form of popular tales, were brought
called nembutsu hijiri had been at work among the common
to Japan, where they found ready acceptance, mixing with
people throughout much of the classical period in healing
the native hijiri tradition. In the Heian period, the Bud-
and exorcising demons by chanting the Sino-Japanese phrase
dhists, themselves influenced by the Daoist tradition, espe-
“Namu Amida Butsu” (“Hail to the Buddha Amita¯bha”).
cially sought out remote mountains as sites for monasteries
The Pure Land movement of the medieval period tended to
as well as for retreats and hermitages for meditation. In addi-
convert this immediate concern for this-worldly problems to
tion, several mountains, such as Ontake and Fuji, were
a concern for the ultimate salvation of the individual who,
thought by the laity to be the special abodes of bodhisattvas
by complete faith in the power of Amida and by chanting
or the entryways to the afterlife. All these cases show traces
of the Nembutsu, could be reborn at the end of this earthly
of the old Shinto¯ notion that austerities practiced in moun-
life into the Buddhist paradise (the Pure Land).
tains were especially efficacious for gaining spiritual power.
The yamabushi demonstrate this connection by their habit
It seems clear that neither major figure in the Pure Land
of making long and arduous hikes through the mountains
movement, Ho¯nen (1133–1212) or his disciple Shinran
and by ritual bathing in icy mountain streams. Many sacred
(1173–1263), sought to found an independent Buddhist
mountains in Japan were gathering places for miko, who
school. Instead, they were largely apolitical figures who in-
served the common people by contacting the spirits of the
tended to extend to the common people a share of Buddhist
dead or of Shinto¯, Daoist, or Buddhist saints and deities who
salvation hitherto reserved for monks. The result was a radi-
were believed to inhabit such places.
cal democratization and simplification of Buddhism—in
short a truly popular form of that religion. In these schools,
The association and even amalgamation of Shinto¯ and
monasticism was abolished, priests were expected to marry,
Buddhism among the people was aided by the honjisuijaku
and the old elite Buddhism—what they called the Holy Path
(“essence-manifestation”) theory first promulgated in the
(sho¯domo¯n)—was rejected as selfish and arrogant. This popu-
classical period by Buddhist monks using Chinese models.
lar Buddhism had become a religion of lay participation,
Almost from the beginning of the Buddhist presence in
congregational worship, and acceptance of the social and po-
Japan the people had assumed that Buddhist figures—saints,
litical status quo. The elite quest of sanctification, of personal
bodhisattvas, celestial Buddhas—were related in some way to
transformation, and of enlightenment was out of reach of the
native Shinto¯ deities. The honjisuijaku theory simply gave of-
ordinary person; instead of working toward the transforma-
ficial sanction to this popular view by stating that specific na-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: POPULAR RELIGION
4797
tive figures were but the manifestation of certain Buddhist
make a person ritually unclean, requiring seclusion and ritual
figures who were their true essence. This tendency to amalga-
purification. A part of a larger and very ancient belief in the
mation can also be recognized in the practice, documented
contagious nature of misfortune, this fear of the dead has re-
from the Nara period, of building small Buddhist temples
sulted in a near monopoly of Buddhism in the conducting
within the confines of Shinto¯ shrines, and vice versa. Thus
of funerals. On the other hand, much evidence, from prehis-
the Shinto¯ kami (deities) could be served by Buddhist rites,
toric burial mounds as well as old Japanese poetry, attests to
while Buddhist figures could be worshiped through Shinto¯
the continuing ties of affection and duty that the people
rites. Sometimes the Buddhist rites were understood as at-
maintained with the departed even in ancient times, while
tempts to bring the kami to Buddhist enlightenment; alter-
the continuing popularity of the Obon festival and of ances-
natively, they were thought of as a Buddhist accommodation
tral reverence in the home show that even today the contin-
to the parochial Japanese mentality, which often preferred
ued presence of the dead, if properly handled through ritual,
native forms. By the medieval period, many local shrines and
is still valued.
temples were served by priests who were both Shinto¯ and
Buddhist, performing the rites according to the figure ad-
It should also be noted that Confucianism, another im-
dressed. Often, yamabushi would marry miko and carry on
port from China, has played an important though amor-
local priestly functions as a team within this popular amalga-
phous role in promoting both ancestral reverence and family
mation of religions.
cohesion. From the beginning of the classical period the val-
ues of Confucian “familyism” were promoted by the govern-
DOMESTIC PIETY AND ANCESTOR REVERENCE. Even in the
ment as the proper basis for a harmonious and prosperous
early twenty-first century most Japanese families have within
nation. By the Tokugawa period Confucianism once again
the home both a Shinto¯ kamidana (“god-shelf”) and a Bud-
became an important philosophy of both government and
dhist butsudan (“Buddhist altar”). At both, offerings of flow-
personal life. Loyalty to the nation was one part of a value
ers and food are made from time to time and prayers are re-
system that took the family as the model for all values. The
cited. Ancestral tablets will be found within the home, placed
native Japanese reverence for ancestors as well as for all loci
either in a special shrine or within the kamidana or butsudan
of authority was thereby greatly reinforced.
according to the emphasis of the particular family. Theoreti-
cally, the Buddhist prayers are offered for the benefit of the
Folk deities, often of mixed Shinto¯, Buddhist, and Dao-
departed, to aid them in their continuing postmortem quest
ist heritage, continue to be accorded some degree of rever-
for salvation in various hells or heavens or in rebirths in this
ence among the people. Kami of hearth, privy, and yard are
world, while the Shinto¯ prayers are acts of filial piety that ad-
still known, and, curiously in the modern world, deities or
dress the spirits of the dead as present in the tablets, as still
nameless powers of good or ill fortune remain popular. Some
present family members who require service in death as in
examples of these are Ebisu, the kami of good luck, having
life. In practice, however, the popular mind often does not
its origin among fishermen, Do¯sojin, the kami of roads and
make such sharp distinctions.
gates and protector of children and of marital harmony, and
Ko¯shin, a rather malevolent deity of Daoist origin whose cal-
An important example of attitudes toward the dead can
endar days, occurring once every sixty days throughout the
be seen in the Obon festival, traditionally from the thirteenth
year, are considered unlucky. Belief in lucky and unlucky
to the sixteenth day of the seventh lunar month. Although
days was greatly stimulated in classical times by onmyo¯ji
its origins can be traced back even to pre-Buddhist Hindu
(“yin-yang masters”), who popularized Daoist ideas and pro-
ancestral cults, it clearly shows its folk Buddhist as well as
moted themselves as expert diviners and ritualists and who
Shinto¯ colorations in Japan. Preparations for the festival in-
could discover in their books of astrology times and direc-
clude cleaning and decorating the butsudan and preparing
tions to avoid or to welcome in order to ritually protect one
special offerings there. Usually this is an occasion for the full
from the consequences of ill-considered actions. Modern for-
cooperation of the dozo¯ku in honoring its common ances-
tune tellers continue this tradition and Shinto¯ shrines usually
tors. Fires are lit the first night before the door of each house
have booths where fortunes are told and charms can be
as well as along the roads to the village to light the way of
bought. These charms, or omamori, are usually blessed by the
the dead, who are thought to return to the land of the living
priests of a particular shrine.
for these few days. The spirits are entertained in the home
with food, gifts, and prayers, while in the village the enter-
FOLK TALES AS EXPRESSIONS OF POPULAR RELIGION. One
tainment takes the form of graceful dancing, the famous bon
important and often neglected expression of popular religion
odori, of Shinto¯ origin. During this time graves are visited
everywhere is the folk tale. Although in Japan as elsewhere
and finally the spirits are sent off again with beacon fires.
this literary genre resists reduction to narrowly religious cate-
gories, in Japan especially many scholars have noted the close
Attitudes toward death among the Japanese people have
association of folk tale and popular religious sentiments.
been characterized by considerable ambivalance. On the one
Many folk tales express deeply felt religious attitudes and val-
hand, the Shinto¯ association of death with pollution or con-
ues at variance with official codes set by ecclesiastical and
tamination has been strong from the first: touching, being
governmental elites, yet many also reflect these more official
in the presence of, or being kin to one who has just died
views. Indeed, examples abound in which priests have made
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JAPANESE RELIGIONS: POPULAR RELIGION
use of existing tales, either to create an official orthodoxy as
ants, who undertook the often dangerous journey at the peak
in the construction of a mythology, or to teach certain reli-
of the popularity of this phenomenon in the late eighteenth
gious values and behavior. In this latter category, the Bud-
and early nineteenth centuries. A kind of frenzy, character-
dhist use of folk tales in the Nihon ryo¯iki is an early example;
ized by some as mass hysteria, caused many to drop their
later Shinto¯ priests helped to invent the okagura dramas,
tools, abandon their domestic and economic responsibilities,
which in part taught the old mythology to the masses at
and seek the abode of the kami. To be sure, motives were
shrine festivals; similarly, the medieval Shinto¯-Buddhist
mixed, and nonreligious reasons such as a desire to break out
world of ghosts and karmic retribution was combined with
of monotonous existence of toil must be considered. Still,
Zen-inspired aesthetics to create the famous no¯ dramas from
popular tales of amulets mysterously falling from the sky, of
folk tales and historical legends. In the Tokugawa period,
healings, of misfortune to those who resisted or preached
popular pilgrimages, especially those to the great shrine dedi-
against the urge to participate in the pilgrimage, all powerful-
cated to the sun goddess Amaterasu at Ise, spawned new tales
ly reinforced the prevailing notion that it was the will of the
of wonder, miracles, and divine retribution.
kami that the people should pay their respects in this way.
The well-known tale Hagoromo (The feather cloak),
It should also be pointed out that in the case of the Ise
known in the West as The Swan Maiden, contributed signifi-
Shrine, these mass pilgrimages mark the last stage in a long
cantly to the official mythology of Amaterasu, as well as to
history of slow democratization of the worship of Amaterasu.
the Daijosai ritual, in which a new emperor is enthroned.
Originally, she was the ujigami of the imperial family and
Again, tales of Buddhist piety as found in the Konjaku mono-
thus admitted only their exclusive worship. Apparently, her
gatari collection of late classical times indicate both the
status as a national deity, always implied by her position as
power of Buddhist faith and charms sanctioned by elite reli-
progenitor of the imperial lineage, had made of her a direct
gion—one notes especially the long section depicting re-
object of veneration for all in the course of a thousand years
wards both in this life and in lives to come for those with
or more. It must also be noted that the outer shrine of Ise
faith in the Hokekyo¯ (Lotus Su¯tra)—and also an antinomian
is dedicated to Toyouke, goddess of food and fertility, basic
tendency that criticizes the faults and foibles of worldly cler-
existential concerns of those close to the subsistence level of
gy. A more purely folk phenomenon contained in these tales
economy. From this point of view, the ritual pilgrimage,
is the rejection of official unworldly values for such mundane
with its set forms of dress and gesture, its taboos and some-
goals as sexual fulfilment and the pursuit of wealth.
times ecstatic dances, can be seen as a new means of carrying
The greater portion of those folk tales that treat of su-
out village rites of cosmic renewal. The dangerous and rigor-
pernatural phenomena have little to do with any official my-
ous journey was a long ascetic rite of abstinence and purifica-
thology, theology, or value system. To be sure, many pro-
tion. The dancing (okage odori) is homologizable to the
mote such pan-Japanese values as loyalty, gratitude, and
dances that accompany village festivals such as bon odori, in
curbing of the appetites. However, the greatest number of
which the deities and spirits of the dead are entertained, or
tales as collected by professional folklorists in the twentieth
again to the ecstatic trance-inducing dances of the miko who
century may be described as vaguely animistic in tone. The
communicate with the deities in shamanic rites. Prayers at
list of extrahuman powers and intelligences told of in such
the shrine of destination, and the distribution of amulets by
tales is very long and ranges from the ghosts of human beings
the attending priests, are also a part of village shrine festivals.
to traditional kami, including many more fanciful entities
The rise of popular drama can be seen to some extent
such as the long-nosed tengu, hag-witches called yamauba,
as a part of the same movement toward popularization of
and mischievous fox-spirits. Not unusual are tales in which
what had been the exclusive property of official Shinto¯,
plants, especially trees, are endowed with powers that can
namely the mythology as set down in the early eighth century
cause much suffering among humans if insensitively treated.
in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki. Okagura dramas enacted with
Perhaps the greatest error told of in these animistic tales is
music and dance the creation of the world by the primordial
simply that of impiety: this world is a crowded place inhabit-
parents Izanagi and Izanami, the struggle between Amaterasu
ed by myriads of powers, each of which the “good” man or
and her impetuous brother Susano-o, the descent to earth of
woman treats with awe and respect, while the “bad” person
the imperial grandchild Ninigi, and many other official
ignores them to his or her peril.
mythic themes. As such, they represent a successful attempt
PILGRIMAGE AND POPULAR DRAMA. The rise of the pilgrim-
on the part of the local Shinto¯ priesthood to keep alive the
age as a popular form of religious expression can be traced
old traditions by bringing them to the common people. The
to the sixteenth century, although the earliest Japanese litera-
okagura became a part of many village festivals in the medi-
ture shows that the aristocracy were wont to make journeys
eval period and gave rise to other dramatic forms, most nota-
into sacred mountain fastnesses at least as early as the seventh
bly the no¯ drama, which in particular achieved a high level
century. It was not until the medieval period, however, that
of artistic sophistication. But okagura have remained popular
journeys to sacred sites, especially to Shinto¯ shrines, became
phenomena, and still may be viewed today. Indeed, they
mass movements. The Ise Shrine, main cult center of Ama-
offer a valuable opportunity to observe the blending of folk
terasu, was the primary goal for the millions, mostly peas-
values and forms with classical elite forms and themes. There
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JAPANESE RELIGIONS: POPULAR RELIGION
4799
is a good deal of humor and even ribaldry in okagura, as well
century creation that took many fragmented clan traditions
as a clear infusion of universal folk concerns that blend with
and worked them into a drama of the establishment and legi-
the more solemn and particular mythic motifs.
timization of the classical religious and political order.
Nakayama is more concerned, however, with domestic val-
INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF POPULAR RELIGION. It can be
ues. The kami of Tenrikyo¯ are called divine parents; humans
said with some confidence that by the middle of the Toku-
are their children. The good and correct life is led in humble
gawa period the pattern of folk religion that can still be ob-
recognition of this most fundamental relationship; hence the
served in village Japan had been established. The pattern
cardinal virtues are loyalty, obligation, and gratitude. Diseas-
bears two features that may at first sight seem contradictory:
es and all other misfortunes are caused by insensitivity to this
first is the high degree to which religious elements of dispa-
basic parent/child (oya-ko) relationship. Specific cultic duties
rate origin have become intermixed; second is the conspicu-
consist largely of participation in ritual dancing and in group
ous division of labor among various religious institutions.
activities such as shrine building and works of charity.
This latter is expressed in the common formula that the Japa-
nese are born and married by Shinto¯ rites, buried by Bud-
Another example, this time from the Buddhist tradi-
dhist rites, and live their everyday lives by Confucian princi-
tion, can be seen in So¯ka Gakkai (Value Creating Society),
ples. Yet both these features seem to stem from a single
founded in 1937 by Makiguchi Tsunesaburo¯ (1871–1944)
source, namely, a very pragmatic tendency among the Japa-
and Toda Jo¯sei (1900–1958). Makiguchi was a schoolteach-
nese people: they take those elements that seem immediately
er who, during the difficult decades of economic hardship
useful, employing them in a contextual framework all their
and increasing totalitarian repression in the 1920s and
own.
1930s, developed a philosophy of life he called so¯ka, meaning
“value creation.” Initially his views seem to have been largely
Another pattern that has emerged with special clarity—
secular, although they borrowed heavily from Buddhist
probably the result of Japan’s relative isolation—is the pro-
metaphysics in their fundamental insight into the relativity
cess of interaction between elite and popular levels of reli-
of all values (at least in the mundane sphere) and the necessi-
gion. Within the long history of religion in Japan modern
ty of overcoming dependence upon false absolutes. Only
scholarship has been able to document much of the process
gradually did this view take on a more traditional Buddhist
through which elite elements are imposed upon or otherwise
coloration. Eventually, however, through the efforts especial-
assimilated by the folk. Less well known is the reverse, in
ly of Toda, So¯ka Gakkai became affiliated with Nichiren
which folk elements are taken up into existing elite cultural
Sho¯shu¯, one of the smaller branches of Nichiren Buddhism.
strata or are institutionalized into what are often intermedi-
Toda admired much of the Nichiren tradition, especially its
ate forms. Such popular movements often become church-
unusual intolerance of other religions, its simple and
like institutions with more or less clear hierarchical organiza-
straightforward rituals, its demand of absolute faith in ritual
tion and geographical boundaries that go beyond the local
objects, in its founder, and in its sacred text (the Lotus Su¯tra),
arena. Beginning perhaps with the yamabushi movements of
and, perhaps more than anything else, the quasi-military hi-
the Heian period, continuing in the medieval popular Bud-
erarchical organization of the sect.
dhist movements of the Nichiren and Pure Land schools,
and still continuing into the modern period with the cele-
Now disaffiliated from Nichiren Sho¯shu¯, So¯ka Gakkai
brated burgeoning of the so-called new religions (shinko¯
calls itself a lay Buddhist organization; technically, it has no
shu¯kyo¯), the religious institutions that have resulted have
priests, its leaders remaining laymen. The society has been
tended to combine simplified versions of old elite tradi-
a tremendous success, with membership numbering in the
tions—especially of monastic Buddhism and court
millions. Typical of the new religions, and consistent with
Shinto¯—with popular values that center upon social interac-
its origins, it stresses immediate attainment of all worldly
tion in this world and the maintenance of domestic health
goals and interprets the ancient Buddhist goal of enlighten-
and prosperity.
ment as something closely akin to “happiness.” The mental
culture of such a worldview is maintained through intense
The Shinto¯ new religion Tenrikyo¯ was founded in the
small group meetings that are partly testimonials, partly
nineteenth century by Nakayama Miki after she was pos-
study sessions. Its very simplicity, as well as its emphasis on
sessed by several kami, who, in the old way of Japanese sha-
mundane problems and upon group solidarity, all have con-
manism, spoke through her while she was in a trance. In the
tributed to the success of this popular religion in meeting the
course of these possessions a new mythology was revealed
needs of many Japanese in the modern industrial world,
that, while similar in many respects to the old classical Shinto¯
which constantly threatens to overwhelm them with anomie
cosmogonic myth, shows striking differences from it. Present
and rootlessness. Salvation is here and now, and the convic-
are the familiar primordial parents, and many lesser episodes
tion of it is strongly reinforced by group rituals.
concerning the creation of life are common to both; conspic-
uous by their absence, however, are references to Amaterasu
Another and very different new religion, Aum
and her brother, the central characters of the old mythology.
Shinrikyo¯, sought to mix the characteristic this-worldly em-
Also absent is the entire mythic apparatus that supported the
phasis of other popular religious movements and an elitist
imperial institution. The classical mythology was a seventh-
monastic organization with its goal of individual salvation.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4800
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: THE STUDY OF MYTHS
As extensive interviews of past and continuing members con-
Hori Ichiro¯. Wagakuni minkan shinko¯shi no kenkyu¯. 2 vols. Tokyo,
ducted by Murakami Haruki show, this group also appealed
1953–1955.
to those out of step with the increasingly socially atomized
Hori Ichiro¯. Folk Religion in Japan. Edited and translated by Jo-
modern Japanese society, but added an unusual rejection of
seph M. Kitagawa and Alan L. Miller. Chicago, 1968.
that society’s also rampant materialism. Granted official sta-
Kitagawa, Joseph M. Religion in Japanese History. New York,
tus by the Japanese government in 1989, Aum later became
1966.
notorious for its engineering of the sarin gas attack in the
McFarland, H. Neill. The Rush Hour of the Gods: A Study of the
Tokyo subway in 1995. Seeking to fill a spiritual void in their
New Religious Movements in Japan. New York, 1967.
lives, its members unfortunately gave themselves over to the
Philippi, Donald L., trans. Norito: A New Translation of the An-
guidance of a charismatic but psychologically unstable and
cient Japanese Ritual Prayers. Tokyo, 1959.
increasingly paranoid master who called himself Asahara
Sho¯ko¯. Before the destructive aspect of this group was gener-
Seki Keigo. Nihon mukashi-banashi shu¯sei. 6 vols. Tokyo, 1950–
1958.
ally known, their proselytizing efforts by means of the distri-
bution of pamphlets and the sale of books, as well as small
Seki Keigo, ed. Folktales of Japan. Translated by Robert J. Adams.
group meetings, met with some success, especially among
Chicago, 1963.
younger people. Its core was made up of as many as three
Yanagita Kunio, ed. Japanese Folk Tales. Translated by Fanny
thousand “renouncers,” or samana, while considerably more
Hagin Mayer. Tokyo, 1954.
of the less committed contributed money and studied the
Yanagita Kunio, ed. Japanese Folklore Dictionary. Translated by
founder’s books and sermons while passing through a series
Masanori Takatsuka and edited by George K. Brady. Lexing-
of initiations derived loosely from Vajraya¯na Buddhism. Ini-
ton, Ky., 1958.
tially Asahara conceived the group’s mission to be prevention
ALAN L. MILLER (1987 AND 2005)
of nuclear holocaust through the power of yogic meditation
undertaken by increasing numbers of practitioners, which
practice could also lead to the individual achievement of
nirva¯n:a. Eventually a broader apocalyptic vision emerged,
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: THE STUDY OF MYTHS
which some scholars believe was influenced by science fiction
Japanese mythology is typically identified with the Kojiki
as much as by any traditional religious ideas, whether eastern
(Record of ancient matters) and Nihonshoki (Chronicle of
or western. The gas attack was apparently an attempt to
Japan). Together referred to as the Kiki texts, they record the
bring about an end to the present hateful age, seen to be a
history of the Yamato court’s rule, which extended through-
jumble of meaningless ideas and threatening powers. The
out the Kinki region of Japan. Both the Kojiki (712 CE) and
Aum group would become a surviving remnant, ready to re-
the Nihonshoki (720 CE) were compiled when the Ritsuryo¯
build the world as a utopian community. Thus did mass
state, which adopted Chinese legal codes and institutions,
murder become a means of saving humankind.
neared completion. Both texts begin with tales of deities,
narratives that are today understood as myths.
SEE ALSO Amaterasu O
¯ mikami; Amita¯bha; Ancestors; Bud-
dhism, article on Buddhism in Japan; Buddhist Religious
The study of Japanese mythology has, until recently,
Year; Confucianism in Japan; Domestic Observances, article
been guided by the question of how to read the Kojiki and
on Japanese Practices; Drama, article on East Asian Dance
Nihonshoki in relation to themselves. That is to say, the texts
and Theater; Foxes; Gyo¯gi; Hijiri; Ho¯nen; Honjisuijaku;
alone provided the assumed framework for all readings, and
Kami; New Religious Movements, article on New Religious
the question of what position they occupied within the dis-
Movements in Japan; Nianfo; Onmyo¯do¯; Pilgrimage, article
cursive space of the day—the space occupied by the Kiki—
on Buddhist Pilgrimage in East Asia; Shinran; Shinto¯;
has rarely been asked. Moreover, from the modern period
Shugendo¯; So¯ka Gakkai; Tenrikyo¯; Xian.
onwards, the Kiki texts have been understood in relation to
the concept of myth. Given the Western origin of this con-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cept, however, one must question how it has come to be ap-
Benedict, Ruth. The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of
plied to the Kiki texts, neither of which contains the term,
Japanese Culture. Boston, 1946.
and also how a modern understanding of these texts is altered
Blacker, Carmen. The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Prac-
as a result.
tices in Japan. London, 1975.
Issues of memory and amnesia within historical dis-
Casal, U. A. The Five Sacred Festivals of Ancient Japan. Tokyo,
course have been discussed, to a large extent, within the field
1967.
of modern history, but the problem posed by the limitations
Earhart, H. Byron. A Religious Study of the Mount Haguro Sect of
of historical material confronts all fields of historical re-
Shugendo: An Example of Japanese Mountain Religion. Tokyo,
search, regardless of theme or time period. Individual histori-
1970.
cal texts do not encompass or represent the discursive space
Hearn, Lafcadio. Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan. New York, 1894.
of the time in question. The Kiki texts do not present them-
Herbert, Jean. Shinto¯: At the Fountainhead of Japan. London,
selves as collections of myths. Rather, they present them-
1967.
selves as histories and as narratives recorded and remembered
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: THE STUDY OF MYTHS
4801
as histories. Multiple written and orally transmitted narra-
mentaries, and Shinto¯ texts (shinto¯sho). the transformation
tives that have not been preserved must have existed along-
of that discursive space over time will also be traced.
side the Kiki texts.
Studies of the Kiki texts by Ko¯noshi Takamitsu and Iso-
Current research methods that discuss ancient Japanese
mae Jun’ichi have examined the history of their interpreta-
mythology by focusing on the Kiki alone betray a textual ap-
tion in order to trace the change in worldviews that were read
proach typical of the era of the modern nation-state. An early
into the texts. Such approaches, however, have tended to
manifestation of this textual approach can be seen in the
compare chronologically arranged individual texts. Histori-
works of Yoshimi Yoshikazu, a late Edo period scholar be-
ans of religions have introduced the three textual categories
longing to Yamazaki Ansai’s Suika Shinto¯ school. Yoshimi
of canon, scripture, and commentary, which have brought
distinguished historical sources, whose dates of composition
to light the discursive space created their interaction. As a re-
and authors were clear, from texts, including oral traditions,
sult, texts such as the Bible or Confucian classics, which had
whose provenances were unclear. For example, Yoshimi re-
previously been considered orthodox in an unchallenged
jected the Ise Shinto¯ claim that the enshrined deity of the
manner, have been reexamined (Henderson, 1991; Levering,
Outer Shrine, a shrine with close ties to the imperial house,
1989). Scholars today speak of the canonization process rath-
was Kuni no Tokotachi no Mikoto by appealing to classical
er than of a set canon. Applying this methodological ap-
sources whose dates of composition were certain:
proach to the Kiki may also yield critical insights. The mod-
ern textual category of the “(scholarly) essay” will also be
It is clear that the Outer Shrine does not enshrine Kuni
no Tokotachi no Mikoto. Those who make such claims
added to the three textual categories in order to clarify the
believe only unofficial histories and mixed theories;
historical nature of present-day understandings of the Kiki—
they do not consult the national histories and official
that is, the horizon of contemporary research.
pronouncements. . . . Not a single word that pro-
THE ANCIENT DISCURSIVE SPACE. As already noted, the Kiki
nounces Kuni no Tokotachi no Mikoto the enshrined
were compiled in close relation to the establishment of the
deity of the Outer Shrine can be found in the true re-
Ritsuryo¯ state’s ruling structure. Although scholars have
cords jitsuroku.
pointed out structural differences in the stories of the Kojiki
As a result, the Five Books of (Ise) Shinto¯ (Shinto¯ gobusho)
and Nihonshoki, both texts sought to legitimate the hege-
and the Shinto¯ texts of the Yoshida house were determined
monic rule of the emperor-system state. It is helpful, howev-
not to be of ancient origin, as they claimed. In their stead,
er, to first examine the basic myth/history.
the Nihonshoki was granted the status of an authentic ancient
In the beginning, the orderless world divided into heav-
source.
en and earth, and from between them a solitary deity
Later, scholars of Native Learning exalted the Kojiki
emerged. After several generations, the male deity Izanagi
above all other texts. As the modern emperor-system state
and the female deity Izanami emerged. These two deities
(tenno¯sei kokka) took shape in the nineteenth century, ac-
gave birth to all things, including the land of the Japanese
counts derived from the Kiki appeared in state-sponsored
archipelago, mountains, rivers, grass, and trees. In addition,
textbooks as official history. Thus, the Kiki functioned as the
three other major gods—Amaterasu O
¯ mikami, Tsukiyomi
wellspring of the nation’s (kokumin) historical identity and
no Mikoto, and Susano-o no Mikoto—were born. Amatera-
as the memory of a pure and continuous ethnic community
su ruled the heavens as the sun goddess and provided order
(minzoku). Already in the late eighteenth century, Motoori
to the mythical world of the Kiki as the ancestral deity to the
Norinaga reread the Musubi deity of the Kiki as the origin
imperial house. The story goes on to provide etiological ac-
of all things, including human beings: “All living things in
counts of the origin of human death in the conflict between
this world. . .instinctively know well and perform those acts
Izanagi and Izanami and of the diurnal cycle of day and night
which they must each perform, and this all comes about
in a fight between the god of the moon, Tsukiyomi no Miko-
through the august spirit of the Musubi no kami. Human
to, and the sun goddess, Amaterasu.
beings are born into this world as especially gifted beings”
Eventually, the grandson of Amaterasu O
¯ mikami, Ho
(Motoori, 1997, p. 232). Familial (ie) documents that had
no Ninigi no Mikoto (a name referring to the ripening of
been submitted to the court and clan (uji) records that were
rice) descended from the heavenly realm to the earthly realm,
determined to be inauthentic by Yoshimi had originally
where he pacified the deities of earth, represented by
functioned to connect specific groups to the Kiki texts. Dur-
O
¯ kuninushi no Mikoto. The stories of the kami end by dem-
ing the early modern period, however, the Kiki were separat-
onstrating that the descendants of Ho no Ninigi no Mikoto
ed from uji and family transmissions. In the process these
(i.e., the emperors) possess the authority to rule the Japanese
texts became the repositories of a national memory no longer
archipelago. The story then transitions from the age of deities
connected to specific groups or families.
to the age of humans, recounting how successive emperors,
The question of how the Kiki texts functioned in the
beginning with Emperor Jimmu, and princes, such as Yama-
ancient and medieval periods will next be considered. What
to Takeru, brought the Japanese islands (and perhaps even
follows is an examination of how the Kiki were related to uji
the Korean peninsula) under their military, religious, and po-
traditions (ujibumi) and familial records (kacho¯), Kiki com-
litical control.
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4802
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: THE STUDY OF MYTHS
It is important to note from the outset that the audience
dle Land of the Reed Plains with Amatsuhimoroki and
for these texts was not the subservient population, but rather
also bless my descendants”. . . .These two deities
the aristocracy and officials of the Yamato court itself. As
served within the palace and guarded it well. He also
Tsuda So¯kichi has pointed out, the concept of divinity
spoke and said, “Take the ear of rice from the sanctified
(kami) within the Kiki evidences a strong influence of Chi-
garden [yuniwa] of our Plain of High Heaven and give
nese Confucianism, with a clear conceptual bent that must
it to our children”. . . .For this reason, Ame no Ko-
yane no Mikoto and Futodama no Mikoto, and the
have differed significantly from popular notions of the divine
gods of the leading families with them, gave the rice to
at the time. Furthermore, the characters within the Kiki texts
all. (Nihonshoki)
belong largely to the imperial house and to the ruling elite.
Other groups appear only as objects of conquest.
Amatsumioya Amaterasu O
¯ hokami, Tamamimusuhi
no Mikoto thus spoke and said, “We have raised Amat-
From the Nara period (710–784) through the early
suhimoroki and Amatsuiwasaka to bless our descen-
Heian period (794–943), commentaries on the Japanese
dants. You two deities, Ame no Koyane no Mikoto and
chronicles (Nihongi ko¯sho) were produced periodically for the
Futodama no Mikoto, descend to the Middle Land of
central aristocracy for the purpose of forming a unified textu-
the Reed Plains and bless our descendants. You two dei-
al understanding of the Ritsuryo¯ state (O
¯ ta, 1992; Seki,
ties, both serve within the palace and guard it well. Take
1997). No evidence can be found of the Kiki having been
the ear of rice from the sanctified garden of our Plain
read and explained to commoners in regional villages, or to
of High Heaven and give it to our children. Futodama
the bemin slaves belonging to particular uji.
no Mikoto, lead the gods of the leading families and
serve your lord, and do according to the command of
In other words, the Kiki texts did not propagate the cul-
heaven.” Thus the various gods also came to serve.
tural unity of the subservient masses from the perspective of
(Kogoshu¯i)
the ruling elite, as is the case in the modern nation-state. The
In a passage that closely mirrors the language of the Nihon-
texts were compiled to form the communal memory of the
shoki, the Kogoshu¯i inserts a section (italicized) wherein the
ruling class. This can also be seen in the fact that the earlier
ancestor of the Inbe uji, Futodama no Mikoto, is honored.
imperial chronicles (teiki) and ancient tales (kuji), which
Previous research has tended to view sections that do not
formed the basis of the Kiki texts, were selected from familial
overlap with the Kiki as the actual transmissions of the clans,
documents belonging to the various clans.
while the overlapping sections were understood to be falsifi-
At the time of the Yamato court, the texts were referred
cations produced subsequent to the Kiki texts. Such an un-
to as “national histories” (kokushi), signifying their status as
derstanding, however, reflects the negative effects of the
official state histories. The term Kiki was never employed.
modern focus on the Kiki alone and treats the uji transmis-
To be precise, the difference in social status between the Ni-
sions as mere variants of the Kiki, thus overlooking the differ-
honshoki and the Kojiki was overwhelmingly clear. The Ni-
ences in the social functions of the two. The function of the
honshoki was included as the first of the Six National Histo-
uji transmissions and the familial records was to chronicle
ries (rikkokushi), while the Kojiki—whatever the initial
the history of each group’s service to the court, thus fulfilling
intent behind its compilation might have been—was under-
the political function of advocating the legitimacy of their
stood merely as a variant of the Nihonshoki. By late antiquity,
respective social positions within the court. Although the ex-
the Kojiki was hardly read at all.
ample above comes from the Heian period, there are many
At the same time, the historical discourse recognized by
cases recorded in the Six National Histories, including a dis-
the Ritsuryo¯ state was not restricted to the national histories.
pute between the Takahashi house and the Azumi house
As stated in the Shoku Nihonshoki: “these things are recorded
concerning the office of the imperial messenger who deliv-
in detail in the national histories and familial records.” Each
ered offerings (ho¯heishi) to Ise Shrine, and the changing of
uji possessed its own transmitted tradition, and by incorpo-
familial names (kaisei), where uji and familial records were
rating passages from the Nihonshoki into it they claimed an
appealed to as legitimating documents. The state’s basis for
intimate relationship to the imperial house and, by exten-
arbitrating such disputes was whether or not the clan tradi-
sion, the state. This structure can be seen within the Kogoshu¯i
tions accorded with the Six National Histories, including the
(Old things collected from the ground) of the Inbe clan, in
Nihonshoki, and the Ritsuryo¯ code.
the Takahashi ujibumi of the Takahashi clan, and in the fa-
Against the backdrop of this political function, the Six
milial histories included in the Shinsen seishiroku and the Six
National Histories, as the “historical canon” of the state,
National Histories (Isomae, 1999a). The examination of
came to control the historical consciousness, and even the
both a passage from the Nihonshoki and the corresponding
words, of the uji and familial records belonging to members
passage from the Kogoshu¯i can help to illustrate these textual
of the court. By canon, we mean something that has been es-
relations
tablished as the “normative” text, which functions as a “law
Takamimusubi no Mikoto spoke and said, “I will raise
and rule, fundamental axiom, principle or standard” (Fol-
up Amatuhimoroki and Amatsuwasaka, and truly have
kert, 1989, p. 173). It also includes the sense of being a
them bless my descendants. You, Ame no Koyane no
“fixed” text (Levinson, 1997, p. 36). Conversely, however,
Mikoto and Futodama no Mikoto, descend to the Mid-
the familial records developed their own unique narratives,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: THE STUDY OF MYTHS
4803
not included in the national histories, by connecting them
hand, contained prayers for the emperor, as the descendant
to passages in the Six National Histories. The familial re-
of the heavenly deities, to recite before the multitude of dei-
cords and uji transmissions, unlike the Kiki, were not closed
ties inhabiting Japan, asking for peace in the land, a bounti-
records. As long as the group that they represented existed,
ful harvest, or for the emperor’s own spiritual well-being
they remained open texts that accumulated new narratives
(Nakamura, 1999; Saito¯, 1996). In other words, the Kiki
at each opportunity (e.g., by submitting records to the state).
were, strictly speaking, declarative texts that recorded histori-
The structure of the Takahashi ujibumi, a document explain-
cal origins, and as such were expected to perform the func-
ing the origins of court offices held by the Takahashi uji, and
tion of regulating all other uji histories. The Engishiki was,
the production process of the Nakaomi honkeicho¯ (the gene-
in turn, a religious text recording human performances di-
alogy of the Nakaomi uji) both reflect such a structure of on-
rected towards the deities, performances conducted by the
going supplementation.
emperor, the ritual celebrant who approached the deities or
the spirits of deceased emperors in person. In recognizing
The expansion of the Ritsuryo¯ state was accompanied
this distinction, the difficulty of including within the catego-
by an increase in the number of officials serving the state. As
ry of myth all ancient Japanese texts dealing with deities
the state’s rule reached into the lower strata of society, the
should be apparent.
number of familial historical traditions must have increased
as well. One indication of such a growth in historical records
THE MEDIEVAL DISCURSIVE SPACE. What, then, was the
can be found in the large number of familial traditions in-
discursive space of the medieval period, and what changes
cluded in the Shinsen sho¯jiroku, compiled in 815 CE.
did it undergo as it bridged the ancient and modern discur-
sive spaces? The pioneering works of Ito¯ Masayoshi and Abe
In summary, with the compilation of national histories
Yasuro¯ concerning the medieval appropriations of the Ni-
such as the Nihonshoki, state-related memory was fixed with-
honshoki provide important clues. The clearest indication of
in the ruling class, and individual uji histories developed
a shift from an ancient to a medieval discursive space is found
apart from, but in close relation to, these national histories.
in the terminological shift from national histories (kokushi)
The uji records and familial documents submitted to the
to Japanese chronicles (nihongi). Describing the corpus re-
court functioned as a bridge between state memory and clan
ferred to as the Japanese chronicles, Abe makes the following
memories. Because of the existence of multiple group memo-
observation: “What is most often found are explanations of
ries, the national histories became authoritative texts, the
meaning or origins that are told individual tales utterly unre-
central memory of the ancient court, capable of bestowing
lated to the main text of the Nihonshoki. At first glance, these
social legitimacy on the individual uji. The dual structure of
tales simulate the form of a citation from a text called the
the rigid memory of the state and the multiple and develop-
Chronicle of Japan, and appear to belong to the scholarly
ing memories of the various families constituted the shape
genre of commentaries on ancient sources” (Abe, 1993,
of history in antiquity.
p. 199).
The modern understanding of the Kiki thus merely cap-
A fixed national history, as in the ancient official histo-
tures the unified memory that came only after the decline
ries, can no longer be found within these texts. Instead, the
of the ancient court’s political authority. As the court lost po-
content of the Nihonshoki is reread and rendered fluid by a
litical power, the Kiki texts were no longer needed to deter-
multiplicity of voices. For example, in the section on Emper-
mine the social status of court officials in relation to uji trans-
or Keiko¯ in Yamatohime no Mikoto seiki, the spiritual power
missions and familial records. Instead, the Kiki came to
of the Kusanagi sword (one component of the imperial rega-
represent a national memory. In antiquity, those whose ori-
lia) and how it came to be enshrined in Atsuta Shrine of
gins did not directly intersect with the Kiki must have pos-
Aichi prefecture is explained though Yamato Takeru’s east-
sessed very different histories of private traditions.
ern conquest:
One final point must be made regarding the position
of the Kiki in antiquity. In the past, some scholars within the
(1) Winter, on the second day of the tenth month, Ya-
mato Takeru departed on his journey. On the seventh
field of religious studies sought the origins of myth within
day, he altered his route and worshiped at the shrine
ritual on the understanding that myths and rituals are closely
[kamu miya] of Ise. Taking his leave of Yamatohime, he
related. In Japan, the Kiki narratives are understood to be
said, “Under the order of the Emperor, I now go east
myths, but the Engishiki (a text from the mid-Heian period)
to punish those who resist our rule. I take your leave.”
is understood to be a ritual text. The divine names and tales
Then Yamatohime took the Kusanagi sword and gave
recorded in the Engishiki include some that are not included
it to Yamato Takeru, saying “Be reverent and do not be
in the Kiki, but they all belong to common basic Weltan-
neglectful.” Yamato Takeru reached Suruga for the first
schauung. What is important to note is not a theory of origins
time that year, entered the wilderness, and woefully en-
concerned with which of the texts are more archaic, but rath-
countered a wildfire.
er the difference in their functions within the ancient Yamato
(2) The prince’s sword drew itself of its own accord and
dynasty. One the one hand, as already noted, the Kiki narra-
cut the grass around the prince. Because of this, the
tives were recognized as historical texts that regulated the uji
prince was saved. He named his sword Kusanagi [grass
traditions within ancient society. The Engishiki, on the other
cutter].
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4804
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: THE STUDY OF MYTHS
(3) Yamato Takeru, having pacified the enemies of the
the form of an eight-year-old emperor sinking with the
east, reached the land of Owari on his journey home.
sword to the depths of the sea.” Having thus become
There he stayed for a while with his wife, Miyazuhime.
the treasure of a divine dragon in the unfathomable
He untied his sword and left it at his house as he walked
depths of the sea, it will never return to human hands
alone to climb Mount Ibuki. He died there, overcome
again.
by poisonous air. The Kusanagi sword is now at the
shrine of Atsuta in the country of Owari.
An examination of Heike monogatari variants depicting the
loss of the treasured sword reveals three distinct groups: (1)
Section (1) quotes the main text of the Nihonshoki; the sec-
texts that claim a replica was forged during Emperor Su¯jin’s
tion describing the wildfire in Suruga (2) comes from a vari-
reign, which was then lost in the sea (Engyo¯-bon, Yashiro-bon
ant of the shoki; and the passage describing the death of Ya-
[extracts], Genpei jo¯suiki, Shibukassenjo-bon); (2) texts that
mato Takeru (3) is taken from the Kogoshu¯i.
claim a replica was forged, but that the real sword was lost
Unlike the Kojiki, the Nihonshoki contains within it
(the Kakuichi variant quoted above); and (3) texts that men-
variants of the main text. Through the Heian period, these
tion no replica, but that depict the real sword being lost in
variants were cited only as references for the main text. The
the sea (Yashiro-bon [main text], Hyakunijjuku-bon). Takagi
two were clearly differentiated by differences in the sizing of
Makoto has explained the proliferation of these texts, observ-
the characters. In Yamatohime no Mikoto seiki, however, the
ing that “each variant text refracts the other variants and de-
variant account of the Kusanagi sword moving of its own will
nies a movement towards the creation of a single ‘meaning.’”
to save Yamato Takeru is woven into the main text in order
He sees “the totality of the relations [between the texts] as
to create a tale demonstrating the spiritual power of the
a corpus” (Takagi, 2001, pp. 227–228).
sword. The more powerful the sword was believed to be,
Within that corpus, little attention is paid to which text
the more authority the Ise Shrine, home to Yamatohime and
is historically accurate. Rather, an array of perspectives corre-
the source of the sword, was thought to possess. This would
sponding to varied positions exist side-by-side, containing
have been an interpretation amenable to those affiliated with
mutual contradictions within their narratives. Additional
the shrine, who were responsible for the creation of this text.
new texts were produced by overlapping those multiple nar-
Furthermore, Yamatohime’s words are prefaced with a “said”
ratives. This is true not only of the Heike monogatari but also
(iwaku) in the Nihonshoki, while they are prefaced with a
of the medieval Japanese chronicles as a whole. During this
“declared” (notamau) in Yamatohime no Mikoto seiki. This
period, debates over whether or not texts were authentic rare-
indicates a desire to elevate Yamatohime’s status (Isomae,
ly arose with any degree of seriousness.
1999b).
The medieval period saw the warriors (bushi) assume
The medieval period saw the liberal alteration of the Ni-
real political power, while the court lost political influence.
honshoki text in the interest of producing tales that served the
Paralleling that development, the Nihonshoki, compiled in
interests and positions of those who produced them. In re-
order to legitimate the court’s authority, could no longer
gards to the legend of the Kusanagi sword’s spiritual power,
maintain its position as a fixed referent. As a result, the vari-
multiple texts emerged, including Owari no kuni Atsuta
ous texts once subordinated to the Nihonshoki, such as the
taijingu¯ engi (an account of the origin of the Atsuta Shrine,
familial documents submitted to the court (kacho¯) and uji
thought to have been compiled by people affiliated with the
records (ujibumi), were replaced by genres with freer narra-
shrine); Jinno¯ seito¯ki (a chronicle of deities and emperors by
tive content, such as Shinto¯ texts (shinto¯sho), temple and
Kitabatake Chikafua, a central figure in the Southern Court);
shrine origins (engi), and military tales (gunki). As already
Kanetomo senkenbon Nihon shoki jindaikansho¯ (a Yoshida
noted, the familial documents and uji records were premised
Shinto¯ digest of the divine age section of the Nihonshoki);
upon the political power of the court. They were political
and the Tsurugi no maki (Tale of the sword) in military
texts designed to be submitted to the court. At that time, the
chronicles such as Heike monogatari and Taiheiki. In the
national histories, notably the Nihonshoki, functioned as the
Kakuichi variant of the Heike monogatari, for example, the
standard against which the content of the records and trans-
tale begins with Susano-o gaining the Kusanagi sword by de-
missions were judged. With the weakening of the court dur-
feating the Orochi dragon. The sword is then enshrined in
ing the medieval period, however, the national histories lost
the Atsuta Shrine following Yamato Takeru’s eastern con-
this political function, and the ancient dual structure of
quest. Later, following the monk Do¯gyo¯’s failed attempt to
“fixed authority/fluid familial records” crumbled.
steal the sword at the time of the Tenchi court and Emperor
Yo¯zei’s drawing of the sword out of madness, the Kusanagi
At the center of the corpus referred to as the medieval
sword is lost in the sea with the drowning of young Emperor
Japanese chronicles lay the commentaries on the Nihonshoki.
Antoku. The tale concludes as follows:
These were produced by priests of the Yoshida house and es-
A scholar among them offered this explanation: “The
oteric Buddhist monks in environs of the court. Commen-
great snake killed at Hi River in Izumo by Susano-o
tarial activity on the Nihonshoki took place periodically from
longed for the spiritual sword deep in his head. As
at least the Heian period in the form of the ritual “reading
foretold by his eight heads and eight tails, he regained
of the Japanese chronicles” (Nihongi ko¯sho). Private records
the sword after eighty generations of human rulers in
of the official lectures have survived. These lectures, however,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: THE STUDY OF MYTHS
4805
were conducted under the jurisdiction of the court. Most
rial regalia. With commentary layered upon commentary,
took the form of phonetic instruction (kunchu¯) with addi-
and, one provenance placed atop another, the discourse sur-
tional etymological discussion.
rounding the Japanese chronicles swelled, all the while build-
ing centrifugal force.
In the medieval period, the text was no longer literally
interpreted as a record of actual events, as had been the case
These divine texts and commentaries on the Nihonshoki
in the ancient court. Rather, focusing on the Shindai no maki
were transmitted and controlled as esoteric traditions by the
(Scroll of the divine age), allegorical interpretations based on
houses and schools surrounding the surviving court, but no
Buddhist metaphysics were used to reread the texts. The
longer by the court itself. At the same time the military tales
locus of commentary moved from the singular control of the
(gunki) and temple and shrine histories (jisha engi) that sub-
court and spread throughout various aristocratic houses and
sumed the medieval Japanese chronicles appear to have
schools. The difference between the ancient and medieval
spread through society via regional lords and prominent tem-
commentaries can be seen by comparing the following two
ples and shrines. Both channels of textual transmission were
passages:
located within the sphere of influence of political authority
based in western Japan, with the surviving court at its apex.
Kuni no Tokotachi no Mikoto. Query: Who first called
In eastern Japan, in contrast, the discourse of medieval Japa-
this deity by this name? The teacher answers: the Kana
Nihongi, Kamimiyagi, and the various ancient texts all
nese chronicles was known to some extent, but it was either
contain this name. However, I have never seen the first
rejected or fundamentally reread. For example, one work de-
instance of its use. There is no way to determine its ori-
scribes Amaterasu-O
¯ mikami as “a deity who tells lies” (Nitta,
gins in early antiquity (jo¯ko). (Nihonshoki shiki [teihon;
1989).
a private record of the official commentary])
Moreover, while the divine texts and commentaries
Kuni no Tokotachi no Mikoto—this deity is the one
gained intellectual authority by virtue of being esoterically
spirit of all the peoples’ hearts. The heart of this deity
controlled, the origin tales and military chronicles circulated
is very clear, like a polished mirror reflecting light on
widely. For this reason, the reception of the Kiki during the
its base. Because it contains no artifice and shines upon
medieval period appears to have followed two different tra-
all things, it begat Amanokagami no Mikoto. To con-
jectories. In one trajectory, the Kiki texts were hidden esoter-
tain no artifice in the heart and to remain in nothing-
ness [kyomu] is the essence of Shinto¯. (Kanetomo Nihon-
ically within the weakened court circles, with an ever-
shoki shindaikanmyo¯ [a Yoshida Shinto¯ commentary])
shrinking audience. In the other trajectory, the texts were
pulled centrifugally beyond that boundary into broader seg-
The first commentary on the Nihonshoki entertains the ques-
ments of society.
tion of who first named the deity Kuni no Tokotachi no
Mikoto. Because the matter is not recorded in the sources,
In summary, in the course of the medieval period, the
however, the question is abandoned. In contrast to this,
Six National Histories, especially the Nihonshoki, lost their
Yoshida Kanetomo begins his commentary with the deity’s
centripetal force as classical sources (koten); Shinto¯ texts, mil-
name, but then develops a metaphysical argument regarding
itary chronicles, and temple and shrine histories emerged in
the essence of the human heart.
place of the familial documents and uji records that had once
been subordinated to the national histories. Among these, a
Shinto¯ texts (shinto¯sho) were written as a result of this
distinct corpus called the “medieval Japanese chronicles”
new form of commentary. In them, Buddhist metaphysics
(chu¯sei Nihongi) took shape. These borrowed the title of the
provided a means to construct a discourse that combined an
Nihonshoki but sought to present a reading beyond the
interior “Way” with the historical ontology of Japan. At this
meaning written into the text. In a sense, they sought to de-
time, the Nihonshoki—in some cases even the Kojiki and the
construct the ancient worldview. The honji suijaku doctrine
Sendai kujihongi—was no longer treated as a “national histo-
functioned within this corpus to ground the universal
ry,” but rather as scripture, a “divine text” that “tells the tales
thought of Buddhism in the particular locus called Japan
of the kami” (Yoshida Kanetomo). In Ryo¯bu Shinto¯’s Re-
(Kuroda, 1975; Imahori, 1990).
ikiki, for example, Amaterasu O
¯ mikami’s grandson Ho no
Ninigi states his name as “imperial descendant Kotokukimi”
At the same time, however, to the extent that these texts
and claims to have descended from heaven, not as the mani-
continued to claim some formal connection to the divine age
festation of the spirit of rice as depicted in the Kiki, but as
of the Kiki, groups represented by the medieval texts still
the manifestation of the (Buddhist) diamond sword
sought to ground their legitimacy in the historical tradition
(Kongo¯sho¯) in order to spread throughout the land the true
embodied in the emperor. In this, we can see the nature of
word (shingon) of Amaterasu O
¯ mikami’s prime noumenon,
the medieval state in western Japan mirrored in the corpus
Bontenno¯ (Brahma¯). The Shindai no maki was thus read as
itself. The ranking aristocratic families and powerful Bud-
a text declaring the salvation of all people (shujo¯) by the Bud-
dhist temples (kenmon), along with regional lords, increased
dha. Its narrative form no longer strictly follows a historical
their level of autonomy, while at the same time they sought
chronology, but instead takes the form of topical sequences,
the possibility of uniting all political forces beneath the em-
such as a discussion of the three sacred treasures, or the impe-
peror. While still lacking a true center, the discursive space
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4806
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: THE STUDY OF MYTHS
of Buddhist metaphysics emerged wherein various texts took
Ancient uji records that survived into the early modern
shape under the umbrella label of “Japanese chronicles.”
period ceased to connect the Kiki to specific groups. Instead,
With the demise of the Ritsuryo¯ state, the divine rituals
they came to be treated as mere variants capable of supple-
(jingi saishi), which possessed a different function from the
menting lacunae in the communal memory that the Kiki
national histories and familial records in antiquity, ceased to
came to represent. By the early modern period, shinto¯sho
be performed. With the exception of private versions of these
could no longer exist independently, encompassing and al-
rituals, such as the Nakatomi purification ritual (harai), most
tering the Kiki. They instead were relegated to the status of
court rituals were discontinued in the late medieval period.
secondary texts that interpreted the canonical statements of
Under these circumstances, the difference between the con-
the Kiki. The term Shinto¯ itself came to be shunned in Native
cept of kami in the Kiki and that in the rituals and ritual texts
Learning. Although Shinto¯ is once again placed at the center
grew ambiguous. The inconsistencies between the two were
of the kokutai (national body) ideology in the modern peri-
eventually unified, with the Kiki providing the basis for
od, new texts bearing the title shinto¯sho were never again pro-
doing so. By this time, though, the Kiki texts had been fun-
duced.
damentally reread in relation to the discourses of Buddhist
During the modern period, the Ministry of Education’s
metaphysics and the medieval social structure, both very dif-
history curriculum and the Shinto¯ shrines that, under the di-
ferent from that of antiquity.
rectives of State Shinto¯, came to enshrine deities from the
THE KIKI AS NATIONAL MEMORY. With the work of
Kiki served as the two primary conduits through which the
Yoshimi Yoshikazu in the late early modern period, texts
Kiki texts were propagated to the nation (Kaigo, 1969;
with uncertain dates of composition were declared to be in-
Murakami, 1970). Thus, public schools and shrines formed
authentic, unlike such ancient texts as the national histories
part of the foundation of the modern state’s newly created
and official records. Furthermore, Motoori Norinaga’s Na-
administration. Both were expected to play a critical role in
tive Learning (kokugaku) for the first time identified the Kiki
national indoctrination. History education was designed to
as texts containing the memory of the ethnic-nation (min-
“shape national thought,” while “the rites of the state” were
zoku) as a whole. Texts depicting the emperor existed in the
to be handled by the shrines. The identification and preser-
early modern period, including Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s
vation of imperial tombs and palace sites mentioned in the
Kabuki play, Yo¯mei tenno¯ shokunin kagami. Yet such works
Kiki expanded during this period as well.
dealt with the emperor strictly in terms of fiction and must
In addition to such government vehicles, other books
be distinguished from any treatment of the Kiki as historical
dealing with the Kiki sought to reread the state’s official his-
accounts. In the hands of scholars such as Yoshimi and Mot-
tory in terms of liberalism or national essentialism (kokusu-
oori, the status of the Kiki, which had become ambiguous
ishugi). Such works spread through the nation via print
during the medieval period, regained clarity. In the modern
media and the intellectual class. As early as the Edo period,
period, the Kojiki and Nihonshoki achieved canonical status
however, woodblock print versions of the Kiki and other
as the repository of national memory. At the same time, the
classics saw wide circulation. Many shrines also altered the
texts referred to as the medieval Japanese chronicles (chu¯sei
names of their enshrined deities during this period in re-
Nihongi), such as the Shinto¯ texts and temple/shrine origins,
sponse to the growing influence of Yoshida Shinto¯.
which had once subsumed the Kiki, were rejected as
fabulous.
Relatively large shrines possessed their own histories or
oral traditions dating back to the medieval period. Confront-
During the ancient period, the Kiki played a central role
ed first with the Yoshida house’s governmental mandate to
in explaining the origins of the social positions occupied by
license priests and with the modern state’s shrine policies,
various uji. The status of the Kiki grew ambiguous during
however, such histories and traditions were too weak to resist
the medieval period, while the freedom enjoyed by Shinto¯
alteration or outright erasure. In the case of small shrines
texts and temple/shrine origins vis-à-vis the Kiki dramatically
lacking clear histories or defined deities, they were complete-
expanded. Still, for those represented by these new texts, the
ly subsumed by the doctrinal system of Yoshida Shinto¯ or
Kiki provided the basis for claims of historical origin, howev-
the modern emperor system. The histories of newly formed
er perfunctory those claims may have been. The discursive
branch families rarely reach farther back than a couple of
space within which the Kiki possessed meaning from the an-
generations. The state’s history, with the Kiki at its core, sup-
cient through the medieval period, however, did not compre-
plemented this lacuna.
hensively include all of the inhabitants of the Japanese is-
lands, in terms of class and region. From the late early
At the same time that the Kiki texts were fixed in their
modern period onwards, however, this began to change. No
modern position, a liberal reading emerged, one premised on
longer tied to specific groups, the Kiki texts came to be held
the Kiki texts but also subsuming them. The “academic
as the repositories of a shared, communal memory in corre-
essay” came to replace the “commentary.” In the commen-
spondence with the emerging nation-state (Isomae, 2000).
taries of the early modern period, the Kiki texts were treated
Needless to say, the homogeneity implied in such a discur-
as fact by the authors who strove to understand this content.
sive space functioned to elide social differences that neverthe-
Against this, the academic essay strives, not to enter into the
less continued to exist.
Kiki themselves, but rather to grasp the “history” that came
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: THE STUDY OF MYTHS
4807
to exist separate from, yet surrounding, the texts. While com-
cerning dating within the Nihonshoki, put forward in the
mentaries were written under the restrictions of the text it-
1880s, provides a clear example of this separation of the con-
self, the scholarly essay incorporates the Kiki texts into its
cept of history from the Kiki. By taking the Christian era into
own narrative, where the author employs it to develop his
consideration, the measurement of time within the Nihon-
or her own thought.
shoki and the Kojiki, the imperial reigns and the sexagenary
cycle (eto), was rendered relative, and a different temporal
Although a few commentaries were written in the mod-
axis was constructed outside of the Kiki texts (Tanaka,
ern era, they merely provided etymological interpretations
1998). Dealing with the age of the deities, which lacked a
and were no longer related to the understanding of history
calendar, created a problem though.
itself. Kazamaki Keijiro¯ locates the supplanting of commen-
taries by academic essays in the Taisho era (1912–1926). He
Motoori Norinaga’s interpretation of the divine age
notes this shift in reference to studies of the Kojiki: “Looking
during the transitional period to modernity was based on his
at commentaries alone, there were twenty-six during the
declaration that all the content concerning the divine age was
Meiji period. . .[but only] four commentaries on the Kojiki
historical. Like Christian fundamentalists in the West,
during the Taisho era. By contrast, there were twenty titles
Norinaga forbade all allegorical interpretation of the ancient
in the category of [scholarly] research. Just as the back-
text. By the 1890s, however, Takagi Toshio and Anesaki Ma-
grounds of the scholars changed between the Meiji and Ta-
saharu had absorbed the Western concept of “mythology.”
isho periods, the nature of their research also changed”
As a result, the descriptions of the divine age came to be un-
(Kazamaki, 1956, pp. 177–181).
derstood in terms of psychological reality (O
¯ bayashi, 1973).
The term Kiki myths broadly employed today originated at
Eventually, the commentaries themselves were incorpo-
this time. In this manner, the sections of the Kiki concerning
rated into the essay form. The main body of the essay is treat-
the divine age (kamitsuyo no maki) achieved a stable position
ed as a text in its own right, while earlier commentaries are
as a form of “national history,” although related in terms of
turned into authoritative works that support the author’s
the worldview of the past.
own thought. This is clearly different from the fundamental
distinction that had existed between the medieval commen-
This perspective of treating such texts as historical prod-
taries and the metaphysical narrative of the Shinto¯ texts.
ucts was applied not only to the divine age but also to the
human age within the Kiki texts by the Taisho period, espe-
At the same time, the Kiki texts continue to occupy a
cially in the work of Tsuda So¯kichi. Consequently, the Kiki
canonical position (even though the familial records and uji
texts in their entirety came to be understood as reflecting the
transmissions are absent in the modern period). The ancient
historical perspective of a specific class of people belonging
and modern periods are fundamentally different, however,
to a specific time period (Ienaga, 1972). Not only was the
when it comes to the question of whether the Kiki are to be
concept of “hard history” detached from the Kiki, but simul-
understood as history or as material for historical under-
taneously Japanese literary studies sought to reposition the
standing. For example, in the ancient readings of the Japa-
Kiki within the axis of historical time.
nese chronicles (Nihongi ko¯sho), when an undecipherable sec-
tion of the text was reached, all attempts at judgment were
Within the discursive space called “history,” various de-
suspended: “The way of the deities is unfathomable; the
bates regarding the Kiki intersect. These debates include
truth of this remains unknown. What is heard differs and ex-
competition between diverse approaches to the Kiki, such as:
planations disagree.” Because the text was held to be history
(1) treating the words as independent texts with distinct logi-
itself, without a hint of modern rationality, commentators
cal structures (sakuhinron); (2) searching for original texts
could not exceed the narrative of the text. If the Kiki main-
that served as sources for the derivative Kiki (seiritsuron); (3)
tained a sacred character before the modern era, it was the
conflicts over the Western and imperial calendars in deter-
result of its identification with history itself. Even Norinaga
mining dates (kinenron); and (4) whether one should accept
understood the Kiki as the direct record of chronological
the depiction of the divine age as historical fact or as a prod-
events: “The ancient records merely recorded what has been
uct of psychological reality. The expansive discursive space
transmitted from the age of the deities.”
today called “history” allows the discussant to read into his-
tory a variety of positions and perspectives.
In contrast, because modern scholars separated history
from the text of the Kiki, they could freely cut and weave
By emphasizing the unique canonical status of the Kiki
texts. In some cases, they integrated uji transmissions and an-
texts, the modern approach has treated them as the shared
cient texts in order to reach beyond the texts into the dimen-
memory of the nation. The understanding of “Japanese my-
sion of history.
thology” is a discourse produced within these developments.
The term Kiki first saw broad use in the Meiji period,
This discussion has traced the transformations that the
but the term did not reflect simply combining the Nihon-
discursive space surrounding the Kiki underwent through the
shoki and Kojiki. Rather, the term referred to the discursive
ancient, medieval, and modern period. The ancient period,
space of history that appears in the background when the two
in the sense employed here, begins with the reign of Tenmu
texts are brought together. Naka Michiyo’s argument con-
(673–686 CE) and ends in the early Heian period (tenth cen-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4808
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: THE STUDY OF MYTHS
tury CE). The medieval period stretches from the Kamakura
Nihon shoki shiki. Shintei zo¯ho, Kokushi taikei. Tokyo, 1932.
period (1180–1333 CE) through the Muromachi period
Sakamoto Taro¯, ed. Nihon shoki. Nihon koten bungaku taikei, vols.
(1336–1573 CE). The modern period begins in the late Edo
67 and 68. Tokyo, 1965.
period (late eighteenth century onwards). The late Heian pe-
Yamatohime no Mikoto seiki. In Shintei zo¯ho, Kokushi taikei,
riod, which produced the Japanese chronicle texts during the
pp. 53–54. Tokyo, 1966.
cloister governments of retired emperors (inseiki), corre-
Yoshida Kanetomo and Kiyohara Nobukata. Kanetomo Nobutaka
sponds to the transition from the ancient to the medieval pe-
senken-bon nihon shoki kamiyo no maki myo. Tokyo, 1984.
riod. Likewise, the early Edo period, with the strong influ-
Yoshimi Yoshikazu. Shobjo shashoku tomon. In Daijingu¯ sosho¯: Wa-
ence of Confucian Shinto¯, corresponds to the transitional
tarai Shinto¯ taisei; Ko¯hen. Tokyo, 1955.
phase from the medieval to the modern period. Of course,
this periodization is based on the types of textual analysis of
Secondary Sources
the Kiki that were practiced. This chronology does not strict-
Abe Akio. Yoshimi Yoshikazu. Tokyo, 1944.
ly correspond to the periodization employed by historians in
Abe Yasuro¯. Nihongi to setsuwa. Setsuwa no Ko¯za, vol. 3. Tokyo,
general.
1993.
Whether or not current historical research can maintain
Folkert, Kendall W. “The ‘Canons’ of ‘Scripture.’” In Rethinking
its critical power depends upon whether we can move be-
Scripture: Essays from a Comparative Perspective, edited by
yond acknowledging various historical products outside our-
Miriam Levering, pp. 170–179. Albany, N.Y., 1989.
selves, and instead render our own horizon of understanding
Henderson, John B. Scripture, Canon, and Commentary: A Com-
an object of analysis. To do so does not mean, as in the past,
parison and Western Exegesis. Princeton, 1991.
constructing another representation called the “true myths
Ienaga Saburo¯. Tsuda So¯kichi no shiso¯shiteki kenkyu¯. Tokyo, 1972.
of the Japanese ethnic nation” in order to resist the authority
Imahori Taitsu. Jingi shinko¯ no tenkai to bukkyo¯. Tokyo, 1990.
of the emperor system and the Kiki. We can no longer im-
Isomae Jun’ichi. “‘Kokushi’ to iu gensetsu kukan.” In Gendai
merse ourselves into the interior of existing texts. Nor does
Shiso¯ 27, no. 12 (1999a): 24–40.
it mean, as in some scholarship on the medieval Japanese
chronicles and ancient kingship, projecting modern and
Isomae Jun’ichi. “Myth in Metamorphosis: Ancient and Medieval
Versions of the Yamatotakeru Legend.” Monumenta Nip-
Western religious concepts, such as the sacred and profane
ponica 54, no. 3 (1999b): 361–385.
developed by Euro-American religious studies, directly onto
the past. The past must be faced in order to clarify how the
Isomae Jun’ichi. “Reappropriating the Japanese Myths: Motoori
Norinaga and the Creation Myths of the Kojiki and Nihon
structure of discursive space organizes subjectivity, and to
shoki.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 27, nos. 1–2
understand what forces of integration and opposition are at
(2000): 15–39.
work within that space. As part of that process, the significa-
tions contained within the concept of Japanese mythology
Isomae Jun’ichi and Fukazawa Hidetaka, eds. Kindai nihon ni
okeru chishikijin to shukyo: Anesaki Masaharu no kiseki.
must be historically examined in terms of their emergence
Tokyo, 2002.
as a discourse produced by native elites buffeted by waves of
modern Westernization.
Ishimoda Tadashi. Kodai kizoku no eiyu jidai: ‘Kojiki’ no ichi kosat-
su (1948). Ishimoda chosakushu¯, vol. 10. Tokyo, 1989.
The discursive space that can be made an object of his-
Ito¯ Masayoshi. “Chusei Nihongi no rinkaku: Taiheiki ni okeru
torical research, though, is only a small part of the memory
Urabe Kanekazu-setsu wo megutte.” Bungaku 40, no. 10
that once existed within society as a whole, and a privileged
(1972): 28–48.
part at that. At the same time, one must ask why the specific
Kaigo Muneomi. Rekishi kyo¯iku no rekishi. Tokyo, 1969.
limited memory of the Kiki became the fountainhead of his-
tory, all the while altering the structure of the surrounding
Kazamaki Keijiro. “Kojiki kenkyu no saishuppatsu.” In Kojiki
discursive space, and why it entranced those enmeshed in
taisei: Kenkyushi hen, pp. 177–181. Tokyo, 1956.
that space for so long. The field of research identified with
Ko¯noshi Takamitsu. Kojiki no seikaikan. Tokyo, 1987.
Japanese mythology must now take up the task of confront-
Ko¯noshi Takamitsu, ed. “Kojiki Nihon shoki hikkei.” Besatsu
ing the historical inclinations that have been internalized.
Kokubungaku 49 (1995): 6–10.
S
Ko¯noshi Takamitsu. Kojiki to “Nihon shoki”: “Tenno shinwa” no
EE ALSO Amaterasu O
¯ mikami; Ame no Koyane; Izanagi
and Izanami; Jimmu; Jingo; O
¯ kuninushi no Mikoto;
rekishi. Tokyo, 1999.
Shinto¯; Susano-o no Mikoto; Yamato Takeru.
Kuroda Toshio. Nihon chu¯sei no kokka to shu¯kyo¯. Tokyo, 1975.
Levering, Miriam, ed. Rethinking Scripture: Essays from a Compar-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ative Perspective. Albany, N.Y., 1989.
Primary Sources
Levinson, Bernard M. “The Human Voice in Divine Revelation:
Motoori Norinaga. Naobi no mitama. Motoori Norinaga zenshu,
The Problem in Religious Tradition in Biblical Law” In In-
vol. 9. Tokyo, 1968.
novation in Religious Traditions: Essays in the Interpretation of
Motoori Norinaga. Kojiki-Den: Book 1. Translated by Ann Weh-
Religious Change, edited by Michael A Williams, Collette
meyer. Ithaca, N.Y., 1997.
Cox, and Martin S. Jaffee, pp. 35–71. Berlin and New York,
Nishinomiya Kazutami, ed. Kogoshu¯i. Tokyo, 1985.
1992.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: RELIGIOUS DOCUMENTS
4809
Mizubayashi Takeshi. Kiki shinwa to o¯ken no matsuri. Tokyo,
ANCIENT PERIOD. Important sources of written knowledge
1991.
about Japan that predate the eighth century are passages
Murakami Shigeyoshi. Kokka shinto¯. Tokyo, 1970.
treating “barbarians” in Chinese dynastic histories. The ful-
Nakamura Hideo. Kodai saishiroon. Tokyo, 1999.
lest account of Japan—known as the Land of Wa—is in Wei
Nitta Ichiro¯. “Kyogen wo o¯seraruru kami.” Retto¯ no Bunkashi 6
zhi (History of the Wei Kingdom, 220–264, of North
(1989): 211–229.
China), which describes a territory of Wa called Yamatai that
was ruled by a queen named Himiko, who was a shaman.
O
¯ bayashi Taryo¯. Nihon shinwa no kigen. Tokyo, 1973.
Rulers of Wa maintained tributary relationships to China
Ogawa Toyoo. “Chusei no mechie: hensei suru Nihongi to ‘Re-
and were thus incorporated into the Chinese worldview. Wei
ikiki’ Tensatsu no maki.” In Chu¯sei no chi to gaku:
“chu¯shaku” wo yomu. Tokyo, 1997.
zhi provides details about the customs of Yamatai. For exam-
ple, people clapped their hands in worship, showed respect
O
¯ ta Sho¯jiro¯. Jodai ni okeru ‘Nihon shoki’ ko¯kyu¯ (1939). O¯ta Sho¯jiro¯
toward others by squatting or kneeling with both hands on
Chosakushu¯, vol. 3. Tokyo, 1992.
the ground, and purified themselves in water after a funeral.
Saito¯ Hideki. Amaterasu no Fukami e. Tokyo, 1996.
Seki Akira. Jodai ni okeru ‘Nihon shoki’ kodoku no kenkyu (1942).
Between the third and the sixth centuries a state gradu-
Seki Akira Chosakushu¯, vol. 5. Tokyo, 1997.
ally evolved that came to be known first as Yamato and later
Takagi Makoto. “Seitosei no shinwa ga hokai suru shunkan:
as Nihon (land of the “sun’s source”). Written sources all
Heike monogatari ‘tsurugi no maki’ no ‘katari.’” In Heike
date from later, but archaeological evidence of this period in-
monogatari: so¯zo¯suru katari, pp. 227–228. Tokyo, 2001.
dicates a variety of rituals and beliefs.
Tanaka Satoshi. ‘Joko’ no kakutei: kinen ronso wo megutte. Edo no
THE RITSURYO¯ STATE. By the seventh century, rulers of Ya-
shiso¯ 8. Tokyo, 1998.
mato or Nihon (Japan) declined to maintain the tributary
Tsuda So¯kichi. Nihon koten no kenkyu¯: jo (1948). Tsuda So¯kichi
relationship with China and set about establishing their own
zenshu¯, vol. 1. Tokyo, 1963.
version of the Chinese imperial system and constructing the
ISOMAE JUN’ICHI (2005)
capital city of Nara in 710. Two texts in particular, Kojiki
(Record of ancient matters; 712) and Nihonshoki (or Ni-
hongi; Chronicle of Japan; 720), were compiled to legitimize
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: RELIGIOUS
the state, authenticate the political hegemony of the imperial
DOCUMENTS
Yamato clan, and establish comprehensive legal codes
A vast number of religious documents were written, trans-
(ritsuryo¯) according to which political power emanated from
mitted, and circulated in Japan in the course of history. Spe-
an emperor or empress (tenno¯) who was above the law. Other
cial note must be made at the outset of the particular impor-
key texts from this period include Izumo fu¯doki (completed
tance in Japan of Buddhist texts, commentaries, and related
733), a gazetteer of Izumo province in western Honshu¯;
works, including those imported from China or Korea, as
Kogoshu¯i (Gleanings of old narratives, 807); and Man’yo¯shu¯
well as original works by Japanese authors. Since this volumi-
(Collection of a thousand leaves, late eight century), a collec-
nous category of writings is covered elsewhere, however, it
tion of more than 4,500 poems.
is only treated in outline in this entry.
Texts of the ancient period circulated in manuscript
Instead, this entry concentrates on certain literary, reli-
form. The oldest surviving manuscript by a Japanese author
gious, and historical texts that were used in Japan to establish
is a commentary on the Lotus Su¯tra in the collections of the
the legitimacy of the state, not only in the eighth century,
Japanese Imperial Household Ministry. The commentary
when the texts were originally compiled for that purpose, but
was written by Sho¯toku Taishi (574?–622?), regent to Em-
also in the medieval period and again in modern times. Poli-
press Suiko and the leading cultural figure of his day. It is
ticians establishing the modern Japanese nation-state but-
said to be in his own calligraphy.
tressed their ideology by drawing on eighteenth-century na-
Japanese monks traveled to China on missions to collect
tivist philological writings about the early texts, thereby
Buddhist texts several times in this early period. Of special
legitimizing the imperial system (tenno¯sei) and creating a cul-
note are collections of texts brought back by Saicho¯ (767–
tural unity of the Japanese people (kokuminsei).These texts
822) and Ku¯kai (774–835) for which catalogs were made in
are treated in chronological sections: (1) the ancient period
the early ninth century. These catalogues are important mile-
when the documents were first compiled; (2) the medieval
stones in the development of textual canons for Tendai and
period when they became part of syncretic discourse embrac-
Shingon Buddhism in Japan. Imported Buddhist su¯tras were
ing teachings of Shinto¯, Buddhism, and Confucianism;
copied in manuscript form to supply the many temples that
(3) the early modern period when nativist scholars found in
proliferated in this period. Villages specializing in producing
them a basis for a new mythology focusing on the common
paper grew up in proximity to monasteries in order to meet
language and ethnic identity of the Japanese people; and (4)
the demand.
the modern period when, until the end of World War II,
state mythology affirmed Japan as a nation-state under an
The earliest known printed documents in Japan also
emperor who had been authenticated by divine decree.
come from this period. They are ritual texts that were repro-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4810
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: RELIGIOUS DOCUMENTS
duced in a million copies, placed in small pagodas, and dis-
as heaven and earth took shape, up to the birth of the emper-
tributed to temples throughout the country in 764 on an
or Jinmu. Part two covers the period from Jinmu through
order from Empress Sho¯toku, following a protracted civil
O
¯ jin, the fifteenth sovereign in the traditional chronology.
war. Known as the Hyakumanto¯ darani (Dha¯ran:¯ı of one mil-
Part three traces the imperial succession from Nintoku,
lion pagodas), those texts were not in Japanese, but consisted
O
¯ jin’s son, through Empress Suiko (554–628), a historical
of Sanskrit words (from a su¯tra known in Japanese as Muku
figure who reigned from 592 to 628. The narrative comes
jo¯ko¯ dai daranikyo¯) phonetically transcribed into Chinese
to an end about a century before Suiko, and the last century
characters. While the immediate motivation for printing
of its coverage gives only a listing of sovereigns with genea-
them was evidently atonement for loss of life in the war, it
logical data. Although the final part of Kojiki may be regard-
has been suggested that the project also reflects Sho¯toku’s po-
ed as protohistory, the work as a whole is mythology.
litical sympathies for the Buddhist establishment rather than
the court bureaucracy. Clearly not meant for reading, these
In Kojiki, Amaterasu’s role as the most important deity
ritual texts had both religious and political significance.
is evident in the story of the Heavenly Rock Cave. When
Amaterasu hides in the cave, heaven and earth are plunged
KOJIKI AND NIHONSHOKI. Under Chinese influence, the
into darkness; only on her reemergence is order restored.
Japanese began writing histories by at least the seventh centu-
Further, she bestows the rule of the land to the progeny of
ry, but none have been preserved from that time. The project
Ninigi, confirming that arrangement through ceremonial
of historical compilation that resulted in the issuance of Ko-
worship of the mirror, which represents her continuing sup-
jiki in 712 and Nihonshoki in 720 was begun by Emperor
port of the imperial line.
Tenmu (r. 673–686), who had usurped the throne and want-
ed to legitimize his rule. According to the preface of Kojiki,
Nihonshoki is more than twice as long as the Kojiki, the
Tenmu lamented that the records of the “various houses”
later portions of its thirty chapters dealing in considerable
(presumably the imperial and courtier houses) had been al-
detail with the events of the sixth and seventh centuries and
tered and falsified, and ordered a ritual reciter named Hieda
ending with the abdication of Empress Jito¯ (645–720) in
no Are to memorize an imperial genealogy (Teiki) and a col-
697. While Kojiki gives only one version of each mythologi-
lection of narratives (Kyu¯ji). These seem to have served as the
cal story, the first two volumes of Nihonshoki, known as The
basis for Kojiki and Nihonshoki in the next century.
Age of the Gods, often provide three or more. Nihonshoki be-
Despite being based on the same sources and compiled
gins with the story of the emergence of heaven and earth
for similar purposes, Kojiki and the Nihonshoki differ funda-
from a primal chaos, presenting a world view influenced by
mentally, especially in the story of the origin of the imperial
yin-yang philosophy. The intercourse of the deities Izanaki
rule. Kojiki gives Amaterasu, the sun goddess, the key role
and Izanami gives birth to the world and all its deities (kami),
as ancestress of the imperial house, while in Nihonshoki Ama-
with Amaterasu being a subordinate deity in this world
terasu is a subordinate deity and plays no such role. It is likely
order.
that these two texts represent surviving exemplars of hetero-
Although archaeological and other evidence indicates
geneous mythologies that eventually merged to form a single
that, in fact, the historical ruling dynasty of Japan probably
mythology of the origin of imperial rule. Furthermore, the
dates from only the early sixth century CE, the record of an
text of Kojiki is in Japanese transcribed into Chinese charac-
unbroken imperial line beginning with Jinmu as found in
ters, a cumbersome writing method that was later aban-
Kojiki and Nihonshoki became the basis for the great myth
doned. So difficult is Kojiki to read that little attention was
of bansei ikkei, or “one dynasty to rule for a myriad genera-
paid to it for more than a thousand years, until the scholar
tions”—that is, forever. Whereas in China there were fre-
Motoori Norinaga (1730–1801) spent some thirty-five years
quent dynastic changes, justified by the mandate of heaven,
translating it into vernacular Japanese. In contrast, Nihon-
in Japan it was established from early times that rulership had
shoki is in the Chinese language that was used at court, and
been given unequivocally and forever by Amaterasu to a sin-
it has always been relatively easy for educated Japanese to
gle line of her descendants. According to bansei ikkei, Emper-
read.
or Akihito, who was invested in 1989, is the 125th sovereign
According to both Kojiki and Nihonshoki, Ninigi,
in direct descent from Jinmu.
grandson of Amaterasu, descends to earth (Japan). In the Ko-
While the genealogy of the imperial family is central to
jiki version Amaterasu gives Ninigi the Yasaka curved beads,
the mythology as presented in Kojiki and Nihonshoki, the
mirror, and Kusanagi sword that became the regalia of em-
pasts of leading courtier families are also woven conspicuous-
perorship, and decrees that Ninigi’s family should rule Japan
ly into it. A good example is the Nakatomi (later, Fujiwara)
eternally. In the Nihonshoki there is no such role for Ama-
family, whose founder, according to the mythology, was
terasu and it is only after Ninigi’s descendent, Emperor
Ame no Koyane, one of five deities (kami) who accompanied
Jinmu, gains control over earth in 660 BCE that the legitima-
Ninigi on his descent from heaven. During the Heian period
cy of imperial rule is established.
(794–1185), when the Fujiwara rose to dominance at court
Kojiki is a book in three parts. Part one deals with the
as imperial regents, they cited Kojiki and Nihonshoki in
age of the gods from the time when the first deities appeared,
claiming that their right to “accompany” and “assist” in rule
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: RELIGIOUS DOCUMENTS
4811
was as ancient and unassailable as the imperial family’s right
gradually synthesized into a single mythology and system of
to rule.
ritual practices at court. It was during this period, too, that
IZUMO FUDO¯KI. In 713 the newly established Nara court is-
Shinto¯ and Buddhism coalesced (shinbutsu shu¯go¯) and vener-
sued a decree to the provinces, calling upon each to report
ation of deities (kami) became part of Buddhist ritual prac-
on its geography, natural resources, local traditions, and the
tice in Japan, something that continued until the modern pe-
like. The idea of requesting such reports was based on Chi-
riod when the Meiji government attempted to separate them.
nese gazetteers and was intended as a means for the Nara gov-
MAN’YO¯SHU¯. Kojiki contains more than one hundred songs
ernment to extend its control more fully. Although bureau-
and is thus the oldest body of written poetry in Japan. But
cratic in origin, these documents include details of local
Japanese poetic tradition truly began with the compilation
names, products, and legends, providing early (albeit limit-
of the Man’yo¯shu¯ in the late eighth century. This anthology
ed) documentation of local religious practices. Of these re-
of more than 4,500 poems includes a majority (4,200) in the
ports, called fudo¯ki (records of wind and earth), only one has
tanka or waka (short poem) form. Though its earliest poems
survived intact: Izumo fudo¯ki. Four others are preserved in
are attributed to an empress of the fourth century, most verse
fragments. Submitted to the Nara court in 733, Izumo fudo¯ki
in this collection dates from the mid-seventh to the mid-
comprises nine sections, each treating a district. Interspersed
eighth centuries.
throughout are tales and legends that collectively constitute
Like Kojiki, Man’yo¯shu¯ is written in Japanese transcribed
the mythology of Izumo.
into Chinese characters. In the case of Man’yo¯shu¯, the writing
Situated on the Japan Sea and relatively isolated by
system is called man’yo¯gana, or Man’yo¯ syllabary, which be-
mountains, Izumo maintained its independence for a consid-
came a forerunner of katakana and hiragana, the two sylla-
erable period. The final conquest of Izumo was apparently
baries that were developed by the tenth century and that en-
an important step taken by the Yamato state in its march to
abled the Japanese for the first time to write their own
hegemony, so the story was written prominently into the Ko-
language with some ease. Since the creation of katakana and
jiki and Nihonshoki. According to the mythology, Izumo,
hiragana, Japanese has been written in a mixture of Chinese
governed by the earthly deity O
¯ kuninushi (or O¯namuchi),
characters (for their meanings) and these two syllabaries (for
opposed repeated attempts by heaven to force it to submit
their sounds).
to heavenly rule. Finally, however, O
¯ kuninushi and Izumo
The greatest poet of Man’yo¯shu¯ was Kakinomoto no Hi-
were persuaded to give in, thereby setting the stage for the
tomaro, who flourished in the late seventh century. A low-
dispatch of Ninigi to earth to found a ruling dynasty accord-
ranking courtier, Hitomaro served as a “court poet,” engaged
ing to the mythology.
to compose poems on important public occasions, such as
KOGOSHU¯I. During the formative period of the Ritsuryo¯
imperial hunts and other excursions, and the deaths of sover-
state, various strands of mythological systems were put for-
eigns.
ward that could not be completely reconciled with one an-
other. New texts were then compiled that brought together
Part of the fundamental “spirit” of the ancient Japanese
ritual and mythology into a more coherent whole. The
that later scholars found in the poetry of Man’yo¯shu¯ is the
Kogoshu¯i (Gleanings from old narratives) is a prominent ex-
kotodama (spirit of words), manifested in makura-kotoba
ample.
(pillow words), epithets that were evidently first employed
for liturgical purposes. An example of a pillow word is hi-
In 807 the Inbe family of court ritualists compiled
sakata no (far-reaching), as used in such phrases as “far-
Kogoshu¯i, which includes stories not found in Kojiki and Ni-
reaching heaven,” “the far-reaching clouds,” or even “the far-
honshoki. Many of these stories deal with the history of the
reaching capital.” Here we see the great importance attached
Inbe clan itself. Their main purpose in compiling the text
by the early Japanese to the native (Yamato) language, whose
was to combat the ascendancy of the rival Nakatomi family
cadences were thought to possess both religious and magical
at court. In Kogoshu¯i the family’s role as key figures in impe-
qualities. Sacred verse and prose pieces known as norito,
rial enthronement ceremonies and other court rituals was le-
some of which purportedly date from the seventh century,
gitimized by a retelling of the story of Ninigi’s descent that
illustrate the use of kotodama. Most surviving norito are
gave Futodama, an ancestral deity of the Inbe clan, a crucial
found in Engishiki (Supplementary regulations of the Engi
role. This retelling presents a new version of the heavenly de-
era), compiled in 927. In any case, all norito are based on sev-
scent that incorporates elements from both Kojiki and Ni-
enth-century diction, and thus were later thought to retain
honshoki, along with new information not in either text. Fur-
the primitive spirit of the Yamato language.
ther, Kogoshu¯i includes stories about the mirror and sword
MEDIEVAL PERIOD. Buddhist documents and ideas domi-
of the imperial regalia, their enshrinement at Ise, and rituals
nated Japanese religious and intellectual life in the medieval
related to them, thereby creating a new mythology of the
period. From the eleventh until the sixteenth century, print-
regalia.
ing of books in Japan was carried out exclusively at Buddhist
Official lectures on Nihonshoki were presented six times
monasteries. Su¯tras and other works written in Chinese by
from 812 through the end of the tenth century. Mythologies
both Chinese and Japanese authors were printed with wood-
from Kojiki, Nihonshoki, Kogoshu¯i, and other sources were
blocks at major temples in and around Nara prior to the end
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4812
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: RELIGIOUS DOCUMENTS
of the twelfth century and in Kyoto thereafter. Especially in-
EARLY MODERN PERIOD. At the end of the sixteenth centu-
fluential were editions issued by the great Zen monasteries
ry, movable-type printing was brought to Japan from Korea
in Kyoto, Kamakura, and elsewhere that are known as gozan-
as loot taken during the invasion of Toyotomi Hideoyoshi.
ban. The earliest extant printed works in the Japanese lan-
Thereafter, printing of Japanese texts, including religious
guage date from the fourteenth century and are associated
works, began and quickly spread. Sections of Nihonshoki
with the Pure Land sect of Buddhism, which made special
were printed for the first time in 1599. Movable-type print-
efforts to reach audiences unable to read Chinese. During
ing flourished under imperial and shogunal patronage until
this period Buddhist monasteries were seats of political and
the mid-seventeenth century. Additionally, for a brief period
economic power, as well as religious authority, and the print-
starting in 1590, Jesuit missionaries in Japan published as
ing of Chinese religious and philosophical texts at such insti-
many as one hundred titles that are known as Kirishitan-ban.
tutions had relevance in those realms, as well as within a reli-
Fewer than forty of those works have survived, due to severe
gious context.
censorship in the seventeenth century.
Throughout this long period, despite the availability of
As commercial publishing took over, woodblock print-
printing technology, most religious and other works written
ing, providing greater economies of scale, was used until the
in the Japanese language circulated only in manuscript form.
nineteenth century. Between the mid-seventeenth and the
Of special interest are elaborate manuscripts combining texts
mid-nineteenth centuries many ancient texts were printed in
and illustrations, known as emakimono, which included leg-
this manner, stimulating a great deal of scholarship about
ends of the origins of temples and shrines, lives of famous
them, which also circulated in printed form.
monks, descriptions of festivals and rituals, and popular tales.
Especially relevant to the topic at hand are works of
Colophons on some manuscripts indicate that these scrolls
eighteenth-century scholars of so-called kokugaku (national
were used in conjunction with performances and sermons
learning), a movement that embraced philological, literary,
that were religious in nature.
and political, as well as religious, concerns and was essentially
Japanese medieval manuscripts have survived in signifi-
motivated by the desire to “return to the past.” A leading
cant numbers. Especially noteworthy are large collections at
kokugaku scholar, Kamo no Mabuchi (1697–1769) saw
medieval imperial Buddhist convents (monzeki) that were
Man’yo¯shu¯ as a repository of the “forthright emotions” (naoki
opened for the first time in the 1990s. These rich archives
kokoro) and “sincerity” (makoto) of the Japanese people when
include manuscripts, paintings, diaries and other previously
they were still relatively “unpolluted” by Chinese culture. In
unknown primary sources that are especially relevant to
fact, many of the most prominent poets of the Man’yo¯shu¯
studies of the role of women in Buddhism in medieval Japan.
were well steeped in the culture of China, including Confu-
cianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Nevertheless, compared to
With the establishment of the Kamakura bakufu (sho-
the overly refined court poetry from the ninth century on,
gunate) at the end of the twelfth century, the government
Man’yo¯shu¯ poems seemed to kokugaku scholars to have a
moved away from the imperial court in Kyoto. Changes in
more youthful vigor, spontaneity, and breadth of emotion.
the role of the imperial court inevitably called for revisions
in the imperial mythology reflecting the new world order.
Mabuchi’s most famous student was Motoori Norinaga.
Commentaries on Nihonshoki along with new collections of
Kojiki, as noted previously, was scarcely comprehensible
legends from this period, called the “medieval Nihongi,”
until he translated it. His study, Kojikiden, on which he
present a syncretic view of the universe, in which Buddhist,
worked from 1764 until his death in 1801, established Ko-
neo-Confucian, and Shinto¯ ideas are interwoven. In contrast
jiki, rather than Nihonshoki, as the foundation text of Japa-
to earlier texts on Nihonshoki that focused on legitimizing the
nese history and as the repository of ancient Japanese lan-
Ritsuryo¯ state, medieval commentaries present a pan-Asiatic
guage. Norinaga considered it a source in which to find the
worldview reflecting the widespread proliferation of Bud-
“ancient words” (furukoto) spoken by Japanese people in an-
dhist ideas.
cient times and expressing mono no aware (pathos of things).
Norinaga’s reading of Kojiki produced a new mythology dif-
Medieval scholars were particularly interested in Nihon-
ferent from that of the ancient texts that he studied. In par-
shoki’s first section, the Age of the Gods. For example, Kita-
ticular, he did not focus on the legitimacy of the imperial sys-
batake Chikafusa (1293–1354) in his Jinno¯ sho¯to¯ki (Chroni-
tem, but rather on the common language and ancestry of the
cle of gods and sovereigns, 1339), begins with a famous
Japanese people as the basis for allegiance to the emperor and
opening line: “Great Japan is the land of the gods.” Writing
opposition to outside lands, especially China. In Norinaga’s
to legitimize the Southern over the Northern imperial line
interpretation the ancient myths have relevance for all Japa-
during the war between the courts (1336–1392), Chikafusa
nese people, not just the imperial and aristocratic families.
emphasized the purity of imperial lineage, symbolized by
transmission of the imperial regalia, which set Japan apart
It should not be forgotten that Buddhist works contin-
from other countries, making it superior in his view. Howev-
ued to circulate widely in this period as well, especially in the
er, his call for the restoration of imperial rule was not success-
seventeenth century, when they dominated commercial pub-
ful, and his thinking had more significance later than in his
lishing. Huge compilations, such as the first Japanese edi-
own time.
tions of the Buddhist canon that were issued at this time,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAPANESE RELIGIONS: RELIGIOUS DOCUMENTS
4813
were private ventures of temples rather than commercial
Nihonshoki were established as repositories of such folk tradi-
publishers, since such works would not be viable in the mar-
tions. Motoori Norinaga’s views of the superiority of Kojiki
ketplace.
prevailed, and it assumed a privileged position as a national
classic. Likewise Man’yo¯shu¯ was established as the national
Perhaps the most extensively reprinted text of this peri-
poetry anthology, expressing both the national character
od was the Confucian Classic of Filial Piety (Xiao jing),
(kokuminsei) and the ethnic or folk character of the people
known in Japan as Ko¯kyo¯, which was first printed in Japan
(minzokusei, minshu¯sei).
in 1599. Copies were continuously available, with surviving
dated editions extant from almost every year between the
In the context of the Meiji (1868–1912) government’s
1650s and the 1860s. The popularity of this and other Con-
forcible separation of Shinto¯ and Buddhism (shinbutsu
fucian texts reflects the widespread influence of neo-
bunri) and its suppression of Buddhism, the status of Shinto¯
Confucianism beginning in the medieval period and acceler-
as an independent religion was constructed. Prior to this pe-
ating in the early modern period
riod, Shinto¯ always existed within the context of Buddhism.
Shinto¯ as a separate religion dates from this period. Likewise
While most documents that have survived prior to the
the status of texts associated with Shinto¯, including Kojiki,
modern period obviously are limited to works produced by
Nihonshoki, and Man’yo¯shu¯, as national classics was con-
educated elites, there are some extant sources from this peri-
structed in this context.
od that reflect religious practices and beliefs of ordinary peo-
ple. For the most part, such documentation is in the form
In 1890 the Imperial Rescript on Education (Kyo¯iku
of manuscripts written in cursive style (komonjo) that are
chokugo) was promulgated in reaction to importation of
held by local archives in Japan.
Western culture, but quickly came to be seen as a statement
of the spiritual unification of the Japanese people. Inoue
MODERN PERIOD. In the nineteenth century, as the Japanese
Tetsujiro¯’s (1855–1944) commentary on the text published
nation-state was being formed, statesmen who visited Europe
in 1891 used figures from Western history, including George
became aware of national literatures and poetic traditions
Washington and Joan of Arc, to show that loyalty and filial
through which people of each nation expressed their identity.
piety were universal ethical values. These values then became
With the introduction of Western-style movable-type print-
the foundation of the nation-state. Seeking to restore
ing in the 1870s, works of kokugaku scholars, as well as the
Shinto¯’s role within the state, Shinto¯ priests developed ritu-
ancient texts that they discussed, became readily available. In
als, ceremonial readings, and other rites, and they began pro-
1879 the government began sponsoring a project, not com-
moting adherence to the values not as an ideal, but as an obli-
pleted until 1914, to collect and classify the entire canon of
gation to the state. The Rescript became the basis of school
Japanese classics into encyclopedic categories in a work enti-
curricula, supplemented by biographies of historical para-
tled, Koji ruien (Classified collection of old documents). At
gons of loyalty and filial piety worthy of emulation. Adher-
the root of the project was a desire to establish a scientific
ence to this was challenged by the Christian schoolteacher
and historical approach to the national literary and cultural
Uchimura Kanzo¯ (1861–1930), who refused to pay obei-
heritage. Other projects initiated at the time, such as Dai
sance to the Rescript when it was promulgated in 1891. He
Nihon shiryo¯ (Japanese documents, 1901–) and Dai Nihon
was removed from his position, at the time finding little sup-
komonjo (Japanese manuscripts, 1901–), focusing on both
port from Buddhist, Shinto¯, or even Christian communities
collecting and publishing authoritative versions of historical
in his protest of this limitation on religious freedom.
texts in annalistic compilations, have been underway for
more than a century.
In 1937 the Ideological Control Bureau of the Ministry
of Education issued Kokutai no hongi (Principles of the na-
Beginning in the 1880s, Man’yo¯shu¯ was rediscovered in
tional essence of Japan), a patriotic educational work affirm-
the course of the search for a national poetry anthology.
ing Japan as a nation-state based on a system of continuous
From the time of its compilation almost a thousand years
ancestry of the imperial family (tenno¯sei) and presenting the
earlier, with the exception of kokugaku and other scholars,
authority of the emperor as divinely decreed. In a section en-
Japanese people in general had largely been unfamiliar with
titled, “Dai Nihon kokutai” (National essence of Japan), the
this work.
mythological basis of kokutai (national essence) was detailed
with quotations from Kojiki and Nihonshoki in perhaps the
Building on the work of the kokugaku scholars, late
most extreme formulation of Japan as the emperor’s country.
nineteenth-century Japanese intellectuals focused on the role
By 1940 State Shinto¯ was established as the national religion
of language as a defining feature of a nation-state. Within
and ancient mythologies were being fully exploited for mili-
that context, establishing a national literature, and particu-
taristic purposes.
larly a poetry, that expressed the spirit of the people was seen
as a way to prove the existence of a people united through
Following the end of World War II the supreme com-
a common language. Some scholars searched for the origins
mander for the Allied Powers issued the Shinto¯ Directive, or-
of Japanese culture in ethnographic studies of folk myths and
dering the separation of church and state and guaranteeing
songs, while others undertook philological studies of the an-
freedom of religion in Japan. In January 1946 Emperor Hi-
cient classics. Through this process, Man’yo¯shu¯, Kojiki, and
rohito issued the Declaration of Humanity, renouncing his
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4814
JASPERS, KARL
divinity as well as that of his ancestors. The emperor contin-
Nosco, Peter. Remembering Paradise: Nativism and Nostalgia in
ues to serve as “the symbol of the state and the unity of the
Eighteenth-Century Japan. Cambridge, Mass., 1990.
people, deriving his position from the will of the people with
Philippi, Donald L., trans. Kojiki. Princeton, 1969.
whom resides sovereign power” under the 1946 constitution.
Philippi, Donald L., trans. Norito: A Translation of the Ancient
This view of the emperor is based on the ideas of Watsuji
Japanese Ritual Prayers (1959). Princeton, 1990.
Tetsuro¯ (1889–1960), who reinterpreted Kojiki and Nihon-
Sakamoto Taro¯ and John S. Brownlee, trans. The Six National
shoki texts as expressing the moral authority of the emperor
Histories of Japan. Vancouver, 1991.
for the Japanese people.
Shirane Haruo and Tomi Suzuki, eds. Inventing the Classics: Mo-
SEE ALSO Kingship, article on Kingship in East Asia; Poet-
dernity, National Identity, and Japanese Literature. Stanford,
ry, article on Japanese Religious Poetry; Shinto¯.
Calif., 2000.
Suzuki Sadami. “The Reformulation of the Idea of History and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the Publication of Historical Texts in Late Nineteenth-
Aoki, Michiko Y., trans. Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation
Century Japan.” Translated by Jeffrey Angles. Edited by
of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries. Ann Arbor,
Joshua A. Fogel and James Baxter. In Historiography and Jap-
Mich., 1997.
anese Consciousness of Values and Norms. Kyoto, Japan, 2003.
Aston, W. G., trans. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest
Tsunoda, Ryusaku, et al., comps. Sources of Japanese Tradition. 2d
Times to A.D. 697 (1896). Tokyo, 1972.
ed. New York, 2001.
Bock, Felicia, trans. Engi-shiki: Procedures of the Engi Era. Tokyo,
H. PAUL VARLEY (1987)
1972.
MAUREEN H. DONOVAN (2005)
Chamberlain, Basil Hall. The Invention of a New Religion. Lon-
don, 1912.
Chamberlain, Basil Hall, trans. Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters
(1882). 2d ed. Tokyo, 1932; reprint, Rutland, Vt., and
JASPERS, KARL (1883–1969), was one of the most in-
Tokyo, 1982.
fluential German thinkers of the twentieth century and a
Ebersole, Gary L. Ritual Poetry and the Politics of Death in Early
founder of modern existential philosophy. Born in Olden-
Japan. Princeton, 1989.
burg, Jaspers studied law and medicine. After writing several
Gauntlett, John O., trans. Kokutai no hongi: Cardinal Principles
works on psychopathology, he turned to philosophy, and in
of the National Entity of Japan. Cambridge, Mass., 1949; re-
1920 he became a professor at Heidelberg. He was dismissed
print, Newton, Mass., 1974.
from that position by Nazi authorities in 1937; after 1948
Hardacre, Helen. Shinto and the State, 1868–1988. Princeton,
he taught at Basel, where he died.
1989.
For Jaspers, philosophizing is an effort to understand
Hijiya-Kirschnereit, Irmela, ed. Canon and Identity: Japanese Mod-
and to express the authentic experience of realities that can
ernization Reconsidered: Trans-Cultural Perspectives. Berlin,
never be conceptually explained and are not objectifiable;
2000.
therefore it cannot pretend to be knowledge in the same
Inoue Nobutaka, Ito¯ Satoshi, Endo¯ Jun, and Mori Mizue, eds.
sense as scientific knowledge. Jaspers accepts the Augustinian
Shinto: A Short History. Translated by Mark Teeuwen and
maxim “Deum et animam scire cupio” (I want to know God
John Breen. London, 2003.
and the soul), but neither God nor the soul are possible posi-
Isomae Jun’ichi. “Reappropriating the Japanese Myths: Motoori
tive objects of metaphysical speculation. Their place is taken
Norinaga and the Creation Myths of the Kojiki and Nihon
respectively by “the all-encompassing” (das Allumgreifende),
shoki.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 27, nos. 1 and 2
or transcendence, and existence. The latter, even though it
(2000): 15–39.
reveals itself in one’s empirical being (Dasein), is not a psy-
Kato Genchi and Hoshino Hikoshiro, trans. The Kogoshui: Glean-
chological subject, not an empirically accessible reality, and
ings from Ancient Stories. 3d ed. Tokyo, 1926.
the former is not God in the sense of any mythological tradi-
Kitabatake Chikafusa. Jinno¯ Sho¯to¯ki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sov-
tion. Still, both realities are known not only negatively, not
ereigns. Translated by H. Paul Varley. New York, 1980.
only as a realm of the unknown beyond knowledge, but they
Kornicki, Peter. The Book in Japan: A Cultural History from the
are inseparably linked with each other: The transcendence
Beginnings to the Nineteenth Century. Leiden, 1998.
is there only for existence; it opens itself to one insofar as one
Kuroda Toshio. “Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion.”
is able radically to experience one’s freedom. The presence
Translated by James C. Dobbins and Suzanne Gray. Journal
of the transcendence cannot be described in metaphysical or
of Japanese Studies 7, no. 1 (1981): 1–21.
scientific language; in other words, one does not hear God’s
LaFleur, William. Karma of Words: Buddhism and the Literary Arts
voice in the empirical word. It speaks to humans through ci-
in Medieval Japan. Berkeley, 1983.
phers they can meet in all forms of being: in nature, in histo-
Levy, Ian Hideo. Hitomaro and the Birth of Japanese Lyricism.
ry, in art, in mythology. Yet ciphers are untranslatable.
Princeton, 1984
Therefore, in vain does one try to grasp God in metaphysical
Motoori Norinaga. Kojiki-Den: Book 1. Translated by Ann Weh-
doctrines or in the dogmas of an institutionalized religion.
meyer. Ithaca, N.Y., 1997.
The language of mythology, too, is a way that humankind
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAVANESE RELIGION
4815
has tried to commune with the transcendence, but this lan-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
guage is sui generis, it cannot be converted into a philosophi-
Works by Jaspers
cal system. Therefore, Jaspers totally opposed Bultmann’s
Allgemeine Psychopathologie. Berlin, 1913. Translated by J. Hoenig
project of “demythologization,” which, he argued, implied
and Marian W. Hamilton as General Psychopathology (Chica-
that myths are theories in disguise, that they could be trans-
go, 1963).
lated into a profane tongue so that a theologian could salvage
Die geistige Situation der Zeit. Berlin, 1931. Translated by Eden
elements that are acceptable to scientifically trained “modern
Paul and Cedar Paul as Man in the Modern Age (London,
man” and discard the “superstitious” rest.
1933).
Philosophie. 3 vols. Berlin, 1932. Translated by E. B. Ashton as
Myths, according to Jaspers, are the means by which
Philosophy (Chicago, 1969).
people gain access to ultimate reality, and although they have
Vernunft und Existenz. Groningen, 1935. Translated by William
no empirical reference, they are an indispensable part of cul-
Earle as Reason and Existenz (New York, 1955).
ture. All attempts of positive theology to reach God in meta-
Der philosophische Glaube. Zurich, 1948. Translated by Ralph
physical categories are useless; so are efforts to express the
Manheim as The Perennial Scope of Philosophy (New York,
transcendence in the dogmatic formulas of one or another
1949).
confession. But a personal existence, in an effort of self-
Vom Ursprung und Ziel der Geschichte. Zurich, 1949. Translated
illumination, is able to meet the transcendence as a pendant
by Michael Bullock as The Origin and Goal of History (New
of its own reality. Existence is not a substance within the em-
Haven, 1953).
pirical word and it cannot survive death; it nevertheless
Die Frage der Entmythologisierung. Written with Rudolf Bult-
reaches eternity as moments of timelessness within empirical
mann. Munich, 1954. Translated as Myth and Christianity
time. Therefore, existence cannot avoid the ultimate defeat;
(New York, 1958).
one’s death cannot be given a meaning. Still, the radical
Works about Jaspers
awareness of one’s own finitude is not necessarily a reason
Bollnow, O. F. Existenzphilosophie und Pädagogik. Stuttgart,
for discouragement: In the very acceptance of inevitable de-
1959.
feat one finds the way to being. While existence and the tran-
Piper, Klaus, ed. Offener Horizont: Festschrift für Karl Jaspers. Mu-
scendence become real only in an encounter which is express-
nich, 1953.
ible in ciphers, and not in any scientific or theological
Saner, Hans. Karl Jaspers in Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten.
knowledge, this encounter does not make one’s communica-
Reinbek bei Hamburg, 1970.
tion with other people or one’s living participation in histori-
Saner, Hans, ed. Karl Jaspers in der Diskussion. Munich, 1973.
cal processes unimportant. One can never isolate one’s self
Schilpp, Paul A., ed. The Philosophy of Karl Jaspers. New York,
entirely from empirical realities, from history, and from one’s
1957.
fellow human beings; quite the contrary, it is only from with-
in, not by a kind of mystical detachment, that people can un-
LESZEK KOLAKOWSKI (1987)
derstand their relationships with infinity; and yet, this under-
standing can never take the form of “objective” knowledge.
JA¯TI SEE VARN:A AND JA¯TI
Jaspers tried, in his historical studies, positively to assim-
ilate the entire history of European philosophy which, from
various angles, supported his intuition. Both those who
stressed the radical irreducibility of personal existence to “ob-
JAVANESE RELIGION. The Javanese occupy the
jective” reality (Augustine, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche) and
central and eastern parts of Java, a moderately sized island
those who attempted, however awkwardly, to grasp uncondi-
over twelve hundred kilometers long and five hundred kilo-
tional being conceptually (Plotinus, Nicholas of Cusa,
meters wide. The island constitutes only about 7 percent of
Bruno, Spinoza, Schelling, Hegel) represented in his view the
the total land area of the Indonesian archipelago, which now
human effort to cope with the eternal tension between one’s
constitutes the Republic of Indonesia. Javanese peasants have
migrated to other islands in Indonesia and, because Dutch
life among things and one’s desire to reach the ultimate.
colonialists had for two centuries prior to Indonesia’s inde-
In interpreting religious phenomena Jaspers rejected all
pendence moved Javanese unskilled laborers overseas, there
positivist or scientific attempts to reduce them to needs that
are also Javanese communities in Cape Town, South Africa;
might have an anthropological, social, or psychological ex-
in Surinam, Latin America; and in New Caledonia, Melane-
planation. On the other hand, he refused to believe that a
sia. They have in general retained the original Javanese cul-
rational theological or metaphysical enquiry might elucidate
ture and language.
them. Both institutionalized Christianity and the tradition
Nearly all Javanese (i.e., about 97.3 percent) are Mus-
of the Enlightenment were unable, in his view, to express
lim, with the remainder either Roman Catholics, Protes-
properly the relationship between existence and transcen-
tants, Buddhists, or, in South Central Java, recent converts
dence.
to Hinduism. The Javanese themselves recognize two vari-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4816
JAVANESE RELIGION
ants of Javanese Islam: The one with the greatest number of
teenth centuries, students and disciples recorded notes of
adherents is syncretistic, incorporating Muslim, Hindu,
these teachings, which, presented as magical songs, have been
Buddhist, and local religious elements; the other is more
compiled in books called suluk.
dogmatic and puritan. The first is called Agami Jawi
(“Javanese religion”) and the other, Agami Islam Santri
The court center of the Central Javanese empire, Ma-
(“Santri Islam religion”). Adherents of both variants are to
taram, traditionally resisted the penetration of Islam from
be found in all Javanese communities, although in certain re-
the interior of Java. During the second half of the eighteenth
gions, one of the forms will predominate. In his study of
century, however, Islam reached the heartland of the ancient
Javanese religion, Clifford Geertz calls the first variant Aban-
Central Javanese civilization, although not always through
gan, and the second, Islam Santri.
peaceful means. The centers of the Hindu-Buddhistic civili-
zation in Central Java merely had to accept the presence of
JAVANESE RELIGIOUS HISTORY. Early Javanese religion must
Islam, and thus developed the syncretistic Agami Jawi variant
have been based on local forms of ancestor worship, and the
of Javanese Islam.
belief in spirits, magical power in natural phenomena, and
sacred objects in the human environment. Hinduism proba-
AGAMI JAWI. The Agami Jawi belief system includes an ex-
bly came to Java during the fourth century of the common
tensive range of concepts, views, and values, many of which
era through the trade routes from South India, although the
are Muslim in origin: the belief in God Almighty (Gusti
earliest traces of a Hindu-Javanese civilization can only be
Allah), the belief in the prophet Muh:ammad (kanjeng nabi
dated to the eighth century. During that period Javanese
Muh:ammad), and the belief in other prophets (para ambiya).
Buddhism also developed, and the remnants of ancient reli-
The Javanese consider God Almighty to be the creator and
gious structures such as the Hindu Prambanan and the Bud-
ultimate cause of life and the entire universe. They believe
dhist Borobudur seem to indicate that Javanese Hinduism
that there is but one God (“gusti Allah ingkang maha esa”).
and Javanese Buddhism coexisted peacefully.
All human actions as well as important decisions are done
Although, initially, Hinduism and Buddhism had been
“in the name of God” (bismillah), a formula pronounced
spread along the trade routes, they were further disseminated
many times per day to inaugurate any small or large en-
by Indian brahmans and bhiks:us, who had quite likely been
deavor.
invited by Javanese rulers to act as consultants. Indian civili-
Divine beings. The Javanese literary tradition has elab-
zation was promoted and developed in the court centers of
orated extensively on the nature of God and humanity. The
the ancient empires, first in Central Java during the eighth
most important source for this subject is the seventeenth-
to tenth centuries, and later, during the eleventh to fifteenth
century work, the Dewaruci, written in Javanese prose. In the
centuries, in East Java, where it took on a specific Javanese
mystical, pantheistic view of the Dewaruci, God is conceptu-
character. Many elements of this Hindu-Javanese court civi-
alized as the totality of nature: He is a tiny divine being, so
lization subsequently influenced Javanese folk culture.
small that he can enter any human heart, yet in reality as
Islam also came to Java through the trade routes, via
wide as the oceans, as endless as space, and manifested in the
North Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula between the four-
colors that make and symbolize everything that exists on
teenth and seventeenth centuries. Islam in Java exhibits an
earth. Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries this re-
emphasis on mystical ideas. Indeed, Islamic mysticism seems
ligious concept of God was interwoven with Islamic concepts
to have found fertile ground in Java because of the existing
by the spiritual leaders and intellectuals who wrote the
mystical elements in Javanese Hinduism: Muslim literary
Agami Jawi literature, which includes voluminous books
works written during the early period of Javanese Islamiza-
such as the Serat centhini and the magico-mystical suluk
tion show the importance of mystical Islam, or Sufism
mentioned earlier.
(Arab., tasawwuf). Dogmatic, puritan Islam, reformed Islam,
In addition to the belief in God and the prophets, the
and so forth arrived later, when Javanese devotees returned
Agami Jawi Javanese also believe in saints. Included among
from making the pilgrimage (h:a¯jj) to Mecca.
these holy persons are the nine semihistorical “apostles” (wali
As a new religion, Islam initially influenced the port
sanga), or first missionaries of Islam, religious teachers, and
towns and harbor states of Java’s north coast, which subse-
certain semihistorical figures who were known to the people
quently became prosperous and powerful and undermined
through the Babad literature. The belief in these saints is usu-
the declining power of the Majapahit empire of East Java.
ally kept alive by the veneration of their sacred graves (pepun-
In the following period zealous Muslim missionaries who be-
dhen). Local saints are also venerated, and many regions have
came holy men, called wali (Arab., wal¯ı; “saint, guardian”)
their locally acknowledged sacred places. In certain village
in Javanese folklore, spread Islam through the interior re-
communities, one social class often associates itself with a
gions of East and Central Java. The Muslim religion,
particular legendary figure in order to obtain an exclusive sta-
preached by the imam, included many mystical elements, a
tus. Famous village leaders, wayang puppeteers (dhalang),
fact that probably facilitated the contact between the mis-
healers (dhukun), or religious leaders (kiyai) may become
sionaries and the population, to whom mystical concepts and
holy men even while they are still alive, and their graves may
ideas had long been familiar. During the sixteenth and seven-
turn into pepundhen and objects of veneration.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAVANESE RELIGION
4817
Many other elements, such as the belief in a great num-
tions of events associated with the individual’s life cycle, of
ber of deities (dewata), are of Hindu-Buddhist origin, as one
which circumcision and weddings may be considered the
can see from their Sanskritic names. However, the roles and
most important, to mortuary rites held on the day of the fu-
functions of several of the deities are different from those of
neral and on the seventh, the fortieth, one-hundredth, and
the original ones. Dewi Sri, for instance, who originated
one-thousandth day after death. The slametan meals held as
from Sri, the wife of the Hindu god Vis:n:u, is in Javanese cul-
part of the funerary rites include elaborate dhikr chants.
ture the goddess of fertility and rice. Bathara Kala was de-
Among the rural peasants, periodic slametan are held in
rived from the Hindu concept of time (ka¯la), and this de-
connection with the stages of the agricultural cycle, whereas
structive aspect of S´iva the creator is in Javanese culture the
both rural and urban Javanese hold slametan meals on reli-
god of death and calamity.
gious holidays of the Javanese Muslim calendar. Seasonal,
An indigenous pre-Hindu element is the divine trickster
community-sponsored slametan ceremonies, the bersih dhu-
Semar. The Javanese believe that Semar has the power to act
sun, are meant to purify the community. Intermittant slame-
as an intermediary between the world of mortals and the di-
tan ceremonies are held in connection with disturbing events
vine. In the dramatic wayang, the Javanese shadow-puppet
in the individual’s life, such as a serious illness, accident, or
play, he is a clown figure who acts as both the servant and
bad dreams. More secular slametan are held to celebrate the
guardian of the heroes of the Bratayuda, the Javanese version
move to a new house, the changing of one’s name, the start
of the Hindu Maha¯bha¯rata epic.
of a long journey, an occupational promotion, or academic
graduation, and the anniversaries of clubs and fraternal
Indigenous Javanese beliefs are primarily concerned
organizations, professional, functional, and recreational asso-
with spirits, in particular, ancestral spirits (ruh leluhur),
ciations.
guardian spirits who care for the individual’s well-being and
are usually conceived of as the soul’s twin (sing ngemong), and
An equally important practice of the Agami Jawi is the
guardian spirits who oversee places such as public buildings,
veneration of the dead and ancestors, through visits to the
old wells, spots in a forest, turns in a river, old banyan trees,
graves of deceased relatives and ancestors (nyekar). Also in-
caves, and so forth. They also believe in a number of ghosts
dispensable to Agami Jawi observance are the numerous of-
(lelembut), spooks (setan), and giants (denawa), who are
ferings (sajen) that appear in nearly all the ceremonies and
frightening and malevolent creatures (memedi), and in fairies
may be performed independently as well. The latter type of
(widadari) and dwarfs (thuyul), who are considered benevo-
offering, held at specific times, such as Thursday evenings,
lent.
consists of bits of food (including tiny rice cones and an as-
sortment of cookies), spices, and a variety of small items that
The Agami Jawi has a cosmogony (kang dumadi), a cos-
are decoratively arranged on small trays of plaited bamboo.
mology (bawanagung), an eschatology (akhiring jaman), and
A careful analysis of the items reveals some consistency in
messianic beliefs (ratu adil). While these are principally of
their symbolic meanings, which relate to their names, ap-
Hindu origin, the Agami Jawi concepts of death and afterlife
pearance, colors, or use.
(akherat) have been influenced by Islam. Originating in pre-
Hindu religious systems is their concept of magic, which im-
Fasting is not only practiced during the Muslim month
parts magical powers to certain people, parts of the human
of the fast, Ramad:a¯n, but on many other occasions as well.
body, objects, certain plants, and rare animals.
Other religious practices include deliberately seeking hard-
ship (tirakat), asceticism (tapabrata), and meditation (sa-
Cultic life. The Agami Jawi ceremonial and ritual sys-
madi). The attainment of a state of trance is an integral as-
tem differs essentially from the dogmatic teachings of Islam.
pect of a number of religious and semireligious folk dances,
The second pillar (rukn) of Islam, the s:ala¯t, or ritual prayer
songs, and plays. Performances of certain wayang puppet dra-
performed five times daily, is considered unimportant and
mas and religious concerts on sacred gamelan sets also ac-
is often ignored. Instead, various kinds of sacred communal
company religious concepts and activities.
meals (slametan) are central to its ceremonial system. The
A
family hosting the ceremony usually invites friends, neigh-
GAMI ISLAM SANTRI. The Agami Islam Santri belief system
of both rural and urban Javanese is composed of puritanical
bors, and important members of the community. A sacred
Islamic concepts about God, the prophet Muh:ammad, cre-
meal consisting of particular, customary dishes is served after
ation, personal ethics, death and afterlife, eschatology, the
being blessed by a religious official from the mosque who re-
day of resurrection, and so forth. These concepts are all clear-
cites of verses (a¯ya¯t) from the QurDa¯n. A slametan ceremony
ly determined by dogmatic creed. Peasant Santri Javanese
often includes the dhikr, a monotonous chant of the phrase
generally take these for granted and are indifferent about
“La ila¯ha illa¯ Alla¯h” (“There is no god but God”). This is re-
their interpretation. The urban Santri, however, are usually
peated in chorus by all of the participants and may last for
quite concerned about the moral and ethical backgrounds of
more than an hour without interruption.
the doctrine. In addition to having memorized certain parts
The size, elaborateness, and cost of a slametan ceremony
of the QurDa¯n, many have also been exposed to the exegetical
depend on the importance of the occasion and the financial
literature (tafsir), and prophetic tradition (h:ad¯ıth) during
resources of the host. The occasion may vary from celebra-
their education in more advanced religious schools (pesan-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4818
JAVANESE RELIGION
tren). The Muslim belief system is organized and system-
movements” (Indonesian, aliran kecil). Others, however,
atized in the shar¯ı Eah (Islamic law); the dominant legal
have thousands of followers, and are called “large move-
school (madhhab) in Java, and throughout Indonesia, is that
ments” (Indonesian, aliran besar). The four largest are Susila
of al-Sha¯fiE¯ı (d. 820).
Sudi Darma (SUBUD), Paguyuban Ngesti Tunggal
(PANGESTU), Paguyuban Sumarah, and Sapta Darma. Al-
The Santri Javanese practice a ceremonial and ritual sys-
though kebatinan movements are to be found throughout
tem that follows the dogmatic rules of the Five Pillars (arka¯n,
the Javanese area, the most important ones are located in Su-
pl. of rukn) of Islam. The second pillar, the daily and Friday
rakarta. In 1983 there were nineteen such organizations in
s:ala¯t (Jav., sembahyang), is the central ceremony. S:ala¯t, often
that city, with a total of approximately 7,500 members. At
incorrectly translated as “prayer,” is a series of religious acts
the end of 1982, the entire province of Central Java listed
of worship and prostration, accompanied by incantations
ninety-three movements, with a total of more than 123,570
that are fixed in form and content. The obligatory perfor-
members. While most of the movements are based on mysti-
mance of the sembahyang is done individually five times per
cal ideas, at least five other types can be distinguished: move-
day and communally once per week, at noon on Friday. The
ments that focus on mysticism; moralistic and ethical move-
Javanese also have voluntary personal prayers to God called
ments that focus on the purification of the soul; messianic
ndonga, which may be performed at any time, using the Java-
Ratu Adil (“just king”) movements; nativistic movements,
nese vernacular rather than the prescribed Arabic. The third
focusing on the return to original Javanese culture; and
pillar is the gift to the poor, called jakat (Arab., zakat); the
movements focusing on magical practices and occultism.
fourth is the fast (Jav., siyam; Arab., s:awm); and the fifth, of
great import to Javanese Santri Muslims, is the h:a¯jj, or pil-
There are also movements with Santri orientation.
grimage.
These are usually based on a particular Islamic religious
school (pesantren). Unification with God is the central objec-
Most of the Islamic calendrical ceremonial celebrations
tive of most of those Santri movements. In Indonesia, and
are observed by the Santri Javanese. Unlike the adherents of
particularly in Java, as in the rest of the Islamic world, S:u¯f¯ıs
the Agami Jawi religion, the Santri do not prepare slametan
are organized into movements called tarekat (Arab., t:ar¯ıqa¯t).
meals on those holidays. They do, however, perform special
The tarekat are led by a charismatic teacher called kiyai in
s:ala¯t rituals, recite verses from the QurDa¯n throughout most
Javanese. Many Santri Javanese belong not only to these local
of the night, listen to stories about the life of the Prophet,
tarekat movements, but also to various international S:u¯f¯ı or-
and attend slawatan performances consisting of religious
ders, such as the Qa¯dir¯ıyah, Wa¯h:id¯ıyah, Naqshband¯ıyah,
songs accompanied by drums and tambourines.
Shat:t:a¯r¯ıyah, and S:iddiq¯ıyah. In addition to spiritual move-
Santri Javanese also perform rites to celebrate certain
ments with a mystical orientation, Javanese Santri have also
events in the life cycle of the individual. However, unlike the
initiated puritan religious reform movements. In the early
Agami Jawi Javanese, who hold numerous slametan ceremo-
twentieth century K. H. Achmad Dahlan (b. 1868) from
nies, they prefer to give sedhekah sacrifices in accordance with
Jogjakarta, brought Muslim reformist ideas to Java. Influ-
the shar¯ı Eah. Their funerary ceremonies do not differ signifi-
enced by the Islamic modernist Muh:ammad EAbduh of al-
cantly from those of the Agami Jawi. The s:ala¯tu Djjina¯zah,
Azhar University in Cairo, Dahlan founded the
absent in the Agami Jawi, is a mortuary s:ala¯t that is preceded
Muh:ammadiyah in 1912 in his home city. Preaching the re-
by the act of cleansing oneself, and is performed in front of
turn of Islam to its two basic sources, the QurDa¯n and the
the body of the deceased person by those who come to show
h:ad¯ıth, Dahlan not only attacked the syncretistic Agami Jawi
sympathy.
Islam, but also Islam Santri scholasticism and mysticism.
The Muh:ammadiyah developed into a nationwide move-
JAVANESE SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS. There
ment, which applied itself not only to religious reform and
have always been adherents of Agami Jawi for whom recur-
modernization but also to education and social welfare.
rent slametan rituals, sajen offerings at fixed periods, and rou-
tine visits to graves represent a superficial, meaningless, and
SEE ALSO Drama, article on Javanese Wayang; Islam, article
unsatisfactory religious life. Therefore, they search for a
on Islam in Southeast Asia; Rites of Passage, article on
deeper understanding of the essence of life and spiritual exis-
Muslim Rites; Southeast Asian Religions, articles on Insular
tence. One response to the demand for a more spiritually
Cultures, Modern Movements in Insular Cultures.
meaningful life are the numerous kebatinan kejawen spiritual
movements, which have emerged and disappeared, but have
BIBLIOGRAPHY
retained a constant following in the course of Javanese histo-
Alfian. Islamic Modernization in Indonesian Politics: The
ry. The term kebatinan refers to the search for truth, batin
Muh:ammadijah Movement during the Dutch Colonial Period,
(Arab., ba¯t:in). Since the late 1960s, the number of these
1912–1942. Madison, Wis., 1969. An excellent description
movements has increased significantly.
of the history of the Javanese Muh:ammadiyah modern re-
form movement, initiated by K. H. Achmad Dahlan in
Most of the Javanese kebatinan movements have a local
1912.
base with only a limited number of followers (usually not
Dhofier, Zamaksyari. The Pesantren Tradition: A Study of the Role
more than two hundred), and are officially called “small
of the Kyai in the Maintenance of the Traditional Ideology of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JAYADEVA
4819
Islam in Java. Canberra, 1980. A good description of a Java-
Dedicated to the god Kr:s:n:a, the poem concentrates on
nese Muslim religious school community.
Kr:s:n:a’s love with the cowherdess Ra¯dha¯ during a rite of
Geertz, Clifford. The Religion of Java. Glencoe, Ill., 1960. A de-
spring. To express the complexities of divine and human
scription of the two variants of Javanese Islam. The author
love, Jayadeva uses the metaphor of intense earthly passion.
has ignored the written indigenous religious literature; never-
The religious eroticism of the G¯ıtagovinda earned sainthood
theless, this book has dominated the literature on Javanese
for the poet and a wide audience for his poem.
culture and society.
Hien, Hendrik A. van. De Javaansche Geestenwereld en de Betrek-
There are conflicting traditions about Jayadeva’s place
king, die Tusschen de Geesten en de Zinnelijke Wereld Bestaat:
of birth and region of poetic activity. Modern scholars of
Verduidelijkt door Petangan’s of Tellingen bij de Javenen in Ge-
Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar have claimed him for their regions,
bruik. 4 vols. Semarang, 1896. An extensive description of
but the most convincing evidence associates him with the
the Javanese supernatural world, including lists of over one
Jaganna¯tha cult of Puri in the latter half of the twelfth centu-
hundred names with brief annotations of Javanese deities,
ry. Although the poem originated in eastern India and re-
spirits, and ghosts.
mains most popular there, it spread throughout the Indian
Poensen, Carl. “Bijdragen tot de Kennis van den Godsdien-stigen
subcontinent in the centuries following its composition. As
en Zedelijken Toestand des Javaans.” Mededeelingen Van-
early as the thirteenth century it was quoted in a temple in-
wege het Nederlandsche Zendeling Genootschap 7 (1863): 333–
scription in Gujarat (western India). Established commenta-
359 and 10 (1866): 23–80. An early description of two vari-
torial traditions and manuscripts exist in every part of India.
ants of Javanese Islam.
The songs of the G¯ıtagovinda are an important part of
Soebardi. “Santri Religious Elements as Reflected in the Book of
Vais:n:ava devotional music and are still sung in temples from
Tjeˇntini.” Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 127
Orissa to Kerala. Its text represents one of the major subjects
(1971): 331–349. A historical description of the absorption
of Rajput painting.
process of Muslim religious elements in the Hindu-
Buddhist-Javanese syncretistic religion of the sixteenth and
Jayadeva is a name that the poet shares with Kr:s:n:a, the
seventeenth centuries.
divine hero of his poem, whom he invokes in a song with
Zoetmulder, P. J. Pantheïsme en monisme in de Javaansche soeloek-
the refrain “Jaya jayadeva hare” (“Triumph, God of Tri-
litteratuur. Nijmegen, Netherlands, 1935. An analysis of the
umph, Hare!”). All versions of the legend of Jayadeva’s life
ancient Javanese mystical religious literature of the seven-
agree that he was born in a brahman family and became an
teenth and eighteenth centuries.
accomplished student of Sanskrit and a skilled poet. Howev-
New Sources
er, he abandoned scholarship at a young age and adopted an
Beatty, Andrew. Varieties of Javanese Religion: An Anthropological
ascetic life, devoting himself to God. As a wandering mendi-
Account. New York, 1999.
cant, he would not rest under any one tree for more than a
Beatty, Andrew. “Islamic and non-Islamic Prayer in Java.” In Is-
night for fear that attachment to the place would violate his
lamic Prayer Across the Indian Ocean, edited by David Parkin
vow. His ascetic life ended when a brahman of Puri insisted
and Stephen C. Headley, pp. 39–61. Richmond, U.K.,
that Jaganna¯tha, Lord of the World, himself had ordained
2000.
the marriage of Jayadeva with the brahman’s daughter
Doorn Harder, Pieternella van, and C. A. M. de Jong. “The Pil-
Padma¯vat¯ı, who was dedicated as a dancing girl in the tem-
grimage to Tembayat: Tradition and Revival in Indonesian
ple. Padma¯vat¯ı served her husband, who in turn shared her
Islam.” Muslim World 91, nos. 3–4 (2001): 325–353.
devotion to Jaganna¯tha. As Jayadeva composed, Padma¯vat¯ı
Geels, A. Subud and the Javanese Mystical Tradition. Richmond,
danced—and so the G¯ıtagovinda was composed. In the pro-
U.K., 1997.
cess of composing the poem, Jayadeva conceived the climax
Iyer, Alessandra. “Archaeology, Dance and Religion in Java: The
of Kr:s:n:a’s supplication to Ra¯dha¯ as a command for her to
Prambanan Complex.” In Case Studies in Archaeology and
place her foot on Kr:s:n:a’s head in a symbolic gesture of victo-
World Religion, edited by Timothy Insoll, pp. 48–58. Ox-
ry. But in deference to Kr:s:n:a the poet hesitated to complete
ford, 1999.
the couplet. He went to bathe, and in his absence Kr:s:n:a him-
Yumarma, A. Unity in Diversity: A Philosophical and Ethical Study
self appeared, disguised as Jayadeva, and wrote down the
of the Javanese Concept of ‘Keselarasan’. Rome, 1996.
couplet; the god then ate the food Padma¯vat¯ı had prepared
Zoetmulder, P. J. Pantheism and Monism in Javanese Suluk Litera-
for Jayadeva and left. When the poet returned, he realized
ture: Islamic and Indian Mysticism in an Indonesian Setting.
that he had received divine grace by exalting Kr:s:n:a’s love for
Edited and translated by M. C. Ricklefs. Leiden, 1995.
Ra¯dha¯.
R. M. KOENTJARANINGRAT (1987)
The poem’s emotional drama unfolds in twelve move-
Revised Bibliography
ments of Sanskrit songs (pada¯val¯ıs) composed in recitative
verses. The songs are meant to be sung with specific melodic
patterns (ra¯gas) and rhythmic cycles (ta¯las). They are sung
JAYADEVA (late twelfth century?) was an Indian poet-
by Kr:s:n:a, Ra¯dha¯, and Ra¯dha¯’s friend, who acts as an inter-
saint who composed the dramatic lyrical poem G¯ıtagovinda.
mediary between the lovers.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4820
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
Critical acclaim of the poem within the Indian literary
Calvinist doctrines of original sin, everlasting punishment of
and religious culture has been high, but its frank eroticism
unbelievers, and predestination. He was attracted to the Ad-
has led many Indian commentators to interpret the love be-
ventist teaching that Christ had returned in 1874 as an invis-
tween Ra¯dha¯ and Kr:s:n:a as an allegory of the human soul’s
ible presence, inaugurating a forty-year period of gathering
love for God. Through the centuries learned and popular au-
true Christians. Russell began publishing his views in 1879
diences alike have appreciated the emotional lyricism ex-
in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in a monthly journal called
pressed by the G¯ıtagovinda in its variations on the theme of
Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence. In 1884
the passion felt by separated lovers.
he organized his readers, who met in small congregations of
Bible students, into the Zion Watch Tower and Tract Soci-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ety, and he began holding annual conventions in 1891. Rus-
Miller, Barbara Stoler, ed. and trans. Love Song of the Dark Lord:
sell traveled extensively, giving lectures on Bible prophecy
Jayadeva’s G¯ıtagovinda. New York, 1977.
and holding audiences spellbound with his dramatic oratory
Sandahl-Forgue, Stella. Le G¯ıtagovinda: Tradition et innovation
and charismatic presence. His followers, known popularly as
dans le kavya. Stockholm, 1977.
“Russellites,” gave him the honorary title of “Pastor.”
Siegel, Lee. Sacred and Profane Dimensions of Love in Indian Tradi-
Russell wrote prolifically, including a six-volume series
tions, as Exemplified in the G¯ıtagovinda of Jayadeva. London,
of books called Millennial Dawn (1886–1904). In a pattern
1978.
that continued into the twenty-first century, his students,
New Sources
called “publishers,” distributed literature door-to-door,
Jayadeva and Gitagovinda in the Traditions of Orissa. Edited by Di-
sometimes using phonographs and dioramas. Russell taught
nanath Pathy, Bhagaban Panda, and Bijaya Kumar Rath.
that the “presence” of Christ would begin to dawn with the
New Delhi, 1995.
end of Gentile domination over Israel (prophesied in Lk.
BARBARA STOLER MILLER (1987)
21:24), an event he later believed occurred with the onset of
Revised Bibliography
World War I. In 1909 Russell established operations in
Brooklyn, New York, in a complex of buildings called Be-
thel, where Jehovah’s Witnesses still serve as volunteers.
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES are one of the few reli-
Russell’s personal life was marked by controversies. He
gious movements that originated in the United States. Like
based some of his biblical interpretations on analyses of the
other sectarian Protestant groups founded in the later nine-
Great Pyramid, he was committed to Zionism as a necessary
teenth century, they claim to restore Christianity to its origi-
condition for the fulfillment of prophecy, and he was accused
nal doctrines and practices. The organization adopted the
of fraud in a commercial venture. His contentious divorce
name Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931 to emphasize the belief
from Maria Ackley Russell arose from conflicts over her au-
that the most accurate translation of the personal name of
thority in the organization, resulting in her removal as asso-
God in the Hebrew Scriptures is “Jehovah” (Ps. 83:18), and
ciate editor of the Watch Tower (the original two-word spell-
that as believers they are his “witnesses” (Is. 43:10; Acts 1:8).
ing of the organization’s journal). While Watchtower
They fulfill the responsibility to witness by distributing liter-
historians claim she was motivated by “her own desire for
ature, leading Bible studies, attending congregational meet-
personal prominence” (Jehovah’s Witnesses: Proclaimers of
ings, and maintaining separation from secular culture. In
God’s Kingdom, 1993, p. 143) critics charge that she was as-
matters of faith and practice, Jehovah’s Witnesses submit to
serting her right to independent judgment.
the theocratic authority of the Watchtower Society.
The specific problem, according to the Watchtower So-
Central to Watchtower teaching is the belief that Jesus
ciety, was that Maria “sought to secure for herself a stronger
Christ will soon rule as king over the earth from heaven in
voice in directing what would appear in the Watch Tower”
fulfillment of prophecies. In the apocalyptic battle of Arma-
and resisted the editorial policy that required Charles’s ap-
geddon, Christ will destroy all human governments and es-
proval of the entire contents of every issue (Jehovah’s Witness-
tablish the millennial kingdom of God. The vision of a per-
es: Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom, 1993, p. 645). Maria and
fect world order, in which people of all ethnic origins live
Charles separated in 1897. In 1903 Maria published a tract
in peace and justice in an earth restored to pristine condition,
with allegations of immoral conduct by Charles and initiated
attracts followers across the globe. In 2002, Jehovah’s Wit-
divorce proceedings, which were completed in 1908. Wit-
nesses reported an active membership of over six million
nesses teach that a wife should respect and obey her husband
people in 234 countries. Over 80 percent of the members
as head of the family, whether he is a Christian or not (Eph.
live outside the United States, with concentrations in Cana-
5:22–24), and that she does not have authority to refuse sex-
da, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, and Scan-
ual relations with her husband (1 Cor. 7:3–4). In that light,
dinavia.
Maria serves for Jehovah’s Witnesses as a cautionary example
HISTORY. Jehovah’s Witnesses trace the origin of their move-
of a rebellious wife and a woman exceeding her authority as
ment to Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916), who was raised
prescribed in the Bible. According to Watchtower Society in-
in the Presbyterian tradition but became dissatisfied with
terpretations of the New Testament texts, women are exclud-
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JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
4821
ed from serving as overseers (elders) and ministerial servants
individual. In 1960 the Watchtower Society published its
(deacons) in Kingdom Halls, and from holding offices in the
own New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. During
Watchtower Society.
the cultural upheaval of the time, the society expelled many
young people for sexual misconduct. This severe punish-
Russell’s death created a crisis of leadership that was re-
ment, called “disfellowshipping,” forbids social interaction
solved by the election of Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869–
with any Jehovah’s Witnesses, including members of one’s
1942) as president of the Watch Tower Society. Because
own family, and is based on 1 Corinthians 5:9–11. Witnesses
Rutherford had trained as a legal apprentice and served occa-
have also been disfellowshipped as apostates for renouncing
sionally on the circuit court, he was known as “Judge.” While
official teaching.
Rutherford was a charismatic speaker, his disposition was
more confrontational than Russell’s and his style of manage-
Under Knorr’s leadership the board of directors of the
ment more authoritarian. His forceful advocacy of refusal of
Watchtower Society reorganized into a Governing Body that
military service led to his imprisonment in 1919, along with
issued binding directives, held all legal authority over the vast
seven other directors of the Watch Tower Society, under the
holdings of the Watchtower Society, approved all publica-
Sedition Act. They won release on appeal, but many mem-
tions, and was the final arbiter of doctrinal and behavioral
bers suffered harassment for their antigovernment teachings.
questions. Knorr also restored to local congregations the au-
Accusations of lack of patriotism, as well as disappointment
thority to elect their own ruling body of male elders. In his
in the failure of the kingdom to arrive after the end of the
last years the organization faced a crisis of confidence. Based
war, discouraged many. Rutherford responded by strength-
on Watchtower articles, many Jehovah’s Witnesses began to
ening the efficiency and discipline of the organization. He
expect that the kingdom would come in 1975. Despite offi-
introduced a monthly “service sheet” to record in detail the
cial warnings that such hope was speculative, many left the
activities of members, increased the construction of King-
organization when the kingdom failed to appear.
dom Halls, and began publishing a new monthly magazine
called The Golden Age (later, Awake!). To reinforce apocalyp-
Frederick W. Franz (1893–1992), fourth president of
tic hope he introduced the slogan, “Millions Now Living
the Watchtower Society, responded to the decline in mem-
Will Never Die!”
bership after 1975 with a series of publications in defense of
official teaching, including a revised reference edition of the
Rutherford wrote extensively, revising many of Russell’s
New World Translation (NWT; 1984). Franz also expanded
views. He identified “Babylon the Great” of Revelation 17
local programs of education and developed the Ministerial
with the League of Nations in alliance with the Roman Cath-
Training School in 1987. Under his leadership the number
olic Church and predicted the return of biblical patriarchs,
of pioneers (full-time evangelists) nearly tripled, and the list
for whom he built a mansion in San Diego. In 1935 Ruther-
of congregations grew to seventy thousand. His emphasis on
ford declared that membership of the “anointed class” of
greater dedication led him to develop formal courses of in-
144,000 Witnesses called to reign with Christ in heaven (Rv.
struction for newly baptized members of Kingdom Halls and
14:1) was “sealed” and that new members of the growing
to enforce stricter standards for disfellowshipping—resulting
movement belonged to that “great crowd, which no man was
in the expulsion of his own nephew and member of the Gov-
able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples”
erning Body, Raymond Franz.
(Rv. 7:9), who would not ascend to heaven but live in the
earthly paradise.
Milton G. Henschel (1920–2003) rose to the presiden-
cy of the Watchtower Society in 1992 after decades of service
Between the world wars Rutherford led Jehovah’s Wit-
at Bethel. During his administration the organization com-
nesses through a series of court battles over freedom of
pleted the transition from strong individual authority to cor-
speech and press, right of assembly, and distribution of litera-
porate bureaucracy. Key to this move was severing the con-
ture. His death from colon cancer in 1942 began the transi-
nection between the coming of the kingdom and the life
tion from charismatic to institutional authority.
span of the generation of 1914. Since the days of Rutherford,
Nathan Homer Knorr (1905–1977) became the third
the official teaching was that the cohort of the anointed class
president of the Watch Tower Society in 1942. His presiden-
would not all die until the kingdom arrives on earth, but by
cy was marked by increased growth, greater uniformity in the
the mid-1990s they had dwindled to less than nine thou-
programs of local congregations, and more effective methods
sand. In 1995 the Watchtower Society revised its interpreta-
of promotion, including training in public speaking through
tion of Jesus’ promise that “this generation will not pass away
Theocratic Ministry Schools. Knorr traveled extensively and
until all these things have taken place” (Mt. 24:34) to mean
established international organizations in Asia, Latin Ameri-
that there will always be those who oppose the truth until
ca, the Middle East, and the Pacific Islands. He also began
the kingdom arrives. Consequently, Jehovah’s Witnesses
the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead for training mis-
began to teach that the time of the kingdom cannot be pre-
sionaries. Known as “Brother,” Knorr was more modest than
dicted by any human measure.
his predecessors, and in 1943 he established a policy of anon-
ORGANIZATION. In October 2000 the Watch Tower Bible
ymous publications on the principle that authority resides in
and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the parent corporation of
official interpretations of the Bible, not in the views of any
Jehovah’s Witnesses, separated its president and board of di-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4822
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
rectors from the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society.
rule by leading humanity to worship the false gods of materi-
Don Adams replaced Henschel as president, and the assets
al success, sexual indulgence, and national pride. Because
and properties of the Watchtower Society were assigned to
they believe the “world system” is under satanic control, Je-
separate corporations with their own presidents. The new of-
hovah’s Witnesses reject political, economic, and interfaith
ficers were all younger men and were responsible for the
alliances. They insist that theirs is the only true religion.
management of ongoing operations. While the Governing
Body has no legal authority, its members all belong to the
To save humans from sin and death, Jesus was born
anointed class and continue to provide guidance as the
through the virgin Mary and anointed at his baptism by
“faithful and discreet slave” (Mt. 24:45, NWT), to whom
God’s holy spirit as Messiah. Jesus’ sinless life qualified him
Christ gave spiritual authority on earth until his return. Crit-
to be the perfect sacrifice, a ransom that was the equivalent
ics charge that the change was instituted to protect the Gov-
of the perfect life Adam forfeited in Eden. Christ’s utter obe-
erning Body from litigation over controversial practices, such
dience to the divine will vindicated Jehovah’s authority and
as refusal of blood transfusions even for minor children (see
restored the possibility of living eternally in earthly paradise
article by Randall Watters in Christianity Today 45, no.4
for all who exercise faith in Jesus by following his example
[2001]: 25).
of obedience. In Watchtower interpretation, Jesus was exe-
cuted on a “torture stake” rather than a cross, a symbol Jeho-
For administrative purposes, the global community of
vah’s Witnesses associate with ancient false religions. Jehovah
Jehovah’s Witnesses is divided into thirty zones. Each zone
raised Jesus from the dead as an “immortal spirit person” (1
is composed of branches; branches are made up of districts;
Pt. 3:18) with authority to rule over the messianic kingdom.
and districts are divided into circuits. Each circuit includes
The anointed class, also called “little flock” (Lk. 12:32),
twenty congregations. A circuit overseer visits each congrega-
will rule with Christ “as kings over the earth” (Rv. 5:10).
tion twice a year. When membership in a Kingdom Hall
They will not be resurrected but are raised upon death to
(congregation) reaches two hundred, another congregation
heaven as “spirit beings.” They are the subjects of the new
is formed. The 2002 Yearbook reported 94,600 congrega-
covenant Jesus announced at his last meal, and therefore only
tions. Besides the national headquarters in Brooklyn, New
they are qualified to partake in the annual Memorial. (A few
York, there are Bethel complexes in Paterson, New Jersey,
younger members have declared a “heavenly calling” on the
and Wallkill, New York, as well as several farms that produce
basis of inner conviction, and they are regarded as replace-
food for the volunteers in these locations.
ments for unidentified apostates.) They will administer di-
TEACHINGS. Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that all of their be-
vine government over the paradise on earth, populated by
liefs are derived from the Bible, which they believe is inspired
the “great crowd” of resurrected believers, also known as
by God and is accurate in every statement. They interpret
“other sheep” (Jn. 10:16). The present role of the “great
the Bible literally, except where they detect figurative lan-
crowd” is to assist the anointed class in bearing witness to
guage, and they offer “proof texts” for all of their teachings.
Jehovah’s kingdom.
They reject conventional Christian doctrines and practices
that are not explicitly found in the Bible, such as the Trinity,
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that 1914 is a key date in
deity of Christ, immortality of the soul, everlasting punish-
understanding Bible prophecy. Using numerical references
ment of unbelievers, salvation by grace, and ordination of
in the books of Daniel and Revelation, they calculate that
clergy. For Jehovah’s Witnesses there is only one supreme
1914 was when Christ returned to cast Satan out of heaven
God, known as Jehovah. He created the world in six “days”
and be enthroned as king of the universe (Rv. 12:7–9). The
(each a period of time lasting several thousand years) without
natural disasters and human catastrophes that have occurred
evolution but through the agency of Jesus in his preexistent
since then fulfill prophecies about worsening conditions in
form as the Word of God, also known as Michael the archan-
the last days. Jehovah’s Witnesses regard such events as signs
gel. Jesus is not eternal, but he was the “firstborn of all cre-
that the kingdom is imminent. Articles in the Watchtower
ation” (Col. 1:15) and is properly called “a god” (Jn. 1:1,
often quote Jesus’ promise that “the conclusion of the system
NWT). Jehovah’s Witnesses pray to God in the name of
of things” is near at hand (Mt. 24:3, NWT). As ruler of the
Jesus. They understand “holy spirit” to refer to Jehovah’s
kingdom Jesus will separate all people on earth into loyal
“active force.”
“sheep” and rebellious “goats” (Mt. 25:31–34). The faithful
will enter paradise, a thousand years of peace and harmony
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in a personal Devil, the re-
in a restored earth. All of those who opposed Jehovah’s king-
bellious angel who became Satan, the “adversary” of God.
dom will not be resurrected and so will cease to exist. The
Satan tempted the first human couple to commit their free
dead who did not hear the gospel during their lives will be
act of disobedience. As a result all humans became subject
resurrected to join the “great crowd.” At the end of the mil-
to sin, sickness, and the oblivion of death. As Adam became
lennium, Satan will be released briefly to test all those on
a living soul when God created him (Gn. 2:7), so the soul
earth. Those who succumb to Satan’s temptation will suffer
dies with the body: “The dead are conscious of nothing at
“the second death” (Rv. 20:14–15) or annihilation. Only
all” (Eccl. 9:5). Their future existence depends upon resurrec-
those who persevere in faith will be rewarded with eternal
tion in the kingdom. In the meanwhile, Satan opposes God’s
life.
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JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
4823
WORSHIP. Jehovah’s Witnesses meet several times a week in
Jehovah’s Witnesses place a high value on strong fami-
buildings with spare furnishings called Kingdom Halls. Ser-
lies. While women are not prevented from working outside
vices consist of serious study of the Bible using Watchtower
the home, they are expected to fulfill traditional roles as
literature and of training in techniques of promoting their
wives and mothers. Watchtower Society publications also in-
teachings in local neighborhoods. Worship also involves
struct husbands to respect and honor their wives. At the same
singing hymns, written in a distinctive doctrinal vocabulary
time, women are excluded from leadership on the basis of
and sung to recorded music supplied by the Watchtower So-
biblical prohibitions against women speaking in church (1
ciety. All members are expected to “publish” their beliefs by
Cor. 14:34–35) and the denial of permission for a woman
door-to-door visitation. Those who spend fifteen hours a
“to teach or to have authority over a man” (1 Tm. 2:11–12).
week in fieldwork are called “regular pioneers,” whereas
Perhaps the most controversial Watchtower Society pol-
those who devote more time are designated “special pio-
icy is the prohibition of intravenous blood transfusion, first
neers.” In 2002 Jehovah’s Witnesses collectively recorded
made binding in 1945. Jehovah’s Witnesses interpret the ap-
over one billion hours of service. To supply them with mate-
ostolic command to “abstain . . . from blood” (Acts 15:20)
rial, the Watchtower Society invests heavily in communica-
as unconditional because any means of taking blood into the
tions technology. The publishing center in Brooklyn annual-
body violates the principle that the “life (soul) is in the
ly produces millions of copies of the Watchtower (which is
blood” (Gn. 9:4, Lv. 17:11). Transfusions of one’s own
translated into 146 languages) and Awake! (printed in 87 ver-
blood are not allowed because storage would violate the
sions). Jehovah’s Witnesses do not broadcast on television,
Bible’s command that the blood of a sacrifice must be poured
but the Watchtower Society maintains an official site on the
on the earth “as water” (Dt. 12:16). Kidney dialysis is permit-
World Wide Web.
ted as long as the blood circulates continuously through the
Jehovah’s Witnesses observe two rituals: water baptism
filtering apparatus and returns to the patient’s body. Since
and the Lord’s Supper. They baptize only adults who have
1978, hemophiliacs have been allowed to choose treatment
qualified by extended study. Baptisms are performed by pub-
with blood components. Questions of parents’ right to refuse
lic immersion, often at annual district conventions, as a sign
transfusions for their children and of a pregnant woman to
of dedication to kingdom work. The Lord’s Evening Meal,
refuse transfusion that might save her life and that of her
also called the Memorial, is observed once a year on Passover
fetus, however, continued to challenge hospital ethics com-
eve. The 2002 Yearbook reported that 8,760 of the anointed
mittees and courts in the early twenty-first century.
class partook of the “emblems” of bread and wine, and nearly
Jehovah’s Witnesses maintain apocalyptic expectation
16 million attended the Memorial.
of the imminent end of the world, a strict separation from
PRACTICES. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas,
popular culture, and adherence to a rigorous moral code,
Easter, or birthdays because they are associated with pagan
while abandoning attempts to set specific dates for the com-
celebrations. They abstain from tobacco and drugs and use
ing kingdom. The reorganization of the Watchtower Society
alcohol in strict moderation, as required by the Bible. They
separated religious from temporal authority, but critics con-
denounce gambling because it is motivated by the sin of
tinue to object to the conformity of thinking and behavior
greed. Their sexual ethic forbids homosexuality, adultery,
required by Watchtower Society teachings. Former Witness-
and premarital sex; abortion and some forms of birth control
es who have lost contact with family members through disfel-
are also proscribed. Following the biblical injunction to “sep-
lowshipping bear bitter testimony to their experiences. While
arate yourselves . . . quit touching the unclean thing” (2
such exclusionary discipline strengthens group loyalty, it
Cor. 6:17, NWT), Jehovah’s Witnesses shun occult prac-
provides little opportunity for the free exchange of ideas that
tices, such as magic, divination, and necromancy.
enables many religious movements to adapt creatively to
While Jehovah’s Witnesses respect secular authorities
changing historical conditions.
(Rom. 13:1), they imitate Jesus in maintaining strict neutrali-
ty toward human governments, refusing to serve in the mili-
SEE ALSO Law and Religion, overview article; Millenarian-
tary, pledge allegiance to national flags, or serve in public of-
ism, overview article.
fice. For their dissent they have been imprisoned in many
countries, and in Nazi Germany they were consigned to con-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
centration camps. However, they do not call themselves paci-
The most important primary sources are official publications by
fists, mainly because they believe in the righteous war Christ
the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York. Be-
will wage against worldly governments at Armageddon.
sides the annual Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, important
Their right to refuse to engage in patriotic demonstrations
works are You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth (Brook-
lyn, N.Y., 1982); Revelation—Its Grand Climax at Hand!
was upheld by the Supreme Court in the case of Barnette vs.
(Brooklyn, N.Y., 1988); Insight on the Scriptures (Brooklyn,
West Virginia (1943), which excused Jehovah’s Witnesses
N.Y., 1988); Jehovah’s Witnesses: Proclaimers of God’s King-
schoolchildren from saluting the flag. That victory is one
dom (Brooklyn, N.Y., 1993), a compendium of the history,
among many through which Jehovah’s Witnesses have se-
teaching, and organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses that is free
cured more civil rights by legal challenge than any other
of the polemical tone of earlier writings; Knowledge That
American religious group.
Leads to Everlasting Life (Brooklyn, N.Y., 1995); and Worship
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4824
JEN AND I
the Only True God (Brooklyn, N.Y., 2002). The Watchtower
JENSEN, ADOLF E. Adolf Ellegard Jensen (1899–
Society maintains a World Wide Website at http://
1965) was a German ethnologist and historian of religions.
www.watchtower.org, which includes current Watchtower ar-
He was born January 1, 1899, in Kiel. After World War I,
ticles. The complete works of Charles Taze Russell are avail-
Jensen studied mathematics, natural science, and philosophy
able online from http://www.heraldmag.org. Jerry Bergman
at the universities of Bonn and Kiel. He received a doctorate
compiled a list of resources in Jehovah’s Witnesses: A Compre-
in 1922 with a dissertation on the writings on natural philos-
hensive and Selectively Annotated Bibliography (Westport,
ophy of Ernst Mach (1838–1916) and Max Plank (1858–
Conn., 1999), and David A. Reed made a nonsympathetic
1947).
survey in Jehovah’s Witness Literature: A Critical Guide to
Watchtower Publications (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1993). Her-
In the following year, Jensen took a position as research
bert Hewitt Stroup wrote an early account that is analytical
assistant at Leo Frobenius’s newly founded Institute for Cul-
and scholarly in tone, The Jehovah’s Witnesses (New York,
tural Morphology in Munich. This position proved to be a
1945; reprint, 1967). Melvin D. Curry assessed academic
turning point in Jensen’s scientific ambitions, which from
scholarship in Jehovah’s Witnesses: The Millenarian World of
then on were directed toward the ethnological perspectives
the Watch Tower (New York, 1992). James A. Beckford’s The
of Frobenius. When the institute was moved to Frankfurt in
Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah’s Witness-
1925, Jensen became a recognized lecturer at the university
es (New York, 1975) analyzes the organization and ideology
there. His thesis, “Beschneidung und Reifezeremonien bei
of the Watch Tower Society in Britain. Andrew Holden pro-
Naturvölkern” (Circumcision and puberty rites among
vides an ethnographic study in Jehovah’s Witnesses: Portrait
primitive peoples), was completed in 1933.
of a Contemporary Religious Movement (New York, 2002).
Paul K. Conkin places Jehovah’s Witnesses in the context of
After the death of Leo Frobenius in 1938, Jensen was
other forms of apocalyptic Christianity in American Origi-
named director of the Institute for Cultural Morphology,
nals: Homemade Varieties of Christianity (Chapel Hill, N.C.,
which was eventually renamed for its founder. Also in 1938,
1997), chap. 3. David L. Weddle, “A New ‘Generation’ of
Jensen succeeded Frobenius as director of the Municipal
Jehovah’s Witnesses: Revised Interpretation, Ritual, and
Ethnological Museum in Frankfurt, where he had served as
Identity,” Nova Religio 3, no. 2 (April 2000): 350–367, in-
curator since 1936. In 1946 Jensen received a chair in the
vestigates the 1995 change in the status of the anointed class.
University of Frankfurt’s newly established department of
William Kaplan traces the history of court cases in State and
cultural and ethnological studies. He directed research expe-
Salvation: The Jehovah’s Witnesses and Their Fight for Civil
ditions to South Africa (1928–1930), Libya (1932), Ethiopia
Rights (Toronto, 1989).
(1934–1935, 1950–1951, and 1954–1955), and the Moluc-
Jehovah’s Witnesses have drawn pejorative comment in many
can island of Ceram (1937). The works that grew out of
published studies, particularly by former members. See, for
these research trips proved decisive in influencing the struc-
example, William J. Schnell, Thirty Years a Watch Tower
ture of cultural history and morphology studies in the tradi-
Slave: The Confessions of a Converted Jehovah’s Witness (Grand
tion founded by Frobenius.
Rapids, Mich., 1956), and Heather Botting and Gary Bot-
In his work Das religiöse Weltbild einer frahen Kultur
ting, The Orwellian World of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Toronto,
(1948) Jensen presented an array of complex cultural factors
1984). David A. Reed has attacked both the teachings and
that, although widely dispersed, create the impression of
the practices of the Watchtower Society in several books, in-
sharing elements common to one central myth. The content
cluding Blood on the Altar: Confessions of a Jehovah’s Witness
Minister (Amherst, N.Y., 1996). Two accounts by former
of this myth reveals information about human existence as
members that provide more balanced reflections on the na-
well as about the formation of essential cultural elements. Ac-
ture of their original commitments and eventual disappoint-
cording to this myth complex, which relates the activities of
ments are Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, Visions of Glory: A His-
a tribe of dema (ancestral) deities, the body of a murdered
tory and a Memory of Jehovah’s Witnesses (New York, 1978),
deity was, in primeval times, transformed into the first useful
and M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jeho-
plants. The present order of existence, in which man became
vah’s Witnesses (Toronto, 1985). For a revealing look inside
a reproductive and mortal being, was then established. In this
the Watchtower Society, see Raymond Franz’s account of his
myth and its cultic form of expression, Jensen saw the nucle-
disfellowshipping as a member of the Governing Body in
us of a worldview that was the ancient predecessor of that
Crisis of Conscience: The Struggle between Loyalty to God and
of the more advanced cultures, in which tubers were planted
Loyalty to One’s Religion (Atlanta, 1983). Greg Stafford
as a food crop. He maintained that contemporary “primi-
mounts a detailed and reasoned response to critics in Jeho-
tive” cultures could be viewed as living an earlier phase of
vah’s Witnesses Defended: An Answer to Scholars and Critics,
human development, a fact that facilitates a reconstruction
2d ed. (Huntington Beach, Calif., 2000).
of the rise of culture.
DAVID L. WEDDLE (2005)
Often honored for his work, Jensen was a member of
various scholarly societies and was an honorary fellow of the
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
He died at his retirement home in Mammolsheim on May
JEN AND I SEE REN AND YI
20, 1965.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JENSEN, ADOLF E.
4825
DISCUSSION OF THE DEMA. The ethnological research of Jen-
These methodological assumptions, which characterize
sen attracted the attention of the Hungarian classicist, Károly
the opinions of his master Frobenius, are not shared by other
Kerényi, who discovered remarkable similarities between the
writers. For example, Angelo Brelich (1963) criticizes the
Indonesian myth of the girl Rabie-Hainuwele and that of the
idea that the original religious behavior could represent the
Greek Kore (a name that actually means young girl). In his
expression of an instinctive idea of the world, to which man-
opinion these similarities lay in the link between death and
kind would be attracted without subsequently remembering
fertility that existed in both mythological systems. Just as
its meaning. This was why, according to Jensen, it had no
Persephone is taken from her mother Demeter and carried
purpose originally and would, over time, be changed into a
off to Hades, from where she rises again in the form of vege-
repetitive way of behaving. In contrast, Brelich insists that
tation on a cyclical basis, Hainuwele, whose name means Co-
religious institutions do have a purpose, even if believers are
conut Branch, is consigned to the ground during a ritual
unaware of it, and that one can identify this by reestablishing
dance and the parts of her body thus buried are changed into
the link between the social context and the religious life. In
tubers, which became the main food of the Ceramese.
his opinion, Jensen’s mistake lies in claiming to appreciate
the present meaning of religious life on the basis of a past
According to Kerényi (1940–1941), who used the 1939
for which there is no evidence.
work of Jensen and H. Niggermeyer, this is an extremely
widespread mythological theme, according to which the in-
Carl A. Schmitz (1963) notes that Jensen is a Platonist
troduction of death into the world of man, coinciding with
and his work cannot be assessed with positivist argument be-
the movement from the mythological state to the present,
cause he suggests understanding some original religious ideas
leads to reproductive capability. Just as edible plants spring
as implicitly contained in myth. Schmitz does not, however,
from the initial murder, so a new life comes about from every
share Jensen’s view that the relation of tubers, the killing of
death, in the same way as in the lunar cycle the moon always
the dema and the cereals, and the theft undertaken by a hero
disappears only in order to reappear again.
to the harming of a divine goddess would belong to different
historical phases and occurred one after another. Further-
The myth complex, centered upon the character of the
more, in his view, reasoning of this kind implies a materialist
dema (the ancestors of the Marind-Anim of southern New
idea of religion, contrary to the thinking of Jensen himself.
Guinea), would have developed within a cultural context
that Jensen calls “lunar,” in which there was a more primitive
Other criticisms were put forward by Ugo Bianchi
form of the agriculture than the cereal cultivation that took
(1971, p. 87), who emphasized that Jensen mistakenly made
place subsequently. In those societies that engaged in such
the dema the exclusive motif of a particular culture, linking
economic activity, on the other hand, there would be a dif-
it also with headhunting and ritual cannibalism, which were
ferent idea of life (another paideuma as Frobenius would de-
related to other cultural phenomena as well. Besides, accord-
scribe it), based on the Promethean myth of a demiurge who
ing to Bianchi, his emphasis on the specific nature of the es-
steals the seeds of grain from heaven for mankind.
sential character of a culture—the contents of which were
only accessible from within—led him to a kind of irrational-
The work that best illustrates Jensen’s philosophy is My-
ism. Vittorio Lanternari (1963) also identifies irrationalist
thos und Kult bei Naturvölkern (1951) (Myth and Cult among
themes in Jensen.
Primitive Peoples, 1963), a collection of his most important
contributions. A review of this work by a number of scholars
In a work published in 1968, however, Ileana Chirassi
was published in Current Anthropology in 1963 and provides
agreed with Jensen and contrasted the great agricultural
a useful evaluation of the contribution of Jensen from both
myths of Bronze Age society, based around polytheistic gods
a methodological and ethnological perspective. For his own
such as Tammuz, Osiris, and Baal, with the myths of the
part, he states that the main assumption of his work is to re-
dema known from the tuber planters, dating back to the late
gard the human being as invariably possessing the same spiri-
Paleolithic period (southern Asia), myths which can also be
tual and emotional capacities within different historical con-
traced back in figures of Greek religion.
texts, technical progress having no bearing on religious
The work of Jonathan Z. Smith (1976) is central to dis-
experience.
cussion on the dema. He compares the Hainuwele myth to
Furthermore, Jensen considers that myth and cult are
the Babylonian festival of Akitu, celebrated in order to rees-
derived from a creative act, and the agent does not address
tablish proper political and cosmological order. In his opin-
the question of its purpose nor reason logically in terms of
ion, the two religious complexes are similar in structure, be-
cause and effect. In his opinion, man is interested in under-
cause they are used in order to change a difficult and
standing the world, the place of the human being within it,
paradoxical situation. The Ceramese, colonized by the
and at the same time seeks to fit in with the order of reality,
Dutch, got to know all about the possessions and strange
as he perceives and describes it. Mythological ideas are not
goods of the Europeans, and they understood that relations
an alternative to scientific explanations, but on the contrary
were not based upon reciprocity. They lived in a cargo situa-
seem to answer questions to which there could be no other
tion, developed in many parts of Oceania in the aftermath
response: Why are living beings mortal? Why do they
of colonization. In order to reverse this situation and restore
reproduce?
reciprocity, they reverted to an ancient mythological theme,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4826
JEREMIAH
in which mythical beings were killed and hitherto unknown
Jensen, Adolf E. Das religiöse Weltbild einer frühen Kultur. Stutt-
foods were produced by them, eaten, and thus assimilated
gart, Germany, 1948.
within their culture. The same happens with Hainuwele,
Jensen, Adolf E. Mythos und Kult bei Naturvölkern. Wiesbaden,
who excretes precious objects such as plates and Chinese
Germany, 1951. Translated as Myth and Cult among Primi-
gongs. In this myth the girl is killed and her body, from
tive Peoples (1969; 2nd ed., Chicago).
which come many precious objects like the European goods,
Jensen, Adolf E. Altvö1ker Süd-Äthiopiens. Stuttgart, Germany,
is eaten as tubers, in the hope of transforming the goods into
1959.
food that can be assimilated into the culture using the sym-
Sabbatucci, Dario. Il dema. Mistica agraria e demistificazione.
bolism of ingestion. According to Smith (1976, p. 19) we
Rome, 1986.
should see in these religious motifs an attempt—albeit inade-
Schmitz, Carl A. “Die Problematik der mythologema ‘Hainuwele’
quate—to reach an understanding of (and change) a context
und ‘Prometheus.’” Anthropos 55 (1960): 215–238.
or model that contradicts the previous historical situation.
Schmitz, Carl A. “Adolf Ellegard Jensen.” Paideuma 11(1965):
Dario Sabbatucci (1986) once again goes through the
1–7.
theoretical explanation of Jensen in order to demonstrate the
Smith, Jonathan Z. “A Pearl of Great Price and a Cargo of Yams:
arbitrary nature of his conclusions. In particular, he claims
a Study in Situational Incongruity.” History of Religions 16,
that the discoverer of the dema interpreted foreign cultural
no. 1 (1976): 1–19. Reprinted in Imagining Religion. Chica-
phenomena on the basis of assumptions similar to institu-
go, 1982. See pages 90–101.
tions of the modern Western world. After all, the dema
OTTO ZERRIES (1987)
would thus have no existence per se, it would simply repre-
ALESSANDRA CIATTINI (2005)
sent a restatement of the dying god of Frazer, and there would
Translated from Italian by Paul Ellis
be no proof that it predated the latter nor that cereal cultiva-
tion derived from tuber cultivation (1986, pp. 322–323).
Ileana Chirassi (2001) has compared the mythical
JEREMIAH (c. 640–580
events of various Mediterranean deities as interpreted in the
BCE), or, in Hebrew, Yirme-
yah(u); biblical prophet. Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, was born
light of the Frazerian pattern of the dying and rising god,
in Anathoth, some 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Jerusalem.
comparable to dema. From this comparison, based upon an
The English name Jeremiah is based on the Greek Hieremias
accurate analysis of the various contexts, the conclusion is
from the Septuagint and not on the received Hebrew Maso-
reached—as Chirassi writes, recalling Sabbatucci—that these
retic text. The Septuagint reflects a correct original Hebrew
events are diverse: the god may die or depart, but is not al-
Yarim-Yahu (“Yahveh grants”), a name type whose anteced-
ways linked to vegetation or dismembered, nor does he al-
ents can be traced to the third millennium
ways rise again. Such details open debate concerning the cat-
BCE.
egory of the dying god, even to the extent of speculating on
THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH AND THE BIOGRAPHY OF JEREMI-
deconstructing it completely.
AH. Most of our knowledge about Jeremiah’s life comes from
the biblical Book of Jeremiah. The book is not arranged
SEE ALSO Agriculture; Ecology and Religion, overview
chronologically, with the result that contemporary scholarly
article; Food; Frobenius, Leo; Myth, overview article;
reconstructions of the prophet’s life are highly subjective.
Vegetation.
Important background information is found in the Hebrew
scriptures, in 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Zephaniah,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nahum, Habakkuk, and Obadiah. Other important sources
“Book Review: Myth and Cult Among Primitive Peoples” in Current
are the Hebrew letters from Lachish, primary documents
Anthropology 6 no. 2 (1963): 199–215, includes reviews of
from Egypt and Mesopotamia, and the histories of Herodo-
Jensen’s work by Angelo Brelich, Ugo Bianchi, Carl A. Sch-
mitz, Ake Hultkrantz, Vittorio Lanternari, Paul Leser, Egon
tos and Josephus Flavius. However, 2 Kings, which describes
Schaden, and others.
in great detail events contemporary with Jeremiah, does not
Bianchi, Ugo. “La storia delle religioni. Introduzione metodologi-
mention him.
ca e storica.” In Storia delle religioni, edited by Giuseppe Cas-
Later generations regarded Jeremiah very highly. Ac-
tellani, vol. 1, pp. 3–171. Turin, Italy. 1971.
cording to the Chronicler, the prophet was the author of a
Chirassi, Ileana. Elementi di culture precereali nei miti e riti greci.
lament over Josiah, king of Judah (2 Chr. 35:25). His proph-
Rome, 1968.
ecies about the duration of the exile were cited in 2 Chronicles
Chirassi, Ileana. “Postfazione.” In Quando un dio muore: Morti e
36:15–21 and by the author of the ninth chapter of Daniel.
assenze divine nelle antiche tradizioni mediterranee, edited by
Later writers composed pious fictions about Jeremiah. The
P. Xella, pp. 199–207. Verona, Italy, 2001.
apocryphal Letter of Jeremiah, allegedly written by Jeremiah
Jung, Carl Gustav and Kerényi, Karoly. Einführung in das Wesen
to the Jewish exiles in Babylonia, is styled in the manner of
der Mythologie. Amsterdam and Leipzig, 1940.
Jeremiah 29. According to the second chapter of 2 Maccabees,
Jensen, Adolf E. Im Lande des Gada. Stuttgart, Germany, 1936.
Jeremiah secreted the ark and Tabernacle, a tradition based
Jensen, Adolf E. Die drei Ströme; Zage aus dem geistigen und re-
on Jeremiah 3:16. In the New Testament, Jeremiah is named
ligiösen Leben der Wemale. Leipzig, 1948.
in Matthew 2:17, and his vision of the “new covenant” (Jer.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEREMIAH
4827
31:31–34; cf. Jer. 32:38–40) is quoted in Hebrews 8:8–12
following chapter 25, verse 13. The Hebrew fragments of
and 10:16–17. Jewish Talmudic tradition (B.T., B.B. 15a)
Jeremiah from Qumran demonstrate that in the late pre-
ascribes to the prophet the authorship of Jeremiah, Kings, and
Christian era, the Hebrew text was circulating in shorter and
Lamentations (the last probably on the basis of 2 Chronicles
longer forms. It is not always certain whether the longer is
35:25).
an expansion or the shorter an abridgment. In both recen-
sions, there is material that can hardly be from the hand of
Jeremiah was of priestly stock (Jer. 1:1) and probably of
the prophet. For example, the prophecy against Damascus
the Abiathar family, which had been banished to Anathoth
(Jer. 49:23–27) dates from the eighth century BCE. Other
by Solomon (c. 960) and had served at the Shiloh sanctuary
sections, such as Jeremiah 33:14–16 (not found in the Septu-
before 1050. Yet there is no indication that Jeremiah ever
agint), are later additions. In this same category are Jeremiah
functioned as a priest. Nonetheless, he generally had free ac-
15:4b, which attempts to harmonize Jeremiah’s theology
cess to the Temple and its chambers (Jer. 35:4). Apparently
with that of 2 Kings by blaming the fall on Manasseh, and
he was well off. He was able to spend seventeen shekels to
the injunction to keep the Sabbath (Jer. 18:21–27), which
buy a piece of property as a symbolic act (Jer. 32:9), and he
recalls Nehemiah 10:15–21. Other suspicious prophecies are
was able to hire as a personal secretary one Baruch, son of
the Edomite oracle (Jer. 49:7–16; cf. Ob.) and the Moabite
Neriah, who thought the job would be lucrative and whose
oracle (Jer. 48:45–46; cf. Nm. 21:28–29).
own brother was a high official (Jer. 45:2–5, 51:59). In addi-
tion, during the reigns of Jehoiakim (609–598) and
Some clues to the book’s composition are provided in
Zedekiah (597-586), Jeremiah’s counsel was regularly sought
the text itself. In each case, a religious motivation is given.
by the kings and their advisers. The powerful Shaphan family
According to Jeremiah 30:2–3, which begins the section gen-
was particularly close to him (Jer. 26:24, 29:3, 36:10–12,
erally known as “The Little Book of Consolation,” Jeremiah
39:14, 40:5), and the Babylonian conquerors offered him
was told by Yahveh: “Commit to writing all the words I have
special protection (Jer. 40:1–6). The high-ranking avengers
spoken to you, for days are coming when I will restore the
of Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, sought him out as well, al-
fortunes of my people . . . and bring them back to the
though they disregarded his counsel and forced him to ac-
land.” The prophecies were to be written so that later genera-
company them to Egypt (Jer. 42). Perhaps a further indica-
tions would know that all had been foretold. Unfortunately,
tion of his affluence and influence is his relative lack of
no date is given for this action. The prophecies themselves
concern for the poor. Although he demanded justice for the
contain genuine Jeremianic utterances as well as later inter-
oppressed (Jer. 7:6, 22:16), his denunciations of their suffer-
polations. More specific information is provided in Jeremiah
ing at the hands of the rich and powerful are not as frequent
36, which is dated to the fourth year of the reign of Je-
or as fervent as those of the prophets Amos and Isaiah. Josiah
hoiakim, synchronized in Jeremiah 25:1 with 605 BCE, the
is praised as one who “ate and drank” at the same time as
first regnal year of Nebuchadrezzar II, king of Babylon (605–
he dispensed justice and equity (Jer. 22:15). No particular
562). In that year Yahveh commanded Jeremiah, “Get a
class in society is singled out for condemnation (Jer. 5:1–5).
scroll and write in it all the words concerning Israel, Judah
and all the nations that I have spoken to you, from the days
Among the details of his life, we hear that Jeremiah did
of Josiah until now. Perhaps when the house of Judah hear
not marry (Jer. 16:1–4), that he avoided social gatherings
all the terrible designs I have on them they will turn away
(Jer. 16:5–9), that he perceived himself as a man of strife and
from their wicked ways so that I might pardon their wicked
contention (Jer. 15:10), that he wished he had never been
sins” (Jer. 36:2–3). The specific reason for writing the proph-
born (Jer. 20:15–17), and that his relatives had attempted to
ecies of twenty-three years was to demonstrate to the people
kill him (Jer. 10:21, 11:6), as had Jehoiakim (Jer. 36:26), the
that they had been warned early and frequently and that
audience in the Temple court (Jer. 26:24), and some of
there was still time to avert disaster. Though Jeremiah knew
Zedekiah’s ministers (Jer. 38:4–6). Sometime after 586 Jere-
how to write (Jer. 32:10), he found a secretary, Baruch. By
miah and his amanuensis were forcibly taken to Egypt, which
the ninth month of Jehoiakim’s fifth year, at the latest (Jer.
is probably where he died.
36:9), the scroll was complete. It was read three times on a
It is difficult to treat Jeremiah’s thought systematically
public fast day. First Baruch read it to a crowd at the Temple
for a number of reasons. First, Israelite prophets did not
(Jer. 36:10) and then to a group of royal officials (Jer. 36:15).
write systematic treatises. Second, the textual history of the
Finally, it was read to King Jehoiakim, who destroyed it sec-
book is very complicated. The present book is found in two
tion by section (Jer. 36:22–23). The scroll probably con-
major recensions, the Masoretic text and the Septuagint,
tained no more than ten thousand words.
which is about one-eighth shorter. In addition to the diver-
After the destruction of the original scroll, Jeremiah
gence in size, the recensions differ in arrangement. The Mas-
purchased a second, on which Baruch rewrote the destroyed
oretic text of Jeremiah consists of prophecies directed to Jere-
prophecies. To this scroll were added prophecies similar in
miah’s own people (Jer. 1–25), narratives about him (Jer.
content to the original ones (Jer. 36:32). The text gives no
26–45), prophecies directed to the Gentiles (Jer. 46–51), and
information about the time period in which this second edi-
a historical appendix (Jer. 52). The Septuagint, in contrast,
tion was produced. Our present book of Jeremiah most likely
places the oracles to the Gentiles in the middle of the book,
had its origin in this edition.
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JEREMIAH
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND THE PROPHET’S POSITION.
gives a different account. According to 2 Kings, Josiah’s re-
It is impossible to understand the man Jeremiah or his
forms were initiated by Hilkiah’s discovery of “the book of
prophecies apart from the turbulent historical period in
the torah” in the Jerusalem Temple (2 Kgs. 22:8). When the
which he lived. When Jeremiah was born, the Assyrian em-
book, which is generally considered to be some form of Deu-
pire was the single most important political power in the
teronomy, was given by the scribe Shaphan to Josiah, the king
Middle East and, consequently, in the life of the southern
rent his garments in contrition. In keeping with the book’s
kingdom of Judah. By the time Jeremiah was in his early thir-
message, the king centralized all sacrificial worship in the
ties, Assyria had disappeared as a political entity, and Judah’s
country, restricting it to Jerusalem. That same year (622
fate had become contingent on Egypt and on the Neo-
BCE), Josiah removed all traces of the foreign worship that
Babylonian empire and its allies. Before Jeremiah turned
Manasseh had encouraged. In addition, he abolished ancient
sixty, Judah had lost its political independence entirely, and
rituals and institutions, which he considered antithetical to
the prophet himself had become part of the Jewish Diaspora
the cult of Yahveh.
in Egypt.
In contrast, the Chronicler depicts a gradual reform in
Assyrian foreign policy had been important to Judah as
which important steps were taken in the king’s eighth and
early as the ninth century BCE, but the fall of the closely relat-
twelfth years. Though chronologically more attractive, in
ed northern kingdom of Israel and the establishment of the
this scheme the book is discovered in 622, by which time the
Assyrian province of Samaria on Judah’s northern border was
major elements of the reform had been accomplished, with
momentous. Judah maintained nominal political autonomy
the exception of binding all the people of Judah by covenant
by becoming an Assyrian vassal, an arrangement that re-
to obey the book’s provisions.
quired the regular payment of tribute and the provision of
The wisest course is to combine elements from both our
troops for Assyrian campaigns. Between 720 and 627,
sources. The reforms must have been implemented gradual-
Judah’s political policy was very much in the Assyrian shad-
ly. At the same time, “the book of the torah [of the cove-
ow. King Hezekiah of Judah (715–686) had attempted a re-
nant]” must have been available at an early stage of the re-
volt in collaboration with the Babylonian king Merodach-
form, when its reading would have had the greatest effect (cf.
baladan II (Marduk-apal-iddina, 721–710) and with Egypt
Jeremiah 36:24 with 2 Kings 23:11). This is likely because,
and various Philistine and Phoenician cities. The forces of
in the opinion of most current scholarship, the kernel of
the Assyrian king Sennacherib (704–681) quashed the rebel-
Deuteronomy was a northern Israelite work that had been
lion, although they failed to take Jerusalem and left Hezekiah
brought to Judah after 720 BCE.
on his throne with a smaller domain and a larger tribute obli-
gation.
The political motivations for the Josianic reform have
occasioned much debate. Some scholars have viewed the re-
If Jerusalem’s deliverance appeared miraculous to some
form as a religious expression of anti-Assyrian nationalism;
(Is. 37:33–38), it had a different moral for Manasseh, son
they have noted especially that Josiah destroyed the altar at
and successor of Hezekiah. For most, and perhaps all, of his
Bethel, which was in Assyrian territory. Other scholars have
long reign (c. 692–639), Manasseh was a loyal Assyrian vas-
remarked that neither 2 Kings nor 2 Chronicles imputes anti-
sal. According to 2 Kings 21:11, he was equally loyal in the
Assyrian rebellion to Josiah, though both books describe re-
service of foreign gods, outdoing everyone, the aboriginal
volts by “good” and “bad” kings of Israel and Judah (2 Kgs.
Amorites included, in idolatry and wickedness. Some schol-
18:7, 24:1, 24:20; 2 Chr. 32:10–11, 36:13). It is likely that
ars have argued that Manasseh’s religious and political poli-
Josiah’s destruction of the Bethel altar had the motive of con-
cies were closely related, and have understood the worship
solidating Davidic rule, for its original construction had been
of foreign gods as Assyrian vassal obligations. More recently,
with the opposite intent (1 Kgs. 12:26–29, 13:2), but this
however, it has been noted that Assyria generally did not im-
could have been done with Assyrian acquiescence.
pose its forms of worship on its vassals. Even if we under-
The role of Jeremiah in the Josianic reform has aroused
stand Manasseh’s paganism as a somewhat voluntary attempt
much controversy. Some scholars depict the prophet as an
to curry favor with Assyria, we must keep in mind that the
early, ardent proponent of the reform who became disillu-
majority of the cults introduced or encouraged during his
sioned. At the other extreme, some scholars have revised the
reign were not Assyrian (2 Kgs. 21:2–7). The bloodiness of
chronology of the prophet’s life so that he begins to prophesy
his reign (2 Kgs. 21:16) surely reflects internal struggles, but
only after the death of Josiah in 609. If the Chronicler’s chro-
we cannot tell what these concerned. Manasseh’s death
nology of the reform is accepted, then Jeremiah would have
brought to the throne his son Amon, who was assassinated
been an unlikely choice to consult about the book because
in a palace revolt of unknown motivation (2 Kgs. 21:23).
of his tender age, and the prophetess Huldah a better candi-
Amon’s assassins were slain by Eam ha-arets (“people of
date (2 Kgs. 22:14). It appears that sometime in the mid-
the land”), an influential body of Judahites who put on the
twenties of the seventh century, during the reign of Josiah,
throne his young son Josiah. The biblical books 2 Kings (22-
whom he considered a just and righteous king (Jer. 22:12–
23) and 2 Chronicles (34–35) have only praise for Josiah and
15), Jeremiah preached “return” (repentance) to the north-
devote much attention to his religious reforms, though each
erners (Jer. 3:6, 3:11–18; cf. 31:2–23). If so, then he must
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JEREMIAH
4829
have been enthusiastic at the outset, only to be disappointed
7:3, 7:7). But, for a number of reasons, the people’s offerings
later.
are not “pleasing” (Jer. 6:20); the word used, leratson, is a
technical term for an acceptable sacrifice (see also Leviticus
It is probably correct to say that for Jeremiah, the peo-
1:3, 19:5, 22:29; Isaiah 56:7). Most important, the popular
ple’s return could never be sufficient. He was too much of
view had it that other gods might be worshiped by Israelites
an idealist. He considers Judah’s return to Yahveh “deceitful”
as long as their worship of Yahveh was in purity. As Jeremiah
(Jer. 3:10), whereas the people complain, “I have been
says in his indictment, “Will you steal and murder and com-
cleansed. Surely his anger is turned away from me. . . . Will
mit adultery and swear falsely and sacrifice to Baal and follow
he be angry forever? Will he rage for all time?” (Jer. 2:35,
other gods with whom you have no [rightful] relation and
3:5). The author of 2 Kings 23 is in fundamental agreement
then come and stand before me in this house which is called
with the people rather than with Jeremiah. According to 2
by my name and say ‘we are saved’ and then continue to
Kings, Josiah “returned to Yahveh with all his heart and soul
commit all these abominations?” (Jer. 7:9–10).
and might, in complete accord with the teaching of Moses”
(23:25). There is no indication that Josiah’s contemporaries
It is clear that the people believed the cult could purify
had not done enough or had been deceitful. Instead, the
them of all their sins. If such violations as theft, murder,
verse following says that although Josiah had repented (shav),
adultery, and false oaths could succumb to purificatory ritu-
Yahveh had not repented of his anger, because of the sins of
als, why could not the worship of foreign gods? In fact, such
Manasseh. For the writer of 2 Kings, Manasseh’s generation
temporary rejection of foreign gods is ascribed to Jacob (Gn.
was so irredeemably wicked that the following generations
35:4) and to Joshua (Jos. 24). According to Leviticus 16:30,
were doomed no matter how they acted (2 Kgs. 21:1–16).
the priesthood claimed that its atonement rituals could re-
move all impurity caused by sin. (A priesthood could hardly
Some of Jeremiah’s contemporaries expressed this same
claim otherwise.) Jeremiah did not accept this view because
pessimistic attitude in the proverb “The ancestors ate sour
he saw it as insincere. In his eyes, Israel had been faithful to
grapes but the children’s teeth are clean” (Jer. 31:29; cf. Ez.
Yahveh only in the wilderness (Jer. 2:1). The people strayed
18:1). That is, they believed that because the ancestors ate
as soon as they entered the promised land and so profaned
forbidden food, their children go hungry. But Jeremiah dis-
it (Jer. 2:8, 3:2). Borrowing an image from Hosea, Jeremiah
agrees. He believes that his contemporaries are worse because
depicts the people of Judah as a faithless wife who had pre-
they have returned (shavu) to the ancestral sins after suppos-
tended to mend her ways (Jer. 3:1ff.). She knows that Yahveh
edly repudiating them, and thus have broken the ancient
has divorced the northern kingdom of Israel for infidelity
covenant that demanded Yahveh’s exclusive worship (Jer.
(Jer. 3:8), but her heart is still uncircumcised (Jer. 4:4, 9:25).
11:9–10, 16:10–12). The notion that returning to sin after
The entire people is guilty, for none has practiced true repen-
allegedly repenting is worse than sinning without repentance
tance—neither priests, teachers, kings, nor prophets (Jer.
is characteristic of Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 34, for example, the
2:8, 21:11–23:5, 23:9–40, 27–29). Jeremiah’s mission is to
prophet rebukes the people who had first reinstated the pro-
bring the people to true repentance (Jer. 3:14, 3:22, 4:1). If
vision for the release of Hebrew slaves under the leadership
he fails, then destruction of the land is inevitable, and even
of Zedekiah, but then turned around (va-yashuvu) and en-
the gentiles will know the cause (Jer. 22:8–9; cf. Dt. 29:21–
slaved them a second time.
29, 1 Kgs. 9:8–9).
The sin of insincere repentance underlies Jeremiah’s at-
Compared with sincere repentance, the obligations of
titude toward the cult of his time. Josiah’s reforms had made
the cult are secondary. Inasmuch as Jeremiah agrees with
the Jerusalem Temple the only legitimate Yahvistic shrine in
Amos that there was no organized sacrificial cult in Israel’s
the country, so that it could truly be called “Yahveh’s palace”
forty-year wandering in the desert (Am. 5:25), the covenant
(Jer. 7:4) by the people, echoing the prophecies of the eighth-
between Yahveh and his people could not have been made
century prophet Isaiah (Is. 2:1–4, 31:4-5, 37:32–35). In con-
through the cult. Conversely, the cult must be insufficient
trast, Jeremiah taught, as had others (Jer. 26:18–20), that the
to sustain the bond.
Temple was not inviolable, nor was it any more permanent
In the tradition of those prophets who influenced him,
than the anciently destroyed Shiloh sanctuary (Jer. 7:14).
notably Hosea, the political events of his time were to Jere-
Probably at the same time, he made the statement, “Add
miah an indication of Yahveh’s disfavor. In his early prophe-
your whole burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat
cies, Yahveh’s judgment was described as being through the
the meat. For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt
agency of an unnamed northern foe. The kings of the north
I did not speak with them to command them about burnt
would come “and set their thrones at Jerusalem’s gates,”
offerings and sacrifices. This rather is what I commanded
where Yahveh would pronounce sentence against Judah for
them: Hearken to my voice so that I can be your God and
serving other gods (Jer. 1:14–16). It does not seem that Jere-
you can be my people” (Jer. 7:21–22).
miah actually identified the northern foe as Babylon until the
It would be inaccurate to say that Jeremiah advocated
Babylonian victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish in
a cultless religion. He did not disagree that the Temple is
Syria in 605 (cf. Jer. 36:29). It is also likely that the descrip-
God’s place. Indeed, if the people mend their ways, then
tion of the Babylonian officers sitting in the gate in Jerusalem
Yahveh will dwell with them in the Jerusalem Temple (Jer.
(Jer. 39:3) is a “fulfillment” of the early prophecy.
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4830
JEREMIAH
At first Jeremiah teaches that Yahveh’s punishment of
sent them. The exiled Judahites should consider themselves
the people at the hands of their foes can be averted by true
“good figs” and should do Yahveh’s will by building homes
repentance. The death of Josiah and the accession of Je-
and families in Babylonia (Jer. 24:5, 29:4–7). Those people
hoiakim to the throne mark a turning point. Jeremiah does
of Judah who had not been captured and exiled in 597 and
not accuse Jehoiakim of the worship of foreign gods but of
who continued to resist Nebuchadrezzar were “bad figs.”
social abuses. The king was unjustly impressing laborers into
Flight to Egypt in order to escape Babylonian rule was just
service so that he could build himself a lavish palace. He was
as bad, as far as Jeremiah was concerned (Jer. 24:8, 42:10–
shedding innocent blood and perpetrating fraud and vio-
16). Yahveh himself had turned against Judah (Jer. 21:4–8).
lence (Jer. 22:13–17). In consequence, predicted Jeremiah,
This meant that the “way of life” was surrender and the “way
perhaps inaccurately (2 Kgs. 24:6), Jehoiakim would have a
of death” was resistance (Jer. 21:8–10). Jeremiah’s insistence
donkey’s funeral rather than a king’s.
on surrender landed him in the stocks (Jer. 20:1–6), caused
him to be accused of treason and subversion, and nearly cost
During Jehoiakim’s reign, Jeremiah first began to com-
him his life (Jer. 38:3–6).
mit his prophecies to writing in order to bring the people to
repentance. Baruch was sent to read the scroll publicly in the
PESSIMISM AND HOPE IN JEREMIAH. The Book of Jeremiah
Temple on a fast day (Jer. 36:9). The reading did not have
provides more information about its subject’s inner life than
the desired effect: Jehoiakim destroyed the scroll and at-
does any other biblical book. Even if some elements, such
tempted to kill Jeremiah and Baruch (Jer. 36:26) just as he
as the disinclination to prophecy, are felt elsewhere, they are
had slain Uriah, who preached a similar message (Jer. 26:23).
more articulate in Jeremiah. Jeremiah does not want to
The writer of Jeremiah 36 remarks pointedly that Jehoiakim
prophesy (Jer. 1:6), but he cannot contain himself with Yah-
and his courtiers “showed no fear and did not tear their gar-
veh’s anger (Jer. 6:11, 20:9). Though a prophet is normally
ments,” in order to contrast Jehoiakim with his pious father,
supposed to intercede (Gn. 20:7, 20:17), Jeremiah is told not
Josiah, who had torn his garments upon hearing Yahveh’s
to (Jer. 7:16, 15:1). At least once, Yahveh was about to re-
word from a book (2 Kgs. 22:11, 22:19). Jehoiakim’s unjust
move him from his prophetic office (Jer. 15:19). In Jeremi-
behavior, coupled with the rise of Babylon, was proof
ah’s eyes, Yahveh seduced and even raped him (Jer. 20:7).
enough to Jeremiah that the required change of heart had not
Jeremiah prayed for the death of his relatives (Jer. 12:3) and
taken place, that Jehoiakim was not the man to bring it
cursed the day of his own birth (Jer. 20:15–18). He depicted
about, and that Yahveh would use Babylon to punish Judah,
himself as a man of strife and contention (Jer. 15:10) who
just as he had used Assyria to punish northern Israel.
lacked the comfort of family and social gatherings (Jer. 16:1–
13). Yahveh’s word has been, he says ironically, his joyful
In consequence, Jeremiah began to preach submission
wedding tune (Jer. 15:16).
to Babylonia as Yahveh’s will. This was particularly offensive
to Jehoiakim, who had rebelled against Nebuchadrezzar II
Yet the moroseness of the man and the generally pessi-
after three years of vassalage (2 Kgs. 23:26). The counsel of
mistic tone of his prophecy give us only one side of his per-
submission of Babylonia intensified after the death of Je-
sonality. For at least twenty-three years, he believed that Yah-
hoiakim, in 597. Jehoiakin, Jehoiakim’s son and successor,
veh might avert disaster if the people would repent. Even
was deposed after three months, following a siege of Jerusa-
afterward, he prophesied hope. Perhaps the most optimistic
lem. He and many other Judahites were deported. Jeremiah
of his prophecies is that of the berit h:adashah (new covenant
thought little of Jehoiakin and predicted that he would die
or testament), which must be understood in terms of the
in exile (Jer. 22:24–30).
sixth century BCE.
In the reign of Zedekiah, the last king to occupy the
According to the authors of the Pentateuch, especially
throne of Judah, Jeremiah articulated Yahveh’s plan. Yahveh
Deuteronomy, Yahveh and Israel were joined by covenant, or
had given all the lands over to Nebuchadrezzar and would
treaty. Yahveh had taken Israel as his people, and they had
punish those people who would not submit to Babylonian
accepted him as their god and had assumed the obligation
rule. Nebuchadrezzar was Yahveh’s servant (Jer. 27:6) whose
to worship him alone. Violation of the covenant would bring
rule had been ordained for three generations (Jer. 27:7), or
all manner of curses on the people (Dt. 28; cf. Jer. 11). Mod-
seventy years (Jer. 25:11). Those people who submitted to
ern research has shown that the covenant form employed by
Nebuchadrezzar and, consequently, to Yahveh’s word would
Jeremiah and Deuteronomy is based on ancient Near Eastern
be permitted by Yahveh to remain on their own land, while
political documents whereby a minor king becomes a vassal
those who resisted would be exiled (Jer. 27:10–11). For Jere-
of a greater one. In such treaties, the suzerain promises land
miah, people like the Yahveh prophet Hananiah, son of
and protection to the vassal in return for the vassal’s exclusive
Azzur, who preached the speedy return of Jeconiah, son of
and undivided loyalty. The biblical religious covenants con-
Jehoiakim, and the Temple vessels (Jer. 28:3–4) and who
ceive of Israel as the vassal of Yahveh, who is, therefore, enti-
counseled rebellion were no better than the pagan diviners
tled to exclusive worship. Israel was entitled to remain on the
who offered the same message (Jer. 27:9, 27:15). Just as false
land given it by Yahveh only as long as it served Yahveh alone
were those prophets from Judah in Babylonia who taught
(Jer. 11:5). Jeremiah was certain that his people had broken
that the exile would be short (Jer. 29:8–9). Yahveh had not
their covenant with Yahveh by following other gods (Jer.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEREMIAS II
4831
11:10) and were therefore doomed to suffer the expected
Fohrer, Georg. History of Israelite Religion. Translated by David
consequences. In Jeremiah 31, however, inspired by Hosea’s
E. Green. Nashville, 1972.
teaching, the prophet arrives at a new idea.
Ginsberg, H. L. “Hosea, Book of.” In Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jeru-
Hosea speaks of Israel as a faithless wife who was to be
salem, 1971. An extremely important account of the back-
cast out and divorced. But Yahveh realized that her inability
ground of northern Israelite prophetic thought and of
Hosea’s influence on Deuteronomy.
to be faithful was inherent in her constitutional lack of the
qualities of justice, equity, loyalty, compassion, and stead-
Kaufmann, Yeh:ezkel. The Religion of Israel, from Its Beginnings to
fastness. Yahveh would remarry Israel and would give her
the Babylonian Exile. Translated and abridged by Moshe
these qualities as betrothal gifts so that she would be able to
Greenberg. Chicago, 1960. An attempt to demonstrate that
there was no great gap between prophetic and popular reli-
be truly intimate with Yahveh (Hos. 2:18–21). He would
gion. Kaufmann argues that prophetic polemics against idol-
even make it inherently impossible for her to pronounce the
atry are mostly rhetorical exaggerations by idealists.
name Baal.
Nelson, Richard. “Realpolitik in Judah, 687–609 B.C.E.” In Scrip-
Jeremiah follows the same line of thinking, but he em-
ture in Context, edited by William W. Hallo, James C.
ploys a political rather than a marital metaphor:
Moyer, and Leo G. Perdue, vol. 2, pp. 177–189. Winona
In days to come I will make a new covenant with the
Lake, Ind., 1982. A critique of the theory that Josiah’s reli-
house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be
gious policies were part of his anti-Assyrian nationalism.
like the covenant which I made with their ancestors
Rowley, H. H. “The Prophet Jeremiah and the Book of Deuter-
. . . a covenant which they broke, so I rejected
onomy.” In his From Moses to Qumran, chap. 6. London,
them. . . . I will put my teaching inside of them and
1963. A good summary of the problems involved in the rela-
inscribe it upon their hearts. Then I will be their god
tion between the prophet and the book. Good bibliography
and they will be my people. No longer will they need
to 1950.
to teach one another “heed Yahveh,” for all of them
Soden, Wolfram von. Akkadisches Handwörterbuch, vol. 2. Wies-
. . . shall heed me. (Jer. 31:31–34)
baden, 1972. See the index, s.v. rimu(m).
A similar notion is found in Jeremiah 32:38–41: “They shall
New Sources
be my people and I will be their god. I will give them an un-
Berrigan, Daniel J. Jeremiah: The World, the Wound of God. Min-
divided heart and nature to revere me for all time. I will make
neapolis, 1999.
an everlasting covenant with them and put reverence fore me
Brueggman, Walter. A Commentary on Jeremiah: Exile and Home-
in their hearts so that they cannot turn away from
coming. Grand Rapids, Mich., 1998.
me. . . .Then I will plant them permanently in this land.”
Hunter, Michael J. A Guide to Jeremiah. London, 1993.
The new covenant is necessary because Israel and Judah
lacked the innate abililty to keep the old one. Yahveh’s recog-
Jones, Douglas Rawlinson. Jeremiah: Based on the Revised Standard
Version. Grand Rapids, Mich., 1992.
nition of the deficiency of his people inspires him to remedy
it by a change of their nature. Once Yahveh has effected the
King, Philip J. Jeremiah: An Archaeological Companion. Louisville,
change, his people will be able to keep his covenant and re-
Ky., 1993.
main permanently on his land.
Lundbom, Jack R. The Early Career of the Prophet Jeremiah. Lewis-
ton, N.Y., 1993.
The new covenant itself was designed for the salvation
of Israel and Judah. Yet its implications that a radical change
Sharp, Carolyn J. Prophecy and Ideology in Jeremiah: Struggles for
of human nature is possible became universal. In a great
Authority in the Deutero-Jeremianic Prose. New York, 2003.
irony of religious history, the words of the prophet who spent
White, R.E.O. The Indomitable Prophet: A Biographical Commen-
much of his career prophesying doom became to his direct
tary: The Man, the Time, the Book, the Tasks. Grand Rapids,
and indirect descendants a legacy of hope.
Mich., 1992.
S. DAVID SPERLING (1987)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Revised Bibliography
Bright, John, trans. and ed. Jeremiah. Anchor Bible, vol. 21. Gar-
den City, N.Y., 1965. A readable translation with commen-
tary, notes, historical introduction, and bibliography. A
scholarly work but accessible to the nonspecialist.
JEREMIAS II (1530 or 1535–1595) was a Greek prelate,
Childs, Brevard S. Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture.
scholar, and patriarch of Constantinople. Jeremias II was
Philadelphia, 1979. Excellent bibliography and a succinct
born in the ancient city of Anchialus, Thrace (present-day
treatment of Jeremiah from the viewpoint of canon criticism.
Pomorie, Bulgaria), on the Black Sea; he was a descendant
Cogan, Morton. Imperialism and Religion: Assyria, Judah and Israel
of the important Tranos family. Because there were no orga-
in the Eighth and Seventh Centuries B.C.E. Missoula, Mont.,
nized Greek schools in the Turk-dominated area, Jeremias
1974. An examination of primary Assyrian sources to deter-
was privately educated. In 1565 he was elected metropolitan
mine religious policy in Assyrian provinces and vassal states.
of Larissa, and in 1572 he became patriarch of Constantino-
Ehrlich, Arnold B. Miqra E ki-feshut:o. 3 vols. Berlin, 1899–1901.
ple at an uncommonly early age. As a result of the policy of
An excellent and erratic philological commentary.
the Ottoman rulers of changing patriarchs, Jeremias was de-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4832
JEROME
posed twice, in 1579 and again in 1584, but he was restored
Kirche, 1573 bis 1581 zwischen den Tübinger Theologen und
to his post by popular demand. He was patriarch from 1572
dem Patriarchen von Konstantinopel (Witten, 1958).
to 1579, 1580 to 1584, and from 1586 until his death in
THEODORE ZISSIS (1987)
1595.
Translated from Greek by Philip M. McGhee
While Jeremias was patriarch, he raised the standards of
ecclesiastical and cultural life, both of which were at extreme-
ly low levels. He condemned simony among the clergy, and
JEROME (c. 347–420), properly Eusebius Hieronymus;
he undertook to restore the former austerity of the monastic
church father and biblical scholar. Born at Stridon in Dalma-
life by abolishing the idiorrhythmic monasteries and
tia of a prosperous Christian family, Jerome was educated at
strengthening the more centralized cenobitic life. He also
Rome under Aelius Donatus, the most eminent grammarian
forbade the establishment of monastic houses in secular envi-
of the fourth century. With Donatus he studied the principal
ronments without prior ecclesiastical consent. The authority
Latin authors, of whom Cicero and Vergil exerted a lasting
of the patriarchate itself was strengthened as a result of his
influence on him. His rhetorical training included the rudi-
frequent visits to other Orthodox churches. At the insistence
ments of philosophy, which held little interest for him, ex-
of Tsar Feodor I Ivanovich (r. 1584–1598), Jeremias raised
cept for dialectics. Rhetoric and dialectics became the tools
the Russian church to the status of patriarchate, placing it
of his polemics. While in Rome he enjoyed those youthful
in fifth place in the pentarchy after Jerusalem.
indiscretions that he would later bitterly lament as immorali-
ty. Jerome was nevertheless baptized, perhaps in the year
Jeremias would not accept the calendar sought by Pope
366.
Gregory XIII and suggested that the Orthodox church in the
West should also follow the old calendar. For the Orthodox
In his twentieth year Jerome continued his studies at
living in Italy, he transferred the see of Philadelphia to Ven-
Trier, where the ideal of monasticism took hold of him for-
ice, and Gabriel Severus, the scholar, was appointed the first
ever. In 374 he made a pilgrimage to Antioch in Syria, where
metropolitan. Jeremias’s reaction to the establishment of
he mastered Greek and began in earnest his lifelong study
Western schools for proselytism during the period of Turkish
of the Bible. Recovery from a serious illness strengthened his
occupation was to advise his bishops to establish Greek
resolve to become an anchorite in the nearby desert of Chal-
schools in their territories. He thereby made a contribution
cis. While practicing asceticism, he learned Hebrew so that
to the development of education.
he could read the Old Testament without recourse to the
Septuagint. Suspected of religious heterodoxy, he returned
Jeremias is, for the most part, remembered for his con-
to Antioch in 378.
tacts and theological dialogues with the Protestant theolo-
gians of Tübingen. The Lutherans and the Greek Orthodox
Ordained a priest at Antioch, Jerome was introduced to
sought support in their disagreements with the church of
biblical exegesis by Apollinaris of Laodicea. Around the year
Rome and therefore turned to one another for assistance. In
381 Jerome traveled to Constantinople, where he met the
1573, two professors from Tübingen, Martin Crusius and
theologians Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa and
Jakob Andreä, sent a copy of the Augsburg Confession
began his translations of Origen’s works on the Bible. Origen
(1531) to Jeremias. In his correspondence with the Lutheran
was both Jerome’s blessing and his bane. From Origen, Je-
theologians, Jeremias pointed out the serious differences in
rome derived substantially his own approach to biblical exe-
dogma that precluded any union of the Protestant and Or-
gesis, but later he was often suspected of sharing Origen’s he-
thodox churches. This correspondence went on for some
retical views.
time, and it was published as The Three Dogmatic Answers
In 382 Jerome returned to Rome and soon became sec-
to the Theologians of Tübingen. In his various other works,
retary to Pope Damasus, who set him to revising the Old
Jeremias presented Orthodoxy as a continuation of the an-
Latin versions of the New Testament. Jerome left Rome for
cient catholic church, stressing, in particular, faithfulness and
the East in 389, soon to be joined by Paula and Eustochium,
adherence to the original traditions of the church and avoid-
two religious Roman women. Together they established two
ance of new doctrines and practices. Although his dialogues
monasteries at Bethlehem. Thereafter, Jerome lived the as-
with the Lutheran theologians eventually deteriorated,
cetic life of a monk and continued his study of the Bible.
Jeremias began the dialogues in a climate of love and friend-
During these years there poured from his pen a river of Latin
ship, and thus they became the forerunner of today’s ecu-
translations of the Bible from the Greek and Hebrew, trans-
menical dialogues.
lations of Origen’s works on the Bible and commentaries of
his own, polemical works, and letters to people throughout
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the Roman world. Although Jerome befriended Augustine
No English work on Jeremias II is readily available. Readers of
of Hippo and the historian Paulus Orosius, he scorned Am-
Greek may consult Io¯anne¯s N. Karmire¯s’ Ta dogmatika kai
brose of Milan and hounded John Chrysostom. He died in
sumbolika mn¯emeia t¯es Orthodoxou Katholik¯es Ekkl¯esias, vol.
420. An obstinate monk, Jerome was combative, vindictive,
1 (Athens, 1960), pp. 437–503. German readers are directed
and cantankerous. Nonetheless, as a biblical scholar he was
to Wort und Mysterium: Der Briefwechsel über Glauben und
the most learned of church fathers.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEROME
4833
Jerome’s voluminous writings fall into four broad
in this area as well. The training in rhetoric and dialectics
groups: translations and studies of the Bible, polemics, his-
equipped him for controversy, and his mastery of Latin prose
torical works, and letters. By far the most important category
style gave him a clear, sometimes elegant, means of expres-
deals with scripture, his towering achievement being his
sion. Moreover, the young student had frequented the law
Latin translation of the Bible. Known as the Vulgate, it be-
courts and had enjoyed listening to the violent verbal ex-
came the authorized version of the Bible in the Latin church.
changes of eminent lawyers. In addition to his well-turned
For the New Testament, Jerome corrected the Old Latin ver-
Latin phrases, Jerome employed caustic and even disreputa-
sions of the Gospels in the light of earlier Greek manuscripts.
ble abuse, his opponents generally being branded fools, char-
His work on the Old Testament took a more complicated
latans, heretics, or all three. He was particularly adept at dis-
course. He began by relying on the Septuagint, but the more
paraging his opponents’ literary style, which was all the more
familiar he became with Hebrew the more determined he
effective because he of all the church fathers wrote a Latin
was to base his translations on the Hebrew text. The result
that was almost classically pure. These tools were valuable be-
was a far more accurate version of the Old Testament than
cause Jerome was unimpressive as a theologian and a philoso-
anything theretofore available in Latin.
pher. His contribution was as a scholar, not as an original
Translation was only part of Jerome’s biblical interests.
thinker.
In his quest to determine and understand the text, he wrote
Jerome employed his polemical works either to combat
sixty-three volumes of commentaries and some one hundred
current heresies or to defend himself from the charge of here-
homilies primarily concerned with explaining the Bible to
sy. His rebuttals often provide the best information about
the religious community at Bethlehem. Some of Jerome’s
the nature of his opponents’ views. Jerome unswervingly up-
commentaries are little more than Latin translations of Ori-
held the cause of orthodoxy. He entered the field of contro-
gen’s Greek originals. In the areas of exegesis and homiletics,
versy in 378–379 with his Altercatio Luciferiani et Orthodoxi
Jerome was influenced primarily by Apollinaris, Origen, and
(Debate of a Luciferian and an orthodox), in which he at-
rabbinical thought, including the work of Akiva ben Joseph,
tacked the views of the Sardinian bishop Lucifer. Using the
one of the founders of rabbinical Judaism. From Apollinaris,
orthodox believer as a sounding-board for his own views, Je-
Jerome learned the value of historical commentary and con-
rome argued in favor of Arian bishops’ retaining their clerical
crete interpretation of the Bible. Jewish exegesis also empha-
positions upon recantation and defended the validity of
sized the literal sense of the Old Testament. In addition, his
Arian baptism. Chief among Jerome’s religious views are his
Hebrew teachers acquainted Jerome with Jewish oral tradi-
abiding faith in the Christian church and its apostolic au-
tions, a source unknown to most of his Christian contempo-
thority, and his opposition to heresy as destructive to Chris-
raries. Increasingly, Jerome respected the Hebrew text of the
tian unity. He never wavered from these beliefs.
Old Testament, in his words, the veritas Hebraica, which ul-
timately led him to doubt the accuracy of the Septuagint.
In 383 Jerome combated the views of the Roman lay-
Origen influenced Jerome to go beyond literal and historical
man Helvidius, who denied the virginity of Mary after the
interpretation of scripture to discover its allegorical and sym-
birth of Jesus and who argued that the married and celibate
bolic meaning. Although Jerome often criticized Origen’s
states were equal in dignity. In Adversus Helvidium, a spirited
approach, he too felt that under the literal text lay a level of
pamphlet, Jerome used exegetical and scholarly arguments,
deeper spiritual meaning.
along with his usual verbal abuse, to defend the perpetual vir-
Intellectually eclectic, Jerome used all three approaches
ginity of Mary and to exalt the value of celibacy in Christian
to biblical exegesis. His usual method of exposition consisted
life. Jerome’s triumph over Helvidius helped to establish the
of a literal explanation of every verse, including citations of
orthodox views of the Latin church on Mariology and celiba-
variant readings and interpretations, frequently followed by
cy. Next, in Adversus Iovinianum (Against Jovinian), written
an allegorical interpretation. For the Old Testament, he
in 393, Jerome marshaled all his skills in exegesis, dialectics,
translated passages from Hebrew and from the Septuagint
rhetoric, satire, and obloquy to defend again the doctrines
before commenting on them in turn. His treatment of the
of Mary’s virginity, the virgin birth of Jesus, the superiority
Hebrew text was generally historical and included discussion
of celibacy over marriage, and the advocacy of asceticism. In
of Hebrew words, names, and grammar. Despite his high re-
404 Jerome wrote Contra Vigilantium (Against Vigilantius),
gard for rabbinical exegesis, Jerome never preferred it to or-
a response to the polemics of Vigilantius, a priest from Aqui-
thodox Christian interpretation. The Septuagint was also
taine. In this controversy, Jerome defended devotion to the
often subjected to spiritual exegesis. Here especially Jerome
relics of martyrs and saints and the offering of prayers to
relied heavily on Origen, whom he defended as a learned and
them, and he endorsed all-night vigils at their shrines as acts
gifted biblical scholar. Nonetheless, he often attacked Origen
of piety. He also again championed the ascetic way of life,
and steadfastly rejected his theology and dogmas. Origen’s
including celibacy, monasticism, and fasting, and he ap-
influence can be seen further in Jerome’s tendency to give
proved sending alms to monasteries in Jerusalem as Paul had
his own, original spiritual interpretation of the Septuagint.
urged.
The second major category of Jerome’s writings is po-
In two polemical works Jerome defended himself
lemics. His early studies in Rome made their contribution
against the charge of sharing Origen’s heresy, first in 397
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4834
JERUSALEM: AN OVERVIEW
with his Contra Ioannem Hierosolymitanum (Against John of
an alphabetical listing of the place names and descriptions
Jerusalem) and again in 401, when his old friend Rufinus of
of the geographical features of the sites mentioned in the
Aquileia openly accused him of being a follower of Origen.
Bible. Last came his Liber hebraicarum quaestionum (Hebrew
In effect, Rufinus attacked Jerome’s whole approach to the
questions), a discussion of various problems in the text of the
Bible. Jerome’s response, Apologia adversus Rufinum (Apolo-
Book of Genesis, heavily dependent on rabbinical exegesis.
gy against Rufinus), was a terrible counterattack, violent, sa-
The treatment is essentially linguistic, historical, and geo-
tirical, scurrilous, and learned. Jerome successfully defended
graphical. Rounding out Jerome’s historical work are hagio-
his life’s work, including his use and translations of Origen’s
graphies of Paul, Malchus, and Hilarion.
commentaries, his reliance on the Hebrew original of the
Jerome’s 154 letters also illuminate the religious climate
Old Testament, and his respect for the Septuagint. Not de-
of the time. In his correspondence, Jerome discussed promi-
nying his debt to Origen’s learning, Jerome steadfastly de-
nent church leaders, satirized the Christian clergy, discussed
nied sharing Origen’s theology.
the burning religious issues of the day, and provided much
Jerome’s last polemical work, Dialogus adversus Pela-
information about himself and his intellectual development.
gianos (Dialogue against a Pelagian), written in 415, attacked
All his written work influenced the subsequent course of the
the tenets of the Pelagian heresy, which was primarily con-
Latin church. His greatest contribution can be put simply:
cerned with the concepts of sin and grace. Against the Pela-
when later generations read the Vulgate, they read the trans-
gian position that people can live free of sin, Jerome coun-
lation of Jerome and reaped the finest fruits of his superb
tered that humans constantly need divine help. He further
scholarship.
insisted that humanity is given to sin, despite its possession
of free will. Jerome also defended Augustine’s concept of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
original sin and accepted the need for infant baptism.
J. N. D. Kelly’s Jerome: His Life, Writings, and Controversies (Lon-
Dialogus exhibits the hallmarks common to the rest of Je-
don, 1975) is easily the best treatment of Jerome’s career. It
rome’s polemical works: personal abuse, biblical scholarship,
is firmly based in the sources, and its approach is consistently
and orthodoxy.
sane. Philip Rousseau’s Ascetics, Authority, and the Church in
the Age of Jerome and Cassian (Oxford, 1978) is a much
The last two categories of Jerome’s work are more his-
broader study of the religious and intellectual climate of the
torical than religious in importance. Jerome either translated
time. An excellent study of Jerome’s polemics can be found
or wrote several historical treatises valuable for his study of
in Ilona Opelt’s Hieronymus’ Streitschriften (Heidelberg,
the Bible. The first, published in 382, was his translation of
1973), an exhaustive analysis of this genre. David S. Wiesen’s
Eusebius of Caesarea’s Chronikoi kanones (Chronological
Saint Jerome as a Satirist (Ithaca, N.Y., 1964) concentrates
canons), an annalistically arranged work that combined bib-
on one of the most salient aspects of Jerome’s polemics and
correspondence. Similarly, Harald Hagendahl’s Latin Fathers
lical and Near Eastern chronology with Greco-Roman chro-
and the Classics (Göteborg, 1958) devotes part 2, the heart
nology. Jerome added to its contents and continued its cov-
of his book, to Jerome’s use of classical writers. Francis X.
erage to his own times, ending with the Battle of Adrianople
Murphy, in A Monument to Saint Jerome: Essays on Some As-
in 378. Chronicle became the historical framework of his exe-
pects of His Life, Works, and Influence (New York, 1952), has
getical studies. In wider terms, Jerome’s Chronicle became
assembled ten essays that discuss Jerome both as a religious
the standard authority in western Europe for the chronology
figure and as an intellectual figure. The quality of the essays,
of the ancient world.
however, is quite uneven.
In 392–393 Jerome published De viris illustribus (On
JOHN BUCKLER (1987)
famous men), a historical catalog of Christian literature in
which he surveyed the lives and writings of 135 authors,
overwhelmingly Christian with a sprinkling of Jewish au-
JERUSALEM
thors, beginning with the apostle Peter and ending with him-
This entry consists of the following articles:
self. Although he relied heavily on Eusebius for the early part,
AN OVERVIEW
and although he inserted authors whom he had never read,
JERUSALEM IN JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM
in the later part he contributed much information derived
from his own reading. The work was continued by others
JERUSALEM: AN OVERVIEW
into the fifteenth century.
Jerusalem, an old Canaanite settlement in the uplands of Ju-
For religious purposes, a trilogy of biblical studies is Je-
daea, enters history rather offhandedly in the biblical narra-
rome’s most significant historical work. Between 389 and
tive: David, king of Israel, then resident at nearby Hebron,
391 Jerome produced his Onomastikon (Hebrew names), de-
decides to make this Jebusite city his capital. No reason is
rived from Origen. Onomastikon is an etymological dictio-
given—even today the site has obvious security advantages—
nary of proper names in the Bible, alphabetically arranged.
and indeed Jerusalem shows no particular religious associa-
Next came his Liber locorum (Book of places), a translation
tions until David buys a Jebusite threshing floor atop Mount
of Eusebius’s Onomastikon, with meager additions drawn
Moriah just north of his new “City of David” and builds an
from his own knowledge of Palestine. The Liber locorum is
altar there, where the Lord had stayed the hand of his aveng-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JERUSALEM: AN OVERVIEW
4835
ing angel. This spot may have been an earlier Canaanite high
The political straitening of Jerusalem was accompanied
place, but it now became the site of a grandiose temple possi-
by an equally notable broadening of the religious character
bly planned by David and certainly built by his son Solo-
of the city. The chastening of the Israelites before, during,
mon.
and immediately after their Babylonian exile produced a new
type of religious leader in their midst, the prophet, and in
The Temple of Solomon was an enormous structure
their inspired visions Jerusalem became the symbol of and
with interior courtyards of progressively limited access, in the
indeed identical with the Children of Israel and the Land of
midst of which stood an ornately adorned sanctuary. Outside
Israel, now cast down for its idolatry and fornication, now
it stood the great altar of sacrifice, and within, in a curtained
exalted, renewed, and glorified in the new age that would fol-
inner chamber, the Holy of Holies, was installed the ark of
low the present travails. Thus the historical Jerusalem, which
the covenant containing the Tablets of the Law and other
often lay in ruin and misery, was transformed by Isaiah and
tokens of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt and sojourn
Ezekiel, among others, into a heavenly and eschatological Je-
in the wilderness of Sinai. And there too were reinstituted
rusalem, a city whose holiness transcended the mere presence
all the cultic acts commanded to Moses on Sinai, the daily
of the Temple but was rather coterminous with the glory of
sacrifices, the feasts of the New Moon and the New Year, the
the Chosen People and served as a pledge of the presence of
Day of Atonement, and the three great pilgrimage feasts of
God.
Passover, ShavuEot (Weeks), and Sukkot (Tabernacles), all
performed and managed by a body of Aaronite priests and
The historical Jerusalem revived under Greek sovereign-
ministering Levites.
ty, and a newly affluent upper class, including many priestly
families, eased the way for the introduction there of the ideals
There is no sign of this building today, because it was
and institutions of Hellenism. Under Antiochus IV Epi-
destroyed by the Babylonians in 587/6 BCE. Solomon’s son
phanes (r. 175–164 BCE), the Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem
Rehoboam could not maintain his father’s empire intact, and
requested and were granted permission by their sovereign to
the schism between the northern kingdom of Israel, with its
convert the city into a polis, a genuine Greek-style city. Sub-
own priests and shrines and its own rival temple atop Mount
sequently, Antiochus and a significant number of Jews grew
Gerizim in Samaria, and the southern kingdom of Judah,
disenchanted with this Jerusalem experiment in cultural and
ruled from Jerusalem, persisted down to the fall of Samaria
political Hellenism, Antiochus because he scented treachery
to the Assyrians in 721 BCE. Although the days of Judah were
in the city, and Jewish pietists because they correctly per-
likewise numbered, the southern kingdom sustained itself
ceived that Hellenism brought more than paved streets and
under royal saints (e.g., Hezekiah) and royal sinners (e.g.,
gymnasiums; they saw that it was heavily freighted with spiri-
Manasseh) long enough for the reformer king Josiah to cen-
tual values that constituted an attractive alternative and so
tralize all Israelite cult practices in Jerusalem. This was in 621
a grave threat to Mosaic Judaism. The king instituted a full-
BCE, and thereafter Jerusalem had few political rivals and no
scale attack on Judaism in Judaea and installed a Macedonian
religious peers; for Jews, whether in Palestine or abroad, in
garrison and foreign cults in the Temple precinct. The out-
what was known as the Diaspora, the Temple in Jerusalem
raged Jews mounted a bold resistance, and under the priestly
was the unique site of Jewish sacrificial worship of God, and
family called the Maccabees they eventually drove most of
the divine presence dwelt there in a special way.
the Greeks from Judaea and Jerusalem and in 164 BCE re-
dedicated the Temple there to the cult of the Lord.
The Babylonians, then, took Jerusalem in 587/6 BCE,
razed the Temple, and carried off many of the Jews into exile.
The Hasmonean dynasty survived until 37 BCE, when
And it is likely that at that time the ark of the covenant disap-
its own weaknesses permitted, and Roman choice dictated,
peared as part of the spoils; the Holy of Holies of later ver-
the passage of power to the Idumaean Herod I (r. 37–34
sions of the Jerusalem Temple was, at any rate, empty. Some-
BCE). Jerusalem was still growing—it now covered the west-
time after 538 BCE the Persian shah Cyrus II and his
ern hill as well as the eastern hill where Solomon’s Temple
Achaemenid successors allowed the exiled Jews to return to
and the City of David had been located—and Hasmonean
Jerusalem. The city was rebuilt by Nehemiah, the Mosaic
kingship had done nothing to inhibit its assimilation to a
Law was repromulgated through the efforts of the priestly
Hellenic-style settlement with notable public buildings and
scribe Ezra, and under the auspices of Zerubbabel a reduced
a regular street plan. The prodigious building activity of
version of Solomon’s Temple was constructed on the same
Herod increased the tempo of Greco-Roman urbanization.
site. The priesthoods were purified and God’s cult restored.
He extended the street plan, built an immense citadel at the
Jerusalem itself was rewalled and resettled and began to re-
western gate of the city, erected his own palace nearby, and
sume the growth that was already notable in the eighth cen-
sought to crown his labors by undertaking in 20 BCE a recon-
tury BCE. In the wake of Alexander the Great, Greeks suc-
struction of the Temple. This mammoth Herodian temple
ceeded to Persians in the late fourth century in Palestine, and
complex, with its newly extended platform, not only doubled
after 200 BCE the Greco-Macedonian dynasty of the Seleu-
the size of Solomon’s installation, it dwarfed every known
cids ruled over what was a politically modest temple-state at
temple assemblage in the Greco-Roman Near East. Today
Jerusalem.
only the platform and some of its gates are extant, having sur-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4836
JERUSALEM: AN OVERVIEW
vived the Roman destruction of 70 CE. For Jews, the western
Palestine into a Christian holy land, because the Christians
wall, a retaining wall of the platform, has been a potent sym-
held no brief for the city as such. For the early Christians the
bol of Jewish historical continuity since Talmudic times. The
historical Jerusalem had been destroyed because of the perfi-
platform itself has been venerated by Muslims as the H:aram
dy of the Jews, and if Christians too, following Paul and the
al-Shar¯ıf, the Holy Sanctuary, since the late seventh century.
Book of Revelation, could savor the notion of a heavenly Jeru-
salem as the symbol of the New Covenant, it had no visible
Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem did not last very long;
or even sentimental connection with the earthly Jerusalem.
the Romans by contrast held the city, although they never
Nevertheless, in the wake of Constantine’s building pro-
ruled from it, for six and a half centuries, and different Mus-
gram, Christian pilgrims, particularly those from overseas,
lim dynasties, who likewise preferred to put their palaces
began to arrive in increasing numbers. What those visitors
elsewhere, held sway over Jerusalem from the mid-seventh
came to see, and to experience, was not Jerusalem, but the
to the early twentieth century. But however brief the span,
entire network of Palestinian sites connected with Jesus, his
Jewish kings ruled over a Jewish state in Jerusalem; Roman
apostles, and the early Christian saints, who were being iden-
governors, some pagan, some Christian, ruled over Jerusa-
tified with enthusiastic liturgical and architectural celebra-
lem; and for a very long time the city was a part, often not
tion from the fourth century onward.
a very important part, of some form or other of a Muslim
political organization, although never its capital. Nor was it
One Jerusalem holy place was not celebrated in either
under any circumstances the capital of “the Christian peo-
fashion: The site of Herod’s Temple, twice reduced to ruins
ple” or “the Muslim people” simply because there never were
by the Romans, was left in that sad state in graphic and con-
such.
tinuous fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy. Christian visitors
Jesus was born under Herodian and died under Roman
went up onto the platform and looked about and reflected,
sovereignty. Although at home in Galilee, he taught, per-
but the only liturgy marked there was the piteous Jewish re-
formed miracles, died, and was buried in Herodian Jerusa-
turn once a year on TishEah be-Av, the anniversary of its de-
lem. He worshiped in Herod’s Temple, with which he iden-
struction, to mourn the fallen sanctuary. In the rest of the
tified himself and whose destruction he openly predicted. As
city, meanwhile, the effect of imperial investment began to
he had foreseen, it happened in 70
manifest itself in the network of churches, shrines, hospices,
CE, at the end of a Jewish
insurrection against the Romans, but only after Jesus himself
and even hospitals as marked on the Madeba map. Now,
had been tried in Jerusalem, crucified outside the western
with no claim to either political or commerical eminence—
wall of the city, and buried nearby, having said that he would
even in the ecclesiastical hierarchy the city lost ground to
rise again in three days. A century thereafter Jerusalem, too,
nearby Caesarea and distant Antioch—Jerusalem was assum-
had its resurrection. In 132
ing a role it would have until 1967: that of a holy city sup-
CE the Roman emperor Hadrian
published his plans for a new, very Roman Jerusalem. This
ported and adorned for its holiness, and for the political ben-
may have been the provocation for a new revolt; what was
efits accruing from the official recognition of that holiness.
left of the city was razed in 135 CE, and it was only then that
But throughout most of its history Jerusalem was also
Hadrian was free to construct his new Aelia Capitolina,
a contested city. The Jews were in no position to contest it
named after his house and his god. The Jews for their part
with the Christians at this stage—they continued to be pro-
were banned from the city and its near vicinity.
hibited residence there by the Christian as well as by the
Researchers have a good idea of what Aelia Capitolina
pagan Roman emperors—but in 638 the Muslims came up
looked like from the Madeba map, a sixth-century mosaic
from the south and took the city from them and their Chris-
map that lays out Jerusalem’s plan and chief buildings in that
tian Roman empire in almost perfunctory fashion. Among
era. But there are major new installations visible on that map.
the Muslims’ first acts was to build a mosque on the deserted
They were the work of Constantine and his Christian impe-
Temple mount and, within a century, to erect in the middle
rial successors. In 330 CE Constantine, with the urging or the
of that same platform an extraordinary Muslim shrine called
assistance of his mother Helena, set about identifying the
the Dome of the Rock.
chief sites of Jesus’ redemptive activity in Palestine. He en-
Although subsequently rebuilt, the mosque on the
shrined them with major basilicas, notably the cave of the
Temple mount is still called al-Masjid al-Aqs:a¯ (“the distant
nativity in Bethlehem and the places, by then inside Jerusa-
sanctuary,” i.e., mosque), as it was from the beginning, and
lem’s walls, of Jesus’ execution, burial, and resurrection.
the reason reaches back to the QurDa¯n itself, where God de-
Jesus’ tomb was housed under a splendid rotunda, and the
scribes how he “carried his servant by night from the Sacred
site of the execution was enshrined at the corner of an open
Sanctuary to the Distant Sanctuary” (su¯rah 17:1). The ser-
courtyard; abutting both was an extremely large basilica. The
vant was of course Muh:ammad, and the “Sacred Sanctuary”
work was capped with both celebrity and authority when in
was easily identified as al-Masjid al-H:aram and the KaEbah
the course of the construction Helena discovered the re-
at Mecca. But the “Distant Sanctuary” provoked more dis-
mains, verified by miracle, of Jesus’ own cross.
cussion from the early commentators until here too a consen-
It was Constantine’s initiative that began the conversion
sus developed that the reference was to Jerusalem and its
of Jerusalem into a Christian holy city, or perhaps better, of
Temple area. Quickly another tradition was worked into the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JERUSALEM: AN OVERVIEW
4837
first, that of Muh:ammad’s ascension into heaven where the
capital, which was Jerusalem. No Christian pope or Muslim
mysteries of the prophets and of revelation were disclosed to
caliph—both quite different from a national king to begin
him.
with—ever had Jerusalem as his seat. Christian and Muslim
governors Jerusalem has had and, during the Crusades, even
The Aqs:a¯, then, was the congregational mosque of Jeru-
a number of Christian kings, but that was either sectarian
salem, a prayer place that also commemorated that “Distant
sovereignty or rule by delegated authority.
Sanctuary” mentioned in God’s book and visited by the
Prophet in the course of his “night journey.” And what of
This line of thought is merely moving along the surface,
the Dome of the Rock? It is in fact an ornate octagonal shrine
however. Jerusalem is more than a city or even a national
over a rock, a bedrock outcropping of Mount Moriah,
capital; it is an idea. And it is safe to say that it is a biblical
which, according to the Muslim tradition, marked part of
idea. As the Bible unfolds, one can easily follow the progres-
the foundation of the Temple. The Muslim connection with
sive identification being drawn between the people of Israel,
Jerusalem, for them simply “the Holy” (al-Quds) or “the
or the Land of Israel, and Jerusalem and its Temple. People,
Holy House,” runs back, then, both through the Bible to the
city, and Temple become one, linked in destiny and God’s
Temple and through the QurDa¯n to Muh:ammad, and it cen-
plan, and then transformed, apotheosized, into the Heavenly
ters precisely and exclusively on the Temple mount. Some
Jerusalem. By the time the Jews returned from their Babylo-
Muslims, not a great many surely, settled in what was now
nian exile and were granted limited sovereignty in Judaea and
their holy city in the years after 638 CE, and some Jews as
permission to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, the idea was
well, because the Muslims permitted the latter to resettle in
firmly in place, so firmly indeed that even though the city
the city that had been forbidden to them for five centuries.
was again lost to the Jews and then both the city and the
The Jews did so with alacrity; they moved their chief rabbini-
Temple destroyed, the idea survived. It survived not as a
cal yeshivah from Tiberias to Jerusalem and may even have
vaguely conceived and fitfully remembered nostalgia but as
prayed somewhere on the Temple platform itself.
a symbol solid as Jerusalem stonework built into the thought
The relationship of Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Je-
and liturgy of Judaism. Rabbis sitting in Galilean and Iraqi
rusalem, where a majority of the population was Christian
yeshivot two centuries and more after the actual Temple had
and the political sovereignty Muslim, was more or less har-
disappeared could still cite the physical measurements of the
monious. But this holy city was and is a narrow place where
entire complex and were still debating questions of priestly
emulation breeds envy, and envy, arrogance. In 1009 the as-
ritual performed there with as much vigor and conviction as
suredly arrogant and possibly envious Fatimid caliph al-
if the Temple still stood in its glory. As indeed it did, in a
H:a¯kim burned down the Christians’ Church of the Holy
tradition more perennial than stones or mortar or golden
Sepulcher. It was eventually rebuilt, although on the reduced
fretting.
scale that separates the present church from its Constantini-
The theme that Jerusalem is perennial was taken up and
an predecessor, but some deep harm had been done. That
repeated in the synagogue liturgy that all Jews recite as part
harm was chiefly experienced in Christian Europe, which
of their ordinary worship and that recurs throughout the art
eventually launched a Crusade that took the city back from
and literature, pious or prosaic, of the Middle Ages. “If I for-
the Muslims in 1099.
get thee, O Jerusalem . . .” rolls like an anthem across Jew-
The Western Crusade, with its religious propaganda
ish history, and in the sense of those words of the psalmist
and bloody violence, and the Muslims’ response, which fes-
all Jews have always been Zionists, whether they believed that
tooned the city with legends and blessings not unlike the
the restoration of Jerusalem could be achieved by political
Christians’ own indulgences, poisoned relations between the
means—as very few did from the final debacle of 135 CE
two groups, and nowhere more disastrously than in Jerusa-
down to the late nineteenth century—or that it would occur
lem itself. After the Muslim reoccupation of the city in 1187,
in some long-distant eschatological context. And their spiri-
Christians continued to come on pilgrimage, still following
tual descendants inherited the notion from them, although
Jesus’ “Way of the Cross” across the city, but now under the
without the same nationalist and tribal overtones: Christians
grimmest of circumstances; and the Muslim rulers, charged
and Muslims are both eschatological Zionists. Jesus saw as
with the administration of an increasingly impoverished city,
in a vision the eschatological destruction of Jerusalem and
resorted to extortion against Jerusalem’s only source of in-
John’s Book of Revelation saw its restoration as a heavenly
come, those same pilgrims. Between them were the Jews, too
city; in Islam the KaEbah itself will travel from Mecca to Jeru-
powerless as yet to be a political threat—the Christian pil-
salem for the Day of Judgment.
grims came from newly aggressive Christian nation-states,
SEE ALSO Biblical Temple; Crusades; Pilgrimage, articles on
while the Jews found no European protectors until the nine-
Contemporary Jewish Pilgrimage, Eastern Christian Pil-
teenth century—and almost too poor to be squeezed.
grimage.
But power and poverty are not all. The Jews have always
regarded themselves as a people, a single historical people,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
and so they alone, not the Christians or the Muslims, were
On the integration of the Jewish city into both ideology and the
capable of possessing, and did actually possess, a national
popular consciousness, see W. D. Davies’s The Territorial
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4838
JERUSALEM: JERUSALEM IN JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM
Dimension of Judaism (Berkeley, Calif., 1982); The Temple
Wasserstein, Bernard. Divided Jerusalem: The Struggle for the Holy
of Solomon: Archaeological Fact and Medieval Tradition in
City. New Haven, Conn., 2001.
Christian, Islamic and Jewish Art, edited by Joseph Gutmann
F. E. PETERS (1987)
(Missoula, Mont., 1976); Zion in Jewish Literature, edited by
Revised Bibliography
Abraham S. Halkin (New York, 1961); and Zev Vilnay’s
Legends of Jerusalem, vol. 1, The Sacred Land (Philadelphia,
1973). Vilnay’s work includes many of the Muslim legends.
On the conversion of Jerusalem to a Christian holy city, see
JERUSALEM: JERUSALEM IN JUDAISM,
W. D. Davies’s The Gospel and the Land: Early Christianity
CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM
and Jewish Territorial Doctrine (Berkeley, 1974); E. D.
Jerusalem both personifies and symbolizes the “sanctity of
Hunt’s Holy Land Pilgrimage in the Later Roman Empire,
place” for all religions deriving from or responding to biblical
A.D. 312–460 (Oxford, 1982); Peregrinatio Aetheriae: Egeria’s
scripture. The thousands of religious expressions, move-
Travels to the Holy Land, rev. ed., translated by John Wilkin-
ments, sects, cults, and new religions that have emerged
son (London, 1981); and John Wilkinson’s Jerusalem Pil-
within the “clusters” or categories referred to as Judaism,
grims before the Crusades (Warminster, U.K., 1977).
Christianity, and Islam were born of spiritual environments
On Muslim Jerusalem, the best introduction is the double article
that were formed, in part, through the paradigms established
in The Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed., vol. 5, fasc. 83–84
by the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. The multifarious ex-
(Leiden, 1980), under “al- K:uds”—“Part A: History,” by S.
pressions of these religious institutions can even be described
D. Goitein, and “Part B: Monuments,” by Oleg Grabar.
Many of the Muslim historians’ and travelers’ accounts of the
as part of a general “biblicist” civilization. Some might call
city are collected in Palestine under the Moslems, translated by
this a “scriptural” religious civilization, but other religions in-
Guy Le Strange (New York, 1890). Sections of this book
clude literatures that have sometimes been described as scrip-
dealing specifically with Jerusalem have recently been re-
ture. The generally accepted or paradigmatic concept of
printed under the title Jerusalem under the Moslems (Jerusa-
scripture itself is strongly influenced by Western biblical par-
lem, n.d.).
adigms. In any case, this heterogeneous, biblicist religious
For the most revealing travel accounts of the post-Crusader era,
civilization contrasts with other religious civilizations, for ex-
consult Jewish Travellers: A Treasury of Travelogues from Nine
ample, those deriving from Hindu-Buddhist or Confucian
Centuries, 2d ed., edited by Elkan N. Adler (New York,
roots.
1966); The Wanderings of Felix Fabri, 2 vols., translated by
Aubrey Stewart (1892–1893; New York, 1971); and The
Whereas the religious impulse and regard for the sacred
Travels of Ibn Battuta,
may be universal among humans and the social groups they
A.D. 1325–1354, 2 vols., translated
and edited by H. A. R. Gibb (Cambridge, U.K., 1958–
form, each particular expression is shaped in limited paradig-
1962).
matic ways that are themselves informed or shaped by cultur-
On the ninteenth- and twentieth-century city, see Meron Ben-
al, intellectual, and symbolic context. The complex symbolic
venisti’s Jerusalem: The Torn City (Jerusalem, 1976); N. A.
contexts through which the broad array of religious expres-
Silberman’s Digging for God and Country: Exploration, Arche-
sions noted above communicate their theologies and tradi-
ology and the Secret Struggle for the Holy Land, 1799–1917
tions include the authoritative symbolism of the Bible.
(New York, 1982); and Walter Zander’s Israel and the Holy
Jerusalem, therefore, because of its biblical centrality,
Places of Christendom (New York, 1971). Finally, for visitors
serves as a definitive image and symbol of sacred place. But
to the Holy City of all the faiths and in all eras, see my Jerusa-
lem: The Holy City in the Eyes of Chroniclers, Visitors, Pilgrims
what is the origin of its sanctity? According to Mircea Eliade,
and Prophets from the Days of Abraham to the Beginnings of
sanctity of place reflects a hierophany or eruption of the sa-
Modern Times (Princeton, N.J., 1985).
cred. This is something associated with a place that demon-
strates it is not like just any other place. Whatever becomes
New Sources
associated with the sacred place causes that place to transcend
Armstrong, Karen. Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. New York,
1996.
the mundane nature of other places and puts it in the realm
of the sacred (Eliade, 1954). Thus Jacob, after his dream of
Benvenisti, Meron. City of Stone: The Hidden History of Jerusalem.
angels, realized that the place where he was laying was no or-
Translated by Maxine Kaufman Nunn. Berkeley, 1996.
dinary place. He acknowledged this realization by changing
Gonen, Rivka. Contested Holiness: Jewish, Muslim, and Christian
its name from the mundane appellation of Luz to a name ac-
Perspective on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Jersey City,
knowledging the sacred, Beth El, meaning “abode of God”
2003.
(Gn. 28:10–19).
Janin, Hunt. Four Paths to Jerusalem: Jewish, Christian, Muslim,
and Secular Pilgrimages, 1000
The sacred nature of a place may also originate in some-
BCE to 2001 CE. Jefferson,
N.C., 2002.
thing extraordinary in its physical nature. Extraordinarily
large or beautiful trees, mountains, geological formations, or
Shanks, Hershel. Jerusalem: An Archaeological Biography. New
York, 1995.
geothermal phenomena have all demonstrated or symbolized
the transcendent, thus sacred, nature of places.
Vaughn, Andrew G., and Ann E. Killebrew, eds. Jerusalem in Bible
and Archaeology: The First Temple Period. Leiden and Boston,
The sanctity of Jerusalem probably originates from the
2003.
abundant flow from its natural source of water, a bountiful
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JERUSALEM: JERUSALEM IN JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM
4839
spring situated among barren desert hills. The spring is called
22:2), Luz/Beth-El (Gn. 28:10–29), and elsewhere. In fact,
gihon in the Bible (1 Kgs. 1:33, 38, 45; 2 Chr. 32:30, 33:14),
aside from the uncertain and enigmatic reference in Genesis
the root meaning of which conveys the meaning of bursting
chapter 14, Jerusalem is never even mentioned in the Torah
forth. The salvific waters of the desert spring thus burst forth
(Pentateuch), the symbolic, literary, and religious core of the
in an unlikely place, attracting attention as a place of life-
entire Hebrew Bible. The many deuteronomic references to
giving, transcendent power and meaning. The special nature
“the site which [God] will choose” (Dt. 12: 5, 11, 21, 26;
of the spring is clarified by the use of the same name, gihon,
14:25, and 15:6) do not refer specifically to Jerusalem, and
for one of the rivers leading out of the Garden of Eden (Gn.
the binding of Isaac in the “Land of Moria” is only associated
2:13); the nature or symbolism of the spring was powerful
with Jerusalem in the Second Temple period (2 Chr. 3:1).
enough that it became the place wherein Solomon was
The prophets also received their messages outside the walls
anointed king of Israel (1Kgs. 1:33ff.).
of Jerusalem.
ISRAELIZING JERUSALEM. Jerusalem was an important and,
This problem is resolved according to traditional Jewish
most likely, sacred place long before the Bible takes note of
and Christian commentators and theologians in a variety of
it. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century BCE Execration texts
mention Jerusalem, as do the late Bronze Age El-Amarna let-
ways that claim the primordial, divinely established prehis-
ters. But Jerusalem was not an Israelite city in those days;
toric sanctity of Jerusalem for Israel. From the historical per-
rather it was an Amorite and then Jebusite city. Genesis chap-
spective, however, it must be noted that Jerusalem did not
ter 14 probably refers to Jerusalem (yerushalayim or yeru-
come under the full and consistent control of Israel until
shalem) when it places Abraham in or within the vicinity of
David, who lived in an era that is much later than that de-
a place named Shalem. Abraham encounters there a priest-
picted in the Pentateuchal narratives. Jerusalem was chosen
king named Malki-Tzedek (meaning “king of righteous-
by David to be the political capital of an often-fractious
ness”) who is both the king of Shalem (melekh shalem) and
group of tribes. It was not only the politically neutral nature
priest of Great El (kohen le Del Delyon).
of Jerusalem, located outside the established tribal areas, or
the supposed geographic centrality of the city that caused it
Some eight centuries later, at the end of the eleventh
to become the capital of Israel. It was also the previously rec-
century according to the biblical account, David conquered
ognized pre-Israelite sanctity of the place that served to make
the Jebusite city known as yevus (1 Chr. 11:4–8; cf. 2 Sm.
Jerusalem an acceptable unifying symbol for the people of
4–9), and Jerusalem became the political and religious capi-
Israel. This is a noteworthy detail. To be precise, despite the
tal of the people of Israel.
Bible’s consistent condemnation of Canaanite religion and
It is unlikely that the choice of Jerusalem was merely an
the repeated command to destroy its ritual “high places,” it
arbitrary political decision (Smith, 1987, p. 86), given other
was exactly such a place that became the most sacred space
hilltops in the Judean Hills that might have made a more ef-
for Biblical religion. Jerusalem thus represents an early exam-
fective fortress and Temple site. While the choice of place
ple of a sacred place that transcends cultural and religious
attributed to David certainly had a political component, in
boundaries. Ironically, perhaps, it was the pagan, non-
order to be effective it required a trans-political unifying ele-
Israelite sanctity of Jerusalem that made it not only an attrac-
ment to be recognized as a capital of a dozen, often unruly,
tive place, but also a unifying center for the people of Israel
disparate tribes. The unifying element appears to have been
and its emerging expressions of monotheism.
an inherent aura of sanctity associated with Jerusalem. It be-
The challenge for the national record that would be-
came the site of the Temple and the center of the religious
come the Bible was how to make the political capital of the
cult, and this centrality is attested by the abundant biblical
Davidic chief-kings into the spiritual capital of a national re-
poetry associated with Jerusalem in psalms of thanksgiving,
ligion whose memories of divine intervention all occurred
victory, and mourning. Jerusalem served as the symbol of
elsewhere. Some of this process can be gleaned from the com-
universal hope among the prophets, and its broken ramparts
plex and layered writings of the Bible itself. One of its most
personify the bereavement of Israel and, by extension, hu-
powerful witnesses is the repeated reference in Deuteronomy
manity as a whole. As the location of the Temple, Jerusalem
(12:5, 11, 21, 26; 14:25, and 15:6) to an as-yet-unknown
symbolizes the location of God’s indwelling, the earthly cen-
place where God will choose to cause the divine presence to
ter of the divine presence.
dwell, the subtext of which is obviously Jerusalem. The au-
Perhaps the most striking aspect of Jerusalem’s sanctity,
thority of the divine word to Moses as depicted in Deuterono-
however, is that all of the most authoritative biblical depic-
my establishes Jerusalem even without specifically naming it,
tions of hierophanies occurred elsewhere. God’s most power-
and David’s and Solomon’s divinely based authority as de-
ful revelations occurred at the Red Sea and Mount Sinai,
picted in 2 Samuel and 1 Kings served to authenticate the pri-
both outside of Jerusalem and even outside of the biblically
ority of Jerusalem over Samaria and any other contending
defined Land of Israel. The theophanies described in relation
centers. The program was successful and Jerusalem would
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob occurred in Elon Moreh (Gn.
become the undisputed center, both physical and spiritual,
12:6), Eloney Mamre (Gn. 13:18, 14:13), 18:1ff.) Gerar
for virtually all Jewish- and Christian-based religious move-
(Gn. 20), BeDer Sheva (Gn. 21:32ff., 26:23f), Moria (Gn.
ments, and one of the earliest and most important centers
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4840
JERUSALEM: JERUSALEM IN JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM
for religious expressions merging into and deriving from
ters and ascends the seven levels until he reaches the lotus
Islam.
tree beyond which no one can enter. At this highest level,
THE EXTENSION OF SANCTITY. Just as the sanctity of Jerusa-
Muh:ammad receives a number of divine gifts, including di-
lem moved across the religious boundary from Canaanite to
vine guidance and knowledge of the divine will. These gifts
Israelite religion, so would it become an important and per-
guide him and authorize his sunnah or personal behavior to
haps necessary part of the sanctity that would define subse-
become the highest norm for Muslims throughout the world
quent biblicist religious institutions. The defining act of the
and throughout history. The record of Muh:ammad’s divine-
Crucifixion that would both symbolize and epitomize Chris-
ly guided sunnah was recorded over the centuries in an au-
tianity had to occur there, and even the divine authority of
thoritative literature known as the h:ad¯ıth, the most authori-
Jesus was established by his association with the holy city
tative religious literature of Islam and second only to the
(Lk. 13:33–35). But the essential nature and meaning of
QurDa¯n. All of this is authorized and authenticated through
Christian Jerusalem was not the same as Israelite Jerusalem.
the acknowledged sanctity of Jerusalem, the holy city.
It had to be transformed in order for it to be a central and
EMERGING MONOTHEISMS AND THE SYMBOLIC POLEMICS.
empowering institution for Christianity (Mt. 21:10–14). Je-
Rodney Stark, in partnership with William Sims Bainbridge
rusalem became spiritualized and delocalized in the early
and Laurence Iannacone, has demonstrated how successful
Christian context and therefore among its many derivative
emerging religions invariably adopt symbols of previously es-
expressions. It is a “new Jerusalem” (Rv. 3:12), a “heavenly
tablished religions and use them to establish their own credi-
Jerusalem” (Gal. 4:26, Heb. 12:22), detached from the essen-
bility (Stark and Bainbridge, 1966). In other words, newly
tially defiling nature of physicality.
emerging religions that fail invariably fail to integrate the
Similar to Christianity, the expressions of Judaism that
symbolism of established religions and put them to their own
emerged following the destruction of the Temple and the
use. The exact nature of Jerusalem’s sanctity prior to the
end of Jewish political power would also redefine the nature
Davidic conquest of the city is unknown, but it is clear that
of the city, and their redefinition would find deep parallels
the Bible took great pains to ensure that Jerusalem was recog-
with their sister Christian expressions. Although Jews, unlike
nized as sacred, particularly for the emerging religious insti-
Christians, would mourn the physical destruction of the city
tutions of Israel. At first Jerusalem provided a special credi-
and its Temple (Babylonian Talmud [B.T.]: Mo Eed Katan
bility to the centralization of Israelite worship in the Temple.
16a), and pray daily for its rebuilding in future days, Jewish
Later the Temple established the sacred nature of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem also became largely spiritualized (B.T.: Baba Batra
Attempts by factions such as the Samaritans to compete with
75B, Midrash Tanhuma, Pequdey) and it became, among
Jerusalem through the sanctification of other sacred sites
other things, the gateway to heaven (sha Ear hashamayim)
failed, and Jerusalem became symbolic of authentic mono-
(Pirqey deRabbi Eli Dezer chapter 35).
theism. Jerusalem was the Temple and the priesthood. As the
location of the indwelling presence of God, Jerusalem be-
Islam, too, would become deeply associated with this
came the center of the universe. By the pre-Christian Roman
holy city, despite its preferential feeling for the sacred places
period of control, the sacred nature of the city was known
of its origin in the Hijaz of west-central Arabia. As in the case
throughout the Mediterranean world.
of David and Solomon, the kings of Israel and Jesus,
Muh:ammad’s divine authority was established through his
In order for Jesus’ death and resurrection to have an im-
personal association with Jerusalem (QurDa¯n 17:1). But un-
pact as a significant and authentic event on the populations
like the cases of these former personages, Muh:ammad’s en-
of the Eastern Mediterranean in the first centuries CE, they
tire mission took place in Arabia and not in Palestine.
had to have occurred in Jerusalem, as Luke 13:33–35 makes
clear. The numerous other prophets and messianic figures
From the perspective of the historian and student of re-
known to have missions in other places from that period all
ligion, Muh:ammad’s association with Jerusalem is precari-
failed. But Christianity, as opposed to biblical religion,
ous, but from the perspective of the believer, it is deeply es-
quickly moved away from the old Near Eastern model of reli-
tablished and foundational. Anchored onto the first verse of
gion centered around a physical sacred place. It required
the seventeenth chapter of the QurDa¯n, known as the “Night
“ownership” of Jerusalem for its success, but physical owner-
Journey,” the biographies of Muh:ammad found in the
ship was impossible for the most formative period of its exis-
h:ad¯ıth and interpretive literatures prove his association with
tence. It therefore spiritualized the symbolism of the holy
Jesus and the prophets of Israel in the holy city.
city for Christianity and thus controlled it. No new physical
Muh:ammad’s night journey to Jerusalem (al-israD) was not
Temple would be rebuilt for the True Israel (verus israel),
an end in itself, however, for the narratives always include
that is, Christianity. The Temple of Israel became the Uni-
his ascension (mi Draj) through Jerusalem, the gateway, to
versal Church.
heaven. Although finding many parallels with Christian and
rabbinic traditions, the Islamic association with Jerusalem re-
Early rabbinic Judaism, the most successful form of Ju-
mains unique. After arriving in the holy city (Arabic, Al-
daism emerging from the ashes of the Second Temple de-
Quds), Muh:ammad leads the other prophets in prayer; and
stroyed by Rome, was ambivalent about the sanctity of Jeru-
through Jerusalem, the gateway to heaven, the Prophet en-
salem’s physicality. It found substitutes for animal sacrifice
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JERUSALEM: JERUSALEM IN JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM
4841
in family home ritual and for the priests and prophets in the
claimed to epitomize if not personify the true Israel or the
rabbis or in all the Jewish people, but it also longed for the
pure and primordial monotheism of the biblical Abraham.
Temple and prayed that it be rebuilt. When Christianity
Each has maintained that it is the true embodiment of God’s
won the spiritual battle for the Roman Empire in the fourth
religion. As such, each claims an exclusive right to Jerusalem,
century, it became necessary for Christianity to demonstrate
the symbolic center of monotheistic sanctity.
its absolute hegemony through the symbolism of Jerusalem.
The sacred nature of Jerusalem continues to exert its
This was accomplished by shifting the spiritual focus of the
pull in modern and postmodern history. It has become the
city from the Temple Mount symbolizing the old Israelite/
symbol of Jewish nationalism known as Zionism, the “Zion”
Jewish religion, to the Holy Sepulchre symbolizing the essen-
of which is a biblical appellation for Jerusalem (1 Kgs. 8:1;
tial act of Christianity: the passion and resurrection of
Is. 2:3, 4:9, 10:32, 52:1; Ps. 102:17). Jerusalem has become
Christ.
the symbol of Palestinian nationalism as well, a nationalism
To emphasize these intentions, the Byzantine rulers of
that has become increasingly Islamic and religious in nature.
Jerusalem made the Temple area into the city dump. The po-
In this regard Christianity differs existentially from both Ju-
lemics of this statement could not be clearer. God had dem-
daism and Islam in that it no longer considers itself a reli-
onstrated through history the divine rejection of Judaism and
gious peoplehood, though the Crusades are witness to this
the Jews on the one hand, and the divine love for Christ and
sentiment in some premodern Christian expressions.
his followers on the other. Jewish Jerusalem was impure and
At least since the 1930s, but increasingly so after 1967,
filled with refuse, whereas Christian Jerusalem was sublime.
new prophets have found their way to Jerusalem. A phenom-
But whereas the physical sanctity shifted westward toward
enon called the “Jerusalem Syndrome” takes hold of any-
the Holy Sepulchre, it took on less of the sanctity of place
where from a dozen to a hundred or more individuals per
that was so clearly exemplified by the Temple.
year, mostly tourists but occasionally locals as well, who be-
lieve that they are prophets or messianic figures. The behav-
When the armies of the Arab Conquest reached Jerusa-
ior of those caught up in the fervor varies, but often includes
lem in 638 CE, according to legend they were appalled at the
bathing or engaging in some kind of ritual purification,
condition of the Temple Mount. The caliph EUmar himself
dressing in white, and engaging in bizarre but usually harm-
rolled up the sleeves of his robe and led his people in a clean
less behavior. They are treated in a psychiatric duty hospital
up of the sacred Temple precinct. It became known later in
and are generally released after four or five days.
Arabic as the Sacred Precinct (al-haram al-sharif), and some
of the old sanctity of place was renewed. To the conquering
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arabs, Jerusalem was the city of the prophets, the most pow-
Boyarin, Daniel. Dying for God. Stanford, Conn., 1999.
erful and universal symbol of monotheism. Islam would then
Bukhari, Muhammad b. IsmaDil. Sahih. 9 vols. (English-Arabic).
claim its hegemony over both Judaism and Christianity with
Lahore, Pakistan, 1983.
the erection of a magnificent monument, symbolic of the pu-
Demsky, Aaron. “Holy City and Holy Land as Viewed by Jews
rity and superiority of what it claimed as the most perfect
and Christians in the Byzantine Period: A Conceptual Ap-
expression of monotheism and the divine will. That con-
proach to Sacred Space.” In Sanctity of Time and Space in
struction was not a mosque, but rather a monument celebrat-
Tradition and Modernity, edited by A. Houtman, M. J. H.
ing the presence and success of a new faith. Grabar described
M. Poorthuis, and J. Schwartz, pp. 285–296. Leiden, 1998.
the Dome of the Rock, completed in 691 CE, as “the first
Eliade, Mircea. The Myth of the Eternal Return. New York, 1954.
consciously created masterpiece of Islamic art” (1986). Only
Firestone, Reuven. Journeys in Holy Lands. Albany, N.Y., 1990.
later, next to this testimonial structure, was begun the monu-
Grabar, Oleg. Encyclopedia of Islam, 2d ed. Leiden, 1986.
mental construction of the al-Aqsa mosque.
Graham, William. Beyond the Written Word. Cambridge, Mass.,
1987.
SACRED OFFSPRING. Although the sacred spring may have
first brought attention to the place known as Jerusalem or
Guillaume, Alfred. The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn
Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah. Oxford, 1955.
al-Quds (“the holy”), there is no absolute certainty about the
origin of Jerusalem’s sanctity or an “original” Jerusalem, only
Guillaume, Alfred. “Where Was al-Masjid al-Aqsa?” Andalus 18
(1953): 323–336.
that its sacred nature predates the Israelite occupation. Like
other sacred places, Jerusalem emerged from the shadows of
Ibn Hisham. Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya, 2 vols. Beirut, n.d.
ancient days and acquired meaning that evolves and changes
Josephus, Flavius. The Jewish War. London, 1959.
through the ages. The personality and significance of the
Levine, Lee. Jerusalem: Its Sanctity and Centrality to Judaism,
place in the days of the Amorites and Jebusites has been lost,
Christianity, and Islam. New York, 1999.
and, although the Hebrew Bible provided meaning and sig-
Smith, Jonathan Z. Map Is Not Territory. Leiden, 1978.
nificance at a later time, the “Biblical Period” of Jerusalem
Smith, Jonathan Z. To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual. Chi-
itself spanned centuries and represents many distinctive po-
cago, 1987.
litical, cultural, social, and religious communities, none of
Stark, Rodney, and William Sims Bainbridge. A Theory of Reli-
which exist today. The spiritual offspring of those communi-
gion. New Brunswick, N.J., 1996.
ties live today as Christians, Jews, and Muslims, and all have
REUVEN FIRESTONE (2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4842
JESUITS
JESUITS is the popular name for members of the Society
“schoolmasters of Europe.” Scholarship was also diligently
of Jesus (S.J.), a religious order of clerics regular, founded by
pursued, especially in the ecclesiastical sciences. In theology
Ignatius Loyola (1491–1556) and canonically established by
those who gained lasting fame include Peter Canisius and
Pope Paul III in 1540.
Roberto Bellarmino (both doctors of the church), Francisco
Suárez, Luis de Molina, Denis Petau (Petavius), Gregory of
PURPOSE AND ORGANIZATION. The order’s purpose is two-
Valencia, Gabriel Vázquez, Leonard Lessius, and Juan de
fold: to promote the salvation and perfection both of individ-
Ripal-da. The Bollandists, a group of Belgian Jesuits, are re-
ual Jesuits and of all humankind. Jesuit organization, manner
nowned for their contributions to Christian hagiography.
of life, and apostolic ministries are all designed to further this
Pastoral ministries were very diverse. The Jesuits placed spe-
very broad goal. For the same reason, all Jesuits are expected
cial emphasis on preaching, popular missions, administration
to be ready to go to any part of the world and to engage in
of the sacraments, retreat direction according to the method
any work assigned to them, laboring always for the greater
of the Spiritual Exercises, guidance of Marian Congregations
glory of God—hence the order’s motto, “Ad Majorem Dei
(sodalities), and promotion of devotions, especially to the Sa-
Gloriam” (A.M.D.G.). Much in the original structure was
cred Heart. They had almost a monopoly on the post of royal
borrowed from existing orders, but several features were
confessor throughout Catholic Europe.
novel. These included the very extensive authority and life-
long tenure of the superior general; the lengthy training peri-
Next to education, missionary work was the chief preoc-
od and gradation of members; a distinct spirituality based on
cupation of the Jesuits. By the mid-eighteenth century the
the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola; and stress on the
society was evangelizing more territory and sending out more
vow of religious obedience. Official directives can be found
missionaries than any other order. The overwhelming major-
in a large body of writings, known collectively as the Insti-
ity labored in the vast Spanish or Portuguese lands in the
tute, which includes pertinent papal documents; the Spiritu-
New World and Asia, with some also in Africa. Others toiled
al Exercises and the Jesuit Constitutions (also composed by
in the French possessions in North America. Jesuits first ar-
Ignatius Loyola); decrees of the society’s thirty-three general
rived in the present-day limits of the United States in 1566,
congregations; and instructions of superiors general.
along the southeastern coast. Up to the American Revolution
Supreme authority, subject always to the pope, rests in
almost all the Catholic clergy in the English colonies were
an elective body, the general congregation, which selects the
Jesuits. In the Americas their missionary establishments,
superior general (the sole elected superior) and which alone
called Reductions, became famous. In Asia, however, the Je-
has full legislative power. Day-to-day government is highly
suits’ missiological method of accommodation to native cul-
centralized under the superior general, resident in Rome,
tures, beneficial as it proved in many ways, involved the
who has complete authority over the entire order. In prac-
order in long, bitter disputes over Chinese and Malabar rites
tice, however, much of this authority is delegated to superi-
of worship, the greatest of all mission controversies.
ors throughout the world and to others whom the superior
The Society of Jesus has never lacked opponents. Dur-
general appoints. Members are priests, candidates for the
ing the third quarter of the eighteenth century disparate
priesthood (scholastics), or temporal coadjutors (brothers).
groups of enemies combined forces to engage the order in
After priestly ordination and a final period of spiritual train-
a losing battle for life. French Gallicans and supporters of
ing (tertianship), priests receive their final grade as spiritual
monarchical absolutism resented Jesuit championship of the
coadjutors or they are professed of four solemn vows (pover-
papacy. Jansenists were bent on the ruin of the group that
ty, chastity, obedience, and special obedience to the pope).
had long supplied their chief theological critics. Most hostile
No special privileges attach to this last group, although cer-
of all were radical devotees of the rationalistic Enlighten-
tain posts are open only to them.
ment, whose ranks numbered highly placed government offi-
EARLY HISTORY AND SUPPRESSION. The combating of Prot-
cials as well as such gifted authors as Voltaire. Between 1759
estantism was a major preoccupation of Jesuits up to the
and 1768, governments expelled the society from Portugal
mid-seventeenth century, although the order was not
and Spain and their overseas possessions, from the kingdom
founded with this goal in mind. Education, both of young
of the Two Sicilies, and from the Duchy of Parma. France
laymen and clerics (whose seminary training was largely in
outlawed the order. In 1773, Pope Clement XIV bowed to
Jesuit hands), was the principal area of activity in Europe and
the demands and threats of the Bourbon courts, and by vir-
in mission lands. The society accomplished its most effective
tue of his supreme apostolic authority, dissolved the entire
work in the Counter-Reformation by means of its schools,
order. Complete suppression never actually occurred, for
all of which were tuition-free and which concentrated on the
Russia refused the necessary official publication of the papal
humanities. Uniform pedagogical norms were supplied by
brief Dominus ac Redemptor. This permitted the society in
the Ratio studiorum, first published in 1599. By 1749 the
Belorussia to continue its canonical existence. Pope Pius VII
order, with 22,589 members, was operating 669 secondary
restored the order in the kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1804
schools (collegia) and 176 seminaries; 24 universities were
and allowed Jesuits everywhere to affiliate with their brethren
wholly or partly under its control. The academic renown of
in Russia. In 1814, Pius VII revoked the brief of suppression
these institutions won Jesuits the reputation of being the
and completely restored the Society of Jesus.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JESUS
4843
ACTIVITIES SINCE 1814. After its restoration, the Society of
JESUS. Jesus Christ (7–5 BCE – 30–33 CE) is the founder
Jesus spread throughout the world and came to exceed by far
of the Christian religion.
the numbers it had counted before 1773. Its membership to-
taled 36,038 in 1965, with 8,393 members in the United
TRADITIONAL IMAGES OF JESUS. From early times, Chris-
States. Educational and missionary endeavors continued to
tians worshiped Jesus. John’s gospel already speaks of him
be its main areas of ministry. Scholarly traditions were re-
as divine (1:1–4), and the dominant Christian tradition
vived, with more attention devoted to the social and physical
makes Jesus’ deity an article of faith. So just as human beings
sciences. The turbulence that has characterized life in the
always make gods in their own image, so too have Christians
Catholic Church since Vatican II has not escaped the order,
done with Jesus. In popular piety, sophisticated theology,
as is evident by its decline in total membership (to 25,952
and modern historiography, he has been viewed through a
in 1983; and to 20,170 in 2004) and among young scholas-
half-silvered mirror: depending upon the light, one sees ei-
tics (from 9,865 in 1965 to 3,347 in 1983). Efforts to meet
ther one’s reflection or what is on the other side. Often, the
the challenges of the age were the major preoccupations of
links between the historical Jesus of Nazareth and representa-
the thirty-first general congregation (1965–1966) and the
tions of him have been tenuous. At the same time, to the ex-
thirty-second (1974–1975), which decreed changes in the
tent that the New Testament preserves memories of this
order’s government, in the training and life of members, and
individual, the potential influence of a real historical figure
in the choice of ministries. These general congregations also
live on.
called for more emphasis on the struggle against atheism, on
Savior. Although Christians have always considered
ecumenism, on closer relations with the laity, on the social
Jesus their savior, no creed or church council has ever defined
apostolate, on use of the mass media, on service of faith, and
the nature of his redemptive work. The tradition in 1 Corin-
on promotion of justice.
thians 15:3–7 says that Jesus “died for our sins” but does not
explain how this worked. Similarly, the accounts of the last
SEE ALSO Bellarmino, Roberto; Canisius, Peter; Christiani-
supper, which have Jesus instituting the central rite of most
ty, articles on Christianity in Asia, Christianity in Latin
churches, have him saying that his body is “for you” (1 Cor.
America, Christianity in North America; Gallicanism; Igna-
11:24) or that his blood is “poured out for many” (Mk.
tius Loyola; Missions, article on Christian Missions; Ricci,
14:24), but there is no accompanying explanation. In Ro-
Matteo; Suárez, Francisco; Xavier, Francis.
mans 3:25, Paul speaks of Jesus’ death as a “propitiation” or
“expiation”—that is, in sacrificial terms. Yet again there is
BIBLIOGRAPHY
no theory of the atonement.
The literature concerning the Jesuits is enormous and often con-
troversial. For extensive bibliography, see Bibliography of the
Later theologians made up the lack. Origen (c. 185–c.
History of the Society of Jesus by László Polgár, S.J. (Saint
254 CE) argued that Jesus became a ransom to the devil, who
Louis, Mo., 1967), with 963 entries, and the same author’s
had, with the fall of Adam and Eve, acquired ownership over
Bibliographie sur l’histoire de la Compagnie de Jésus, 1901–
them and their descendants. A popular myth, growing out
1980, 3 of 7 projected vols. to date (Rome, 1981–). Com-
of Colossians 2:14 (“erasing the record that stood against us
plete and well-ordered annual bibliographies appear in Ar-
with its legal demands”), had the devil tricking the first
chivum historicum Societatis Iesu, published since 1932. Im-
human beings into an agreement that was written on a stone
portant secondary works include A History of the Society of
thrown into the Jordan River and destroyed by Jesus at his
Jesus by William V. Bangert, S.J. (Saint Louis, Mo., 1972);
baptism.
The Jesuits in History by Martin P. Harney, S.J. (New York,
1941; reprint, Chicago, 1962); Jesuiten-Lexikon: Die Gesell-
In the East, Jesus’ descent to hell, allegedly exegetically
schaft Jesu einst und jetzt by Ludwig Koch, S.J. (Paderborn,
rooted in Matthew 27:51–53 and 1 Peter 3:18–20, became
1934; reprint, with a few additions by M. Dykmans, S.J.,
the great act of redemption. After expiring, Jesus descended
Louvain, 1962); and The Jesuits: Their Spiritual Doctrine and
to the realm of the dead, to which the devil, who did not real-
Practice; A Historical Study by Joseph de Guibert, S.J. (Chica-
ize what he was doing, gave him entrance. Once there, Jesus
go, 1964), an authoritative study. The reader should also
consult Ludwig von Pastor’s The History of the Popes from the
revealed his true nature and destroyed the chains that held
Close of the Middle Ages, 40 vols. Volumes 12 through 39 de-
all in Hades. Having ruined Satan’s realm, Jesus then ascend-
vote in all several hundred pages to the Jesuits, giving a very
ed, taking with him Adam and Eve and the saints of old (and
detailed and lengthy treatment of the suppression.
in a few versions of this story, everybody). Orthodox celebra-
tions of the resurrection replay this act every Easter service
New Sources
when the priest knocks on the doors of the church, which
See also Documents of the Thirty-Fourth General Congregation of the
then open and allow him and the congregation to enter and
Society of Jesus, ed. John L. McCarthy, S.J. (St. Louis, 1995);
The Jesuits: Cultures, Sciences, and the Arts, ed. John W.
celebrate the feast.
O’Malley, et al. (Toronto, 1999); Jesuits: Missions, Myths,
Western thought has focused on the language of atone-
and Histories, by Jonathan Wright (London, 2004).
ment. For Anselm (1033–1109), offence against the infinite
JOHN F. BRODERICK (1987)
dignity of God, who is owed perfect obedience, creates an
Revised Bibliography
infinite debt. Since human beings are finite, they cannot pay
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4844
JESUS
the debt. So God in the person of the Son deigned to make
charitable causes. Liberation theologians argue that Jesus
satisfaction; that is, the Son paid a ransom to the Father.
fought social and political injustice and that his followers
Being divine, he had the ability to do this; being human, he
should do likewise. Others have supported women’s causes
had the right to pay for humanity. This basic scheme was re-
by calling upon Jesus’ supposed liberation of them. So the
tained by the Reformers and remains alive in much popular
imitation of Christ continues to take various forms. Popular
Protestant thought, where the spotlight has been on God’s
Christian jewelry worn in the West is inscribed with the
justice and the punishment it demands. Yet such thinking
question, “What would Jesus do?”
has always had its detractors. Abelard (1079–1142) urged an
The face of God. Jesus’ status as divine makes his attri-
exemplarist theory of the atonement, according to which
butes those of God. This has meant, among other things,
Jesus’ death is primarily a display of his love; its value lies in
that Christians have conceived of God as compassionate. In
our imitation of such love.
the Gospels, Jesus is the “friend of tax collectors and sinners”;
Moral model. Jesus, who in the Gospels says “Follow
he heals the sick and infirm; he refuses to cast the first stone.
me,” has often served as a moral model. Romans 15:1–7 sup-
In line with all this, the traditional images of the Pantokrator
plies an early instance, and Matthew presents Jesus as a moral
(ruler of the universe) have the exalted Jesus, as lord of the
example by offering numerous correlations between Jesus’
universe, lifting his right hand in the posture of blessing and
imperatives and his deeds (e.g., Mt. 5:17–20 and 8:4; 5:39
holding a book with the words, “Come to me all who labor
and 26:67; 27:30; 6:6 and 14:23). Ignatius wrote, “Be imita-
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Both Orthodox
tors of Jesus Christ, as he was of his Father” (Phil. 7:2). Ori-
iconographers and Renaissance artists have favored the image
gen was more expansive: “Christ is set forth as an example
of Mary embracing her infant son. Similarly, much popular
to all believers, because as he ever chose the good. . .and
Protestant art has depicted Jesus as welcoming children. This
loved righteousness and hated iniquity. . .so, too, should
is the same compassionate Jesus to whom the so-called Jesus
each one of us. . . .By this means we may as far as is possi-
Prayer of Orthodox spirituality—“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of
ble become, through our imitation of him, partakers of the
God, have mercy upon me a sinner”—is directed.
divine nature; as it is written, ‘The one who believes in Christ
If Jesus has often been the face of divine compassion,
ought to walk even as he walked’” (De prin. 4.4.4). Christian
no less often has he been the face of divine judgment. Already
monasticism shared the same outlook, taking Jesus’ poverty,
the Gospels depict him as warning repeatedly of hell, and
celibacy, and obedience to be imperatives.
Matthew 25:31–46 depicts him as the judge of the last day,
The most influential presentation of Jesus as an ethical
sending some into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
model is the fifteenth-century Imitation of Christ, written by
angels. How such visions of judgment harmonize with the
Thomas à Kempis and translated into English many times.
compassionate Christ is problematic. One thinks of Peter
With the exception of the Bible, it is perhaps Christianity’s
Paul Rubens’s (1577–1640) astounding painting of Saint
most widely read work. The first chapter sets forth its theme:
Francis crouched around and protecting the world from a
“‘The one who follows me, walks not in darkness,’ says the
Jesus Christ who wants to attack it with thunderbolts. Here
Lord. These are the words of Christ, by which we are admon-
Francis must become the compassionate savior because Jesus
ished how we should imitate his life and manners, if we will
is the threatening judge.
be truly enlightened, and be delivered from all blindness of
The tension between the compassionate Jesus and the
heart. So let our chief endeavor be to meditate upon the life
damning Jesus is such that many have thought the gospel
of Jesus Christ.”
portrait, which features both, cannot in this regard be histor-
ical. Can it be that a mind that was profoundly enamored
Many Protestants have found this sort of devotion theo-
of the love of God and that counseled charity toward enemies
logically problematic. Since Martin Luther (1483–1546),
concurrently accepted and even promoted the dismal idea of
there has been a reaction against an unimaginative and liter-
a divinely-imposed, unending agony? Anticipating some
alistic imitatio Christi (such as that exhibited by Francis of
modern scholarship, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–
Assisi). Some have condemned the notion of imitating the
1822) argued in his “Essay on Christianity” that the evange-
canonical Jesus as a purely human effort that, in the event,
lists “impute sentiments to Jesus Christ which flatly contra-
cannot be achieved. Others have argued that the idea fails
dict each other.” According to Shelley, Jesus actually “sum-
to preserve Jesus’ unique status as a savior whose accomplish-
moned his whole resources of persuasion to oppose” the idea
ments cannot be emulated: the Christian gospel is not imita-
of justice inherent in hell; Jesus believed in “a gentle and be-
tion of a human hero.
neficent and compassionate” God, not in “a Being who shall
Despite such criticism, Jesus has remained a moral
deliberately scheme to inflict on a large portion of the human
model for many, including many Protestants. More than one
race tortures indescribably intense and indefinitely protract-
hundred years ago, C. M. Sheldon’s In His Steps (1896), in
ed.” Shelley argued that “the absurd and execrable doctrine
which Jesus appears more like a modern American than an
of vengeance, in all its shapes, seems to have been contem-
ancient Jew, was a best-seller. The title indicates the main
plated by this great moralist with the profoundest disappro-
theme. Today, socially concerned Christians continue to ap-
bation.” The gospel texts suggesting otherwise are for Shelley
peal to Jesus’ ministry to unfortunates as precedent for their
unhistorical.
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Perhaps the most distinctive image of Jesus and of
Popular Hinduism, although it has no place for Jesus’
Christian art, and certainly the most popular in the West,
atoning death, has sometimes regarded him as an avatar, or
is that of Jesus being crucified. One of the earliest artistic evi-
incarnation, of Vis:n:u. Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) fur-
dences for Christianity is a crude graffito with inscription
ther found Jesus’ teaching in the sermon on the mount, or
(“Alexamenos worships his god”) on the wall of a house in
rather that teaching as Lev Tolstoi (1828–1910) interpreted
Rome on the Palatine Hill. Reflecting the ancient world’s ab-
it, to be profoundly true; it is reported that Gandhi was fond
horrence of crucifixion, it mocks the crucified Christ by giv-
of several Christian hymns about Jesus. (Martin Luther King
ing him the head of a donkey. But, in accordance with Paul’s
Jr.’s application of the sermon on the mount, with its em-
paradoxical theology and his boasting in the crucified Christ,
phasis upon nonviolence, was, to the extent it derived from
Christians transformed the ancient instrument of torture
Gandhi, also derived from Tolstoi.) Another twentieth-
into the salvific instrument par excellence. The traditional
century Hindu, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975),
icons of the crucifixion, which typically depict a serene and
philosopher and president of India in the 1960s, offered a
majestic Christ, even seeming to sleep, are on some level a
sophisticated, philosophical interpretation of Jesus. Radhakr-
response to the problem of evil. While this has no satisfactory
ishnan maintained the superiority of his native Hinduism
intellectual solution, Christians have found solace in the no-
over Christianity by accepting the authenticity of Jesus’ reli-
tion that God the Son has also suffered. Blaise Pascal (1623–
gious experience but distinguishing that experience from its
1662) famously wrote that Christ is on the cross until the
interpretations, which were suggested to Jesus and his follow-
end of time. In our own day, the Holocaust haunts all reflec-
ers by their human traditions. One should differentiate Jesus’
tion about Jesus’ suffering. The Protestant theologian, Jür-
discovery of the universal self from his culturally determined
gen Moltmann (1926–), has argued that Jesus’ cry of derelic-
conception of that discovery as a revelation from without.
tion on the cross should be taken at face value: on the cross,
Of the negative evaluations of Jesus, three are especially
God abandoned Jesus. So the crucified Son reveals the reality
characteristic of modern times. The Grand Inquisitor in
of divine suffering. The Son is abandoned, the Father grieves,
Fedor Dostoevskii’s novel The Brothers Karamazov (1879–
and God paradoxically forsakes God. In this way the reality
1880) speaks for many when he asserts that Jesus “judged hu-
of human suffering is taken up into the Godhead, and Chris-
manity too highly,” for “it was created weaker and lower than
tians do not feel alone in their suffering.
Christ thought.” In other words, Jesus was unrealistic. One
Images outside the church. Jesus belongs not just to
cannot love one’s enemies, or do away with anger, or turn
Christians but also, in one way or another, to other religions
the other cheek. His utopian ethic is just that—utopian: it
and even to those with no religion. Most traditional Jewish
does not work in the real world.
thought, reacting against Christian polemic and persecution,
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) offered a different
turned Jesus into a deceiver, a false prophet who practiced
criticism. For him, certain teachings in the Gospels reflect
illicit magic (see below). Not all Jewish opinion, however,
a slave mentality that should be rejected. If the unfortunate
has been negative. Anticipating many modern Jewish think-
and oppressed turn the other cheek, this is only because,
ers, the Kairites, a non-Talmudic sect of the Middle Ages,
being without power, they can do nothing else; they are re-
claimed that Jesus was an authentic Jewish martyr whose
signed in the face of their own oppression. So Jesus’ nonvio-
identity Christianity distorted. More recently, some, down-
lence simply baptizes the status quo.
playing Jesus’ originality, have tried to reclaim him for Juda-
The classical Marxist critique is related: Jesus’ eschato-
ism by turning him into a Pharisee or Essene. Martin Buber
logical vision acquiesces to the evils of the present instead of
(1878–1965) spoke of Jesus as his “great brother,” who has
demanding historical change. The promises of future reward
“a great place. . .in Israel’s history of faith.” Probably the
and warnings of future punishment devalue this world and
most positive Jewish evaluation of Jesus has come from the
discourage critical engagement with it. It is exceptional
Orthodox German scholar Pinchas Lapide (1922–). Deny-
when, in his attempt to counter an oppressive bureaucracy,
ing that Jesus was the Messiah, Lapide nonetheless expressed
Milan Machovecˇ in A Marxist Looks at Jesus (1976) finds
belief in Jesus’ resurrection and acknowledged him as God’s
value in Jesus’ demand for personal transformation in the
prophet to the Gentiles.
light of the future’s penetration of the present.
In Islam, Jesus, whom the QurDa¯n mentions over a
THE MODERN QUEST FOR THE HISTORICAL JESUS. For sev-
dozen times, is in the honored line of prophets that culmi-
enteen hundred years the canonical Gospels were ap-
nates in Muh:ammad. Jesus was born of a virgin and lived
proached in two different ways. The dominant approach was
without sin. He was a wise teacher and worked miracles. He
that of the Christian church, which accepted the texts at face
was sentenced to be crucified but never was, instead ascend-
value. The Gospels were thought historically accurate be-
ing to heaven, from whence many Muslims expect him to
cause divinely inspired and written by eyewitnesses or their
return. Some believe that he will help Muh:ammad at the last
friends. Occasionally there was recognition of inconcinnities.
judgment. Jesus is not, however, divine, and Islamic teaching
Augustine of Hippo (354–430) admitted that sometimes the
has it that the Gospels are corrupt: they contain imperfect,
evangelists pass on the same saying with different wording
distorted memories of Jesus.
and that the frailty of memory could put the same events in
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JESUS
different orders. John Calvin (1509–1564) went so far as to
from comas, leading to that belief. Jesus’ own resurrection
assert that the sermon on the mount is not the record of what
was also simple misinterpretation. He did not die on the
Jesus said on one occasion but an artificial collection of
cross; he revived in the cool of the tomb. But his disciples,
things he said on various occasions. For the most part, how-
who were simple and superstitious, thought he had in fact
ever, the Gospels were identified with history.
died and come back to life.
The second approach before the modern period was that
This school of thought began to lose its popularity in
of Jewish polemic. This saw Jesus and his followers as delib-
middle of nineteenth century for several reasons. Most im-
erate deceivers (note Mt. 28:11–15). The medieval Toledoth
portant was the critical work of the German historian and
Jesus attributes Jesus’ miracles, which it does not deny, to
theologian, David Friedrich Strauss (1808–1874), who dis-
magic. This is typical. The Toledoth tends not to assert that
paraged the liberal lives, as well as the conservative harmo-
this or that event never happened, but rather to dispute its
nists. Like the liberals, Strauss disbelieved in miracles. Unlike
Christian interpretation.
the liberals, he believed the gospel narratives to be thorough-
ly unreliable (and he dismissed John entirely). He considered
The eighteenth century. Matters began to change in
them, although not Jesus himself, to be mythological, mostly
the middle of the eighteenth century. Modern historical
the product of reflection upon the Old Testament narratives.
methods emerged out of the rebirth of learning in the Re-
Illustrative for Strauss is the transfiguration, which is based
naissance; the Protestant Reformation introduced critical
upon the similar transfiguration of Moses in Exodus 24 and
analysis of traditional religious stories (e.g., Roman Catholic
34, as appears from the several motifs both share. In addi-
legends); and the growing secularism that followed the wars
tion, the feeding of the five thousand is modeled upon 2
of religion and the Enlightenment fostered disbelief in mira-
Kings 4:42–44, as the striking similarities show. Strauss was
cles. All of this encouraged the critical examination of the
able to pile up parallel after parallel and establish on a critical
Gospels.
footing the intertextual nature of the Gospels. In doing this
The most important of the early critics was Hermann
he was, from one point of view, just following Tertullian and
Samuel Reimarus (1694–1768), a one-time German pastor
Eusebius, church fathers who had also observed the parallels
much influenced by the English deists. Unable to believe in
between the Testaments. These earlier theologians were pur-
miracles, he compiled objections to the Bible, including the
suing apologetical ends: the coincidences showed the same
Gospels. Reimarus may have been the first in the modern pe-
God at work. Strauss used the very same parallels to show
riod—the third-century Greek philosopher Porphyry antici-
the mythological character of most of the tradition.
pated him in this—to distinguish between what Jesus himself
Some who came after Strauss argued that he had not
said and what his disciples said he said. To the latter alone
gone far enough, that Jesus was not a historical figure who
he attributed belief in the second coming and Jesus’ atoning
attracted myths but was rather a myth himself, no more real
death. Reimarus also argued that Jesus’ kingdom was basical-
than Zeus. The future was not, however, with such radical-
ly political and that his tomb was empty because the disciples
ism, which could never really explain Paul or Josephus’s two
stole the body. Reimarus’s goal was to take Christianity, sub-
references to Jesus. Far more lasting in their influence were
tract the bad and unbelievable things from it, and hand the
Johannes Weiss (1863–1914) and Albert Schweitzer (1875–
world a new and improved religion.
1965), two German scholars who, more trusting of the syn-
Shying from controversy, Reimarus did not publish his
optics than Strauss, argued that the historical Jesus was all
own work, which did not appear until after his death, when
about eschatology. When Jesus said that the kingdom was
the playwright and critic Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–
at hand, he was announcing the imminence of the new world
1781) edited and published it. As Reimarus was rhetorically
or utopian order (compare Mk. 9:1; 13:30). His expectations
powerful, and as his rationalistic arguments had substance,
were not fulfilled in Easter or Pentecost or the destruction
his work generated support, as well as the predictable opposi-
of the temple in 70 CE. Jesus was rather a mistaken apocalyp-
tion.
tic visionary, which is why his ethics are so unrealistic. They
are not for everyday life, but are instead an ethic of perfection
The nineteenth century. The next phase in research
designed for a world about to go out of existence.
saw the proliferation of the so-called liberal lives of Jesus in
Germany. Agreeing with Reimarus that miracles do not hap-
The twentieth century. Most scholars since Schweitzer
pen, but dissenting from much of his skepticism regarding
would concede that he and Weiss largely set the agenda.
the historicity of the Gospels, these liberal lives, like the old
Most have thought that they were right to the extent that the
Jewish polemic, tended not to dispute the events in the Gos-
traditions about Jesus are indeed full of eschatological
pels but rather their supernatural explanations. Instead, how-
themes. The debate has been to what extent those traditions
ever, of invoking deliberate deception, as did the polemic,
go back to Jesus and whether Schweitzer’s more or less literal
these critics thought in terms of misperception. Jesus did not
interpretation of them is correct. Schweitzer himself tried to
walk on the water; he only appeared to do so when disciples
force a choice between eschatology and historicity. That is,
on a boat saw him afar off on the shore. Jesus did not raise
he urged that, if the synoptics are reliable, then we must ac-
anyone from the dead; rather, some he prayed over recovered
cept that Jesus was an eschatological prophet. If, to the con-
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JESUS
4847
trary, Jesus was not an eschatological prophet, then the syn-
Recent work. Probably the most prominent of recent
optics are unreliable guides and we should resign ourselves
scholars to reject Schweitzer’s dichotomy is John Dominic
to skepticism.
Crossan (1934–). In his several books on Jesus he has argued
Joachim Jeremias (1900–1979) of Göttingen was prob-
that while most of the material Schweitzer used in his recon-
ably the most important player after Schweitzer to implicitly
struction of Jesus came from the church, we can still know
accept Schweitzer’s basic analysis. Jeremias thought that,
a great deal about Jesus, who is very different from Schweit-
with the exception of the miracle stories, the synoptics are
zer’s vision of an eschatological visionary. For Crossan, Jesus
relatively reliable, and he agreed with Schweitzer that Jesus
was indeed utopian, but what he envisaged was not a tradi-
believed in a near consummation, expected his death to inau-
tional eschatological scenario. Jesus was a Jewish peasant
gurate the great tribulation, and hoped for his own resurrec-
whose revolutionary social program is best preserved in aph-
tion as part of the general resurrection of the dead.
orisms and parables. These depict a Cynic-like sage who wel-
comes outcasts as equals. Traditional eschatology—
Not all accepted Schweitzer’s dichotomy. While Rudolf
resurrection, last judgment, heaven, hell—and their atten-
Bultmann (1884–1976), for instance, believed that Jesus was
dant violence do not make an appearance.
indeed an eschatological prophet, he was far more skeptical
about the historicity of the synoptics than Schweitzer. Bult-
Crossan was one of the founding members of the Jesus
mann’s views lie somewhere between Strauss’s skepticism
Seminar, the other cofounder being Robert Funk (1926–).
and Schweitzer’s confidence. A form critic, Bultmann sought
The Seminar is a loosely affiliated group of fewer than one
to isolate, classify, and evaluate the components of the Jesus
hundred scholars who began, in the 1980s, meeting twice a
tradition. Given that the order of events varies from gospel
year to discuss and vote upon questions concerning the his-
to gospel and that there is usually no logical connection be-
torical Jesus. The upshot of their work is the conclusion that
tween adjacent episodes, we cannot, Bultmann concluded,
approximately 18 percent of the sayings attributed to Jesus
know the true order of events. When one adds that the
in the synoptics go back to him or represent something that
church, in Bultmann’s view, contributed as much to the say-
he said. Among their other conclusions, which have generat-
ings attributed to Jesus as did Jesus himself, it was no longer
ed much controversy, are these: only one saying in John re-
possible to write a biography of Jesus, only to sketch an out-
flects something Jesus said (4:44); Jesus did not consider
line of his teachings within a rather bare narrative.
himself to be the messiah or Son of man; he said little or
Bultmann envisaged an oral stage during which various
nothing about resurrection and judgment; he was a laconic
types of materials circulated. He attempted to reconstruct the
sage known for pithy one-liners and parables; he did not keep
setting in life for these types, to determine whether they were
kosher; and he did not often cite or refer to scripture. A
used in polemic, apologetics, moral teaching, or proclama-
major achievement of the Jesus Seminar, whose conclusions
tion. Bultmann’s tendency was to suppose that if a unit was
represent only one group of scholars, has been to bring con-
used in Christian polemic, then Christian polemic created
temporary critical work to public notice.
it. Yet despite his skepticism, he remained convinced that
Many are now wont to divide the question for the his-
Schweitzer was basically correct about Jesus’ eschatology,
torical Jesus into three stages. The first stage, it is claimed,
which Bultmann interpreted in existential terms. Assuming
was the nineteenth-century German endeavor so memorably
moderns could no longer share ancient eschatological expec-
reported by Schweitzer. The second was the “new quest” car-
tations, Bultmann asked how the language functioned and,
ried on in the 1950s and 1960s by some of Bultmann’s stu-
in response, stressed that it brought people to decision in the
dents and a few others. The “third quest” is the name now
face of the future.
often attached to the labors of the present moment. This ty-
Another scholar who rejected Schweitzer’s dichotomy
pology, which obscures much more than it illumines, will,
was C. H. Dodd (1884–1973). Although he accepted the
one hopes, eventually fall into oblivion. One fundamental
basic synoptic portrait (with the exception of Mark 13 and
failing is that it dismisses with silence the period between the
its parallels), he disagreed with Schweitzer regarding escha-
first quest and the new quest. Some have even called this the
tology. Dodd famously urged that Jesus had a “realized es-
period of “no quest,” which scarcely fits the facts. The typol-
chatology.” That is, the kingdom of God, Jesus’ name for the
ogy is also problematic because most work of importance
transcendent order in which there is no before or after, had
that went on during and after the 1950s cannot be subsumed
manifested itself in the crisis of his ministry. Further, Jesus
under the new quest, and because the third quest has no truly
expected vindication after death, which he variously spoke
distinguishing features. Instead of dividing post-
of as resurrection, the coming of the Son of man, and the
Schweitzerian activities into chronological segments or dif-
rebuilding of the temple. But the church came to long for
ferent quests, it is more useful to lay aside the diachronic in
the future coming of the Son of man, now conceived of as
favor of the synchronic, to abandon periodization for a typol-
Jesus’ return. In this way eschatology ceased to be realized.
ogy that allows the classification of a book, whether from the
The change of outlook was such that the church eventually,
1920s or the 1990s, with those akin to it. One should lump
and according to Dodd regrettably, made Revelation its ca-
together books that present Jesus as a liberal social reformer,
nonical finale.
those that present him as forerunner of Christian orthodoxy,
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JESUS
those that reconstruct him as an eschatological Jewish proph-
tance in view of the coming judgment (Mt. 3:7–10 = Lk.
et, those that liken him to a wisdom sage, those that regard
3:7–9 [Q]; Mk. 1:4). John the Baptist opposed the notion
him as having been a political revolutionary, and so on. This
that all Israel has a place in the world to come. More than
is the best way to judge the progress of the discipline.
a few Jews probably hoped that their descent from Abraham
The most striking fact about recent research is that it
would, as long as they did not abandon the Torah, gain them
resents easy generalization precisely because of its pluralism.
entry into the world to come. John thought otherwise (Mt.
Contemporary work has no characteristic method, it has no
3:9 = Lk. 3:8 [Q]).
body of shared conclusions, and it has no common set of his-
That Jesus submitted to John’s baptism shows his essen-
toriographical or theological presuppositions. Those who
tial agreement with him on many, if not most, matters. This
continue to speak of the third quest and delineate its distinc-
is confirmed by his praise of the Baptist (Mt. 11:7–19 = Lk.
tive features are engaging in an antiquated activity that needs
7:24–35 [Q]). It is natural that Jesus was remembered as
to be deconstructed. The lists are all tendentious because the
being, like John, a preacher of repentance, as being preoccu-
age of the easy generalization and the authentic consensus is
pied with eschatology, and as being convinced that member-
over.
ship in the covenant guarantees nothing. There is not even
A RECONSTRUCTION. The most important sources for Jesus
fundamental discontinuity in the matter of asceticism, for
are found in the New Testament—Paul and the synoptics
the missionary discourses depict a very harsh lifestyle (Mt.
and their sources, including Q, the hypothetical sayings
10:1–16 = Lk. 10:1–16 [Q]; Mk. 6:8–11), and some disciples
source used by Matthew and Luke. The Gospel of John is of
abandoned families and business (Mt. 8:18–22 = Lk. 9:57–
less help, as are the various apocryphal gospels, although the
60 [Q]; Mt. 10:37 = Lk. 14:26 [Q]). Jesus himself was un-
Gospel of Thomas seems to contain some early and indepen-
married (presumably Matthew 19:12 was originally a riposte
dent sayings of Jesus. Non-Christian sources—the Jewish
to the slander that he was a eunuch). He demanded the
historian Josephus, the Babylonian Talmud, the Roman his-
guarding of sexual desire (Mt. 5:27–28), issued strident
torians Tacitus and Suetonius, and others—do little more
warnings about money and property (Mt. 8:19–20 = Lk.
than confirm Jesus’ existence and his crucifixion under Pon-
9:57–58 [Q]; Mt. 10:9–10, 13 = Lk. 10:4, 7–8 [Q]), and in
tius Pilate.
general lived and demanded self-discipline and rigorous self-
Scholars disagree on the reliability of the extant sources
denial (Mt. 10:38 = Lk. 14:27 [Q]; Mk. 8:34).
and so they do not concur on how much we can know about
Baptism and temptation. Although the baptismal nar-
the historical Jesus. Discussions of method have led to no
ratives convey the theology of the church, one need not
consensus. Many attempt to reconstruct Jesus by passing in-
doubt that Jesus did, in fact, submit to John’s baptism. This
dividual units through various criteria of authenticity. Such
is not the sort of event the early church would have invented.
criteria are not particularly reliable. It seems safer to base
It is, moreover, plausible that Jesus experienced his baptism
one’s major conclusions upon the larger patterns and themes
as a prophetic call. This would explain why his public minis-
that run throughout the various sources. It is probably in
try was remembered as beginning shortly thereafter and why
such patterns and themes, if anywhere, that the Jesus of his-
his followers narrated the event even though it involved Jesus
tory has been remembered.
submitting to John.
Before the public ministry. Aside from Matthew 1–2
The accounts of Jesus’ temptation also express the theol-
and Luke 1–2, first-century Christian writings have next to
ogy of the community. Even so, stories that do not reproduce
nothing to say about Jesus before his public ministry, and
history may convey it, and the temptation narratives high-
those two chapters are poor sources for history. Some agree-
light several themes that appear elsewhere in the sources.
ments between Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2, however, pre-
That Jesus overcomes Satan coheres with his being a success-
serve memory. Jesus’ parents were named Mary and Joseph,
ful exorcist. That Jesus is, as the devil’s challenges assume,
and whether or not he was born in Bethlehem, he did later
a miracle worker, harmonizes with the rest of the tradition.
live in Nazareth (Mt. 2:23; Lk. 2:39). One can also plausibly
That Jesus does not perform miracles on demand matches
defend Jesus’ Davidic descent, his birth before the death of
Mark 8:11–13, where he refuses to grant a sign (see also Mt.
Herod the Great in 4 BCE, and perhaps the possibility that
12:38–42 = Lk. 11:29–30 [Q]). And that Jesus is a person
Mary became pregnant before Joseph and Mary began to live
of great faith who, in need, waits upon God, also matches
together.
the rest of the tradition (see Mt. 6:11 = Lk. 11:3 [Q]; Mt.
John the Baptist and Jesus. John, who baptized Jesus,
6:25–34 = Lk. 12:22–32 [Q]).
was an ascetic. The synoptics have him dwelling in the desert
Disciples. Because he was a teacher, Jesus had disciples.
(Mk. 1:4; Jn. 1:23, 28), wearing camel’s hair (Mk. 1:6), and
Not all scholars agree, however, that he gathered a select
eating locusts and wild honey (Mk. 1:6). Matthew 11:18 =
group of twelve. Doubt comes from the fact that they appear
Luke 7:33 (Q) characterizes him as neither eating nor drink-
only once in Q (Mt. 19.28 = Lk. 22:28–30). Yet “the twelve”
ing, and Mark 2:18 refers to the fasting of his followers.
is already a fixed expression in 1 Corinthians 15:5, which
John’s asceticism was part of a moral earnestness linked
guarantees its antiquity. Furthermore, Judas, who was, ac-
to belief in an imminent consummation: he called for repen-
cording to the Gospels, chosen by Jesus himself, was known
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as “one of the twelve” (Mk. 14:10, 43). This is unlikely to
Lk. 10:11–12 [Q]; Mt. 10:16 = Lk. 10:3 [Q]; Mk. 10:35–40;
be free invention.
Mt. 10:23, 25). He envisaged a revised, second edition of
earth with the earlier deficiencies corrected—paradise re-
In selecting a group of twelve, Jesus’ intent was probably
gained, heaven on earth. And he hoped all of this would tran-
the creation of a prophetic and eschatological symbol: the
spire soon. There is no evidence that Jesus shared the expec-
twelve disciples represented the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus
tation of some that the Gentiles would suffer destruction at
presumably shared the expectation of the eschatological res-
the end, and the existence of an early Christian mission to
toration of the twelve lost, or rather hidden, tribes. In line
Gentiles confirms that he did not anticipate their annihi-
with this, Matthew 19:28 = Luke 22:28–30 (Q) promises
lation.
Jesus’ followers that they will “rule over” or “judge” the
twelve tribes of Israel, which assumes that those tribes will
Jesus announced the beginning of God’s reign in the
soon return to the land.
present (Mt. 12:28 = Lk. 11:20 [Q]; Lk. 17:20) and other-
wise indicated its arrival by speaking of the defeat of Satan
If the twelve functioned as an eschatological symbol of
(Mt. 12:28 = Lk. 11:20 [Q]; Mk. 13:27; Lk. 10:18). So escha-
Israel’s renewal, they also served, along with others, to spread
tological expectations were being fulfilled: “Blessed are the
Jesus’ message. This is likely why we have reliable informa-
eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets
tion about Jesus in the first place. Pre-Easter itinerants, ac-
and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and
cording to Matthew 10:7 = Luke 10:9 (Q), were instructed
to hear what you hear, but did not hear it” (Mt. 13:16–17
to proclaim the kingdom of God and its imminence. Al-
= Lk. 10:23–24 [Q]). Matters are similar in Matthew 10:35–
though we do not learn what specifically they were to say,
36 = Luke 12:53 (Q), which paraphrases the eschatological
their message cannot have differed much from that of Jesus.
prophecy of family strife in Micah 7:6 and makes it a present
Certainly their other activities were imitative, for their pur-
reality. So once again Jesus’ ministry fulfills an eschatological
pose was to enlarge Jesus’ influence. So their proclamation
oracle. In this case, however, it is not the saving miracles of
must have been his proclamation. In other words, recitation
the end time that have entered the present, but the tribula-
of the teaching of Jesus predates the church.
tion of the latter days.
The traditional image of Jesus wandering around Gali-
Torah and ethics. In Mark 7:8–13 Jesus rebuts oppo-
lee with twelve male disciples is mistaken. Not only were the
nents by accusing them of not honoring their father and
twelve presumably part of a larger group, but Mark 15:40–
mother. In Mark 10:19 he enumerates and endorses the last
41 tells us that, when Jesus was crucified, some women
half of the Decalogue. And in the Sabbath controversies he
looked on from a distance, among them Mary Magdalene,
rejects the charge of being reckless. Jesus nowhere declares
Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Sa-
that the Sabbath has been abolished, as did some later Chris-
lome. Luke 8:1–3, which in several particulars derived from
tians. Nor does he say that the true God did not institute the
non-Markan tradition, adds that Jesus was accompanied by
Sabbath. Instead of attacking the Sabbath, Jesus teaches that
“Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had
one imperative can trump another, that human need can, in
gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,
some cases, overrule Sabbath keeping, which, it is assumed,
and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out
remains intact. There is nothing revolutionary in this: Jewish
of their resources.” This text and Mark 15:40–41 stand out
law certainly knew that Sabbath observance might be the
from the rest of the synoptic tradition, which otherwise does
lesser of two goods (the law-observant Maccabees decided to
not inform us that women were among the itinerants who
take up arms on the Sabbath).
followed Jesus. Notwithstanding its meager attestation in the
extant sources, the existence of such a group is not a fiction.
If tradition remembers Jesus upholding the Torah, it
also shows another side. The question in Mark 3:33, “Who
Mark 15:41 says that the women “ministered” to Jesus.
are my mother and my brothers?” does not honor Jesus’
This may mean that they offered him financial support (so
mother. Closely related is Matthew 10:37 = Luke 14:26 (Q):
Luke 8:3) or served him at table. But Mark also says that the
“Whoever comes to me and does not hate his own father and
women “followed” Jesus, and this implies that they were, like
mother. . .cannot be my disciple.” This is a deliberate con-
the twelve, “disciples.” Perhaps we should think of Mary
trast to Exodus 20:12 = Deuteronomy 5:16, “Honor your fa-
Magdalene and the others as students of Jesus and genuine
ther and your mother.” Even more far-reaching are Matthew
coworkers.
5:31–32 = Luke 16:18 (Q) and Mark 10:2–12 (cf. 1 Cor.
7:10–11), where Jesus prohibits divorce, which Moses per-
Eschatology. Jesus lived within an eschatological sce-
mits (Dt. 24:1–4).
nario, which he thought of as already unfolding. He antici-
pated the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment
The radical rhetoric is tied to eschatology. The kingdom
(Mt. 8:11–12 = Lk. 13:28–29 [Q]; Mt. 12:38–42 = Lk.
relativizes Moses’ imperatives by trumping them when the
11:29–32 [Q]; Mk. 12:18–27). He spoke in terms of rewards
two conflict. If, moreover, the kingdom is at hand, then the
for the righteous and recompense for the wicked (Mt. 10:32–
renewal of the world is nigh; and if the renewal of the world
33 = Lk. 12:8–9 [Q]; Mk. 8:35; 9:41–48; Mt. 25:14–30, 31–
is nigh, then paradise is about to be restored; and if paradise
46). He prophesied trouble for the saints (Mt. 10:14–15 =
is about to be restored, then concessions to sin are no longer
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JESUS
needed. This is the implicit logic of Mark 10:1–12. Because
and John 6:1–15 not only foreshadows the last supper but
the last things will be as the first, and because, for Jesus, the
strongly recalls the miracle of 2 Kings 4:42–44 and so makes
last things have begun to come, so have the first. Jesus can
Jesus like Elisha. The story of the widow of Nain in Luke
therefore promulgate a prelapsarian ethic. Insofar as the law
7:11–17 makes Jesus rather like Elijah because it is clearly
contains concessions to the fall, it requires repair.
modeled upon 1 Kings 17:8–24. All this is typical.
That the coming of the kingdom impinges upon the law
The tradition interprets the miracles of Jesus as signs of
is explicit in Matthew 11:12–13 = Luke 16:16 (Q). Here
eschatological fulfillment, and this was the interpretation of
Jesus distinguishes between the time of the law and the
Jesus himself. According to Matthew 12:27 = Luke 11:20
prophets on the one hand and the time of the kingdom on
(Q), if Jesus casts out demons by the finger of God, then the
the other. This means that the time of the law has, in some
kingdom of God has come. The defeat of Satan’s realm is
sense, been superseded by the time of the eschatological
what happens in the latter days, so if Satan’s realm is now
kingdom.
being conquered, the latter days have arrived.
The marginal. Jesus ministered to individuals with lit-
Self-conception. That Jesus was arrested, not the disci-
tle social status. In Mark, he heals demoniacs, paralytics, a
ples, shows that he was from the beginning the center of the
leper, and blind men. It is the same in Q (Mt. 11:2–6 = Lk.
new movement. This is confirmed by the title on the cross:
7:18–23), in which Jesus blesses the poor, those in mourn-
Pilate charges Jesus alone with being “the king of the Jews”
ing, the thirsty, and the persecuted (Mt. 5:3–4, 6, 11–12 =
(Mk. 15:25; Jn. 19:19).
Lk. 6:20–23) and announces that the humble will be exalted
Some regarded Jesus as a prophet (Mk. 6:14–16; 8:28;
(Mt. 23:12 = Lk. 14:11). In Luke, Jesus takes the side of poor
Lk. 7:16), and the title appears on his own lips in Mark 6:4
Lazarus, not the rich man (16:19–31), and he depicts Samar-
and Luke 13:33. As Matthew 5:3–6, 11–12 = Luke 6:20–23
itans, traditionally enemies of Jews, in a good light (10:29–
(Q, the beatitudes) and Matthew 11:2–6 = Luke 7:18–23 (Q,
37; 17:11–19).
Jesus’ answer to the Baptist) use the language of Isaiah
Even when one takes into account that healers necessari-
61:1–2, Jesus probably understood himself to be specifically
ly minister to the sick, that the well have no need of a physi-
the anointed prophet of Isaiah’s oracle.
cian, one comes away with the impression that Jesus had a
In addition to taking on the role of the prophet of Isaiah
special interest in those on the margins of society. Perhaps
61, there is a good chance that Jesus, like the early church
this was part and parcel of the great eschatological reversal,
(cf. Acts 3:22), reckoned himself the prophet like Moses of
which would see the humble exalted. Yet Q also has him
Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18:18 in the time of a new exodus.
healing the son or servant of a centurion, a person of great
In Matthew 12:28 = Luke 11:20 (Q), Jesus alludes to Exodus
authority, without demanding any change of life (Mt. 8:5–
8:19 in claiming that he casts out demons by the finger of
13 = Lk. 7:1–10 [Q]); Matthew has Jesus giving advice to
God, so in this respect at least he is like the miracle-working
those who can afford to give alms (6:1–4); and Luke has him
Moses. In reversing the commandment to love parents (Mt.
eating with a well-to-do toll collector, Zacchaeus (19:1–10),
10:37 = Lk. 14:26 [Q]), Jesus sets his own words over against
and being supported by “Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward
those of the first lawgiver. Matthew 5:21–22 and 27–28 do
Chuza,” who must have been prosperous (8:3). So the tradi-
the same thing. He also characterizes his own generation
tion does not depict Jesus as engaging only those in the same
with language originally descriptive of Moses’ generation (cf.
socioeconomic circumstances but rather being expansive in
Mt. 12:38–42 = Lk. Q 11:29–30 [Q] with Dt. 1:35).
his ministry and affections.
Traditionally, Christians have taken Jesus’ favorite epi-
Miracles. Whether one explains the fact by appealing
thet in the synoptics, “the Son of man,” to indicate his true
to divine intervention, parapsychology, or the psychosomatic
humanity. Modern scholars, however, adopt other interpre-
phenomena of mass psychology, Jesus was known as a mira-
tations. Some suppose that “the Son of man” was a known
cle worker during his own life. Surely the hope of being
messianic title that Jesus used of himself or another yet to
healed or beholding miracles brought much of his audience
come. For others, “the Son of man” goes back to an Aramaic
to him. His opponents themselves conceded his abilities
idiom that meant something like “one”; it was an indirect
when they attributed his success to an allegiance with Beelze-
way of talking about oneself, of speaking of the particular by
bul (Mt. 12:27 = Lk. 11:19 [Q]; Mk. 3:22–27; cf. Jn. 7:20;
way of the general (cf. “One must do one’s duty”).
8:48; 10:20).
The linguistic issues surrounding “the Son of man” in
Although Jesus was a miracle worker, this does not guar-
first-century Aramaic remain disputed. Further, even if the
antee the authenticity of any particular miracle story, and as
phrase was common and functioned like a pronoun, one can
they stand many of the stories are highly symbolic and vehi-
always take an everyday expression and do something inter-
cles of Christian theology. The transfiguration narrative in
esting with it (cf. the use of “I am” in John). This is not an
Mark 9:2–8 makes Jesus like the glowing Moses of Exodus
idle point given that Jesus was innovative in the linguistic
34 and so confirms him as the prophet foretold in Deuterono-
sphere (e.g., in his use of “amen” at the beginning of sen-
my 18:15–18. The feeding of five thousand in Mark 6:32–44
tences).
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4851
Some sayings link “the Son of man” with Daniel 7. Es-
no reason to exclude Jesus from the generalization, as Luke
pecially important is Matthew 10:32–33 = Luke 12:8–9,
12:49–50, if authentic, confirms.
which probably goes back to Jesus. This Q saying echoes
Daniel 7 in that it concerns the last judgment, has as its cen-
Jerusalem. Jesus went to Jerusalem in either 30 or 33
tral figure the Son of man, depicts that figure as being “be-
CE (John has him going up more than once, perhaps correct-
fore” the divine court, sets the stage with angels, and speaks
ly). Whether Jesus wanted to provoke a confrontation, or
to a situation of persecution. This then is evidence that Jesus
even to die, Mark 11:1–10 and John 12:12–19 have him de-
associated himself and his ministry with Daniel’s vision of
liberately approaching Jerusalem not on foot but on a don-
the judgment and “one like a son of man.”
key, thereby making a public display of kingship (cf. Zec.
9:9). The scenario may be historical given Jesus’ exalted self-
Regarding the promises to David and the title “messiah”
conception, as well as the probability that he engaged in an-
(anointed one) or its Greek equivalent, “Christ,” Mark
other prophetic action at the same time, turning over tables
12:35–37 (on David’s son and Lord) does not help, for even
in the temple (Mk. 11:11, 15–17). Commentators tend to
if it preserves an argument from Jesus, the point has been
suppose that, by this disturbance, he was either symbolizing
lost. Also less than helpful are Mark 8:27–30 (the confession
the future destruction of the temple or protesting certain cor-
at Caesarea Philippi) and 14:53–65 (the Jewish trial in which
rupt practices, but the two interpretations need not be op-
Jesus acknowledges his messiahship). For aside from how
posed. Protestation of abuses and an enacted parable of de-
much history lies behind these passages, in neither does Jesus
struction probably went together.
comment directly on the title “messiah.” The very fact that
“messiah” is so rare in the Gospels but so common in the
Arrest and interrogation. Whether or not it was the in-
epistles has suggested to many that the title betrays a post-
cident in the temple that eventually led to Jesus’ arrest, he
Easter interpretation of Jesus.
was probably brought before some members of the Jerusalem
Sanhedrin, although we should probably not speak of a for-
Nonetheless, the Romans did execute him as a political-
mal trial (Mk. 14:53–65; Jn. 18:13–24). We can further ac-
ly dangerous “king” (Mk. 15:26), and since they surely did
cept the report that he was then accused of acting and speak-
not invent this charge out of nothing, somebody must have
ing against the temple, and that the authorities, probably
perceived Jesus as such. If Jesus identified himself with the
because they did not have the authority to execute him (Jn.
eschatological prophet of Isaiah 61:1–2, he would have
18:31), handed him over to Pilate (Mk. 15:1; Jn. 18:28),
thought of himself as an anointed one, for that figure de-
who ordered him to be crucified as a “king” or political pre-
clares, “The Lord has anointed me.” Again, if either Matthew
tender.
19:28 = Luke 22:28–30 (Q: Jesus is the leader of those who
sit on thrones) or Mark 10:35–40 (disciples sit at Jesus’ right
Resurrection. The traditions about Jesus’ resurrection
and left in the kingdom) contains authentic material, Jesus
do not belong to the story of the historical Jesus but to
must have thought himself king. The same result follows if
church history. The explanations for them are manifold. (1)
he spoke of rebuilding the temple, for 2 Samuel 7:4–17 fore-
According to the traditional theological story, God raised
sees a descendant of David who will build God’s house, and
Jesus from the dead. The tomb was empty, and people saw
this was an eschatological prophecy in first-century Judaism.
the glorified Jesus. (2) The tomb was empty, not because
Jesus rose from the dead, but because followers visited the
Anticipation of death. Jesus presumably anticipated
wrong tomb, because someone later moved the body to a
suffering and an untimely death. Not only do the prophetic
permanent burial site (cf. Jn. 20:2, 14–15), or because the
and apocalyptic traditions, which so influenced Jesus, recog-
authorities, not wanting a venerated tomb, moved the body.
nize that the saints must pass through tribulation before sal-
Early Christians then interpreted the empty tomb in terms
vation arrives, but the Baptist’s martyrdom must have served
of their religious hopes and dreams, and some of them then
as a warning. A number of sayings furthermore depict Jesus
had subjective visions. (3) To turn things around, the empty
enjoining his followers to reckon seriously with the prospect
tomb was a late legend and Easter faith began with the sub-
of both suffering and death; if any of them is authentic, then
jective christophanies of Peter and the other disciples. (4)
it is likely that Jesus himself expected to suffer and die before
The visions were real because the disembodied Jesus survived
his time, for surely he would have anticipated for himself a
death and communicated to his disciples, but the story of the
fate similar to those around him.
empty tomb is late and legendary, the creation of people who
Jesus likely imagined his future as belonging to the trib-
believed, on the basis of their faith alone, that, if Jesus were
ulation that would herald the end. Matthew 10:34–35 = Luke
alive, he had been resurrected, and so the body must have
12:51–53 (Q) applies Micah 7:6 to the present, and Micah
disappeared. (5) There was deliberate fraud. The disciples
7:6 was widely understood as a prophecy of what the rabbis
stole the body and concocted belief in the resurrection be-
called “the woe of the messiah.” In line with this, Luke 16:16
cause they wanted to be leaders of a religious movement. (6)
speaks of the kingdom of heaven suffering violence and
The disciples saw Jesus in terms of a traditional cluster of
seems to construe the death of the Baptist as belonging to
motifs surrounding the persecuted righteous individual
the eschatological trial. According to Mark 9:49, everyone
whom God rescues from death (2 Mc. 7; Wis. 3–4), and after
will go through the coming eschatological fire, and there is
his death simply posited his vindication as an act of faith.
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JESUS MOVEMENT
The appearance stories and empty tomb, however explained,
1960s and 1970s among relatively affluent young people in
emerged later and presuppose the resurrection.
the United States. Early Jesus Movement groups attracted
considerable media attention and became the focus of some
SEE ALSO Atonement, article on Christian Concepts; Bibli-
Christian religious leaders who were concerned about wheth-
cal Literature, article on New Testament; God, article on
er or not such groups were “truly Christian.” Well-publicized
God in the New Testament; Justification; Redemption;
lifestyle practices that included long hair and casual dress
Theology, article on Christian Theology; Trinity.
contributed to the controversy, as did overt efforts to prosely-
tize other young people.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Crossan, John Dominic. The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediter-
The movement gained much attention for about three
ranean Jewish Peasant. San Francisco, 1991. The most dis-
decades and spread to other countries, becoming worldwide
cussed of recent books on Jesus.
in scope. One controversial Jesus Movement group, the
Dawes, Gregory W. The Historical Jesus Question: The Challenge
Children of God, at one time had outposts in nearly two
of History to Religious Authority. Louisville, Ky., 2001. An in-
hundred countries. The movement lost momentum in the
structive review of the theological and philosophical issues
1990s, and by the early 2000s only a few Jesus Movement
raised by the modern quest for Jesus.
groups, such as Jesus People USA, centered in Chicago, and
Funk, Robert W., Roy Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. The Five
the Family (formerly known as the Children of God) were
Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus. New
still in existence. Remnants of some Jesus Movement groups
York, 1993. The results of the Jesus Seminar’s voting on the
joined Pentecostal churches, such as Calvary Chapel, a new
words of Jesus.
denomination that has many features akin to the Jesus
Jeremias, Joachim. New Testament Theology. Translated by John
Movement.
Bowden. Vol. 1: The Proclamation of Jesus. London, 1971.
A systematic presentation of Jesus’ teaching by a famous Ger-
Most participants in early Jesus Movement groups were
man scholar.
heavily involved with drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and premarital
Machovecˇ, Milan. A Marxist Looks at Jesus. Philadelphia, 1976. A
sex prior to joining. Participation in the Jesus Movement
sympathetic examination of Jesus from a Marxist perspective.
usually led to dramatic behavioral changes, with the notion
Meier, John P. A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. 3
of “getting high on Jesus” seeming to serve as a replacement
vols. New York, 1991–2001. A detailed and comprehensive
for previous activities. The Jesus Movement seems to have
discussion of all the major issues and topics by a Roman
served as a “halfway house” for many participants who had
Catholic.
become disaffected from normal society and were involved
Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan. Jesus through the Centuries: His Place in the
with dissipated lifestyles.
History of Culture. New Haven, Conn., 1985. A learned
overview of how Jesus has been interpreted from the first
Some Jesus Movement groups grew rapidly, attracting
century to the twentieth century.
much media attention. Recruitment was aided by the estab-
Sanders, E. P. Jesus and Judaism. London, 1985. An attempt to
lishment of communal centers where converts could find
understand Jesus within his Jewish context that focuses first
food, shelter, and friendship (along with the “message of
on what he did rather than what he said.
Jesus”). This communal context also allowed more rigorous
resocialization to take place in the relative isolation of such
Schweitzer, Albert. The Quest of the Historical Jesus. The first com-
plete edition. Translated by W. Montgomery, J. R. Coates,
settings, with some Jesus Movement groups—such as Shiloh,
Susan Cupitt, and John Bowden. Minneapolis, 2001. The
which began in southern California in the late 1960s but
classic review of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that
shifted its headquarters to a rural setting in Oregon in the
ends with Schweitzer’s own interpretation.
1970s—developing sophisticated approaches to member
Theissen, Gred, and Annette Merz. The Historical Jesus: A Com-
training. Later, as the “target population” of young people
prehensive Guide. Translated by John Bowden. Minneapolis,
decreased in number, recruitment became more difficult,
1998. The best contemporary introduction to all facets of the
forcing experimentation with new methods: “Jesus rock”
discussion.
concerts were held, Christian coffee houses were opened, and
Vermes, Geza. Jesus the Jew: A Historian’s Reading of the Gospels.
attention was paid to recruitment on college campuses,
Philadelphia, 1973. A Jewish scholar’s attempt to depict
among other tactics.
Jesus as a Galilean holy man.
Initial Jesus Movement recruits were mostly single
Weaver, Walter P. The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century,
young males, which contributed to the considerable geo-
1900–1950. Harrisburg, Pa., 1999. A capable overview of
graphic mobility that characterized the movement’s early
Jesus research in the first half of the twentieth century.
years. Members were not burdened with families and could
DALE C. ALLISON, JR. (2005)
be sent to faraway places for missionary activities. Members
of several groups, such as the Children of God, could decide
to “live on the road.” Other groups were also quite mobile
JESUS MOVEMENT refers to a communally oriented
as they “spread the Word” in the United States and else-
fundamentalist Christian movement that developed in the
where.
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JESUS MOVEMENT
4853
Major media portrayed the large and energetic Jesus
Methods of group support varied considerably as mem-
Movement as a sharp contrast to the considerable turmoil
bers experimented with ways of raising money or engaging
over the Vietnam War, race, and other issues in American
in activities that would support the group. Street solicitation
society. Some societal leaders initially celebrated the apparent
for money was one successful method, but was not the most
“return to religion” by many young people. Later, the media,
prevalent. The Children of God used this method, distribut-
as well as the general public and policymakers, soured on the
ing their infamous “Mo Letters,” which were tracts written
recruitment efforts of most Jesus Movement groups. Unsa-
by the Moses Davide Berg who established the group. Group
vory actions, such as the Children of God’s “flirty fishing,”
members asked for money in exchange for the tracts, a fund
which for a time used sex as a recruiting tool, were revealed.
raising method they called litnessing. The Children of God
In addition, most Jesus Movement groups were “high de-
also scavenged for discarded fruits and vegetables from local
mand” religions that expected participants to “forsake all” to
markets, among other ways of finding sustenance. Other
follow Jesus and obey group leaders.
Jesus Movement groups, such as Shiloh, relied on work
teams in agricultural and construction industries for support,
When accusations of brainwashing and mind control
as well as donations from members and their parents, and
were made against some Jesus Movement groups, authorities
some even accepted contributions from governmental agen-
sought to exert control over the groups and to limit recruit-
cies. Some Jesus Movement groups also sold music tapes and
ment. Such accusations were refuted by scholars studying
put on concerts as they experimented with ways to support
these groups, but such claims persisted and led to problems
themselves.
for some Jesus Movement groups. Indeed, the first recorded
The Jesus Movement still exits, even if some groups
“deprogramming” of a member of a new religious movement
have changed markedly as a result of the material concerns
(the first of many thousands in the United States and other
discussed above. The apex of the Jesus Movement occurred
countries) involved a member of the Children of God.
in the 1970s and early 1980s, when there were Jesus Move-
More females, including some with children, were at-
ment groups operating in many different areas of the United
tracted to the Jesus Movement groups, which were usually
States, as well as in many other countries. The movement
communal, facilitating the establishment of families. With
lost momentum as a result of fewer recruits, shifting societal
the arrival of children (sometimes in large numbers, since
circumstances, and problems deriving from the maturing of
most Jesus Movement groups did not practice birth control),
the membership and the establishment of families.
life in the Jesus Movement underwent dramatic change.
SEE ALSO Brainwashing (Debate); Family, The.
Groups with families as a large proportion of membership
had to support the family units. Membership figures for the
Family demonstrate the magnitude of this change. As of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Di Sabatino, David. The Jesus People Movement: An Annotated
2003, the Family had approximately ten thousand members
Bibliography and General Resource. Westport, Conn., 1999.
worldwide, with well over half of them being children. The
A good reference by an insider in the movement.
presence of families had a domesticating effect on Jesus
Ellwood, Robert S. One Way: The Jesus Movement and Its Mean-
Movement groups. Mobility had to be curtailed, making
ing. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1973. An excellent early study
groups much more sedentary. This led to a lessening of mis-
by a major scholar.
sionary activities in other countries. Divisions of labor were
Enroth, Ronald, Edward Ericson, and C. Breckinridge Peters. The
established within the groups, so that fewer members trav-
Jesus People: Old Time Religion in an Age of Aquarius. Grand
eled and proselytized, while most took care of children and
Rapids, Mich., 1972. One of the first major studies, filled
sought ways to support growing families.
with good descriptive material.
The presence of children sometimes led to conflicts with
Lewis, James, and J. Gordon Melton. Sex, Slander, and Salvation:
public officials over child care and schooling. Some Jesus
Investigating the Family/Children of God. Stanford, Calif.,
Movement groups home-schooled their children in an effort
1994. Edited volume with chapters from a number of major
scholars, focusing on changes occurring in this controversial
to inculcate them with the group’s values, thus drawing at-
Jesus Movement group.
tention from local officials. Child-custody battles sometimes
developed, brought on by a parent wanting to divorce his or
Richardson, James T., and Rex Davis. “Experiential Fundamen-
talism.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 51
her spouse and leave the group. The Children of God was
(1983): 397–425. Article focusing on the melding of Chris-
even accused of child sex abuse as a result of the libertine life-
tian fundamentalism with an experiential lifestyle, leading to
style some adult members led for a time. In the 1980s and
some unexpected beliefs and behaviors.
1990s these accusations led to many children being tempo-
Richardson, James T., Mary White Stewart, and Robert Sim-
rary removed from Family homes in different countries, in-
monds. Organized Miracles: A Study of a Contemporary
cluding France, Spain, Argentina, and Australia. The chil-
Youth, Communal, Fundamentalist Organization. New
dren were eventually returned to their families, and in
Brunswick, N.J., 1979. This book describes the second larg-
Australia the government even had to pay damages for the
est Jesus Movement group, Shiloh, from inception through
actions taken toward the children.
the late 1970s.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4854
JEVONS, F. B.
Stewart, David T., and James T. Richardson. “Mundane Materi-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
alism: How Tax Policies and Other Governmental Regula-
Two important works by Jevons not discussed above are Religion
tion Affected Beliefs and Practices of Jesus Movement Orga-
in Evolution (London, 1906) and An Introduction to the Study
nizations.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 67
of Comparative Religion (Cambridge, Mass., 1909). For
(1999): 825–847. This article reports research on how mate-
works about Jevons, I refer the reader to Eric J. Sharpe’s
rial concerns of Jesus Movment groups affected every aspect
Comparative Religion: A History (London, 1975) and Jacques
of group culture, including beliefs.
Waardenburg’s Classical Approaches to the Study of Religion,
2 vols. (The Hague, 1973–1974).
Van Zandt, David. Living in the Children of God. Princeton, N.J.,
New Sources
1991. A detailed report on life in this controversial Jesus
Davies, Douglas. Frank Byron Jevons, 1858–1936: An Evolutionary
Movement group.
Realist. Lewiston, N.Y., 1991.
J
Davies, Douglas. “William Robertson Smith and Frank Byron
AMES T. RICHARDSON (2005)
Jevons: Faith and Evolution.” In William Robertson Smith,
pp. 311–319. Sheffield, U.K., 1995.
GARRY W. TROMPF (1987)
JEVONS, F. B. (1858–1936), was an English classical
Revised Bibliography
scholar. Frank Byron Jevons played a significant role in pop-
ularizing the comparative study of religion in the English-
JEWISH ETHICAL LITERATURE
speaking world during the two decades before World War
SEE
I. Jevons, who was classical tutor at the University of Dur-
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY, ARTICLE
ham from 1882 to 1910, joined R. R. Marett, Andrew Lang,
ON JEWISH ETHICAL LITERATURE
Gilbert Murray, and other Edwardians in applying the theo-
retical formulas of British evolutionist anthropology to the
JEWISH LAW
interpretation of Greco-Roman texts.
SEE HALAKHAH
Magic was his special area of interest; he questioned the
conclusion of James G. Frazer and others that magic neces-
JEWISH PEOPLE. This entry discusses the sociologi-
sarily preceded religion along a unilineal, evolutionary path-
cal dimension of Judaism, in particular “Israel” in the histori-
way. As he put it in his Idea of God in Early Religions (1910),
cal sense of Eam YisraDel (the “people of Israel,” the Israelites).
magic and religion were “two moods” that were different
The article seeks to describe the factors shaping the transfor-
from the beginning. Likewise, prayers and the worship of
mation of Jewish peoplehood from the biblical period to
gods were phenomena that were originally separate from
modern times.
(and apparently as ancient as) spells and fetishism.
The Jews constitute a fellowship mandated and sus-
tained by the Jewish religious tradition, a fellowship viewed
Jevons’s most widely read work in England was An In-
in modern times as a social entity in its own right. In what
troduction to the History of Religion (1896; 2d ed., 1902),
sense Jewry is to be considered a nation or ethnic group de-
complemented in the United States by his Hartford-Lamson
pends on how these terms are defined. The Hebrew terms
Lectures on comparative religion for the American Board of
for nation, goi, le Eum, and above all Eam, were applied to the
Foreign Missions in 1908 (revised and published in 1910
collectivity in the Bible, where Israel is said to be “like all the
under the title Comparative Religion). A liberal Anglican, Jev-
nations” (1 Sam. 8:5) yet “a people dwelling alone and not
ons thought that the religious quest of humanity reflected
reckoning itself among the nations” (Num. 23:9). This con-
the divine will, and he maintained that all religions had their
ceptual duality reappears in later eras.
fulfillment in Christianity. He argued that Buddhism was
not a religion but an etiolation of tendencies already present
Historical circumstances periodically intruded on the
in ancient Brahmanism. Religious evolution, he believed,
parameters of membership in the Jewish people. From time
was above all the process by which the truth of monotheism
to time, uncertainty and even conflict have occurred as to
came to be discerned. Following his appointment as profes-
who is a Jew (and who is not) according to Jewish law and
sor of philosophy at the University of Durham in 1910, his
more informal mores, the criteria for inclusion, the theologi-
books on Evolution (1910), Personality (1913), and Philoso-
cal significance of Jewish survival, and exactly which religious
phy (1914) all find him espousing a species of nonmaterialist,
actions or principles of faith were required of a Jew. Affected
creative, and dispersive (i.e., social) evolutionism influenced
by changes in the historical context and worldly status of
by Henri Bergson.
Jewry in its homeland and in the Diaspora, religious thinkers
have interpreted the nature and destiny of Israel in various
Jevons was principal of Hatfield Hall, Durham, from
ways. This article seeks to explore the evolving conception
1896 to 1923, and from there he corresponded with many
of that fellowship, real and ideal, with special attention to the
scholars. His obvious theological orientation and evolution-
relationship of Jewish peoplehood to other faith communi-
ism have led to a decline of interest in his work since World
ties that have emerged from the Israelite religious matrix and
War I.
to modern concepts of ethnicity.
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JEWISH PEOPLE
4855
The Jewish religious fellowship can be illuminated by
The principle of living in a condition of exile (galut) and
comparative considerations. Cultural variation between the
awaiting ultimate redemption was a key subjective element
various branches of Jewry for many centuries was virtually
in the self-identity inculcated by the tradition and constantly
as great as that of the various branches of Christendom and
reinforced by the Jewish liturgy. At the same time, however,
Islam. A similar congruence of peoplehood and religion is
there has been the conspicuous presence of the Jewish people
found in some national forms of Christianity (e.g., the Arme-
in the primary narratives of Christianity and Islam. In the
nian, Coptic, and Ethiopic Churches). The boundary be-
New Testament the Jewish people are depicted as having
tween Judaism and Christianity has remained firm, however,
spurned Jesus as the Messiah, even though he and his disci-
unlike the aforementioned instances of subgroups within the
ples were Jews. In the QurDa¯n the Jews are depicted as having
Christian church. The centrality of salvation through Christ,
rejected Muh:ammad as the “seal of the prophets,” even
along with related creedal and doctrinal formulations, facili-
though he acknowledged the divine source of their sacred
tated a theology of the universal church that was different
book and certain features of Jewish belief and worship.
from the bonds sustaining the Jewish people. Most impor-
Acknowledgment by Christianity and Islam that the
tant, Judaism resisted definition by creedal formulation. In
Jewish people have played an extraordinary role in the histo-
its emphasis on the centrality of religious law rather than sal-
ry of salvation, even when accompanied by doctrines that
vation through faith in a messiah and sacramental grace, Ju-
God had subsequently bestowed grace on another elect peo-
daism has a closer structural affinity to Islam. The “nation
ple, expressed the ambivalent attitudes toward Jewry of
of Islam” is both a subject of religious law (four distinct sys-
Christian and Muslim religious authorities: confirmation of
tems of them) and conveys a sense of being a multinational
Jewish specialness together with the scandal, if not outright
corporate body, even though in Islam’s early history it was
anger, that the “stiff-necked” Jews denied self-evident
in fact a religion of the Arabs and only afterwards became
(Christian or Muslim) truths. Conviction of possessing that
the religion of Persians, Turks, and subsequently many other
truth and resulting disdain or even anger facilitated the im-
peoples. Judaism never became the ruling religion of an em-
position of social and legal restrictions on Jewish status and
pire or a congeries of states as did Islam, but Judaism is a
helped to rationalize periodic anti-Jewish persecutions.
“world religion” in its geographical and cultural diversity—
However, the peculiar conspicuousness of the Jewish people
and its impact in world history.
in the formative Christian and Muslim stories indirectly
One major reason for the unique character of the Jewish
served to confirm the continued singularity of the Jewish
communal bond was the quite different historical and politi-
people. In some sense (although not the Jewish sense), Israel
cal situation of Judaism and the Jews from that of Christen-
was central to God’s plan for history in both Christianity and
dom and Islam. The origins of the Jewish people in ancient
Islam. The specialness of this role is a cardinal element of the
times predated the development of many of the central ideas
Jewish tradition itself, and therefore a crucial reason for Jew-
and eventual customary practices of its religion. A consider-
ish survival.
able portion of the Hebrew Bible is the story of how the core
Another issue sometimes raised in connection with Jew-
of Israelite religion came into being. The mature religious
ish peoplehood is whether Judaism should be characterized
tradition maintained the people’s identity even when the
as universalistic or particularistic. Judaism—more properly,
Jews, in antiquity and later, were a small percentage of the
Torah in its broad sense as divine “instruction”—holy teach-
population of the lands of their residence. At least since
ing and action, is both. Gaining ultimate authority from the
the last century before the common era, the Jews had become
conviction that it is derived from revelation, Torah includes
to a great extent a Diaspora population. Other peoples and
sacred literature and venerable religious practices (the key
religions have had diasporas, but the Jewish Diaspora is re-
rabbinic terms are mitsvot, or commandments; halakhah, the
markable for its geographical dispersion and its ability to sur-
correct way or religious law; and minhag, or custom). The
vive under many circumstances. (Indeed the term diaspora
values inculcated by rabbinic legal rulings and preaching as
was first used in Jewish history.) After the fall of the Has-
these unfold in time, as well as the understanding of the
monean kingdom of Judea in the first centuries BCE, except
human condition expressed in Jewish religious teachings, are
for the short-lived conversion of two medieval ruling elites
also Torah. Torah articulates concepts about God in relation
to Judaism, there was no sovereign Jewish state until 1948,
to nature and history: that deity is one, eternal, creative, tran-
a duration of almost nineteen centuries. The political factor
scendent as well as immanent, revelatory, and personal—
in these centuries of Jewish history involved semiautono-
although Jewish religious thought has brought forth a variety
mous communal institutions of various types, buttressed by
of sometimes quite complex theological explications of these
the Gentile state and under the leadership of Jewish figures
and other fundamental beliefs.
accorded authority in matters of legal exegesis and the right
to issue authoritative interpretations. Therefore, during the
At the same time the rabbinic idea of Torah as instruc-
long course of Jewish history in the Diaspora, common desti-
tion requires that there be a certain people among the nations
ny and cohesiveness were maintained by a usual set of forces
of the world that exists to study and practice Torah as the
internal and external to the Jewish community working in
raison d’être of its existence (and even of the existence of the
tandem to facilitate the continuity of the Jewish tradition.
universe, in rabbinic thought). The notion of a people elect-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4856
JEWISH PEOPLE
ed by God to receive the complete set of his commandments
the context of the traditional synagogue service, an “Israelite”
hallows the people and locates their special role in the con-
is a Jew called to the reading of Scripture who is not a descen-
text of world history. Judaism conceives of this election not
dant of the priests or the Levites.)
as a preordained, passive reception of revelation but as an ac-
Yet another relevant term is EIvri (Hebrew), which
tive electing by the people to accept the “yoke” of Torah and
probably referred at first in the Hebrew Bible to a social sta-
the commandments. Thus, Jewish religious thought inter-
tus rather than to ethnic or Gentilic identification (this pri-
prets the mundane factuality of the people’s existence as ex-
mary usage of Hebrew—as, for example, in Ex. 21:2—may
pressing a joyful, voluntarily assumed obligation and respon-
have had a philological relationship to the second-
sibility. These introductory remarks indicate some of the
millennium social category called in Akkadian the habiru).
complexities of Jewish peoplehood as fact and ideal, which
Several biblical instances when Hebrew can be construed as
will be dealt with separately in the following.
referring to an Israelite or to the ancestor of an Israelite (Jon.
NAMES FOR THE JEWS AND JUDAISM. In the Jewish tradition,
1:8; Gen. 4:13) and as recalling Eber, a descendant of Noah’s
the Jewish people as a socioreligious entity is designated Eam
son Shem (Gen. 10:21, 11:14) may have led to its eventually
Yisra Del (the people of Israel), benei YisraDel (children of Isra-
becoming a synonym for the Israelites, and therefore their
el, Israelites), beit Yisra Del (house of Israel), keneset YisraDel
language. In the nineteenth century in some European coun-
(assembly of Israel, in rabbinic literature), or simply as
tries, Hebrew became a polite equivalent for Jew, which had
Yisra Del (Israel). In the Hebrew Bible the patriarch Jacob, re-
acquired negative connotations; in the twentieth century the
named Israel after wrestling with a divine being in Genesis
positive force of Jew was regained in English, German, and
32:28, is the eponymous ancestor of the people of Israel
other languages (but not in Russian).
through his progeny, the founders of the Israelite tribes. In
COLLECTIVE EXISTENCE IN ANCIENT ISRAELITE RELIGION.
contrast, a native of the modern state of Israel (medinat
A main theme of the Pentateuch is how, against the back-
Yisra Del), which possesses Christian and Muslim as well as
ground of world history in the first part of Genesis, Eam
Jewish citizens, is usually rendered by the modern Hebrew
Yisra Del came into being: a chain of narratives sets the stage
adjective Israeli (Yisra Deli). The term Jew (Hebrew, Yehudi)
for the enumeration of Israel’s corporate duties to its God,
is etymologically derived from Judah (Yehudah), the eponym
YHVH (probably vocalized as Yahveh), after the Exodus dur-
of the tribe of Judah.
ing its wanderings in the wilderness. Accordingly, the ances-
According to the biblical account, around 922
tors of the children of Israel had lived in the land of Canaan
BCE the
ten northern tribes rejected Solomon’s son as ruler and
as clans for several generations until they settled in Egypt,
formed the “kingdom of Israel” (mamlekhet Yisra Del). Only
were enslaved, and after Moses’ confrontation with the pha-
the tribal territories of Judah and Benjamin and the Davidic
raoh, were redeemed by YHVH, who brought them to the
capital of Jerusalem remained loyal to the dynasty founded
wilderness of Sinai. There they entered a binding agreement
by Solomon’s father, David, early in the tenth century, thus
with their God—a covenant that included a strict prohibi-
becoming the separate, southern kingdom of Judah (mamlek-
tion against worshiping other gods (Ex. 20:2–6). The theme
het Yehudah). When the northern kingdom was conquered
of liberation from exile and return to Zion becomes a princi-
by Assyria in 722
pal biblical model for future hopes of redemption. (Other
BCE, its population was deported and ap-
parently assimilated, except for those who took refuge in
biblical themes that served as paradigms for the Jewish peo-
Judah. The southern kingdom was destroyed by Babylonia
ple’s traditional understanding of its history later included
in 586
repeated cycles of sin followed by repentance and experiences
BCE, but the Aramaic cognate Yahud remained the
name for the region around Jerusalem in the Persian Empire.
of persecution followed by salvation.)
In Esther 2:5 the term Jew refers to a member of the whole
The Hebrew Scriptures represent a selection of the liter-
people, even someone of the tribe of Benjamin; in Esther
ature produced by and for the people of Israel mainly in the
8:17 and 9:27 the term refers to the act of Gentiles joining
Land of Israel and over as many as eight to ten centuries.
the Jews in some unspecified way. The Greek form Ioudaia
Modern historiography on the origins of the people in the
was used in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms and for
context of the nations and social movements of the second
the independent Jewish commonwealth established by the
millennium BCE involves considerable uncertainty as to the
Hasmoneans in the second century BCE. The Latinized form
exact relationship of the direct ancestors of the Israelites to
was Judaea.
such ancient groups as the Amorites and the Hyksos, wheth-
er the proto-Israelites worshiped YHVH before the Exodus
By Hellenistic times the term Jew (Greek, Ioudaios; He-
(compare Ex. 6:3 with Gen. 4:26), and the extent to which
brew, Yehudi) had become a name not only for subjects of
large numbers of Canaanites joined an Israelite tribal associa-
the Hasmonean state but throughout the Diaspora for those
tion in the thirteenth or twelfth centuries BCE, accepted its
who were adherents of its religious tradition. The term Juda-
deity, and were absorbed in the Israelite people.
ism for the distinctive religion of the Judeans used in Helle-
nistic times is first found in 2 Maccabees 2:21 and 14:38.
The exclusive divine authority of YHVH in relation to
While accepting the term Yehudi, Jewish religious literature
the collective existence of Israel is reflected in various and
continued to prefer Yisra Del, benei YisraDel, and so forth. (In
fundamental aspects of ancient Israelite religion. For exam-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH PEOPLE
4857
ple, Israelite tradition went to considerable lengths to disas-
ing of the idealized role of the people in world history. While
sociate ownership of the land of Canaan from the right of
sustaining the concepts of a specific holy mountain (e.g., Joel
conquest. Israelite settlement was said to have been made
4:1), holy city (Isa. 2:3), and land of YHVH (Isa. 10:24)—all
possible by YHVH as Israel’s supreme ruler; the Land of Isra-
of which can be referred to poetically as Zion—exilic proph-
el was a territory on which the people could become a nation
ecy justified autonomous Israelite survival outside the pre-
akin to other nations but devoted to carrying out its cove-
cincts of these sacred spaces. (Contrast David’s much earlier
nantal duties. The corporate aspect of landownership can be
complaint that Saul banished him so that he could no longer
seen in the provision that land sold by individuals was to be
serve YHVH, 1 Sam. 26:19.) The exilic prophecies in the lat-
returned periodically to the family to whom it was “original-
ter part of the Book of Isaiah portray the people as God’s ser-
ly” allocated (Lev. 25:2, 25:23).
vant, a “light to the nations” that God’s salvation be known
to the ends of the earth (Isa. 49:6), anticipating that all Gen-
Not only the framework, but a substantial portion of the
tiles will eventually worship YHVH, who “makes weal and
covenantal duties preserved in the Pentateuch refer to Israel
creates woe” (Isa. 45:7), bringing about universal peace and
as a collective entity. Moral and legal obligations included
justice. (See relevant prophecies concerning a universal “End
many stipulations that regulated relations between sectors of
of Days” in Isa. 2:1–4; Mic. 4:1–4; Isa. 45:14, 45:22–24,
Israelite society in addition to individual behavior. Besides
56:3–8; Zech. 8:20–23.)
offerings expressing personal thanksgiving or contrition, sac-
rifices are presented to God by the priests on behalf of the
The decisive difference between the historical develop-
people to express collective gratitude or to expiate collective
ment of Israelite religion and those of other ancient Near
sin (e.g., Num. 28:2; Lev. 16:30). Ethical duties on the Israel-
Eastern peoples was Israel’s monotheistic elevation of its God
ites individually and as members of families are complement-
to the status of the only deity, the sole creator of heaven and
ed by responsibilities to the “widow, orphan, and stranger,”
earth, supreme ruler of the world, and judge of all history—
for which Israel as a whole is responsible (Exod. 22:21–22).
presumably a development that grew out of the unique com-
The demand to create an equitable and just society figures
bination of elements and features that comprised the early
prominently in the classical prophets.
history of the Israelite people. Pre-Mosaic sources of the Isra-
elite cult of YHVH are uncertain. Unlike other Near Eastern
Throughout the history of the Israelite kingdoms, pro-
deities (Sin, Adad, Ishtar, Dagan, and so forth), YHVH did
phetic messengers warned the people that if these collective
not have temples and shrines dedicated to him in various
obligations were not fulfilled, YHVH could take away the
widely scattered localities around the Near East. YHVH was
land he had given them and force them into exile (e.g., Amos
not incorporated into any other pantheon, confirming the
3:2, 7:11). This belief is reinforced by natural and military
attitude of the biblical authors that YHVH’s name and repu-
disasters affecting the people as a whole. The destruction of
tation in the world depended solely on Israel. The dating of
the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE was interpreted
a full-fledged biblical monotheism has been a matter of long-
in this manner by the so-called Deuteronomic movement,
standing scholarly controversy. For our purposes, determin-
which probably acquired the opportunity to carry out an ex-
ing when in Israelite history “other gods” came to be viewed
tensive program of religious reforms in the kingdom of Judah
as nondivine (in the biblical terminology, “idols,” “the work
in the 620s (2 Kings 22–23; 2 Chron. 34). The heart of the
of men’s hands”) is less important than the fact of the eventu-
Book of Deuteronomy very likely reflects the position of this
al emergence, in the course of the intellectual development
group, which emphasized that the corporate responsibility of
of ancient Israel, of an explicit, sweeping, and radical demo-
Israel accepted at Sinai was binding on all their descendants,
tion of other deities and elevation of one God, an action un-
which was said to include (almost) all of the population of
precedented in the history of ancient religion (Isa. 45:5–7).
the late-seventh-century kingdom of Judah: to love YHVH,
This transformation was accompanied by the reinterpreta-
obey his commandments, avoid any taint of idolatry, wor-
tion of traditions concerning the human and Israelite past,
ship him in the place—that is, Jerusalem—where he would
rather than a dismissal of those traditions, from a monotheis-
“cause his name to dwell,” where his only house and sacrifi-
tic perspective.
cial altar were to be constructed (e.g., Deut. 6:4–5, 12:1–14).
The last redaction of the traditional material concerning
When Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586
human origins and the formative eras of Israelite history
BCE, the explanation offered was that the idolatry of the past,
from the standpoint of radical monotheism may not have oc-
especially the later kings subservient to Assyria, such as Ma-
curred until the postexilic period. The return to Zion of a
nasseh, had condemned the people to exile but that God
portion (but not all) of the Babylonian exiles in the late sixth
continued to love them and held out a sure promise of re-
century and again in the midfifth century BCE laid the
demption (2 Kings 24:3–4; Jer. 29). The experience of exile
groundwork for the revival of Jerusalem, its Temple, and the
in Babylon brought to the fore the prophetic theme of the
land of Judaea in late Persian and Hellenistic times. By then
eternal nature of the covenant between YHVH and Israel.
Judaism had become a religion centered on a Scripture that
The religiosity of the exilic community was marked by an
defined the Jews as God’s treasured possession, “a kingdom
acceptance of the divine causation for the people’s exile, a
of priests and a holy people” (Ex. 19:4–6), necessary for his
pervasive regret for the sins of the ancestors, and a heighten-
universal plan and goals.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4858
JEWISH PEOPLE
FROM BIBLICAL ISRAEL TO THE CHRISTIAN AND RABBINIC
in the Diaspora, which occurred in Judea as well (including
ISRAELS. The corporate and the individual dimensions of Is-
episodes of forced conversions by two Hasmonean kings).
raelite faith were further developed in succeeding centuries.
Formal conversion to Judaism was a new phenomenon
Closely associated with the corporate aspect of salvation is
in Jewish life. Previously, non-Israelites had been accepted
the messianic idea (buttressed by various scriptural verses and
into Israel on an individual basis (the Book of Ruth, which
prophecies concerning the end of days, the permanence of
may date from postexilic times, contains one such account).
the Davidic dynasty, and the kingship of God) that there
A contrary instance is depicted in accounts in the books of
would arise a completely just, God-inspired king to rule Isra-
Ezra and Nehemiah demanding that the Judahites of their
el and establish everlasting peace and harmony in the world.
time separate themselves from their non-Israelite wives (Neh.
The individualistic dimension of postscriptural Judaism
9:2, 13:3). At that time there was also a rejection of the in-
took the form of each person’s accountability to carry out the
habitants of Samaria (the heartland of the former northern
mitsvot, including some that had primarily been the duty of
kingdom of Israel) who worshiped YHVH but were consid-
the priesthood earlier. Individual immortality became a
ered not of the seed of preexilic Israel but rather foreign set-
widely accepted doctrine of Judaism perhaps in the second
tlers brought in by Assyria almost three centuries earlier (2
century BCE (a late biblical allusion to the resurrection of the
Kings 17:29–34). (The Samaritans became the first religious
dead is Dan. 12:2, most likely dating from the Maccabean
tradition that stemmed from the biblical matrix but was sep-
revolt; compare 2 Macc. 7:9, 7:14, 9:29). Personal immortal-
arate from the Jewish people.) At the beginning of the com-
ity was soon absorbed into most branches of Judaism (except
mon era, however, proselytism seems to have become a com-
the Sadducees) and was made binding in the second of the
mon occurrence (see, for example, Matt. 23:15; Acts 2:5; and
Eighteen Benedictions (Shemoneh EEsreh, the EAmidah) that
B.T., Shab. 31a). In addition to formal conversion, which
Jewish males were to recite three times daily. Jewish eschato-
probably entailed circumcision for males, immersion, and
logical teachings of the last centuries
the offering of a special Temple sacrifice, there is mention
BCE and the first century
of pagans, referred to in ancient inscriptions as “God-
CE, for all their flux and uncertainty, emphasized the crucial
significance of Israel (“And the kingdom and the dominion
fearers,” who followed one or another element of the Jewish
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
tradition, such as the Sabbath (Josephus, Against Apion 2.39;
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High,”
Tacitus, Histories 5.5).
Dan. 7:27) and the transcendent value of membership in it.
The last two centuries BCE and the first century CE were
(The classical formulation came to be that, with some nota-
a period of intense religious ferment, when new Jewish
ble exceptions, “All Israel has a share in the world to come,”
schools of thought and new elites competed with each other:
San. 10.1) In what became the traditional formula, “this
Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, early Judeo-
world” (ha- Eolam ha-zeh) of history will be climaxed by the
Christians, apocalyptic visionaries in Judaea, and Hellenized
coming of the King-Messiah and a utopian messianic age.
philosophies (such as that of Philo of Alexandria) in the Di-
And this world is transcended by another realm, “the world
aspora. (There is no convincing evidence that Jewish reli-
to come” (ha- Eolam ha-baD), where the guilty will be con-
gious authorities in the late Second Temple period con-
signed to a merited punishment for their sins and the righ-
demned dissident groups for “blasphemy” or persecuted
teous of all generations will be eternally rewarded with the
them for anything like heresy.) By the end of the first century
radiance of the divine presence. In addition, control of the
CE, or at least by the late second century, after the last of the
religious calendar designating when crucial holy days occur
Jewish revolts against the Romans, rabbinic Judaism crystal-
seems to have been an issue (as it was at times in the later
lized out of the Pharisaic movement, while Christianity be-
history of Judaism as well) seriously threatening the unity of
came fully separated from the Jewish people.
Israel.
After the Samaritans, Christianity was the second reli-
Membership in the people of Israel was drastically trans-
gious tradition that remained loyal to the witness of the He-
formed during the last centuries BCE and the first century CE
brew Scriptures but came to constitute a distinct community
with the emergence of formal procedures for conversion. By
of faith. Christian writings held that the Jews ignored the
the time of the Jewish revolt of 66–70 CE against the Romans
Messiah and were collectively responsible for his death
in Judaea, a majority of Jews were probably residing in the
(Matt. 13:57, 27:25). Crucial elements in the parting of the
Diaspora, either in Persia under the Parthians (the Jewish
ways between Judaism and Christianity were the former’s re-
community of Babylonia, dating from the exile of the sixth
jection of Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah and Christianity’s re-
century BCE) or in the Hellenistic kingdoms and, later, the
jection (after a few years of uncertainty) of Jewish law. In
Roman Empire (Antioch, the cities of Asia Minor and Euro-
what became the dominant Christian formulation, apparent-
pean Greece, Alexandria and elsewhere in Egypt, as well as
ly articulated first by Paul of Tarsus, Torah law was held to
Rome and other locations around the Mediterranean). These
have been divinely inspired but superseded by the atoning
new communities had been founded by Jewish settlers who
death of Jesus, the Christ (Greek for anointed, the root
had left Judaea for a variety of political and economic reasons
meaning of the Hebrew mashi Dah), who made available a full
but were significantly augmented by conversions to Judaism
salvation that had been prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures
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and that was not possible under “the law” (Gal. 3–4). By the
scendants and that God had special love for gerim. To be
end of the first century CE, to the basic Jewish prayers was
sure, a few sages are quoted as expressing suspicion of the
added a benediction against sectarians (birkat ha-minim),
motives and behavior of proselytes as conditions in the
which some historians believe was devised to exclude Chris-
Roman Empire deteriorated. The prevailing position was
tians from the synagogue.
that prospective converts should be warned that “this people
was debased, oppressed, and degraded more than all other
By then most Christians were not of Jewish descent but
were pagans converted directly to Christianity. This princi-
peoples.” If they persisted, they were to be accepted with joy:
pled negation of Jewish law, especially ritual law, ceremonial
“To whom are you cleaving? Happy are you! To him who
practice, and kashrut, meant that experiencing the presence
spoke and the world came into being” (Gerim 1.1–5).
of Jesus as the Christ, accompanied by baptism, was the por-
From the early fourth century CE on, however, Jewish
tal into the Christian people, now defined as the “new Israel”
proselytizing was anathema to the Christianized or Islami-
of the spirit (e.g., Acts 10; Rom. 9–11). In particular, the Jew-
cized state; the Roman emperor Constantine made conver-
ish requirement of circumcision was rejected and baptismal
sion to Judaism punishable by death, and a similar prohibi-
immersion redefined as one’s spiritual rebirth as a Christian.
tion was part of the so-called Pact of Omar defining the
(According to rabbinic law, conversion is also a rebirth; the
status of Christians and Jews under Islam.
convert to Judaism terminates former family ties and is con-
sidered in the category of a newborn child. See Gerim 2.6.)
Certainly external obstacles were usually determinative
In the New Testament, Christianity viewed the Hebrew
in discouraging more than a trickle of conversions to Judaism
Scripture through the concept of its fulfillment in Christ. For
from the early Middle Ages until the twentieth century.
rabbinic Judaism, the Torah as divine law was a permanent
There were also, however, internal factors. Christianity
feature of creation, a dynamic and ongoing process of articu-
viewed proselytism as its mission with a far greater intensity
lating the tasks of God’s people in history. Judaism viewed
than did Judaism, and the church fathers insisted with far
the written law of the Hebrew Scriptures as part of a compre-
more rigor that there was no salvation outside the church.
hensive Torah that included the oral tradition as well—an
Rabbinic doctrine held that only the Jewish people had
oral law that was partly redacted in the Mishnah, God’s
knowledge of and were bound by the full complement of di-
“mystery” given only to Israel around 200 CE (Pesiqta D Rab-
vine commandments, but that there were seven Noahic laws
bati 14b).
binding on all humanity (usually enumerated as the prohibi-
Eventually, the church did not reject the idea of reli-
tions of idolatry, blasphemy, bloodshed, sexual sins, theft,
gious law as such (it developed its own to regulate creeds,
and eating a limb of a living animal, together with a positive
holy days, family status, religious hierarchies, and so forth),
commandment to establish a legal system; B.T., San. 56a).
but the Christian theological rejection of the eternally bind-
On the salvation of non-Jews, the normative Jewish doctrine
ing character of Torah law meant the sharp separation of Eam
became the opinion of YehoshuEa that the “righteous of all
Yisra Del by the Jewish self-definition and the “new Israel” ac-
nations have a share in the world to come” (Tosefta, San.
cording to the Christian viewpoint. The two conceptions of
13.2).
holy peoplehood thus reflect the two contrasting modes of
Who was Jewish according to rabbinic law? Since the
relating to the Hebrew Scripture as holy; Christianity in late
second century
antiquity pushed much further than Judaism the figural, alle-
CE the child of a Jewish mother and a Gentile
father is a Jew, but the child of a Gentile mother and a Jewish
goric, and symbolic interpretation of Old Testament figures,
father is a Gentile. This matrilineal principle is alluded to in
institutions, and prophecies.
the Mishnah (Qid. 3.12), which deals with marriages valid
PEOPLEHOOD IN RABBINIC JUDAISM AND MEDIEVAL JEW-
and invalid according to halakhah and the status of the off-
ISH THOUGHT. According to rabbinic Judaism, Israel com-
spring thereof. The relevant Talmudic ruling (addressed to
prised the direct, physical descendants of the remnant of the
the male) was Yonatan’s that “your son by an Israelite
preexilic people, augmented by those non-Jews who had ac-
woman is called your son, but your son by a heathen woman
cepted the yoke of the commandments and were adopted
is not called your son but her son” (B.T., Qid. 68b); the later
into the Jewish people through the conversion rituals re-
commentators emphasize the positive conclusion that the
quired by Torah as interpreted by the rabbis. The biblical
offspring of a Jewish woman is a Jew (see Moses Maimoni-
term ger (stranger, resident alien, sojourner) was understood
des’s Code of Law, Forbidden Intercourse 12.7). Various ex-
to refer to a proselyte—a ger tsedeq in contrast to a ger
planations, sociological and historical, have been offered for
toshav—who had rejected idolatry but not accepted the full
the adoption of the principle of matrilineal descent, includ-
burden of the mitsvot.
ing the influence of Roman law and the impossibility of con-
Even though most Jews were (and still are) Jews by
firming paternity. However, in premodern times the regula-
birth, conversion is unquestionably a legitimate mode, in
tion was not of widespread practical consequence, since it
Jewish religious law, of acquiring the status of being a full
was unlikely that many Jewish men would marry non-Jewish
member of the people of Israel. There are traditions that
women who did not formally convert but would rear their
some of the most eminent rabbis were proselytes or their de-
children as members of the people of Israel.
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JEWISH PEOPLE
In halakhah, Jews who converted to another religion
in Ruth Rabbah (1.1) ascribes to God the statement that if
were still considered Jews, although there are differences of
Israel had not accepted the Torah, the world would have re-
opinion among the authorities over their specific halakhic
verted to void and destruction. A homily in Exodus Rabbah
rights. The relevant Talmudic principle was that such a per-
(47.3) attributes to God the statement that if this people had
son was a sinful Jew: “An Israelite, even though he sinned,
not accepted his Torah, he would not look upon them more
remains an Israelite” (B.T., San. 44a). Thus the Jewish com-
than other idol worshipers. (The Talmudic dictum that
munity accepted the return of Jews who had been forcibly
“anyone who repudiates idolatry is called a Jew” [B.T., Meg.
baptized during the First Crusade in Europe, but acts of pen-
13a], based on the biblical identification of Mordecai of the
itence and rituals of purification were required.
tribe of Benjamin as a Yehudi [Judean] in Esther 2:5, uses the
term Jew in a theologically idealized, nonethnic, purely hom-
Impossible as it was in theory to leave the Jewish people,
it was not so in fact. Although there might be psychological
iletic sense.) It was a merit for the Jews to have accepted the
costs in apostasy, there could be tangible advantages to leav-
Torah, but ever since Sinai it was Israel’s raison d’être to obey
ing a group that was of subordinate legal status and subject
the 613 commandments contained in it. In contrast to the
to periodic persecution. Individual Jewish converts were wel-
common Christian distinction of late antiquity and the Mid-
comed by Christian and Muslim authorities. Only in certain
dle Ages between the “religious” and the laity, the goal of
situations when large numbers of Jews were pressed into con-
rabbinic Judaism was to raise all Israel to the level of masters
verting, such as in the Iberian Peninsula in the 1390s and
of Torah, transforming the community into an academy, as
again in the 1490s, did problems arise on the Christian side.
it were, for the study and practice of Torah.
In Spain there occurred a brutal “Old Christian” backlash
Despite a Diaspora stretching from the Atlantic to cen-
against “New Christian” or converso (sometimes labeled mar-
tral Asia and eastward and from the Baltic to the Sahara and
rano [Spanish for pig]) families, whose Christian faith was
beyond to Ethiopia, medieval Judaism did not become mul-
for many centuries considered suspect merely because of
tinational in quite the sense that Christianity or Islam did.
their Jewish bloodline. Procedures for readmitting to the sta-
Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Em-
tus of Jews descendants of conversos several generations later
pire in the fourth century CE, followed by the conversion of
was a halakhic problem that concerned rabbis in Jewish com-
the Frank, Germanic, Nordic, and Slavic peoples in the Mid-
munities in North Africa, Ottoman Turkey, Amsterdam,
dle Ages; Islam expanded beyond the Arab purview with the
and elsewhere.
conversion of Persians, Berbers, and Turks (and later of peo-
Supplementing the halakhic problem of who was and
ples in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia), often spear-
who was not a Jew was the aggadic problem of why there was
headed by their rulers. There were only two medieval in-
a people of Israel. Idealization of the chosenness of the Jewish
stances where Judaism was adopted as the religion of a state:
people is evident in Jewish religious literature as epitomized
sixth-century Yemen briefly and the Khazar kingdom on the
in the benediction recited in the synagogue before the read-
Volga between the eighth and tenth centuries. A wide diver-
ing of the Torah: “Blessed art thou, Lord our God, ruler of
sity of Jewish subcultures did emerge: Jewries in the Middle
the universe, who chose us from all the nations and gave us
East that were largely the continuation of the ancient home-
the Torah.” The givenness or factuality of being a Jew—that
land and Diaspora communities; Iranian and Kurdish Jews;
Jews found themselves thrown into a Jewish destiny—was
Jewish tribal groups in the Caucasus Mountains; the various
acknowledged in some coolly realistic Talmudic statements.
Jewish communities of India and China; Berber Jews in the
Expounding the biblical verse “And they stood at the nether
Maghreb; Provençal and Italian Jews; Sephardic Jews in the
part of the mount” (i.e., Israel at Mount Sinai; Ex. 19:17),
Iberian Peninsula; Ashkenazic Jews in northern France,
Avdimi bar H:amaD bar H:asaD explained that the Holy One,
the Rhineland, and later eastern Germany, Poland, and Lith-
blessed be he, tilted the mountain over the Israelites like a
uania; and other communities with their own distinctive cus-
cask and said, “If you accept the Torah, well and good; and
toms, dialectics, liturgies, and practices. As a result, in daily
if not, there shall be your burial” (B.T., Shab. 88a). Most
life medieval Jews spoke a wide variety of languages—Greek
sages rejected this notion on the grounds that receiving the
and Aramaic; Persian and Arabic; Spanish, French, and Ger-
Torah under coercion could nullify the obligation to observe
man—and they developed distinctive Jewish dialects of these
it. The rabbinic aggadah continues in the line of a theological
languages, such as Ladino (a Jewish form of old Spanish) and
idealization of the people by emphasizing the collective re-
Yiddish (a Jewish form of Middle High German), Hebrew
sponsibility of all members of the people to each other and
being maintained for literary and liturgical purposes.
to God and the absolute centrality of Israel’s collective pres-
Some branches of medieval and early modern Jewry
ence in universal history. In a discussion concerning divine
produced sophisticated courtier and banking classes and in-
punishment, the principle is enunciated that “all Israel is
tellectual elites trained in the natural sciences and Aristote-
surety one for the other” (B.T., Shav. 39a). Israel conciliates
lian and Neoplatonic philosophies, whereas other Jewries
God only when it is one unity (B.T., Men. 27a).
were predominately folk cultures overwhelmingly engaged in
According to rabbinic teaching, the Jewish people fulfill
menial occupations. Although in certain regions the Jewish
God’s plan that his presence indwells in the world. A homily
population was large, compact, and had an agricultural or
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4861
village component (e.g., the Galilee and Babylonia in late an-
eval Judaism: the Karaite movement of the eighth and ninth
tiquity), political conditions under Christian and Muslim
centuries CE in the Middle East. Calling for a return to the
rulers necessitated that Judaism sustain itself increasingly as
literal meaning of the Scriptures (Hebrew, mik Drah, from
the religion of an urbanized minority mostly limited to crafts
which the Karaites got their name) and denying the authority
and trade (the specific list of the economic roles open to Jews
of the rabbis and the Talmud, the Karaites separated them-
differed widely from land to land and from era to era). In
selves from mainstream Judaism, developing their own reli-
northwestern and eastern Europe, Jewish communities were
gious law based on biblical precedents. Religious authority
founded and enlarged by Jews invited to settle in frontier
and the sources of divine law were the cruxes of the Karaite-
areas, where the rulers considered them economically useful.
Rabbinite conflict, although there may have been socioeco-
However, given the interweaving of religion and the state in
nomic forces operating as well. Nevertheless, there were at-
the countries in which medieval and early modern Jews resid-
tempts, by Moses Maimonides (Mosheh ben Maimon,
ed, a Jewry could maintain itself only if permitted consider-
1135/8–1204) and others, to encourage close contacts be-
able legal autonomy—although the extent to which the Jew-
tween the two religious communities. In modern times some
ish leadership was dependent on the Gentile rulers or derived
Karaite groups have closely identified with the Jews (the Kar-
its authority solely from the consent of local Jewish commu-
aites in Egypt), whereas others disassociated themselves (the
nities varied considerably.
Karaites in the Ukraine).
Through all of their history, the Jewish people, there-
Theorizing about the nature of the Jewish people was
fore, were hardly characterized by cultural or economic ho-
not an especially important theme in medieval Jewish philos-
mogeneity. A sense of Jewish unity, inculcated by the prayers
ophy but was implied in various formulations of the purpose
and religious law and by the Hebrew Bible and other literary
of Jewish existence. In some streams of speculative Jewish
works, was reinforced by the common condition of being a
thought, Jewish peoplehood was embedded in a theology
minority: a minority with a profound, if disputed, connec-
that conceived of Judaism as an eminently rational faith, its
tion to the formative narratives of the ruling (Christian or
doctrines of the oneness of God, the createdness of the uni-
Islamic) religion; a minority enjoying a precarious social sta-
verse, the rational component of prophecy, and the reason-
tus inasmuch as it was always susceptible to persecution but
ableness of the commandments being logically justified by
for considerable stretches of time better off than the local
categories and arguments derived from ancient Greek philos-
peasants and serfs; a minority with considerable training (es-
ophy as glossed by Jewish, Muslim, and Christian writers.
pecially through the Babylonian Talmud) in adjusting to liv-
For SaEadyah Gaon, “our nation of the children of Israel is
ing under Gentile governments while preserving the conti-
a nation only by virtue of its laws” that, because they are di-
nuity of Jewish law; a minority possessing a far-flung
vine, can never be abrogated: “The Creator has stated that
Diaspora network linked together by scholars, traders, and
the Jewish nation was destined to exist as long as heaven and
other Jewish travelers and a steady stream of Jewish migra-
earth would exist, its law would, of necessity, have to endure
tion, sometimes westward, sometimes eastward; and above
as long as would heaven and earth” (Gaon, 1948, p. 158).
all a minority that defined itself as central to the history of
Torah, as consonant with right reason and authentic revela-
creation.
tion, provided the most reliable, expeditious, and truthful
The religious self-definition of the Jewish tradition,
means to serve God, the raison d’être of Israel.
transmitted through Scriptures, rabbinic law and lore, and
Maimonides presented Judaism as derived from Abra-
the siddur, reiterated the sanctity of being Yisra Del, Eamkha
ham’s great insight into the divine nature:
(your people, as addressed to God who “has chosen his peo-
ple Israel in love”). This God, who “because of our sins exiled
His father and mother and the entire population wor-
us from our land,” nevertheless “remembers the pious deeds
shiped idols . . . but his mind was busily working and
of the patriarchs and in love will bring a redeemer to their
reflecting until he had attained the way of truth, appre-
children’s children for his name’s sake.” He will “gather the
hending the correct line of thought, and knew that
there is One God, that He guides the celestial Sphere
dispersed of your people Israel . . . break the enemies and
and created everything. . . . When the people flocked
humble the arrogant . . . rebuild Jerusalem as an everlasting
to him [in the land of Canaan] and questioned him re-
building and speedily set up therein the throne of David”
garding his assertions, he would instruct each one ac-
(from the Shemoneh EEsreh, basic to the Jewish liturgy) and
cording to his capacity till he had brought him to the
“will remove the abominations from the earth, and the idols
way of truth. . . . And so it went on with ever increas-
will be utterly cut off when the world will be perfected under
ing vigor among Jacob’s children and their adherents
the kingdom of the Almighty and all the children of flesh will
till they became a people that knew God. (Mishneh
call upon your name, when you will turn unto yourself all
Torah, Idolatry 1.2)
the wicked of the earth . . . for the kingdom is yours and
Addressing a proselyte who asked if he could pray to the God
to all eternity you will reign in glory” (from the EAleinu
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the “God of his fathers” (the
prayer at the conclusion of each service).
first of the Eighteen Benedictions), Maimonides wrote that
Indicative of the bonds maintaining a sense of Jewish
“Abraham our Father, peace be with him, is the father of his
peoplehood until modern times is the major schism of medi-
pious posterity who keep his ways, and the father of his disci-
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JEWISH PEOPLE
ples and of all proselytes who adopt Judaism” (Letter to Oba-
whelming transformation of modernizing societies and the
diah the Proselyte). He or she who believes in the basic princi-
drastic shift in meaning of the term nation in Western and
ples of the Jewish faith, as Maimonides defined them, “is
westernized societies. Previously, in many Western lan-
then part of that ‘Israel’ whom we are to love, pity, and treat,
guages, nation had loosely designated a community connect-
as God commanded, with love and fellowship”—otherwise
ed by ties of birth and common geographical origin. Toward
he or she is an atheist, heretic, and unbeliever (Introduction
the end of the eighteenth century and especially during the
to Pereq Heleq [Sanhedrin 10.1]). For Maimonides, those
era of the French Revolution, nation acquired a more specific
who affirm the unity of God as the cause of causes come as
connotation in relation to political geography and the nexus
close as humanly possible to grasping divinity as such.
of sovereignty: the nation came to apply to the citizenry as
a whole, in contrast to the “political nation” of the ancien
A second tendency in medieval Jewish thought was to
régime, which was limited to the wellborn and the elite.
emphasize the supermundane nature of Israel. In the philo-
sophical tradition the exemplary exponent of this position
Inasmuch as revolutionary France and, later, other
was Yehudah ha-Levi, who suggested that “Israel among the
modernizing countries forged the unity of the nation-state
nations is like the heart amid the organs of the body,” at once
by dissolving the remnants of traditional estates and semiau-
the sickest and the healthiest of entities, exposed to all sorts
tonomous corporate entities, the extension of legal equality
of diseases and yet possessing through its relationship to the
to all citizens had profound implications for Jewish identity.
“divine influence” a unique proclivity that manifested itself
As modern nationalist movements and ideologies called for
as the gift of prophecy (Yehudah ha-Levi, 1946, p. 109). In
the self-determination of one nation after the other on geo-
another of ha-Levi’s images, Israel is the seed “which trans-
graphical, cultural, linguistic, and historical grounds, the sta-
forms earth and water into its own substance,” carrying this
tus of the Jews, now on the road to legal and political eman-
substance from stage to stage until it brings forth fruit capa-
cipation—and apparently to economic and social
ble of bearing the divine influence, so that the nations who
integration—appeared exceptional and problematic. The al-
at least follow part of God’s law pave the way for the Messiah
most seamless web of sociology, halakhah, and aggadah that
and will become God’s fruit (Yehudah ha-Levi, 1946,
had supported traditional Jewish peoplehood for centuries
p. 227).
began to unravel.
The supernatural conception of Israel reached its apogee
In September 1791 the French revolutionary assembly
in Qabbalah, the medieval mystical tradition that originated
acknowledged the citizenship rights of all French Jewry—
in southern France and northern Spain. Thus, in a discussion
Sephardic and Ashkenazic. In 1807 Napoleon invited a body
of the mitsvot in the basic qabbalistic text, the Zohar, circum-
of lay leaders and rabbis to clarify the status of the Jews of
cision is a perquisite for carrying out the surface meaning of
his realm with respect to the accusation that they were a “na-
the divine regulations (although to be circumcised only and
tion within the nation.” In defense of their rights, an Assem-
not carry out the precepts of the Torah is to be like a hea-
bly of Jewish Notables (and the following year a group given
then); the deeper mystery is to understand that Torah, God,
the grandiloquent title of Sanhedrin) distinguished between
and Israel are indissolubly linked (Zohar, Leviticus, 73b).
the religious requirements of Judaism, held to be timeless
Drawing on ancient Midrashic teachings about Israel’s cen-
and absolute, and the political dispositions of biblical society,
tral role in the cosmos and on medieval Neoplatonic meta-
no longer applicable “since Israel no longer forms a nation.”
physics, the qabbalists taught an esoteric doctrine that Israel’s
In effect, large areas of Torah law that dealt with civil and
carrying out of the commandments has direct, puissant ef-
criminal matters were inoperative, and the fiscal and semipo-
fects on the highest spheres of Being. Fulfillment of the com-
litical autonomies that the Jewish communities had been
mandments by Israel with the proper intention (kavvanah)
awarded were acknowledged as no longer feasible—all this
overcame forces making for cosmic disharmony, effecting
occurring at a time when the theological assumptions in
unifications (yihudim) in the realm of divinity. After the ex-
which all traditional religious faiths were grounded were
pulsions from the Iberian Peninsula in the 1490s, the impact
slowly being undermined by forms of thought influenced di-
of the Qabbalah spread, protecting Judaism against loss of
rectly or indirectly by modern science and technology.
morale and providing a solace in times of degradation. In the
The course of Jewish emancipation in one Western
sixteenth-century Lurianic version of Qabbalah, the exile of
country after another had to overcome considerable opposi-
Israel was paralleled by the exile of God, while the ingather-
tion by those who held to the Christian basis of the state or
ing of the sparks of divinity achieved by fulfilling the mitsvot
who continued to insist on the cultural alienness of the Jews.
can be seen as the metaphysical analogue of the eventual in-
During the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century,
gathering of Israel at the climax of history. The implications
Jews in central Europe tended to define Jewry as a purely reli-
of these qabbalistic doctrines were felt in the seventeenth-
gious body whose positive mission in the Diaspora was to
century messianic movement surrounding Shabbetai Tsevi
preserve the doctrines of pure ethical monotheism. The na-
and, in a different way, in eighteenth-century Hasidism.
tional or ethnic component seemed to some, especially in
THE MODERNIZATION OF JEWISH PEOPLEHOOD. The crisis
Germany, to be obsolete. In their rejection of the traditional
of traditional Jewish peoplehood coincided with the over-
messianic notion of a particularistic Jewish redemption (the
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JEWISH PEOPLE
4863
ingathering of the exiles to Zion, the rebuilding of the Tem-
through cultural or theological reform because these traits
ple in Jerusalem, the reinstitution of the Davidic monarchy),
were psychobiological in origin. Some anti-Semites held that
German Jewish Reformers preferred to eliminate these sym-
even Christianity was infected with a Jewish virus.
bols from the liturgy, just as they preferred the language of
The period between 1881 and 1914 also saw the reap-
the land in worship at the expense of Hebrew and otherwise
pearance of physical attacks on the Jews (the pogroms in
sought to assure Jews and their neighbors that they were
Russia), restrictive quotas in education, blood libels of a me-
“Germans of the Jewish faith” or even “Germans of the Mo-
dieval type in which Jews were again accused of killing Chris-
saic persuasion.” To support this redefinition it was some-
tian children for ritual purposes, and anti-Semitic congresses
times argued that nationhood had been a necessary aspect of
and political parties. These and other elements were to be
the emergence of ethical monotheism in biblical times and
synthesized by Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist German
had been the preservative of the truths of Judaism in the
Workers’ Party (Nazis), founded in Germany after World
Middle Ages, but in an enlightened age, when Judaism
War I, which came to power in 1933 with fatal results for
would come into its own as a progressive, universalistic faith,
the six million European Jews caught in Nazi-dominated Eu-
it did not need an ethnic integument. Jewish unity was not
rope during World War II.
of a political but of a spiritual character that in no way con-
travened the loyalty of Jews to their secular fatherlands.
Zionism gained urgency from the spread of modern
anti-Semitism but had roots in the Jewish tradition as well.
Such ideas were echoed in almost all the trends of nine-
Zionism sought to reconstitute the Jewish peoplehood in a
teenth-century Jewish thought in Europe and America that
tangible sociopolitical community rather than in the ideal-
welcomed emancipation as a just and humane move to recti-
ized versions of much previous nineteenth-century Jewish
fy the humiliation and segregation inflicted on Jewry for cen-
thought. From the mid-nineteenth century on, and especial-
turies and to recognize the historical role and intrinsic worth
ly after 1881, Zionist ideologues argued that one’s Jewish-
of Judaism. These conceptions of Jewish peoplehood were
ness should not be based on a mission of Israel to convey
influenced not only by the novel political and social situation
pure ethical monotheism to the world, as some of the Ger-
of modern Jews but also by the growth of Jewish historical
man Jewish reformers had proposed, but on natural pride in
scholarship that accompanied the emergence of Wissenschaft
one’s heritage and a healthy desire to identify with one’s peo-
des Judentums (the modern scientific, or scholarly, study of
ple rather than assimilating to one or another of the national-
Judaica). Having gained an appreciation of how Jewish reli-
isms of Europe.
gious institutions and ideas had undergone development in
This assertion of Jewish ethnicity in a secular rather than
the course of time, some historians, and especially Jewish in-
religious sense produced a broad continuum of movements
tellectuals in eastern Europe toward the end of the nine-
in eastern Europe by the beginning of the twentieth century.
teenth century, turned to the Jewish collectivity as a social
Jewish socialism championed economic justice as well as
fact in its own right. Moreover, modern transportation and
emancipation for the Jewish working class, advocating
community facilitated the transformation of the Jewish peo-
sweeping Jewish ethnic and cultural rights. The Jewish
ple on a mundane level. As Lloyd P. Gartner noted, “In the
Workers Bund of Russia, Poland, and Lithuania was sympa-
middle of the nineteenth century emancipated European
thetic to an ideology of Diaspora Jewish nationalism that
Jews took the first steps toward converting the intangible re-
called for legally recognized rights of the Jews as a European
ligious conception of ‘community of Israel’ (knesset Yisra Del)
cultural minority. Alongside Zionism, a Jewish “territorial-
into the tangible reality of international Jewish organization,
ist” organization looked for a land other than Palestine as the
bound together by newspapers, philanthropy, and new range
setting for a Jewish state. There was a growing interest in
of organizations for the defense of the Jews in dangerous
Jewish social and economic history and in the folklore of
parts of the Diaspora” (Gartner, 2001, p. 147).
eastern European Jews and of the Sephardic communities.
Just as the earlier phase of modern Jewish thinking had
A literary renaissance in Hebrew and Yiddish produced a rich
been influenced by the struggle for emancipation, so this
body of novels, drama, poetry, and prose in those languages.
phase was increasingly influenced by the rise of modern anti-
Many of these secular concerns were also manifested in
Semitism, the growth of nationalist movements among the
the world Zionist movement established in 1897 to create
peoples of eastern Europe, and the emergence of modern Zi-
a modern Jewish home in the ancient homeland of the Jew-
onism. The term anti-Semitism was coined in the 1870s to
ish people. Zionism embraced the ideas that a Jewish home-
indicate that dislike of the Jews was supposedly not for reli-
land would serve as a creative center for the revitalization of
gious reasons but was a defense against “Semitic” aliens act-
Jewish cultural values in modern form, that anti-Semitism
ing as a corrupting, dominating force in the national organ-
was a symptom of the abnormality of Jewish life in the Dias-
isms of Europe. Drawing on the medieval negative image of
pora that could only be cured with Jewish “self-
the Jews as Christ-killers and allies of Satan, the new anti-
emancipation” made possible by a Jewish commonwealth,
Semitic ideologies assumed a variety of forms, economic, po-
and that cooperative farming communities and a vigorous
litical, and cultural. Racist anti-Semitism insisted that the
labor movement in the Land of Israel was the expression of
sinister characteristics of the Jews could never be corrected
a social revolution among the Jewish masses. Religious forms
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4864
JEWISH PEOPLE
of Zionism developed as well. In post–World War I Europe,
rects attention to the legitimacy of religious pluralism within
and especially after the Nazis came to power in Germany,
the Jewish people—a conspicuous fact in parts of the Dias-
the goal of a Jewish refuge—a home that the Jews could go
pora but not in the State of Israel. In the United States the
to by right when threatened with political persecution, eco-
question of who is a Jew has been raised in connection with
nomic discrimination, or physical extermination—became
children of intermarriages where the non-Jewish mother does
an increasingly urgent concern.
not convert to Judaism; the Reform and Reconstructionist
movements, but not the Conservative and Orthodox, have
The thrust of modern thinking around the theme of
argued for a recognition of patrilineal descent under certain
Jewish peoplehood in the twentieth century emphasized,
circumstances. Underlying the question of who is a Jew is
therefore, the notion of kelal Yisra Del (the wholeness of the
the issue of the contemporary authority of halakhah: how,
people of Israel). An influential American Jewish ideology
to what extent, and by whom will Jewish religious law be
that emphasizes cultural pluralism, Judaism as a civilization,
adapted to modern times. Behind all these specifics, howev-
and the centrality of Zion together with the international
er, is the question of the transcendent meaning of Jewish
character of kelal Yisra Del is that of Mordecai Kaplan, who
peoplehood, which will surely remain a delicate and pro-
insisted on the continued relevance of Jewish religious values
found subject for Jewish theologians.
but denied on principle that the Jews were the “chosen peo-
ple.” Other American Jewish theologians rejected Kaplan’s
SEE ALSO Anti-Semitism; Christianity; Conservative Juda-
effort to normalize the Jewish tradition by stripping Jewish
ism; Essenes; Hasidism; Holocaust, The, article on History;
peoplehood of a transcendent uniqueness. After World War
Israelite Religion; Judaism; Kaplan, Mordecai; Karaites;
II, and especially by the late 1960s, “ethnicity” (a slippery
Marranos; Orthodox Judaism; Paul the Apostle; Qabbalah;
concept, difficult to define) was more easily acknowledged
Reform Judaism; Sadducees; Samaritans; Torah; Zealots; Zi-
as a positive force in Jewry in and of itself (as it has been
onism.
among other groups), while belonging to the Jewish people
has been assumed a far more voluntaristic character, ex-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
pressed in a wide range of ways and unusual forms. After the
Three classic histories of the Jewish people are Heinrich Graetz’s
Holocaust came noticeable improvement in Jewish-
Geschichte der Juden von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegen-
Christian understanding. And with the greater acceptance of
wart, 11 vols. (Leipzig, Germany, 1853–1876), translated by
Judaism and the social integration of Jews came a consider-
Bella Löwy and Philipp Bloch as History of the Jews, 6 vols.
(Philadelphia, 1891–1898); Simon Dubnow’s Vsemirnaia
able increase in the United States in the numbers of converts
istoriia evreiskogo naroda, 10 vols. (Berlin, 1924–1939),
to Judaism.
translated by Moshe Spiegal as History of the Jews, 5 vols.
The establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 brought
(South Brunswick, N.J., 1967–1973); and Salo W. Baron’s
a new series of issues to the fore concerning Jewish member-
A Social and Religious History of the Jews, 2d ed., 18 vols.
(New York, 1952–1983, plus the index for vols. 9–18,
ship and meaning. Will Israel, as a secular Jewish state, be
1993). The history of Judaism in relation to the Jewish peo-
fully legitimized in the international family of nations? And
ple is covered in David Biale, ed., Cultures of the Jews: A New
in what does the Jewishness of the state of Israel consist?
History (New York, 2002); Jacob Neusner and Alan J. Avery-
What is to be its relation to the religious dimension of the
Peck, eds., The Blackwell Companion to Judaism (Oxford,
Jewish heritage? The question of personal Jewish status has
2000, 2003); and Martin Goodman, ed., The Oxford Hand-
been raised several times in Israel’s courts of law in connec-
book of Jewish Studies (Oxford, 2002). Pertinent to the Jewish
tion with the law of return, which grants all Diaspora Jews
people in relation to the changing context of Judaism is S.
immediate Israeli citizenship upon their immigration there.
N. Eisenstadt, Jewish Civilization: The Jewish Historical Expe-
In the case of Oswald Rufeisen, a born Jew who became a
rience in a Comparative Perspective (Albany, N.Y., 1992). A
Catholic priest, the supreme court of Israel ruled that al-
stimulating perspective on these transformations is Efraim
though Rufeisen was a Jew by halakhah, his acceptance of
Shmueli, Seven Jewish Cultures: A Reinterpretation of Jewish
History and Thought (Cambridge, U.K., 1990).
Catholicism excluded him from the Jewish people, and
therefore he was not to be granted automatic Israeli citizen-
An overview of the historiography of the origins of the people up
ship. In the 1968 Shalit case, involving children of a non-
to and including the settlement in Canaan is George W.
Ramsey’s The Quest for the Historical Israel (Atlanta, 1981).
Jewish mother who were raised as nonreligious Jews, the chil-
The uniqueness of Israelite monotheism is defended by Ye-
dren were not allowed, on purely secular grounds, to be regis-
hezkel Kaufmann in The Religion of Israel: From Its Begin-
tered as Jews on their identity cards.
nings to the Babylonian Exile, translated and abridged by
The twenty-first-century definition of “who is a Jew” re-
Moshe Greenberg (Chicago, 1960). An earlier work by Kauf-
mann explains the primary role of religion in Jewish survival
flects a mix of halakhic principles and informal Jewish atti-
until modern times, Golah ve-nekhar, 2d ed., 2 vols. (Tel
tudes. Yet another issue involves whether the State of Israel
Aviv, 1954). On Jewish and Christian self-definition in an-
will continue to recognize as authentically Jewish those Jews
tiquity, see Lawrence H. Schiffman’s Who Was a Jew? Rab-
converted in the Diaspora not according to Orthodox au-
binic and Halakhic Perspectives on the Jewish-Christian Schism
thorities or strict halakhic procedures—that is, by Reform,
(Hoboken, N.J., 1985). On biblical, Jewish, and Christian
Conservative, and Reconstructionist rabbis. This in turn di-
uses of the name Israel, see Samuel Sandmel’s The Several Is-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH RELIGIOUS YEAR
4865
raels (New York, 1971). Early halakhic aspects are treated by
JEWISH PHILOSOPHY SEE JEWISH
Shaye J. D. Cohen in “The Origins of the Matrilineal Princi-
THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY, ARTICLE ON
ple in Rabbinic Law,” Association for Jewish Studies Review 10
PREMODERN PHILOSOPHY
(Spring 1985): 19–53. The theological views of classic rab-
binic Judaism are treated in Ephraim E. Urbach’s The Sages:
Their Concepts and Beliefs, 2d enl. ed., 2 vols., translated by
JEWISH RELIGIOUS YEAR. The Hebrew word
Israel Abrahams (Jerusalem, 1979), see especially chapter 16.
h:odesh, used in the Bible for “month,” means “that which
Medieval Jewish views of Jewish identity in a Christian environ-
is renewed” and refers to the renewal of the moon. Hence
ment are discussed in Jacob Katz’s Exclusiveness and Toler-
the Jewish calendar is lunar, the first day of each month
ance: Studies in Jewish-Gentile Relations in Medieval and
being RoDsh H:odesh (“head of the month”). Some months
Modern Times (London, 1961). A history of Jewish prosely-
have twenty-nine days, others thirty. When the previous
tism is in Joseph R. Rosenbloom’s Conversion to Judaism:
month has twenty-nine days, RoDsh H:odesh is celebrated as
From the Biblical Period to the Present (Cincinnati, Ohio,
a minor festival for two days; when the previous month has
1978). The branches of the Jewish people around the world
thirty days, it is celebrated for one day. In the Pentateuch
are surveyed in Raphael Patai’s Tents of Jacob: The Diaspora;
(Ex. 12:2), the month on which the Israelites went out of
Yesterday and Today (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1971). Among
Egypt is counted as the first month of the year, so when the
the books on Jewish modernization are Jacob Katz’s Out of
Bible speaks of the third month, the seventh month, and so
the Ghetto: The Social Background of Jewish Emancipation,
on, these are counted from the month of the Exodus. But
1770–1870 (Cambridge, Mass., 1973); Calvin Goldscheider
the festival of Passover, celebrating the Exodus, is said in
and Alan S. Zuckerman’s The Transformation of the Jews
(Chicago, 1984); and Simon N. Herman’s Jewish Identity: A
Deuteronomy 16:1 to fall in the month Aviv (“ripening”).
Social Psychological Perspective (Beverly Hills, Calif., 1977).
This is understood to mean that Passover must always fall
in spring, and thus the Jewish lunar calendar presupposes a
Secular approaches to Jewish nationhood are defended in Simon
natural solar calendar like that used in most ancient societies.
Dubnow’s Nationalism and History: Essays on Old and New
A process of intercalation was consequently introduced to
Judaism, edited by Koppel S. Pinson (Philadelphia, 1958);
enable the lunar year to keep pace with the solar. The meth-
and Ben Halpern’s The American Jew: A Zionist Analysis
od is to add an extra month to seven out of nineteen lunar
(New York, 1956). A gamut of Zionist views, secular and re-
years. During the Babylonian captivity, after the destruction
ligious, are in Arthur Hertzberg, ed., The Zionist Idea: A His-
of the First Temple, the Babylonian names of the months
torical Analysis and Reader (Garden City, N.Y., 1959). Most
were adopted and are still used. These are Nisan, Iyyar,
books that treat the main aspects of Jewish faith discuss the
Sivan, Tammuz (its origin in the name of a Babylonian deity
religious significance of Jewish peoplehood, but among the
was either unknown or ignored), Av, Elul, Tishri,
few important Jewish works that have taken it as their central
theme are Mordecai M. Kaplan’s Judaism as a Civilization:
Marh:eshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat:, Adar. When, in a leap
Toward a Reconstruction of Jewish-American Life (New York,
year, an extra month is introduced at the end of the year,
1934); and Michael Wyschogrod’s The Body of Faith: Juda-
there is an Adar Sheni, or “second Adar.”
ism as Corporeal Election (New York, 1983). A scholarly ac-
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CALENDAR. There was no uni-
count of peoplehood in twentieth-century American Jewish
form method of dating years until the Middle Ages, when
religious thought is Arnold M. Eisen’s The Chosen People in
the current practice was adopted of reckoning from the (bib-
America: A Study in Jewish Religious Ideology (Bloomington,
lical) creation of the world. The French commentaries to the
Ind., 1983). For a collection of statements on “who is a Jew”
Talmud (tosafot to B. T., Git:t:in 80b) observe that in twelfth-
as this question has come to the fore since the establishment
century France it was already an established practice to date
of the state of Israel, see Baruch Litvin, comp., Jewish Identi-
documents from the creation. In the Talmudic literature it
ty: Modern Responsa and Opinions on the Registration of Chil-
is debated whether the creation took place in Nisan (the first
dren of Mixed Marriages, edited by Sidney B. Hoenig (New
month) or in Tishri (the seventh month), but for dating pur-
York, 1956). A succinct treatment of Judaism in the context
poses the latter view is followed, so that the new year begins
of the dilemmas of modernizing religions is R. J. Zwi Wer-
blowsky’s “Sacral Particularity: The Jewish Case,” in his Be-
on the first day of Tishri. This day is the date of the festival
yond Tradition and Modernity: Changing Religions in a
RoDsh ha-Shanah (New Year). Thus the year 1240 CE is the
Changing World (London, 1976). A philosophically sensitive
year 5000 from the creation. Thus 1986 CE from January 1
picture of the nature of Judaism is Leon Roth’s Judaism: A
to October 3 is the year 5746 from the creation; from Octo-
Portrait (New York, 1961).
ber 4 (the date of RoDsh ha-Shanah) it is 5747. This method
of dating is used in legal documents, letters, and newspapers
See also SaEadyah Gaon, The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, translat-
but has no doctrinal significance, so that it does not normally
ed by Samuel Rosenblatt (New Haven, Conn., 1948); Yehu-
disturb traditionalists who prefer to interpret the biblical re-
dah ha-Levi, Book of Kuzari, translated by Hartwig Hirsch-
cord nonliterally to allow for a belief in the vast age of the
feld (New York, 1946); and Lloyd P. Gartner, History of the
earth implied by science.
Jews in Modern Times (Oxford, 2001).
It is generally accepted in the critical study of the Bible
ROBERT M. SELTZER (1987 AND 2005)
that the recurring refrain in the first chapter of Genesis—
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4866
JEWISH RELIGIOUS YEAR
“and it was evening and it was morning”—means that when
The holy days of the Jewish year can be divided into two
daylight had passed into evening and then night had passed
categories: the biblical and the postbiblical, or the major and
into morning, a complete day had elapsed. But the Talmudic
the minor. (Purim, though based on Esther, a book from the
tradition understands the verses to mean that night precedes
biblical period, is held to be a post-biblical festival from this
the day. For this reason the day, for religious purposes, be-
point of view and hence a minor festival.) The first and last
gins at nightfall and lasts until the next nightfall. The Sab-
days of Passover and Sukkot, ShavuEot, RoDsh ha-Shanah,
bath begins at sunset on Friday and goes out at nightfall on
and Yom Kippur are major festivals in that all labor (except
Saturday. The same applies to the festivals. The twilight peri-
that required for the preparation of food and even this on
od is a legally doubtful one, and there is also an obligation
Yom Kippur) is forbidden. On the days between the first and
to extend the Sabbaths and festivals at beginning and end.
last days of Passover and Sukkot, necessary labor is permit-
Jewish calendars, consequently, give the time of the Sabbath
ted. All labor is permitted on minor festivals such as Purim
as beginning just before sunset and as ending when it is fully
and H:anukkah.
dark. Pious Jews, in the absence of a calendar, will keep the
Each of the festivals has its own rituals and its own spe-
Sabbath until it is sufficiently dark to see three average-sized
cial liturgy. On all of them the Hallel (“praise”), consisting
stars in close proximity in the night sky.
of Psalms 113–118, is recited in the synagogue, except on
RoDsh ha-Shanah, Yom Kippur, and Purim. Only part of
Before the present fixed calendar was instituted (in the
Hallel is said on RoDsh H:odesh, when labor is permitted, and
middle of the fourth century CE), the date of the new moon
the last six days of Passover, it being held unseemly to rejoice
was arrived at by observation. If witnesses saw the new moon
by singing the full praises of God since the Egyptians, who
on the twenty-ninth day of the month, they would present
were also God’s creatures, were destroyed. Festive meals are
their testimony to the high court and that day would be de-
the order of the day on the festivals (except, of course, on
clared RoDsh H:odesh, the beginning of the next month. If
Yom Kippur), and the day is marked by the donning of one’s
the new moon had not been observed on the twenty-ninth
best clothes. It is considered meritorious to study on each fes-
day, the thirtieth day automatically became RoDsh H:odesh.
tival the relevant passages in the classical sources of Judaism.
Since the festivals falling in the month are counted from
On the fast days neither food nor drink is taken from sunrise
RoDsh H:odesh, there was always some doubt as to which of
to nightfall (on Yom Kippur and TishEah be-Av, from sunset
two days would be the date of the festival. Except on RoDsh
on the previous night).
ha-Shanah, which falls on the actual day of the new moon,
special messengers could always inform the Jews of Palestine
Following are major dates of the religious year, month
of the correct date of the festival. But for the Jews of the Di-
by month.
aspora, who resided in lands too distant for them to be in-
• 15–22 Nisan (15–23 in the Diaspora): Passover, cele-
formed in time, it became the practice to keep both days as
brating the Exodus from Egypt.
the festival and thus avoid any possibility of error. Even after
the calendar was fixed, the Talmudic sources state, the Jews
• 6 Sivan (6–7 in the Diaspora): ShavuEot, anniversary of
of the Diaspora were advised by the Palestinian authorities
the theophany at Sinai.
to continue to hold fast to the custom of their ancestors and
• 17 Tammuz: Fast of Tammuz, commemorating the
keep the “two days of the Diaspora.” A post-Talmudic ratio-
breaching of the walls of Jerusalem at the time of
nale for the two days of the Diaspora is that outside the Holy
the destruction of the First Temple (587/6 BCE) and the
Land the extra festival day compensates for the absence of
Second Temple (70 CE).
sanctity in the land. The practice in the state of Israel is thus
• 9 Av: TishEah be-Av (Ninth of Av), fast day commemo-
to keep only one day (with the exception of RoDsh ha-
rating the destruction of the First and Second Temples
Shanah), whereas Jews living elsewhere keep two days. There
and other national calamities.
is much discussion in the legal sources on the practice to be
adopted by a Jew living outside Israel who visits Israel for the
• 1–2 Tishri: RoDsh ha-Shanah, the New Year festival.
festival or vice versa. Reform Jews prefer to follow the biblical
• 3 Tishri: Tsom Gedalyah (Fast of Gedaliah), commem-
injunctions only, and they do not keep the two days of the
orating the slaying of Gedaliah as told in Jeremiah
Diaspora. Some Conservative Jews, too, have argued for the
41:1–2 and 2 Kings 25:25, an event that marked the end
abolition of the second day because of the anomaly of treat-
of the First Commonwealth.
ing as a holy day a day that is not observed as sacred in Israel.
• 10 Tishri: Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), the great
THE HOLY DAYS. Similar festivals in the ancient Near East
fast day.
suggest that the biblical festivals were originally agricultural
feasts transformed into celebrations of historical events. The
• 15–23 Tishri (15–24 in the Diaspora): Sukkot (Feast of
most striking aspect of the Jewish religious calendar is this
Tabernacles), celebrating the dwelling in booths by the
transfer from the round of the seasons to the affirmation of
Israelites in their journey through the wilderness after
God’s work in human history—the transfer, as it were, from
the Exodus.
space to time.
• 25 Kislev: first day of H:anukkah (Feast of Rededica-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH RELIGIOUS YEAR
4867
tion), celebrating the victory of the Maccabees and the
Tammuz to TishEah be-Av, the period of mourning for the
rededication of the Temple. H:anukkah lasts for eight
destruction of the Temple and the sufferings of the people
days.
in subsequent ages. In many places the period becomes more
intense from the first of Av in that the consumption of meat
• 10 Tevet: EAsarah be-T:evet (Fast of the Tenth of T:evet),
and wine is proscribed. The other, lesser, period of mourning
commemorating the siege of Jerusalem by Nebucha-
is known as the EOmer period, forty-nine days from the sec-
drezzar before the destruction of the First Temple in
ond day of Passover to the festival of ShavuEot (though, of
587/6 BCE.
course, there is no mourning during Passover itself). The
• 15 Shevat:: RoDsh ha-Shanah le-Ilanot (New Year for
Eomer was a measure of meal brought as an offering in Tem-
Trees), a minor festival reminiscent of the laws of tith-
ple times, and there is a biblical injunction to count these
ing in ancient times. Nowadays, this is a celebration of
forty-nine days (Lv. 23:9–16; known as “counting the
God’s bounty, of thanksgiving for the fruit of the
EOmer”). It has been suggested that the custom of mourning
ground.
during the EOmer has its origin in the ancient belief, held by
many peoples, that it is bad luck to marry during the month
• 13 Adar: TaEanit Ester (Fast of Esther), based on the ac-
of May. The traditional sources state that the mourning is
count in Esther (4:16).
over the death by plague of many of the disciples of EAqivaD
• 14 Adar: Purim (Lots), the festival celebrating the victo-
ben Yosef in the second century CE. The mystics introduce
ry over Haman, who cast lots to destroy the Jews, as told
a different note. There are seven lower potencies or powers
in Esther.
in the godhead, the sefirot, that become flawed as a result of
human sin. Each one of these contains the others as well, so
• 15 Adar: Shushan Purim (Purim of Shushan), based on
that each of the forty-nine days of the EOmer calls for repen-
the account in Esther (9:18) that the Jews in the capital
tance for the purpose of putting right these flaws. The mys-
city of Shushan celebrated their deliverance on this day.
tics of Safad in the sixteenth century held that the eighteenth
MAJOR FESTIVALS AND FAST DAYS. The three festivals of
of Iyyar, the thirty-third day of the EOmer—Lag
Passover, ShavuEot, and Sukkot form a unit in that, in Tem-
ba-EOmer—is the anniversary of the death of the great mystic
ple times, they were pilgrim festivals, when the people came
ShimEon bar Yoh:Dai, a disciple of EAqivDa and the alleged au-
to worship and offer sacrifices in the Temple. The connec-
thor of the Zohar. The belief that at the saint’s death his soul
tion between these three festivals is preserved in the liturgy
became united with its source on high is referred to as “the
in which there are references to the place of each festival in
marriage of ShimEon bar Yoh:Dai.” This day, then, became a
the yearly cycle. Thus, on Passover the reference is to “the
minor festival, and marriages are celebrated on the day.
season of our freedom,” on ShavuEot to “the season of the
giving of our Torah,” and on Sukkot to “the season of our
The day of the new moon, RoDsh H:odesh, is also a
rejoicing,” since Sukkot, as the culmination of the cycle, is
minor festival. From the juxtaposition of RoDsh H:odesh with
the special season of joy. The three major festivals of the
the Sabbath in a number of biblical passages, many biblical
month of Tishri have been seen as a unit of a different kind.
scholars conclude that in ancient times RoDsh H:odesh was
RoDsh ha-Shanah, the first of the three, is seen as the festival
a major festival on a par with the Sabbath. Nowadays, how-
of the mind, when people reflect on their destiny and resolve
ever, the day is marked only by festivities in a minor key and
to lead a better life in the coming year. Yom Kippur, the day
by liturgical additions. An old custom frees women from the
when the emotions are stirred, is seen as the festival of the
obligation to work on RoDsh H:odesh, and this might be a
heart, because it is the day of pardon and reconciliation with
vestige of the ancient sanctity the day enjoyed. The official
God. Sukkot, the third in this triad, involves active participa-
reason given is that women refused to participate in the mak-
tion in the building of the booth and eating meals there, and
ing of the golden calf and were, therefore, given an extra holi-
is seen therefore as the festival of the hand. Thus, head, heart,
day. In the mystical tradition the moon symbolizes the
and hand are demanded in the service of God.
Shekhinah, the female element in the godhead, the counter-
part on high of the community of Israel, awaiting the re-
The days between RoDsh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur,
demption of the Jewish people and of all humankind with
inclusive, are known as the Ten Days of Penitence. This is
harmony restored throughout all creation. The waxing and
a solemn season of reflection on life’s meaning and sincere
the waning of the moon is thus a powerful mythological sym-
repentance. Similarly, the whole month of Elul, the last
bol. The Safad mystics consequently introduced a new ritual
month of the old year, is a penitential season in preparation
for the eve of RoDsh H:odesh. This day is known as Yom Kip-
for the solemn period at the beginning of the new year. RoDsh
ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur are consequently known as
pur Qatan (Minor Yom Kippur). As the name implies, it is
Yamim NoraDim, the Days of Awe.
a time of repentance and, for some, fasting.
MINOR FESTIVALS AND FAST DAYS. In the annual cycle there
There are a number of other lesser feasts and fast days.
are two periods of mourning during which marriages are not
The Fast of the Firstborn has its origins in the early Middle
celebrated and tokens of mourning are observed. The first
Ages. In Exodus (13:1–16) it is related that the firstborn of
of these is the three-week period from the seventeenth of
the Israelites have a special sanctity because God spared them
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JEWISH RENEWAL MOVEMENT
when he killed the firstborn of the Egyptians. Thus the cus-
York, 1979). A useful introduction to the traditionalist
tom of fasting on the eve of Passover, 14 Nisan, developed.
mood of thought on the significance of the festivals is Seasons
Generally, nowadays, the firstborn, instead of fasting, attend
of the Soul: Religious, Historical and Philosophical Perspectives
a study session during which a tractate of the Talmud is com-
on the Jewish Year and Its Milestones (New York, 1981), ed-
pleted. To partake of a festive meal on this occasion is held
ited by Nisson Walpin. Similar meditations on the Jewish
to be a religious obligation that overrides the obligation to
calendar year by a famous nineteenth-century Orthodox
theologian are to be found in Judaism Eternal: Selected Essays
fast.
from the Writings of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, vol. 1,
Some pious Jews fast on the Monday, Thursday, and
translated from the German original by Isidor Grunfeld
following Monday after the festivals of Passover and Suk-
(London, 1956), pp. 3–152. Ha-mo Eadim ba-halakhah (Je-
kot—Beit HeD Beit (“Two, Five, Two,” referring to the days
rusalem, 1980) by Shlomo Y. Zevin is a particularly fine and
of the week). The reason given is that it is to atone for any
popular treatment of the legal principles behind the obser-
vances of the festivals and fast days. Part of this work has
untoward frivolity during the lengthy festival period.
been published in English translation: The Festivals in Ha-
In many Jewish communities the burial of the dead is
lachah, translated by Meir Fox-Ashrei and edited by Uri Ka-
attended to by a voluntary organization, whose membership
ploon (New York, 1981). Solomon Ganzfield’s Code of Jew-
is granted only to the most distinguished applicants. This or-
ish Law (Qitsur Shulhan Earukh): A Compilation of Jewish
ganization is known as the h:evrahD qaddishaD(“holy brother-
Laws and Customs, vol. 3, annot. & rev. ed., translated by
Hyman E. Goldin (New York, 1961), is a comprehensive
hood”). The members of the h:evrahD qaddishaD observe a fast
and clearly written but very pedestrian account.
on the seventh of Adar, the anniversary of the death of
Moses, to atone for any disrespect they may have shown to
LOUIS JACOBS (1987)
the dead. But on the night following the fast they celebrate
their privileged position by holding a special banquet.
There are also minor festivals observed by particular
JEWISH RENEWAL MOVEMENT. The Jewish
groups. For instance, on the analogy of Purim, many com-
Renewal movement is one of the most recent and creative
munities delivered miraculously from destruction celebrate
expressions of Judaism’s continued attempt to mold itself to
ever after their day of deliverance as a “Purim.” For example,
the contours of modernity. It is, in many respects, an indige-
the Hasidic master ShneDur Zalman of Lyady (1745–1813),
nous American religious movement but is expanding into a
founder of the Habad school of Hasidism, was released from
global Jewish phenomenon. This multifaceted development
prison in Russia on the nineteenth of Kislev, after his arrest
in contemporary Judaism is hard to categorize. It has the au-
on a charge of treason, and his followers observe this day as
dacity of a reformation, the passion of a revival, and the opti-
a festival.
mism of a renaissance. Its critique and reconstruction of Ju-
Two modern institutions are Yom ha-ShoDah (Holo-
daism not only occupies the realm of ideas but reaches down
caust Day) on 27 Nisan, marking the destruction of six mil-
to the organizational structure of Judaism in the Diaspora.
lion Jews during the Nazi period, and Yom ha-AtsmaEut (In-
For most of the twentieth century Judaism in America
dependence Day) on 5 Iyyar, the celebration, especially in
developed along denominational lines. Each denomination
the state of Israel, of the Israeli declaration of independence
has its own autonomy, its own rabbinical academies, its own
on that date. In many religious circles this day is treated as
fund-raising structure. The separation of church and state in
a full yom tov, and the Hallel is recited.
America has enabled American Judaism to develop its own
institutional and spiritual apparatus without any serious
SEE ALSO H:anukkah; Judaism, articles on Judaism in Asia,
Judaism in Northeast Africa; Passover; Purim; RoDsh ha-
threat of one community dominating another. Renewal
Shanah and Yom Kippur; Shabbat; ShavuEot;
emerged from this denominational bedrock but has chal-
Sukkot.
lenged the denominational structure. It is, perhaps, the pre-
lude to, or first-fruits of, a postdenominational Judaism in
America, growing out of the dissatisfaction many Jews have
BIBLIOGRAPHY
with the present ideological and practical structure of Juda-
The articles “Calendar, History of” and “Calendar” in the Jewish
Encyclopedia (New York, 1906) are still the best general ac-
ism in the Diaspora, in North America in particular.
counts. The article “Calendar” in Encyclopaedia Judaica (Je-
ORIGINS. There are many factors that contribute to the
rusalem, 1971) contains more detail but is so technical as to
breakdown or transformation of denominational Judaism in
be incomprehensible to all but the experts, who will have no
America and the emergence of a new approach to religion
need for it. Hayyim Schauss’s Guide to the Jewish Holy Days,
and culture. Three of the most prominent direct factors are
translated by Samuel Jaffe (New York, 1962), is a survey,
from the rationalistic standpoint, with critical and historical
the maturation of American Jews who did not experience
notes. More traditional are Abraham P. Bloch’s The Biblical
firsthand the devastation of European Jewry in the Holo-
and Historical Background of the Jewish Holy Days (New York,
caust; the rise of a generation of Jews (many second genera-
1978) and Abraham Chill’s The Minhagim: The Customs and
tion Americans) who were dissatisfied with the materialism
Ceremonies of Judaism, Their Origins and Rationale (New
and spiritual vacuity of mid- to late-twentieth-century Amer-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH RENEWAL MOVEMENT
4869
ican Jewish life; and the shock-waves of the American coun-
its numerous branches around the United States are often
terculture, including the importation of Eastern religions to
viewed as the first organized communities of the Jewish Re-
the American continent. More specifically, it is possible to
newal movement. Its experimental Judaism extended far be-
pinpoint the beginning of Jewish Renewal in one seemingly
yond its Hasidic origins and beyond even the more re-
benign event.
strained, albeit provocative, communities of Havurat Shalom
(which is still operating) and the House of Love and Prayer
In 1948 the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Joseph Sch-
(which disbanded in 1977; some of its members moved to
neersohn (d. 1950), decided to inaugurate the missionary
a small community in Israel known as Moshav Me’or
wing of his movement by sending emissaries to college cam-
Modiim).
puses. He asked two young disciples, Zalman Schachter
(later Schachter-Shalomi, b. 1924) and Shlomo Carlebach
The Jewish Renewal movement has an umbrella organi-
(1924–1994), to attend a H:anukkah party at Brandeis Uni-
zation called ALEPH, Alliance for Jewish Renewal, which
versity (which opened its door that year) in a suburb of Bos-
has centers worldwide, training rabbis and spiritual leaders
ton, Massachusetts. Zalman and Shlomo (who prefer to be
to serve in its own synagogues and the synagogues of other
called by their first names) took various Hasidic books, tapes,
Jewish denominations. Jewish Renewal activities include an
and religious paraphernalia and attended the party intending
annual Kallah, a kind of Renewal pilgrimage where work-
to spread the message of traditional Judaism. Both were
shops, seminars, and communal celebrations are held in a
raised in Europe, studied there, and were refugees from the
rural setting. The Renewal centers are typical of a progressive
war, Schlomo escaping before the war and Zalman afterward.
experimental movement. They are strongest in places like
What they experienced that winter night at Brandeis Univer-
Berkeley and San Francisco; Boulder, Colorado; New Mexi-
sity was the extent to which young American Jews lived in
co; Boston; New York; Philadelphia; and Los Angeles. Other
an intellectual universe that left no room for tradition the
centers exist in Miami, Florida; Hartford, Connecticut; and
way they envisioned it. They both understood the extent to
Washington, D.C. Much of the training of rabbis and lead-
which unadulterated Hasidism simply could not be sold to
ers is accomplished through mentoring and correspondence.
an American audience raised on liberal democratic ideals.
I
Zalman and Shlomo did different things with that realiza-
NFLUENCES. In many ways Jewish Renewal is a good exam-
ple of late twentieth-century religious syncretism in America.
tion, both of which contributed to Jewish Renewal, but the
It does not intend to start a new American religion or sub-
spark of what would become a new Jewish movement was
religion, yet, in contrast to other Jewish denominations, it
ignited that evening. Zalman’s meditation on those and
freely adopts ideas and practices from other religions, incor-
other events was published as Fragments of a Future Scroll in
porating them into its developing Jewish model of worship.
1975.
Renewal is antiorthodox in that it rejects the very notion that
The next significant manifestations of nascent Jewish
one way can embody the fullness of tradition. It seeks to
Renewal occurred on the two coasts of the American conti-
create a spiritual context that can be utilized by Jews and
nent, in San Francisco and Boston, the former during the
non-Jews alike. In this sense, it is very much a product of
turbulent years of the late 1960s, the latter during its after-
American life, in that it exercises an kind of eclectic creativi-
math in the early 1970s. Shlomo opened what was known
ty, reaching beyond the confines of its own tradition, fully
as the House of Love and Prayer in San Francisco in the late
taking advantage of a society where freedom of religious ex-
1960s, what was, in effect, an early Chabad House—a small
pression is a matter of law. Influences include an amalgam
house, usually rented, run by members of the Chabad Ha-
of classical Jewish pietism, medieval Qabbalah, Hasidism,
sidic sect that functioned as a synagogue, outreach and drop-
the Western version of Buddhism, Islamic Sufism, Christian
in center, and a gathering place for Jews to express their Jew-
monasticism, American pragmatism, Jewish Reconstruction-
ishness in whatever way felt comfortable. During the 1960s
ism, religious existentialism, and progressive American polit-
its purpose was often to provide a spiritual and counter-
ical activism and environmentalism.
cultural Jewish alternative to compete with the myriad spiri-
tualities that were emerging in the Bay Area after the Sum-
The most interesting thing about Jewish Renewal is that
mer of Love in 1967.
it is a decidedly non-Orthodox Judaism built on the pietism
and ritualism of classical Jewish mysticism and Hasidism. It
In the early 1970s, Arthur Green, Zalman, and others
translates these insular forms of Judaism through the lens of
founded Havurat Shalom in Somerville, Massachusetts, an
an American counterculture devoted to progressive politics,
egalitarian, experimental Jewish community devoted to
global concerns, ecumenicism, equality of the sexes, and hu-
study, prayer, and the exploration of Jewish spirituality. Zal-
manitarian universalism. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi em-
man taught and served as Jewish chaplain for numerous years
ploys his vast knowledge of Jewish sources to construct a Ju-
at the University of Winnipeg, and eventually settled in Phil-
daism that is an outgrowth of the American counterculture,
adelphia, founding a community called Bnei EOr (Sons of
presenting Judaism as a religion that can contribute to and
Light). Under the influence of feminism and his commit-
be a source of inspiration for American Jews reared in the
ment to the egalitarian spirit it espoused, he changed its
liberal democratic tradition who have been influenced by the
named to Pnei EOr (Faces of Light). This community and
spiritual renaissance of the 1960s. In many ways, Jewish Re-
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JEWISH RENEWAL MOVEMENT
newal is a pietistic antifundamentalism that is not apologetic
these principles should replace existing restrictions or be
for the tradition but views honest critique as a method of re-
added to them. This kind of debate is common in nascent
building a Jewish spirit lost in the dark ages of Jewish history.
religious reform and is reminiscent of the debate between the
In this sense it sees itself as apostolic, reminiscent of Luther’s
Jewish Christians and Paul regarding the continued efficacy
Protestantism. It is solidly devoted to the concerns of living
of the law after Christ. Some Renewal Jews want to retain
on the planet in a responsible and constructive manner and
a more traditional relationship to Jewish law (halakhah)
views its religiosity in global and activist terms.
while others prefer to remain devoted to ritual yet not bound
by existing legal decisions regarding those rituals and prac-
The most direct and prominent influence on Jewish Re-
tices.
newal is Hasidism, a Jewish pietism from late-eighteenth-
century eastern Europe that transformed world Jewry in the
Ecumenicism and the use of other religious traditions
last two centuries. Both Zalman and Shlomo were trained
and teachings to enhance and revise existing Jewish practice
in the Hasidic tradition and used Hasidic literature as the
is another major aspect of Jewish Renewal. While modern
basis of their Renewal approach. Zalman, who is the archi-
American Judaisms often engage in ecumenical dialogue (be-
tect of this movement, views the message of Hasidism as one
fore September 11, 2001, almost exclusively with Christians)
that can be revamped, revalued, de- and recontextualized to
they usually do not integrate the practices of other religions
complement an era of Jewish inclusiveness and tolerance. In
into their religious life. This speaks to the cautious way in
many ways Martin Buber’s modernization of Hasidism as
which modern Judaisms view the “other” even in a free dem-
Jewish existentialism plays an important role, as does Abra-
ocratic society. Zalman is an ordained S:u¯f¯ı teacher and many
ham Joshua Heschel’s use of Hasidism as a source for his the-
of Jewish Renewal’s constituency practice and teach various
ology of pathos.
forms of meditation, either adapted to Jewish sensibilities or
not.
In his writings Zalman acknowledges his debt to Buber
and Heschel yet seeks to take their initiative in a different
This raises yet another internal debate in this communi-
direction. He does not relate to Hasidism as a movement but
ty common in fledgling religious movements. Should exter-
rather as an approach to Judaism, something that can be re-
nal influences be Judaized or made kosher or should other
valued and express contemporary sensibilities. While Hasi-
rituals and traditions be practiced without any Judaizing pro-
dism is a usable model for this movement, some Renewal
cess? Elat Hayyim, the Jewish Renewal retreat center in up-
thinkers also view Hasidism as limited due to its unwilling-
state New York, holds regular mediation retreats as well as
ness to extend its provocative teachings to their logical con-
more traditional Jewish festival retreats and workshops. Seri-
clusion. This conclusion, which Zalman calls a paradigm
ous engagement with other religious traditions, including in-
shift, is the ideological foundation of Jewish Renewal and
viting masters of other religious disciplines to speak at semi-
will be discussed below.
nars and retreats and adapting some of their practices,
illustrates Renewal’s attempt to break out of the insular
While American forms of Judaism have become fully
framework of traditional and even progressive Judaism.
comfortable with American life, in many respects the par-
ticularistic nature of Judaism and its relationship to the indi-
Underlying this ecumenical approach is a fundamental
vidual have prevented it from engaging in global issues as
belief that all religions hold some basic truths and that dia-
part of its devotional life. While Reform and Reconstruction-
logue between religions, including openly borrowing various
ist Judaism do address global concerns, their social activism
practices, can aid the healing of the planet and enhance reli-
is not as integrated into their devotional practices as in Re-
gion’s contribution to civilization more generally. This kind
newal. A good example is the environmental movement in
of applied universalist particularism is a new phenomenon
America. One of Renewal’s original leaders, Arthur Waskow,
in modern Judaism (most other progressive forms of Juda-
has played a prominent role in contemporary environmental-
ism, religious and secular, focus on Zionism and Israel as
ism. His most popular works, Seasons of Our Joy and Torah
their global outlet). The implication here is that all religions
of the Earth: Exploring 4,000 Years of Ecology in Jewish
have ossified and have lost some of their truth as a result of
Thought, explore the connection between Judaism and en-
historical circumstances and that religious confluence can
vironmentalism.
contribute to reconstructing some of these inherent truths.
Jewish Renewal is sometimes accused of religious syncretism.
One very prominent feature of Jewish Renewal and an
This characterization is misleading, although not entirely
example of its commitment to integrating global issues into
false as the Jewish Renewal movement is making no attempt
its devotional life is the concept of “eco-Kosher.” This idea
to develop a new religion. The starting and end point is al-
suggests that the traditional dietary laws (kashrut) should be
ways Judaism, but it is in fact Judaism transformed out of
augmented to include prohibitions against consuming any
its insular and exclusivist mold.
foods that exploit irreplaceable natural resources; are pro-
duced by companies that pollute the environment, are man-
Another important influence on Jewish Renewal is
ufactured by using abusive labor practices, or support institu-
American pragmatism, viewed through the lens of Mordecai
tions that knowingly disregard environmental concerns. In
Kaplan’s Reconstructionist Judaism. Reconstructionism ar-
Jewish Renewal there are differences of opinion as to whether
gues that Judaism is, first and foremost, a civilization. Jewish
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JEWISH RENEWAL MOVEMENT
4871
law is viewed as a system of folkways that Jews developed in
erally. Lerner’s bimonthly magazine Tikkun can be viewed
order to give themselves a unique identity as a people. These
as a political arm of Jewish Renewal, and many Renewal
folkways must be maintained and protected as the people’s
members write regularly for this publication. Two of Lerner’s
identity is dependent upon them. However, Jewish ritual
books, The Politics of Meaning and Jewish Renewal, offer a
and practice must conform to the sensibilities of the people
vision of Jewish Renewal dedicated to a Jewish approach to
and not be foisted upon them as commandments.
contemporary political issues and crisis (see, for example,
Jewish Renewal, pp. 265–280).
This notion of Jewish practice came to be known as
post-halakhic Judaism, a Judaism devoted to practice but one
Both Lerner and Waskow envision Renewal as contrib-
not based on unalterable and commanded law. Kaplan’s bat-
uting Jewish alternatives to the political arena. What is new
tle was with the liberal Reform Judaism that abandoned law
and important here is that these Jewish resources are not em-
and practice completely and Conservative and Orthodox Ju-
ployed to address issues of Jewish concern but rather to con-
daism that were, in his view, living a law that was outdated,
tribute to global concerns from a Jewish spiritual perspective.
both in form and substance. Kaplan’s influences included
This illustrates the extent to which Jewish Renewal is a uni-
John Dewey and Émile Durkheim. His approach was ratio-
versalized Judaism with humanitarian concerns that extend
nal and pragmatic and not generally metaphysical.
far beyond the narrow boundaries of the Jewish people. This
mixture of universal ideals coupled with a dedication to Jew-
In many ways, Jewish Renewal took Kaplan’s basic cri-
ish practice makes Jewish Renewal a unique phenomenon in
tique of contemporary Judaism and refracted it through Has-
contemporary Judaism.
idism and mystical lenses. Renewal is one type of post-
halakhic Judaism, one that fuses law and custom (not unlike
The progress that Renewal made in diffusing the par-
many premodern Qabbalists) and views the Jewish attach-
ticularistic nature of traditional Judaism, however, is put to
ment to its practices as essential for living an authentic and
the test on the question of Zionism. While there is no official
meaningful Jewish life. While it does view Jewish practice as
Jewish Renewal policy on Zionism, anecdotal evidence sug-
commanded, it views commandedness largely as an out-
gests that most members are Zionist if by that one simply
growth of the desire of the devotee to express love for the
means supporters of the State of Israel’s right to exist. Given
Creator and the creation and expression of Judaism’s role
the prominence of Israel and Zionism in contemporary Juda-
(special but not necessarily unique) in promoting a healthy
ism it is curious that the most sustained statement of Jewish
and organic global community. In other words, Renewal
Renewal, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s article in Paradigm
posits a theory of autonomous commandedness.
Shift, does not contain any serious discussion of Zionism or
the State of Israel.
It is not coincidental that Renewal’s headquarters in the
1970s and 1980s and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Col-
This omission is not insignificant and speaks to way in
lege (RRC) were both located in Philadelphia (a city that was
which Jewish Renewal is really a diasporic religious phenom-
once a center of Conservative Judaism). Nor is it insignifi-
enon (there is a growing Jewish Renewal movement in Israel
cant that Arthur Green, cofounder of Havurat Shalom in
which will no doubt confront these issues differently). While
Somerville, Massachusetts, was president of RRC for ten
the minimalist definition of Zionism would include most of
years. During that time, there was a steady interaction be-
those involved with Jewish Renewal, many of its members
tween these two communities that resulted in, among other
advocate a progressive position on the Middle East crisis, are
things, shared principles and ideals. If one had to cite the
supporters of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, and
strongest influences on Jewish Renewal, Hasidism and Re-
view the occupation as both immoral and spiritually damag-
constructionism would top the list. This odd symbiosis is ad-
ing to Israel as a nation and Judaism as a religion. While
dressed by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi in a chapter entitled
some in the larger Renewal community might not share this
“Neo-Hasidism and Reconstructionism: A Not-Only-
position, this appears to be the one that is dominant. This
Imaginary Dialogue,” in Paradigm Shift, edited by Ellen
is surely the case with Waskow and Lerner, and the platform
Singer.
of Tikkun magazine.
Two other important influences are liberal/progressive
Another important factor in Renewal is its engagement
politics and Zionism. While not a political movement, and,
with Islam. Renewal members, and Zalman in particular,
in many ways, strikingly apolitical, Jewish Renewal is loosely
were early and continuous supporters of a dialogue with Pal-
part of the new Jewish Left in North America. It champions
estinian Muslims, particularly S:u¯f¯ıs. They were quite suc-
progressive political positions on the environment, war, pov-
cessful in opening lines of communication between Jews and
erty relief, world hunger, AIDS, women’s issues, globaliza-
Muslims on matters of spirituality and politics, particularly
tion, and unilateral aggression. The two most prominent ac-
in the 1960s when there was almost no serious Jewish–
tivists in this area of Renewal are Arthur Waskow and
Muslim dialogue. As progressive leftists, most sympathize
Michael Lerner. Both 1960s radicals who adopted Judaism
with the plight of the Palestinian civilian population and
as a center of their spiritual and political lives, Waskow and
view Israel as an occupying power in the territories.
Lerner have been outspoken about many issues, both nation-
Organizations like the New Jewish Agenda, the Abra-
al and international, concerning Jews and society more gen-
ham Fund, and Seeds of Peace, while not formally a part of
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4872
JEWISH RENEWAL MOVEMENT
Jewish Renewal, are influenced by it. Renewal’s stance on the
theism (or deism) of past eras has now evolved into a panthe-
crisis in the Middle East illustrates its decision to opt out of
ism of the present, thus requiring Jews to reaccess their rela-
a fervent messianism (severing it from its roots in Lubavitch
tionship to Jewish theology and ritual practice. In Zalman’s
Hasidism, roots which now, with the Jewish settler move-
words:
ment, represent the most virulent examples of Jewish messia-
nism) and reject the militant nationalism so common in Di-
So where are we now? I’d like to say we are in the shift
to the place where everything is God, pantheism. . . .
aspora Judaism. Instead Renewal lobbies for a softer utopian
We want Wholeness, a holistic understanding,
vision where barriers between peoples are to be made more
now. . . . I believe that people are moving from the-
transparent rather than more opaque.
ism to pantheism. There are some who don’t like the
IDEOLOGY. Jewish Renewal is founded on a reformist ideolo-
word pantheism, the idea that God is everything. They
gy couched in a revivalist pietism. Like many such move-
prefer the word panentheism, which means that God is
ments in the history of religion, its agenda is both apostolic
in everything. I, however, don’t think the distinction is
and subversive. Its claim to have retrieved an internal mean-
real. (Schachter-Shalomi, 2003, p. 20)
ing of Judaism is used to counter the status quo of what Juda-
Using an astrological system (also used by the Shabbateans)
ism has become. In this sense it is also, to use more contem-
filtered through the theosophical qabbalistic system of four
porary language, countercultural. The reformist predilection
worlds and the ten sefirot (cosmic potencies), Renewal claims
of Jewish Renewal is captured in what Zalman Schachter-
that a new era, an Age of Aquarius, has emerged that requires
Shalomi has termed a Paradigm Shift. The idea is not new,
Jews to respond by reconstructing the Torah of the past in
but is creatively adapted to the contours of the contemporary
preparation for a new era (on this see Paradigm Shift,
world.
pp. 277–298). While much of this is viewed by Renewal as
The basic argument in the Paradigm Shift is that history
rooted in Hasidic teachings, it is also quite reminiscent of the
can be divided into distinct historical epochs, each of which
Shabbatean movement that also may have influenced early
contains particular spiritual paths even within one particular
Hasidic doctrine. Because most Shabbatean texts remained
religious tradition. As the epoch changes, so must the spiritu-
(and largely remain) in manuscript (what Hebrew publisher
al direction of that religion in order to insure an organicity
would publish what had become viewed as blatant heresy?)
between the external historic and cosmic environment
most contemporary Jews are not familiar with them. It re-
(which are inextricable according to the Jewish mystical tra-
mains to be seen how the disclosure of these texts will affect
dition) and individual and collective consciousness. This no-
both Hasidism and Renewal.
tion was suggested by the Christian monk Joachim of Fiore
IMPACT. The impact of Jewish Renewal is already profound,
and is the basis of the anonymous fourteenth-century Jewish
yet, given that we are still in the midst of its full disclosure,
qabbalistic works Sefer ha-temunah and Sefer ha-peliah. In
still somewhat unknown. It is important to note that while
both premodern sources, each of which has underlying mes-
Renewal was fed by the BaDal Teshuva movement (new re-
sianic pretensions, new paths of devotion are revealed as a
turnees to Judaism) in the late 1960s to mid-1970s, Renewal
new epoch emerges and those new paths must be followed
is not a part of that movement—in fact, in many ways it is
in order to fully disclose the potential in the new era.
its opposite. The BaDal Teshuva movement was a movement
Jewish Renewal’s rendition of this doctrine seems to
of disenchanted Diaspora and Israeli youth who turned back
have jettisoned the apocalyptic messianic flavor of these texts
to traditional Judaism as an alternative to the vacuous mate-
in favor of a belief in the slow and steady completion of the
rialistic lives of their upbringing. The end-game of this
utopian redemption envisioned by some of the classical He-
movement was a return to Orthodoxy and a basic rejection
brew prophets, a world without war, strife, and conflict. An
of Western values. Renewal is not a return to the past but
analysis of the messianism of Jewish Renewal, born from a
the construction of a future built on tradition but not bound
tempered reading of contemporary Lubavitch (Hasidic) mes-
to it. While many young Jewish seekers passed through Re-
sianism, is a desideratum in scholarship. What is also impor-
newal on their way to Orthodoxy, those that stayed created
tant here is that this doctrine is also foundational for the
a Judaism that was decidedly neither Orthodox nor accept-
heretical Jewish movement of Shabbetai Tsevi in the seven-
ing of the hegemonic claims of Orthodoxy’s leadership.
teenth century.
Jewish Renewal has influenced all Jewish denomina-
The Shabbatean heretics argued that a new historical
tions in North America, from Orthodoxy to Reform. Ortho-
epoch was inaugurated by the Messiah Shabbetai Tsevi and
doxy absorbed Renewal’s focus on joyful worship and the
this new era must be accompanied by a new Torah, a Torah
music of Shlomo Carlebach (who was not formally part of
that transcends the strict legalism of the old (rabbinic) law
Renewal but floated freely between Jewish communities),
and expands God’s presence into the mundane and even for-
some of the Hasidic teachings of Zalman Schachter-Shalomi,
bidden. While the language of Renewal is far more temperate
and the use of mediation and contemplative prayer devel-
and communal (it does not focus much attention on the cen-
oped by some Renewal members. Conservative and Reform
trality of the charismatic leader, or Zaddik, who serves as a
Jewish communities in North America have seen the emer-
foundation for Hasidic spirituality), it does argue that the
gence of smaller prayer quorums (called H:avurah-style com-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH RENEWAL MOVEMENT
4873
munities) in their larger synagogues among members who
While Jewish Renewal surely is a part of the more amorphous
desire a more intimate and less formal prayer service.
neo-Hasidism, it is not identical to it.
Classes in Hasidism and mediation are held in many
Jewish Renewal in Israel is just taking root and it is still
suburban American synagogues, largely due to the influence
too early to tell how it will affect Israeli society. Orthodoxy’s
of members who attended Renewal retreats and brought the
hegemony in Israel and the deeply rooted secularism of Israe-
message of Renewal to their own communities. Secular Jews
li Zionism will no doubt force Renewal to alter its message
who had only negative views of Judaism as antiquated and
to accommodate the unique conditions in Israel. Renewal
irrelevant have found Renewal sympathetic to their needs
communities are beginning to emerge, reflecting secular Isra-
and supportive of their own secular Jewish choices. Some of
el’s fascination with Eastern spirituality and neo-Hasidic
these Jews have found a political home in Renewal because
Jewish ritual and worship. Festivals held in rural areas on
it represents their politics and is decidedly and openly Jewish
Jewish festivals like RoDsh ha-Shanah (Jewish New Year)
but not patriarchal, overly nationalistic, or xenophobic. In
complete with drum circles, meditation, dancing, and the
short, Jewish Renewal is leading a grassroots renaissance in
sounding of the shofar (ram’s horn) are becoming common-
Judaism, undermining tradition while espousing it, offering
place. A new Israeli Renewal is surely emerging but, to date,
a progressive message that better suits the assimilationist ide-
it is still in its embryonic stages.
ology of classical Reform Judaism in the present multicultur-
al climate and offers a non-Orthodox piety and metalegal al-
PERSONALITIES. Jewish Renewal is led by many talented in-
ternative to Conservative Judaism.
dividuals who contribute to the progress and expansion of
the movement. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi remains the
The JewBu (Jewish-Buddhist) phenomenon is, in many
major force in this movement. Shlomo Carlebach’s influence
ways, an extension of Jewish Renewal. This largely amor-
is deep and wide even as he offers a more inspirational than
phous community consists of Jews who have taken on Bud-
intellectual contribution. His dozens of recordings, many in-
dhism as a religious and spiritual path, some attaining high
cluding stories and Hasidic teachings, began in 1959 and
ranks in Buddhist circles, and have taken their vocation and
changed the face of contemporary Jewish music. Marcia
turned back to Judaism in an attempt to integrate Buddhist
Falk’s Book of Blessings has had significant impact on Renewal
practice with Jewish worship. These practitioners and teach-
liturgy.
ers have had an impact on Jewish communities by giving
workshops throughout America and in Israel.
Arthur Green is a major figure whose influence is both
theological and organizational. His book Seek My Face, Speak
There has been a tendency to conflate Jewish Renewal
My Name is perhaps the first systematic Renewal theology.
and neo-Hasidism. They are, in fact, quite different. Neo-
Green was the president of RRC for more than a decade and
Hasidism was originally a literary movement among enlight-
fostered the important relationship between Reconstruction-
ened and ex-traditional Jews in the early part of the twentieth
ist Judaism and Jewish Renewal. Dovid Din, a lesser-known
century who used Hasidism as a template for a kind of mod-
figure who died in the late 1980s, had a profound impact
ern Jewish romanticism. Figures such as the Hebrew and
on many who are now in Renewal. He was a student of Zal-
Yiddish writer Yehuda Leib Peretz, the novelist and poet
man Schachter-Shalomi in Winnipeg in the 1960s and had
Shalom Ash, and the philosopher Martin Buber are counted
a small community in Boro Park in Brooklyn.
among this circle. Contemporary neo-Hasidism is, perhaps,
a second wave of that phenomenon, one that adopts the gen-
Gershon Winkler is an important teacher in Renewal,
eral tenor of Hasidic spirituality as a resource for contempo-
as are Miles Krassen and Elliot Ginsburg. Other important
rary Judaism. One example of neo-Hasidism would be the
figures include Sylvia Boorstein and Avram David, who
appearance of secular and contemporary adaptations of Ha-
teach Buddhist meditation, Jonathan Omerman and Rami
sidic music among some Israeli musicians in the 1970s.
Shapiro, who have both led Renewal communities, and An-
drea Cohen-Keiner, who translated a work by a Hasidic mas-
Unlike Jewish Renewal, present-day neo-Hasidism has
ter popular with Renewal entitled Conscious Community, and
no discernible ideology, nor is it a constructive critique of
who has been very successful teaching Renewal to adoles-
Jewish life. It is primarily an artistic utilization and romanti-
cents and young adults. Shefa Gold is a prominent Renewal
cization of a deeply theological movement. Religiously, it
musical personality who has composed and performed mov-
adopts certain Hasidic modes of worship in order to enhance
ing Jewish meditation chants based on Native American and
Jewish ritual and practice. Neo-Hasidism is popular in all
Hindu traditions.
Jewish denominations as it does not demand any reordering
of fundamental principles. It largely exists in the popularity
Arthur Waskow and Michael Lerner have both devel-
of Hasidic texts and more prominently in music accompany-
oped the political arm of Jewish Renewal and their work has
ing the liturgy. In this respect, the father of second wave neo-
influenced not only Jewish circles but also the U.S. and Israe-
Hasidism is Shlomo Carlebach, whose music and Hasidic
li political arenas. Another thinker deserves recognition even
teachings have inspired Jews throughout the world. In con-
as he might not feel comfortable identifying with Jewish Re-
trast to Zalman and Jewish Renewal, Shlomo and neo-
newal. Aryeh Kaplan was an Orthodox Jew who inspired
Hasidism have no real ideological or organizational agenda.
many with his works and translations. His forays into Jewish
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4874
JEWISH STUDIES
spirituality, especially with his Meditation and the Bible and
Kaplan, Aryeh. Meditation and the Bible. York Beach, Maine,
Meditation and the Kabbala, have contributed greatly to the
1978.
Jewish Renewal movement. While Kaplan’s commitment to
Kaplan, Aryeh. Meditation and Kabbala. York Beach, Maine,
Orthodoxy remained strong, his works inspired many who
1982.
would become important figures in Jewish Renewal. Finally,
Kaplan, Aryeh. Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide. New York,
numerous professors of Judaism teaching in universities in
1985.
the Diaspora are marginally or more formally connected to
Kaplan, Edward, and Shaul Magid. “An Interview with Rabbi
Jewish Renewal and have brought this orientation to their
Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.” In Merton and Judaism: Holi-
profession in many interesting ways.
ness in Words, edited by Beatrice Bruteau. Louisville, Ky.,
CHALLENGES. Numerous challenges confront the relatively
2003.
young Jewish Renewal movement. One major hurdle is the
Lerner, Michael. Jewish Renewal: A Path to Healing and Transfor-
ability of Renewal to establish Jewish literacy among its
mation. New York, 1994.
members and create an educated lay community. Another
Lerner, Michael. The Politics of Meaning: Restoring Hope and Possi-
challenge is how it will confront the radicalism of its own
bility in an Age of Cynicism. Reading, Mass., 1996.
doctrine and develop a vision outside the shadow of more
Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman. Fragments of a Future Scroll: Hasi-
traditional Judaism. As is the case in many fledgling move-
dism for the Aquarian Age. Germantown, Pa., 1975.
ments, Renewal tends to seek acceptance from the traditional
Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman. Wrapped in a Holy Flame: Teachings
branches of its religion. As it matures, it will have to decide
and Tales of the Hasidic Masters. San Francisco, 2003.
how to negotiate this relationship on a more equal footing.
The heterodox world of North America is fertile soil for such
Serkez, Kalman, ed. The Holy Beggars’ Banquet. London, 1998.
an endeavor.
Shapiro, Rami. Minyan: Ten Principles for Living a Life of Integrity.
New York, 1997.
In some respects, Jewish Renewal is following the path
of early Hasidism. However, as scholars have argued, Hasi-
Siegel, Richard. The First Jewish Catalogue. Philadelphia, 1973.
dism’s success in becoming normative was due, among other
Singer, Ellen, ed. Paradigm Shift. London, 1993.
things, to its abandonment of some of its more radical doc-
Strassfeld, Sharon. The Second Jewish Catalogue. Philadelphia,
trines. The contemporary situation is quite different from
1975.
early-nineteenth-century eastern Europe, where the choices
Strassfeld, Sharon. The Third Jewish Catalogue. Philadelphia,
were more limited: either traditionalism or Enlightenment
1980.
(or some combination of the two). In the present cultural cli-
Waskow, Arthur. God Wrestling. New York, 1978.
mate, especially in North America, where the hegemony of
Waskow, Arthur. Seasons of Our Joy: A Handbook of Jewish Festi-
Orthodoxy no longer exists, new religious movements can
vals. New York, 1986.
maintain less traditional positions and still survive and flour-
ish among those seeking a spiritual alternative. Jewish Re-
Waskow, Arthur. Torah of the Earth: Exploring 4,000 Years of Ecol-
newal may occupy a space between early Hasidism’s more
ogy in Jewish Thought. Woodstock, Vt., 2000.
radical and audacious posture (which widened the margins
Winkler, Gershon. The Place Where You Stand Is Holy: A Jewish
of Jewish thought) and Shabbateanism (which abandoned
Theology on Human Relationships. London, 1994.
Judaism altogether). Jewish Renewal seeks to offer a fresh cri-
SHAUL MAGID (2005)
tique of tradition, reconstructing a pietistic and contempla-
tive alternative embedded in the spirit of universalism, activ-
ism, and tolerance.
JEWISH STUDIES
SEE ALSO Hasidism; Reconstructionist Judaism.
This entry consists of the following articles:
JEWISH STUDIES FROM 1818 TO 1919
BIBLIOGRAPHY
JEWISH STUDIES SINCE 1919
Aviad, Janet. Return to Judaism. Chicago, 1983.
Boorstein, Sylvia. That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Buddhist. San
JEWISH STUDIES: JEWISH STUDIES FROM
Francisco, 1997.
1818 TO 1919
Carlebach, Shlomo. Holy Brother. Edited by Yitta Halberstam
Although Judaism has long valued the study of sacred texts
Mandelbaum. London, 1997.
as an instrument of piety, the field of Jewish studies as an
Davis, Avram, ed. Meditation from the Heart of Judaism. Wood-
academic discipline is a product of the emancipation process
stock, Vt., 1997.
and the westernization of Judaism in the nineteenth century.
Falk, Marcia. The Book of Blessings. San Francisco, 1996.
Born of a sense of the profound changes in the context of
Green, Arthur. Seek My Face, Speak My Name. Northvale, N.J.,
Jewish life and imbued with the academic ethos of the newly
1992.
founded University of Berlin (1810) and with the philosoph-
Green, Arthur. Ehyeh: A Kabbala for Tomorrow. Woodstock, Vt.,
ic rhetoric of German Idealism, Wissenschaft des Judentums
2003.
heralded a series of disorienting intellectual shifts: from
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH STUDIES
4875
Christian to Jewish scholarship on Judaism; from dogmatic
total absence of empathetical historical works by Jews in Ger-
to undogmatic, but not value-free, scholarship on Judaism;
man. With the primary Hebrew sources closed to him,
from a partial to a comprehensive conception of Jewish cre-
Heine, under Zunz’s tutelage, was forced to feed on the stan-
ativity; and from an exegetical to a conceptual mode of
dard Christian fare, with the result that his imagination soon
thought. What stands out in the subsequent development of
foundered. By way of contrast, Michael Sachs’s evocative Die
the discipline over the next century, beyond its ceaseless
religiöse Poesie der Juden in Spanien, which appeared in 1845,
growth and bifurcation, is the continued centrality of the
did trigger Heine’s poetic fantasy and led directly to his rich-
German provenance down to the 1930s.
ly inventive and deeply felt collection, Hebräische Melodien
EARLY ACADEMIC CONTEXT. As launched by Leopold Zunz
(1851), an eloquent testimony to what he, and German aca-
(1794–1886) and his friends in the Verein für Kultur and
demics, had lacked in 1824.
Wissenschaft der Juden (1819–1824), the application of the
WISSENSCHAFT DES JUDENTUMS. In terms of method,
historical method to the study of Judaism by university-
Wissenschaft des Judentums raised an equally formidable chal-
educated Jews challenged the undisputed Christian monopo-
lenge to the principles and parameters of traditional Jewish
ly on the subject. Because economic utility had largely dictat-
learning. Unfettered by dogmatic considerations, the alienat-
ed the peripheral legal status of pre-emancipation Jews, their
ed intellectuals of the Verein, at bitter odds with rabbinism
spokesmen had scarcely felt the need to transcend the insu-
but not prepared to convert, had formed “an association of
larity of the ghetto with an “insider’s” depiction of Judaism
consciousness” to begin conceptualizing Judaism afresh. To-
for Christian consumption. In consequence, according to
ward that end it embraced the research program enunciated
Zunz, “Rarely has the world been presented with more dam-
in 1818 by Zunz in his profound, prescient, and determina-
aging, erroneous, and distorted views than on the subject of
tive work Etwas über die rabbinische Litteratur. Convinced
the Jewish religion; here, to render odious has been turned
that emancipation spelled the end of the Hebraic-rabbinic
into a fine art” (Etwas über die rabbinische Litteratur, 1818).
period of Jewish history, Zunz called for its dispassionate his-
Against this backdrop, Wissenschaft des Judentums embodied
torical assessment. In the process, he demonstrated with
a novel and sustained effort by Jews themselves to recount
stunning detail its dimly realized cultural expanse and diver-
their history and expound their religion for non-Jews, to dis-
sity. Postbiblical Hebrew literature was authored by Jews of
sipate the miasma of misconceptions and prejudice with facts
all kinds, not only rabbis, and embraced all the interests of
and empathy. From the outset, Zunz intuited the political
the human mind, not only matters of Jewish law. Given that
payoff of the enterprise: Public respect for Judaism would be
scope, only the historian was equipped to speak of its genesis
the only secure ground for lasting social intergration.
and character with any authority. The anticlerical thrust was
unmistakable: The canons of modern scholarship were to be
Symptomatic of the prevailing denigration was the ex-
enlisted “in order to know and sort out the old which is use-
clusion of ancient Jewry from the vaunted field of Altertum-
ful, the antiquated which is detrimental, and the new which
swissenschaft. Admission was restricted to the Greeks and Ro-
is desirable.” History presumed to usurp the role of halakhah
mans, for they alone of the nations of antiquity had achieved
and philosophy as both the arbiter and expositor of Judaism.
the level of a learned culture. In his lectures on the discipline,
At issue was a grievously flawed method of learning over-
Friedrich August Wolf, famed Homer scholar and one of
grown with historical myth and error, indifferent to time and
Zunz’s teachers, dismissed Israel’s historical claim to equal
contextual analysis, hostile to all non-Hebraic and non-
treatment:
Jewish sources, and crippled by a truncated view of Jewish
The Hebraic nation did not raise itself to the level of
literature and a static concept of sacred texts.
culture, so that one might regard it as a learned, cul-
tured people. It does not even have prose, but only half
The comprehensiveness of this vision of the Jewish ex-
poetry. Its writers of history are but miserable chroni-
perience extended into the present. As conceived by Zunz
clers. They could never write in full sentences; this was
and amplified by Immanuel Wolf in his opening essay for
an invention of the Greeks. (Vorlesungen über die Alter-
the Verein’s ephemeral Zeitschrift für die Wissenschaft des Ju-
tumswissenschaft, vol. 1, 1831, p. 14)
dentums (1823), from whence the name, the field comprised
not only the study of a remote past but of a living present.
Thus, academically as well as philosophically, Judaism was
Both as an inner idea and a religious culture, Judaism was
relegated to a preliminary and long-surpassed stage of Orien-
still of vital concern to a living community, which itself de-
tal history, and hence was consigned to the periphery of
served scholarly attention. In the words of Wolf, “The histo-
Western consciousness.
ry of the past is directly followed by the second main division
The absence of any countervailing Jewish scholarship at
of the subject, i.e., Judaism in the living form in which it lies
the time is graphically illustrated by the plight of the young
before us—the general statistical position of the Jews in every
Heinrich Heine, then a member of the Verein, when he tried
country, with special reference to their religious and political
to convey an image of the attractiveness and pathos of medi-
circumstances” (Leo Baeck Institute Year Book, vol. 2, 1957,
eval Judaism through the medium of a historical novel. The
p. 202). It is precisely this sense of continuity and connected-
reasons for his failure to complete Die Rabbi von Bacharach
ness that distinguished the practitioners of Wissenschaft des
(1840) are no doubt many, but among them surely is the
Judentums from those of Altertumswissenschaft. For all its ap-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4876
JEWISH STUDIES
peal and meaning to German neohumanists, Altertum-
That devotion to the history of the synagogue derived
swissenschaft was not the uninterrupted cultural legacy of a
from Zunz’s conviction that a culture deserved to be studied
contemporary community. A century after the Verein, Ismar
at its core, in its more quintessential expressions and not on
Elbogen (1874–1943), Weimar’s premier Jewish historian,
the fringes of its creativity. Not only did he fearlessly refuse
again emphasized this existential dimension of the field by
to dilute the “parochial” character of Jewish culture, but by
defining it as “the academic study of a vital Judaism, standing
portraying it with insight and warmth he meant to raise the
in the stream of development, as a sociological and historical
self-respect and level of commitment of contemporary Jews.
unity” (Festschrift . . . der Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des
“Genuine scholarship,” ran his motto, “gives rise to action.”
Judentums, 1922, p. 141). Its proper academic analogue,
Historical consciousness could serve to augment the depleted
claimed Elbogen, was not the study of Greece and Rome but
forces for Jewish survival.
the world of Islam. Given this degree of contemporaneity,
Concept of development. The upshot of Zunz’s mas-
Wissenschaft des Judentums became the major medium for
thinking through the dilemmas generated by Judaism’s con-
sive research on the synagogue was to introduce the concept
frontation with modernity.
of development, the trademark of modern historical thought,
into the study of rabbinic literature. The urgency of the hour
Zunz’s contribution. What facilitated that use was the
dictated the early agenda of Wissenschaft scholars: Emancipa-
shift to a conceptual mode of thought. For all their anticipa-
tion seemed to challenge the very nature of a Judaism more
tion of modern scholarship, the pathbreaking Hebrew com-
rabbinic than biblical. Could subjects entangled in a seamless
mentaries accompanying Moses Mendelssohn’s translation
web of ritual obligations meet the demands of citizenship?
of the Torah and Wolf Heidenheim’s edition of the German
Scholars soon moved beyond the inviting freedom of aggadic
cycle of festival prayerbooks both adhered to the traditional
exegesis to the more problematic realm of rabbinic law to ex-
exegetical mode, which bespoke the centrality of sacred texts.
plore its genesis, evolution, and authority. Within two dec-
In consonance with the secular temper of the age, modern
ades, works such as Levi Herzfeld’s Geschichte des Volkes Iis-
scholarship would render the text subordinate to larger issues
rael (3 vols., 1847–1857), Nah:man Krochmal’s Moreh
that required thematic and synthetic treatment. No one
nevukhei ha-zeman, edited by Zunz (1851), Heinrich Gr-
searched for new sources more zealously or read old ones
aetz’s Geschichte der Juden von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die
more trenchantly than Zunz, but all in the service of ques-
Gegenwart, volume 4 (1853), Abraham Geiger’s Urschrift
tions and constructs that defied the limitations of disjointed
und Uebersetzungen der Bibel (1857), Zacharias Frankel’s
analysis. The modern scholarship of eastern European auto-
Darkhei ha-Mishnah (1859), and Joseph Derenbourg’s Essai
didacts, steeped in the thought patterns of rabbinic culture,
sur l’histoire et la géographie de la Palestine (1867) had pierced
often failed to reach the level of conceptualization, coher-
the darkness of the Persian and Greco-Roman periods of
ence, and systematization achieved by university-trained
Jewish history to illumine the dynamic origins of the halakh-
practitioners of Wissenschaft in the West.
ic system. For all the disagreement in detail and interpreta-
tion, the cumulative effect of their prodigious research was
Of the original members of the Verein, Zunz alone re-
to dissolve a corpus of literature that had long been venerated
mained true to the promise of Wissenschaft. Years later Heine
as a single harmonious entity into its many historical compo-
would celebrate him as one “who stood firm, constantly and
nents: namely, early sources, literary forms, exegetical modes,
unshakably, in a period of transition, hesitation, and vacilla-
stages of complexity and composition, conflicting protago-
tion. . . . A man of words and a man of action, he worked
nists, and formative external influences. While it discomfort-
unceasingly, he did what needed doing, at a time when oth-
ed Orthodox spokesmen such as Samson R. Hirsch, and al-
ers lost themselves in dreams and sank to the ground, bereft
though it rested heavily on later rabbinic sources, the
of courage” (quoted in S. S. Prawer’s Heine’s Jewish Comedy,
research served to show Christian scholars the unabated vital-
1983, p. 470). For much of his productive life, Zunz focused
ity of Judaism after the Babylonian exile and the responsive
his scholarly energy on a history of the synagogue, the insti-
nature of rabbinic leadership.
tution that he regarded as “the expression of Jewish national-
ity and the guarantee of its religious existence.” In 1832, his
Jewish sectarianism. At the same time, Wissenschaft
Die gottesdienstlichen Vorträge der Juden was published,
chipped away at the static rabbinic monolith from yet anoth-
which first exhibited the full sweep of Midrashic creativity
er direction. As early as 1816, Krochmal, living in the midst
in the synagogue from the third century BCE down to his own
of a still-unpunctured traditional society in eastern Galicia,
day, and from 1855 to 1865 he complemented that work
had publicly defended the legitimacy of investigating the lit-
with three volumes: Die synagogale Poesie das Mittelalters
erature of the Karaites, who despite their halakhic deviance,
(1855), Die Ritus des synagogalen Gottesdienstes (1859), and
had never distanced themselves from Jewish suffering. A few
Literaturge-schichte der synagogalen Poesie (1865), which un-
years later, Peter Beer of Prague published his Geschichte,
veiled the synagogue’s undreamed of liturgical richness. The
Lehren und Meinungen aller bestandenen und noch bestehen-
final volume alone included the treatment of some six thou-
den religiösen Sekten der Juden und der Geheimlehre, oder Cab-
sand liturgical poems along with the identification of nearly
balah (2 vols., 1822–1823), an unabashedly antirabbinic his-
one thousand poets.
tory of Jewish sects (including medieval mystics), which
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JEWISH STUDIES
4877
provided a glimpse of the recurring resistance to Talmudic
to’s Hebrew commentaries were anything but doctrinaire.
hegemony. At first, much of the interest in Jewish sectarian-
Unfortunately, by the last quarter of the century the rising
ism focused on the era of the Second Commonwealth, but
tide of German anti-Semitism also seeped into the halls of
the steady publication of Karaite manuscripts in the ensuing
the university and retarded the acceptance of the documenta-
decades, especially the rich cache by Simcha Pinsker in 1860,
ry hypothesis by Jewish scholars for decades. In 1910, the
prompted works such as Isaak M. Jost’s Geschichte des Ju-
rabbinical seminary in Breslau still excluded modern biblical
denthums und seiner Sekten (3 vols., 1857–1859), Heinrich
criticism from its curriculum.
Graetz’s Geschichte der Juden von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf
die Gegenwart, volume 5 (1860), and Julius Fürst’s Geschichte
Spanish Judaism. Zunz’s modest proposal of 1818
des Karärthums (3 vols., 1862–1869), which reflect a renewal
ended with the charge to undertake the publishing of largely
of the effort at a synthesis of Karaite history, though with in-
unknown but classical specimens of “rabbinic literature” in
sufficient attention to the Islamic ambiance. In Geiger’s
order to begin to banish the contempt in which it was held.
Urschrift und Uebersetzungen der Bibel (1857) and Das Juden-
By way of example, he declared his intention to bring out
tum und seine Geschichte (3 vols., 1864–1871) the inherent
a scholarly edition with Latin translation of a Hebrew philo-
link between sectarianism and halakhic development and the
sophical treatise by Shem T:ov ibn Falaquera, a thirteenth-
possible continuity of sectarian praxis were ingeniously inte-
century Spanish Jew. The identification of the best of He-
grated into a single overarching theory. Still more important,
brew literature with medieval Spain epitomized the Sephar-
Geiger rehabilitated the Pharisees as the progressive party in
dic bias so vital to emancipated Ashkenazim in search of
ancient Judaism and claimed their patrimony for his own
legitimacy. With roots going back to the seventeenth centu-
movement. The effect was to undercut the penchant among
ry, the attraction of Spanish Jewry and its descendants be-
Reform leaders to connect their cause with the Sadducean-
came a pervasive cultural force in nineteenth-century Ger-
Karaite line, an affinity without much benefit.
man Jewry, finding diverse expression in liturgy, synagogue
architecture, literature, and, of course, scholarship.
Rabbinic and biblical literature. The absorption with
rabbinic literature was a function of conception as well as
Young scholars, whose own intellectual emancipation
need. When Zunz unfurled the agenda of Wissenschaft des Ju-
often started with Moses Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed
dentums in 1818, it was restricted to “neuhebräische oder
and the Hebrew literature of the Haskalah, gravitated natu-
jüdische Literature.” By design he seemed to exclude, for the
rally to the poetic and philosophical legacy of Spain. Ironical-
moment, the study of biblical literature, a subject firmly en-
ly, the term golden age, which is used to highlight Jewish cul-
sconced in the German university. If scholarship was to facil-
tural creativity in Muslim Spain, is not of Jewish provenance.
itate legislation, it had to concentrate on what was least
It was first bestowed by Franz Delitzsch, the greatest Chris-
known and most problematic: the nature and history of rab-
tian scholar of Judaism in the nineteenth century, in his Zur
binic Judaism. And, in fact, the modest amount of biblical
Geschichte der jüdischen Poësie (1836), in which he depicted
scholarship produced by Jews in the nineteenth century be-
the two centuries from 940 to 1140 as the golden and silver
speaks an avoidance intensified by dogmatic inhibitions but
ages respectively of Jewish poetic achievement. But the term
also born of political considerations.
accorded fully with the needs and perceptions of German
Jewry, and despite the heroic effort by a penitent Zunz not
Against this background, what was achieved, while not
to ignore the dissimilar but equally impressive cultural
generally original, was not undistinguished. In Die gottesdien-
achievements of medieval Ashkenazic Jewry, the Wissenschaft
stlichen Vorträge der Juden (1832), Zunz already argued for
of a long line of scholars served to deepen and solidify the
a single author of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles and a post-
bias. At the same time, their failure to generate much sympa-
exilic date for Ezekiel. In later essays, he analyzed the Penta-
thy for the mystical side of Spanish Judaism was a conse-
teuch in terms of numerous constituent sources with none
quence of their own rational bent, compounded by outrage
earlier than 900 BCE and Leviticus following Ezekiel. Though
at the unfounded historical claims of the mystics themselves.
Geiger preferred to date Leviticus before Deuteronomy, he
matched Zunz’s documentary analysis of the Pentateuch and
The attraction to cultural history was reinforced by a de-
insisted on the fluidity of the biblical text long after composi-
cided aversion to political history. To work out a conceptual-
tion. More conservative scholars like Krochmal and Graetz
ization that would have done justice to the unconventional
confined their research to the Prophets and the Writings,
political history of Diaspora Jewry would have produced
often taking leave of traditional views.
more flak than self-esteem. The embattled position of Ger-
man Jewry militated against the subject. When Michael
The most substantial and lasting Jewish contribution of
Sachs decided to produce Die religiose Poësie der Juden in Spa-
the century to biblical research, however, came not from Ber-
nien (1845), a volume of medieval religious poetry in transla-
lin or Breslau but from Padua, where ShemuDel David Luz-
tion, he settled on Spain because of the widely held view,
zatto, with an unsurpassed knowledge of the Hebrew lan-
going back to Shlomoh Yehudah Rappoport, that Sephardic
guage, renewed the long-disrupted genre of medieval Jewish
poets addressed God as lonely believers, whereas Ashkenazic
exegesis of the Bible. Independent of Protestant scholarship
poets only lamented the fate of the nation. Sachs specifically
and rooted in the distinctive style of Italian Judaism, Luzzat-
asked of Luzzatto, who had agreed to supply him material,
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4878
JEWISH STUDIES
not to send any “national poems.” Somewhat later, in vol-
promoting it, Breslau became the model for all modern rab-
ume five of his Geschichte der Juden, Graetz did declaim with
binical seminaries established during the next half-century in
courage that the medieval Jewish experience betrays a politi-
central and western Europe and the United States. Despite
cal dimension, but he failed completely to demonstrate it.
denominational differences, these institutions determined
Neither he nor his colleagues moved beyond the older Span-
the scholarly character of the modern rabbinate, until it was
ish conception of Jewish political history as one of recurring
modified again at the turn of the century by the changing
persecution, though they amplified it factually and emotion-
social and political needs of the Jewish community. Its grad-
ally. On occasion, isolated works of political history such as
uates brought to the pulpit a lively commitment to deepen
Selig Cassel’s “Geschichte der Juden” in the Allgemeine En-
as well as to disseminate the new mode of Jewish learning.
cyklopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste (1850), Otto Stob-
But Zunz and Moritz Steinschneider viewed these de-
be’s Die Juden in Deutschland während des Mittelalters in poli-
velopments with dismay, regarding much of the scholarship
tischer, socialer und rechtlicher Beziehung (1866), and a
coming out of Breslau as dogmatic and pretentious. Twice
volume of Regesten zur Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland
in the 1870s, Steinschneider, a man of awesome learning,
während des Mittelalters (1862) by Meir Wiener did reveal
prodigious output, and extensive personal contacts with non-
just how much the systematic use of non-Jewish archival
Jewish scholars, preferred to turn down invitations from new
sources could enlarge and enrich the conception of the sub-
seminaries in Berlin and Budapest and to stay at his modest
ject, but Graetz, with whom Stobbe worked closely, re-
post as director of the girls’ school of the Berlin Jewish com-
mained skeptical about their large-scale utility.
munity. In 1876, he reaffirmed the original integrationist vi-
Institutional standing. By the mid-1870s when the
sion with typical acerbity:
founders of jüdische Wissenschaft had completed most if not
Institutions to preserve the rabbinate in the form ac-
all of their work (only Zunz, Steinschneider, and Graetz were
quired during the last centuries promote systematic hy-
still living, though Zunz was no longer productive), the
pocrisy and scholarly immaturity. What is scholarly
study of Judaism had all the signs of an academic discipline
about Jewish history and literature has no need to avoid
except one: inclusion in the structure of the German univer-
the atmosphere of the university and must be made ac-
sity, the premier research institution of the century. Though
cessible to Christians. The task of our time seems to me,
a direct product of its research imperative, Wissenschaft des
above all, to call for the temporary funding [obviously
with Jewish money—I. S.] of unpaid instructorships for
Judentums matured entirely outside the framework of the
Jewish history and literature at philosophical faculties,
university. Jewish scholars as its primary practitioners were
so that governments will be prompted to create profes-
never accorded the university’s recognition and support. The
sorships and institutions in which matriculated Gym-
occasional appointment of a Privatdozent or Honorar-
nasium students might prepare themselves for the study
professor in a cognate field was but the trappings of academic
of Hebrew literature. (Jewish Studies in Memory of
respectability. Of course, that was exactly the kind of institu-
George A. Kohut, ed. Salo W. Baron and Alexander
tional affiliation, given their commitment to undogmatic
Marx, 1935, p. 521)
scholarship and their resentment of rabbinic leadership, for
When Steinschneider shared his reasons for refusal with his
which the founders yearned. Typical of faculty and bureau-
old mentor and lifelong friend, Heinrich L. Fleischer, Ger-
cratic resistance to the idea was the rebuff administered to
many’s leading Orientalist, the latter, sensing the futility of
Zunz in 1848 by the philosophy faculty of the University of
such expectations, chided him for his errant purism: “If men
Berlin to his request to create a chair in Jewish history and
like you deny your cooperation, have you then still a right
literature. Such a chair, it was felt, smacked of confessional
to complain about the new institution’s lack of success? Why
interests and would merely strengthen Jewish parochialism.
not get involved from the outset in the hope that in this way
Misreading Zunz’s intent, the faculty declared that it was not
the better will triumph?” (letter of July 1, 1875, Fleischer
the function of the university to train rabbis. In the German
correspondence from the “Steinschneider Papers,” archives
context, such exclusion, which was, to be sure, experienced
of the Jewish Theological Seminary).
for a time by other nascent fields (such as history), meant the
denial of the discipline’s universal significance and doomed
No scholar among the Wissenschaft pioneers contributed
hardy aficionados to eke out a living in circumstances that
more to validating the right to university admission for Jew-
were often trying. Increasingly, young scholars had little
ish studies than Steinschneider himself. With his matchless
choice but to enter the ranks of a rabbinate in transition and
command of unpublished sources, he painstakingly recon-
to “make” the time for sustained research.
structed the unsuspected and seminal role that medieval Jews
in the Islamic world had played in the transmission of Greco-
The creation of the Jewish Theological Seminary in
Roman culture to the Christian West. His oeuvre, especially
Breslau in 1854 from the largesse of a single Jewish benefac-
his massive Die hebraeischen Übersetzungen des Mittelalters
tor finally provided an institutional base for the floundering
und die Juden als Dolmetscher (2 vols., 1893), demonstrated
field and cemented its connection with the modern rabbin-
for the first time the existence of a cultural unity in the medi-
ate. With a curriculum informed by Wissenschaft des Juden-
eval world that transcended religious differences, a theme
tums, a small faculty immersed in it, and a scholarly journal
that would continue to exercise Jewish scholars in the twenti-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH STUDIES
4879
eth century. For instance, at Harvard, Harry A. Wolfson
by the massive influx of eastern European Jews. Jewish nota-
would try to integrate the parallel traditions of medieval reli-
bles exploited the occasion of the four-hundredth anniversa-
gious philosophy into a single universe of discourse that op-
ry of Columbus’s discovery of America in 1892 to create an
erated from Philo to Spinoza. And at Princeton, on the basis
American Jewish Historical Society, which would restrict its
of the inexhaustible documentary wealth of the Cairo Gen-
mission to assembling data on the role of Jews in “the discov-
iza, Shlomo D. Goitein would portray the social, economic,
ery, settlement, and development of our land.” Its president
and material contours of a medieval Mediterranean society
Oscar S. Straus, who had served as the American ambassador
through the prism of Jewish life.
to Constantinople a few years before, invited and funded a
TURN OF THE CENTURY. The engagement of Jewish scholar-
noted European scholar of Spanish Jewish history, Meyer
ship with the vital concerns of a dynamic community was,
Kayserling of Budapest, to write Christopher Columbus and
if anything, intensified by the unsettling events of Jewish his-
the Participation of the Jews in the Spanish and Portuguese Dis-
tory in the twentieth century. In particular, the resurgence
coveries (1894) to “bring to light the extent to which our race
and diffusion of anti-Semitism at the turn of the century
had direct part and share with Columbus in the discovery
added to the inherent momentum toward specialization and
of our continent.” Straus hoped that the historical confirma-
institutionalization which the discipline had already generat-
tion of “this fact would be an answer for all time to come
ed in the course of the century. Even without this intrusion,
to anti-Semitic tendencies in this country.”
the remarkable sweep of early Wissenschaft works would
Far more important than Kayserling’s careful study of
hardly have survived the growing technical complexity of the
1894 was the publication in 1901–1906 of the twelve-
field. In 1897 alone, Solomon Schechter brought back to
volume Jewish Encyclopedia, edited by Isidore Singer and
Cambridge from the Cairo Geniza, which he had emptied,
Cyrus Adler, by the non-Jewish firm of Funk and Wagnalls.
some 100,000 literary fragments pertaining to nearly fifteen
Produced in a land on the fringes of the Wissenschaft move-
hundred years of Jewish history in the Greco-Roman and Is-
ment with no scholarly tradition of its own, this first Jewish
lamic worlds. Thus, new sources, interests, and anxieties ex-
encyclopedia represented a collective venture of huge propor-
panded Jewish scholarship into a movement of international
tions and astonishingly high quality, a magnificent summa-
proportions.
tion of nearly a century of Jewish scholarship, and, above all,
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES. The last decades of the nineteenth
the transplantation of Wissenschaft des Judentums to America.
century give evidence of a chain reaction across the Jewish
But the level of scholarly attainment should not obscure the
world in the formation of national Jewish historical societies.
pragmatic concerns of its genesis. The preface alluded to the
With the overt intention of stimulating research on the an-
anxieties of the moment: “. . . the world’s interest in Jews
tiquity, fate, and contribution of Jews in their respective
is perhaps keener than ever before. Recent events, to which
lands of settlement, these societies betray all the anxiousness
more direct reference need not be made, have aroused the
of insecurity. But they also testify to the emergence of a cadre
world’s curiosity as to the history and condition of a people
of indigenous scholars. The first to be founded in Paris in
which has been able to accomplish so much under such ad-
1880 was the Société des Études Juives, which published the
verse conditions.” Accordingly, the editors were eager to
triannual Revue des études juives (1880–), designed to accom-
present a balanced picture of Jews as both integrated and pa-
plish two ends: By casting its net over the entire field of Jew-
rochial, as both cosmopolitans and cultivators of their own
ish studies, the Revue served to challenge the German hege-
traditions.
mony embodied in Breslau’s Monatsschrift für die Geschichte
ANGLO-JEWISH SCHOLARSHIP. The founding of the Jewish
und Wissenschaft des Judentums (1851–1939), a policy that
Quarterly Review in 1888 and the Jewish Historical Society
accorded with the rancor sown by the Franco-Prussian War;
of England in 1893 certainly suggests a similar set of circum-
at the same time, the Revue placed at the heart of its agenda
stances for Anglo-Jewry. The fact that Lucien Wolf launched
the twofold intent of encouraging the study of Jews in the
the research program of the society in 1901 with his splendid
history of France and of French Jews in the history of medi-
edition of Menasseh ben Israel’s Mission to Oliver Cromwell
eval Judaism. By 1897 the new subfield could boast of a vol-
reflects the same need as felt in America for a “foundation
ume of universal Jewish import. In Gallia Judaica (1897)
myth” that intersects at a decisive juncture with the history
Henri Gross, Hungarian-born as were so many of the Wissen-
of the nation. In one sense both Wolf’s texts and the very
schaft circle, produced a geographical dictionary that listed,
idea of the society owed their patrimony to Henrich Graetz,
along with ample historical information, all French localities
who in his address to the immensely successful Anglo-Jewish
in which Jews are known to have lived according to medieval
Historical Exhibition of 1887 had called for an organized
Hebrew sources. In the twentieth century, this accomplish-
scholarly effort to study local history. The Jewish Quarterly
ment became the model for the Germania Judaica (1917–)
Review, on the other hand, became the academic organ for
of the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaft des Ju-
a talented cluster of English scholars who had gathered
dentums and the Sefer ha-yishuv (1939–) of the Palestine
around the charismatic figure of Solomon Schechter. For
Historical and Ethnographical Society.
two decades it not only encompassed the full panoply of Jew-
AMERICAN SCHOLARSHIP. In America too, Jewish scholar-
ish studies, but also often protested the jaundiced scholarship
ship was enlisted to stem the growth in anti-Semitism set off
on ancient Judaism coming out of Germany.
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4880
JEWISH STUDIES
RUSSIAN SCHOLARSHIP. Under the guidance of Simon Dub-
his heroic relief mission, and Elias Tcherikower, entirely in
now, the small and ever more beleaguered liberal sector of
the spirit of Dubnow, organized and administered at great
Russian Jewry also began to display an interest in the study
personal risk during the years 1918 to 1920 an archive to re-
of local history to firm up its sense of belonging and distinc-
cord the unparalleled slaughter of as many as seventy-five
tiveness. Fully aware of the social role of Jewish scholarship
thousand Ukrainian Jews amidst the chaos of civil war.
in the West, the young Dubnow transformed his own reli-
F
gious alienation into a lifelong program for the cultivation
OLKLORE. The wholesale consumption of Jewish folklore
in Russian exuded all the enthusiasm of the populist fervor
of historical consciousness. In 1891 to 1892, he issued ap-
unleashed by the socialist and Zionist rebellions at the turn
peals in Russian and Hebrew to set up a Jewish historical so-
of the century. But as an academic field, its origins lie in Ger-
ciety that would coordinate a nationwide effort to collect the
many, and as such it marked a sharp departure from the pre-
diverse sources, fast disappearing, related to the nine-
occupation with high culture that absorbed the founders of
hundred-year history of Jews in Poland and Russia. He
jüdische Wissenschaft. With fewer acknowledged luminaries
pointed with envy to what had been accomplished in the
than in the Sephardic world to distract them, the early stu-
West and berated Russian Jews for failing to realize the cohe-
dents of Ashkenazic Judaism were forced to look at popular
sive power of historical consciousness. However, his own
expressions of religious culture. The skein of development
conception of Jewish history had already begun to diverge
runs from the midcentury writers of ghetto novellas about
from that of his Wissenschaft mentors. While he too stressed
central European Jewish life at the threshold of emancipation
the greater importance of the internal Jewish sources, he ar-
through the often overlooked collection of Judeo-German
ticulated for the first time a vision of Jewish political history
proverbs and expressions, Sprichwörter und Redensarten
in the Diaspora that went far beyond the passive endurance
deutsch-jüdischer Vorzeit (1860) by Abraham Tendlau, the
of persecution. In the institution of the gahal, Diaspora Jews,
pioneering social histories of medieval Ashkenazic Jewry in
wherever they settled, had created a unique instrument of na-
Abraham Berliner’s Aus dem inneren Leben der deutschen
tional self-government that preserved a large measure of po-
Juden im Mittelalter (1871), and Moritz Güdemann’s Gesch-
litical initiative. The still-unemancipated status and tradi-
ichte des Erziehungswesens und der Cultur der abendländischen
tional character of Russian Jewry had sensitized Dubnow to
Juden während des Mittelalters und der neueren Zeit (3 vols.,
the medieval political expression of Jewish nationhood, and
1880–1888), to Max Grunwald’s work at the end of the cen-
he pleaded for the sources to study its history. In his History
tury. A graduate of Breslau and at the same time rabbi in
of the Jews in Russia and Poland (3 vols., Eng. ed., 1916–
Hamburg, Grunwald delivered a manifesto in 1896 urging
1920) and Weltgeschichte des jüdischen Volkes (10 vols.,
creation of a society, museum, and journal of Jewish folklore,
1925–1929), Dubnow not only combined his many prelimi-
and two years later he began publishing the first number of
nary studies into a coherent narrative of a millennium of Jew-
the Mitteilungen der jüdischen Volkskunde (1898–1929),
ish history in Poland and Russia, but also fully formulated
which he was to edit singlehandedly in different formats for
and espoused his theory of Diaspora nationalism.
thirty volumes. That the first chair in Jewish folklore estab-
Dubnow’s original proposal finally bore fruit in 1908
lished at the Hebrew University in 1973 bears the name of
in Saint Petersburg with the founding of the Russian Jewish
this polymath is resounding testimony to his decisive role in
Historical Ethnographic Society by Maxim Vinaver and
launching the field.
David Günzberg. Also at Saint Petersburg that same year, the
The fascination with folklore signaled a broadly felt
scholarly, artistocratic Günzberg opened at his own expense
need to reconnect with the irrational, to reinvigorate an ex-
an academy of Jewish studies in which Dubnow delivered
cessively cerebral tradition with the life-giving forces of imag-
public lectures on Jewish history and conducted seminars for
ination. Rabbinic Judaism as codified in the East or spiritual-
advanced students, whose rank included some of the leading
ized in the West did not exhaust the record of Jewish lore
Zionist historians of the next generation. Most important of
and legend begun in the first decade of the twentieth century
all, Dubnow’s call to collect and record had become part of
by scholars as diverse as Martin Buber, H:ayyim Bialik and
the credo of the nationalist Jewish renaissance emanating
YehoshuEa Ravnitzki, Louis Ginzberg, and Micha Josef Ber-
from Saint Petersburg. In the last three years before the war,
dyczewski. Ginzberg’s monumental The Legends of the Jews
the writer Solomon Anski led an ambitious ethnographic ex-
(7 vols., 1909–1938), elegantly designed for scholar and lay-
pedition sponsored by the society into the Jewish hinterland
man alike, not only revealed the popular wellsprings of rab-
of the Ukraine to plumb its rich deposits of folklore and ico-
binic religion, but also demonstrated the extent to which
nography, bringing back thousands of photographs, tales,
Jewish legends preserved and mediated the folklore of
folkways, manuscripts, and artifacts. In 1915, Issachar Ry-
antiquity.
back, a young art student, financed his own study of the
wooden synagogues of White Russia, and in 1916 the society
ART. Jewish art, as cultural expression and scholarly disci-
sent him and fellow artist El Lissitzky back to the Ukraine
pline, was similarly invigorated by the discoveries of folklore.
to do the same for its synagogues. In a far more somber vein,
In no area of contemporary Jewish life did creativity require
Anski in Khurbm Galitsye (1921) documented the agony of
quite as urgently the validation and inspiration of a historical
Galician Jewry inflicted by war in a monumental memoir of
tradition. Jewish artists and historians faced the same deep-
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JEWISH STUDIES
4881
seated stereotype, shared by friend and foe alike, that Jews
of any polemical or educational intent, came to represent
by virtue of religion and race were singularly bereft of any
German Jewry’s last attempt to bring Wissenschaft des Juden-
aesthetic sensibility. But dramatic historical evidence to the
tums out of its academic isolation and thereby to set its course
contrary began to mount: the exhibition of the Isaac Strauss
for the twentieth century. In Täubler the academy had a clas-
collection in Paris in 1878, the publication of the Sarajevo
sicist trained by Theodor Mommsen yet fully conversant
Haggadah in 1898 along with the recovery of a Jewish tradi-
with Jewish sources, a historical thinker of great conceptual
tion of manuscript illumination, the formation of Jewish art
power, and a proven administrator, who some years before
societies and collections, the publication in 1916 of Antike
had organized a national Jewish archive as the central reposi-
Synagogen in Galilaea by Heinrich Kohl and Carl Watzinger
tory for Jewish communal records.
of the first study of Galilean synagogues, and, above all, the
As enunciated by Täubler, the mission of the academy
plethora of folk art unearthed in the wooden synagogues of
was to end jüdische Wissenschaft’s obsession with anti-
Russia. For artists projecting a secular Jewish culture, histori-
Semitism and reliance on practicing rabbis and to reunite it
ans were supplying the resources of an indigenous past. In
with the highest standards of modern scholarship. This
the beautiful pages of Rimon, a lavish magazine of Jewish arts
meant specialization, systematic use of non-Jewish archival
and letters published in Berlin after the war in both a He-
sources, philological analysis broadly conceived, and contex-
brew and Yiddish edition, the artistic and historical dimen-
tual and comparative research. Talmudic research in particu-
sions converged symbiotically.
lar still suffered from the absence of a firm philological basis.
SOCIOLOGY. From Jewish folklore to sociology was but a
Täubler dreamed of creating eventually a library of critical
small step, for the interest remained primarily nonelitist. The
editions of all Jewish texts prior to the eighteenth century.
impetus for this expansion of Jewish scholarship came direct-
In the meantime, he divided the field of Jewish studies into
ly from the nascent Zionist movement. Although Zunz had
nine distinct specialities, delineated the nature of ancillary
clearly foreshadowed the sociological study of the Jews in a
instruments of resources, and funded the research of young
programmatic essay in 1823, Grundlinien zu einen künftigen
scholars like Chanoch Albeck, Yitzhak Baer, David H. Ba-
Statistik der Juden, it took the Zionist indictment of assimila-
neth, Arthur Spanier, and Selma Stern.
tion with all its putatively alarming consequences for Jewish
Three years after Täubler died in 1950 in Cincinnati,
survival to effect a scholarly shift to the present. At the fifth
he was eulogized in Jerusalem by Baer, Moshe Schwabe, and
Zionist Congress in 1901, Max Nordau, who annually treat-
Ben Zion Dinur, three men whose lives he touched deeply.
ed the delegates to a foreboding assessment of the Jewish sit-
But the tribute signified more than personal indebtedness.
uation, called for the systematic assemblage of data to con-
The very conceptualization, ethos, and instruments of Jewish
firm the Zionist consensus. The proposal took institutional
studies as they came to be embodied in the Hebrew Universi-
form three years later in Berlin in the Bureau für Jüdische
ty after 1924 were conceived by Täubler in Berlin. The
Statistik, manned by a small staff of unpaid Zionists, which
professionalization of Jewish scholarship was under way,
for the next eighteen years would publish an invaluable jour-
though communal concerns would continue to influence re-
nal for Jewish demography and statistics. Its first editor, till
search agendas.
he went to Israel in 1908 to head the Palestine Office of the
Zionist Organization, was Arthur Ruppin, who in 1904 had
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scholarship of liberal Protestantism. Judaism’s exclusion
Lapin, Hayim, and Dale B. Martin, eds. Jews, Antiquity, and the
from the university remained unaltered, its incorporation
Nineteenth-Century Imagination. Potomac, Md., 2003.
into German society riddled with problems, and its laity un-
Reinharz, Jehuda. “Jewish Studies: A Historical Perspective.” Jew-
equipped for adversity. In final form, the academy, stripped
ish Studies 35 (1995): 5–9.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4882
JEWISH STUDIES: JEWISH STUDIES SINCE 1919
Schulte, Christoph. “Religion in der Wissenschaft des Judentums:
onist movement. Zionist scholars reacted against what they
ein historischer Abriss in methodologischer Absicht.” Revue
alleged to be the orientation of nineteenth-century Jewish
des Etudes Juives 161 (2002): 411–429.
scholars exclusively to the Jewish past and broadened their
Simon-Nahum, Perrine. “Exégèse traditionnelle et philologie: la
interest to include contemporary issues within their research.
‘Wissenschaft des Judentums.’” Pardès 19–20 (1994):
EUROPE AND PALESTINE BETWEEN THE WORLD WARS. The
144–162.
establishment of the Akademie für die Wissenschaft des Ju-
Wiese, Christian. “Counterhistory, the ‘Religion of the Future’
dentums in Berlin in 1919 was a major breakthrough for aca-
and the Emancipation of Jewish Studies: The Conflict be-
demic research in the field. For the first time, a secular orga-
tween the ‘Wissenschaft des Judentums’ and Liberal Protes-
nization was established to undertake broad research.
tantism 1900 to 1933.” Jewish Studies Quarterly 7 (2000):
However, due to the economic crisis of the early 1920s, the
367–398.
Akademie could not live up to its ambitious plans, originally
ISMAR SCHORSCH (1987)
conceived by the philosopher Franz Rosenzweig and later
Revised Bibliography
substantially transformed by the historian Eugen Täubler.
More decisive for the development of Wissenschaft des
Judentums was the year 1925. In Jerusalem, the Hebrew
JEWISH STUDIES: JEWISH STUDIES SINCE
University was officially opened, with Jewish studies as one
1919
of the three original disciplines (together with chemistry and
Between World War I and World War II in Europe, Jewish
microbiology). Scholars with a Zionist outlook formed a
studies witnessed a parallel process of both professionaliza-
vaguely connected group of Jewish historians, sometimes re-
tion and popularization. New professional institutions and
ferred to as the Jerusalem School, emphasizing the centrality
associations were established to counterbalance the fact that
of Palestine in the course of Jewish history. Their most out-
the major Western universities, with only few exceptions,
spoken representative, Benzion Dinur (Dünaburg), later be-
were still opposed to the inclusion of Jewish studies in their
came the Israeli minister of education. In 1935 he and medi-
curricula. At the same time, grand projects, including ency-
evalist Yitshak (Fritz) Baer, the first professor of Jewish
clopedias, handbooks, and translations were underway to
history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, established
summarize the academic results of the first century of
the most important Hebrew-language historical journal,
Wissenschaft des Judentums, as the academic study of Juda-
Zion (a first series of the journal had been aborted).
ism and the Jews was called, for a broader audience.
In the same year the Hebrew University was established,
Already in prewar years, the major rabbinical seminaries
Simon Dubnov’s ten-volume World History of the Jewish Peo-
of central Europe (Breslau, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest), were
ple, written in Russian, was first published in German trans-
no longer the only academic institutions occupied with the
lation (1925–1929). His work constituted a clear break from
research and teaching of Jewish studies. In Germany, the Ge-
the earlier Germanocentric view of Jewish history and from
sellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaft des Judentums (es-
the strong emphasis upon a history of suffering and scholar-
tablished 1902) became a central vehicle for the publication
ship, which had been typical for nineteenth-century Ger-
of major enterprises in Jewish studies. From the end of the
man-Jewish historians. Motivated partly by his own political
nineteenth century Jewish historiography was increasingly
agenda—he was the founder of the autonomist Jewish move-
influenced by new subdisciplines of Wissenschaft des Juden-
ment which represented Jewish Diaspora nationalism in east-
tums, such as ethnography, sociology, and demography. The
ern Europe—his version of Jewish history centered on insti-
Gesellschaft fuer Juedische Volkskunde, a society of Jewish
tutions of Jewish life in the Diaspora, most notably the
folklorists founded in 1898 and led by the Hamburg rabbi
kehilla, the semiautonomous Jewish community.
Max Grunwald, played a pioneering role in scholarly re-
Dubnow was also among the founders of the YIVO In-
search into Jewish folk traditions around the globe. Its jour-
stitute for Jewish Research, an institution established in Ber-
nal, the Mitteilungen fuer Juedische Volkskunde, published the
lin 1925 (and subsequently transferred to then-Polish Vilni-
most important findings in the field for almost three decades,
us) to systematically research the Jewish past and present in
from 1898 to 1929. In Russia, an expedition to the tradition-
eastern Europe and other Ashkenazic communities. In con-
al communities of the Ukraine led by the playwright and
trast to the traditional German dominance of nineteenth-
folklorist An-Ski from 1912 to 1915 was the culmination of
century Wissenschaft des Judentums and to Hebrew-
a long search for the remnants of rural Jewish life.
language Zionist scholarship, the YIVO deliberately pres-
Jewish demographers created their own institutional
ented its research in Yiddish, the language spoken by the
framework when they established an office for statistics
Jewish masses of eastern Europe. Although its emphasis was
among the Jews in Berlin, which from 1904 published its
on the Yiddish-speaking world of eastern Europe, its offices
own journal and was closely related to the burgeoning inter-
in Berlin, Paris, and New York, and later also Buenos Aires,
est in Jewish sociology best expressed in the pioneering works
undertook some groundbreaking studies of Jews in the west,
of Arthur Ruppin. Most of these endeavors were clearly relat-
as well. YIVO published its own journal, YIVO Bleter, from
ed to the Jewish renaissance propounded by the emerging Zi-
1931. From 1940, the YIVO Bleter were published in New
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH STUDIES: JEWISH STUDIES SINCE 1919
4883
York, which subsequently became the center of its activities.
brew Oriental Melodies (1914–1932) remains an unsurpassed
In 1928, the Instytut Nauk Judaistycnych was established in
ethnographic work on Jewish music.
Warsaw as the major center for Jewish studies in Poland,
THE UNITED STATES UNTIL 1945. In the United States,
with a clear emphasis on historical studies. The center was
there was a long tradition of including Semitic studies in the
supported by such eminent scholars as Majer Balaban, Mo-
university canon. The 1920s, however, saw the first estab-
jzesz Schorr, and Ignacy Schiper.
lishment of more broadly designed Jewish studies chairs at
Although European universities refused to establish pro-
American universities: in 1925, Harry A. Wolfson became
fessorships in Jewish studies, they opened slowly to the study
Littauer Professor of Jewish Literature and Philosophy at
of Jewish subjects. In Frankfurt am Main, Martin Buber be-
Harvard, and five years later Salo W. Baron was appointed
came lecturer for religion and Jewish ethics in 1924. Chris-
Miller Chair for Jewish History, Literature, and Institutions
tian studies of Judaism were no longer necessarily motivated
at Columbia, where he taught for four decades. Despite rap-
by missionary motives. Thus, the Berlin Institutum Ju-
idly growing Jewish student numbers, these two institutions
daicum under its new director Hugo Gressmann became
remained until long after World War II the only examples
part of the theological faculty of the University of Berlin di-
of integrating Jewish studies into the broader university cur-
rected purely to the study of postbiblical Judaism. In Gies-
riculum. Parallel to the establishment of the first modern
sen, and from 1923 in Bonn, the theologian Paul Kahle be-
Jewish studies chairs, the years following World War I saw
came one of the most important researchers into the
also increasing academic anti-Semitism and restrictions on
Masoretic text. One of his students was the noted Talmudic
Jewish student enrollment. Thus, rabbinical seminaries, such
scholar Yechiel Jacob Weinberg, who later became the direc-
as Hebrew Union College, the Jewish Theological Seminary,
tor of the Orthodox Berlin Rabbinical Seminary.
and Yeshiva University, as well as the secular Dropsie Col-
lege, continued to be the academic home for most students
In Great Britain, Oxford and Cambridge expanded
in Jewish studies.
their role in Jewish studies. Cecil Roth became the first Jew
to teach Jewish studies when he was appointed reader in
At almost at the same time as the Akademie was formed
postbiblical Jewish studies in 1939. In Lithuania, Simon
in Berlin, the American Academy for Jewish Research was
Dubnow was close to obtaining a chair in Jewish history at
established in 1920, and incorporated in 1929. New U.S.
the University of Kaunas in the early 1920s, but was finally
publications in Jewish studies included Hebrew Union Col-
refused the position, perhaps due to his lack of formal educa-
lege Annual (1924), Jewish Social Studies (1933), and Historia
tion.
Judaica (1938–1961). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia
(1939–1943) had a special focus on American Jewish life.
Several major encyclopedias were edited in interwar Eu-
rope. Most notable were the German five-volume Jüdisches
EUROPE SINCE 1945. Ironically, it was in Nazi Germany that
Lexikon (1927–1930) and the eleven volumes of the uncom-
Jewish studies first became part of the official structure of ac-
pleted Encyclopaedia Judaica (1928–1934), which was
ademic life, albeit in a distorted fashion described as research
brought to an end at the letter L by the Nazi rise to power.
into the “Jewish Question.” The Nazis set up research insti-
The interwar period saw also the publication of comprehen-
tutes in Munich, Frankfurt, and Berlin that tried to show the
sive works and handbooks of lasting importance. In England,
magnitude of Jewish influence in German and European so-
for example, Soncino Press of London undertook the first
cieties. Some of the scholarly works on Jewish topics pub-
English-language editions of the Babylonian Talmud (1935–
lished in the 1950s and 1960s by historians and theologians
1948), Midrash Rabbah (1939), and the Zohar (1931–
who had by then become part of the academic establishment
1934). In Germany, the bibliophilic Soncino Gesellschaft für
in postwar Germany originated in those institutes.
das schöne jüdische Buch published several beautiful editions
There were, however, other, more serious attempts to
of Jewish classics and helped to establish a modern Hebrew
establish Jewish studies as an academic discipline. In Vienna,
typography. The comprehensive design and production of
Berlin, and Cologne, Jewish studies (Judaistik) institutes
Hebrew typefaces in German-speaking regions between the
were founded in the mid-1960s, followed by smaller insti-
two world wars, particularly the modern Frank-Rühl, which
tutes in Frankfurt am Main and a few other universities. The
is still the most used Hebrew typeface for various purposes,
main focus of those institutes was ancient and medieval Juda-
was assisted by a group of scholars of Hebrew bibliography
ism. At the same time, a young generation of German histo-
and booklore, including Isaiah Sonne and the brothers Alex-
rians turned to topics of modern German-Jewish history.
ander and Moses Marx.
Those two approaches remained rather separate until the late
The field of Jewish art was beginning to establish itself,
twentieth century, when a number of new institutions were
with major publications and some impressive journals, such
created to cover broad areas in Jewish studies, a development
as the short-lived Hebrew Rimon (and its Yiddish edition,
which began with the establishment of the Hochschule für
Milgroyim) published in Berlin from 1922 to 1924 and ed-
Jüdische Studien in Heidelberg in 1979 and continued with
ited by Mark and Rachel Wischnitzer. Abraham Zvi Idel-
the Salomon Ludwig Steinheim Institute in Duisburg, the
sohn was instrumental in establishing the academic study of
Moses Mendelssohn Institute in Potsdam, the Simon Dub-
Jewish music. His monumental ten-volume Thesaurus of He-
now Institute in Leipzig, and new university chairs in Yid-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4884
JEWISH STUDIES: JEWISH STUDIES SINCE 1919
dish in Trier and Düsseldorf, in Jewish history in Munich,
striction of Jewish student admissions at major American
in Jewish philosophy in Halle, and in Jewish religion in Er-
universities, Brandeis University was established in 1948 and
furt. In Switzerland, the universities of Luzern and Basel have
soon developed its own Jewish studies center, drawing such
Jewish studies positions.
eminent émigré scholars as Alexander Altmann and Nahum
N. Glatzer. Emigré scholars also strengthened the faculties
In Great Britain, the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and
of the rabbinical seminaries and were instrumental in estab-
Jewish Studies (formerly the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate
Hebrew Studies) and the Department of Hebrew and Jewish
lishing the Leo Baeck Institute for the study of German-
Studies at the University College London developed into
speaking Jewry in New York, London, and Jerusalem in
major centers of Jewish studies, but more recent institutes
1955. The last historian who attempted a single-handed
have been established in Southampton, Brighton, Birming-
multivolume universal Jewish history was Salo W. Baron.
ham, Manchester, and other cities. France, too, has seen an
His eighteen-volume A Social and Religious History of the Jews
upsurge in Jewish studies in the late twentieth century. The
(1952–1976) reaches only the year 1650 and is characterized
field there was long dominated by Georges Vajda (1908–
by an affirmative view of the Diaspora.
1981) and André Neher, with positions created in Paris,
The period of most significant change began in the sec-
Lille, Strasbourg, Lyons, and Nancy. In contrast to other Eu-
ond half of the 1960s, with the proliferation of ethnic studies
ropean countries, Sephardic studies as well as the history of
programs from which Jewish studies profited as well. In 1969
Jewish art have been among the fields taught and researched
the Association of Jewish Studies was established and devel-
in France. The Medem Library in Paris is one of the world’s
oped within the next three decades from a small circle of
best resources in Yiddish literature. The CNRS (Centre na-
scholars into a major association with several hundred active
tional de la recherche scientifique) has a particularly strong
members. This development reflects the spread of Jewish
tradition in Jewish studies. However, France lacks institu-
studies from a handful of rabbinical colleges and universities
tions with a full-fledged Jewish studies faculty analogous to
to almost any university campus in the United States and
Oxford or London.
Canada. At most universities, Jewish studies are integrated
The Scandinavian countries and Holland, Spain, and
into a variety of departments and loosely united in a Jewish
Italy traditionally had chairs in Hebrew and Bible studies,
studies center. At some universities, such as Brandeis or New
and in most of those countries new positions were added, es-
York University, there exist separate Jewish studies depart-
pecially to research the Jewish histories in those respective
ments. In contrast to earlier periods, when one professor cov-
countries. More remarkable was the creation of new posi-
ered vast areas of Jewish studies, most major research univer-
tions in Jewish studies in formerly Communist eastern Eu-
sities in the United States and Canada have numerous
rope. The only institution of higher Jewish learning during
appointments in Jewish studies. Jewish studies has become
the postwar period in all of those countries was the Rabbini-
part of the mainstream of American scholarship, as can be
cal Seminary in Budapest. After the fall of Communism, the
seen by the inclusion of Jewish studies publications in all
English-language Central European University in Budapest
major American publishing houses, whereas before the 1970s
developed a program of courses in modern Jewish studies.
specific publishers, such as the Jewish Publication Society of
Polish universities added Jewish studies, especially in the
America, were responsible for most publications in the field.
field of Polish-Jewish history, but the most visible changes
Modern periodicals cover vast areas of Jewish studies, includ-
happened in the former Soviet Union. Moscow and Saint
ing Modern Judaism, Prooftexts, and Jewish Thought, as well
Petersburg have a few centers of Jewish higher education, in-
as the revived Jewish Social Studies and publications such as
cluding research centers and rabbinical training. Kiev estab-
American Jewish History and the Journal of the American Jew-
lished a Jewish university, as did some other Russian and
ish Archives. The Association for Jewish Studies has pub-
Ukrainian cities.
lished its AJS Review since 1976.
The increasing activities in Jewish studies found their
With the increase of teaching positions and publica-
expression in the establishment of the European Association
tions, Jewish studies has become an accepted part of religious
for Jewish Studies in 1981, which holds a congress every four
studies, and moreover, it has helped to transform a tradition-
years. Its membership had grown enormously by the early
ally Christian-centered view within the field into a more plu-
twenty-first century. In 1998 it published the Directory of
ralistic one. At the same time, modern trends within religious
Jewish Studies in Europe. In 2003, the Oxford Handbook of
studies also shaped Jewish studies as a discipline. While it was
Jewish Studies, edited by Martin Goodman, summarized
common for research within the field to focus on its internal
global achievements in the field during the last few decades
developments and concentrate on Jewish issues per se in the
in over a thousand pages.
early twentieth century, a more comparative view, which
NORTH AMERICA AFTER 1945. Despite the increase in activ-
takes the developments of the non-Jewish society more effec-
ities in Europe, the United States and Israel became the un-
tively into account, has become almost a given in modern
disputed centers of higher Jewish learning after World War
research. As a consequence of relativizing and postmodern
II. In the immediate postwar era, there was, however, little
tendencies, first in literary theory and later in other fields as
visible change in the United States. As a reaction to the re-
well, there seems to be no longer a search for what was or
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH STUDIES: JEWISH STUDIES SINCE 1919
4885
is Jewish culture, but rather for what constitutes the diverse
universities, often in its own faculties. The Hebrew Universi-
Cultures of the Jews, the title of a collaborative work of twen-
ty in Bar Ilan and Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion University of
ty-three mainly American scholars published in 2002 and ed-
the Negev in Beer Sheva and Haifa have their own degrees
ited by David Biale. In contrast to the earlier postwar collab-
in a variety of subjects within Jewish studies, and even the
orative efforts of American Jewry, such as The Jews, edited
technical university in Haifa, the Technion, offers a nonde-
by Louis Finkelstein (1949) or Israeli scholarship, as in A
gree program in the field. The first World Congress of Jewish
History of the Jewish People, edited by H. H. Ben-Sasson
Studies was held in Jerusalem in 1947, and has taken place
(1969), this volume neither summarizes the “contributions”
there every four years since 1957. It has become the major
of Jews to world civilization nor does it reduce the essence
meeting point for scholars in the field, and its sessions are
of the Jews to their peoplehood and connection to their own
published in several volumes.
territory. Rather it defines Jewishness as an ever-changing
There are also signs of crisis in Jewish studies at Israeli
category: “The present work is also the product of a particu-
universities, mainly due to the growing divide between the
lar time. Ours is a self-conscious age, when we raise questions
secular and the religious. Many secular students come with
about old ideologies and ‘master’ narratives and no longer
little background or interest in pursuing Jewish studies on
assume as unchanging or monolithic categories like ‘nation’
a university level. The growing radicalization of the Ortho-
and ‘religion’” (p. xxx).
dox, on the other hand, leads to their rejection of university
This volume may indeed be summarizing a larger ten-
education in general, and academic Jewish studies in particu-
dency in Jewish studies, which began in North America and
lar. Thus, while the Orthodox Talmud schools (yeshivah)
continued in Israel and Europe at the close of the twentieth
claim increasing enrollment, the same cannot be said for the
century: the refusal to define clear categories for Jewishnes
Jewish studies departments. In contrast to European and
and Judaism, instead adopting theories of invention and the
American traditions, Israeli universities or academic seminars
construction of tradition; the opposition to the still prevalent
(with the exception of the few non-Orthodox rabbis) have
attitude outside academia of viewing Jewish history as a his-
not taken on the education of rabbis in Israel, who are
tory of suffering, instead promoting the idea of integration
trained in traditional yeshivah.
into the non-Jewish world; and finally, the turn to previously
The debate over post-Zionism has influenced large cir-
lesser known and underrated areas of research, both thematic
cles in Israeli studies, which became an increasingly impor-
and geographical. This includes Jews in the Arab world and
tant discipline, related to but not part of Jewish studies.
the history and culture of Jewish women, and also areas
From the late 1980s, the so-called New Historians and their
which had previously been taboo, such as Jewish magic and
colleagues in sociology began to question formerly fixed
related phenomena and negative portrayals of Christianity in
truths about the behavior of the Jewish leadership towards
Jewish literature.
European Jews threatened by the Holocaust and about the
While those trends can be seen in numerous scholarly
origins of the Palestinian refugee problem. If the state was
publications and campus teaching, another development
founded on the “original sin” of having expelled the Palestin-
often runs counter to its achievements. The relationship be-
ians, this would have not only scholarly but also political
tween Jewish studies and Jewish identity has become a major
consequences. In a time of continuing political crisis and ex-
issue as a consequence of the rapid increase in Jewish studies
istential threat, critical voices against the New Historians
positions. It differs from campus to campus. In some regions,
(not all of them post-Zionists) could be heard, arguing that
especially those with a low Jewish enrollment, identity build-
a similar degree of archival access or free discourse does not
ing through academic life plays a minor role. There are, how-
exist in the Arab world.
ever, many cases where Jewish identity is actively promoted
CONCLUSION. The field of Jewish studies not only increased
through Jewish studies. The large percentage of privately en-
significantly in the late twentieth century, it also changed its
dowed chairs in the field as well as the need for fund-raising
nature. The emphasis on traditional Jewish sources has often
in the broader Jewish community underline the growing
been replaced by an interest in modern Jewish studies. The
connection between Jewish academic and communal inter-
knowledge of Jewish languages can no longer be taken for
ests. In this respect, North America differs profoundly from
granted among graduates and even professors of Jewish
Israel and the United States.
studies at many universities outside Israel. In postwar Europe
The increasing centrality of the Holocaust as a field of
and the United States for the first time, a significant number
teaching and research (with a significant research unit at the
of students in Jewish studies are non-Jews. Two areas of
U.S. Holocaust memorial museum) and the large number of
enormous student interest have been Jewish mysticism and
Jewish museums (both Holocaust and non-Holocaust relat-
Holocaust studies.
ed) have shaped the interest in Jewish studies in the last dec-
In the last decades of the twentieth century, Jewish
ades of the twentieth century.
studies moved from its early Germanocentric and later Euro-
ISRAEL. Jewish studies in a Jewish state naturally receive a dif-
centric emphases to a stronger integration of widely neglect-
ferent degree of attention than in Europe or North America.
ed communities. The experiences of Jews in the Muslim
Indeed, Jewish studies is a central subject taught at all Israeli
world have slowly been integrated into the general picture.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4886
JEWISH STUDIES: JEWISH STUDIES SINCE 1919
This is partly the result of the emergence of historians of Ori-
Carlebach, Julius, ed. Wissenschaft des Judentums: Anfänge der Ju-
ental background, mainly in Israel, but also of the establish-
daistik in Europa. Darmstadt, Germany, 1992.
ment of a few academic positions concentrating on Sephar-
Chulkova, L. A., ed. University Teaching of Jewish Civilization in
dic Jewry at American universities. At the same time,
the Former Soviet Union. Moscow, 1996.
research and teaching in Jewish studies spread outside its tra-
Cohen, Shaye J. D., and E. L Greenberg, eds. The State of Jewish
ditional centers. After its establishment in 1982, the Latin
Studies. Detroit, 1990.
American Association for Jewish Studies has held regular
conferences. It reflects not only the growing interest in Latin
Davis, Moshe. Teaching Jewish Civilization: A Global Approach to
Higher Education. New York, 1995.
American Jewish history within the United States but also
the new academic centers constructed in Latin America itself.
Dobroszycki, Lucjan. “YIVO in Interwar Poland: Work in the
There exists a China Judaic Studies Association, and Yiddish
Historical Sciences.” In The Jews of Poland between Two
is being taught in Japan.
World Wars, edited by Yisrael Gutman et al., pp. 494–518.
Hanover, N.H., 1989.
In the United States the history of Jewish women
Goodman, Martin, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies.
emerged as a subfield of gender studies, with significant pub-
Oxford, 2002.
lications in the 1990s about Jewish women in imperial Ger-
many and in the United States, along with a historical ency-
Ilan, Tal. “Women’s Studies and Jewish Studies: When and
Where Do They Meet?” Jewish Studies Quarterly 3 (1996):
clopedia of Jewish women. Postmodernism also has left its
162–73.
mark on the field. Some scholars have questioned whether
Jewish studies constituted mainly an addition to the tradi-
Jospe, Alfred. “The Study of Judaism in German Universities be-
tional university curriculum or a challenge to its strong em-
fore 1933.” Year Book of the Leo Baeck Institute 27 (1982):
pp. 295–319.
phasis on Christian and Greco-Roman roots. This opens the
wider question of whether Jewish studies forms part of the
Jütte, Robert. Die Emigration der deutschsprachigen “Wissenschaft
classical canon of university subjects or if it should be
des Judentums”: Die Auswanderung jüdischer Historiker nach
grouped with the essentially modern disciplines like ethnic
Palastina 1933–1945. Stuttgart, 1991.
and gender studies in a multicultural university framework.
Liberles, Robert. Salo Wittmayer Baron: Architect of Jewish History.
New York, 1995.
Overall, there are few disciplines that have made such
significant inroads into mainstream scholarship in the twen-
Marcus, Ivan G. “Judaic Studies in U.S. University and Jewish In-
stitutional Settings.” Jewish Studies Quarterly 3 (1996): 136–
tieth century as did Jewish studies. From being banned from
145.
the academic curricula in the nineteenth century and restrict-
ed to a marginal existence in the first half of the twentieth
Mendes-Flohr, Paul, ed. Hokhmat Yisrael: Heiybetim historiyim
century, Jewish studies was represented at most American
u-filosofi’im. Jerusalem, 1979.
and European universities by the end of the century. More-
Myers, David N. Re-Inventing the Jewish Past: European Jewish In-
over, other disciplines—ranging from theology to history
tellectuals and the Zionist Return to History. Oxford, 1995.
and literature, from philosophy to art and political science—
Neusner, Jacob. Judaism in the American Humanities: Essays and
have integrated essential issues of Jewish studies. The burden
Reflections. Chico, Calif., 1981.
of this success should not be overlooked: topics that prevail
Ritterband, Paul, and Harold S. Wechsler. Jewish Learning in
in the public discourse, such as the Holocaust and the Mid-
American Universities: The First Century. Bloomington, Ind.,
dle East conflict, have very often pushed the study of Jewish
1994.
languages and crucial sources of Jewish tradition to the back-
Schäfer, Peter. “Jewish Studies in Germay Today.” Jewish Studies
ground. Overall, however, the fruitful integration of Jewish
Quarterly 3 (1996): 146–161.
culture into the curriculum of modern academia has helped
create a more open and diverse system of learning. Once the
Schorsch, Ismar. From Text to Context: The Turn to History in
almost exclusive focus on Christian, Greco-Roman, and Eu-
Modern Judaism. Hanover, N.H., 1994.
ropean traditions was successfully questioned by the inclu-
Weitz, Yechiam. Beyn chason le-revisia. Meah schenot historiografia
sion of Jewish studies, the door was opened to other previ-
zionit. Jerusalem, 1997.
ously underprivileged subdisciplines as well.
Winkelmann, Annette, ed. Directory of Jewish Studies in Europe.
Oxford, 1998.
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JEWISH ETHICAL LITERATURE
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY:
philosophical, in intention and method, it eventually evolved
PREMODERN PHILOSOPHY
into a distinct philosophical style or school. SaEadyah was in
Usually the term medieval designates a historical period fall-
this sense a representative of Jewish kala¯m.
ing “between” ancient and modern times. In the history of
Since the only common ground among the various ri-
philosophy, then, the medieval period would occur between
vals in this religious-philosophical debate was reason,
the last of the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers and
SaEadyah begins The Book of Beliefs and Opinions with a de-
Descartes. However, following H. A. Wolfson (1947), one
fense of reason against the skeptics and fundamentalists who
may construe “medieval” philosophy as a style of thinking
would disparage it on either philosophical or religious
that, although prevalent during the Middle Ages, need not
grounds. For SaEadyah there are three main sources of truth,
be temporally restricted. It is a style of philosophy that at-
of which two belong to man’s native powers: intellect and
tempts to make use of two radically different sources of infor-
sense perception. In addition to these human capacities there
mation for the establishment of a general worldview and way
is a prophetic tradition, which includes the original revela-
of life. These sources are human reason, particularly philoso-
tion to the prophets and the reliable, continuous transmis-
phy, and divine revelation, especially some sacred text. A me-
sion of their communications throughout a religious com-
dieval philosopher is someone whose intellectual outlook and
munity, in particular the Jewish people. SaEadyah clearly
language are shaped by both philosophy and prophecy.
indicates that although prophetic tradition corroborates the
BEGINNINGS OF MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY. Speaking from a
two cognitive sources, it is ultimately based upon the senses
strict historical perspective, one would have to say with Wol-
and grounded in reason. It is based upon the senses since in
fson that the first medieval philosopher was Philo Judaeus
a prophetic vision one hears God speaking or sees certain
(d. 45–50 CE). Most of Philo’s many books are commen-
things. It is grounded in reason since the content of the reve-
taries on various biblical narratives or legal codes, commen-
lation will be for the most part rational, or at least it will not
taries in which philosophical, especially Platonic, concepts
be irrational. This epistemic foundation for revelation has an
are used to formulate and explain the text. In reading the
important practical consequence: a scriptural passage is to be
Bible in this way, Philo introduced not only a new period
understood according to its literal meaning unless it violates
in philosophy but also a novel style of philosophy, which we
sense perception, reason, reliable tradition, or another pas-
shall henceforth call “medieval.” In general, Philo saw no
sage whose meaning is clear. Thus the cognitive faculties
fundamental cleavage between reason and revelation and op-
serve as criteria for religious doctrine. A corollary of this “ra-
timistically sought to make “the sons of Japheth dwell in the
tionalistic bias” is that miraculous deeds performed by some-
tents of Shem.” The subsequent story of medieval philoso-
one do not by themselves constitute proof of his prophetic
phy is in a sense a long and still ongoing drama on this
authenticity if what he says violates reason.
Philonic theme. Nevertheless, a history of medieval Jewish
philosophy cannot begin with Philo, who had little or no in-
Firmly convinced of the potency of reason, SaEadyah of-
fluence upon Jewish thought. Instead, it begins nine centu-
fers his readers a rationalistic reconstruction of the Jewish
ries later with SaEadyah.
faith, the goals of which are (1) to clarify the main dogmas
of Judaism and to prove them where possible, and (2) to re-
SaEadyah Gaon. Originally an Egyptian, SaEadyah ben
fute the opponents, internal and external, of Judaism.
Yosef (882–942), known as SaEadyah Gaon, became the dean
SaEadyah’s philosophical theology has, then, as its main pur-
of the rabbinic academy in Baghdad, the most important in
pose the transformation of our unreflective inherited opin-
the Jewish world. Unlike Philo, SaEadyah did influence sub-
ions into rationally grounded beliefs. The “true believer” is
sequent Jewish thinkers who read his main philosophical
thus someone who not only has true beliefs but in addition
work, The Book of Beliefs and Opinions. By SaEadyah’s time,
knows that they are true and why. Those who undertake this
the intellectual world had changed: whereas Philo had to
kind of inquiry will achieve something important and valu-
contend with a dying paganism and several warring philo-
able—religious knowledge. Those who do not, but rather
sophical schools, SaEadyah confronted the rival monotheistic
follow reliable tradition, will still merit divine favor so long
religions of Christianity and Islam, Jewish sectarian move-
as they willingly obey God’s commandments. SaEadyah’s ra-
ments, and the rejuvenated Greek philosophical traditions,
tionalism is thus not a religion of the intellectual alone.
now formulated in Arabic with a Muslim accent. Although
The Book of Beliefs and Opinions is clearly a theological po-
Having laid these epistemological foundations,
lemical treatise designed to vindicate rabbinic Judaism
SaEadyah next undertakes to prove basic principles of the
against its opponents, its method and language are philo-
Jewish faith, such as creation of the universe, the existence
sophical. SaEadyah makes use of the philosophical sources
and nature of God, and man’s free will. In general his argu-
available to him through the Muslim theological tradition of
mentation follows the lines drawn up by the kala¯m on these
kala¯m, the earliest philosophical school in Islam. The
topics, although it deviates considerably from the kala¯m on
mutakallimu¯n, or Muslim theologians, attempted to defend
the subject of freedom. Like his kala¯m predecessors, SaEadyah
Islam against its religious and philosophical rivals by using
believed that the fundamental dogma of divine religion is
arguments and theories gleaned from Greek philosophy. Al-
creation ex nihilo. Once this principle has been demonstrat-
though kala¯m was initially polemical, rather than purely
ed, he thought, it is easy to prove God’s existence and to dis-
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cover some information about his nature. Of the four proofs
of divine law. Nevertheless, the question whether the Jewish
SaEadyah gives for the creation of the universe, the first and
law is a good and rational law or whether it has been super-
fourth were to have considerable impact upon subsequent
seded by another divine law revealed to a prophet other than
Jewish thought. The first argument asserts that if the uni-
Moses was controversial in SaEadyah’s day, as it is now.
verse is, as Aristotle admitted, finite in size, then it must have
SaEadyah’s aim is to show (1) that a good God provides the
only finite energy. But a body of finite energy must ultimate-
means for his creatures to find their happiness and to receive
ly decay and eventually disintegrate. However, if it disinte-
divine reward; (2) that Mosaic law is based upon reason; and
grates, then it must have had a beginning; for, as Aristotle
(3) that this law is still valid and cannot be abrogated.
argued, everything that is generated is corruptible, and the
converse (Aristotle, On the Heavens 1.12). In this argument
For SaEadyah it is rationally obligatory for a person to
SaEadyah cleverly uses Aristotle’s physics to show that the Ar-
worship God, the creator, just as it is required that we respect
istotelian claim that the universe is eternal is inconsistent
and honor our parents. But it is also reasonable that God give
with this physics. The fourth argument claims to show that
us the means whereby we worship him and thereby obtain
on the hypothesis of infinite past time there would be an infi-
human perfection and reward. Unlike Paul and the religious
nite series of moments and events prior to any chosen mo-
antinomians, SaEadyah sees divine grace as merited by good
ment. But such an infinite series, ex hypothesi, can never be
works; otherwise, the giving and receiving of grace would be
traversed such that the chosen moment is ever reached. But
arbitrary and undeserved. The Torah and its many com-
if this moment is never reached, then it never comes into
mandments are therefore neither incitements to sin, as Paul
being, which is contra hypothesim. Hence, past time is not in-
claimed, nor a punishment of Israel, as Muh:ammad believed.
finite. A version of this argument appears in Kant’s Critique
Just the contrary, they are expressions of God’s love. But if
of Pure Reason (“First Antinomy of Reason,” B 454).
this is so, the laws themselves cannot be capricious or irratio-
nal; otherwise, God would be a despotic tyrant, not a loving
Convinced that these arguments are valid, SaEadyah
father and king. Accordingly, following the lead of both the
then proceeds to show that creation is out of nothing, which
earlier rabbis and the kala¯m, SaEadyah initially distinguishes
doctrine had become orthodox in Judaism, Christianity, and
between those divine commands that obviously have some
Islam by the tenth century. Of the various arguments in be-
reason or purpose and those that do not readily exhibit such
half of this dogma, one is especially significant: if there were
a rationale. The former he calls rational commands, the latter
some eternal matter out of which God fashioned the uni-
revelational commands. As examples of the former he gives
verse, as Plato had suggested in the Timaeus, this matter
the injunctions to abandon the worship of idols and to love
would be co-eternal with God and hence independent of
our neighbor as ourselves; as examples of the latter he gives
him. But an independent entity may very well not want to
the festival laws and the laws concerning incest. Whereas the
be fashioned into anything! So God would in this view be
rational precepts are or can be derived from certain funda-
beholden to matter if he were to create or not create at all.
mental truths of reason, the revelational commands are nei-
SaEadyah’s defense of creation ex nihilo leads him to de-
ther dictated nor prohibited by reason.
velop a theology that stresses God’s creativity. First, the proof
However, as he proceeds to develop his account of law,
that the world has been created ex nihilo is proof also of
it is clear that SaEadyah virtually abandons this distinction
God’s existence, for a created world needs a creator. Second,
and claims that on closer examination even the revelational
SaEadyah claims that it is the very nature of God to be cre-
commands are found to have some reasonable explanation
ative: “In the beginning God created . . .” All the major di-
and justification. For example, the selection of the Sabbath
vine attributes—power, wisdom, life, love—are different fac-
and other holy days may seem at first to be arbitrary. After
ets of God’s essential creativity. Every other attribute is a
all, neither the Greeks and Romans nor the Muslims have
corollary of this divine primal productivity. Hence corporeal
a complete day of rest on one specified day of the week. Yet,
characteristics cannot be applied to God, for such qualities
SaEadyah argues, if we remember that “reason requires” (one
can be true only of creatures, entities made by God out of
of his favorite phrases) that we worship God, we have to wor-
nothing. To ascribe such features to God is to transform the
ship him at some time, in some place, and in a certain way;
creator into a creature. SaEadyah is so convinced of the com-
otherwise, the initial rational precept to worship our creator
plete incorporeality of God that in his Arabic translation of
is empty. Accordingly, our reasonable creator specifies for us
the Bible he “cleanses” scripture of many anthropomorphic
through his prophet Moses the time, place, and manner of
expressions. For example, “the hand of God” becomes
worship. If there were no uniform code of regulations, peo-
“God’s power.” This conception of God also leads him to
ple would worship God at diverse times and in different
criticize the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and incarna-
ways. No community could survive such religious anarchy.
tion as contaminations of pure monotheism.
Moreover, on practical grounds a Sabbath is quite beneficial:
No matter how “pure” this monotheistic God may be,
it affords not only physical rest but also mental relaxation
he is still a power that reveals himself to man. All the scrip-
and the opportunity to study Torah, to reflect, and to con-
tural religions agree that God speaks to prophets and sends
verse on spiritual matters. Although SaEadyah does not, as
them to communicate God’s will to man, usually in the form
did Philo, undertake to “rationalize” the whole body of Jew-
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ish law, he does suggest in outline how such an enterprise
consequences for him. Otherwise, the lawgiver would be ar-
could and should be done. In this sketch he establishes the
bitrary and the law unrealizable. At this point in his inquiry,
precedent for future medieval philosophers of Jewish law,
SaEadyah grapples with one of the more thorny problems in
such as Maimonides and Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides).
classical theology, the alleged dilemma between divine om-
nipotence and omniscience and human free will, a problem
Of greater polemical urgency, however, is SaEadyah’s de-
that was especially vexing to the kala¯m. SaEadyah unambigu-
fense against the twin charges of falsification and abrogation
ously defends humanity against any divine encroachments:
in the Jewish law. The whole Jewish-Muslim-Christian de-
we are completely free agents, capable of assuming full re-
bate in the medieval period turned on these issues. In reply
sponsibility for our actions despite God’s omnipotence and
to the Muslim accusation that the Bible in general, and Jew-
omniscience. Unlike some Muslim theologians, SaEadyah
ish law in particular, do not represent the pristine and true
does not believe that God’s infinite power would be curtailed
revelation, SaEadyah appeals to the notion of reliable tradi-
if man had some power of his own; nor is it the case that
tion, one of the original sources of truth referred to earlier.
whenever we do some deed God is the co-agent, as some
What is it that makes a religious text and tradition worthy
other Muslim theologians claim. God is not so niggardly or
of credence, SaEadyah asks. Consider a tradition not based
envious that he would deprive human beings of any power
upon reliable evidence: it would be full of contradictions and
to act from their own will, and the notion of one action with
discord. The Jewish tradition, at least as it existed prior to
two co-agents is both implausible and unnecessary. To be an
the nineteenth century, is unique in that it contains not only
agent is ex hypothesi to be able to perform a deed. If I cannot
a text that one of its main rivals (i.e., Christianity) accepts
do it myself, then I am not an agent! Nor is God’s omni-
as true and correct, but also a body of law that was almost
science an impediment to my free action, as Cicero thought.
universally accepted by its adherents. Were this tradition un-
Although God knows what I shall do tomorrow, he does not
reliable, such unanimity would be inconceivable.
cause that action, just as my knowing what day it will be to-
But suppose one were to contend that the Torah is a
morrow does not bring about that day.
true revelation but claim that it has been superseded by a
SaEadyah maintains that each human soul is originally
more perfect divine law, such as the New Testament or
a pure and superior substance that is created by God to direct
QurDa¯n. SaEadyah counters this argument with several replies,
the body in their joint earthly undertaking. The soul needs
some based upon reason, others on scripture, which, after all,
the body to perform its mission as much as the body requires
the Christians accept as true. On purely rational grounds, the
the soul for its guidance. No Platonic dualism, with its subse-
notion of a divine law being superseded by a totally different
quent Christian overlay of original sin, infects SaEadyah’s op-
and in some cases contrary divine law is inconceivable, for
timistic religious psychology. The soul and body together act
two reasons. First, why would a perfect and immutable God
and bear jointly the responsibility for these actions. Upon
give an imperfect law in the first place and then, only a few
death, the human soul will be separated from its body be-
centuries later, replace it with a better but very different
cause it is a finer substance than the body, and it will reside
code? Wouldn’t it have been more sensible to have revealed
in some supernal realm until the day of its eventual return
the better code at the outset? Moreover, does God really
to its original body, which will ultimately be resurrected with
change his mind, as we do? Second, suppose the New Testa-
the soul. SaEadyah recognizes two stages of resurrection: the
ment is more perfect than the Torah. But the Muslims claim
first involves the righteous of Israel alone and is associated
that the QurDa¯n is more perfect than both and hence super-
with the coming of the Messiah in this present world of
sedes them. Yet why stop at this point? Perhaps tomorrow
human history; the second involves the resurrection of all hu-
God will reveal another law that abrogates the QurDa¯n, and
mankind for ultimate judgment and initiates the world to
so on ad infinitum. To stop the regress at one point is just
come with its everlasting reward or punishment. These es-
bias. So why concede a regress at all? Finally—and this argu-
chatological predictions are admittedly not the teachings of
ment is primarily directed against the Christians—the
the philosophers but the promises of scripture, which, how-
Torah, which the Christians accept in principle, testifies to
ever, do not violate reason. Indeed, if God is able to create
its own eternal validity (Jer. 31, Dt. 33). The Christians,
the world ex nihilo, why can he not resurrect the dead, not
SaEadyah implies, cannot have it both ways: either they
just once, but twice? With his establishment of these eschato-
should accept the whole Torah, especially if they see it as the
logical doctrines on both scriptural and rational grounds,
basis for the messianic claim and role of Jesus; or they should
SaEadyah has completed his philosophical reconstruction and
drop it altogether and admit that their religion has no rela-
defense of Judaism.
tionship at all to Judaism.
SPANISH-JEWISH PHILOSOPHERS. Whereas the beginnings
A rational and perfect law revealed by a reasonable and
of both Islamic and Jewish philosophy were in the East, the
perfect lawgiver must, SaEadyah continues, be such that its
second major phase in Jewish philosophy occurred in Mus-
recipients are able to obey it, and in obeying it receive an ap-
lim Spain, which became the philosophical-scientific center
propriate reward. Man has to be a free agent in order to be
for the Jews for nearly the remainder of the Middle Ages. In
a subject in the divine commonwealth and must have the
Spain, the philosophical tradition that molded the Jewish
conviction that his obedience to the law will have beneficial
mind was the “Neoplatonic” philosophy developed by the
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Muslim fala¯sifah al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı and Ibn S¯ına¯ as a synthesis of Ar-
for God’s will is responsible for creating the universe ex ni-
istotelian and Plotinian themes. For about two centuries
hilo. God’s will is of course “guided” by wisdom, which is
both Muslim and Jewish philosophy developed within the
for Ibn Gabirol “the source of life.” Creation, then, is the
metaphysical framework provided by Aristotle and Plotinus,
very essence and purpose of reality.
as interpreted by Porphyry and Proclus. During this period
Jewish cultural life in Spain flourished in virtually every do-
As Ibn Gabirol ascends the ladder of being and reaches
main, but especially in philosophy and poetry. Indeed, two
the sphere of the angels, or the supernal intellects, he indi-
of three leading thinkers in this epoch were poets as well as
cates that man’s true domicile is not the terrestrial domain
philosophers: Shelomoh ibn Gabirol and Yehudah ha-Levi.
of the four basic elements but the world of the intellect. It
is here that the human soul has its origin, and it is here that
Shelomoh ibn Gabirol. The philosophical fate of
the truly religious person will turn his attention. Committed
Shelomoh ibn Gabirol (c. 1021–c. 1058) is especially inter-
to a current philosophical theory of immortality according
esting. His major philosophical work, The Fountain of Life,
to which man’s ultimate reward (to use Alexander Altmann’s
was written in Arabic, as were most Jewish philosophical
phrase) consists in intellectual contact with some supernal
books until the fourteenth century; but the original Arabic
intellect, Ibn Gabirol interprets the traditional Jewish idea
text was lost and survives only in a Latin translation as Fons
of the world to come in these philosophical terms. The righ-
vitae. Its impact upon Jewish thought was minimal, and this
teous will go beyond their original home of the sphere of the
is evidenced by the fact that no medieval Hebrew translation
angels, or cosmic intellects, and reach the “seat of glory,” a
of the work was ever made; only a thirteenth-century He-
traditional Jewish metaphor referring to the divine domain
brew summary survives. The reason for this neglect in Juda-
itself. There the souls of the righteous are “bound up in the
ism is that Fons vitae contains not one biblical or rabbinic
bundle of life,” for they have reached the “source of life.”
reference. It is a pure philosophical treatise, having no obvi-
But, Ibn Gabirol insists, this ascent is accomplished through
ous connection with the traditional theological problems
a life of intellectual and moral discipline, in which philoso-
that had preoccupied SaEadyah and other Jewish thinkers. So
phy plays a central role. For the soul is in its very nature and
it was soon forgotten by the Jews, although preserved by the
origin an intellect, and it is by virtue of intellectual perfection
Christians, who believed its author to be a certain Avicebrol,
through philosophy that the soul attains immortality.
a Muslim, or perhaps a Christian Arab. It was not until 1846
that Solomon Munk proved that the author of Fons vitae,
Bah:ye ibn Paquda. The second representative of the
Avicebrol, was the famous Jewish poet Shelomoh ibn
Spanish school of Jewish philosophy was not a poet but a
Gabirol.
professional judge—Bah:ye ibn Paquda (1080–1120).
Bah:ye’s Duties of the Heart is perhaps the most widely read
Since Ibn Gabirol’s Fountain of Life had no significant
book of medieval Jewish philosophical literature. Not only
influence upon Jewish philosophy, we shall not discuss it
was it studied and commented upon by scholars, but it has
here. Instead, we shall examine his poetry, and for two rea-
been read by ordinary Jews, who have regarded the book as
sons. First, several of his poems are philosophical. Second,
a guide to religious and moral improvement. Its success lies
his poetry, including some of the philosophical poems, was
in the emphasis it gives to the notion of personal piety, focus-
popular among Spanish Jewry. One work in particular is de-
ing upon both the individual’s intellectual and emotional de-
serving of study in this context: the forty-stanza philosophi-
velopment and his progress toward the goal of complete love
cal poem The Crown of Royalty (Keter malkhut). This poem
of God. Showing the external influences of both kala¯m and
is part of the liturgy of Spanish Jewry and is recited on the
Neoplatonism on the philosophical side, and the Islamic
holiest of the holy days, Yom Kippur.
mystical school of Sufism on the religious side, Bah:ye wove
Consistent with the hierarchical mode of thinking char-
these elements into the inherited fabric of the Bible and Tal-
acteristic of the Middle Ages, and especially of Neoplatonic
mud to produce a remarkably unified book of Jewish philo-
philosophy, the philosophical schema of The Crown of Royal-
sophical pietism, or “rationalistic mysticism.” Contrary to
ty begins “on top,” with an account of the divine attributes,
the “duties of the limbs,” which are concerned only with our
expressing the apparently contradictory themes of Plotinian
external actions, such as what we eat, where we pray, and so
divine transcendence and ineffability and the biblical aware-
on, the “duties of the heart” demand a specific mode of men-
ness of God in created nature. Then Ibn Gabirol proceeds
tal and emotional discipline whose ultimate purpose is to free
down the “scale of being” to the mundane world of the four
us from the world of materiality and allow us to devote our
terrestrial elements, the home of man. Finally, he ascends the
whole being to God. This methodos, like Ibn Gabirol’s as-
scale step by step through all the celestial spheres until the
cent, stresses the primary and prior intellectual duty to reflect
divine domain is reached. The terminus a quo turns out to
upon God and his created world in order to arrive at the
be identical with the terminus ad quem. By beginning with
most adequate understanding of God available to man. This
God, Ibn Gabirol is telling us that the whole universe derives
duty leads Bah:ye to embark upon a rigorous demonstration
from and depends upon God, who is its creator and sustain-
of God’s existence and unity and his creation of the universe.
er. Among all the standard attributes usually applied to God,
Bah:ye’s arguments are an amalgam of kala¯m and Aristotelian
it is the divine will that is, for Ibn Gabirol, most important,
and Plotinian elements, with the last’s emphasis upon unity.
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For Bah:ye, God is virtually identical with the One of Ploti-
to the discussion. Ha-Levi’s book, usually referred to as the
nus, so much so that all the traditional biblical and rabbinic
Kuzari, has as its complete title The Kuzari, a Book of Proof
divine attributes are regarded as only concessions to the exi-
and Argument: An Apology for a Despised Religion. Like the
gencies of human language. The only true attribute of God
books previously discussed, it was written in Arabic but soon
is unity, which expresses God’s essence.
translated into Hebrew, by Yehudah ibn Tibbon (1120–
1190), the same translator who had rendered SaEadyah’s and
Once it is understood that God is the ultimate One
Bah:ye’s works.
from which everything else is derived, it is clear that we have
another “duty of the heart”: to devote our whole lives to the
The opening paragraph of the book establishes the
worship of this absolute unity upon whose existence every-
ground plan of the whole debate. The king receives a divine
thing depends. Most of Bah:ye’s treatise lays out a graded
communication via an angel in a dream in which he is told
manual of emotional discipline whereby the reader is pro-
that although his religious intentions are good, his pagan be-
gressively prepared to serve and love his creator. Throughout
havior is unacceptable to God. He then summons a philoso-
these “purificatory” chapters concerning such topics as trust
pher to find out what behavior is acceptable to God. It is
in God, humility, and self-examination, Bah:ye proposes a
made quite clear why the philosopher is called first: ha-Levi’s
form of asceticism that seems to be borrowed from the Mus-
philosopher stresses that in his view God is not interested in
lim mystics but that is tempered by the Jewish insistence
actions, since God is not cognizant of, nor does he supervise,
upon the duty to be a co-creator with God. Yet, it is evident
individual behavior. In expressing this belief the philosopher
that for Bah:ye this world is not only a “vestibule” for the
gives voice to the al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı-Ibn S¯ına¯ denial of divine cogni-
next, as the rabbis had suggested, but a school in which we
tion of and providence for individuals. This philosopher is
are continually challenged, tested, and examined so as to pre-
primarily concerned with the attainment of immortality
pare us for “real life,” which in this case is the life with God.
through “conjunction” of the intellect with one of the angels,
Our mind and emotions have to be cleansed from their cor-
or supernal intellects, or perhaps with God himself. Whether
poreal contamination. For this purpose God has graciously
one fasts or observes dietary laws is of no concern to this phi-
given us both the duties of the limbs, which for Jews means
losopher. He is dismissed immediately because the king has
the divine commandments of the Torah, and the duties of
received a message from God. All the logical arguments ad-
the heart, revealed to us through reason. Both help and lead
duced by the philosopher are not going to convince the king
us to the attainment of our goal, the love of God.
otherwise; since the philosophers are not noted for receiving
prophetic revelations, they are not in the position of dispar-
Yehudah ha-Levi. The third of our trio of Spanish-
aging such experiences. The king expresses here his bias: ex-
Jewish philosophers in this period of Neoplatonic philoso-
perience is decisive over logic. Once dismissed, the philoso-
phy was perhaps the greatest Hebrew poet since the biblical
pher does not physically return, although his ideas are
poets. Unlike Ibn Gabirol, Yehudah ha-Levi (1085–1141)
frequently discussed in his absence.
was a philosopher turned against himself, for despite a youth-
ful flirtation with the “wisdom of the Greeks” and his re-
The king now turns to a Christian theologian and then
spectful appreciation of its “beautiful flowers,” ha-Levi came
to a Muslim scholar, both of whom begin their speeches with
to reject its “bitter fruits.” These fruits contained, he be-
a recital of theological dogma, supporting these beliefs by ap-
lieved, poison, but it was a poison that he himself had tasted.
pealing to the Israelites and their Torah. Without Judaism
In this respect ha-Levi is like the modern religious thinker
there is no Christianity and no Islam. At this point the king
So⁄ren Kierkegaard. Ha-Levi presents his critique of philoso-
realizes that he needs to summon a Jewish scholar, whose
phy in the form of a “Platonic dialogue,” whose main charac-
opening speech, unlike those of the Christian and the Mus-
ter is not a philosopher but the pagan king of the Khazars,
lim, is not a theological credo but a recitation of historical
a medieval Asiatic people living near the Black Sea who con-
facts. Against the king’s criticism that such facts have no sig-
verted to Judaism in the middle of the eighth century. Ac-
nificance to a non-Jew and hence Judaism is a “particularis-
cording to legend, the king decided to abandon paganism
tic” religion, the Jew replies that the very historical facts are
and summoned representatives of Judaism, Christianity
precisely the advantage of Judaism, especially over the philos-
(Greek and Roman), and Islam to prove in a debate which
opher. The last point intrigues the king, for he has already
is the true religion. At the end of the debate the king was con-
dismissed the philosopher precisely because of the latter’s
vinced by Judaism and hence converted. Ha-Levi uses this
cavalier attitude to the facts. So now the king warms up to
legend but modifies it in several ways. First, and most signifi-
the Jewish scholar, who follows with a diatribe against phi-
cant, he introduces a philosopher into the debate; indeed, it
losophy, not so much for any specific philosophical theory
will turn out that philosophy is for ha-Levi the main intellec-
as for its method. Since by definition philosophy is the
tual rival of Judaism. Second, initially the king, despising the
human search for wisdom through reason, it is necessarily
Jews as an inferior and persecuted people, resists inviting a
limited and subject to error. The clearest proof of this is the
Jew to the debate. It is only after both the Christian and the
notorious inability of philosophers to agree on anything.
Muslim confess that their own religions presuppose the truth
This point is especially interesting to the king, who now lis-
of Judaism for their own validity that the king invites a Jew
tens avidly to the Jewish scholar. Later this epistemological
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skepticism is buttressed by another argument of a quasi-
spoke to Abraham and Moses. This person is referred to in
skeptical nature drawn from ethics: a purely philosophical
Hebrew by the tetragrammaton (YHVH), a name so holy
morality, which the philosopher claimed was sufficient for
that only the high priest pronounced it. This person is not
man, is at best no better than a system of prudential maxims
known indirectly through inference but directly through
that may be broken at any time to suit one’s convenience.
prophecy. Here ha-Levi anticipates both Pascal’s rejection of
Such a “morality” is insufficient to bind a society together
philosophical theology and Russell’s distinction between
or even to guide the individual in the complexities of moral
knowledge by description and knowledge by acquaintance.
action. Divine revelation alone can supply this required in-
The prophet “sees” and “tastes” the Lord (Ps. 34:9) with
formation.
whom Moses at least spoke as friend to friend; the philoso-
pher knows God as a hypothesis that, as the French mathe-
And thus we are back to prophecy. Judaism, the scholar
matician Pierre La Place once said, may very well be superflu-
insists, rests upon the historical fact that God does speak to
ous. The former we may have to die for; the latter we can
man. This belief is accepted by the Christian and the Muslim
ignore with impunity.
as well. Against the testimonies of sense experience, even if
MAIMONIDES. The next major figure in medieval Jewish phi-
it is prophetic experience, logic is impotent, especially if the
losophy, Moses Maimonides (Mosheh ben Maimon, 1135/
experience in question is attested to by over six hundred
8–1204), was also a native of Spain; but unlike his Spanish
thousand people and unanimously reported. Here ha-Levi
predecessors he was heir to a different philosophical tradi-
enunciates a philosophy of religious empiricism that empha-
tion, in which Aristotle was “the Philosopher.” Maimonides’
sizes the role of experience over reason, prophecy over logic.
mastery of this new intellectual outlook altered the whole
When the king objects that experience is always subjective
philosophical scene in the medieval Jewish world. This rena-
and particularistic, no matter how many people may be in-
scent Aristotle is a “purer,” more authentic Aristotle than the
volved, the rabbi concedes the point but tries to turn it to
one who was encountered in the Neoplatonic-Aristotelian
his own advantage. Yes, prophecy is a special sense faculty
synthesis of Ibn S¯ına¯ or Ibn Gabirol. Henceforth, until Spi-
that is found only in some people. After all, if everyone were
noza, Jewish philosophers will have to cope with this Aristot-
a prophet, who would listen to any prophet? And again, even
le. Moreover, the power and style of Maimonides’ own
if prophecy is restricted to Israel, as ha-Levi somewhat exces-
philosophical personality was such that his successors had to
sively and heterodoxly insists, this is not so embarrassing, for
deal with him as well. This overwhelming influence is to be
again the Christian admits that the Israelites are God’s cho-
attributed to the character of Maimonides’ chief philosophi-
sen people, and the Muslim concedes that only Moses spoke
cal work, The Guide of the Perplexed, translated from Arabic
to God directly. If the philosopher has trouble with this fact,
into Hebrew by Shemu’el ibn Tibbon (1150–1230).
so much the worse for him! After all, ha-Levi reminds us, the
philosopher is really tone-deaf to prophecy. So why listen to
Maimonides states at the outset that the Guide is no or-
him?
dinary philosophical book. Although he indicates the goals
of the book and his motives for writing it, he warns his read-
Convinced of both the irrelevancy of philosophy to his
ers that besides some stringent intellectual qualifications that
religious search and the derivative status of Christianity and
they must possess before reading the Guide, they should not
Islam, the king converts to Judaism. The rabbi then instructs
expect that the way out of their perplexities will be easily un-
him in the basic teachings and practices of Judaism, of which
derstood, clearly visible, or unambiguously stated. Indeed, it
one is especially pertinent to philosophy. Instead of giving
is one of the great ironies of this book that although one of
the standard rabbinic distinction that Yahveh, God’s proper
its purposes is to discuss and clarify the various ambiguities
name, expresses the divine attribute of love or mercy, where-
in the Bible, and religious language in general, it is itself
as the name Elohim expresses the attribute of justice, ha-Levi
highly ambiguous, giving rise to all kinds of difficulties to
distinguishes between two radically different ways of know-
its interpreters, both medieval and modern. Maimonides
ing, thinking, and talking about God. A philosopher—
tells us that philosophical truth, especially in metaphysics,
Aristotle, for example—arrives at his conception of the di-
the divine science, cannot by its very nature be divulged and
vine through a process of observation and logical inference.
expressed in a public and discursive manner. In the first
The outcome of this ratiocination is a first cause that serves
place, very few are fit to study and appreciate its problems.
as an explanatory hypothesis or entity. If Aristotle’s theory
Second, by its very nature, metaphysical truth is not appre-
is true, then its theological statements give an accurate de-
hended in a systematic, discursive, continuous manner; on
scription of reality, just as, if his astronomy is true, the astro-
the contrary, like lightning it comes suddenly, quickly, and
nomical statements correctly describe the heavens. But one
discontinuously to those who do attain it. Rarely does a per-
does not pray to such a god! Ha-Levi’s philosopher in book
son reach a level of metaphysical knowledge that would en-
1 of the Kuzari is right: the philosopher’s god isn’t interested
able him to set out its truths in a popularly accessible way.
in our world. But if this is so, how can we be interested in
Do not expect, then, Maimonides tells us, that the Guide will
this god? “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not the
be an easy book, since the book that it attempts to deci-
god of the philosophers!” the rabbi insists. Through philoso-
pher—the Bible—contains the highest truths in science and
phy we may reach God; but this power is not the person who
philosophy formulated in language that is perplexing. In
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: PREMODERN PHILOSOPHY
4893
short, Moses was the greatest metaphysician, who via proph-
ments pro or con are valid, that the question is not “decid-
ecy was charged with the assignment of disseminating these
able” for human reason.
truths in a book containing many levels of meaning. Mai-
Of course, Maimonides has a theological ax to grind: he
monides, on the other hand, set himself the task of uncover-
wants to defend Moses against Aristotle; but he proceeds in
ing some of these layers to the select few, whose philosophi-
manner quite different from the kala¯m. He first shows that
cal-religious perplexities had reached such a pitch that a
with one exception all the kala¯m arguments are either invalid
guide was needed.
or rest upon false premises. The only argument that he finds
Two basic methodological principles are laid down at
acceptable is, however, inductive and thus does not consti-
the outset. First, the Bible cannot be read literally; otherwise
tute a decisive proof against Aristotle, since inductive argu-
it would be full of worthless doctrines and downright errors.
ments are falsifiable. Having removed the kala¯m from con-
Second, human reason has limits, especially in metaphysics,
sideration, Maimonides then examines the Aristotelian
where the philosopher, in spite of his keen and deep desire
arguments for the eternity hypothesis. These proofs divide
for truth, must recognize the limited scope of his intellectual
into two classes: scientific and metaphysical. The first group
rests, he claims, upon the assumption that the laws of physics
reach. The first of these rules is familiar, going back to both
are unrestrictedly applicable to every moment in the past in-
rabbinic and earlier philosophical sources, such as Philo and
cluding the first instant of time, which in the theory of cre-
SaEadyah. That the Torah “speaks the language of men” is
ation begins the history of the world. Given this assumption,
a well-known Jewish hermeneutical principle. Thus, we must
Aristotle argues that the hypothesis of a first instant is incom-
learn how to read the Bible, which for Maimonides is a
patible with the laws of physics; hence, such a hypothesis
philosophical book that has to be read philosophically. One
must be false (Aristotle, Physics 8.1). Maimonides claims,
consequence of this exegetical method is that we shall have
however, that this assumption is arbitrary, indeed a petitio
to begin our new study of the Bible by applying a philosophi-
principii. Must we say that at the very moment when the uni-
cal filter to purify the text of its anthropomorphic dross. Vir-
verse was created the laws of mechanics were true? Since for
tually all of part 1 of the Guide is devoted to this task. Mai-
the creationist there is no history of the universe prior to or
monides philosophically translates many of the “offending”
at the first instant of time, there is nothing that such laws
words and phrases; for example, the expression “face” in “my
would be true of. Maimonides believes that these laws are
face shall not be seen” (Ex. 33:23) connotes God’s essence,
true after there is a universe, but not before or when it comes
not any physical organ. The core of Maimonides’ conception
into being. Nor are the metaphysical arguments for eternity
of God is a radical defense of the via negativa: the most accu-
any less arbitrary; for they, too, assume that certain meta-
rate and appropriate way to speak of God is to say what he
physical principles are true of God such that creation would
is not. Human language is essentially incapable of describing
be precluded. But why say God is subject to such principles?
the nature of God.
After all, part 1 of the Guide has shown us how different God
In spite of this apparent theological agnosticism, Mai-
is from us!
monides still holds that several of the basic beliefs of Judaism
From the inadequacy of the arguments both for creation
can be soundly proved by means of true philosophical princi-
and for eternity Maimonides infers that the question can be
ples, which have been established by Aristotle. To this extent
decided only by choosing one or the other hypothesis; nei-
a philosophical theology is possible, for we can demonstrate
ther has been proved true. Believers in the Bible will of
God’s existence, unity, incorporeality, and simplicity philo-
course opt for creation, since it is this belief that makes their
sophically. These “theological theorems” are as solid as the
religion possible. For without creation there would be no
theorems of geometry or physics. Thus our “belief in God”
miracles, and revelation is a miracle. But Maimonides does
is for Maimonides knowledge, not just “blind faith.” But we
not leave the matter just to choice and religious pressure; he
have to remember that there are limits to reason. Some theo-
believes there is an inductive argument, drawn from the
logical questions will remain recalcitrant to human reason:
kala¯m, that renders the creation hypothesis more plausible
we shall not be able to resolve them decisively. This is essen-
than the eternity theory. The latter, Maimonides maintains,
tially so in the issue of creation of the universe, a problem
fails to explain certain specific natural phenomena; for exam-
that becomes increasingly vexing with the spread of Aristot-
ple, why does the planet Venus emit a bluish color whereas
le’s physics, one of whose “theorems” was the eternity of the
Mars looks red, especially since both planets have, Aristotle
universe. This question was regarded as crucial, since if the
claims, the same chemical structure? In eluding the reach of
world is eternal, it would seem that divine providence would
Aristotle’s physics, these “accidental facts” are evidence for,
be idle or nonexistent, and hence miracles would be impossi-
but do not decisively prove, the creation theory. For in the
ble. Saadyah believed that he could prove creation ex nihilo;
latter theory these facts are explained by appealing to God’s
the Muslim fala¯sifah claimed that they could prove the eter-
creative will. Finally, although Maimonides offers no philo-
nity of the universe. Here we have one of the earliest appear-
sophical argument for creation ex nihilo, as SaEadyah did, he
ances of a metaphysical antinomy, two contrary theses with
dismisses its rival Platonic model of creation from eternal
seemingly persuasive arguments. Like Kant seven centuries
matter as unproved. Accordingly, the way is open to accept
later, Maimonides attempts to show that none of the argu-
the traditional belief in creation ex nihilo.
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Since the ultimate purpose of Maimonides’ defense of
possessing reason. This link makes possible divine provi-
creation is to vindicate the possibility of miracles, Maimoni-
dence over individual human beings. Since these individuals
des now proceeds to discuss a phenomenon that the religious
will differ in their level of intellectual perfection, individual
believe to be the greatest miracle besides creation itself—
providence will vary; but this is only what one would expect.
prophecy. Given, on the one hand, the competing Islamic
The concluding chapters of the Guide focus on the
claim that Muh:ammad was the last and most authoritative
question of the rationality of the divine commandments,
prophet and, on the other hand, the theory of the fala¯sifah
which for the Jew are the supreme expression of God’s care
that prophecy is a purely naturalistic phenomenon that re-
for man and for Israel in particular. Like SaEadyah, Maimoni-
quires no supernatural intervention for its occurrence, Mai-
des is committed to the general principle that the Mosaic leg-
monides was constrained to defend both the superiority of
islation is a body of law based upon reason. God desires that
Moses against Muh:ammad and the role of God in the grant-
human beings attain moral and intellectual perfection. Obvi-
ing of prophecy. Yet he was too committed to a scientific
ously, then, the laws must lead to these goals and hence can-
outlook indebted to Aristotle and al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı to dismiss alto-
not be without sense, as some of the kala¯m theologians had
gether their explanation of prophecy as a necessary emana-
argued with respect to Muslim law. Unlike SaEadyah, howev-
tion from God through the Agent Intellect, or angel respon-
er, Maimonides proceeds to give a systematic and detailed
sible for human intellection, to a properly prepared and
analysis of Jewish law, showing that there is hardly anything
qualified individual, in whom both the intellect and imagi-
in this whole legal corpus that cannot be understood. Take
nation have been perfected. His problem was to find an
dietary laws, for example. Some of them are just good hy-
opening for divine intervention within this deterministic-
giene. (Remember that Maimonides was a practicing physi-
naturalistic theory of prophecy. He discovered this opening
cian.) Others were designed to prevent assimilation with
by making two modifications in this theory. First, even
pagan nations. In general, Jewish law, for Maimonides, is a
though a person has satisfied the requisite conditions for
divinely revealed system of rational laws.
prophecy, God can withhold the emanation. In this sense
prophecy is “up to God.” Second, in Moses’ case the divine
JEWISH AVERROISM AND GERSONIDES. By the beginning of
emanation reached his intellect free from any admixture of
the thirteenth century, Aristotle had overwhelmed the medi-
the imagination and without the mediation of the Agent In-
eval intellectual world. Besides Maimonides, he had another
tellect. Thus, the Bible says of Moses, “he spoke to God face
ally, one who was even more influential: he was the Muslim
to face” (Nm. 12:8). This too, like creation, occurs outside
philosopher Ibn Rushd (1126–1198), known in the West as
the normal, natural course of events.
Averroës. Like Maimonides, Ibn Rushd was born in Cordo-
va, but unlike his Jewish colleague he remained there most
The third part of the Guide is devoted to the solution
of his life. The two never met, and Maimonides knew of Ibn
of several theological problems that were becoming increas-
Rushd’s writings only after he had written the Guide. Had
ingly vexing in the Aristotelian atmosphere surrounding
he known the Muslim’s philosophy before the writing of the
Maimonides. Does God know particular events, especially
Guide, a much different book would have been written, for
the deeds of men? Is God’s providence concerned with par-
Ibn Rushd represents a less adulterated Aristotle, one virtual-
ticular humans or just with the human race in general? Final-
ly stripped of its Plotinian-Avicennian accretions. Neverthe-
ly, are the commandments rational or just the whims of an
less, this confrontation between Ibn Rushd and Maimonides
arbitrary divine despot? The first two questions are treated
does take place, but after their death and throughout almost
together since they are different facets of the general question
all post-Maimonidean Jewish medieval philosophy. Indeed,
of how God relates himself to man. Contrary to both the
the story of Jewish philosophy after Maimonides and prior
philosophers’ belief that God is so beyond man that he can-
to Spinoza is a drama whose main protagonists are Aristotle
not know individual human deeds, especially their future ac-
as interpreted by Ibn Rushd and Maimonides, although
tions, since such knowledge would mean that God would
these roles are played by characters bearing different names.
enter time and the events themselves would be necessitated,
Maimonides claimed that the philosophers’ fear again rests
Through his commentaries on Aristotle as well as by vir-
upon an illicit analogy drawn between divine and human
tue of his own independent treatises, Ibn Rushd exerted an
cognition. Just as God’s nature eludes our grasp, so too his
enormous influence upon Jewish thinkers, ultimately result-
way of knowing escapes our finite understanding. God does
ing in a “school” of philosophers who could be dubbed “Jew-
know particular human actions, and he knows them without
ish Averroists.” This circle included such figures as Yitsh:aq
their being necessitated. “Everything is foreseen; yet freedom
Albalag of northern Spain or southern France (fl. 1250–
is given” (Avot 3.15). The way out from this apparent dilem-
1280), Yosef Kaspi of Provence (1279–1340), and Mosheh
ma lies in the realization that God’s knowledge is not subject
Narboni of Provence (died c. 1360). One immediate conse-
to the logic that our own knowledge obeys. Once it is admit-
quence of this confluence of Ibn Rushd and Maimonides was
ted that God does know particular events, the question about
that these Jewish Averroists read Maimonides from the per-
divine providence is easily answered. If God can know partic-
spective of Ibn Rushd’s thought and arrived at an interpreta-
ular men, he exercises his care over them as particulars; for
tion of their Jewish teacher that distinguished the exoteric
man, unlike any other species, is directly linked to God by
teaching of the Guide from its esoteric meaning.
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: PREMODERN PHILOSOPHY
4895
One Averroist thesis that is advocated by these three
ployed by the Muslim fala¯sifah, including Ibn Rushd, Gerso-
Jewish thinkers as part of Maimonides’ esoteric message is
nides rejects the possibility of construing human perfection
the doctrine of eternal creation. This seeming cosmological
in terms of such a conjunction. First, he criticizes the Averro-
oxymoron was advocated by Ibn S¯ına¯ and explicitly rejected
ist thesis that all human intellects are temporary manifesta-
by Maimonides; but Ibn Rushd had reformulated it in terms
tions of the one intellect, which in reality is the Agent Intel-
of his new reading of Aristotle. In its new garb the theory
lect. All of us, Gersonides maintains, have our own intellect,
asserts that the physical universe is a continuous emanation
which persists after death and is different from all other
from God, who eternally sustains, and hence “creates,” the
human intellects. Its persistence and differentiation result
world, his eternal product. In Narboni the relationship be-
from the cognitive capital that the individual intellect has ac-
tween God and the universe becomes so intimate that it al-
cumulated throughout life. This knowledge is permanent
most results in pantheism. Another important Averroist the-
but varies from person to person. Human immortality is
sis concerns human “eternity,” or immortality, a topic on
then defined in terms of the knowledge possessed by each in-
which the Guide is virtually silent. Ibn Rushd advanced the
dividual. The Agent Intellect helps us acquire knowledge but
view that human immortality consists in a special “conjunc-
is identical neither with this knowledge nor with our intel-
tion,” or union, between man’s intellect and the Agent Intel-
lects. Like God, the Agent Intellect is a transcendent power
lect, the cosmic power responsible for human intellection,
that continually influences us but eludes our grasp. No union
prophecy, and terrestrial generation. Four features of this
with it is possible for man.
theory are especially important. First, immortality is literally
intellectual, since it is of the intellect and attained through
The next main issue Gersonides grapples with involves
philosophical perfection. Second, in Ibn Rushd’s psychology
him in a struggle with both Maimonides and Ibn Rushd. On
there is really only one human intellect, which is somehow
the question of whether God can know particulars, both of
“shared” by or exemplified in many individuals; this one in-
the earlier thinkers had appealed to the via negativa to solve
tellect is, however, identical with the Agent Intellect, al-
all the apparent difficulties such a knowledge seemed to en-
though only potentially so. Third, at death, or “decorporeal-
tail. Gersonides, however, rejects the via negativa, in general
ization,” a person’s mind becomes actualized by being
and especially in the case of God’s cognition. He maintains
departicularized, that is, by “returning” to the Agent Intel-
that if God’s knowledge or any other attribute is radically dif-
lect. Finally, in the Agent Intellect all previously particular-
ferent from our knowledge, then we can know nothing about
ized minds are now one and hence no longer individuated.
God, not even that he exists. After all, how could we justify
Immortality is then for the Averroist literally impersonal. In
an inference from our experience to God, if God is so differ-
this doctrine we have a kind of religiosity that several modern
ent from any human attribute? Now turning to cognition in
scholars have called “rationalistic mysticism.”
particular, Gersonides argues that God’s knowledge is admit-
tedly not like ours in every respect, but it is sufficiently like
Jewish Averroism did not go unchallenged, and its first
human cognition to apply to it certain basic epistemological
important critic was thoroughly immersed in the literature
and logical conditions. First, since it is required for our cog-
of Ibn Rushd. Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides, 1288–1344)
nition of a spatio-temporal fact that we possess sense percep-
of Provence was an original, versatile, and prolific author
tion, God cannot know such facts, for since he has no sense
whose writings encompass mathematics, astronomy, and
organs, he has no sense perception. Second, God’s knowing
biblical exegesis as well as philosophy. Although enamored
a future event is incompatible with its being contingent and
of both Maimonides and Ibn Rushd, he took a critical stance
free. Now we are back to the dilemma that SaEadyah thought
toward both when he felt they were wrong; and they were
he had dissolved. Unlike most Jewish medieval philosophers,
wrong, he believed, on several important issues. To the eluci-
Gersonides is prepared to sacrifice God’s knowledge of par-
dation and solution of these problems, Gersonides wrote in
ticulars, especially human actions, and to retain human free-
Hebrew The Wars of the Lord, which covers virtually all the
dom. Accordingly, he redefines divine omniscience as God’s
main topics in medieval metaphysics, natural philosophy,
knowledge of all that is knowable. Future contingent events,
and psychology, especially as they impinge upon religion.
however, are not knowable, as Aristotle pointed out, for if
The common theme throughout the book is Gersonides’
they were, they would not be contingent. Hence it is not an
commitment to the power of human reason. Gersonides re-
imperfection in God not to know them.
jects ha-Levi’s epistemological skepticism and Maimonides’
moderate rationalism, and he expresses instead a robust con-
Another equally striking set of conclusions reached by
fidence in man’s intellectual powers. To use Kant’s phrase,
Gersonides concerns his cosmology. Again he differs from
we can say that Gersonides attempted to bring “religion
both Maimonides and Ibn Rushd, not accepting the former’s
within the limits of reason alone.”
acceptance of creation ex nihilo and disbelief in a decisive
proof on this topic and rejecting the latter’s belief in the eter-
The first major question discussed in The Wars of the
nity of the universe. Gersonides shows Maimonides that it
Lord is human immortality, especially the doctrine of con-
is possible to demonstrate the createdness of the world by
junction with the Agent Intellect. Although he retains the
giving several such proofs. One of these proofs goes like this:
vocabulary and some of the principles of the psychology em-
anything that exhibits teleological features must be made (for
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: PREMODERN PHILOSOPHY
example, light); hence, the universe is made. Another proof,
arguments against both these notions, Crescas seriously en-
of which there are several varieties, shows that the Aristote-
tertains the hypothesis that there may be an infinite vacuum
lian hypothesis of a universe enduring for infinite time in the
surrounding our world, thus allowing for the possibility of
past is incompatible with Aristotle’s physics and hence is
a plurality of universes. Crescas was one of the earliest repre-
false. For example, Aristotelian physics excludes an actual in-
sentatives of the modern theory of the “open universe.”
finite, a magnitude all of whose infinite parts or members co-
exist. But if past time is infinite, Gersonides argues, we
The admittance of both an actual infinite and the void
would have an actual infinite, since the past is in some sense
undermines, however, the arguments for several important
actual insofar as all past events were real and have conse-
theorems in medieval natural theology, such as the existence
quences. Infinite past time would be like a book so chock-full
and unity of God and, in Gersonides’ view, the impossibility
of facts that prior to any given page there are an infinite
of creation ex nihilo. Crescas is not unhappy with this con-
number of pages. Who could read such a book? Thus the
clusion and proceeds to draw out the theological implica-
universe is created at a definite moment, the first instant of
tions of his new infinitist outlook. He does this by restructur-
time.
ing the Jewish creed, scrapping Maimonides’ by-then famous
Thirteen Articles and replacing them with his own “axiomat-
But how was it created? SaEadyah, Ibn Gabirol, ha-Levi,
ic reconstruction” of Jewish dogma. Arguing that Maimoni-
and Maimonides all maintain ex nihilo creation, although
des’ list fails to exhibit the logical relationships among the
only SaEadyah undertook to prove it. Gersonides rejects this
various dogmas and omits any justification of why some of
by-now orthodox doctrine and defends the Platonic view
these articles are essential to Judaism, Crescas rearranges the
that the world was fashioned by God out of some formless
creed into four categories: (1) the roots of religion, (2) the
preexistent matter. Here as before, his arguments are entirely
foundations of the Torah, (3) obligatory beliefs of Judaism,
philosophical. For example, if the world were created from
and (4) optional beliefs. Group 1 consists of the basic postu-
nothing, then the matter that now constitutes the world
lates of any monotheistic religion, such as the existence,
would be preexisted by a vacuum, which it now partly fills.
unity, and incorporeality of God. Group 2 consists of the
But a vacuum is impossible, as Aristotle had proved. Finally,
logical presuppositions of a revealed law, such as the Torah;
unlike SaEadyah but like Maimonides, Gersonides holds that
among such postulates are divine cognition, prophecy, and
the universe is everlasting. However, whereas Maimonides
omnipotence and human choice. Group 3 contains those be-
maintained this position on the basis of his interpretation of
liefs taught in Judaism but not logically entailed by the fact
several biblical and rabbinic passages, Gersonides attempts
of revelation; these ideas are contingent upon revelation but
to prove philosophically that the universe cannot be de-
not essential to it. They include such beliefs as creation of
stroyed, not even by God. After all, what reason could he
the world, immortality of the soul, and resurrection of the
have for doing so? Spite, anger, regret, admission of a bad
dead. Finally, group 4, optional beliefs, includes opinions
original job? Surely none of these human motives can be at-
about a variety of topics, such as the plurality of universes
tributed to a perfect and immutable craftsman.
or the truth of astrology, about which authoritative Judaism
CRESCAS. Gersonides’ thoroughgoing rationalism was to be
takes no definitive stand. On these matters Jews may believe
most controversial; hardly any of his successors accepted its
as they wish.
radical conclusions in cosmology or about divine cognition.
His critics either reverted to some version of Maimonides’
Consider the existence of God—a root belief of any mo-
moderate rationalism or rejected completely the whole Aris-
notheistic religion. Since all the “classical” proofs have been
totelian edifice upon which both Maimonides and Gerso-
undermined by his critique of their Aristotelian foundations,
nides erected their philosophical reconstructions of Judaism.
how does Crescas philosophically justify such a root belief?
The best representative of the latter approach is H:asdai Cres-
In the first place, for Crescas religious beliefs in general do
cas (1340–1410) of Spain, whose Or Adonai (Light of the
not require a philosophical justification; the acceptance of re-
Lord) consists both of a radical critique of Aristotle’s natural
ligious authority, rather than the demonstration of logical
philosophy and a redefinition of Jewish dogmatics on a dif-
proof, is decisive. Second, if philosophical argument is intro-
ferent basis. Writing at the beginning of what would be the
duced into religion, say for explanatory or polemical pur-
end of Spanish Judaism, Crescas claims that Maimonides
poses, it must be sound philosophy. And so Crescas provides
committed a serious and fundamental mistake in attempting
a “new” argument for the existence of God, one which does
to establish Judaism upon Aristotelian foundations. One
not presuppose Aristotle’s rejection of an actually infinite se-
consequence of this error was Gersonides and the Jewish
ries of essential causes and effects. Crescas’s proof purports
Averroists. So Crescas starts all over by first showing that Ar-
to show that whether the causal series is infinite or finite, it
istotle’s natural philosophy is either false or weak, and that
is a series of contingent causes and effects and hence requires
the natural theology based upon this “weak reed” is even
some necessary and eternal substance to bring it forth, for
more shaky. Crescas then proceeds to offer a new system of
what is contingent is by its very nature a mere possible exis-
Jewish belief. The main thrust of his critique is his willing-
tent. As to God’s unity and incorporeality, however, Crescas
ness to admit the twin Aristotelian horrors of the actual infi-
is doubtful whether philosophy is competent to prove such
nite and the void. After demonstrating the invalidity of the
root beliefs; hence revelation must be the guide. On this lat-
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: PREMODERN PHILOSOPHY
4897
ter point Crescas is close to the Christian Scholastic William
claims, the universe is created, eternally or temporally, ex ni-
of Ockham.
hilo, since the universe is only a contingent being, whereas
God is a necessary being, and as contingent, it depends upon
Crescas is most original and even radical in his treat-
God. This causal-ontological dependency means that it is
ment of the two closely related foundational beliefs of Juda-
created ex nihilo.
ism—divine cognition and human choice. Here he provides
a deterministic solution to the classic dilemma between di-
THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE. Crescas’s radical critique of Ar-
vine omniscience and human freedom. Rejecting Gerso-
istotelianism and his own interpretation of some Jewish be-
nides’ equally radical indeterminist denial of divine cogni-
liefs did not satisfy most of his successors in Spanish-Jewish
tion of future contingencies, Crescas claims that God’s
philosophy. His pupil Yosef Albo, for example, rejected his
knowledge of some future event—say, Abraham’s binding of
determinism. For the most part, fifteenth- and sixteenth-
Isaac—does fix the truth status of that event before its actual
century Spanish-Jewish philosophy reverts to some form of
occurrence. True, Abraham’s binding of Isaac takes place in
Maimonidean moderate rationalism. The new developments
time, but in God’s “eternal vision” this event is eternally true
in Jewish philosophy take place on a different soil: Italy.
and thus necessary. Abraham’s freedom is, Crescas believes,
With the emergence of Renaissance Platonism and the new
ensured by virtue of the fact that from an abstract logical per-
physics of Galileo, different philosophic themes are sounded
spective, his binding of Isaac is a logically contingent state
by several Italian-Jewish philosophical voices. The first of
of affairs: in some other world it is possible that he would
these “newer sounds” is of Spanish origin, Judah Abravanel
not bind Isaac. Here Crescas advances a view that, although
(Leo Ebreo, c. 1460–1521), the son of the famous Spanish
novel in Judaism, is virtually identical with the doctrine of
financier, biblical exegete, and philosopher Isaac Abravanel,
Boethius and Thomas Aquinas, but perhaps more pro-
who found asylum in Italy after the expulsion of the Jews
nounced in its deterministic flavor. Crescas’s deterministic
from Spain in 1492. In Italy, especially in Florence, a
position is also reflected in his account of human choice. On
“newer” Plato was discovered, who in many respects is closer
purely psychological grounds he claims that human deci-
to the historical Plato. Reading Plato directly either in the
sions, actions, and belief commitments are caused by a vari-
original Greek or from Latin translations of the Greek, Ital-
ety of factors. But if our choices, acts, and beliefs are all deter-
ian philosophers like Marsilio Ficino attempted to strip away
mined, are they free? Yes, so long as we have the correct
the Aristotelian accretions to Plato that had accumulated
understanding of what a free act, choice, or belief is. If we
during the Middle Ages, just as Ibn Rushd had tried to get
have not been compelled by an external cause to choose or
at the real Aristotle. Judah Abravanel shows signs of this Pla-
act in a certain way and we feel no such compulsion, then
tonic revival, even in the literary form of his philosophical
we are free. As Hobbes and Hume were to say a few centuries
work Dialoghi d’amore, which is a philosophical dialogue be-
later, as long as I can get up, move my legs, and walk, I am
tween two characters on the matter of love, both divine and
“at liberty” to walk, even though I have been conditioned to
human. This very topic betrays the new Renaissance spirit;
for no previous medieval philosophical text, whether Jewish,
walk out of my office every time I hear the lunch bell. All
Muslim, or Christian, made the Greek notion of ero¯s its cen-
of this, Crescas claims, is consistent with divine or human
tral problem. But for a Platonic academy in Florence this was
praise or blame, reward or punishment; for just as smoke nat-
the problem par excellence: Plato’s Symposium and Phaedrus
urally follows the kindling of a fire, so, too, does punishment
had replaced the Timaeus and Republic.
follow the performance of an evil act. There is a divinely or-
dered moral plan in the universe whereby sins or crimes cause
Abravanel’s Dialoghi, written most likely in Italian or
punishments and virtue brings about reward.
perhaps in Spanish, represents an attempt to fit Plato’s phi-
losophy of ero¯s into a Jewish framework, even though there
Crescas’s account of creation is also original. Whereas
are in it citations drawn from classical mythology and even
almost all his predecessors and successors claimed that cre-
the New Testament. However, the Judaic orientation is
ation is either a “root” or a “foundation,” Crescas contends
clear. Not only are the Bible and rabbinic literature cited, but
that, although it is a belief taught by Judaism, it need not
Maimonides and Ibn Gabirol are also referred to. Here Pla-
have been taught. If the Bible had begun with “From all eter-
tonic ero¯s is legitimized by redefining it in terms of the Mai-
nity there was God and the universe,” there could still have
monidean motif that man loves God through his devotion
been a Jewish religion. After disposing of both Maimonides’
to the life of the intellect. But man’s intellectual love of God
and Gersonides’ criticisms of the eternity cosmology, Crescas
is reciprocated and complemented by God’s love for man,
offers a “soft” defense of the eternal creation hypothesis, a
indeed for the whole universe, which God creates freely out
doctrine that had been rejected by both Maimonides and
of love from preexistent matter. (Only Plato is cited on this
Gersonides as internally incoherent. Crescas’s presentation
point, not Gersonides.) Accordingly, the unifying and per-
of this model is “soft” in the sense that he does not definitely
vading power in the universe is ero¯s, redefined as man’s intel-
commit himself to it. He allows for the view, occasionally
lectual love of God and God’s creative love for man.
expressed in rabbinic literature, that God has successively
created a series of finitely enduring worlds, a series that may
A very different tone is heard in the philosophical writ-
continue ad infinitum. On either of these models, Crescas
ings of another Italian-Jewish philosopher, Yosef Shelomoh
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: PREMODERN PHILOSOPHY
Delmedigo (1591–1659), who, although born in the Vene-
stripped of its medieval garb and shown for what it really is:
tian colony of Crete, studied in Padua under Galileo and ab-
a picture of an eternal, dynamic universe displaying infinite
sorbed some of the latter’s new ideas in astronomy and phys-
divine attributes. Moreover, nature is for Spinoza a thor-
ics. He was the first Jewish philosopher or astronomer to
oughly deterministic system in which scientific law reigns su-
adopt the Copernican-Galilean system, rejecting the Aristo-
preme. The laws of nature are for Spinoza God’s decrees.
telian theory of the celestial spheres with their “separate mov-
Again, Spinoza pushes Crescas a step further: the latter’s de-
ers,” which were identified with the biblical doctrine of an-
terministic psychology becomes the universal rule of all na-
gels. The angels, for Delmedigo, are natural forces or powers,
ture. Such a system, however, allows for no miracles, espe-
primarily human faculties, an idea that was also suggested by
cially divine prophecies. The wardens of the Amsterdam
Maimonides. Delmedigo also advocated Crescas’s eternal-
Jewish community in 1656 had considerable justification in
creation cosmology: after all, a God who is eternally active
viewing Spinoza as no longer of the Jewish faith. Indeed, he
cannot not create; hence, the universe must be eternal. The
was no longer a medieval man. Medieval philosophy, and
denial of the world’s eternity would be tantamount to the
medieval Jewish philosophy in particular, had with Spinoza
thesis that God’s creative power is finite. This explicit es-
been terminated, and a new philosophical epoch had begun.
pousal of eternal creation leads him in the direction of pan-
theism, which, however, he expresses tentatively.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
THE END OF MEDIEVAL JEWISH PHILOSOPHY. Despite Del-
General
medigo’s enthusiasm for the new science of Galileo, he still
The best general philosophical study of Jewish philosophy is given
retained some medieval Aristotelian ideas and had an ambiv-
by Julius Guttmann in his Philosophies of Judaism, translated
by David W. Silverman (New York, 1964). Although a com-
alent attitude toward Jewish mysticism, which he criticized
prehensive historical survey beginning with the Bible and
yet occasionally adopted. It is not without significance that
ending with Franz Rosenzweig, it contains five perceptive
he spent a few years in Amsterdam, the locale of the last act
chapters on medieval thinkers. It has an excellent bibliogra-
in our philosophical drama. Befriended by Menasseh ben Is-
phy. Isaac Husik’s A History of Medieval Jewish Philosophy
rael, one of the local rabbis, a philosopher and a publisher
(1916; reprint, New York, 1969) focuses upon individual
of Hebrew books, Delmedigo was able to get his major philo-
thinkers. It is more detailed, but less analytical, than Gutt-
sophical-scientific work published there shortly before he left
mann’s treatment. Harry A. Wolfson’s Philo: Foundations of
for Frankfurt in 1630. Two years later the man who was to
Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, 2 vols.
reject medieval philosophy completely was born in Amster-
(Cambridge, Mass., 1947), is the most comprehensive En-
dam, and studied in the very same school in which Delmedi-
glish study on Philo and establishes the conceptual frame-
work adopted in this essay.
go had taught a few years earlier—Spinoza (1632–1676).
Several scholars have claimed that the Delmedigo-Spinoza
SaEadyah and the Kala¯m
connection is not fortuitous, that features of the latter’s for-
The most recent and comprehensive study of kala¯m is Wolfson’s
The Philosophy of the Kalam (Cambridge, Mass., 1976). The
malistic philosophy either exhibit elements of or express ex-
influence of kala¯m upon Jewish philosophy is discussed by
plicitly doctrines of the former’s more diffuse and ambiguous
Wolfson in his posthumously published The Repercussions of
writings. Whether or not this is so, Spinoza clearly and defin-
the Kalam in Jewish Philosophy (Cambridge, Mass., 1979).
itively cuts the tie that linked philosophy with religion and
SaEadyah’s The Book of Beliefs and Opinions was translated by
advocates the new science with no reservations or fond remi-
Samuel Rosenblatt as the first volume in the now extensive
niscences of Aristotle or Maimonides. Spinoza is the first
“Yale Judaica Series” (New Haven, 1948). The best biogra-
modern philosopher, the first thinker who no longer sees
phy and general survey of SaEadyah’s literary career is still
philosophy either as theology’s handmaiden or as fertilized
Henry Malter’s Saadia Gaon: His Life and Works (1921; re-
by prophetic seeds. Philosophy is for Spinoza not only auton-
print, Philadelphia, 1978).
omous, as Descartes maintained, but self-sufficient as well,
Jewish Philosophy in Spain: The Neoplatonic Tradition
a thesis that Descartes was unwilling to admit, at least in
No complete English translation of Shelomoh ibn Gabirol’s Fons
public.
vitae has appeared. A few excerpts were translated from the
Latin into English by Arthur Hyman in the anthology Philos-
Spinoza’s emancipation of philosophy from theology,
ophy in the Middle Ages, edited by Arthur Hyman and James
based upon both philosophical and biblical-critical grounds,
J. Walsh (New York, 1967), pp. 347–357. The most accessi-
permits him to erect a naturalistic philosophical system in
ble introduction to the Fons vitae is still Solomon Munk’s
which metaphysics, logic, psychology, political theory, and
French translation of Shem T:ov ibn Falaquera’s medieval
moral philosophy are all comprehended. The pantheistic
epitome, which is included in Munk’s Mélanges de philoso-
suggestions of Delmedigo are explicitly expressed in Spino-
phie juive et arabe (1859; reprint, Paris, 1927). Ibn Gabirol’s
Crown of Royalty was translated by Israel Zangwill and anno-
za’s equation Deus, sive Natura (“God, or Nature”). No lon-
tated by Israel Davidson, and is included in Davidson’s an-
ger is there a hiatus between a transcendent, incorporeal, in-
thology Selected Religious Poems of Solomon ibn Gabirol (New
finite God and a corporeal, finite universe. As both thought
York, 1973). Bah:ye ibn Paquda’s treatise has recently been
and extension, Spinoza’s God is not divorced from man and
translated from the Arabic by Menahem Mansoor as The
the universe; as infinite and eternal, the physical world is in-
Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart (London, 1973).
separable from its cause. Crescas’s eternal creation model is
It has a full introduction.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
4899
Yehudah ha-Levi has fared better with respect to secondary litera-
of Spinoza, 2 vols. (Cambridge, Mass., 1934), and Leo
ture but worse in translation. The only full English transla-
Strauss’s Spinoza’s Critique of Religion, translated by E. M.
tion of the Kuzari, by Hartwig Hirschfeld (1905; reprint,
Sinclair (1965; New York, 1982), are most helpful in relating
New York, 1964), is inaccurate. Fortunately, the scholarly
Spinoza to the Jewish context.
literature in English is excellent. Wolfson’s essays should be
consulted, especially the following: “Halevi and Maimonides
New Sources
on Design, Chance and Necessity” and “Halevi and Mai-
Borgen, Peter. Philo of Alexandria: An Exegete for His Time. New
monides on Prophecy,” both reprinted in his Studies in the
York, 1997.
History of Philosophy and Religion, edited by Isadore Twersky
Eisen, Robert. Gersonides of Providence, Covenant, and the Chosen
and George H. Williams, vol. 2 (Cambridge, Mass., 1977).
People: A Study in Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Biblical
Commentary. Albany, 1995.
Maimonides
The most accurate English translation of The Guide of the Per-
Fox, Marvin. Interpreting Maimonides: Studies in Methodology,
plexed is that of Shlomo Pines (Chicago, 1963). Besides
Metaphysics, and Moral Philosophy. Chicago, 1990.
Pines’s own fine introduction it contains a stimulating, al-
Frank, Daniel H., and Oliver Leaman, eds. The Cambridge Com-
though debatable, introductory essay by Leo Strauss. Surpris-
panion to Medieval Jewish Philosophy. New York, 2003.
ingly, there is no comprehensive English monograph on
Maimonides’ philosophy, although studies on separate facets
Goodman, Lenn E. Jewish and Islamic Philosophy: Crosspollinations
of his thought abound. Leo Strauss’s “The Literary Character
in the Classic Age. New Brunswick, N.J., 1999.
of the Guide for the Perplexed,” reprinted in his Persecution
Hyman, Arthur. Eschatological Themes in Medieval Jewish Philoso-
and the Art of Writing (1952; reprint, Westport, Conn.,
phy. Milwaukee, Wis., 2002.
1973), will introduce the reader into the “esoteric” interpre-
Kassim, Husain. Aristotle and Aristotelianism in Medieval Muslim,
tation of Maimonides. A more traditional but perceptive in-
Jewish, and Christian Philosophy. Lanham, Md., 2000.
troduction is Simon Rawidowicz’s “Knowledge of God: A
Study of Maimonides’ Philosophy of Religion,” in Studies in
Leaman, Oliver. Moses Maimonides. New York, 1990.
Jewish Thought, edited by Nahum N. Glatzer (Philadelphia,
Runia, David T. Exegesis and Philosophy: Studies on Philo of Alex-
1974). Wolfson’s more specialized studies have been reprint-
andria. Brookfield, Vt., 1990.
ed in both volumes of his Studies in the History of Philosophy
and Religion (cited above).
Tirosh-Samuelson, Hava. Happiness in Premodern Judaism: Virtue,
Knowledge, and Well-Being. Cincinnati, 2003.
Gersonides and Crescas
A complete English translation of Gersonides’ Wars of the Lord
SEYMOUR FELDMAN (1987)
was published in three volumes by Seymour Feldman (Phila-
Revised Bibliography
delphia, 1984–1999). A superb comprehensive study of Ger-
sonides is Charles Touati’s La pensée philosophique et
théologique de Gersonide (Paris, 1973). For Jewish Averroism
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY:
consult Alfred L. Ivry’s “Moses of Narbonne’s Treatise on
the Perfection of the Soul,” Jewish Quarterly Review, n.s. 57
MODERN THOUGHT
(April 1967): 271–297.
Modern Jewish religious thought is not simply a chronologi-
cal category designating Jewish reflections that occur in the
No complete translation of Crescas’s Or Adonai has been made.
Wolfson translated most of book 1 in his masterful Crescas’
modern world. Rather, it is a category that denotes medita-
Critique of Aristotle: Problems of Aristotle’s Physics in Jewish
tions by Jews about Judaism and Jewish destiny that take
and Arabic Philosophy (Cambridge, Mass., 1929). On Cres-
place within—or at least seek to take into account—the cog-
cas’s cosmology see Seymour Feldman’s “The Theory of
nitive process distinctive of the modern world. Heir to the
Eternal Creation in H:asdai Crescas and Some of His Pre-
biblical image of knowledge, which is grounded in the con-
decessors,” Viator 11 (1980): 289–320.
cepts of divine creation, revelation, and redemption, modern
Jewish Philosophy in the Renaissance: Spinoza
Jewish thought seeks to come to terms with modern sensibil-
A good descriptive survey of Italian-Jewish intellectual life, includ-
ities and conceptions of truth. In this respect, of course, it
ing philosophy, is given by Israel Zinberg in volume 4 of his
is basically similar to modern religious thought in general.
A History of Jewish Literature, translated by Bernard Martin
There are, however, specifics of the Jewish experience in the
(New York, 1974). He discusses Judah Abravanel in chapter
modern world that determine the agenda and peculiar inflec-
1 and Yosef Shelomoh del Medigo in chapter 6. Isaac E.
tions of modern Jewish thought.
Barzilay has provided a good comprehensive study of Del-
I
medigo in his Yoseph Shlomo Delmedigo: His Life, Works and
NTRODUCTION TO THE MODERN WORLD. It should there-
Times (Leiden, 1974). Judah Abravanel’s Dialoghi d’amore
fore be recalled that Jews first truly encountered the modern
was translated into English by F. Friedberg-Seeley and Jean
world during the protracted struggle for emancipation in the
H. Barnes as The Philosophy of Love (London, 1937).
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This struggle was not
The literature on Spinoza is of course voluminous. A new transla-
merely a legal process but engaged Europe in an intense and
tion of his Ethics was done by Samuel Shirley and edited by
wide-ranging debate reviewing Jewry’s eligibility to partici-
Seymour Feldman, Ethics and Selected Letters (Indianapolis,
pate in the modern world. In the course of this century-long
1982). His Theological-Political Treatise was translated by
debate, Jews became exceedingly sensitive to the prevailing
R. H. M. Elwes (New York, 1951). Wolfson’s The Philosophy
image of Judaism in European culture. Not surprisingly,
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4900
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
modern Jewish thought was thus often guided by an apolo-
mitment to Judaism. Hailed by the Enlightenment as the
getic motive. This defensive posture was also prompted by
German Socrates, he remained a proud and pious Jew. As
the rise of modern political and racial anti-Semitism, which
a philosopher, he gained prominence for his disquisitions on
was not confined to the mob but gained vocal support from
aesthetics, epistemology, metaphysics, and psychology. Sig-
more than a few intellectuals. The integration of the Jews
nificantly, he based his arguments on reason alone, and al-
into the modern state and culture, which was achieved de-
though he made use of the metaphysical presuppositions of
spite persistent opposition, led to a profound restructuring
natural religion, his interest was strictly secular. He scrupu-
of Jewish life, both organizationally and culturally. The Jews
lously refrained from introducing scriptural proof texts and
were no longer under the obligatory rule of the rabbis and
certainly never referred to his Judaism. As such, he was not
the Torah. In acquiring the political identity and culture of
a “Jewish” philosopher. In fact, implicit in his writings is the
the non-Jewish society in which they lived, the Jews tended
assumption that his Judaism is irrelevant to his philosophical
to lose much of their venerable culture, including, perhaps
endeavor and is strictly an incidental and private affair.
most significantly, knowledge of both Hebrew and the sacred
texts of the tradition. Moreover, for many, Israel’s covenantal
Nonetheless, and to his great chagrin, he was repeatedly
relationship to God as a chosen people presently in exile but
challenged to defend his continued devotion to his ancestral
piously awaiting God’s Messiah and restoration to the Prom-
faith, a fidelity that many of his contemporaries found fla-
ised Land was no longer self-evident and unambiguous.
grantly inconsistent with his adherence to enlightened,
philosophical culture. Mendelssohn sought to avoid con-
Modern Jewish thought was thus charged not only with
frontation on these matters, and at first he preferred to make
the task of explaining Judaism to both non-Jews and Jews
a vigorous appeal to the principle of tolerance and not to en-
estranged from the sources of their tradition, but also with
gage in debates regarding his abiding commitment to Juda-
that of rethinking some of the fundamental concepts of the
ism. However, this proved insufficient to quiet his traducers,
tradition that bear on the nature of the Jews as a people (cov-
and finally in 1783 he penned his famous defense of his dual
enant, election, exile, the Messiah, and the promise of na-
allegiance to the Enlightenment and Judaism: Jerusalem oder
tional redemption) and, in general, the meaning of Jewish
über religiöse Macht und Judentum (Jerusalem, or on religion
community, history, and destiny. These questions gained a
and power in Judaism). Framing his argument in a careful
unique urgency in the mid-twentieth century because of the
explication of the principle of religious liberty, Mendelssohn
Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel. Thus,
holds that philosophical rationalism, which is grounded in
whereas medieval Jewish philosophy was primarily con-
the deistic assumption that the “eternal verities” and “human
cerned with the relatively circumscribed issue of reconciling
felicity” may be acquired without divine revelation, poses no
faith and reason, modern Jewish thought is broader and by
special problem for Judaism. For the faith of Israel, as he de-
necessity more protean, addressing the multiple dilemmas of
clares, is “not a revealed religion but a revealed legislation.”
the Jew in the modern world.
In contrast to Christianity, Judaism is founded not on doc-
The beginnings of modern Jewish thought may be
trinal opinions and saving truths but rather on “laws, com-
traced, paradoxically, to the heterodox sixteenth-century
mandments, ordinances, rules of life, instructions in the will
Dutch philosopher, Barukh Spinoza (1632–1677). This ren-
of God” (Mendelssohn, 1784/1983, pp. 89–90). Mendels-
egade Jew was to leave the Jewish community without taking
sohn suggests that these commandments, particularly the
the perfidious step of converting to another religion, a revo-
most enduring ceremonial laws, serve as symbolic acts that
lutionary precedent that opened the possibility of a secular,
alert one to the eternal truths of reason, thus preventing the
cosmopolitan Jew who, in discarding all primordial particu-
Jews from succumbing to the idolatry of false ideas. Herein
larities, found a home in the religiously and ethnically neu-
lies the extensive meaning of Israel’s election. The Jews “were
tral world of reason and common humanity. Universally
chosen by Providence to be a priestly nation . . . a nation
adored by all votaries of the modern spirit, this iconoclastic
which . . . was continually to call attention to sound and
but estimable figure has been an abiding challenge to the
unadulterated ideas of God and his attributes. It was inces-
Jews of modernity to shed their ancestral faith for more sup-
santly to teach, to proclaim and to endeavor to preserve these
posedly noble, secular affiliations. Furthermore, Spinoza’s
ideas among the nations, by means of its mere existence, as
harsh critique of Judaism as a religion has weighed heavily
it were” (p. 118).
on modern Jews, not in the least because it has decisively in-
Mendelssohn thus reduced Judaism to a body of cere-
fluenced the negative image of Judaism in modern thought.
monial laws while expanding it into a universal religion of
Hence, despite his excommunication by the Jewish commu-
reason. His effort in this respect characterizes much of mod-
nity of his native Amsterdam, Spinoza has remained preemi-
ern Jewish thought: Unlike medieval Jewish philosophers,
nent in modern Jewish consciousness.
their modern descendents would no longer seek to reconcile
THE FIRST MODERN JEW. In contrast to Spinoza, the eigh-
revelation with reason as two distinct but homologous bodies
teenth-century Berlin savant Moses Mendelssohn (1729–
of truth but would endeavor to demonstrate the significance
1786) represents the possibility that the Jew’s creative partic-
of Judaism within the general framework of human reason
ipation in modern, secular culture need not negate a com-
and culture. Mendelssohn also anticipated another character-
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
4901
istic thrust of modern Jewish thought with his conception
social and political values. It would be erroneous, however,
of Israel’s mission to the nations, a notion that provided a
to assume that Ultra-Orthodoxy was moribund or spiritually
universalistic justification of Judaism’s continued particu-
stagnant; on the contrary, in its own terms the movement
larity.
was (and is) dynamic and creative. The nineteenth century
witnessed a renaissance of rabbinic learning; new yeshivot
MENDELSSOHN’S LEGACY. Mendelssohn’s definition of Ju-
(talmudic academies) were established, and new methods
daism, however, was not unproblematic. His delineation of
and approaches to learning and piety were advocated. Yeshi-
the distinctive essence of Judaism as “revealed legislation” ex-
vot were established by Hatam Sofer in Pressburg, Hungary,
posed the religion to the charge—first developed by Men-
(modern-day Bratislava, Slovakia) and by Hayyim ben
delssohn’s contemporary Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)—
Yitshaq (1749–1821) in Volozhin, Lithuania. Also notable
that Judaism is heteronomous religion of law that finds ex-
are the pietistic movement, known as Musar, which was
pression chiefly in religious ritual and ceremonies. In his
founded by another Lithuanian rabbi, Yisra’el (Lipkin)
Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone (1793), Kant re-
Salanter (1810–1883); and Hasidism, the movement of
garded genuine religion to be the cultivation of moral auton-
popular mystical piety, which flourished in the nineteenth
omy; he correspondingly deemed ritual and ceremony to be
century.
pseudoservice to God and depicted Judaism as a religious il-
lusion. Kant’s indictment of Judaism, based largely on his
The opposition of the Ultra-Orthodox to modernism
reading of Mendelssohn and Spinoza, was repeated by many
is not as much epistemological as it is axiological (value-
modern thinkers and has accordingly troubled many modern
related). They view the modern world, given its sociological
Jews, especially those who shared Kant’s philosophical pre-
and cultural implications, with profound suspicion, for in
suppositions. Moreover, Mendelssohn’s definition of Juda-
their judgment it leads to religious laxity and even defection.
ism satisfied few Jews. The traditional Jew felt he ignored the
Even Hatam Sofer did not oppose secular studies per se, as
unique creedal core of Judaism; the liberal Jew was unhappy
long as they did not undermine the preeminence of Torah
(and not only because of Kant’s critique) with his emphasis
and Jewish tradition. With few exceptions, Orthodoxy has
on the ceremonial laws. Nonetheless, Mendelssohn’s Jerusa-
been indifferent to the epistemological (and ontological) is-
lem still stands as a monument to a Jew who sought to secure
sues raised by modern science and technology; its sole criteri-
the integrity of Judaism while actively pursuing modern
on for adjudging the developments in science has been to
culture.
protect Torah observance.
Eager to accommodate Judaism to the modern spirit,
Neither is science a salient issue for Jewish modernists.
Jews of varying theological tendencies claimed Mendelssohn
They have been principally exercised by the need to find a
as their spiritual progenitor. For Jewish opponents of the
place for the Jews and Judaism in the modern world. Philo-
modern world, Mendelssohn became associated with the
sophically and theologically, this objective necessitated a de-
new order as a symbol, however, of betrayal. The spiritus rec-
lineation of Judaism’s relevance to the historical unfolding
tor of Jewish Orthodoxy as a self-conscious movement to
of a universal, human culture. Within the orbit of nine-
guard the integrity of classical Judaism while fending off the
teenth-century discourse, the principal vectors of this effort
putatively corrosive effects of the modern world, Mosheh
were provided by Kant, Friedrich Schelling (1775–1854),
Sofer (1762–1839; popularly known as Hatam Sofer), re-
and G. W. F. Hegel (1770–1831).
garded Mendelssohn as the source of the contemporary Jew’s
beguiling infatuation with “alien culture.” In his spiritual last
JUDAISM AND MODERN HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS. Pro-
will and testament, he cautioned all God-fearing Jews “not
ponents of religious reform of Judaism were particularly
to turn to evil and never engage in corruptible partnership
drawn to the historiosophical teachings of Schelling and
with those fond of innovations, who, as a penalty for our
Hegel. Solomon Formstecher (1808–1889) and Samuel Hir-
sins, have strayed from the Almighty and His law! Do not
sch (1815–1889), prominent rabbinical leaders of the na-
touch the books of Rabbi Moses [Mendelssohn] of Dessau,
scent Reform movement in Germany (which was later divid-
and your foot will never slip!” (cited in Mendes-Flohr and
ed between a radical fringe and the liberal majority, which
Reinharz, 1995, p. 172). The document, written some fifty
favored moderate reform), each in his own distinctive fash-
years after Mendelssohn’s death, is still immensely popular
ion recast the doctrines in support of religious reform and
among some Orthodox Jews (sometimes called Ultra-
Jewish integration into modern society and culture. Because
Orthodox, as opposed to modern or Neo-Orthodox Jews
the philosophical idealism of Schelling and Hegel viewed
who seek accommodation with the modern world).
spiritual truths as developing and maturing dynamically in
history, it provided these advocates of religious reform with
The militant antimodernism of these Ultra-Orthodox
the conceptual perspectives justifying ritual and doctrinal
Jews, who embraced much of the traditional Jewish commu-
change in Judaism: To be true to the spiritual truths with
nity in the nineteenth century, especially in eastern Europe,
which it is entrusted, Judaism must be dynamic and evolu-
is distinguished by a deliberate self-enclosure. Although not
tionary. The proposition of philosophical idealism that the
totally ignorant of the modern world, they failed to acknowl-
historical unfolding of these truths leads to the progressive
edge its most significant epistemological presuppositions and
unification of human culture and sensibility also lent support
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4902
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
to the Reformers’ call for Jewish participation in general cul-
faith”—as such it will “seek to understand the Torah and the
ture. However, their affirmation of a universal culture, in
prophets as the Word of God, [and] comprehend how,
turn, posed a severe challenge to account for the enduring
throughout our history, the spirit of God, which is our na-
identity—and thus particularity—of Judaism, which they,
tion’s inheritance, warred with the human spirit” (cited in
like all Reform leaders, clearly upheld.
Mendes-Flohr and Reinharz, 1995, p. 236).
Formstecher and Hirsch reflected their generation’s
Luzzatto’s indictment of Wissenschaft des Judentums for
characteristic interest in history as a dynamic process fraught
its historicist bias may have been somewhat overstated, for
with cultural and spiritual significance. The historical imagi-
the early scholars of Wissenschaft des Judentums were, in
nation, especially with its critical, scientific bent, first had its
truth, not utterly devoid of the existential religious commit-
impact in Jewish circles with the founding in Berlin in 1819
ment that he called for. Nonetheless, the thrust of Wissen-
of a society promoting the scientific study of Judaism known
schaft des Judentums was largely philological and antiquarian,
as Wissenschaft des Judentums. The primary motive of this so-
and its methodological assumptions unequivocally con-
ciety—many of whose members were to be associated with
formed to a historicist mold (which in the twentieth century,
religious reform—was to correct the calumnious opinions
Jewish studies would seek to break). Nah:man Krochmal
about Judaism and illuminate the varied, ongoing contribu-
(1785–1840), for one, regarded the intellectual and spiritual
tion of Judaism to the shaping of European civilization. It
dilemmas engendered by the historicism implicit in Wissen-
was hoped that the objective, scholarly study of Judaism
schaft des Judentums as the most exigent issue facing his gen-
would irrefutably demonstrate that the Jews sought to partic-
eration. Krochmal, who lived in the politically and socially
ipate in modern European culture not as Asiatic interlopers
conservative Austrian provience of Galicia where emancipa-
but that they were, by right of this contribution, culturally
tion and religious reform were remote prospects, published
and spiritually as much European as any other people.
a monumental treatise in Hebrew on the challenge posed to
Judaism by critical historical research. This work, published
This proposition was compatible with the presupposi-
posthumously in 1851, was indicatively titled Moreh
tions of Reform Judaism, which also shared the assumption
nevukhei ha-zeman (Guide of the perplexed of our time). The
that Judaism had made a decisive contribution to the histori-
title alludes to Moses Maimonides’s (1135/8–1204) famous
cally unfolding spirit of Europe. The proponents of religious
Guide of the Perplexed (1190), and like the great Spanish
reform naturally supported Wissenschaft des Judentums. One
rabbi in his day, Krochmal sought to offer guidance to the
of the founding proponents of Reform Judaism in Germany,
perplexed of his generation. The reference in the title to the
Abraham Geiger (1810–1874), was also one of the most out-
perplexed of our (lit., the) time may be understood as both
standing pioneers of Wissenschaft des Judentums. Critical his-
of our time and by time (i.e., by the category of time, by his-
torical scholarship, he maintained, would help identify the
torical time).
immanent forces in Jewish tradition sanctifying the change
and renewal of Judaism that were deemed necessary by the
Krochmal begins his treatise with the observation that
advocates of reform. Implicitly adopting the Hegelian princi-
Jewish youths are genuinely perplexed by the results of criti-
ple that history is the progressive revelation of the divine
cal scholarship that cast doubt on the traditional view of
truth, Geiger presented the study of history as an alternative
events and, particularly, on the traditional view of the sacred
to talmud Torah (study of Torah) as the Jew’s mode of re-
texts, their composition, and, therefore, their authority. An
flecting on God’s will.
observant Jew, Krochmal noted that the faith of these youths
will surely not be fortified by an obscurantist response; the
Orthodox leaders, even those who supported to some
enjoining of dogma in the face of the fruits of scholarship
degree the Jews’ entry into the modern world, objected stren-
would only exacerbate the estrangement of these youths.
uously to what they perceived to be the historicist bias of
Faith, as Maimonides in his day indicated, must be allied
Wissenschaft des Judentums. The founder of Neo-Orthodoxy
with reason; now, Krochmal argued, faith must also be
in Germany, Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888) bitterly
grounded in a proper philosophical understanding of history.
remarked that the tendency of Wissenschaft des Judentums to
This is what Krochmal’s Guide sought to provide, hence its
compare Judaism to other historical phenomena—“Moses
subtitle, She Earei emunah tsurafah (Gates to a purified faith).
and Hesiod, David and Sappho”—in effect reduced Judaism
to a “human and transitory [fact] of a by-gone age” (cited
JUDAISM AND MORAL THEOLOGY. With a few notable ex-
in Mendes-Flohr and Reinharz, 1995, p. 234). Similarly, the
ceptions (e.g., Samuel David Luzzatto), virtually all Jewish
Italian Jewish religious philosopher Samuel David Luzzatto
religious thinkers in the nineteenth century who sought to
(1800–1865) plaintively observed with reference to the the
accommodate Judaism to the modern sensibility were be-
votaries of Wissenschaft des Judentums, “They study ancient
holden to Kant’s conception of ethical piety as the ultimate
Israel the way the other scholars study ancient Egypt, Assyria,
form of service to God. Even among those thinkers whose
Babylon and Persia” (cited in Mendes-Flohr and Reinharz,
primary concern was to develop via Hegel and Schelling a
1995, p. 236). Luzzatto, although Orthodox, was a prolific
philosophy of Jewish history, one discerns an attempt to
author of scholarly studies of Judaism; nonetheless, he held
come to terms with Kant’s critique of Judaism as a heterono-
that Wissenschaft des Judentums “must be grounded in
mous pseudoreligion. Nineteenth-century thinkers associat-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
4903
ed with every tendency in modern Judaism from Reform to
daism with Kant’s ethical idealism. Interpreting the master’s
Neo-Orthodoxy shared a conviction that the faith of Israel
teachings in a somewhat novel fashion, Cohen understood
properly understood actually promotes ethical piety. Even
ethics not as primarily addressing the individual but in its
Luzzatto, a staunch traditionalist who expressly rejected the
fullest sense as summoning society to the task of molding the
very premises of Kant’s ethical rationalism, argued that Juda-
future according to the principle of a rationally determined,
ism is fundamentally a religion of moral sentiment. Samson
a priori ought. According to Cohen’s most mature concep-
Raphael Hirsch developed an elaborate exegesis of the tradi-
tion of faith and ritual, however, religion—in contradistinc-
tional precepts of Judaism, the mitsvot (commandments),
tion to ethics—does not address the individual merely as rep-
demonstrating how each in its distinctive manner fosters the
resentative of rational humanity; rather, it appertains to the
development of moral consciousness.
individual as such, especially through the notion of sin,
which Cohen understood as the individual’s anguished real-
Moritz Lazarus (1824–1903), a professor at the Univer-
ization of his or her own moral failings. This consciousness
sity of Berlin from 1873 and prominent lay leader of Liberal
of sin, Cohen observed, bears the danger that the individual
Judaism in Germany, devoted numerous essays and a two-
will despair of his or her own moral worth and abandon all
volume study, Die Ethik des Judentums (The ethics of Juda-
subsequent moral effort. The self-estrangement attendant to
ism; 1898–1911), to a systematic demonstration of Juda-
sin requires the concept of a forbearing God who by the act
ism’s inherent compatibility with Kant’s conception of mo-
of forgiveness serves to reintegrate the individual into an eth-
rality. In developing his thesis, Lazarus drew on the
ically committed humanity. The atonement of sin is not ef-
principles he had formulated in founding the discipline of
fected by God’s grace but by the individual, who in acknowl-
Völkerpsychologie, the comparative psychology of peoples.
edging God’s forgiveness becomes rededicated to the moral
With respect to the psychological study of Judaism, he pro-
task.
posed an examination of the literary sources of classical Juda-
ism as they most faithfully record the will, intent, and way
Religion is thus preeminently a series of acts of atone-
of life of the Jews. By insisting that only on the basis of such
ment—rites and prayers expressing remorse and repentance
a study could Judaism be properly characterized, Lazarus ab-
and focused on the belief in a merciful, forgiving God. To
jured the speculative approach of Formstecher and Samuel
Cohen, the reconciliation between God and humans thus
Hirsch. He introduced Kantian categories not as speculative
achieved requires, in turn, that God be conceived not as an
presuppositions of his study but merely as heuristic princi-
idea but as a being who relates to the finite, ever-changing
ples that to his mind best organize and elucidate the empiri-
world of becoming, of which humans are a part. Despite the
cal structure of Judaism and help illuminate the objective
fundamental ontological distinction separating them, being
unity of its ethical structure.
and becoming are interrelated through what Cohen called
Lazarus maintained that such a study demonstrates that
correlation. God and humans are correlated when the indi-
Judaism in effect is a system of autonomous ethics; specifical-
vidual cognizant of God’s mercy—God’s love and con-
ly, the rites and values of Judaism foster the development of
cern—personally rededicates to emulating in his or her ac-
what Kant celebrated as moral consciousness. The ethical
tions these divine qualities. Cohen spoke of correlation as a
piety engendered by Judaism may be best characterized as
shared holiness in which God and humans are coworkers in
“holiness”—a quality of life that bespeaks neither a numi-
the work of creation.
nous nor a transcendent reality but, rather, the indomitable
Cohen set forth these views in his posthumously pub-
conviction that a moral life is the ultimate meaning and pur-
lished volume, Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Ju-
pose of existence.
dentums (1919, 1929; translated in 1995 as Religion of Reason
To Lazarus’s profound disappointment, his Ethics of Ju-
out of the Sources of Judaism). In it he expounds his new con-
daism was severely criticized by the generation’s foremost
ception of religion through a selective exegesis of the sources
Kantian philosopher, Hermann Cohen (1842–1918), the
of classical Judaism in the Bible, the midrash, liturgy, and
founder of the Marburg school of neo-Kantianism. Cohen
medieval Jewish philosophy. These traditional expressions of
faulted Lazarus for locating the source of Judaism’s ethical
Jewish piety, Cohen avers, exemplify the most refined con-
teachings in the Jewish “folk-soul.” To Cohen, such a con-
ception of religion.
cept, grounded as it is in psychology and history, undermines
The emerging portrait of Judaism as a faith of deep, per-
the reliability and certitude required by a genuine ethical sys-
sonal significance has suggested to many commentators that
tem. Ethics must derive its validity from rational, universal
Cohen anticipated the existentialist theology characteristic of
concepts. What renders Jewish ethics interesting, Cohen
much of twentieth-century Jewish thought, with its emphasis
contends, is its distinctive dependence on the concept of a
on the dialogic relation of the individual with a living, per-
universal, unique God—and not just as a phantasm of the
sonal God. Cohen, however, continued to speak of the reli-
Jewish folk-soul but as a rationally defensible concept.
gion of reason, and his God remained the rational God of
Like Lazarus, Cohen was prominently associated with
ethics. And although in a striking revision of his Kantian
Liberal Judaism, especially in his latter years, and he also
premises he accorded religion (defined by prayer) and ritual
sought to demonstrate the fundamental compatibility of Ju-
intrinsic significance, he still did not quite regard it as an ut-
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4904
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
terly independent reality enjoying a unique ontological and
to prove the Old Testament was given not to reveal law but
epistemological status. Although not entirely absorbed into
the living God” (Steinheim, 1835, vol. 2, p. 38). Revelation,
ethics, the religion of reason was for Cohen ultimately ancil-
therefore, has a unique epistemic status, and its conceptual
lary to ethics. Religion—and Judaism in particular—is con-
content corresponds to the postulates of Kant’s moral reason:
ceived as an instrument for enhancing moral consciousness
God, freedom, and immortality. It also follows that for
(i.e., moral reason) and commitment: It facilitates the accep-
Steinheim not only are these postulates granted in revelation,
tance of the kingdom of God.
but that also the categorical imperatives of morality derive
JUDAISM AND RELIGIOUS EXISTENTIALISM. Despite the fact
their authority from God and revealed will. Judaism repre-
that Cohen’s concept of correlation does indeed outline
sents the ideal ethical religion, for its moral code is com-
some important features of twentieth-century religious exis-
manded by the living God. Steinheim’s conclusions regard-
tentialism, his overarching moral theology renders him more
ing Judaism are hence not unlike those of other nineteenth-
a son of the previous century. Moral reason for Cohen was
century Jewish thinkers; the crucial difference is that, for
the heart of religion, and thus not surprisingly he identified
him, Judaism is a fact of supernatural revelation.
it with revelation: “Revelation is the creation of Reason” (Re-
Franz Rosenzweig. Significantly, the philosophy of
ligion of Reason, 1995, p. 72). This identification of reason
Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929), whose path to Judaism
and revelation was typical of nineteenth-century philosophi-
from the midst of assimilation has become emblematic of
cal idealism.
much of twentieth-century Jewish religious thought, is
Solomon Ludwig Steinheim. For religious existential-
grounded in his adoption of what he calls Offenbarungsglau-
ists the point of departure was revelation understood as a me-
be, a belief in revelation as a historical and existential reality.
tarational category pointing to God’s spontaneous and gra-
Such a belief must be the fulcrum of any genuine theology;
cious address to the finite human. In this respect, the
otherwise, as Rosenzweig observes in his first essay on reli-
transitional figure from nineteenth- to twentieth-century
gious matters, “Atheistic Theology” (1914, but first pub-
Jewish thought is not Cohen but the little-known lay scholar
lished after his death), one arrives at the strange anthropo-
Solomon Ludwig Steinheim (1789–1866). A physician by
centric brew concocted by the nineteenth century, which by
profession, Steinheim was not affiliated with any ideological
placing religion within the realm of human sensibility
camp within the Jewish community in his native Germany;
alone—be it called spiritual experience, moral consciousness,
indeed, he spent the last twenty years of his life mostly in
or national soul—is in effect godless. Theology, he contend-
Rome, isolated from organized Jewish life. As Hans Joachim
ed, must proceed from the theocentric fact of divine revela-
Schoeps noted in Vom Bleibenden und Vergänglichen im Ju-
tion, the fact of God’s address to humans. Rosenzweig devel-
dentum, Steinheim was “the first [truly] Jewish theologian of
oped his understanding of this address on the basis of a
the modern age. . . . He was twenty years too late, and one
radical critique of philosophical idealism, with its quest for
hundred years too early” (Schoeps, 1935, p. 81). If one views
universal, timeless, abstract truths. In contrast to the logical
Jewish thought from Mendelssohn to Cohen as a sustained
reasoning of the philosophers, revelation is in time; it is an
effort to interpret Judaism as a religion of reason par excel-
occurrence whereby God establishes a relation with specific
lence, then Steinheim stands alone in the nineteenth century.
time-bound individuals. Phenomenologically, this relation is
what is celebrated in biblical tradition as love: the divine
In his monumental study Offenbarung nach dem Lehrbe-
sounding of “Thou” to the temporally contingent “I” of the
griff der Synagoge (Revelation according to the doctrine of the
individual. God addresses the individual in his or her finite
synagogue), Steinheim sought to remove religion from the
existence, calling each individual, as it were, by his or her
tutelage of reason, maintaining that religious truths are the
“first and last name,” which distinguishes each person exis-
gift of supernatural revelation. In a manner recalling So⁄ren
tentially from all others. In revelation, the contingent exis-
Kierkegaard’s (1813–1855) critique of Hegel, he held that
tence of the individual is thus confirmed in love and blessed
the truths disclosed by revelation are incompatible with and
with the kiss of eternity.
irreducible to reason. Furthermore, the concept of supernat-
ural revelation posits God as the creator who, unbounded by
Occurring in time, revelation is hence inaccessible to a
necessity, creates the world freely and out of nothing. As
reason that considers only timeless essences. Yet this concep-
such, revelation confirms the irrefragable human experience
tion does not contradict reason but merely delimits its sphere
of freedom that reason—burdened as it is by the principle
of validity. Properly understood, philosophical reason and
of universal necessity perforce—denies. Accordingly, reason
faith are complementary. This affirmation of revelation al-
must acknowledge the primacy of revelation.
lowed Rosenzweig to discern in Judaism what many of his
generation of assimilated German Jews had denied—that Ju-
In that God is the logical presupposition of revelation,
daism was a theocentric faith of enduring existential signifi-
Steinheim observed, the affirmation of the possibility of reve-
cance. He elaborated his conception of faith and Judaism in
lation implicitly reestablishes the dignity and authority of
his 1921 work Stern der Erlösung (Star of redemption).
God: “Our task is to present revelation [such that] we are
constrained . . . to accept God. Therefore, it is for us to
Later, Rosenzweig sought to incorporate into his life
make a declaration the exact opposite of Mendelssohn’s and
and thought more and more extraliturgical aspects of tradi-
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
4905
tional Judaism, from the commandment of keeping a kosher
thentic relation to God, Buber does not regard them as
kitchen to that of Torah study. His approach to the mitsvot,
paradigmatic forms of religious service.
however, was distinctive. Unlike Orthodox Jews, he could
Clearly such a conception of divine revelation conflicts
not accept the mitsvot on the basis of rabbinic authority, for,
radically with the classical Jewish conception of a historical
as he once remarked, “religion based on authority is equal
revelation (viz., the Torah) enjoying preeminence and en-
to unbelief” (cited in Rosenstock-Huessy, 1971, p. 166). His
during authority. Furthermore, Buber’s antagonism toward
approach to the Law, as he explained in a now-famous open
liturgical prayer and the mitsvot as the proper form of divine
letter to Martin Buber (1878–1965), was to encourage each
service conflicts not only with tradition but also with all ex-
individual Jew to explore the sacramental and existential pos-
pressions of institutional Jewish religious life.
sibilities of the mitsvot so as to determine which of these pre-
cepts he or she personally feels called on to fulfill. In an arti-
Acknowledging his anomalous position within Jewish
cle entitled “The Builders: Concerning the Law,”
religious thought, Buber insisted that he was not in a formal
Rosenzweig further elaborated his position to Buber with ref-
sense a theologian. He claimed he sought neither to justify
erence to a rabbinic commentary to Isaiah 54:13, arguing
revealed propositions about God nor to defend revealed
that humans are not only God’s obedient children (banayikh)
scriptures and doctrine. He simply pointed to dialogue as a
but also “Your builders” (bonayikh). As such, every genera-
meta-ethical principle determining the life responses of an
tion has the opportunity—indeed, the task—to re-create for
individual, ensuring that these responses will be informed by
itself the Law (Glatzer, 1965, p. 72).
love and justice and crowned with existential meaning (i.e.,
the confirmation of the Thou). He taught that this principle
Rosenzweig’s nondogmatic brand of traditionalism was,
is at the heart of all great spiritual traditions, but particularly
and continues to serve as, a guide to many who seek to reap-
that of Judaism. The concept of dialogue can thus be em-
propriate traditional forms of Jewish piety and to affirm Ju-
ployed as a hermeneutical principle by which to read the He-
daism as a relation to a living God. Furthermore, Rosenzweig
brew Bible and other formative religious texts in the Jewish
inspired the serious, nonapologetic theological reflection
tradition, such as those of Hasidism.
characteristic of much Jewish religious thought in the twenti-
As a particular community of faith, Judaism is, in
eth century. Among those he most decisively inspired was his
Buber’s view, distinguished by its millennial and clarion wit-
friend Buber, who emerged as a genuine religious thinker
ness to the dialogic principle both in its collective memory
only with the publication of I and Thou (1923). Buber’s pre-
(enshrined in its central myths and sacred texts) and, ideally,
vious writings on spiritual matters, Jewish and otherwise, be-
in its current institutions. In fact, as a Zionist, Buber held
longed to a genre of Romantic mysticism that Rosenzweig
that Jewish religious life in the Diaspora had been falsely re-
had in mind when he wrote “Atheistic Theology”; these writ-
stricted to the synagogue and the home, thus losing hold of
ings were virtually devoid of any reference to the God of rev-
the founding dialogic principle of Judaism and its compre-
elation. With his treatise on I–Thou, or dialogic, relations
hensive purview of divine service. By restoring to the Jews
Buber affirmed faith as grounded in the revealed word of
the sociological conditions of a full communal life, Zionism
God, and in so doing he developed a novel conception of rev-
allows for the possibility that the Jews’ public life, guided by
elation.
the principle of dialogue, will once again become the essen-
Martin Buber. For Buber, revelation is homologous
tial realm of their relation to God. The reappropriation of
with what he called dialogue. God, the Eternal Thou, ad-
the public sphere as the dialogic responsibility of the com-
dresses one through the varied life experiences—from the
munity of faith is consonant with the supreme injunction of
seemingly ephemeral and trivial to the grand and momen-
the prophets of Israel and thus constitutes the renewal of
tous—that demand a dialogic response, or a confirmation of
what Buber called Hebrew, or biblical, humanism.
the Thou, the unique presence, of the other who stands be-
Buber’s religious anarchism and often radical politics
fore one. In uttering “Thou” (the actual act of speech is su-
alienated him from many Jews committed to traditional
perfluous), the self, or I, in turn finds its own presence con-
forms of worship and conventional positions. Yet his philos-
firmed. As a response to the continuously renewing presence
ophy of dialogue has manifestly inspired others, especially
and address of another, dialogue must be born ever anew.
those eager for extrasynagogal expressions of Jewish spiritual-
The I–Thou response thus requires spontaneity and cannot
ity. Furthermore, his—and Rosenzweig’s—conception of di-
be determined by fixed expressions, gestures, and formula-
alogue as a way of reading sacred texts (viz., recognizing the
tions. It also follows that God’s address, as being refracted
divine voice in a text without necessarily accepting the writ-
(revealed) through the addressing presence of the Thou who
ten word uncritically) has had a seminal effect on contempo-
stands before one likewise, requires such spontaneity. Buber
rary Jewish studies and hermeneutical attitudes. Critical his-
further contends that authentic service to God is found only
torical scholarship therefore need not be bound to
in such a spontaneous response to the Eternal Thou, who
antiquarian presuppositions or lead inevitably to a barren rel-
turns to humans through the flux of life’s ever-changing cir-
ativism. Guided by a dialogical hermeneutic, historiography
cumstances. Although not utterly dismissing prayer and ritu-
and philology may be employed to bare anew the inner, eter-
al as bearing the possibility of spontaneous and hence au-
nal truth of Judaism. The dean of Jewish studies in the twen-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4906
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
tieth century, Gershom Scholem (1897–1982), for example,
ly by day, this Jewish Tolstoy would write at night, exploring
regarded Wissenschaft des Judentums as a means of uncovering
the religious significance of the pioneering endeavor. With
dimensions and expressions of Jewish spirituality that may
a weave of Qabbalistic and Hasidic doctrine and Russian
have been suppressed by Orthodoxy and, later in the nine-
populist ideas about the pristine dignity of the peasantry and
teenth century, by apologetics in defense of specific concep-
a life rooted in nature, Gordon developed a mystical panthe-
tions of normative Judaism. Precisely because of its objective,
ism in which he celebrated agricultural labor as a supreme
nonprescriptive mode of inquiry, Wissenschaft des Judentums
act of personal, national, and cosmic redemption. Toil on
is capable of covering the full canvas of Jewish spiritual op-
the land, he taught, integrates one into the organic rhythms
tions to inspire religious renewal. To this end, Scholem de-
of nature and the universe. The resulting experience of the
voted his prodigious scholarship to researching the surpris-
unity and purpose of the cosmos is the core religious experi-
ingly ramified and hitherto little-known or misperceived
ence—an experience that, he believed, had been largely de-
Jewish mystical tradition, Qabbalah.
nied to the Jews of the Diaspora. This cosmic experience ulti-
ZIONISM AND RELIGIOUS RENEWAL. Like Buber, Scholem
mately leads one to God, regardless of one’s intellectual
was a Zionist or, more precisely, a follower of Ah:ad ha-EAm
attitude. For Gordon, an authentic relation to God has noth-
(1856–1927; literally, “one of the people”—the pen-name
ing to do with formal religious beliefs and ritual practices.
of Asher Ginzberg) and his vision of Zionism as effecting the
In noting that God or the hidden mystery of the cosmos is
reconstruction of Judaism as a secular, spiritually revitalized
approached through physical, especially agraian labor, he was
national culture. Having abandoned the religious Orthodoxy
quick to point out that biblical Hebrew employs the same
of his Hasidic upbringing in Russia, Ah:ad ha-EAm was acute-
word (viz., Eavodah) to designate both work and divine wor-
ly aware of the spiritual crisis afflicting his generation of Jews,
ship.
whose fidelity Judaism as a religious faith had ceased to en-
Orthodox Jews have also seen Zionism as bearing exten-
gage. In ever-increasing numbers, young Jews were being
sive religious significance. The first chief rabbi of Palestine,
drawn to the secular-humanist culture of the West—a cul-
Avraham Yitsh:aq Kook (1865–1935), was also profoundly
ture, in Ah:ad ha-EAm’s judgment, whose intellectual, ethical,
inspired by the halutsim, whom, despite their often demon-
and aesthetic power one could not deny. In that the secular
strative irreligiosity, he regarded as instruments of God’s
humanism of the contemporary world was sponsored by
Heilsplan (plan of salvation). Judging history from the per-
non-Jewish languages and national communities, the adop-
spective of the Qabbalistic teaching that external events are
tion of this new culture, by its nature, entailed a weakening
but symbols of a deeper, hidden reality, he interpreted the
of one’s ties to the Jewish people and culture. To stem the
secular actions of the halutsim on behalf of the Jewish peo-
consequent tide of assimilation, Ah:ad ha-EAm taught that Ju-
ple’s restoration to Zion as symbolically reflecting a divinely
daism must be reformulated as a secular culture grounded in
appointed cosmic process of restoring a fragmented world to
the autochthonous humanist values of Judaism (e.g., the eth-
its primal harmony. Kook, in general, saw the heightened
ical teachings of the Bible and the prophets) and in Hebrew
secular movement of the modern world toward social and
as the national language of the Jewish people. In Zion, a cul-
scientific progress as part of a providential design to quicken
turally autonomous, Hebrew-speaking community would
the eschatological conclusion of history with the return of
arise and, by force of the example of its spiritually vital and
the Jews to their ancient domicile as but the most glorious
creative culture, inspire the Jews of the Diaspora to adjust
symbol of the eschaton.
Judaism to the new secular reality and at the same time main-
tain a firm Jewish national consciousness. For Ah:ad ha-EAm
Not all Orthodox Jews’ support for Zionism was moti-
the prevailing secularism implied an irrevocable eclipse of re-
vated by eschatological considerations. The principal theo-
ligious faith and culture; for Buber, Scholem, and other cul-
logical motive prompting the founding of Mizrahi, the
tural Zionists, secularism was but a necessary historical stage
movement of religious Zionists created in 1902 by Yitsh:aq
that did not preclude the possible renewal of Judaism as a
YaEaqov Reines (1839–1915) was a decidedly mundane en-
meaningful religious faith.
dorsement of Theodor Herzl’s (1860–1904) program of Jew-
ish political sovereignty as a solution to anti-Semitism. Fur-
The idea of Zionism as a framework for the develop-
thermore, Mizrahi welcomed the normalization of Jewish
ment of a Jewish religious humanism also inspired the teach-
political and social life envisioned by Zionism as encouraging
ings of Aharon David Gordon (1856–1922). One of the
halakhah (Jewish religious law) to expand beyond the lamen-
most remarkable figures in modern Jewish religious thought,
tably circumscribed scope allowed it by the conditions pre-
Gordon discerned unique religious possibilities in Zionism,
vailing in the Diaspora. The prophetic vigor of the Torah
particularly in the ethos of the idealistic pioneers (halutsim),
would thus be restored as the comprehensive matrix of a holy
the select band of youths who, beginning in the 1890s, had
and just life for the Jewish people.
gone to Palestine to prepare the Land of Israel for the ingath-
ering of the exiles. At nearly the age of fifty, Gordon reliqui-
The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 generat-
shed the comforts of affluence and bourgeois eminence in his
ed special theological problems for Orthodox Jewish sup-
native Russia and joined the youthful halutsim in the labor
porters of Zionism, foremost with respect to the messianic
of draining the swamps and tilling the soil. Working tireless-
significance of the restoration of Jewish patrimony to the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
4907
Land of Israel. Many regard this as a miraculous event that
the authority of Maimonides, Leibowitz’s theological posi-
pointed to the imminent advent of the Messiah and divine
tion also betrays the decisive influence of Kant, Kierkegaard,
redemption. In the flush of messianic euphoria, the chief rab-
and Karl Barth (1886–1968). His severe, almost priestly view
bis of the nascent state took the rare step of introducing a
of Judaism has evoked considerable, seminal discussion with-
new prayer into the traditional liturgy, blessing God for caus-
in both religious and secular circles of contemporary Israel.
ing “the beginning of redemption to flower.” To be sure, a
JUDAISM AND THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. The reentry of
significant minority of Orthodox opinion continues to op-
the Jews into history as a sovereign nation has profoundly
pose Zionism, precisely because of what it deems to be the
affected Jewish self-perception everywhere. In North Ameri-
movement’s messianic pretensions and its seemingly arro-
ca, Jewish thought is most strikingly distinguished by the ef-
gant attempt to preempt God’s judgment and redemptive
fort to accommodate the new understanding of Jewish peo-
deeds. On the other hand, Orthodox Jews who support Zi-
plehood, correlating it with the unique experience of life in
onism and yet are unwilling to view its political achievements
an unambiguously free and pluralistic society. Mordecai M.
in eschatological terms are obliged to reckon with the ab-
Kaplan (1881–1983) developed a conception of Judaism
sence of traditional theological categories to comprehend the
that boldly articulates these apparently contrasting poles of
anomalous situation posed by the reestablishment of Jewish
the contemporary American Jewish reality. Regarding him-
political sovereignty in Zion as a process that is not the work
self as a follower of Ah:ad ha-EAm’s cultural Zionism, Kaplan
of the divinely appointed Messiah.
affirmed the centrality of the Land of Israel in Jewish life
while upholding the creative and social viability of the Dias-
Since the early 1940s these issues have acquired a sharp
pora. In light of the secular definition of Jewish peoplehood
focus and popular attention through the sustained and in-
legitimated by Zionism, Kaplan redefined Judaism as a civili-
variably controversial efforts of Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903–
zation, a designation that allowed him to conceive of Juda-
1993), a professor in biological chemistry at the Hebrew
ism in the broadest social and cultural terms. As a civiliza-
University of Jerusalem. A religiously observant and learned
tion, Judaism is thus not in the first instance a system of
Jew, Leibowitz had—since his emigration to Palestine in
religious beliefs and practices but the life of the Jewish peo-
1935 from his native Latvia via Switzerland and Germany,
ple. The civilization of Judaism is religious in that it is set
where he earned degrees in medicine and chemistry—been
in a distinctive religious universe of discourse with a body
a proponent of an approach to Zionist and religious ques-
of shared symbolic gestures and rituals.
tions that is rigorously rational and free from what he regard-
Kaplan’s understanding of religion and God, however,
ed as platitudes and sentimental pieties. For Leibowitz, Zion-
is neither traditional nor theistic. Indebted to the philosophi-
ism and the State of Israel have no messianic import; he
cal pragmatism of the American educator John Dewey
regarded messianism as fundamentally a folkloristic accretion
(1859–1952), Kaplan viewed God as a functional concept
to Judaism that is best ignored by serious, God-fearing Jews.
pointing to a nonpersonal and nonmetaphysical power or
He was particularly fond of citing Maimonides’ admonition
process in the universe that bespeaks order, justice, and
in his Mishneh Torah that one ought not preoccupy oneself
goodness and on which humans must rely to fulfill their des-
with messianic speculations, for “they lead neither to fear [of
tiny as human beings. This “Godhood of the cosmos” is a
God] nor to love [of Him]” (Kings and Laws 12.2).
transnaturalistic principle: It is not a supernatural entity, nor
Furthermore, Leibowitz argued, those who ascribe reli-
is it to be understood simply as a metaphorical reification of
gious or any other intrinsic value to the state are committing
human possibilities; it is, rather, an ontological concept that
the cardinal sin of idolatry ( Eavodah zarah; the worship of
is continually being refined as human civilization advances
false gods). Leibowitz thus refused to regard Zionism as a re-
on all fronts of knowledge—in the physical and normative
ligious phenomenon but viewed it simply as a movement for
sciences and in the imaginative arts. Religion and God thus
the political liberation of the Jewish people. He called on re-
have, for Kaplan, an ever-evolving pragmatic function of en-
ligious Jews to rejoice in this fact and greet the Zionist state
hancing human well-being and dignity by “orienting us to
as providing the framework for a fuller expression of
life and eliciting from us the best of which we are capable”
halakhah and the Jewish people’s religious vocation. He con-
(Judaism as Civilization, p. 317).
ceived of this vocation in strictly theocentric terms. By ac-
Religion also has the more specifically sociological func-
cepting the Torah and its commandments, Jews are foremost
tion of articulating and reenacting through certain ritualized
God’s servants and not vice versa. Service to God must be
practices (not necessarily liturgical or devotional) the collec-
for its own sake, without regard for spiritual, moral, or mate-
tive self-consciousness and memory of its constituent com-
rial enhancement. Judaism is not meant to render the Jews
munity. As such, religion serves to foster the community’s
happier, more noble, or more prosperous. Even the perfec-
sense of historical continuity and shared values. Judaism so
tion of society and history are extraneous to Judaism. (Al-
understood is unabashedly anthropocentric and humanistic.
though Leibowitz did not object to humanistic and progres-
Moreover, as a religion that exists for the Jewish people and
sive political endeavors, he insisted these are in the realm of
not vice versa (cf. Leibowitz), Judaism is not to be construed
humans and their fallible judgment and thus are not to be
as a heteronomous discipline of ritual and codes, nor are its
theologically sanctified.) Although he recurrently appealed to
beliefs to be amplified catechistically.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4908
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
Lest Judaism fail the contemporary Jew, Kaplan averred,
The prophets, Heschel emphasized, were particularly con-
it must respect each Jew’s democratic and this-worldly tem-
scious of the intimate, passionate relation between humans
perament. Judaism therefore must be projected as an ongo-
and God: An individual’s sins anger and sadden God, and
ing discourse that eschews all anachronistic, supernatural
because the individual both fears and loves God, he or she
constructs of traditional religion and allows for diversity of
resolves to bring God joy by sharing in God’s work to crown
opinion, especially with respect to questions of ultimate exis-
creation with justice and compassion.
tential significance, such as the meaning of suffering, death,
and evil. The specific theological function of Judaism, how-
Despite his conviction that the prophetic consciousness
ever, is to give focus to the needs and mutual responsibilities
captured the heart of traditional Judaism, Heschel’s thought
of the Jews as a people. Although the movement associated
found its primary resonance not among the adherents of
with Kaplan’s conception of Judaism, known as Reconstruc-
halakhah but among those Jews in need of an interpretation
tionism, has remained relatively small, Kaplan has given ex-
of Judaism that would authenticate their participation as
pression to the emerging folk religion of American Jewry, ir-
Jews in the humane causes of their generation. Heschel’s
respective of formal denominational affiliation.
message of prophetic concern and responsibility spoke to a
generation of American Jews in the 1960s and 1970s who
Whereas the ideology of Kaplan’s Reconstructionism
felt themselves called on as Jews to join the struggle on behalf
may have given expression to the regnant naturalism and eth-
of civil rights for African Americans and to oppose the Viet-
nic orientation of American Jewry, the same community has
nam War, which they regarded as unjust.
paradoxically demanded of its religious elite (i.e., its rabbini-
cal leadership) a theology that articulates, with due modifica-
American-educated Orthodox Jews who are sensitive to
tions, the theocentric, supernatural convictions that have
the philosophical and religious questions raised by the con-
classically defined Judaism. The image of Judaism even for
temporary West found their voice in Joseph Baer
the most theologically naturalist would seem to require a su-
Soloveitchik (1903–1993), a descendant of renowned Lithu-
pernatural definition. Herein lies the explanation of why Re-
anian rabbis. Emigrating to the United States in 1932, he be-
constructionism, despite its fidelity to the folk religion of
came one of the twentieth century’s most esteemed Talmud-
American Jewry, has remained numerically insignificant, and
ists; he spoke with rare authority within the Orthodox
hence this also explains the receptivity of American Jews to
community, pondering from the perspective of one firmly
the theocentric teachings of Buber and Rosenzweig.
and unapologetically grounded in halakhah those questions
generated by what he regarded as the ambiguous position of
European-educated religious thinkers, anchored in tra-
people of faith in a technological, pragmatic civilization
ditional Judaism and theological conviction, have also found
shaped by pronouncedly secular bias. Assuming the self-
in America a supportive environment. Emigrating to the
evident validity of Judaism and religious faith, Soloveitchik
United States in 1940, Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–
did not challenge the premises of technological civilization
1972), a Polish-born descendent of Hasidic masters, devel-
but, rather, chose to defend within the context of that civili-
oped for an appreciative American audience a lyrical theolo-
zation the integrity of what he termed “the halakhic man.”
gy that is more a persuasive personal witness than a concep-
He achieved this by a phenomenological description of the
tual argument. He presents a phenomenological explication
religious consciousness of the halakhic man, elaborating his
of his own experience and prophetic consciousness. Blending
exposition with insights garnered from a subtle reading of
Hasidic spirituality, which he held as resonating the inner-
modern philosophy, especially neo-Kantianism and existen-
most truths of traditional Jewish faith, with nuanced West-
tialism. He concluded that those who follow the halakhic
ern learning, Heschel sought to elaborate a conception of
way are not antagonistic to the moral and cognitive concerns
piety relevant to the contemporary Jew. Noting that the apti-
of the technological society; however, whereas the latter re-
tude for faith of Western society has been dulled by techno-
quires a social and gregarious personality, the halakhic fol-
logical, bourgeois civilization, in his writings Heschel en-
lower accepts the individual’s existential loneliness, overcom-
deavored to reawaken the sensus numinus—the a priori sense
ing the attendant isolation and anxiety through a redemptive
of wonder and awe evoked by the mystery of life, which he,
love of God and Torah. The congregation of Jews forged by
with Rudolf Otto (1869–1937), regarded as the font of
the Torah is a covenantal community that respects the soli-
faith—by introducing his readers to the Hasidic-Qabbalistic
tary, existential reality of each of its members, who are joined
teaching that all reality refracts the divine presence.
to God and each other in a common covenantal relation sa-
crally objectified by the halakhah.
The life of traditional Jewish piety governed by
halakhah, according to Heschel, creates an inner, holy reality
The European Jewish intellectual heritage has also in-
that heightens one’s sense of the divine presence. As a system
spired a generation of American-born Jewish religious think-
of deeds, halakhah has also ritualized the prophetic teaching
ers, including Eugene B. Borowitz (b. 1924), Arthur A.
that faith is ultimately a leap of action: The individual re-
Cohen (1928–1986), Will Herberg (1902–1977), David
sponds to God’s presence by making God’s work his or her
Hartman (b. 1931), Jakob J. Petuchowski (b. 1925), Richard
own. Indeed, the covenantal relation between God and Israel
L. Rubenstein (b. 1924), and Milton Steinberg (1903–
implies an intimate partnership between humans and God.
1950). Characteristically, the writings of these individuals
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
4909
have been largely interpretative commentaries on the
This affirmation of Judaism as a living faith has led an
thought of their European predecessors. This dependence
increasing number of younger Jews—particularly, but not
may be indicative not only of a pervasive sense of being the
only, in America—to reappropriate the study of sacred Jew-
indebted heirs of the European intellectual tradition, but also
ish texts as the axis of Jewish spirituality. Inspired by post-
of a portentous feeling of being their survivors. The tragic,
modernism and its critique of the Enlightenment’s quest for
catastrophic end of European Jewry created, in the words of
one objective truth, these thinkers wish to revalorize Judaism
Arthur Cohen, a profound caesura (a sudden silencing of
as a community of study in which its foundational texts are
sound) in Jewish collective and personal existence, engender-
continuously reinterpreted with no claim to the absolute va-
ing a sense of inconsolable mourning and obligation.
lidity of one’s reading. The study of these texts and their in-
In reflecting on the tragedy of the Nazi era and its theo-
exhausitble interpretation is said to renew the traditional un-
logical implications for the surviving remnant of Jewry,
derstanding of Torah study—broadly called midrash—as the
American Jews have been at their most original and probing.
principal medium of Israel’s covenantal relation with God
The resulting theology of the Holocaust may in many re-
and God’s revealed Word. As David Stern observes, Midrash
spects be viewed as a theology of survival—a theology that
was for the rabbis—and for their postmodern heirs—“a kind
seeks to affirm the obligations of the remnant of Jewry to sur-
of conversation” enabling God “to speak to them from be-
vive somehow as Jews. Auschwitz, according to Emil L. Fack-
tween the lines of Scripture, in the textual fissures and dis-
enheim (1916–2003) issues a commandment to Jews to en-
continuities that exegesis discovers” (Stern, 1996, p. 31).
dure and to ensure the survival of Judaism. This
commandment has also inspired the slow but impressive re-
SEE ALSO Holocaust, article on Jewish Theological Re-
sponses; Jewish Studies; Zionism.
construction of European Jewry, which has likewise wit-
nessed the renewal of Jewish religious thought, most notably
represented by Louis Jacobs (b. 1920) in England and Em-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
manuel Lévinas (1906–1995) in France.
An admirably lucid introduction to the major figures and themes
of modern Jewish thought is provided in Robert M. Seltzer,
Lévinas, one of the most esteemed philosophers of post–
Jewish People, Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience in Histo-
World War II France, represents a continuation of the exis-
ry (New York, 1980), chaps. 12, 13, 15, and 16. A nuanced
tentialist thought pioneered by Rosenzweig and Buber. Em-
weave of intellectual and social history, this volume il-
ploying the metaphysical phenomenology he developed as a
luminatingly places the development of Jewish thought with-
critique of Edmund Husserl’s (1859–1938) and Martin Hei-
in its cultural and historical context. A more strictly philo-
degger’s (1889–1976) concept of “the other,” Lévinas sought
sophical survey of the major protagonists of modern Jewish
to illuminate the religious meaning of Judaism. The moral
thought is Steven T. Katz, ed., Jewish Philosophers (New
experience of the other, borne by a compelling sense of re-
York, 1975). This volume is a useful compilation of articles
sponsibility toward that other, is the only genuine knowledge
on Jewish philosophers from the ancient period to the pres-
that can be attained of the other. Lévinas contrasts the anti-
ent that originally appeared in the Encyclopaedia Judaica
(1971). The editor concludes the volume with a concise re-
humanistic tendency of Western culture, which masquerades
view of Jewish thought since 1945, dealing extensively with
as liberty but which is in fact bereft of responsibility for the
Heschel, Soloveitchik, post-Holocaust theologians, and
other, with the biblical concept, especially as elaborated by
other contemporary voices.
the rabbis, of “a difficult liberty” (the title of his most impor-
tant collection of essays on Judaism, Difficile Liberté). The
For authoritative scholarly analyses, which the general reader
might find occasionally arcane, see Julius Guttmann, Philoso-
Jew obtains transcendence, and thus liberty, by paradoxically
phies of Judaism: The History of Jewish Philosophy from Biblical
living under God’s law, which requires of the Jew ethical and
Times to Franz Rosenzweig, translated by David W. Silver-
social responsibility for the other. The biblical person,
man, with an introduction by R. J. Zwi Werblowsky (New
Lévinas observes with oblique reference to Heidegger, dis-
York, 1964) and Nathan Rotenstreich, Jewish Philosophy in
covers a fellow person before anything else. As the custodian
Modern Times: From Mendelssohn to Rosenzweig (New York,
of biblical humanism, Lévinas avers, Judaism defiantly pro-
1968). With somewhat less attention to philosophical detail,
claims to the contemporary world that liberty entails respon-
Heinz M. Graupe’s The Rise of Modern Judaism: An Intellec-
sibility and obligation.
tual History of German Jewry, translated by John Robinson
(Huntington, N.Y., 1978) provides an excellent and thor-
For all Jewish thinkers who regard themselves as living
ough discussion of the cultural history of Jewish thought in
in the shadow of Auschwitz, the State of Israel, born on the
Germany from Mendelssohn to Rosenzweig. Graupe has also
morrow of the Nazi nightmare, is the overarching symbol of
provided an excellent bibliography of the relevant German-
Jewish survival and resolve to endure. Survival is affirmed,
language literature.
however, not simply in defiance of Satan and Satan’s zealous
The best biography of Mendelssohn is Alexander Altmann’s mag-
agents but, rather, as an existential commitment to the God
isterial Moses Mendelssohn: A Biographical Study (University,
of Israel. Despite their horror and anguish, it is held, Jews
Ala., 1973). Altmann has also written a most instructive in-
must affirm God as the author of a purposeful and good uni-
troduction and commentary to Mendelssohn’s Jerusalem, or
verse. Fackenheim cites the Psalmist: “I shall not die but live,
on Religion and Power in Judaism (1783), translated by Allan
and declare the works of God” (Ps. 18:17).
Arkush (Hanover, N.H., 1983).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4910
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: MODERN THOUGHT
The impact of Kant, Schelling, and Hegel is subtly traced in Na-
includes a comprehensive bibliography of Rosenzweig’s
than Rotenstreich’s Jews and German Philosophy: the Polemics
works in translation as well as the scholarly secondary litera-
of Emancipation (New York, 1984). Immanuel Kant’s Reli-
ture. For primary readings, see Franz Rosenzweig, Kleinere
gion within the Limits of Reason Alone (1793), translated with
Schriften (Berlin, 1937); Stern der Erlösung (Frankfurt, Ger-
an introduction and notes by Theodore M. Greene and Hoyt
many, 1921), which was later published in English as The
H. Hudson (New York, 1960) provides a primary source for
Star Of Redemption, translated by Barbara E. Galli (Madison,
readers.
Wis., 2004); “The Builders: Concerning the Law,” in On
Jewish Learning, edited by Nahum N. Glatzer, pp. 72–92
Fundamental documents with commentary of the Wissenschaft des
(New York, 1965); and E. Rosenstock-Huessy, ed., Judaism
Judentums may be found in Paul R. Mendes-Flohr and Jehu-
despite Christianity (New York, 1971).
da Reinharz, The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary
History, 2d ed., rev. (Oxford, 1995), chap. 5. Ideological is-
Buber’s writings are widely available in English, and commen-
sues surrounding the founding of modern Jewish scholarship
taries on his thought constitute a veritable library. Two excel-
are discussed at length in Michael A. Meyer, The Origin of
lent bibliographical guides to this literature are of immeasur-
the Modern Jew: Jewish Identity and Europoean Culture in
able value: Margot Cohn and Rafael Buber, Martin Buber:
Germany, 1749–1824 (Detroit, 1967), chap. 6. The prob-
A Bibliography of His Writings, 1897–1978 (Jerusalem, 1980)
lems posed to Jewish thought by Wissenschaft des Judentums
and Willard Moonon, Martin Buber and His Critics: An An-
and historicism are considered both historically and analyti-
notated Bibliography of Writings in English through 1978
cally in Nathan Rotenstreich, Tradition and Reality: The Im-
(New York, 1981). For a synoptic view of Buber’s thought,
pact of History on Modern Jewish Thought (New York, 1972),
see Maurice Friedman, Martin Buber’s Life and Thought, 3
chaps. 2–4. Historical memory and the modern Jewish imag-
vols. (New York, 1981–1984). For a direct reading, see Mar-
ination are sensitively discussed in Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi,
tin Burber, I and Thou, translated with prologue and notes
Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory, 2d ed. (New
by Walter Kaufmann (New York, 1970).
York, 1989), chap. 4. The relation between Jewish historiog-
For a representative selection of Leibowitz’s writings, see
raphy and philosophies of Jewish history is the subject of Lio-
Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Judaism, Human Values, and the Jewish
nel Kochan, The Jew and His History (New York, 1977).
State, edited by E. Goldman (Cambridge, Mass., 1992).
Lévinas has gathered his essays on Jewish themes in his Difficult
Hermann Cohen’s basic Jewish writings are available in Religion
Freedom: Essays on Judaism, translated by Sean Hand (Balti-
of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism (1919), translated and
more, 1990). For his reflections on Judaism, presented
with an introduction by Simon Kaplan, 2d ed. (Atlanta,
through weekly lessons on select passages of the Talmud and
1995) and Reason and Hope: Selections from the Jewish Writ-
other rabbinic writings, see his Nine Talmudic Readitings,
ings of Hermann Cohen, translated and edited by Eva Jospe
translated with introduction by Richard Al Cohen (Pitts-
(New York, 1971). For a sample of Gordon’s writings, see
burgh, 1999). For comprehensive discussions of Lévinas’s
Arthur Hertzberg, ed., The Zionist Idea, pp. 368–386 (New
conception of Judaism, see two works by Richard A. Cohen:
York, 1969). For an examination of Mordecai Kaplan’s Re-
“Emmanuel Lévinas,” in Steven T. Katz, ed., Intrerpretations
constructionism, see Charles S. Liebman, “Reconstruction-
of Judaism in the Twentieth Century, pp. 205–228 (Washing-
ism in American Jewish Life,” American Jewish Year Book 71
ton, D.C., 1993) and Elevations: The Heights of the Good in
(1970): 3–99. Kaplan’s most comprehensive presentation of
Levinas and Rosenzweig (Chicago, 1994), as well as Robert
his program is Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruc-
Gibbs, Correlations in Rosenzweig and Levinas (Princeton,
tion of American Jewish Life (New York, 1936, reprint 1981).
N.J., 1992). For a concise but judicious introduction to the
Although the writings of Ludwig Steinheim are unfortunately not
issues of twentieth-century Jewish thought, with specific
available in English, each of the above-mentioned general
focus on Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, Martin
surveys of modern Jewish thought provides an overview of
Buber, A. D. Gordon, and Rav Kook, see Samuel H. Berg-
his thought. For a German reading, see Solomon Ludwig
man’s Faith and Reason: An Introduction to Modern Jewish
Steinheim, Offenbarung nach dem Lehrbegriff der Synagoge
Thought, translated and edited by Alfred Jospe (Washington,
[Revelation according to the Doctrine of the Synagogue], 4
D.C., 1961). A comprehensive and nuanced analysis of the
vols. (Frankfurt, Germany, 1835). For a detailed and critical
abiding issues and unresolved tensions of modern Jewish reli-
examination of Steinheim’s unique theological position, see
gious thought is given in Gershom Scholem’s “Reflections on
Heinz M. Graupe’s The Rise of Modern Judaism (Hunting-
Jewish Thought,” in On Jews and Judaism in Crisis, edited
ton, N.Y., 1978), pp. 231ff., and Joshua O. Haberman’s
by Werner J. Dannhauser, pp. 261–297 (New York, 1976).
“Solomon Ludwig Steinheim’s Doctrine of Revelation,” Ju-
The hermeneutic turn in Jewish thought inspired by postmodern-
daism 17 (Winter 1968): 22–41. One should also consult the
ism is documented in two collection of essays: Steven Kep-
remarkable collection of essays in Hans Joachim Schoeps,
nes, ed., Interpreting Judaism in a Postmodern Age (New York,
Heinz Mosche Graupe, and Gerd-Hesse Goeman, eds., Salo-
1996) and Peter Ochs and Nancy Levene, eds., Textural Rea-
mon Ludwig Steinheim zum Gedenken (Leiden, 1966). Also
soning. Jewish Philosophy and Text Study at the End of the
see Hans Joachim Schoeps, Vom Bleibenden und Vergänglic-
Twentieth Century (Grand Rapids, Mich., 2002). The appeal
hen im Judentum (Berlin, 1935).
of postmodern philosophers and literary critics to midrash is
The best introduction to Rosenzweig remains Nahum N. Glatzer,
critically appraised by David Stern, Midrash and Theory. An-
Franz Rosenzweig: His Life and Thought, 3d ed. (Indianapo-
cient Jewish Exegesis and Contemporary Literary Studies (Ev-
lis, 1998). The most sustained and careful analysis of Rosenz-
anston, Ill., 1996), especially chapter 1, “Midrash and Her-
weig’s thought is Stéphane Mosès, System and Revelation. The
meneutics: Polysemy and Indeterminacy.”
Philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig (Detroit, 1992), which also
PAUL R. MENDES-FLOHR (1987 AND 2005)
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: JEWISH ETHICAL LITERATURE
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY:
cal problems appear in Talmudic and Midrashic literature
JEWISH ETHICAL LITERATURE
side by side, without any literary differentiation, with sayings
The Hebrew term sifrut ha-musar (“ethical literature”) can
dealing with astronomy, history, or medicine. The new in-
be defined either very explicitly or in a general way. In a more
sights and concepts in the field of ethics, which abound in
proscribed sense it is a well-defined literary genre; the works
this literature, were not expressed in a systematic way.
belonging to it are easily recognizable because each chapter
When Greek philosophy began to influence Jewish
in these books deals with a specific religious and theological
thinkers in the late Geonic period (tenth and eleventh centu-
subject—belief in the unity of God, trust in God, repen-
ries), ethical problems began to be treated in a special literary
tance, fear and love of God, and so forth. The classical exam-
form and in a systematic way. The first Jewish philosophers
ples of books in this genre begin with Bahye ibn Paquda’s
who developed such systems in the tenth to the twelfth cen-
H:ovot ha-levavot (The duties of the heart) in the eleventh
tury saw themselves, with some justification, as innovators,
century and include Mosheh H:ayyim Luzzatto’s Mesillat ye-
formulating their concepts as if there were no previous Jew-
sharim (The path of the righteous) in the eighteenth century.
ish ethical system. They were right in the sense that in previ-
In addition to the few dozen books written in this manner
ous Jewish literature it is impossible to find a systematic
are some other minor genres, namely, sifrut ha-tsavva Dot
explanation of why a Jew should follow the divine com-
(“ethical wills”) and various monographs on subjects such as
mandments and how to educate oneself to accept and per-
repentance.
form them.
In its broader meaning, the term sifrut ha-musar in-
One of the clearest examples of this approach is
cludes other religious literary genres, especially the vast litera-
SaEadyah Gaon’s treatment of ethics in the first half of the
ture of Hebrew homiletics, of which thousands of volumes
tenth century. The tenth and last chapter of his great philo-
were written between the twelfth and nineteenth centuries,
sophical work, Sefer emunot ve-de Eot (The book of beliefs and
as well as other popular works intended for the religious in-
opinions), is devoted to this subject. This chapter, which was
struction of the masses. Hence, in general terms, “ethical lit-
probably written as a separate treatise, deals systematically
erature” includes many literary genres; indeed, it refers to al-
with the main values of Jewish ethical behavior. According
most everything written for religious instruction except
to SaEadyah (882–942), God created the human psyche with
works of Jewish law (halakhah) or theology (philosophy or
thirteen different impulses or drives, each of which tends to
mysticism, i.e., Qabbalah).
impel him to fulfill it alone and thereby clashes with the oth-
ers. SaEadyah included in this list drives such as sex, laziness,
Jewish ethical literature, in both its narrower and broad-
revenge, and craving for food together with the urge to study
er meanings, is not primarily intended to instruct the Jewish
the Torah and worship God. None of these, according to
reader how to behave in certain circumstances. Practical in-
SaEadyah, is either “right” or “wrong,” “good” or “evil.” Each
struction is reserved mainly for the literature of the halakhah,
of these drives is right and good if used in moderation, ac-
because Jewish law does not distinguish between religious
cording to one’s needs, and wrong and evil if it becomes
and ethical commandments. Everything demanded by the
one’s sole or main preoccupation. Most of the chapter is ded-
Torah and the Talmud is included in the law, even subjects
icated to demonstrating the negative results of concentrating
like the giving of tsedaqah, donations to the poor, or the
one’s energies on the fulfillment of one drive alone, be it re-
proper behavior at a funeral. The main purpose of ethical lit-
venge or worship, eating or studying. SaEadyah’s arguments
erature is to explain to the Jew why it is necessary to follow
against such extreme behavior are mainly hedonistic: Com-
the strict demands of Jewish law and ethical commandments.
plete submission to one drive turns even pleasure into pain
Thus, sifrut ha-musar is the literary genre that teaches the ob-
and brings on suffering and ill health, while moderation and
servant and devout Jew how to feel and how to organize his
harmonic use of all of them together brings happiness,
desires and intentions in order to be able to concentrate all
health, and long life. SaEadyah uses some biblical and rabbin-
his spiritual powers on the performance of the command-
ic references to strengthen his arguments, but his main thesis
ments that were enumerated by God in the ancient sources.
does not rely on Jewish sources; he is expressing, in fact, a
The following brief description focuses on the development
secular conception of ethics.
of Jewish ethical literature in its stricter sense, though refer-
A completely different approach was adopted by Bah:ye
ence will be made where possible to the broader field as well.
ibn Paquda in Spain in the eleventh century. Like SaEadyah,
BEGINNINGS IN THE MIDDLE AGES. The first stage of the de-
he wrote his ethical-philosophical treatise in Arabic, but his
velopment of Jewish ethical literature in the Middle Ages sig-
major work, H:ovot ha-levavot, is the first book-length medi-
nified a complete deviation from Jewish ethical works in the
eval Jewish work dedicated to the subject of ethics. In the
ancient period. While biblical and postbiblical Jewish litera-
introduction Bah:ye complained that previous Jewish writers
ture included books dedicated specifically to the teaching of
devoted all their works to the physical and material demands
ethical values (Proverbs, Ben Sira, etc.), during the Talmudic
of Jewish religious life, neglecting completely the spiritual
period in late antiquity ethics was incorporated within the
ones. His book was written in order to present the other,
vast treasury of Midrashic homiletics and lost its standing as
spiritual and ethical, side of the Jewish religion, which is, ac-
a separate literary genre. Rabbinic sayings dealing with ethi-
cording to Bah:ye, the most important and essential.
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: JEWISH ETHICAL LITERATURE
Bah:ye’s distinction between the physical and spiritual
magnum opus of Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah, he very
religious precepts was a major innovation in Jewish ethical
often based his ethical demands on old rabbinic ethical
thought. According to his system, prayer and religious
sayings.
studies cannot be included among the spiritual values be-
Maimonides confronted the basic problems resulting
cause the human body and senses participate in their perfor-
from the meeting between rabbinic ethics and medieval phi-
mance. Spiritual precepts, Bah:ye explained, are those that are
losophy and science in a profound way, taking pains to pre-
carried out completely “within the heart,” that is, without
serve the practical demands of ancient traditions while recon-
any reliance or mediation of the limbs or the senses, and only
ciling them with contemporary conceptions of spiritualized
the completely spiritual precepts have religious meaning and
religious behavior. He contributed to the popularization in
can be regarded as worship. The physical deeds, which in-
Hebrew literature of Aristotelian concepts like “the golden
clude all the legal Jewish mitsvot, do not have any impact on
rule” of the “good” middle between two “evil” extremes, al-
one’s religious life. A physical deed can have a religious
though their impact outside the immediate school of his fol-
meaning only if it is accompanied by spiritual concentration
lowers was minimal. Even Maimonides, when dealing with
and intention—kavvanah—and even then its value is depen-
the subject of ethics, saw himself not as a thinker who con-
dent on the spiritual intention and not on the deed itself.
tinued the deliberations of a long line of Jewish traditional
Thus Bah:ye presented a completely spiritualized and inter-
teachers of ethics but as a philosopher who created a new sys-
nalized conception of Jewish religious life, which is a radical
tem, relying mainly on non-Jewish scientific and philosophi-
departure from the teachings of previous thinkers, who al-
cal sources and only assisted by biblical and Talmudic
ways insisted—as does Jewish law—that the physical perfor-
traditions.
mance of the mitsvot, both ritualistic and ethical ones, is the
basis of Jewish worship.
EARLY HEBREW WORKS AND QABBALAH. While SaEadyah,
Bah:ye, Ibn Gabirol, and Maimonides wrote mainly in Arabic
Another new variation in the field of ethics in that peri-
and addressed themselves to Jewish intellectuals in the com-
od was introduced by Shelomoh ibn Gabirol (c. 1021–c.
munities under Arab rule who were familiar with Arabic phi-
1058), the great poet and philosopher, author of Meqor
losophy based on the Greek, almost no works were written
h:ayyim, which was known in Latin under the title Fons vitae.
in Hebrew and intended for a larger Jewish public. Only in
Ibn Gabirol wrote a short ethical treatise in Arabic, known
the twelfth century does one find the beginnings of Hebrew
in Hebrew as Tiqqun middot ha-nefesh (The correction of
medieval ethical literature written by Jewish thinkers in a
ethical attitudes). Ibn Gabirol’s approach to ethics in this
contemporary manner. The first among these was Avraham
work is a physical-anthropological one. Characteristic
bar HiyyaD, who contributed to ethics his collection of four
human attitudes, he asserted, are dependent on the individu-
homilies, called Hegyon ha-nefesh ha- Eatsuvah (The sad soul’s
al’s complexion and physical harmony. Ibn Gabirol main-
deliberations), which was based on Neoplatonic philosophy.
tained that each of the twenty basic ethical attitudes is closely
That same philosophy also influenced Avraham ibn EEzraD,
related to a certain combination of the four elements and the
the great commentator on the Bible, who dedicated to ethics
four liquids that constitute the human body according to
a brief treatise called Yesod mora D (The foundation of the fear
medieval physiology. Using homiletical methods, Ibn Ga-
of God). It is typical that these two works were written in
birol analyzed the ethical attitudes and arranged them in ten
the first half and middle of the twelfth century by philoso-
binary opposites (pride and humility, etc.), as an expression
phers from Spain who traveled and visited Jewish communi-
of the human physical constitution. Two such pairs are con-
ties in Christian Europe, where Arabic was not understood,
nected to each of the five senses. Ibn Gabirol’s treatise is an
and were aware of the need for such material.
attempt to give a scientific, secular, and physical basis to ethi-
cal human behavior and to correct every flaw in the same way
The first school of writers of Hebrew ethical works in
that physical ailments are corrected.
medieval Europe did not emerge in the areas influenced by
Arabic culture but in the small town of Gerona in northern
The greatest Jewish philosopher of the Middle Ages,
Spain ruled by the Christians in the first half of the thir-
Moses Maimonides (Mosheh ben Maimon, 1135/8–1204),
teenth century. The four important writers of this school
dedicated important discussions to ethical problems in sever-
were Moses Nahmanides (Mosheh ben Nah:man), YaEaqov
al of his major works but did not write a special work on eth-
ben Sheshet Gerondi, Yonah ben Avraham Gerondi, and
ics. His philosophical works, commentaries, and legal works
Asher ben David. All four belonged to the school of qabbal-
contain chapters and portions dealing with ethics. When
ists that flourished in Gerona early in the thirteenth century.
writing in Arabic, he, like SaEadyah Gaon and Ibn Gabirol,
The mystical element in their ethical works is not dominant,
established Jewish ethics on scientific concepts, derived from
and in the case of the best-known ethical writer among them,
psychological and anthropological analysis. The works of Ar-
Yonah Gerondi, it is completely absent. If it were not for a
istotle and the Arab philosophers who followed him served
letter written by Yitsh:aq the Blind, the great mystic of Pro-
as sources for Maimonides’ own formulations. When writing
vence, to the qabbalists in Gerona, naming Yonah Gerondi
in Hebrew, however, especially in Sefer ha-madda E (The
among them, it would never have been known for certain
book of knowledge), the first book in his fourteen-book
that he was indeed a qabbalist.
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JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: JEWISH ETHICAL LITERATURE
4913
The most important innovation of the ethical works of
In the thirteenth century in Spain, southern France, and
this school of qabbalists is the revival of rabbinic ethics, al-
Italy the two major schools of Hebrew ethical literature thus
most completely neglected by their predecessors. Many parts
took shape, the philosophers, mostly Maimonidean, on the
of their works can be read as anthologies of Talmudic and
one hand, and the traditionalists, creators of rabbinic ethics,
Midrashic sayings concerning various ethical problems. It is
many of them qabbalists, on the other hand. New literary
clear that these writers intended to show, in contrast to the
forms emerged in the two antagonistic schools, such as the
Jewish philosophers, that Judaism has an authentic ethical
ethical monographs, ethical homiletical literature, and ethi-
tradition which can answer every contemporary problem
cal “wills,” which summarize in a brief treatise a complete
without relying on medieval philosophy and science. They
ethical system. From the thirteenth to the fifteenth century,
tried to revive and reestablish the dominance of the tradi-
Hebrew ethical literature is clearly divided along these basic
tional Jewish sources of antiquity as the normative guide to
ideological lines.
religious behavior. In this, their qabbalistic beliefs could have
ETHICS OF THE ASHKENAZIC H:ASIDIM. While controversy
contributed to the spiritual depth and the pathos of their ad-
raged in Spain, Italy, and southern France, an independent
herence to the traditional sources, but their works are not de-
school of ethical thought was established in western Germa-
pendent on mystical symbolism.
ny by the German-Jewish pietists, adherents of the esoteric,
The Gerona qabbalists viewed their concerted effort in
and often mystical, theology of Ashkenazic Hasidism. The
the field of ethical works as a response to the threat that Jew-
main work of this school, which had a profound impact on
ish philosophy presented to Judaism. Extreme spiritualiza-
Jewish ethical thought for many centuries, is the Sefer
tion on the one hand and profane, scientific systems of ethics
H:asidim (Book of the Pietists), written by Yehudah ben She-
on the other endangered the traditional conceptions of the
muDel “the Pious” of Regensburg (d. 1217).
primacy of ethical deeds and the observance of the practical
Sefer H:asidim is different from previous Hebrew ethical
precepts. Yonah Gerondi was one of the first Jewish thinkers
works in its concern with everyday behavior in minute de-
to criticize Maimonides publicly and participated actively in
tails, relating to the performance of the religious precepts.
the great controversy concerning Maimonides’ works in
Besides homilies that expound the theoretical basis of ethical
1232–1235. His ethical works, and especially his monograph
ideas, the book, which is divided into brief, independent
on repentance, Sha Earei teshuvah, are intended to offer a tra-
paragraphs, deals with specific ethical issues: how to choose
ditional alternative to philosophical ethics. Nahmanides’ eth-
a dwelling place; relationships with parents, teachers, neigh-
ical homilies include direct criticism of Aristotelian philoso-
bors, and the non-Jewish society; how to conduct business
phy and indirect polemics against Maimonides.
relations; attitude toward rabbis; and so forth.
Other writers of this period adopted the same attitude
The instructions of this book are based on a strict, radi-
and created traditionalistic systems of ethics based on ancient
cal ethical theory. The Ashkenazic H:asidim believed that
sources as an alternative to the works of the philosophers.
God’s presence in the world is evident only in the unusual
Prominent among them was Yeh:iDel ben YequtiDel of Rome,
and the miraculous. Natural and social laws are not a reflec-
in the middle of the thirteenth century, whose ethical work
tion of divine benevolence but are rather trials put before pi-
Ma Ealot ha-middot (The ascending ladder of ethical values)
etists by God in order to distinguish between the righteous
is an anthology of rabbinic paragraphs with some antiphilo-
and the wicked by testing their ability to obey God’s com-
sophical undertones. Yeh:iDel was not a qabbalist, and his
mandments. Human life, according to the pietists, is a con-
work proves that the return to the ancient sources in the
tinuous struggle to prove one’s devotion to God by overcom-
realm of ethics was not motivated by mystical reasons alone.
ing all the obstacles that God himself put on the path of his
Later in the thirteenth century another qabbalist, Bah:ya
believers. Ethical behavior, in this system, is choosing the
ben Asher ibn Halawa, wrote one of the most influential
most difficult and painful alternative. The pietist must al-
works of Jewish ethics in a homiletical form, Kad ha-qemah:
ways concentrate on the performance of that deed that most
(A bowl of flour). In this work the author discusses ethical
people around him neglect; by so doing he proves that this
values, arranged in alphabetical order, dedicating a sermon
is the most difficult path, and following it gives him the max-
to each. He seldom used qabbalistic symbolism, and the
imum religious reward. This worldview is the complete re-
work is one of the most important books in medieval rabbin-
versal of the hedonistic tendencies found in the ethical works
ic ethics.
of Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages such as SaEadyah
and Yeh:iDel ben YequtiDel.
At the same time, Jewish philosophers continued to
publish Hebrew books on philosophical ethics. The most
Ashkenazic Hasidism both reflected and served as an
prominent among them were YaEaqov Anatoli in his collec-
ideological response to the massacres and persecutions that
tion of sermons, Malmad ha-talmidim, and Shem T:ov ben
German Jewry suffered during the period of the Crusades.
Yosef Falaquera, who wrote several ethical treatises. Like
Qiddush ha-shem (“sanctifying the Holy Name”) was regard-
other philosophers of the thirteenth century, these two relied
ed by the H:asidim as the supreme religious and ethical
heavily on the teachings of Maimonides, though very often
achievement, because it was the most total and difficult ex-
their attitudes were more radical than those of their teachers.
pression of devotion to God in spite of terrible hardships. If
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4914
JEWISH THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY: JEWISH ETHICAL LITERATURE
the sacrifice of one’s life is the final goal, everyday life should
plaining the central values of Jewish ethics. H:ayyim Vital
reflect the same attitude and be conducted as if every reli-
(Klippers), the great disciple of Isaac Luria, wrote a short eth-
gious and ethical deed had an element of sacrifice in it—the
ical work, Sha Earei qedushah (The gates of holiness), describ-
larger the sacrifice, the more meaningful the deed. Anything
ing the human spiritual ascension from involvement in secu-
that negates the demands of the body has religious value,
lar life and sin up to the immersion of the human soul in
while every deed that satisfies physical needs signifies ethical
the divine world. One of the great followers of Luria’s mysti-
surrender.
cism, YeshaEyah Horowitz, wrote the largest ethical work of
that time, Shenei luh:ot ha-berit (The two tablets of the cove-
Ashkenazic Hasidic ethics are closely related to the eso-
nant), which remains to this day one of the most influential
teric theology of the teachers of Ashkenazic Hasidism.
works of Jewish ethics ever written.
Whereas the theology did not continue to develop but was
absorbed by qabbalistic mysticism, which spread in central
The new impact of Qabbalah on Jewish ethics was based
Europe during the late thirteenth and the fourteenth centu-
to a large extent on the revolutionary mystical views intro-
ry, the ethical teachings of the H:asidim survived for many
duced by Isaac Luria (1534–1572). Whereas previous qab-
centuries. Numerous ethical treatises written in Germany in
balistic systems were characterized by withdrawal from the
the thirteenth to the fifteenth century are based on Sefer
contemporary world, Luria’s Qabbalah was intensely messi-
H:asidim, many of them dealing with the concept of repen-
anic. According to his mythical symbolism, the world was
tance in Ashkenazic Hasidic ethics. Their teachings served
created in order to serve as a battleground between the divine
as a basis for later Jewish ethical literature, even when
powers of good and evil, where good will ultimately be victo-
Qabbalah began to develop its own specific mystical ethical
rious. The historical orientation of this philosophy demands
literature.
action from its followers. By righteousness and religious and
ethical activity, humankind assists God in the struggle
SIXTEENTH- AND SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY QABBALISTIC
against the powers of evil that resided within God and that
ETHICS. In the sixteenth century the study of Qabbalah be-
now, following an upheaval in the divine world, rule all on
came more and more popular among Jewish intellectuals,
earth but the souls of the righteous.
after being confined, during the thirteenth to fifteenth cen-
turies, mainly to small circles of esoteric mystics. Since the
Luria’s theology brought a new intensity and a renewed,
sixteenth century, and especially in the seventeenth and eigh-
profound meaning to all religious and ethical demands. In
teenth centuries, Qabbalah spread very rapidly and eventual-
his system, every word of every prayer, every humble ritualis-
ly became the dominant ideology in Judaism. This change
tic act, and all ethical human deeds become either messianic
was, to some extent, the result of the destruction of the great
acts that facilitate the redemption or evil deeds that support
Jewish center in Spain in the expulsion of 1492 and of the
the satanic powers in their struggle against God. There are
rapid decline of Jewish philosophy at that time. The dissemi-
no neutral acts; everything done or left undone carries enor-
nation of Qabbalah among the Jewish masses was assisted
mous spiritual significance and may help decide the fate of
mainly by the fact that in the sixteenth century qabbalists
all creation.
began to write and publish popular ethical works based on
Following Luria, countless works of ethics and ethical
qabbalistic symbolism, which made Qabbalah easily accessi-
homiletics were written by Jews in the East and the West
ble—and religiously relevant—to the Jewish masses.
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This period
Qabbalistic ethical literature appeared in sixteenth-
is undoubtedly the peak of the influence that Hebrew ethical
century Safad, a small town in the Upper Galilee that served,
literature had on Jewish life, social behavior, and historical
after the expulsion from Spain, as a center for many Jewish
activity. The spread of Lurianic theology served as a basis for
halakhists, preachers, thinkers, and mystics. In this town
the messianic theology of the Shabbatean movement begin-
Qabbalah became a way of life, so that ethical treatises ex-
ning in 1665, and quite a few authors of ethical works were
plaining the close interdependence of human social and reli-
Shabbatean believers, like Eliyyahu ha-Kohen of Smyrna and
gious behavior and mystical occurrences in the divine world
Yonatan Eibeschutz of Prague. Some authors were influ-
were relevant and meaningful. Mosheh Cordovero (1522–
enced by Shabbateanism even though they themselves did
1570), the great qabbalist who wrote systematic works of
not belong to the movement, among them Mosheh H:ayyim
Qabbalah that were very influential in the sixteenth century,
Luzzatto, the Italian author of the popular Mesillat ye-sharim.
wrote a brief ethical treatise, Tomer Devorah (The palm tree
The fusion between mysticism and ethics was complete in
of Deborah), wherein he pointed out the ways by which the
the eighteenth century.
earthly ethical behavior of the righteous influenced the mys-
HASIDISM AND MODERN TRENDS. Hasidic ethics are, on the
tical processes in the divine world, the realm of the mystical
one hand, a continuation of the process of applying Lurianic
sefirot, the divine hypostases central in qabbalistic symbol-
mysticism to the field of ethics and, on the other hand, a re-
ism. A disciple of Cordovero’s, Eliyyahu de Vidas, followed
sponse to the ideological crisis brought about by the Shab-
suit by writing a major book on ethics, Re Dshit h:okhmah (The
batean messianic movement. The Hasidic rebeyim—who
beginning of wisdom), in which he interpreted many sec-
perpetuated the preachings of the movement’s founder, the
tions of ancient qabbalistic works, mainly the Zohar, as ex-
BeSHT (YisraDel ben EliEezer, 1700–1760), and his disciples,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JIAO
4915
YaEaqov Yosef of Polonnoye and Dov Ber of Mezhirich (now
Bokser, Ben Zion. From the World of the Cabbalah: The Philosophy
Miedzyrzecz, Poland)—based their ethical homiletics on
of Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague. New York, 1954.
E
qabbalistic terminology and the Lurianic myth. They had,
Bokser, Ben Zion, trans. Abraham Isaac Kook. New York, 1978.
however, to contend with a reality that the messianic theolo-
Cronbach, Abraham. “Social Thinking in the Sefer Hasidim.” He-
gy of Natan of Gaza, the “prophet” of the messiah Shabbetai
brew Union College Annual 22 (1949): 1–147.
Tsevi, had greatly influenced, and with the deep disappoint-
Ginzberg, Louis. Students, Scholars and Saints. New York, 1928.
ment that ensued when the movement engendered the anti-
nomian heresy of the Frankist movement in the eighteenth
Ginzburg, Simon. The Life and Works of Moses Hayyim Luzzatto.
century. Among the disciples of Dov Ber, especially in the
Philadelphia, 1931.
works of Elimelekh of Lizhensk (now Lezajsk, Poland), a
Glenn, Mendel G. Israel Salanter. New York, 1953.
new theology emerged, attributing to the figure of the tsad-
Husik, Isaac. A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy (1916).
diq, the leader of a Hasidic community, powers to assist a
New York, 1969.
sinner in obtaining forgiveness from God and influence in
Lazaroff, Allan. “Bahya¯’s Asceticism against Its Rabbinic and Is-
the divine realm over the affairs of every Hasidic adherent.
lamic Background.” Journal of Jewish Studies 21 (1970):
The concept of the tsaddiq as an intermediary between the
11–38.
righteous and God (originally derived from Shabbatean
Marcus, Ivan G. Piety and Society: The Jewish Pietists of Medieval
theology) became one of the most important elements in the
Germany. Leiden, 1981.
Hasidic movement, together with a new emphasis on mysti-
Rosin, David. “The Ethics of Solomon Ibn Gabirol.” Jewish Quar-
cal communion with God (devequt) and devotion to ethical
terly Review 3 (January 1891): 159–181.
behavior at the expense of intensive study of the Torah.
Scholem, Gershom. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941).
The mitnaggdim, the main “opponents” of Hasidism,
New York, 1961.
developed ethical thinking, especially in the Musar (“ethics”)
Werblowsky, R. J. Zwi. Joseph Karo: Lawyer and Mystic. London,
movement, founded by YisraDel Salanter in the middle of the
1962.
nineteenth century. This movement carried great weight in
rabbinic academies (yeshivot) throughout eastern Europe in
Werblowsky, R. J. Zwi. “Faith, Hope and Trust: A Study in the
Concept of Bittahon.” Papers of the Institute of Jewish Studies
the second half of that century and the beginning of the
1 (1964): 95–139.
twentieth. YisraDel Salanter did not use qabbalistic terminolo-
gy, preferring instead a modern way of preaching, though at
New Sources
times it seems that the content of his ideas was still under
Borowitz, Eugene B., and Frances Weinman Schwartz. The Jewish
the influence of Lurianism. The same can be said about the
Moral Virtues. Philadelphia, 1999.
ethical works of the modern rabbi Avraham Yitsh:aq Kook
Cohen, Hermann. Ethics of Maimonides. Translation and com-
(1865–1935), one of the most profound modern Jewish
mentary by Almut Sh. Bruckstein. Modern Jewish Philoso-
thinkers, whose thought is still influencing Jewish Orthodox
phy and Religion. Madison, Wisc., 2002.
movements in Israel today. He placed repentance in the cen-
Dan, Joseph. Jewish Mysticism and Jewish Ethics. 2d enl. ed.
ter of his mystical theology as a way toward redemption, and
Northvale, N.J., 1996.
his modern language sometimes hides Lurianic symbolism.
Gibbs, Robert. Why Ethics? Signs of Responsibilities. Princeton,
N.J., 2000.
SEE ALSO Ashkenazic Hasidism; Halakhah; Hasidism, over-
view article; Midrash and Aggadah; Qabbalah.
Novak, David. Natural Law in Judaism. Cambridge, U.K.; New
York, 1998.
B
Pachter, Mordechai. “The Concept of ‘Devekut’ in the Homileti-
IBLIOGRAPHY
cal Ethical Writings of 16th Century Safed.” Studies in Medi-
Works in Hebrew
eval Jewish History and Literature 2 (1984): 171–230.
Dan, Joseph. Sifrut ha-musar ve-ha-derush (Ethical and homileti-
cal literature). Jerusalem, 1975. Includes a detailed bibli-
Shear, Eli M., and Chaim Miller. The Rich Go to Heaven: Giving
ography.
Charity in Jewish Thought. Northvale, N.J., 1998.
Heinemann, Isaak. Ta Eamei ha-mitsvot be-sifrut YisraDel. Jerusa-
Sigal, Phillip. “Reflections on Ethical Elements of Judaic
lem, 1956–1959.
Halakhah.” Duquesne Law Review 23 (1985): 863–903.
Tishby, Isaiah. Mishnat ha-Zohar (The wisdom of the Zohar), vol.
JOSEPH DAN (1987)
2. Jerusalem, 1961.
Revised Bibliography
Tishby, Isaiah, and Joseph Dan. Mivkhar sifrut ha-Musar (Hebrew
ethical literature: Selected texts). Jerusalem, 1970.
Works in English
JIAO. The Chinese term jiao (sacrifice) in ancient times
Barzilay, Isaac E. Between Reason and Faith: Anti-Rationalism in
referred to a pledge in wine at the wedding ceremony or at
Italian Jewish Thought, 1250–1650. Paris, 1967.
the coming of age of a son. But the common meaning that
Bettan, Israel. Studies in Jewish Preaching: Middle Ages. Cincinnati,
we shall consider here is the sacrificial part of major Daoist
1939.
services. In this connection jiao has historically been associat-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4916
JIAO
ed with zhai, the rites of abstinence and penitence. Under
The people of the community also earn merit by observ-
Buddhist influence, zhai took the form of rituals for the sal-
ing the preliminary fast, by contributing money, and
vation of the individual and ancestors, whereas jiao sacrifices
through many kinds of assistance in preparation for the Jiao.
were performed by ordained Daoist priests to renew the
Although they do not participate in the rituals that take place
community’s covenant with the highest powers for blessings
within the daochang, they do offer their own sacrifices in pre-
and protection. As practiced in Taiwan today, both these
pared areas outside the temple, to ancestors, gods, and be-
functions are generally covered by the single term jiao.
reaved spirits. At certain moments in the Jiao the celebrants
Although a dozen varieties of jiao are differentiated ac-
appear before the public and perform rituals, usually at the
cording to their purpose, in effect only four are performed
several “outer altars” (waitan) that have been erected in va-
nowadays with any frequency in Taiwan: (1) for peace and
cant lots near the sacred arena. These altars, masterpieces of
safety (ping’an jiao), (2) for the prevention of epidemics (wen
folk art, are dedicated to various important deities of popular
jiao), (3) for blessings in general (qingcheng jiao), and (4) for
religion.
protection from fire (huo jiao). Services may be held either
The festivities which accompany the Jiao are many. One
at fixed intervals or irregularly, but the latter is much more
high point, so far as the people are concerned, is a colorful
common. However, in this as in the matter of their duration
procession to the banks of a river (or ocean), where paper and
(from one to as many as seven days and nights) there is con-
bamboo rafts are launched. Bearing candles, the rafts float
siderable variation according to custom and circumstance.
away to invite the souls of the drowned to come for their
The essential difference between the Jiao and other
share of the feast provided by the community (this feast is
large-scale religious services is that the powers addressed in
the public part of the pudu). While the priests perform their
the Jiao are the Three Pure Ones (San Qing), hypostases of
esoteric liturgy within the temple, a great festival is taking
the Dao, rather than the gods of popular religion. These
place in the community. Mounds of sacrificial offerings, per-
Daoist powers receive only “pure” offerings—wine, tea,
formances of drama, convivial entertainment of friends, rela-
cakes, fruit—in contrast to the “blood sacrifices” of the pop-
tives, and even strangers, and a general atmosphere of carni-
ular cults. The public is allowed to attend and participate in
val draw huge crowds from near and far. All of this makes
the rituals of popular religion, but it is strictly barred from
the Jiao not just a liturgical service, but a total community
the sacred arena where the Daoists perform the Jiao. Howev-
event.
er, the people of the community prepare themselves for the
For the Daoists, the Jiao is of more profound signifi-
visit of the Three Pure Ones by observing a fast for several
cance. According to the most ancient and basic theories of
days before the Jiao.
Daoism, to call down the highest powers of the macrocosm
The sacred arena (daochang) of the Jiao is usually the
is in actuality to practice the exercises of “inner alchemy”
community temple. But as the purpose of the Jiao is commu-
(neidan) within the microcosm of the priest’s body. While
nion with the Three Pure Ones rather than with the deities
the high priest outwardly performs the liturgy, addressing the
of popular religion, the sacred arena is rearranged so that the
highest powers, he inwardly undergoes a regimen designed
main altar is reserved for the San Qing (represented by paint-
to produce the “immortal fetus.” In the Jiao, then, the ulti-
ed scrolls bearing the images of the deities) while the other
mate goal of the Daoist religion is still what it has always
deities are relegated to subsidiary or “guest” status at the altar
been: the attainment of immortality.
of the three realms (that is, Heaven, earth, and the waters).
The services, complex and protracted, consist of the follow-
SEE ALSO Alchemy, article on Chinese Alchemy; Priesthood,
ing essential parts: announcement to the divine powers of the
article on Daoist Priesthood; Worship and Devotional Life,
celebration of this Jiao, and an invitation for them to attend;
article on Daoist Devotional Life.
feasting them when they have arrived; presenting official pe-
titions seeking forgiveness of sins and expressing penitence;
BIBLIOGRAPHY
a formal negotiation for the renewal of the covenant between
The most detailed analytical description of the Jiao is Michael
the highest powers and the community; sending off the emi-
Saso’s Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal (Seattle, 1972).
nent guests when this pact has been concluded. As part of
A careful study of one of the constituent rites is in Kristofer
the Jiao, rites for the salvation of all souls (pudu) are invari-
Schipper’s Le Fen Teng: Ritual taoïste (Paris, 1975). Édouard
ably included. The officiants include a high priest (gaogong),
Chavannes gives a translation, with a wealth of annotation,
several assistants, and a small group of musicians, to whose
of texts used in the zhai, in his Le Jet des Dragons (Paris,
accompaniment most of the actions are performed. Besides
1916). A rare account of the Jiao as practiced in imperial
the official celebrants, prominent men of the community
times is in J. J. M. de Groot’s Les fêtes annuellemment célébrées
à Émoui (Amoy), 2 vols. (1886; reprint., Taipei, 1977). For
who have contributed heavily to the expenses of the Jiao are
a good description written in popular style with color photo-
present within the sacred arena. At specified moments in the
graphs, see Linda Wu’s “The Biggest Festival of Them All,”
liturgy they follow the lead of the Daoist priests in making
Echo 4 (January 1974): 28–44. General information on Dao-
obeisances to the deities. This special privilege adds to the
ism and specific information about Daoist communal rituals
stature of the donors in the community and at the same time
in pre-Tang times is given in the fundamental work of Henri
makes or generates religious merit for them.
Maspero, first published posthumously in Les religions chin-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JIHA¯D
4917
oises (Paris, 1950), later published in expanded form in Le
control state affairs as a retired emperor) moved to establish
taoïsme et les religions chinoises (Paris, 1971). The latter has
independence from bakufu control, rather than adopt the
been translated into English by Frank A. Kierman, Jr., as
compromises favored by Jien and the Kujo¯ house.
Daoism and Chinese Religion (Amherst, 1981). The most
complete and best informed overall treatment of Daoism
In the years immediately preceding the outbreak of civil
since Maspero is the book by Kristofer Schipper, Le corps tao-
war in 1221—a time of intense political rivalry within the
ïste (Paris, 1982); see especially chapter 5, “Le rituel.”
court and between the court and the Kamakura bakufu—
Jien turned frequently to written prayers, rituals, dreams, let-
New Sources
ters, and finally history in trying to convince Go-Toba and
Wickeri, P. L., et al. Christianity & Modernization: A Chinese De-
bate. Hongkong, 1995.
his advisers that drastic steps against the bakufu should be
avoided. What Jien wrote in those troubled years suggests
Wu, Y.-y., L. G. Thompson, and G. Seaman. The Taoist Tradition
that he was especially interested in signs and revelations of
in Chinese Thought. Los Angeles, 1991.
what the native kami (gods) desired or had ordered.
Wu, Y.-y., L. G. Thompson, and G. Seaman. Chinese Religious
Jien’s history (the Gukansho¯), written a year or so before
Traditions Collated. Los Angeles, 1997.
the outbreak of war in 1221, was meant to show how nation-
LAURENCE G. THOMPSON (1987)
al events had taken, and would continue to take, an up-and-
Revised Bibliography
down course in the direction of a political arrangement that
would end the current crisis, an arrangement in which the
Kujo¯ house would figure prominently. He tried to show how
JIEN
a complex interplay of divine principles (do¯ri) was propelling
(1155–1225), a Japanese Buddhist leader and re-
events along that course: Some Buddhist principles were
nowned poet, was a highly influential figure at a critical time
forcing it downward to destruction, and some kami-created
in the political, social, and religious life of Japan. Appointed
(Shinto¯) principles were pulling it upward toward a state of
abbot of the Tendai sect four times, he enjoyed close family
temporary improvement.
ties with emperors and regents, composed poems that made
him a leading poet of the day, and wrote Japan’s first known
Because Jien was primarily interested in kami-created
interpretive history, the Gukansho¯.
do¯ri that would bring improvement, scholars have concluded
that native Shinto¯ belief was stronger than imported Bud-
At the age of eleven, Jien was entrusted to the Enrya-
dhist ideas in his interpretive scheme, although the Buddhist
kuji, a Buddhist temple, for training under a monk who was
flavor was strong. As the outbreak of civil war in 1221 attests,
the seventh son of Retired Emperor Toba. Early poems by
Go-Toba did not ultimately adopt the compromises that Jien
Jien, as well as entries in the diary of his distinguished broth-
favored and that the Gukansho¯ predicted as inevitable. But
er Kanezane (1149–1207), indicate that he was a lonely child
Jien remained convinced, to the end, that he had charted the
who was soon attracted to Buddhist teachings on transience
“single course” of Japanese history correctly.
and impermanence. A biography (the Jichin kasho¯den) states
that when he was about twenty-five and was fasting at a tem-
SEE ALSO Tendaishu¯.
ple on the Katsura River, he had a miraculous vision of the
Buddhist deity Fudo¯ Myo¯-o¯.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jien was ordained as a Buddhist monk, appointed to the
For a Jien biography, see Taga Munehaya’s Jien (Tokyo, 1959),
headship of several important temples, and selected as per-
vol. 15 of “Jinbutsu So¯sho.” His study of Japanese history
sonal priest to the emperor Go-Toba (r. 1183–1198) before
has been translated by Delmer M. Brown and Ishida Ichiro¯
in The Future and the Past: A Translation and Study of the
reaching the age of thirty. When he was thirty-one, his elder
Gukansho¯, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219
brother Kanezane was designated regent, an appointment
(Berkeley, Calif., 1979).
that further enhanced Jien’s influence within Buddhist cen-
ters and at the imperial court. At the age of thirty-seven he
DELMER M. BROWN (1987)
received his first appointment as Abbot of Tendai. During
the four years that he held the post, he devoted considerable
time to the conduct of Buddhist rites in high places. He built
JIHA¯D is the verbal noun of the Arabic verb jahada, mean-
new temples and promoted the practice and study of Bud-
ing “to endeavor, to strive, to struggle.” It is generally used
dhism in diverse ways.
to denote an effort toward a commendable aim. In religious
In 1196 Jien and other members of his house (the Kujo¯)
contexts it can mean the struggle against one’s evil inclina-
were ousted from office. Until his death nearly thirty years
tions or efforts toward the moral uplift of society or toward
later, neither he nor his house ever again reached the dizzy
the spread of Islam. This last undertaking can be peaceful
heights attained during the Kanezane regency. For a time,
(“jiha¯d of the tongue” or “jiha¯d of the pen”), in accordance
Jien continued to be a favorite at court, largely because of
with su¯rah 16:125 of the QurDa¯n (“Call thou to the way of
his fame as a poet and his personal relationship with Go-
the Lord with wisdom and admonition, and dispute with
Toba, but gradually the latter (who was now attempting to
them in the better way”), or involve the use of force (“jiha¯d
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4918
JIHA¯D
of the sword”) as mentioned in su¯rah 2:193 (“Fight them
unbelievers not as absolute, but as conditional upon provoca-
until there is no persecution and the religion is God’s; then
tion from them, for in many places this command is justified
if they give over, there shall be no enmity save for evildoers”).
by aggression or perfidy on the part of the non-Muslims:
In pious and mystical circles spiritual and moral jiha¯d is em-
“And fight in the way of God with those who fight with you,
phasized. This they call “greater jiha¯d” on the strength of the
but aggress not: God loves not the aggressors” (2:190) and
following tradition (h:ad¯ıth) of the prophet Muh:ammad:
“But if they break their oaths after their covenant and thrust
“Once, having returned from one of his campaigns, the
at your religion, then fight the leaders of unbelief” (9:13).
Prophet said: ‘We have now returned from the lesser jiha¯d
Authoritative Muslim opinion, however, went in a different
[i.e., fighting] to the greater jiha¯d.’”
direction. Noticing that the QurDanic verses on the relation-
ship between Muslims and non-Muslims give evidence of a
In view of the wide semantic spectrum of the word
clear evolution from peacefulness to enmity and warfare,
jiha¯d, it is not correct to equate it with the notion of “holy
Muslim scholars have argued that this evolution culminated
war.” And in those instances where the word jiha¯d does refer
in an unconditional command to fight the unbelievers, as
to armed struggle, it must be borne in mind that Islam does
embodied in verses such as 5:9 (“Then, when the sacred
not distinguish between holy and secular wars. All wars be-
months are drawn away, slay the idolaters wherever you find
tween Muslims and unbelievers and even wars between dif-
them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for
ferent Muslim groups would be labeled jiha¯d, even if
them at every place of ambush”). These “sword verses” are
fought—as was mostly the case—for perfectly secular rea-
considered to have repealed all other verses concerning the
sons. The religious aspect, then, is reduced to the certainty
intercourse with non-Muslims.
of the individual warriors that if they are killed they will enter
paradise.
There is an abundant body of h:ad¯ıth on jiha¯d. Owing
JIHA¯D IN THE QURDA¯N AND THE H:AD¯ITH. In about two-
to their practical importance many of them were already re-
thirds of the instances where the verb ja¯hada or its derivatives
corded in special collections during the second century AH,
occur in the QurDa¯n, it denotes warfare. Its distribution—
before the compilation of the authoritative collections. The
and that of the verb qa¯tala (“combat,” “fight”) for that mat-
h:ad¯ıths deal with the same topics as the QurDa¯n but place
ter—reflects the history of the nascent Islamic community.
more emphasis on the excellence of jiha¯d as a pious act, on
Both words are hardly used in the Meccan parts of the
the rewards of martyrdom, and on practical and ethical mat-
QurDa¯n, revealed during the period when the Muslims were
ters of warfare. A typical h:ad¯ıth from the last category is:
enjoined to bear patiently the aggressive behavior of the un-
“Whensoever the Prophet sent out a raiding party, he used
believers, but abound in the Medinese chapters, sent down
to say, ‘Raid in the name of God and in the way of God.
after the fighting between the Muslims and their Meccan ad-
Fight those who do not believe in God. Raid, do not embez-
versaries had broken out. They are often linked with the
zle spoils, do not act treacherously, do not mutilate, and do
phrase “in the way of God” (f¯ı sab¯ıl Alla¯h) to underscore the
not kill children.’”
religious character of the struggle. And in order to indicate
JIHA¯D IN ISLAMIC LAW. The prescriptions found in the
that warfare against the Meccans ought to be the concern of
QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıth, together with the practice of the early
the whole community and not only of the direct participants
caliphs and army commanders, were, from the latter half of
in warfare, the words “with their goods and lives”
the second century AH on, cast in the mold of a legal doctrine
(bi-amwa¯lihim wa-anfusihim) are frequently added to these
to which a separate chapter in the handbooks on Islamic law
verbs.
was devoted. The central part of this doctrine is that the
Traditionally su¯rah 22:39 (“Leave is given to those who
Muslim community as a whole has the duty to expand the
fight because they were wronged—surely God is able to help
territory and rule of Islam. Consequently, jiha¯d is a collective
them—who were expelled from their habitations without
duty of all Muslims, which means that if a sufficient number
right, except that they say ‘Our lord is God’”), revealed short-
take part in it, the whole community has fulfilled its obliga-
ly after Muh:ammad’s Emigration (Hijrah) from Mecca to
tion. If, on the other hand, the number of participants is in-
Medina in 622 CE, is regarded as marking the turning point
adequate, the sin rests on all Muslims. After the period of
in the relations between the Muslims and the unbelievers.
conquests the jurists stipulated that the Muslim ruler, in
Many later verses on jiha¯d order the believers to take part in
order to keep the idea of jiha¯d alive, ought to organize an
warfare, promise heavenly reward to those who do, and
expedition into enemy territory once per year. If the enemy
threaten those who do not with severe punishment in the
attacks Muslim territory, jiha¯d becomes an individual duty
hereafter. Some verses deal with practical matters such as ex-
for all able-bodied inhabitants of the region under attack.
emption from military service (9:91, 48:17), fighting during
Those killed in jiha¯d are called martyrs (shuhada¯ D; sg.,
the holy months (2:217) and in the holy territory of Mecca
shah¯ıd). Their sins are forgiven and they go straight to par-
(2:191), the fate of prisoners of war (47:4), safe conduct
adise.
(9:6), and truce (8:61).
Sh¯ıE¯ı legal theory on jiha¯d is very similar to Sunn¯ı doc-
Careful reading of the QurDanic passages on jiha¯d sug-
trine, with one important exception, however: the existence
gests that Muh:ammad regarded the command to fight the
of the jiha¯d duty depends on the manifest presence of a Sh¯ıE¯ı
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JIHA¯D
4919
imam. Because the last of these went into concealment (ghay-
In combination with the jiha¯d doctrine the obligation
bah) in AH 260 (874 CE), the jiha¯d doctrine should have lost
of hijrah, the duty of Muslims to emigrate from areas con-
its practical importance for the Sh¯ıEah. However, in an at-
trolled by non-Muslims, was frequently appealed to. Often
tempt to strengthen their position vis-à-vis the state, Sh¯ıE¯ı
the notion of a Mahdi played a role, either because the leader
scholars have claimed to represent collectively the Hidden
proclaimed himself as such, or because he was regarded as
Imam and, therefore, to be entitled to proclaim jiha¯d. This
a minister appointed to prepare the Mahdi’s advent. The or-
explains why, during the last centuries, many wars between
ganizational framework of these movements was usually that
Iran and its neighbors have been waged under the banner of
of a S:u¯f¯ı order. Although their main struggle was within
jiha¯d.
their own society, many of these movements developed into
formidable adversaries of the colonial powers once they col-
The ultimate aim of jiha¯d is “the subjection of the unbe-
lided with their expansionist policies.
lievers” and “the extirpation of unbelief.” This is understood,
however, in a purely political way as the extension of Islamic
Examples of jiha¯d movements are the Wahha¯b¯ıyah in
rule over the remaining parts of the earth. The peoples thus
Arabia, founded by Muh:ammad ibn EAbd al-Wahha¯b
conquered are not forced to embrace Islam: With payment
(1703–1792), the Fulbe jiha¯d in northern Nigeria led by
of a special poll tax (jizyah) they can acquire the status of pro-
Usuman dan Fodio (1754–1817), the Padri movement in
tected minorities and become non-Muslim subjects of the Is-
Sumatra (1803–1832), the West African jiha¯d movement of
lamic state (dhimm¯ıs). In theory certain categories of non-
EUmar Ta¯l (1794–1864), the t:ar¯ıqah-i muh:ammad¯ı
Muslims are barred from this privilege: Some scholars ex-
(“Muh:ammadan way”) in northern India founded by
clude Arab idolaters—a class of mere academic interest after
Ah:mad Bare¯l¯ı (1786–1831), the Algerian resistance against
the Islamization of the Arabian Peninsula; others hold that
French colonization, headed by EAbd al-Qa¯dir (1808–1883),
only Christians, Jews, and fire worshipers (maju¯s) qualify. In
the Sanu¯s¯ıyah in Libya and the Sahara, founded by
practice, however, the definition of fire worshiper could be
Muh:ammad ibn EAl¯ı al-Sanu¯si, and the Mahdist movement
stretched to include all kinds of pagan tribes.
of Muh:ammad Ah:mad in the Sudan (1881–1898). In the
Before the final aim—Muslim domination of the whole
twentieth century the jiha¯d doctrine lost much of its impor-
world—has been achieved, the situation of war prevails be-
tance as a mobilizing ideology in the struggle against colo-
tween the Islamic state and the surrounding regions. This sit-
nialism; its place was taken by secular nationalism.
uation can be temporarily suspended by a truce, to be con-
THE CONTEMPORARY SIGNIFICANCE OF THE JIHA¯D DOC-
cluded by the head of state whenever he deems it in the
TRINE. Since the nineteenth century attempts have been
interest of the Muslims. Most scholars stipulate that a truce
made to reinterpret the prevailing doctrine of jiha¯d. One of
may not last longer than ten years, the duration of the Treaty
the first thinkers to do so was the Indian reformer Sayyid
of al-H:udayb¯ıyah, concluded in AH 6 (628 CE) between
Ahmad Khan (1817–1898). Believing that the interests of
Muh:ammad and his Meccan adversaries.
the Indian Muslims would be served best by close coopera-
The jiha¯d chapters in the legal handbooks contain many
tion with the British colonizers, he sought to improve rela-
practical rules. Warfare must start with the summons in
tions between both groups. Especially after the 1857 revolt
which the enemies are asked to embrace Islam or accept the
(the so-called Mutiny), the British, who had laid the blame
status of non-Muslim subjects. Only if they refuse may they
solely on the Muslims despite massive Hindu participation,
be attacked. Other prescriptions concern, for example, the
had favored the latter on the grounds that collaboration with
protection of the lives of noncombatants, the treatment of
Muslims would pose a security risk because of their alle-
prisoners of war, and the division of the spoils.
giance to the doctrine of jiha¯d. By offering a new interpreta-
tion of the jiha¯d duty, Sayyid Ahmad Khan wanted to refute
JIHA¯D IN HISTORY. Throughout Islamic history the doctrine
these views and prove that Muslims could be loyal subjects
of jiha¯d has been invoked to justify wars between Muslim
of the British Crown. He rejected the theory that the “sword
and non-Muslim states and even to legitimate wars between
verses” had repealed all other verses concerning the relations
Muslims themselves. In the latter case the adversaries would
with non-Muslims. On the basis of a new reading of the
be branded as heretics or rebels to warrant the application
QurDa¯n he asserted that jiha¯d was obligatory only in the case
of the jiha¯d doctrine. In the eighteenth and nineteenth cen-
of “positive oppression or obstruction in the exercise of their
turies there arose movements all over the Muslim world for
faith, impairing the foundation of some of the pillars of
whom jiha¯d was so central to their teachings and actions that
Islam.” Because the British, in his view, did not interfere
they are often referred to as jiha¯d movements. Despite their
with the Islamic cult, jiha¯d against them was not allowed.
wide geographical range—from West Africa to Southeast
Asia—and the different social, economic, and political causes
In India this extremely limited interpretation of the
from which they sprang, they employed the same notions
jiha¯d doctrine found some support. In the Middle East, how-
from the Islamic repertoire. Jiha¯d for them meant the strug-
ever, reformers such as Muh:ammad EAbduh (1849–1905)
gle within an only nominally Islamic society for the purifica-
and Muh:ammad Rash¯ıd Rid:a¯ (1865–1935) did not go so
tion of religion and the establishment of a genuine Islamic
far. Yet their opinions differed considerably from the classical
community.
doctrine. They contended that peaceful coexistence is the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4920
JIMMU
normal relationship beween Islamic and non-Islamic territo-
the Western Approach (The Hague, 1968) attempts to apply
ry and that jiha¯d must be understood as defensive warfare,
the notions of modern international law to the jiha¯d doctrine
regardless, however, of whether the aggression on the part of
and asserts that Islamic law, thus recast, could nowadays be
the non-Muslims is directed against religion or not. In their
applied in international relations. The political role and the
view, then, jiha¯d could indeed be proclaimed against West-
interpretation of the jiha¯d doctrine in the nineteenth and
ern colonial rule in the Islamic world. A recent development
twentieth centuries are the main themes of my Islam and Co-
lonialism: The Doctrine of Jiha¯d in Modern History (The
in modernist jiha¯d literature is the presentation of an adapted
Hague, 1979). On the Egyptian jiha¯d organization see Jo-
and reinterpreted version of the jiha¯d doctrine as Islamic in-
hannes J. G. Jansen’s The Neglected Duty (New York, 1986).
ternational law, equating the notion of jiha¯d with bellum
justum.
RUDOLPH PETERS (1987)
Although modernist opinion is nowadays widespread,
one ought not forget that there are also other schools of
thought with regard to jiha¯d. Apart from the conservative
JIMMU, the first emperor of Japan, direct descendant of
trend that contents itself with repeating the classical legal
Amaterasu, the supreme deity, and generally regarded as the
texts, there is the fundamentalist or revivalist tendency,
ancestor of the present Japanese emperor. Amaterasu’s off-
whose adherents want to change the world according to Is-
spring, Ame no Oshiho-mimi, begot Ho no Ninigi, who de-
lamic principles. They view their struggle for the Islamiza-
scended from Heaven to earth. His offspring, Hiko-
tion of state and society as jiha¯d, explained by them as “the
hohodemi, begot Ugaya-fukiaezu, whose offspring was
permanent revolution of Islam.” They follow the classical
Jimmu.
doctrine and reject the modernist interpretation of jiha¯d as
Jimmu is a Chinese-style name given to this emperor
defensive warfare. The most radical groups among them ad-
much later; his original name was Kamu-yamato-iwarehiko.
vocate the use of violence against their fellow Muslims, who,
Kamu means “divine,” and Yamato is the name of the loca-
in their opinion, are so corrupt that they must be regarded
tion of the ancient capital. The semantically significant por-
as heathens. To this trend belonged the Tanz:¯ım al-Jiha¯d
tion of this name is iwarehiko. Iwa means “rock,” and are
(“jiha¯d organization”), which was responsible for the assassi-
means “to emerge.” Since hiko means “a respectable person,”
nation of the Egyptian president Sadat in 1981.
Jimmu’s original name, Iwarehiko, suggests “a respectable
S
person who emerged (or was born) from a rock.”
EE ALSO EAbduh, Muh:ammad; Ahmad Khan, Sayyid; Dan
Fodio, Usuman; Ibn EAbd al-Wahha¯b, Muh:ammad;
According to the early chronicles, Jimmu was born in
Muh:ammad Ah:mad; EUmar Ta¯l; Wahha¯b¯ıyah.
the province of Himuka on the island of Kyushu in western
Japan. He led a successful expedition to conquer the east and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ascended the throne in Yamato in 660 BCE. Historians, how-
The most extensive and reliable survey of the classical doctrine of
ever, reject this date because at that time the Japanese still
jiha¯d is Majid Khadduri’s War and Peace in the Law of Islam
lived in scattered tribal communities. It was only in the sec-
(Baltimore, 1955). The same author has translated the oldest
ond century CE that a unified political organization emerged
legal handbook on jiha¯d, written by Muh:ammad
in western Japan. Although the date of 660 BCE is not accept-
al-Shayba¯n¯ı (749–805) and published under the title The Is-
lamic Law of Nations: Shaybani’s Siyar (Baltimore, 1966).
able, the description of the Jimmu expedition to Yamato is
Muh:ammad Hamidullah’s Muslim Conduct of State, 6th rev.
vivid and realistic. It is unlikely that the story itself was fabri-
ed. (Lahore, 1973), is based on an extensive reading of the
cated in later days to glorify the imperial ancestor. It is as-
classical sources but is somewhat marred by the author’s
sumed that the army led by Jimmu entered Yamato in the
apologetic approach. In my Jihad in Mediaeval and Modern
early second century CE and that Jimmu played a major role
Islam (Leiden, 1977), I have translated and annotated a clas-
in establishing the Yamato state.
sical legal text and a modernist text on jiha¯d; also included
is a comprehensive bibliography of translations into Western
SEE ALSO Amaterasu O
¯ mikami; Japanese Religions, article
languages of primary sources on jiha¯d. Albrecht Noth’s
on The Study of Myths.
Heiliger Krieg und heiliger Kampf in Islam und Christentum
(Bonn, 1966) and Emmanuel Sivan’s L’Islam et la Croisade:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Idéologie et propagande dans les réactions musulmanes aux Croi-
Aston, W. G., trans. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest
sades (Paris, 1968) both deal with the jiha¯d doctrine in the
Times to A.D. 697 (1896). Reprint, 2 vols. in 1, Tokyo, 1972.
historical setting of the Crusades. In addition, Noth com-
pares jiha¯d with similar notions in Christianity. Hilmar Krü-
Chamberlain, Basil Hall, trans. Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters
ger’s study Fetwa und Siyar: Zur international rechtlichen
(1882). 2d ed. With annotations by W. G. Aston. Tokyo,
Gutachtenpraxis der osmanischen Seyh ül-Islâm vom 17. bis 19.
1932; reprint, Rutland, Vt., and Tokyo, 1982.
Jahrhundert unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des “Behcet ül-
Kakubayashi, Fumio. Nihonshoki Kamiyo-no-maki zenchushaku.
Fetâvâ ”(Wiesbaden, 1978) examines the role of the jiha¯d
Tokyo, 1999.
doctrine in Ottoman international relations from the seven-
Philippi, Donald L., trans. Kojiki. Princeton, 1969.
teenth to the nineteenth century. Mohammad Talaat Al
Ghunaimi’s The Muslim Conception of International Law and
KAKUBAYASHI FUMIO (1987 AND 2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JINGTU
4921
JINGO
¯ (169–269?), a legendary Japanese empress, was the
SEE ALSO Japanese Religions, article on The Study of
mother of O
¯ jin, Japan’s first emperor, and symbol of Japa-
Myths.
nese female shamanism. Jingo¯ is one of fifteen imperial fig-
ures fabricated by the authors of the oldest Japanese chroni-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cles (the Kojiki and Nihonshoki, both seventh century) in
Aston, W. G., trans. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest
order to fill the gap between the real beginning of Japanese
Times to A.D. 697 (1896). 2 vols. in 1. Reprint, Tokyo, 1972.
history in the fourth century and its fictitious start in 660
Florenz, Karl. Die historischen Quellen der Shinto-Religion aus dem
BCE. Jingo
¯, therefore, is not historical, but rather symbolic.
Altjapanischen und Chinesischen übersetzt und erklärt. Leipzig,
She stands for the establishment of Japanese relations with
1919.
the Asian mainland (Korea and China) and is representative
Kamstra, J. H. Encounter or Syncretism: The Initial Growth of Japa-
of the important role of female shamans in early Japanese his-
nese Buddhism. Leiden, 1967.
tory and mythology.
J. H. KAMSTRA (1987)
The details of Jingo¯’s legendary history are to be found
only in the Nihonshoki, which records that she was born in
the year 169, the daughter of Prince Okinaga no Sukune and
Princess Takanuka of Katsuraki. Immediately after her death
JINGTU. The Chinese term jingtu (“pure land”), pro-
she was renamed Okinaga Tarashi hime no Mikoto (“The
nounced jo¯do in Japanese, refers to the Chinese Buddhist tra-
very witty and well-footed princess”). Almost three centuries
dition of devotion to Amita¯bha Buddha in order to be reborn
later she was given a much shorter, Chinese-style honorary
into his Pure Land as a means of attaining enlightenment.
title, Jingo¯, still in use today. This title, literally “merit of the
Because many Amita¯bha devotees believed that sincerely
gods” or “divine merit,” implies that she was either divine
chanting Amita¯bha’s name guaranteed salvation in the next
herself or served to convey divine commands. In this latter
life, this practice became an auxiliary spiritual discipline for
capacity she carried out Amaterasu’s instructions to have
most Buddhists in East Asia and an important refuge for the
temples erected to her throughout Japan.
laity, but often became a primary and sometimes exclusive
orientation in times of crisis. At the heart of this exclusivistic
In 194 Jingo¯ married the emperor Chu¯ai. In 201 she
tendency was despair about achieving enlightenment
joined a campaign to subjugate the barbarous tribes of the
through traditional practices based on one’s own effort, and
Kumaso¯ (“land spiders”) in Kyushu. During this unsuccess-
enthusiasm over the compassionate vow of Amita¯bha to wel-
ful expedition, she lost her husband, who was probably hit
come devotees at death to the blessings of his Pure Land. Be-
by a Kumaso¯ arrow. After his death, Jingo¯ continued his
ginning in the seventh century CE, this tendency became rec-
reign for nearly seventy years.
ognized as a separate religious orientation called the Pure
Land teaching (jingtu-zong).
Upon withdrawing from the campaign in Kyushu,
Jingo¯ was advised by the gods to conquer the three Korean
Unlike counterparts in Japan, Pure Land devotees in
states of Bakan, Benkan, and Shinkan, then known as Paek-
China never developed into a centrally organized property-
che, Silla, and Koguryo¯, respectively. Clad in male attire like
holding denomination with formalized methods of succes-
an emperor, Jingo¯ crossed the straits between Japan and
sion (except for the White Lotus movement during the
Korea with an enormous army. Upon her arrival in Korea,
twelfth to fourteenth centuries). Instead, the Pure Land de-
she established on its south coast the protectorate of Mi-
votional movement was a loosely knit association of individ-
mana, the Japanese bridgehead from which for centuries to
uals based on the promises of Indian scriptures interpreted
come Korean and Chinese religions and civilizations would
by Chinese thinkers and supported by such practical devices
spread to Japan. Within two months she had subdued the
as rosaries, paintings, liturgies, and stories about supernatural
kingdom of Silla. After this, the kings of Paekche and
visions and deathbed miracles indicating successful rebirth
Koguryo¯ voluntarily agreed to continue yearly tribute to
into the Pure Land.
Japan.
FORMATION OF CHINESE PURE LAND. The term jingtu was
invented in China to refer to Sukha¯vat¯ı, the land of bliss cre-
Immediately after her return from Korea, Jingo¯ gave
ated in the western regions by Amita¯bha, the Buddha of Infi-
birth to a boy, the future emperor O
¯ jin, whom she named
nite Life and Infinite Light, for the purification and enlight-
Homuda or Honda. The chronicles of the thirty-ninth year
enment of beings. Maha¯ya¯na Buddhists believe that all
of her reign quote the Chinese chronicles of Wei (composed
Buddhas have spheres of activity (Skt., ks:etra, “lands”), but
in 445), in which the Japanese queen Himiko of Wa (in
Amita¯bha’s land became most popular based on his vows
Kyushu) is reported to have paid tribute to the Chinese em-
that ordinary people can be reborn into his land through
peror. It is rather doubtful, however, whether Himiko (the
simple devotion and thereby attain a speedy, painless, and
real name of Jingo¯?) was the same person as Jingo¯, for the
guaranteed enlightenment.
two resided in different regions of Japan. The Nihonshoki re-
ports that Jingo¯ died in the palace called Wakazakura (Fresh
Beginning in 179 CE, when the Banzhou sanmei jing
Cherries) at the age of one hundred.
(Skt., Pratyutpannasama¯dhi Su¯tra) was translated into Chi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4922
JINGTU
nese, the visualization of Amita¯bha was recommended as a
cess to Amita¯bha’s power: (1) to make prostrations to
meditation practice for bringing a Buddha into one’s pres-
Amita¯bha and wish to be reborn in his land; (2) to sing
ence. In the third century more Amita¯bha scriptures were
praises to Amita¯bha and recite his name; (3) to make vows
translated, so that by the fourth century there are reports of
to be reborn into his Pure Land; (4) to visualize the appear-
the first Chinese Pure land devotees (Que Gongce and his
ance of Amita¯bha and the Pure land; and (5) to transfer these
disciple Wei Shidu), the first Pure Land lectures (by Zhu
merits to all beings for their salvation. Tanluan and others
Faguang) and the first construction of images and pictures
emphasized the necessity of seeking the Pure Land not for
of Amita¯bha and his Pure Land.
its own pleasures but to attain enlightenment so as to return
In 402
to this world to save others. This desire for enlightenment
CE, meditation master Lushan Huiyuan (334–
416) formed a devotional group in South China. It consisted
(bodhicitta) was held to be a primary condition for rebirth,
of Huiyuan and 123 laypeople and clergy who sought to sup-
thus demonstrating a continuity between the values of Pure
port one another in visualizing and making offerings to
Land and those of other forms of Buddhism.
Amita¯bha to facilitate rebirth in the Pure Land. Centuries
Vocal recitation. The practice of vocal recitation and
later, this group came to be regarded as the original White
singing praises to Amita¯bha soon became the most striking
Lotus Society. After the death of Huiyuan and his immediate
form of Pure Land devotion in China. For Tanluan, this in-
disciples, little is heard of Pure Land practices in the south
volved a mystical union with the name of Amita¯bha, which
for the next few centuries.
he believed had unlimited power, and required an exclusive
The Shansi Pure Land movement. In response to the
and total concentration that precluded attention to other
ravages of war, famine, and the uncertainties of the religious
Buddhas and subordinated all other practices. Incessant
life during the sixth century, the monks Tanluan (c. 488–c.
vocal recitation then became a trademark of Daochuo, who
554) and Daochuo (562–645) pioneered an independent
made the first rosaries for counting recitations of Amita¯bha’s
Pure Land movement at the Xuanzhong Monastery in the
name. By teaching this practice to laity, a popular religious
remote hills of the Bingzhou area of Shansi Province in
movement developed with the slogan “Chant the Buddha’s
North China. By this time, the most important Indian Pure
name and be reborn in the Pure Land” (nianfo wangsheng).
Land scriptures had been translated into Chinese. These in-
His disciple Shandao (613–681) established scriptural argu-
cluded the Amita¯bha Su¯tra (Chin., Amitofo jing), the “larger”
ments for vocal recitation of Amita¯bha’s name as a minimal
Sukha¯vat¯ıvyu¯ha Su¯tra (Chin., Wuliangshou jing), the Guan
but sufficient practice to ensure the rebirth of ordinary peo-
wuliangshou jing, and the Wangsheng lun, attributed to Vasu-
ple into the Pure Land. Although Shandao personally was
bandhu. These texts mention that enlightenment is difficult
preoccupied with visualization practices, he is most famous
in our age because of the five afflictions (wuzhuo): war and
for his list of “five correct practices,” in which he substituted
natural disasters, deluded ideas, greed and hatred, infirmity
chanting the scriptures and reciting Amita¯bha’s name for
of body and mind, and shortness of life. According to Tan-
making a vow and transferring merits. For Shandao, the reci-
luan, the compassionate aid of Amita¯bha is thus a necessity
tation of Amita¯bha’s name was the only “correct and deter-
for salvation.
mining action” necessary for salvation. In the next century,
In his major work, the Wangsheng lunchu (a commen-
Fazhao furthured this trend by developing a five-rhythm me-
tary to Vasubandhu’s treatise), Tanluan divides Buddhism
lodic recitation of Amita¯bha’s name, a practice still popular
into two paths, the “difficult” and the “easy.” The Difficult
today. In the Song dynasty (960–1279), block printing en-
Path includes all traditional Buddhist practices based on self-
abled the distribution of devotional pamphlets and recitation
effort. Later, Daochuo referred to this as the Path of the
cards in which one could record the number of one’s recita-
Sages (shengdao) and proclaimed that such practices were
tions as a visible reminder to maintain one’s practice.
doomed to failure, not only because of the five afflictions but
Consolidation of the Pure Land school. Although
also because our age was the period predicted by the scrip-
Shandao studied under Daochuo, he spent his mature years
tures when true Buddhism would disappear (mofa; Jpn.,
in the national capital, Chang’an, where the stature of his
mappo¯). Thus it became a key Pure Land idea that salvation
achievements in meditation and the comprehensiveness of
through self-effort was impossible. Instead of the Difficult
his writings firmly established the theory and practice of Pure
Path, Tanluan advocated the Easy Path made available
Land devotionalism among Chinese Buddhist leaders. Be-
through the forty-eight vows of Amita¯bha recorded in the
sides his theoretical and liturgical writings, the Guan wuli-
Wuliangshou jing. Tanluan was the first in North China to
angshou chingshu, Guannian men, Banzhou zan, Wangshen li-
emphasize how these vows promised rebirth in the Pure
zanji, and Fashi zan, Shandao brought added prestige to the
Land through the “other power” (tali) of Amita¯bha followed
movement by painting more than three hundred images of
by the assurance of nonretrogression into lower rebirths and
the Pure Land and, at the request of Empress Wu, supervis-
the speedy attainment of enlightenment.
ing the construction of the great Vairocana Buddha image
Basing his teachings on the Wangsheng lun, Tanluan
at Lung-men between the years 672 and 675. The ascenden-
adopted as a curriculum of practice the five types of devotion
cy of Pure Land devotion as a major force can be seen by the
to Amita¯bha (nianfo; Jpn., nembutsu) in order to ensure ac-
increasing number of sculptures of Amita¯bha, which in the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JINGTU
4923
Lung-men caves came to outnumber those of S´a¯kyamuni by
China (Chekiang and Kiangsu provinces). By contrast, in the
a factor of twelve and those of Maitreya by a factor of ten
treatment of the Pure Land movement in the thirteenth cen-
in the period from 650 to 690.
tury Fozu tongji, there are biographies of only 20 people from
Shansi, 20 from Shensi, but 129 from Chekiang and 24 from
In the generation after Shandao, Pure Land writings
Kiangsu. This marks a definite shift of the focus of Pure Land
such as the Shi jingtu chuni lun, by Shandao’s disciple Huai-
devotionalism from North to South China. In addition, the
gan, and the Jingtu shii lun, based on the Anloji of Daochuo,
sequence of patriarchs offered by the Fozu tongji begins with
summarized and applied the Pure Land doctrine in the ques-
a Southerner, Lushan Huiyuan, skips Tanluan and
tion-and-answer format of a catechism. Studies of Indian
Daochuo, and goes on to Shandao, Chengyuan (713–803),
Pure Land scriptures and essays on Pure Land subjects faded
Fazhao, Shaokang (d. 805), and Yenshou (904–975). This
away in favor of ritual texts and manuals of practice. The
pattern also appears in the Lobang wenlei, compiled by
banzhou sanmei ritual (based on the practice found in the
Zongxiao (1151–1214), and it is a standard format in the
Banzhou sanmei jing) was propogated by Huiri (680–748),
Ming dynasty (1368–1644) lineages.
Chengyuan, and Fazhao, whereas the more exclusive practice
of verbal recitation was taught by Daxing and Daojing.
Opposition. Pure Land devotionalism did not spread
Thus, by the beginning of the eighth century a cohesive core
without opposition. In the seventh century, yoga¯ca¯ra advo-
of Pure Land beliefs, values, and practices has emerged based
cates argued against Shandao by claiming that the Pure Land
upon a sense of the inadequacy or inappropriateness of all
was an expedient device for special circumstances that did
other Buddhist teachings and the attractiveness of Amita¯bha
not ensure final salvation, and that in any event ordinary
and his Pure Land. The Chinese Pure Land movement had
people were not qualified to be reborn there. More vigorous
reached its full definition and most exclusive form. One
attacks came in the early eighth century from the Southern
could safely live and die within a world of writings and prac-
Chan (Zen) school, which criticized Pure Land as dualistic,
tices devoted only to rebirth in the Pure Land and in which
encouraging attachment, and promising future enlighten-
exclusive devotion to Amita¯bha was trumpeted as the only
ment as a delusive crutch for people of inferior spiritual ca-
guaranteed method of salvation for all. For laity and those
pacities. Cimin Huiri (680–748) criticized Chan followers
distressed by their inadequacies, Pure Land offered a simple
for their arrogant rejection of the many devotional practices
but potent formula: (1) the miraculous power of one practice
recommended throughout Buddhist scriptures and in turn
(nianfo as recitation), (2) directed toward one Buddha
accused them of being ignorant of the higher forms of Indian
(Amita¯bha), (3) to achieve rebirth in one place (the Western
chan (Skt., dhya¯na, “meditation”).
Pure Land), (4) so that in one more rebirth Buddhahood
Integration and levels of nianfo. More constructively,
could be achieved. Although other forms of Chinese Bud-
the eighth-century Wu fangpian nianfo men interpreted both
dhist practice had not been abolished, for adherents of Pure
Chan and Pure Land as having five progressive levels of prac-
Land they had been displaced as a major focus and obligation
tice, each of which is regarded as an expedient device (fangpi-
for the present life and largely postponed until rebirth in
an; Skt., upa¯ya). Insofar as practitioners have different spiri-
Sukha¯vat¯ı.
tual needs and capacities, each level is valid but not
exhaustive. The five expedient methods of nianfo are: (1) the
The spread of Pure Land. As early as Tanxian
Buddha’s name is recited to attain rebirth in the Pure Land;
(d. 440), a member of Huiyuan’s community on Lushan, ad-
(2) the form of the Buddha is visualized to eradicate sins; (3)
vocates of Pure Land devotionalism had collected stories
all items of perception are seen as mere products of mind;
about those who had attained rebirth in the Pure Land.
(4) the mind and its objects of perception are both tran-
These stories recorded religious practices of devotees and un-
scended; and (5) the perfect understanding of how true na-
usual deathbed occurrences that were signs of rebirth in the
ture arises is gained. This scheme influenced the fourfold
Pure Land: music emanating from the sky, a sweet fragrance,
nianfo of Zongmi (780–841): (1) vocally calling the Bud-
five-colored clouds, visions of attendants welcoming one to
dha’s name; (2) visualizing the Buddha’s form as an image
the Pure Land, or pathways of light. The earliest surviving
or painting to receive the five spiritual powers and see all
collection of Pure Land biographies is the Jingtu lun, com-
Buddhas in the ten directions; (3) visualizing the major and
piled by Jiacai in the mid-seventh century. Of the twenty bi-
minor marks of the Buddha to eradicate all sins; and (4) con-
ographies he recorded, six are of monks, four of nuns, five
templating the absolute true nature wherein the Buddha has
of laymen, and five of laywomen. The enduring prominence
no marks and no name and one uses no-thought (wui) as the
of laity and of women in the movement makes it unique
method to contemplate the Buddha (nianfo). Thus, at the
among the Buddhist traditions of China.
highest level, Pure Land forms unite with Chan formlessness.
The Bingzhou area of North China remained the heart
This idea of the progressive levels of nianfo culminated in
of Pure Land practice according to biographical records of
such thinkers as Zhixu (1599–1655), who proclaimed Pure
eminent monks of the Tang dynasty (618–906). Among
Land devotion as supreme because it could include all Chan
Pure Land collections, the Wangsheng xifang jingtu ruiying
and Tiantai practices within different levels of nianfo.
zhuan, compiled by 805 CE, lists 26 people from North
Dual cultivation. The Chan patriarch Yungming Yen-
China (Shansi and Shensi provinces) and only 7 from South
shou (904–975) is famous for advocating the “dual cultiva-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4924
JINGTU
tion of Chan and Pure Land” (chanjing shuangxiu) as being
today. Various masters in the Wenyan Chan lineage taught
doubly effective, like a “tiger wearing horns.” His proposal
that the Pure Land is a mental representation only. Cique
was partially based on Feixi’s idea that Chan and Pure Land
Zongze formed a nianfo recitation society in 1089, asserting
were like the dialectic of emptiness and form, or underlying
that “one’s self-nature is Amita¯bha.” Later teachers who used
principle (li) and phenomenal events (shi), and each would
the practice of meditating on a question (huatou) such as
be incomplete without the other. In his Wanshan tonggui
Hanshan Deqing (1546–1623) urged that disciples ask
Yenshou considered Pure Land and Chan to be focused on
“Who is it that recites the Buddha’s name?” after each recita-
phenomena and thus to represent only one aspect of the One
tion of the name of Amita¯bha in order to achieve Chan en-
Mind, namely its external functioning (yong). Basing his
lightenment. Pure Land devotionalism as a supreme path was
teaching on the Dacheng qixin lun (Awakening of faith in the
periodically championed by such figures as Zhuhong (1535–
Maha¯ya¯na), Yenshou taught that phenomena must be bal-
1615), Zhixu (1599–1655), the layman Peng Shaosheng
anced by the other aspect of the One Mind, namely its un-
(1739–1796), and his nephew Peng Xisu (who compiled
derlying nature (ti). The Pure Land, like all phenomena, is
the biographies of approximately five hundred Pure Land
perception-only (weixin), and the division between Pure
devotees).
Land and Chan is transcended when one is enlightened to
White Lotus Society. Lay recitation societies flourished
the true nature of the One Mind.
in the Song dynasty, the most famous being the White Lotus
Society, formed by Mao Ziyuan (1086–1166) in Kiangsu in
Pure Land practices were an important part of the devo-
1133. While appealing to Lushan Huiyuan’s society as a
tional life of many Chinese Buddhists usually identified with
model, Ziyuan added a number of later innovations: vocal
other traditions. Monks such as Zhiyi, Daoxuan, and Jizang,
recitations; married clergy; strict vegetarianism; the construc-
who are normally listed as the patriarchs of the Tiantai,
tion of hostels; the active leadership of women; the Tiantai
Vinaya, and Sanlun schools, respectively, all employed Pure
theories of the four Buddha lands and the inseparability of
Land regimens in their practice. Tiantai Zhiyi (538–597)
mind-Buddha-living beings; and Zhili’s teaching of visualiz-
had a doctrine of four levels of Buddha lands and advocated
ing the Buddha in terms of the mundane and absolute as-
a ninety-day practice of chanting Amita¯bha’s name while
pects of mind. He considered all religious practices to be
constantly walking, a practice still undertaken in Japan.
valid insofar as they all have the same goal, all places are iden-
Tiantai became further identified with Pure Land when an
tical to the Pure Land, all phenomena are mind-only, and
eighth-century commentary on the Guan jing was attributed
our own natures are identical to that of Amita¯bha. For ordi-
to Zhiyi. Later, Siming Zhili (960–1028) composed a sub-
nary people, however, Ziyuan urged the expedient means
commentary titled Miaozong chao, in which he presented his
(upa¯ya) of believing that the Pure Land is to the west and
doctrine of “visualizing the Buddha in terms of the [mun-
adhering to a gradual religious path based on correct faith,
dane and absolute aspects of] mind” (yuexin guanfo). Basing
practice, and vows. Correct faith and vows were those that
his doctrine on the Dacheng qixin lun, he argued that all reli-
conformed to the teachings of Tanluan, Daochuo, and Shan-
gious practices are the mind’s external functioning (yong) and
dao. Correct practice could be anything based on a person’s
are for the sole purpose of revealing the mind’s underlying
abilities, but, like Shandao and Yenshou before him, Ziyuan
nature (ti). When our conditioned minds seek enlighten-
stressed having correct mindfulness at the moment of death
ment by visualizing Amita¯bha, the underlying nature re-
to seal rebirth in the Pure Land.
sponds with an image in our minds so that there is temporar-
The White Lotus Society had a checkered history of po-
ily a distinction between Buddhas and humans. However, in
litical sponsorship and repression that culminated in its sup-
the act of seeking insight, practitioners are also united with
pression in 1322. By that time it had developed from a cen-
the underlying enlightened nature. These two levels of activi-
trally organized lay devotional society to a large property-
ty reflect the two aspects of the One Mind; they are Zhili’s
holding movement with White Lotus Halls for charitable
interpretation of the Guan jing phrase: “This mind is the
activities such as donating cloth to the populace, copying
Buddha, this mind creates the Buddha.” This doctrine had
scriptures, and developing bathhouses, waterworks, mills,
enormous influence, since Zhili’s works became authorita-
shops, boats, and land throughout Fukian Province. The rea-
tive for Tiantai from the Song dynasty (960–1279) onward,
son for its suppression is uncertain, but as a lay society in-
and most Tiantai masters came to seek rebirth in the Pure
volving women, people from lower levels of society, and
Land.
working people who met together at night, it probably pro-
The revival of Buddhism under the patronage of the
voked rumors of rebellion and immorality. The decree of
Song dynasty was not marked by the intense textual and doc-
abolishment became a template for branding and suppress-
trinal studies of the Tang period; rather, the focus was on
ing many later groups who developed followings indepen-
personal cultivation. In spite of Chan’s initial antagonism to
dent of the state, but often with very different beliefs, until
Pure Land, the Chan monastic code Chanlin chinggui (1311)
all so-called White Lotus groups were finally suppressed in
recommended chanting Amita¯bha’s name at funerals. Grad-
1813.
ually, Yenshou’s teaching of dual cultivation permeated all
Modern status. A fundamentalist view of the Pure
aspects of the Chan tradition and remains a model up to
Land as an actual place and the need for moral purity was
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
J¯IVANMUKTI
4925
advocated by Yinguang (1861–1940), but in 1951 he was
J¯IVANMUKTI. The Sanskrit term j¯ıvanmukti means
strongly opposed by Yinshun (1906–) in his New Treatise on
“liberation as a living being.” A person who has attained lib-
the Pure Land (Jingtu xinlun). Arguing that the images of
eration in his lifetime is called j¯ıvanmukta. Although these
Amita¯bha and the Pure Land are culturally constructed and
precise terms seem to have been popularized only by follow-
recitation is the lowest form of practice, Yinshun challenged
ers of S´an˙kara, late in the first millennium CE, the concept
the focus on funeral practices and rebirth in the Pure Land.
of a liberated person had become a commonplace of Indian
Instead, practitioners should create an earthly Pure Land
religious thought many centuries earlier. This article will
through inner cultivation and social service. Yinshun’s this-
concentrate on the concept.
worldly emphasis is now central to the two largest worldwide
The final goal of every Hindu is to attain release (mukti)
Chinese Buddhist movements, Fo Guang Shan and the
from sam:sa¯ra, the endless cycle of death and rebirth that all
Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Association, and the more exclu-
living beings—gods, human beings, animals, and lower spir-
sivistic tendencies of Daochuo, Shandao, and Yinguang are
its—undergo. The cause of rebirth is karman, or intentional
marginalized.
action. All intentional action originates from “passion”
For the last thousand years Pure Land devotion was
(ra¯ga), or emotional involvement with the world. As mukti
transmitted in conjunction with Tiantai and Chan, and most
is release from sam:sa¯ra, it is thus release from karman and
contemporary large monasteries include both a Chan medi-
its results; and this abandonment of karman is to be attained
tation hall and a Pure Land recitation hall. Rosaries for recit-
by cultivating “dispassion” (vaira¯gya), emotional disengage-
ing Amita¯bha’s name (nianzhu) and the respectful greeting
ment from the world.
of “O-mi-to-fo” are found throughout Taiwan today, but
In those forms of Hinduism that see devotion to God
rarely in mainland China. Nevertheless, wherever practice
as the means to salvation, such detachment from the world,
exists in a Chinese Buddhist temple, and no matter how it
and hence mukti, is to be attained only at death. However,
is understood, the melodic chanting of Amita¯bha’s name
in the religions that dominated Indian culture from about
echoes in its halls as an enduring part of Chinese culture.
500 BCE to late in the first millennium CE, salvation is due
to a liberating insight, or gnösis. It is a corollary of all Gnostic
SEE ALSO Amita¯bha; Daochuo; Huiyuan; Millenarianism,
religion that liberation can be attained in this life. (In India
article on Chinese Millenarian Movements; Nianfo; Pure
this possibility is explicitly restricted to human beings.)
and Impure Lands; Shandao; Tanluan.
Thus, there can be human beings who are already saved, who
are devoid of passion and of the kind of intentionality that
BIBLIOGRAPHY
will cause them to be reborn: in such cases, at the death of
the body, the sequence of cause and effect set in motion by
The most comprehensive scholarly study of jingtu is Mochizuki
Shinko¯’s Chu¯goku jo¯do kyo¯ri shi (Kyoto, 1942), which has an
the individual’s karman will cease.
unpublished English translation by Leo Pruden (1982). The
Although the content of this gnosis varies in detail from
earliest Pure Land scripture translated into Chinese was stud-
school to school, for all Hindus it involves the realization
ied by Paul Harrison, The Samadhi of Direct Encounter with
that one’s essential nature is pure spirit, immortal and immu-
the Buddhas of the Present (Tokyo, 1990). For issues in Pure
table. Whatever is not pure spirit is impermanent and liable
Land thought, see Ken Tanaka, The Dawn of Chinese Pure
to change; it is utterly other than one’s essential nature. The
Land Buddhist Doctrine: Ching-ying Hui-yuan’s Commentary
Western distinction between mind and matter is a mislead-
on the Visualization Sutra (Albany, N.Y., 1990). The prima-
ry Pure Land leader, Shandao, has two studies, Fujiwara
ing analogy, for most of what Western thought assigns to
Ryo¯-setsu, The Way of Nirvana: The Concept of Nembutsu in
mind Indian thought categorizes as nonspiritual. The only
Shan-tao’s Pure Land Buddhism (Tokyo, 1974) and Julian
apparently “mental” characteristic allowed by all Hindus to
Pas, Visions of Sukha¯vat¯ı: Shan-tao’s Commentary on the Kuan
the spirit is pure consciousness. All schools agree that the
Wu-liang-Shou-Fo Ching (Albany, N.Y., 1995). Later histori-
Gnostic who has successfully discriminated between his
cal developments are found in Peter Gregory and Daniel
purely conscious spirit and the transient phenomena that
Getz, ed., Buddhism in the Sung (Honolulu, 2002), Daniel
comprise the rest of his apparent empirical personality is
Overmyer, Folk Buddhist Religion: Dissenting Sects in Late
thereby freed from suffering (duh:kha); most go further and
Traditional China (Cambridge, Mass., 1976), Barend J. ter
characterize this state as bliss (a¯nanda).
Haar, The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History
(Leiden, 1992), Chun-fang Yu, The Renewal of Buddhism in
The earliest texts containing this kind of Gnostic reli-
China: Chu-hung and the Late Ming Synthesis (New York,
gion are the early Upanis:ads (c. seventh century BCE). Bud-
1981), and Charles Jones, Buddhism in Taiwan (Honolulu,
dhism and Jainism are religions of this Gnostic type; but the
1999).
metaphysics of both are, in separate ways, different from
those of Hinduism; and as the term j¯ıvanmukti is never ap-
DAVID W. CHAPPELL (1987 AND 2005)
plied, even retrospectively, to Buddhist or Jain saints, this ar-
ticle deals only with Hindu formulations of the concept.
The Hindu Gnostic sees through the unreality of chang-
J¯IVA SEE INDIAN PHILOSOPHIES; J¯IVANMUKTI
ing phenomena, in particularly their duality; he rises above
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4926
JIZANG
pleasure and pain, good and evil. The enlightened person is
BIBLIOGRAPHY
thus beyond moral categories; but as he or she is free from
Brunner, Hélène. “Un chapïtre du Sarvadarsanasamgraha: Le
all emotional attachments, the enlightened person will never
Saivadarsana.” In Tantric and Taoist Studies in Honour of
do evil. The person seeking this gnosis will tend to renounce
R. A. Stein, edited by Michel Strickmann, vol. 20 of Mélanges
chinois et bouddhiques, pp. 96–140. Brussels, 1983.
worldly life because it involves types of activity—sexual, eco-
nomic—that cannot be carried on without attachment. Al-
Dasgupta, Surendranath. A History of Indian Philosophy, vols. 1 &
2. Cambridge, U.K., 1922–1932. A traditional treatment of
though the early Upanis:ads stress the intellectual pursuit of
the views of S´an˙kara and his followers, including a lucid dis-
gnosis, in most schools it was pursued through the practice
cussion of the Gnostic view of salvation. See especially pages
of yoga. On whether the liberated person continues to per-
207, 268, and 291–292 in volume 1 and pages 245–252 in
form ritual, opinions differ sharply.
volume 2.
Eliade, Mircea. Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. 2d ed. Princeton,
All later Hindu sects were influenced by the metaphysics
1969. Still the best work on the yogic path of release.
of Sa¯m:khya, an atheistic path to salvation. The spirit
Hiriyanna, Mysore. The Essentials of Indian Philosophy. London,
(purus:a/a¯tman) is considered here as utterly other than na-
1949. A concise historical introduction. See especially pages
ture/matter (prakr:ti), which is one, though diversified. Spir-
31–56 and 129–174.
its are many and are inactive and transcendent, mere con-
Kaw, R. K. Pratyabhijña¯ Ka¯rika¯ of Utpaladeva: Basic Text on
scious witnesses of the activity of prakr:ti, the material cause
Pratyabhijña¯ Philosophy (The Doctrine of Recognition). Shara-
of the phenomenal world, including all mental functions and
da Peetha Indological Research Series, vol. 12. Srinagar,
intelligence. Involvement with the world and suffering arise
1975. Includes a clear description of the S´aiva Tantra path
from a failure of discrimination (viveka). Once one has disso-
of salvation.
ciated one’s spirit from mind and ego, one stands sheer and
New Sources
alone (kevalin), untouched by emotion. This isolation
Fort, Andrew O. Jivanmukti in Transformation: Embodied Libera-
(kaivalya) of the spirit ensures that at death one is never re-
tion in Advaita and Neo-Vedanta. Albany, N.Y., 1998.
born. The kevalin lives on after attaining gnosis because the
Living Liberation in Hindu Thought. Edited by Andrew O. Fort
kevalin’s karman, which had begun to bear fruit, must ex-
and Patricia Y. Mumme. Albany, N.Y., 1996.
haust its momentum, like the potter’s wheel after the potter
Srivastava, Lalit Kishore Lal. Advaitic Concept of Jivanmukti.
Delhi, 1990.
has stopped spinning it. The Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ describes such a
person as sthitaprajña, “of serene wisdom.”
SANJUKTA GUPTA (1987)
Revised Bibliography
The Advaita Veda¯nta school established by S´an˙kara vir-
tually accepted the Sa¯m:khya view of the kevalin, despite a
different metaphysical basis. In the tradition of the early
JIZANG (549–623), Chinese Buddhist monk of the San-
Upanis:ads, the Veda¯ntins regarded the plurality of individu-
lun (Three-Treatise) tradition. Although half Parthian by
al souls (a¯tman) as an illusion: there is only one reality, brah-
birth, Jizang’s upbringing and education were entirely Chi-
man, with which all souls must realize their unity. Prakr:ti is
nese. At the age of ten he became a novice under the Sanlun
not only other than spirit; it is in fact nonexistent. One’s en-
master Falang (508–581) and resided at the Xinghuang tem-
tire view of a plural world is just a mistake. The person who
ple in the Southern Dynasties (c. 420–589) capital of Jinling
has undone this mistake is j¯ıvanmukta.
(modern Nanjing), the center of Buddhist culture in south-
ern China. Until the age of thirty-two, he was under the tute-
Hindu Tantric sects hold a different view of mukti. For
lage of Falang, studying primary Sanlun sources as well as the
these monotheistic Gnostics, salvation is achieved through
important texts of his age, the Prajña¯pa¯ramita¯ (Perfection of
God’s grace, which is then instantiated in the successful ef-
Wisdom) canon, the Saddharmapun:d:ar¯ıka Su¯tra (Lotus
forts of the practitioner, who aims to change his or her im-
Su¯tra), and the Maha¯ya¯na Maha¯parinirva¯n:a Su¯tra (Su¯tra of
pure body into the pure substance of sákti, God’s energy, the
the great decease). Following Falang’s death in 581, Jizang
source of all things. If successful, the practioner becomes a
spent some eight years at the Jiaxiang temple, east of the capi-
siddha (“successful one”). The idea occurs in the S´aiva Tan-
tal on Mount Qinwang (his posthumous title, Master of Jiax-
tras, in the Vajraya¯na Tantras, and in hat:hayoga. The pure
iang Temple, is derived from his residence at this temple).
body of a siddha was conceived by some to be immortal, so
In 597 he was invited by the emperor Sui Yangdi (581–618)
that j¯ıvanmukti amounted to apotheosis. Specialists in alche-
to reside at the Huiri Daochang, one of four monasteries
my (rasa´sa¯stra) hoped to achieve immortality by ingesting
built by that ruler in support of the religion. Jizang spent less
mercury, the essence of S´iva, and some Tantrics continue to
than two years at this monastery and, again at the request
believe that breathing exercises can render them immortal,
of Yangdi, moved in 599 to the new imperial capital of
or at least ensure them very long life.
Chang’an. There he resided at the Riyan temple, remaining
there until his death at the age of seventy-four.
SEE ALSO Indian Philosophies; Tantrism, article on Hindu
With the reunification of China in 589, Jizang wit-
Tantrism.
nessed the controlled revival of Buddhism at a time when the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JÑA¯NA
4927
religion was sponsored not only for its own sake but also as
sophical and Religious Classics of China, India, Japan, Korea,
a means by which the nation could be consolidated, expand-
and the World of Islam, edited by Ian P. McGreal,
ed, and protected. Throughout his life Jizang participated
pp. 84–88. New York, 1995.
fully in the optimism and luxury of imperial patronage.
AARON K. KOSEKI (1987)
Under this patronage he produced twenty-six works, collect-
Revised Bibliography
ed in some 112 fascicles, a number that makes him one of
the most prolific Buddhist writers of his age. Jizang consid-
ered himself a specialist on the Perfection of Wisdom litera-
JIZO
¯ SEE KS:ITIGARBHA
ture as well as on the major Maha¯ya¯na su¯tras then available
to him in Chinese translation. Of his extant works, approxi-
mately fifteen are concerned exclusively with the exegesis of
su¯tras. They cover an extensive range of the topics found in
JÑA¯NA. The Sanskrit root jña¯ is cognate with the Old En-
the fertile symbols and ideas of the vast Maha¯ya¯na textual
glish knawan. Hence on etymological consideration one nor-
corpus. As an exegete his writings account for some of the
mally translates jña¯na as “knowledge.” Although this transla-
major doctrinal trends of Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism and repre-
tion seems harmless in many contexts, in a philosophical text
sent one of the earliest Chinese attempts to systematize its
that deals with epistemology, or prama¯n:a-´sa¯stra, it will often
canon. Under the influence of the Maha¯ya¯na Nirva¯n:a Su¯tra,
be wrong and misleading. In fact, in nontechnical Sanskrit
the text that dominated Chinese intellectual thought during
jña¯na often means knowledge. But when it is contrasted with
the fifth and sixth centuries, Jizang wrote extensively on its
prama¯ (“knowledge, knowledge-episode”), it means simply
theme of “Buddha nature” (universal enlightenment). He
a cognition or awareness, and it is meant in an episodic sense.
was the first East Asian Buddhist to argue that even the non-
A cognition is an episode that happens in a subject, and when
sentient world of wood and stone had the potentiality for en-
such a cognitive episode becomes true it becomes knowledge,
lightenment. As a scholar of the Perfection of Wisdom tradi-
as in prama¯. Thus, one must say, only some cognitions are
tion, he was best known for his essays on the Buddhist
knowledge; others may be cases of doubt, misperception,
concept of the Two Truths, a theory of nonduality achieved
error, false judgment, opinion, and so forth.
through serial negation. These essays established one of the
In epistemology, the problem is formulated as follows:
enduring ways by which later East Asian Buddhists came to
What is it that makes a jña¯na or a cognitive event a piece
approach and understand the Buddhist concept of emptiness
of knowledge, prama¯? The general answer is that if the causal
(´su¯nyata¯).
factors are faultless and no opposing or counteracting factor
(pratibandhaka) intervenes, the result would be a true cogni-
SEE ALSO S´u¯nyam and S´u¯nyata¯.
tive event, a piece of knowledge. The Nya¯ya school uses
jña¯na in the more comprehensive sense. For according to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nya¯ya, to be conscious means to be conscious of something,
The most comprehensive work on Jizang and the Sanlun tradition
there being no such thing as “pure consciousness,” and this
is by Hirai Shun’ei, Chu¯goku hannya shiso¯shi kenkyu¯ (Tokyo,
again means to cognize or to be aware of something, that is,
1976). A review of this work and the questions it raises re-
to have a jña¯na of something. The conscious subject, or self,
garding the history of Sanlun Buddhism may be found in my
is analyzed as the subjunct that has cognition or jña¯na, the
study “‘Later Ma¯dhyamika’ in China: Some Current Per-
obvious conclusion being that a jña¯na or a particular cogni-
spectives on the History of Chinese Prajna¯pa¯ramita¯
Thought,” Journal of the International Association for Bud-
tive event is a quality (gun:a) or a qualifier (dharma) of the
dhist Studies 5, (1982): 53–62. Critical analyses of the Chi-
self. The Buddhists, however, analyze the person or the self
nese contributions toward the Two Truths theory may be
into five aggregates, of which the awareness series, or the
found in an article by Whalen Lai, “Further Developments
awareness aggregate, is the main constituent. The self is
of the Two Truths Theory in China: The Ch’eng-shih-lun
therefore only an awareness series in this view where in each
Tradition and Chou Yung’s San-tsung-lun,” Philosophy East
moment an awareness arises, conditioned by the preceding
and West 30 (April 1980): 139–161, and in an article I have
one, along with a number of attending factors. Feelings such
written, “The Concept of Practice in San Lun Thought: Chi-
as pleasure, pain, and anger are part of the awareness event,
tsang and the ‘Concurrent Insight’ of the Two Truths,” Phi-
according to the Buddhists. But Nya¯ya wishes to introduce
losophy East and West 31 (October 1981): 449–466. Transla-
a distinction between the pleasure-event or pain-event and
tions of selected portions of Jizang’s writings can be found
one’s cognitive awareness (jña¯na) of such events.
in Wing-tsit Chan’s A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy
(Princeton, 1963), pp. 360–369, and in The Buddhist Tradi-
The Sa¯m:khya view of jña¯na is different. In this view the
tion in India, China, and Japan, edited by Wm. Theodore
intellect (buddhi) and ego-sense or I-consciousness
de Bary, Yoshito S. Hakeda, and Philip B. Yampolsky (New
(aham:ka¯ra) are all evolutes (vika¯ras) of matter. The spiritual
York, 1969).
substance is called purus:a (“man”). Consciousness is the es-
New Sources
sential attribute of purus:a, the spiritual reality. But because
Fox, Alan. “Jizang (Chi-Tsang) [A.D. 549–623].” In Great Think-
the intellect (a material evolute) is extremely transparent and
ers of the Eastern World: The Major Thinkers and the Philo-
mirrorlike by nature (Va¯caspati’s view), it reflects the con-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4928
JOACHIM OF FIORE
sciousness of the purus:a, that is, it becomes tinged with
one’s actions cannot bind one. Hence knowledge of the Ulti-
awareness, and thus an awareness-event arises. It is called a
mate, when it is combined with such “unattached” action,
vr:tti (“modification”) or transformation (parin:a¯ma) of the
opens the door to liberation. Bhakti, devotional attachment
intellect. It is therefore the spiritual illumination of the men-
and complete surrender to the deity, is another way. Some-
tal form, that is, buddhi transformed into the form of an ob-
times a situation is recognized as jña¯na-karma-samuccaya-
ject, which makes jña¯na possible. In Advaita Veda¯nta, a spe-
va¯da, that is, it is claimed that jña¯na and karma are like the
cial manifestation of consciousness (the self-consciousness)
two wings of a bird: It cannot fly with just one of them.
is jña¯na in the primary sense. But the vr:tti that the buddhi
SEE ALSO A¯laya-vijña¯na; M¯ıma¯m:sa¯; Nya¯ya; Sa¯m:khya;
(“intellect”) obtains is also called jña¯na in a secondary sense.
Vai´ses:ika; Veda¯nta; Yoga.
Of the two components, the vr:tti grasps the form of the ob-
ject and destroys the veil of ignorance or the state of “un-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
knowing” (avidya¯), but the particular manifestation of con-
For jña¯na in Nya¯ya-Vai´ses:ika, see chapter 2 of my The
sciousness is what actually reveals the object.
Navya-nya¯ya Doctrine of Negation (Cambridge, Mass., 1968).
For the views of other schools, see Kalidas Bhattacharya’s
Jña¯na has soteriological significance. It is almost unani-
“The Indian Concept of Knowledge and Self,” Our Heritage
mously claimed (except by the Ca¯rva¯ka) that some sort of
(Calcutta) 2–4 (1954–1956). For jña¯na-yoga, one may con-
jña¯na, or tattva-jña¯na (“knowledge of the reality as it is”) is
sult Surendranath Dasgupta’s A History of Indian Philosophy,
instrumental in bringing about the final release from bond-
vol. 2 (London, 1932), chap. 14. Editions and translations
age. Here, of course, jña¯na stands for “knowledge.” Knowl-
of the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ are too numerous to be mentioned here.
edge is what liberates one from human bondage. Even the
BIMAL KRISHNA MATILAL (1987)
Nya¯ya Su¯tra states that the ultimate good (nih:´sreyasa) springs
from human knowledge (tattva-jña¯na) of different realities.
It is commonplace to say in Advaita Veda¯nta that
JOACHIM OF FIORE (c. 1135–1202) was an Italian
brahmajña¯na (“knowledge of the brahman”) is the ultimate
monk and biblical exegete. Joachim was born in Calabria,
means for liberation: It is that which establishes the essential
and after a pilgrimage to Palestine he returned to southern
identity of the individual self with the ultimate Self or uni-
Italy, where he became successively abbot of the Benedictine,
versal Self, brahman. One’s congenital misconception
later Cistercian, monastery at Curazzo and founder of his
(avidya¯) creates a false disunity between the individual and
own Florensian congregation at San Giovanni in Fiore. The
the brahman, but jña¯na establishes their ultimate union. In
Mediterranean was then a crossroads of history, with pil-
some Buddhist texts (cf. Vasubandhu, Trim:´sika¯) a distinc-
grims and Crusaders coming and going and rumors of “the
tion is made between jña¯na and vijña¯na where the latter is
infidel” rife. Joachim was acutely aware of living in the end
subdivided into a¯laya-vijña¯na and pravr:tti-vijña¯na. The
time and sought an interpretation of history through biblical
pravr:tti-vijña¯na stands for all the ordinary cognitive events
exegesis illumined by spiritual understanding, a view elabo-
of life, cognition of blue for example; while the a¯laya is said
rated upon in works such as Liber Concordie Novi ac Veteris
to be the seed (b¯ıja) or the subterranean current that causes
Testamenti (1519), Expositio in Apocalypsim (1527), and Psal-
the “waves” of other cognitive experiences and in turn is fed
terium decem chordarum (1527).
back by such experiences to continue the process of sam:sa¯ra
(“the round of births and deaths”). But when the saint ac-
Joachim recorded two experiences of mystical illumina-
quires jña¯na, there is a complete reversal (para¯vr:tti) of the
tion (and hints of a third) in which the trinitarian under-
base (a¯laya-a¯´sraya) in the saint. There is pure jña¯na, which
standing of history was revealed to him. He developed his
is also called bodha and which eliminates the vijña¯na series.
theology of history through investigations into biblical con-
For there cannot be any gra¯haka or vijña¯na or apprehension
cords, or sequences. The first sequence arises from the rela-
when there is no gra¯hya, no apprehensible object. This is
tion of the old and new dispensations. The second sequence,
called the dharmaka¯ya of the Buddha.
the procession of the Holy Spirit from both Father and Son,
exemplifies his famous “pattern of threes”: the first stage (sta-
In certain religious or philosophical texts that promote
tusi) that of the law, belongs to the Father and lasts until the
syncretism, such as the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯, three principal ways
incarnation of Jesus Christ; the second, that of grace, belongs
of attaining the final goal of salvation are mentioned. They
to the Son and lasts until a near future point; the third, that
are karmayoga (the path of action), jña¯nayoga (the path of
of the Spirit, proceeding from the first two and characterized
knowledge), and bhaktiyoga (the path of devotion). The path
by love and liberty, runs until the second advent of Christ.
of knowledge means that ultimate knowledge, or compre-
Joachim found the clues for his scheme of history in particu-
hension of the ultimate truth, is sufficient to bring about lib-
lar biblical sequences, for instance, in the references to the
eration. But sometimes this path is combined with the path
twelve patriarchs, the twelve apostles, and the twelve expect-
of action, which means that religious and moral duties are
ed future leaders, and in references to Noah’s sending forth
performed with a completely unattached disposition
of a raven and a dove paralleling the mission of Paul and Bar-
(nis:ka¯ma karma). One’s actions with motivation to obtain
nabas, which he took as evidence for the future founding of
results create bondage, but if one is unattached to the result
two orders of spiritual people.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JOAN OF ARC
4929
Joachim’s originality lay in the concept of a third stage
West, Delno C., ed. Joachim of Fiore in Christian Thought: Essays
still to come, whereas in the standard threefold pattern (be-
on the Influence of the Calabrian Prophet. 2 vols. New York,
fore the law, under the law, and under grace) the church had
1975. Reprints essays from various journals, dating from
already entered the third stage. Joachim believed that the
1930 to 1971.
transition to the third status must be made only through the
MARJORIE E. REEVES (1987)
tribulation of the greatest Antichrist (the seventh dragon’s
head), who was imminent. This age to come, the age of the
Spirit (equated with the seventh, or sabbath, age), was part
of history and should be distinguished from the eighth day
JOAN OF ARC (c. 1412–1431) was a French visionary;
of eternity.
also known as the Maid of Orléans. Joan, who called herself
Jeanne La Pucelle, used her claims to mystical experience to
Joachim was recognized as a prophet in his lifetime.
influence the course of French history in the fifteenth centu-
Richard I of England, leading the Third Crusade, inter-
ry. Led by her visions, she inspired the French army to turn
viewed him at Messina. In the thirteenth century his concept
the tide of the Hundred Years’ War. Born around 1412 in
of the coming of two orders of spiritual people achieved a
Domrémy-la-Pucelle, a village on the border between Lor-
“prophetic scoop” when the Dominicans (“ravens”) and
raine and France, Joan was a peasant who, in her own words,
Franciscans (“doves”) were founded. In both orders, especial-
did not “know A from B.” As she grew up she heard the mag-
ly the Franciscan, some friars claimed the role outlined by
ical lore and local saints’ legends of Lorraine and reports of
Joachim, which successively fired the imagination not only
continuing French defeats at the hands of the English.
of heretical groups—the Apostolic Brethren, Fraticelli, Pro-
vençal Beguines, and others—but also of some Augustinian
At age thirteen Joan began to hear a voice from God in-
hermits and Jesuits. Pseudo-Joachimist works spread the
structing her to go to the dauphin Charles, the uncrowned
prophecies, and Joachimist influence is traceable as late as the
Valois king. Believing that she was called to drive the English
seventeenth century in the myths of the Angelic Pope and
out of France, Joan privately took a vow of virginity and pre-
the Last World Emperor. In 1254 occurred the “scandal of
pared herself for the role of prophetic adviser to the king, a
the eternal evangel,” when a Franciscan proclaimed Jo-
type of female mystic familiar in the late medieval period.
achim’s works to be the new gospel, replacing the Old and
At some point in these troubled years the voice became three
New Testaments. This was widely documented and later re-
voices, whom she later identified as the saints Catherine of
ferred to by Lessing, the eighteenth-century German philos-
Alexandria and Margaret of Antioch, both known for their
opher whose Education of the Human Race was widely influ-
heroic virginity, and the archangel Michael, protector of the
ential in promoting an optimistic view of the future age.
French royal family.
Consequently, the nineteenth century saw a revival of inter-
Joan established her authority through her urgent sin-
est in Joachim’s third status among visionaries such as Jules
cerity, by identifying herself with prophecies about a virgin
Michelet, Edgar Quinet, Pierre Leroux, and George Sand
who would save France, and by accurately announcing a
who were antiecclesiastical but looked for a new gospel.
French defeat on the day it took place 150 miles away. No
Some scholars claim Joachim as the source of all later three-
longer able to ignore her, the garrison captain at the nearby
fold patterns of history, but this is questionable.
town of Vaucouleurs refused to endorse her mission to save
France until she was exorcised, raising the issue that would
BIBLIOGRAPHY
haunt her mission henceforth: Did her powers come from
Bloomfield, Morton. “Joachim of Flora: A Critical Survey of His
God or from the devil? Not fully assured, the captain none-
Canon, Teachings, Sources, Biography, and Influence.”
theless gave her arms and an escort. Cutting her hair short
Traditio 13 (1957): 249–311. The best bibliographical sur-
and donning male clothing, Joan and her companions made
vey, now updated in “Recent Scholarship on Joachim of
their way through enemy territory, reaching the dauphin’s
Fiore and His Influence,” in Prophecy and Millenarianism,
edited by Ann Williams (London, 1980), pp. 23–52.
court at Chinon in late February 1429.
McGinn, Bernard. The Calabrian Abbot. New York, 1985. An ac-
Joan’s indomitable belief that only she could save
count of Joachim’s place in the history of Western thought.
France impressed Charles, his astronomer, and some of the
nobles. But they too moved carefully, requiring an examina-
Reeves, Marjorie E. The Influence of Prophecy in the Later Middle
Ages. Oxford, 1969. Deals with Joachim’s life and thought
tion for heresy by theologians at Poitiers, who declared her
and traces his influence down to the seventeenth century.
a good Christian, and a physical examination by three ma-
trons, who certified that she was indeed a virgin. For a
Reeves, Marjorie E. Joachim of Fiore and the Prophetic Future. Lon-
woman about to attempt the “miracle” of defeating the En-
don, 1976. A brief account summarizing material in the pre-
glish, virginity added an aura of almost magical power.
ceding and the following book and incorporating some new
material.
Given the desperate nature of Charles’s position, he had
Reeves, Marjorie E., and Beatrice Hirsch-Reich. The Figurae of Jo-
little to lose in allowing Joan to join the army marching to
achim of Fiore. Oxford, 1972. A study of Joachim’s use of
the relief of Orléans, which had been besieged by the En-
symbolism, especially in his Liber figurarum.
glish. Her presence attracted volunteers and raised morale.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4930
JOB
Charging into the midst of battle, Joan was wounded and
de condamnation de Jeanne d’Arc, 3 vols., edited by Pierre Tis-
became the hero of the day. With Orléans secured, Joan im-
set and Yvonne Lanhers (Paris, 1960–1971), and of the retri-
patiently counseled the army to move on. Town after town
al, see Procès en nullité de la condamnation de Jeanne d’Arc,
along the Loire fell, others offered their loyalty without bat-
3 vols., edited by Pierre Duparc (Paris, 1979–1983). An
tle. By late July, the dauphin could be crowned King Charles
abridged English translation of the trial can be found in Wil-
VII at Reims with Joan by his side.
fred P. Barrett’s The Trial of Jeanne d’Arc (London, 1932),
and of the retrial, in Régine Pernoud’s The Retrial of Joan of
But Joan’s days of glory were brief. Driven by her voices,
Arc, translated by J. M. Cohen (London, 1955).
she disobeyed the king and continued to fight. Her attack
Of the vast secondary literature, the following biographies are
on Paris failed, and several other ventures ended inconclu-
good places to begin: Frances Gies’s Joan of Arc: The Legend
sively. In May 1430, Joan was captured in a skirmish outside
and the Reality (New York, 1981), Lucien Fabre’s Joan of Arc
Compiègne. Neither Charles nor any of his court made an
(New York, 1954), and Victoria Sackville-West’s St. Joan of
attempt to rescue or ransom her.
Arc (London, 1936; New York, 1984). See also my study
Joan of Arc: Heretic, Mystic, Shaman (Lewiston, N.Y., 1985)
Determined to discredit Joan as a heretic and a witch,
and Régine Pernoud’s Joan of Arc by Herself and Her Witness-
the English turned her over to an inquisitional court.
es, translated by Edward Hyams (London, 1964).
Manned by more than one hundred French clerics in the pay
of the English, Joan’s trial in Rouen lasted from February 21
ANNE LLEWELLYN BARSTOW (1987)
to May 28, 1431. Under inquisitional procedure she could
not have counsel or call witnesses. As a layperson she had no
religious order to speak for her, nor had she ever enlisted the
JOB.
support of a priest. Yet although she had spent months in
The biblical Book of Job is included among the Writ-
military prisons, in chains and guarded constantly by men,
ings (Ketubim) in the Hebrew Bible and among the Poetic
Joan began with a strong defense. Reminding her interroga-
books in the Old Testament. Along with Proverbs, Ecclesias-
tors that she was sent by God, she warned that they would
tes, and Sirach, it is part of the wisdom literature of ancient
condemn her at great risk. The charges came down to the
Israel. The character Job, however, is not an Israelite but a
question of ultimate authority: The judges insisted that she
figure belonging to a broader ancient Near Eastern tradition.
submit to the church’s interpretation that her visions were
His name (Hebrew ’iyyo¯b) is not a typical Hebrew name but
evil, but Joan held to her claim that they came from God.
is related to Amorite names attested throughout the second
Perhaps without intending it, Joan thus advocated the right
millennium BCE. Similarly, Ezekiel 14:14 mentions Job,
of individual experience over the church’s authority.
along with Noah (the Israelite version of the Mesopotamian
flood hero Utanapishtim) and the Canaanite king Dan’el, as
After weeks of unrelenting questioning, Joan began to
figures legendary for their righteousness. The setting of the
break. Threatened with death by fire, she finally denied her
book of Job in the land of Uz and the homelands of Job’s
voices and agreed to wear women’s dress. It is not known
three friends (especially that of Eliphaz the Temanite) sug-
precisely what happened next, but three days later she was
gest that the Israelites may have acquired the story from
found wearing male clothing again. She claimed that she had
Edomite sources. Although evidently familiar with a variety
repented of betraying her voices; there are indications that
of ancient Near Eastern literary and folk traditions, the au-
her guards may have tried to rape her. Whatever her motiva-
thor of the biblical book has adapted these materials to his
tion, her actions sealed her fate. Declared a relapsed heretic
own specific religious and cultural beliefs. Few clues exist as
on May 31, 1431, Joan was burned at the stake.
to the date of composition. Though Job’s world is described
In 1450, because he was uneasy that he owed his crown
in terms that evoke a patriarchal setting, evidence from his-
to a convicted heretic, Charles instigated an inquiry into the
torical linguistics suggests that the book was composed in the
trial, which led to a thorough papal investigation. Although
early postexilic period.
the verdict of 1431 was revoked in 1456, the main charges
CONTENTS AND STRUCTURE. The structure of the book has
against Joan were not cleared. Despite this ambiguity, Joan’s
long puzzled scholars. It begins (1:1–2:13) and concludes
memory received continuous attention from the French peo-
(42:7–17) with a simple prose story that recounts how Job,
ple through the centuries. It is ironic that in 1920 she was
a man of exemplary piety and extraordinary wealth, is tested
declared a saint, because none of the church’s proceedings
through the loss of his family, property, and health. Refusing
has acknowledged her right to interpret her divine messages,
to curse God even in the depth of his suffering, Job’s posses-
leaving the main issue for which she was condemned unad-
sions are returned twofold, a new family is given to him, and
dressed.
he lives another one hundred and forty years. Between the
prose beginning and ending, however, there are some thirty-
B
nine chapters of erudite and highly sophisticated poetry.
IBLIOGRAPHY
The basic materials relative to the trial are found in Jules Quich-
Chapters 3–27 contain a dialogue between Job and his three
erat’s five-volume Procès de condamnation et de réhabilitation
friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, concerning the signifi-
de Jeanne d’Arc (Paris, 1841–1849; New York, 1960). For an
cance of his suffering, the nature of God, and God’s gover-
updated edition of the trial in French and Latin, see Procès
nance of the world. Though technically not cursing God, Job
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JOB
4931
accuses God of heinous injustice, sadistic violence, and gross
wisdom tale. In such stories, which include the stories about
mismanagement of the world. A poem on the inaccessibility
Joseph, Tobit, and Daniel, the protagonist embodies moral
of wisdom follows the dialogue in chapter 28. Job resumes
qualities valued by the culture. Within the story the moral
speaking in chapters 29–31, giving a defense of his life,
coherency of the world is threatened when an antagonist
swearing an oath of innocence, and challenging God to reply
menaces the hero. The suffering hero perseveres in his virtue,
to him. Instead, the next several chapters (chapters 32–37)
however, and is rewarded at the end, thus restoring the con-
introduce a new character, Elihu, who attempts a further re-
sistency of the moral order and recommending the virtue
buttal of Job. At the conclusion of Elihu’s speech, God ap-
that the hero exemplifies. In Job the featured virtue is a disin-
pears “out of the tempest” to address Job (38:1–42:6). God
terested piety that does not depend on reward. What is often
does not speak directly to Job’s complaints, however, but
overlooked is that this lack of concern for reward is not the
challenges his knowledge of creation and his inability to pro-
typical way in which piety is described in the Bible. In Deu-
vide for the wild creatures of the earth as God does. Although
teronomy, in Proverbs, in Psalms, and elsewhere, devotion to
Job retracts his accusations against God (40:1–5), God re-
God and blessings from God are seen as concomitant. God
sumes with a second speech, describing the terrible magnifi-
blesses the upright, whose gratitude expresses itself in further
cence of the legendary creatures Behemoth and Leviathan.
devotion to God. The Joban prose tale, far from being a sim-
In his final reply (42:1–6), Job acknowledges that he has spo-
ple folk story, is a narrative exploration and resolution of a
ken “without understanding,” and having seen God “with
potential problem within this religious framework. Does
my eyes,” he recants. The prose conclusion then follows.
God’s blessing corrupt piety? Or can one hold onto both
concepts if one can imagine a form of piety that is truly disin-
Although many ancient Near Eastern literary composi-
terested? By depicting Job’s piety as unchanged in good for-
tions incorporate a poetic text within a prose framework, the
tune and in bad, the writer can avoid potential contradiction.
tensions between the prose and poetic parts of Job are strik-
The restoration of Job at the end of the book serves to reunite
ing. Where the prose story describes a character whose pa-
the two values.
tient endurance is unwavering, the Job of the poetic section
is an angry rebel whose accusations against God are only
The character in the story who articulates the problem
quelled by an encounter with the sublimity of the divine.
is the Adversary (ha-´sa¯ta¯n), who argues that Job is pious only
Even those differences might be accommodated as features
because he has been blessed and will curse God if all he has
of a psychological portrait of acute suffering, but the transi-
is taken away. This figure is not yet Satan, the dualistic oppo-
tion from the poetry to the prose conclusion is jarring.
nent of God that he becomes in later Jewish and Christian
Whereas in the poetic speech to Job God accuses him of “ob-
thought. Rather, he is a member of the heavenly court
scuring counsel” and speaking “without knowledge” (38:2),
charged with inspecting the earth and reporting instances of
in the prose conclusion God rebukes the three friends be-
disloyalty or corruption. The same figure occurs in Zechariah
cause “you have not spoken the truth about me, as has my
3, where he accuses the high priest of corruption. In these
servant Job” (42:7).
texts the term satan is a common noun, not a proper name.
Nevertheless, in both cases the Adversary’s accusations are re-
With the rise of historical criticism in biblical studies,
jected by God, and in Job he acts as something of an agent
scholars argued that the prose narrative must be an ancient
provocateur. Thus one can see how the character later devel-
folk tale that the poet who wrote Job used to frame his new
ops into a figure of evil and an adversary of God himself.
poetic composition, by removing the “original” dialogue be-
THE WISDOM DIALOGUE. The prose tale makes use of a suf-
tween Job and his friends but otherwise not significantly
fering hero to examine the concept of piety. In wisdom cir-
changing the story. The Elihu speeches, which differ stylisti-
cles in the ancient Near East, however, the enigma of suffer-
cally from the rest of the poetry and interrupt the dramatic
ing itself had long been a topic of reflection, and it is this
structure, were regarded as a later addition. Some scholars
aspect of Job’s situation that the poetic parts of the book ex-
argued that the wisdom poem, Job’s final speech, and one
plore. Several poetic texts from Mesopotamia and Ugarit
or both of the divine speeches came from different hands.
have been compared with Job, notably the Sumerian compo-
In reaction to historical-critical excesses, however, many re-
sition A Man and His God and the Babylonian text I Will
cent commentators have attempted to understand the book
Praise the God of Wisdom. These poems, however, are appeals
as a more unified composition, though most still regard the
and thanksgivings for relief from suffering, and as such are
figure and words of Elihu as a secondary addition. However
more comparable to biblical psalms of lament and thanksgiv-
the book was composed, the tensions between the prose tale
ing than to the story of Job. The one text that bears a striking
and the poetic material remain fundamental for understand-
resemblance to the dialogue between Job and his friends is
ing the meaning of the book. The major components of the
the so-called Babylonian Theodicy, composed around 1000
book are composed as different literary genres and address
BCE. Here, as in the Book of Job, a sufferer repeatedly com-
different aspects of the religious dilemma posed by the tradi-
plains to his friend concerning the inexplicable evil that has
tional figure of Job.
befallen him, questioning the justice of the gods and the co-
THE PROSE TALE. Although often referred to as a folk tale,
herency of the moral world. His friend replies each time by
the prose narrative is more accurately described as a didactic
offering the orthodox theodicies. Although direct literary de-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4932
JOB
pendency is unlikely, it is evident that the Job poet composed
though cast as a rhetorical repudiation of Job’s pretensions
the dialogue portion of the book according to a well-known
(“Where were you. . . . Can you. . . . Do you know?”),
genre.
their force is to challenge Job’s construction of God as essen-
tially a projection of an ancient Near Eastern patriarch on
In the dialogue, although Job gives eloquent voice to his
a cosmic scale. The divine speeches are difficult to interpret.
personal sufferings, the primary issue that concerns him is
Some commentators interpret them as a reaffirmation of the
the nature of God. Since he cannot perceive his sufferings
cosmos-creating deity who organizes the universe and re-
as in any way justifiable, he is forced to conclude that God
strains its chaotic elements. The difficulty with this under-
is not only unjust but also sadistic and obsessed with seeking
standing, however, is that the deity’s final speech (chapters
out and punishing vulnerable humans (e.g., 9:16–31; 14:18–
40–41) appears rather to celebrate the place of the chaotic
22; 16:9–16). Job extends his critique to indict God’s mis-
(exemplified in the legendary creatures Behemoth and Levia-
governance of the world (e.g., 12:14–25 and 24:1–12). The
than) alongside the accomplishments of the deity in estab-
most remarkable innovation in Job’s religious thinking is his
lishing a stable order of creation (chapter 38). Indeed, the
use of a forensic, or courtroom, model to explore his relation-
wild animals whom God nurtures (chapter 39) are precisely
ship with God. Although Israelite tradition sometimes de-
those that ancient Near Eastern thought considered to be
scribed God’s punishment of individuals or persons in terms
emblems of the chaotic “other.” Read in this way, the divine
of a legal judgment (e.g., Ps. 143:2; Isa. 3:13–14; Mic.
speeches are a radical challenge to traditional ancient Near
6:1–2), Job creatively reverses the force of the metaphor and
Eastern theological assumptions.
attempts to imagine how a trial with God would allow him
not only to hear God’s charges against him but also to bring
JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RECEPTION OF JOB. The Book of Job
charges of his own (e.g., 13:18–27; 16:18–21; 23:2–7).
resists being read as a unified whole. Whether one deals with
the tensions as evidence of successive editorial layers or as the
The role of the friends in the wisdom dialogue is to de-
construction of a subtle thinker who wished to juxtapose sev-
fend traditional understandings of divine justice against the
eral different ways of engaging issues arising from human
skeptical onslaught of the sufferer. Though the friends are
suffering, it remains a difficult book, the ambiguities of
often read as simply “blaming the victim,” their arguments
which have funded many different interpretations.
are much more nuanced. Like many people in the ancient
world, they believe that one could offend the deity uninten-
Early Jewish interpretation recast Job as an ethical testa-
tionally or unknowingly. Thus the only rational response to
ment in which a dying elder teaches his children the lessons
inexplicable suffering—especially for a righteous person—is
of his life. The Testament of Job, probably composed in Alex-
to acknowledge any possible wrongdoing and to appeal hum-
andria in the first century BCE, depicts Job as opposing
bly to God for deliverance (e.g., 5:1–16; 8:5–7; 11:13–20).
Satan’s idolatry, for which he is told in advance that he will
Theirs is a thoroughly practical approach to the enigma of
be persecuted. Thus he becomes a figure of endurance (cf.
suffering. Only when Job persists in his blasphemous speech
James 5:11), and his daughters are represented as mystics to
do they conclude that he must indeed be wicked (22:2–11),
whom he gives the gift of understanding the language of the
though their advice to him remains the same (22:21–30).
angels. Other early Jewish interpretations of Job are more
Thus what separates Job and the friends is not so much
critical of him, casting him as one of Pharaoh’s counselors
a question of Job’s guilt or innocence as a conflict between
at the time of the oppression of the Israelites. This identifica-
two models of the divine-human relationship. The friends
tion of Job with the Egyptians in Exodus becomes the ratio-
accept that a great gulf of being separates God and humans.
nale for his suffering. The rabbis cited in the Babylonian Tal-
In the face of that mystery, supplication of God’s good favor
mud (b. Baba Batra 15–16) debate whether Moses wrote the
is the only possible stance. Job, however, assumes that God
Book of Job (a manuscript from Qumran copies Job in paleo-
and humans share a common set of values concerning justice
Hebrew script, otherwise used only for the books of the Pen-
and equity that can be rationally applied to both human and
tateuch and the name of God) and whether or not Job blas-
divine acts. Both perspectives are grounded in Israelite reli-
phemes. B. Baba Batra 16b subtly interprets Job 2:10, “And
gious thought, making the dialogue a profound engagement
for all this, Job did not sin with his lips,” to suggest that Job
of alternative worldviews.
sinned in his heart—an interpretation that prepares the read-
er for the sudden transition from the pious Job of the prose
JOB’S FINAL DEFENSE AND THE DIVINE SPEECHES. In his
tale to the rebellious Job of the poetic dialogue.
final speech (chapters 29–31) Job mounts a defense of his
life and lays out the grounds on which he assumes he and
The early Christian church viewed Job as an “athlete of
God could address their differences. Job develops his view
God” who perseveres through his suffering, and as an anti-
of the divine-human relationship as an extension of his self-
type of Christ, an interpretation most influentially presented
understanding as a leader in his own community. The divine
in Pope Gregory’s Moralia in Job. Ironically, since early post-
speeches, for which there is no parallel in the extant literature
exilic Judaism did not have a conception of resurrection, cer-
of the ancient Near East, are a fierce repudiation of an an-
tain passages in Job (especially 19:25–27) came to be cited
thropocentric modeling of God and an implicit rejection of
during the patristic period as evidence for resurrection of the
retributive justice as a part of the structure of the world. Al-
body. In the Middle Ages, Job became the patron saint of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JO
¯ DO SHINSHU¯
4933
those who suffered from worms, leprosy, skin diseases, vene-
Translation. Stanford, Calif., 1990. A provocative postmod-
real disease, and melancholy. Calvin composed one hundred
ern reading of Job. Habel, Norman C. The Book of Job. Phila-
and fifty-nine sermons on Job, emphasizing the theme of di-
delphia, 1985. An insightful commentary that emphasizes
vine providence.
the literary features of Job, especially the legal metaphor.
Keel, Othmar. Jahwes Entgegnung an Ijob. Göttingen, Ger-
The poetry of Job attracted considerable attention dur-
many, 1978. An innovative use of ancient Near Eastern ico-
ing the Romantic period, as Job became a prime example of
nography to illuminate the imagery of the divine speeches.
the expression of the sublime in the writings of Robert
Newsom, Carol A. The Book of Job: A Contest of Imaginations.
Lowth (1710–1787; Bishop of London1777–1787), Johann
New York, 2003. A reading of Job in light of Bakhtinian
Gottfried von Herder (1744–1803), and Edmund Burke
dialogism. Newsom, Carol A., and Susan E. Schreiner. “Job,
Book of.” In Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, edited by
(1729–1797). The most important Romantic interpretation
John H. Hayes, pp. 587–599. Nashville, Tenn., 1999. His-
of Job, however, is William Blake’s series of illustrations,
tory of interpretation, focusing on Christian sources. Exten-
made around 1823, in which Job becomes an example of the
sive bibliography. Oberhänsli-Widmer, Gabrielle, Hiob in
cleansing of “the doors of perception,” as he moves from mis-
jüdischer Antike und Moderne: Die Wirkungsgeschichte Hiobs
perception to true vision of God. In the early twentieth cen-
in der jüdischen Literatur. Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany,
tury, Rudolf Otto (The Idea of the Holy) claimed Job’s en-
2003. The most comprehensive study of Job in Jewish tradi-
counter with God as a primary example of the experience of
tion. Terrien, Samuel. The Iconography of Job Through the
the holy. In the later twentieth century the figure of Job was
Centuries: Artists as Biblical Interpreters. University Park, Pa.,
invoked to exemplify psychological development (Carl Jung,
1996. An exceptionally valuable collection of materials.
Answer to Job); psychological illness (Jack Kahn, Job’s Illness);
Wright, Andrew S. Blake’s Job: A Commentary. Oxford,
1972. Important analysis of the illustrations by William
absurdist existentialism (Robert Frost, “A Masque of Rea-
Blake. Zuckerman, Bruce. Job the Silent: A Study in Historical
son”; implicitly, Franz Kafka, The Trial); post-religious hu-
Counterpoint. New York, 1991. Interpretation of the growth
manism (Archibald MacLeish, “J.B.”); and the radical evil of
of the book of Job as a series of “misreadings,” analogous to
the Shoah (Elie Wiesel, The Trial of God). In theological crit-
the documented misinterpretation of a Yiddish story.
icism Job has been critiqued as exemplifying the “evils of the-
odicy” (Terrence Tilley, The Evils of Theodicy), and from a
CAROL A. NEWSOM (2005)
liberationist perspective as an example of “how to speak
about God” (Gustavo Gutiérrez, On Job: God-Talk and the
Suffering of the Innocent). René Girard (Job, the Victim of His
JO
¯ DO SHINSHU¯. The Jo¯do Shinshu¯, or True Pure
People) interprets Job as a type of scapegoat. Feminist cri-
Land sect, is a school of Japanese Buddhism that takes as its
tique has rehabilitated the maligned figure of Job’s wife
central religious message the assurance of salvation granted
(Ilana Pardes, Countertraditions in the Bible: A Feminist Ap-
to all beings by the Buddha Amida (Skt., Amita¯bha). Its
proach), and postmodernists have been drawn to the “self-
founder, Shinran (1173–1263), a disciple of the eminent
consuming” structure of the internal contradictions of the
Japanese monk Ho¯nen (1133–1212), founder of the
Book of Job (Edward Good; David Clines; and Dermot Cox),
Jo¯doshu¯ (Pure Land sect), stands in a line of Buddhist think-
or they have interpreted the book as modeling a dialogic play
ers who emphasize faith in the salvific power of Amita¯bha
of voices in which no single character or perspective controls
and the hope of rebirth in his Pure Land, a paradisical realm
the meaning of the book. The richness and ambiguity of the
created out of the boundless religious merit generated by
book ensure that it will continue to be a provocative work
Amita¯bha’s fulfillment of a series of vows taken eons ago
that defies definitive interpretation.
while still the bodhisattva Dharma¯kara. Jo¯do Shinshu¯, or
Shinshu¯ as it is often called, is but one of a number of “Pure
SEE ALSO Resurrection; Satan; Suffering; Theodicy.
Land” traditions in East Asia, and is today the largest of the
denominations of Japanese Buddhism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baskin, Judith R. Pharaoh’s Counsellors: Job, Jethro, and Balaam
Pure Land devotionalism is a perennial element in both
in Rabbinic and Patristic Tradition. Chico, Calif., 1983. An
Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. Beginning nominally with
important comparative study of Jewish and Christian inter-
the visualization cult of Amita¯bha inaugurated in the year
pretation. Besserman, Lawrence L. The Legend of Job in the
403 by the Chinese monk Huiyuan, Pure Land practices
Middle Ages. Cambridge, Mass., 1979. Clines, David J. A.
have served as adjuncts to the teachings of a variety of East
Job 1–20. Waco, Tex., 1989. The best and most comprehen-
Asian Buddhist traditions and, from the sixth century, as the
sive commentary. Contains an extensive bibliography. Job
foundation of several religious movements devoted more or
21–42 is to be published in 2005. Clines, David J. A. What
less exclusively to the worship of Amita¯bha. These move-
Does Eve Do to Help? And Other Readerly Questions to the Old
Testament. Sheffield, England, 1990. Cox, Dermot. The Tri-
ments combine faith in the power of Amita¯bha with the
umph of Impotence: Job and the Tradition of the Absurd.
practice of the Nembutsu, which various schools interpret in
Rome, 1978. Fohrer, Georg. Das Buch Hiob. Gütersloh,
differing ways but that in general consists now of the formu-
Germany, 1963. Insightful exegetical commentary. Good,
laic recitation of the name of Amita¯bha. Although standing
Edward M. In Turns of Tempest: A Reading of Job with a
firmly within the Pure Land tradition of its Chinese and Jap-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JO
¯ DO SHINSHU¯
4934
anese antecedents, Jo¯do Shinshu¯ is conspicuous in the inter-
The year 1211 saw Shinran officially pardoned. There-
pretation it gives to Nembutsu practice and to the assurances
after, he lived with his family in the Kanto region, where he
of salvation found in the vows of Amita¯bha.
began proselytizing his new understanding of Pure Land
T
doctrines. He attracted large numbers of followers—some es-
EXTS. Like all Pure Land traditions, the core texts of the
Shinshu¯ are a cycle of scriptures originating in northwest
timate ten thousand—some of whom were instrumental in
India and, perhaps, Buddhist Central Asia, that detail the
establishing and maintaining Shinshu¯ centers after Shinran’s
spiritual career of Amita¯bha, the glories of Sukha¯vat¯ı (“land
death. During the period between 1235, when he returned
of ease,” i.e., the Pure Land) created by him, the vows he has
to Kyoto, and his death Shinran was most prolific. It was
undertaken for the salvation of all beings, or certain medita-
during this period that he completed and revised the
tive techniques that the devotee can undertake in order to
Kyo¯gyo¯shinsho¯, his most important work on Jo¯do Shinshu¯
visualize Amita¯bha and his Pure Land. Although the texts of
doctrine. In this work Shinran traced the tradition of Pure
the so-called triple Pure Land scripture began as individual
Land teachings by collecting passages from scriptures and
works (the visualization scripture appears of widely different
earlier commentaries, to which he added his own interpreta-
provenance than the other two), the three Pure Land su¯tras
tions. The Kyo¯gyo¯shinsho¯ represents an attempt by Shinran
are considered by the Japanese to preach a wholly consistent
to lend legitimacy and orthodoxy to Shinshu¯ teachings by
religious message. These texts are the Larger Sukha¯vat¯ıvyu¯ha
establishing its affiliation with traditionally accepted authori-
Su¯tra (Jpn., Muryo¯jukyo¯; T.D. no. 363), the Smaller
ties, an attempt necessitated by the virulent criticisms of the
Sukha¯vat¯ıvyu¯ha Su¯tra (Jpn., Amidakyo¯; T.D. no. 366), and
Jo¯doshu¯ by the monks of other Buddhist sects. Other of his
a text no longer extant in Sanskrit, known in Japanese as the
works written during this period were intended to system-
Kanmuryo¯jukyo¯ (T.D. no. 365). The first and second contain
atize his teachings for the guidance of his disciples and to set-
elements of the mythic cycle of Amita¯bha; the third is a med-
tle the numerous small feuds among his followers in the
itation scripture. Also important to Shinshu¯ thought is the
Kanto region.
work of one of the patriarchal figures of Chinese Pure Land
TRUE PURE LAND DOCTRINE. In his religious thought Shin-
Buddhism, the Wangsheng lunzhu (Jpn., O
¯ jo¯ronchu¯;
ran was influenced by Ho¯nen’s division of Buddhist practices
T.D. no. 1819) of Tanluan (c. 488–c. 554). This text was
into two paths leading to enlightenment: the sho¯do¯mon
held in great esteem by Shinran, who relied upon it in the
(“path of sages”), that is, the difficult path wherein enlight-
composition of the founding document of the Jo¯do Shinshu¯,
enment is dependent on the individual’s “own power” (jiriki)
the Kyo¯gyo¯shinsho¯ (Teaching, practice, faith, and enlighten-
and capability to adhere to the monastic precepts and to en-
ment).
gage in arduous meditative practices and study; and the
jo¯domon (“path of Pure Land”), or the easy path in which
SHINRAN. At the age of nine Shinran began his formal Bud-
one depends on “other power” (tariki), namely, the salvific
dhist training at the Tendai center on Mount Hiei. He re-
power of Amida. Like Ho¯nen, Shinran held that during
mained there as a monk in the Jo¯gyo¯zammaido¯ for almost
mappo¯ (the “latter days of the Law”; i.e., an age of widespread
twenty years. At the age of twenty-nine, unable to attain
degeneration and decadence) traditional Buddhist practices
peace of mind, Shinran decided to leave Hiei for Kyoto,
were all but useless for the attainment of enlightenment. In
where he became a disciple of Ho¯nen (1201). Despite, or
such an age, he claimed, faith in Amida and in the truth of
perhaps owing to, the popularity of Nembutsu practices
his “original vow” (hongan) to save all sentient beings was the
among the common people, monks from the established, tra-
only path to salvation and rebirth in the Pure Land. As op-
ditional Buddhist sects began to denounce and censure
posed to earlier forms of Buddhist practice, which uphold
Ho¯nen’s Jo¯doshu¯ doctrines. This, coupled with certain im-
the path of wisdom (prajña¯), meditation (dhya¯na), and disci-
proprieties of several of Ho¯nen’s disciples, led to the official
plined austerities (´s¯ıla), and are based on unlimited self-
prohibition of Nembutsu Buddhism and the banishment of
reliance, Pure Land practices provide a way to salvation in
Ho¯nen and his main disciples from Kyoto. Shinran was de-
the face of the ineffectiveness of self-effort.
frocked and exiled to Echigo (in present-day Niigata prefec-
ture) in 1207. During his years in exile Shinran lived as a lay-
Struck by the very limitations of human capabilities and
man—he took the humble name Gutoku (“old fool”),
the inherent sinfulness of human nature, Shinran took
married, and raised a family. It was this experience that led
Ho¯nen’s advocacy of faith in Amida to an even greater de-
Shinran to realize that enlightenment and rebirth in the Pure
gree. While Ho¯nen held that the individual must “choose”
Land were not contingent on adherence to the monastic pre-
to have faith in Amida and that this choice must be continu-
cepts, the study of scriptures and doctrine, or the severance
ally reaffirmed through repeated invocations of the Nembut-
of worldly ties. Shinran used his own experience as a model
su, Shinran argued that it was Amida who chose to save all
for the religious life, holding that salvation could be attained
humans. According to Shinran, what effectuates Amida’s
in this world and this life in the midst of one’s common,
salvific power is the power of his Original Vow to save all
daily activities. In this way, Shinran extended Ho¯nen’s no-
beings as embodied in the Nembutsu. By participating in
tions of universal salvation and completed Pure Land’s trans-
and allowing oneself to be permeated by this power, one
formation of Buddhism from a “religion of renunciation” to
transcends the world of causal necessity (karman). Implicit
a “household religion.”
in the Pure Land teachings concerning the power of the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JO
¯ DO SHINSHU¯
4935
Original Vow is the belief that, even if the escape from this
the “true” Pure Land teachings, quarreled over the right to
world of sam:´sara (the round of birth and death of unenlight-
use the name Jo¯do Shinshu¯. It was only in relatively recent
ened existence) is possible through inspired insight alone, the
times—in 1872—that this conflict was at last resolved and
ground of the possibility of that insight depends in turn on
the name Jo¯do Shinshu¯ reserved for the groups stemming
something higher or deeper than mere human insight: the
from Shinran. (Naturally, Shinshu¯ adherents regard Ho¯nen
divine power (Skt., adhis:t:hana) of the Buddha. This divine
as a patriarchal figure in his own right in the lineage of Pure
power of the Buddha does not lie merely within his human
Land teachers.) Prior to that date, Jo¯do Shinshu¯ was more
career and character; it transcends his individual personhood,
commonly known as the Ikko¯shu¯ or the Montoshu¯. In the
breaking through the limited framework of time and space
Kanto region, the monto evolved into large local organiza-
to embrace all living beings eternally and without limitation.
tions headed by the most powerful of Shinran’s disciples.
These groups took their names from the territories in which
This interpretation of faith led Shinran to reevaluate
they were located and, for the most part, remained organiza-
Ho¯nen’s use of Nembutsu invocation. Like Ho¯nen, Shinran
tionally unrelated to other such groups.
believed that the only means to apprehend Amida and to par-
ticipate in his Original Vow was to invoke his name. By in-
After Kakushinni’s death her son Kakunyo succeeded to
toning the Nembutsu (“Namu Amida Butsu,” or “Adoration
the directorship of Shinran’s mausoleum. His greatest wish
be to Amida Buddha”), one accumulates boundless stores of
was to consolidate and organize the various regional groups
merit and virtue. The necessary requisite is, of course, faith.
into a unified sect centered around the mausoleum. Toward
Ho¯nen held that repeated invocations of the Nembutsu were
this end, he transformed the mausoleum into a temple, nam-
necessary to build faith and to ensure rebirth in the Pure
ing it the Honganji (Original Vow Temple) and attempted
Land. Shinran, however, argued that one’s practice must
to draw the local monto into the organization as branch tem-
begin with faith. In any single invocation the devotee must
ples. Kakunyo’s efforts mark the establishment of the Jo¯do
direct his thoughts to the origins of that practice, that is, to
Shinshu¯ as a single, centralized organization. In 1332 the
faith in Amida’s Original Vow. As such, the invocation of
Honganji received official recognition as the central temple
the Nembutsu is an expression of gratitude to Amida for
of the Shinshu¯ movement. The government, however, still
being allowed to participate in the salvation promised by his
considered it an affiliate of the Tendai school. Kakunyo’s
vows. Yet Shinran did not deny the value of repeated invoca-
plans met with resistance from the various local groups and
tions, for, although not leading directly to faith, the repeated
movements, particularly in the Kanto. Many leaders began
invocation has the valuable function of awakening one’s
to erect temples and establish their own regionally based
heart to Amida’s existence. In this way, Nembutsu practice
sects. As a result, numerous subsects of Jo¯do Shinshu¯ were
and faith come to be two sides of the same coin, with
founded throughout the country.
Shinshu¯ emphasizing the moment of salvation and Jo¯doshu¯
stressing the process of arriving there.
Although the Honganji continued to thrive, it was not
without its problems. In 1456 the Honganji complex was
INSTITUTIONALIZATION AND SUBSEQUENT HISTORY. After
burned to the ground by Tendai monks from Mount Hiei.
Shinran’s death his tomb became the center of his move-
This was not too serious a setback, for the Honganji had nu-
ment’s religious activities. Ten years later his youngest
merous affiliated congregations and temples throughout the
daughter, Kakushinni, built a mausoleum in the Higashiya-
country. However, the eighth successor to the head of the
ma O
¯ tani area east of Kyoto in which she enshrined an image
temple, Rennyo (1415–1499), was forced to move and ulti-
of Shinran and his ashes. In presenting the mausoleum and
mately established Shinshu¯ headquarters in the Yamashina
its grounds to her father’s disciples, Kakushinni stipulated
district of Kyoto. In the interim, Rennyo’s determination to
that the maintenance of the temple and the direction of the
sever all ties with Tendai—he destroyed Tendai scriptures,
religious services held there were to be provided by
scrolls, and images in his temples—and his plans to expand
Kakushinni and her descendants in perpetuity. While this
and strengthen the Shinshu¯ organization aroused the anger
marked the origin of the unique Jo¯do Shinshu¯ practice of he-
of various Buddhist sects and local feudal lords (daimyo¯). The
reditary succession, at the time it was not interpreted by
numerous attacks suffered by Rennyo and his followers at the
Shinran’s disciples as a move toward increasing authoritarian
hands of these detractors, led them to form an alliance with
control over the movement. During this period the move-
local peasants and samurai. During the O
¯ nin War such
ment had still not been formally organized into a sect with
groups led armed uprisings known as ikko¯ ikki in an effort
a central temple under a single leader. Shinran himself had
to protect their land holdings from the powerful daimyo. It
preferred to establish small, informal meeting places (do¯jo¯)
was during this period that Jo¯do Shinshu¯ gained widespread
in the homes of his disciples, around which communities of
acceptance and popularity among the masses. The success of
followers (monto) could gather. Indeed, Shinran had no in-
his armed uprisings acquired for Rennyo the title “saint of
tention of becoming the founder of a new sect or religion.
the restoration of the Honganji.”
He considered himself the true successor to Ho¯nen’s teach-
ing and continued to think of his movement as part of the
The attacks against Shinshu¯ followers continued
Jo¯doshu¯. For this reason, there was a time when the disciples
throughout the Muromachi period. When the Honganji was
of Ho¯nen and those of Shinran, both claiming to represent
again burned, this time by Nichiren monks, the tenth succes-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JO
¯ DO SHINSHU¯
4936
sor, Sho¯nyo¯, rebuilt the temple in the Ishiyama district of
(New York, 1970). Shinshu¯ ideas presented in these works
Osaka. It was under Sho¯nyo¯’s leadership that membership
are skewed somewhat by Suzuki’s own idiosyncratic interpre-
in Shinshu¯ began to spread beyond the peasant masses. The
tation of Pure Land doctrine. His earlier work in Japanese,
daimyo, recognizing both the potential of the armed peasant
Jo¯dokei shiso¯ron (Kyoto, 1948), presents an easily under-
uprisings and the power of their affiliation with Shinshu¯,
standable account of Jo¯do Shinshu¯ thought within the larger
began to join the sect. When the eleventh successor to the
Pure Land tradition. English translations of Shinshu¯ scrip-
tures and texts are available in The Shinshu¯ Seiten, 2d rev. ed.,
Honganji, Kennyo, became the abbot of the temple, the sect
edited by Ko¯sho¯ Yamamoto (San Francisco, 1978); in The
was politically and militarily as powerful as any of the major
Kyo¯ Gyo¯ Shin Sho¯, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Ko¯sho¯ Yuka-
aristocratic and military families in Japan. Shinshu¯’s strength
wa, and Thomas R. Okano (Kyoto, 1966); and in the Shin
posed a serious threat to several of the contending military
Buddhism Translation Series (Kyoto, 1978–).
rulers, and in 1570 the powerful daimyo Oda Nobunaga at-
tacked the Honganji. The temple, supported by peasant
Many more sources on the Shinshu¯ are published in Japanese. For
groups, samurai, and local daimyo, was able to ward off No-
example, good accounts of Shinshu¯ history can be found in
Inoue Toshio’s Honganji (Tokyo, 1962); in Shinshu¯shi gaiset-
bunaga’s troops for ten years. In 1580 the Honganji was
su, edited by Akamatsu Toshihide and Kasahara Kazuo
forced to surrender, and Kennyo fled to Kii province. This
(Kyoto, 1963); and in Honganjishi, 3 vols., edited by the
siege marks both the height of Shinshu¯’s power and the be-
Honganji Shiryo¯ Kenkyu¯jo (Kyoto, 1961–1969). A good
ginning of its decline. It also marks the end of the sect’s in-
treatment of the historical evolution of Jo¯do Shinshu¯ can be
volvement in armed peasant uprisings.
found in Akamatsu Toshihide’s Kamakura bukkyo¯ no kenkyu¯
(Kyoto, 1957). Shinshu¯ nempyo¯, edited by O
¯ tani Daigaku
After Kennyo’s death a dispute over succession divided
(Kyoto, 1973), provides a convenient one-volume chronolo-
and further weakened the Honganji. Two branches were
gy of Shinshu¯ history. Hayashima Kyosei’s Ningen no negai:
formed: the Western Honganji (Honpa Honganji), led by
Muryo¯jukyo¯ (Tokyo, 1955) presents a straightforward com-
Kennyo’s second son, Junnyo, and the Eastern Honganji
mentary on the central scripture of Pure Land Buddhism, the
(O
¯ tani Honganji), led by his eldest son, Kyonyo. Both estab-
Daimuryo¯jukyo¯.
lished their temple headquarters in Kyoto. It should be noted
that the establishment of sects within the Jo¯do Shinshu¯, from
The most widely cited collection of Shinshu¯ scriptures and texts
is Shinshu¯ sho¯gyo¯ zensho, 5 vols., 2d rev. ed., edited by the
the earliest divisions during Kakunyo’s leadership until the
Shinshu¯ Sho¯gyo¯ Zensho Hensanjo (Kyoto, 1981–1984).
schism between Kennyo’s sons, were all the result of faction-
Particularly useful commentaries on Shinran’s central work,
al, political, and succession disputes, and personality differ-
the Kyo¯gyo¯shinsho¯, include Yamabe Shu¯kaku and Akanuma
ences. Thus, there are few discernible differences in doctrine
Chizen’s Kyo¯gyo¯shinsho¯ ko¯gi (Kyoto, 1928); Takeuchi Yoshi-
and practice among the various sects.
nori’s Kyo¯gyo¯shinsho¯ no tetsugaku (Tokyo, 1931); and Kaneko
Taiei’s Kyo¯gyo¯shinsho¯ so¯setsu (Kyoto, 1959). Soga Ryojin’s
The major sects of today’s Jo¯do Shinshu¯ religion were
Tannisho¯ cho¯ki (Kyoto, 1961) is an outstanding exposition
established between the latter part of the Kamakura period
on the Tannisho¯. General outlines of Shinshu¯ doctrine are
and the beginning of the Tokugawa. Today there are ten
available in Fugen Daien’s Shinshu¯ gairon (Kyoto, 1950) and
sects, of which the Eastern and Western Honganji sects are
in Shinshu¯ gaiyo, edited by the Kyo¯ka Kenkyu¯jo¯ (Kyoto,
the most influential, each outnumbering the combined
1953). More extensive discussions of Shinshu¯ thought and
membership of all the smaller sects. These smaller sects in-
development are found in Ishida Mitsuyuki’s Shinran
clude the Takada, Bukko¯ji, Sanmonto, Kibe, Yamamoto,
kyo¯gaku no kisoteki kenkyu¯, 2 vols. (Kyoto, 1970–1977).
Kosho¯ji, Joshoji, and Izumoji groups. The practice of hand-
Concerning the religious organization of Jo¯do Shinshu¯, see
ing down the leadership of temples through family lines is
Uehara Senroku and Matsugi Nobuhiko’s Honganji kyo¯dan
upheld by all sects. The leaders of the Honganji sects claim
(Tokyo, 1971). The most detailed reference work on Jo¯do
Shinshu¯ is Shinshu¯ daijiten, 3 vols., edited by Okamura
descent from Shinran, and the leaders of the other sects trace
Shu¯satsu (Kyoto, 1935–1937).
descent to Shinran’s direct disciples. In the post–World War
II era the Honganji sects have undertaken foreign missionary
New Sources
activity, opening temples in Hawaii, North and South Amer-
AmStutz, Galen Dean. Interpreting Amida: History and Oriental-
ica, and elsewhere in countries with large Japanese popula-
ism in the Study of Pure Land Buddhism. Honolulu, 2002.
tions.
Bloom, Alfred. “Shin Buddhism in America: A Social Perspec-
S
tive.” In The Faces of Buddhism in America, edited by Charles
EE ALSO Amita¯bha; Ho
¯nen; Huiyuan; Jingtu; Jo¯doshu¯;
S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka. Berkeley, 1998.
Mappo¯; Nianfo; Pure and Impure Lands; Rennyo; Shinran;
Tanluan; Worship and Devotional Life, article on Buddhist
Dobbins, James C. Buddhism in Medieval Japan. Honolulu, 2002.
Devotional Life in East Asia.
Machida, Soho. Renegade Monk: Honen and Japanese Pure Land
Buddhism. Berkeley, 1999.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The most accessible works in English describing the history and
HASE SHO¯TO¯ (1987)
thought of the Shinshu¯ are D. T. Suzuki’s Collected Writings
Translated from Japanese by Carl Becker
on Shin Buddhism (Kyoto, 1973) and his Shin Buddhism
Revised Bibliography
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JO
¯ DOSHU¯
4937
JO
¯ DOSHU¯. The Jo¯doshu¯, or Pure Land Sect, is a school
Buddhabhadra’s fifth century translation (traditionally attri-
of Japanese Buddhism founded in the twelfth century by the
buted to Sam:ghavarman), the Wuliangshou jing (T.D. no.
monk Ho¯nen (1133–1212), who took as the centerpiece of
363), and the “shorter” Sukha¯vat¯ıvyuha Su¯tra, first translated
his religious teaching sole reliance on the power of the Bud-
into Chinese as the O-mi-t’o-fo ching (T.D. no. 366) by
dha Amida (Skt., Amita¯bha) to save all beings. The Jo¯doshu¯
Kuma¯raj¯ıva (343–409). The Kuan-ching, known in Japanese
was the first of a series of independent Pure Land traditions
as the Kanmuryo¯jukyo¯, and the Larger and Smaller
to flourish in Japan, and continues to this day as a major
Sukha¯vat¯ıvyuha Su¯tras, known as the Muryo¯-jukyo¯ and the
force in the religion and culture of the nation.
Amidakyo¯, respectively, together constitute the “triple Pure
Land scripture,” the core su¯tra literature of the Chinese and
In both China and Japan, Pure Land (Chin., Jingtu;
Japanese Pure Land traditions.
Jpn., jo¯do) practices and doctrines existed both as adjuncts
to the teachings of most Buddhist sects and as independent
The teachings of the Jo¯do sect (and of its sister school,
traditions in their own right. Pure Land devotion empha-
the Jo¯do Shinshu¯) also draw their inspiration from the
sized faith in the salvific power of Amida, the desirability of
Sukha¯vat¯ıvyuhopade´sa* (Chin., Wuliangshou jing yu-p’o-t’i-
attaining rebirth in his Pure Land, Sukha¯vat¯ı (“land of
che yüan-sheng chi; T.D. no. 1524), a collection of hymns
bliss”), and the efficacy of nembutsu practices (i.e., the recita-
(ga¯tha¯), with autocommentary, on Pure Land topics by the
tion of the name of, or meditation on, Amida Buddha) for
eminent Indian a¯ca¯rya Vasubandhu. The O
¯ jo¯ron, as this text
attaining salvation. For the precursors of the Jo¯doshu¯, in-
was known in Japan, was usually read in conjunction with
cluding Eiku¯, Ryo¯nin, and Genshin (942–1017), nembutsu
the Wang-sheng lun-chu (Jpn., O
¯ jo¯ronchu¯; T. D. no. 1819),
meditation (Jpn., nembutsu zammai) involved the invocation
a commentary on Vasubandhu’s work by the Chinese Pure
of Amida’s name while visualizing his body and circumam-
Land thinker Tanluan (476–542). Tanluan’s commentary
bulating his image. Some, like Genshin, also advocated the
opens with reference to an “easy path to salvation” (Jpn.,
practice of invoking Amida’s name while engaging in the ac-
igyo¯do¯) suitable to an era of the “five corruptions.” This doc-
companying meditative exercise. While nembutsu meditation
trine of an “easy path,” worship of the Buddha rather than
and invocation (although the latter was considered an inferi-
the more traditional practices of mental cultivation, Tanluan
or practice) were practiced by many monks of the Tendai
attributes to Na¯ga¯rjuna, the Ma¯dhyamika thinker and al-
sect, they were regarded at best as complements to other es-
leged author of a treatise on Pure Land.
tablished practices. It was not until the Kamakura period
(1185–1333), when Ho¯nen founded the Jo¯doshu¯, that the
THE LIFE AND THOUGHT OF HO¯NEN. Ho¯nen began his for-
invocation of the Nembutsu (here conceived as the formulaic
mal Buddhist training at the Tendai center on Mount Hiei,
recitation of the name of Amida) became the sole practice
where he was ordained at the age of fourteen. Three years
advocated by a sect as the superior method of attaining
later, discouraged by the decadent and somewhat militaristic
salvation.
behavior of his fellow monks, Ho¯nen went to Kurodani to
study under Eiku¯, a charismatic proponent of Pure Land de-
BASIC TEXTS. Pure Land practices are founded upon a cycle
votion. For the next twenty-five years Ho¯nen studied Pure
of texts that emphasize either a technique of visualizing
Land texts and practiced nembutsu zammai as advocated by
Amita¯bha and his Pure Land or that outline Amita¯bha’s spir-
Eiku¯, in accordance with Genshin’s O
¯ jo¯yo¯shu¯ (Essentials of
itual career, his vows to create a haven for suffering sentient
Pure Land rebirth). During this period Ho¯nen also studied
beings, and the methods for winning rebirth there. A scrip-
the doctrines, scriptures, and practices of the six Buddhist
ture of the first type, the Pratyutpannasama¯dhi Su¯tra, was
sects of the Nara period, Shingon (Vajraya¯na), and Zen.
translated into Chinese as early as 179 CE and became the
Ho¯nen became convinced that Japan had entered the age,
basis for the early Chinese worship of Amita¯bha on Mount
foretold in scripture, of mappo¯ (the “latter days of the Law”),
Lu under the direction of the famous literatus-monk Huiy-
a period when Buddhist teachings had so degenerated that
uan (334–416). By the fifth century another “meditation”
the attainment of salvation by one’s own efforts was deemed
scripture, the Kuan wu-liang-shou-fo ching (Skt.,
all but impossible. In 1175, while reading the great Chinese
Amita¯yurdhya¯na Su¯tra*; T.D. no. 365) was also available in
Pure Land master Shandao’s commentary on the
Chinese. Unlike the aforementioned Pratyutpanna Su¯tra,
Kanmuryo¯jukyo¯, Ho¯nen had a realization that the only path
which has as its aim the bringing into one’s presence in medi-
to salvation was to declare one’s absolute faith in Amida’s
tation the “Buddhas of the ten directions,” this text was de-
vow to save all sentient beings and to engage in “single-
voted exclusively to meditation on Amita¯bha and his Pure
practice nembutsu” (senju nembutsu), which for Ho¯nen
Land. Techniques advocated in both of these texts were in-
meant placing sole reliance on the invocation of Amida Bud-
troduced to Japan principally through the Tiantai (Jpn.,
dha’s name as a means to salvation. That year Ho¯nen left
Tendai) system of meditation formulated by the Chinese
Kurodani for Kyoto, where he began to disseminate his
monk Zhiyi (538–597). The scriptures of the latter type,
teachings. This move marks the founding of Jo¯doshu¯.
those having to do with Amita¯bha’s spiritual career and the
glories of Pure Land, are two in number: the “larger”
In 1197 at the request of the prime minister, Kujo
Sukha¯vat¯ıvyuha Su¯tra, translated as many as five times into
Kanezane (1149–1207), Ho¯nen wrote his influential
Chinese but known best to the Pure Land schools through
Senchaku hongan nembutsushu¯ (Collection of passages on the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JO
¯ DOSHU¯
4938
original vow of Amida in which Nembutsu is chosen above
EARLY SCHISMS. After Ho¯nen’s death his disciples were
all). This work establishes Ho¯nen’s essential teachings as the
unanimous in calling for faith in Amida’s vow and in pro-
foundation of the Jo¯do sect. Following Daochuo (562–645),
moting the invocation of the Nembutsu as a valuable prac-
another Chinese Pure Land master, Ho¯nen divided Buddhist
tice for attaining rebirth in the Pure Land. However, they
teachings into two paths, the sho¯do¯mon (“gate of the sages”)
were left to grapple with many of the doctrinal and method-
and the jo¯domon (“gate of Pure Land”). Because it advocates
ological issues that remained ambiguous in Ho¯nen’s writings
reliance on one’s own power and capabilities (jiriki) to attain
and in his way of life. As the debate over the correct interpre-
salvation, Ho¯nen characterized the sho¯do¯mon as the more dif-
tation of Self Power heightened, Ho¯nen’s disciples became
ficult path. He argued that during mappo¯ few people were
divided into two groups: those who moved toward the purest
able to attain rebirth in the Pure Land through the arduous
form of senju nembutsu, some of whom held that ichinen (“a
practices of traditional Buddhism (e.g., adherence to the
single invocation”) was sufficient for salvation, and those
Vinaya, meditation, and study). Instead, he considered the
who compromised with other Buddhist sects, advocating the
Jo¯domon as the easy path to salvation. Owing to its complete
use of a variety of practices in conjunction with the Nembut-
reliance on “other power” (tariki; i.e., dependence on
su. Bencho¯ (1162–1238), considered the most orthodox of
Amida’s saving grace), the Jo¯domon is open to all people,
Ho¯nen’s disciples, and Sho¯ku¯ (1177–1247), who had helped
masses and aristocracy alike. Ho¯nen argued that to be saved
compile the Senchaku hongan nembutsushu¯, both stressed the
one need only make the “choice” (senchaku) to place absolute
importance of repeated invocations of the Nembutsu, but
faith and trust in Amida’s vow. In discussing Other Power
disagreed on the value they accorded of other practices. The
and Self Power Ho¯nen agreed with Tanluan, who asserted
subsect founded by Bencho¯, the Chinzei-ha, advocated senju
that during this degenerate era reliance on Other Power is
nembutsu and became the main school of Pure Land. Today,
the easy but nevertheless superior path to salvation. Howev-
the Chinzei-ha is synonymous with Jo¯doshu¯. Sho¯ku¯, on the
er, he disagreed with Tanluan’s characterization of diverse
other hand, in incorporating elements of Tendai and Esoter-
Buddhist practices as reliance on Other Power. For Ho¯nen,
ic Buddhism into his practice, argued that he was merely fol-
the only practice representing faith in Amida’s grace was the
lowing the example of Ho¯nen, who engaged in meditative
invocation of Amida’s name.
and ceremonial practices throughout his life. Because Sho¯ku¯
was not an advocate of senju nembutsu, his sect, the Seizan-
In addition to outlining these larger doctrinal issues,
ha, was instrumental in gaining acceptance of Pure Land
Ho¯nen discussed the need to repeat the invocation over a
doctrines among other Buddhist schools.
prolonged period of time. Constant repetition of the Nem-
butsu, he held, ensures the continual purification of one’s
The debate among the second group of disciples cen-
mind and body and the dissolution of doubt. Moreover, it
tered on the question of the relative value of one invocation
leads to a moment of awakening (satori) in this lifetime and,
of the Nembutsu, performed with absolute faith and sinceri-
eventually, to rebirth in the Pure Land. To those detractors
ty, over and against repeated and continual recitation.
who argued that repeated recitations signified reliance on
Ryu¯kan (1148–1227), founder of the Cho¯rakuji subsect, ar-
Self Power Ho¯nen answered that the necessary requisite of
gued that prolonged recitation was required as a prelude to
each invocation was the proper concentration and sincerity
salvation, which was attained only at the time of death. Dur-
of the mind that comes only from absolute faith in Amida’s
ing the fifteenth century his sect was absorbed into the Jishu¯.
salvific power. However, he never fully explicated the rela-
Ko¯sai (1163–1247), founder of the Ichinengi sect, was per-
tion between faith, the Nembutsu, and Other Power.
haps the most controversial of Ho¯nen’s disciples. Ko¯sai held
that the continual invocation of the Nembutsu was futile
Because of its appeal to members of all social classes,
since salvation was attained in one moment only, that is, that
Ho¯nen’s school soon gained widespread popularity. The
rebirth in the Pure Land was assured at any moment that the
monks of the established Buddhist sects, threatened by this
Nembutsu was chanted. Because many of Ko¯sai’s followers
popularity, sent a petition to the government charging the
were accused of excessively amoral conduct the sect did not
monks of the Jo¯do sect with breaking the Vinaya precepts.
enjoy the favor of other Buddhist sects. After Ko¯sai’s death
In 1204 Ho¯nen, along with his main disciples, was com-
the school declined and many of his followers became mem-
pelled to compose and sign a seven-article pledge that would
bers of Shinran’s Jo¯do Shinshu¯ (True Pure Land sect).
act as a guideline for his conduct. This quieted his enemies
until 1205, when another petition was presented to the re-
Another form of Pure Land devotion to develop during
tired emperor, Go Toba, calling for the prohibition of senju
the Kamakura period is best exemplified by Ippen (1239–
nembutsu. In 1206 the situation was further aggravated when
1289), founder of the Jishu¯ (Time Sect). Ippen began his
two of Ho¯nen’s disciples were accused of attracting the atten-
Pure Land training at the age of fourteen when he went to
tion of two court ladies while the emperor was absent from
Daizaifu to study under the Seizan-ha teacher Sho¯tatsu. Ac-
Kyoto. The emperor thereupon banned the teachings of the
cording to legend, while visiting the Kumano shrine in 1276
Jo¯do sect and exiled Ho¯nen and most of his main disciples.
Ippen had a divine revelation in which a kami told him that
Five years later Ho¯nen was pardoned and returned to Kyoto,
it is Amida’s enlightenment that determines humankind’s
where he died in 1212.
salvation and that an individual’s faith was, therefore, incon-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JO
¯ DOSHU¯
4939
sequential. Thereafter, Ippen traveled through the country,
state religion, and neo-Confucianism continued to hold
handing out nembutsu tablets and performing nembutsu
strong influence over the state ideology. Without the revital-
dances, obtaining for himself the name Yugyo¯ Sho¯nin
ization and modernization of its doctrines and practices, the
(“wandering sage”). Believing that Amida existed every-
very survival of Buddhism was threatened. Two trends that
where, Ippen’s disciples did not associate themselves with a
developed in the Jo¯do sect during the Meiji period still con-
particular temple but rather followed Ippen’s example by
tinue to exert an influence on Pure Land practice today. The
wandering through the countryside. For Ippen, the name
first stressed the attainment of salvation through the personal
Jishu¯ implied that the practice (i.e., the Nembutsu) accorded
religious experience of Nembutsu practice. A representative
with the age (the “time”), that is, that the Nembutsu was the
of this position was Yamazaki Bennei (1859–1920), founder
only appropriate practice in an age of mappo¯; for his follow-
of the Ko¯myo¯kai, who advocated intensive recitation of
ers, however, it came to mean that Nembutsu was to be
Nembutsu to attain an awakening in this very life. The mem-
chanted at all time and in all places. From its inception, the
bers of his sect gather to invoke the Nembutsu continually
Jishu¯ was an independent tradition, doctrinally related to,
for a few days at a time. Owing to its promise of salvation
but unaffiliated with, the Seizan-ha.
in this world and during this lifetime, Ko¯myo¯kai practices
Brief mention should be made of Shinran (1173–1263),
became popular among adherents of Jo¯doshu¯. However, be-
founder of the Jo¯do Shinshu¯, who considered himself the
cause it demanded that members devote extended periods of
true successor to Ho¯nen’s teachings. Shinran, however, re-
time to their practice, the movement proved ultimately not
jected the Vinaya precepts (the code of monastic discipline),
suited to the lives of most lay people. The second trend em-
which the Jo¯do sect had retained. Declaring himself “neither
phasized that salvation is attained through social action.
monk nor layman” he set an example for his disciples by mar-
Shiio Benkyo¯ (1876–1971), founder of Kyo¯seikai and a lead-
rying, eating meat, and otherwise living as a layman. While
ing scholar of Buddhism, advocated purification and salva-
Shinran held that faith in Amida was an essential requisite
tion of the entire world rather than the individual’s rebirth
for salvation, he also argued that such faith could not be as-
in the Pure Land. The members of this movement place little
cribed to the individual’s will but was entirely a result of
emphasis on personal religious experience and instead partic-
Amida’s grace as demonstrated by his vow to save all sentient
ipate in social work and welfare activities.
beings. Unlike Ho¯nen, who claimed that one must make the
In the 1980s the total number of Jo¯doshu¯ temples and
“choice” to believe in Amida, Shinran was emphatic in stat-
nuneries was approximately seven thousand. The Jo¯doshu¯
ing that it is Amida who “chooses” all beings to be saved.
supports two Buddhist universities, many women’s colleges
Today, the Jo¯do Shinshu¯ is the largest Buddhist sect in
and high schools, and has established numerous houses for
Japan.
the aged and orphaned.
THE TOKUGAWA, MEIJI, AND MODERN ERAS. During the
SEE ALSO Amita¯bha; Bencho¯; Buddhist Meditation; Gen-
Tokugawa period (1600–1868) Buddhism was particularly
shin; Ho¯nen; Huiyuan; Ippen; Jingtu; Jo¯do Shinshu¯;
favored by the shoguns, who wished to minimize the influ-
Mappo¯; Na¯ga¯rjuna; Nianfo; Pure and Impure Lands; Shan-
ence of Christian missionaries. The Tokugawa rulers made
dao; Shinran; Suzuki Sho¯san; Tanluan; Worship and Devo-
Buddhism an integral part of the government organization,
tional Life, article on Buddhist Devotional Life in East Asia;
lavishly supporting the monks and temples of the established
Zhiyi.
Buddhist sects. But the government also controlled ordina-
tions, temple administration, and other activities, and pro-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
hibited sectarianism and factionalism. Thus, despite govern-
Works in Japanese
ment patronage, Buddhism became spiritually stagnant.
Chionin Jo¯do Shu¯gaku Kenkyu¯jo, eds. Jo¯doshu¯ no oshie: reki-shi,
Within this context, the Jo¯doshu¯ was the personal favorite
shiso¯, kadai. Tokyo, 1974.
of the shoguns; the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was a
Chionin Jo¯do Shu¯gaku Kenkyu¯jo, eds. Ho¯nen bukkyo¯ no kenkyu¯.
devotee of Jo¯doshu¯, and his successors followed his example.
Tokyo, 1975.
The monks of the sect, however, indulged in this patronage
Fujiyoshi Jikai. Jo¯dokyo¯ shiso¯ no kenkyu¯. Kyoto, 1983.
and gradually became more corrupt and devoid of spiritual
Fujiyoshi Jikai, ed. Jo¯dokyo¯ ni okeru shu¯kyo¯ taiken. Kyoto, 1979.
depth. Among the few who attempted to infuse new life into
Hattori Eijun. Jo¯dokyo¯ shiso¯ron. Tokyo, 1974.
the Jo¯doshu¯ was Suzuki Sho¯san (1579–1655), a practitioner
Katsuki Jo¯ko¯. Ho¯nen jo¯dokyo¯ no shiso¯ to rekishi. Tokyo, 1974.
of both Nembutsu and Zen. He combined Pure Land devo-
Katsuki Jo¯ko¯, ed. Jo¯doshu¯ kaisoku no kenkyu¯. Kyoto, 1970.
tion and Zen notions of the value of work, teaching farmers
Takahashi Ko¯ji. Ho¯nen jo¯dokyo¯ no shomondai. Tokyo, 1978.
that by reciting the Nembutsu while working in their fields
Tamura Encho¯. Ho¯nen Sho¯nin den no kenkyu¯. Kyoto, 1972.
they could sever their ties to earthly passions and ensure their
Todo Kyo¯shun. Ho¯nen Sho¯nin kenkyu¯. Tokyo, 1983.
attainment of the final awakening. Suzuki firmly believed
Tsuboi Shunei. Ho¯nen jo¯dokyo¯ no kenkyu¯. Tokyo, 1982.
that only by practicing in one’s workplace could one attain
salvation.
Works in English
Coates, Harper H., and Ishizuka Ryu¯gaku. Ho¯nen, the Buddhist
The Meiji era (1868–1912) saw a reversal in the govern-
Saint. 5 vols. Kyoto, 1949. An introduction to Ho¯nen’s life
ment’s attitude toward Buddhism. Shinto¯ was adopted as the
and thought.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4940
JOHANAN BAR NAPPAHA
Cowell, E. B., et al., eds. Buddhist Mahâyâna Texts (1894). Sacred
ernment of Caliph Walid (r. 705–715). He left public service
Books of the East, vol. 49. Reprint, New York, 1969. In-
just before, or shortly after, the outbreak of the Iconoclastic
cludes English translations of the Pure Land scriptures.
Controversy to become a monk in the famous Monastery of
New Sources
Saint Sava outside Jerusalem. He was ordained a priest by
Amstutz, Galen. Interpreting Amida: History and Orientalism in the
John V, patriarch of Jerusalem (r. 706–735). John Dama-
Study of Pure Land Buddhism. Albany, 1997.
scene left a rich legacy of writings reflecting the theology and
Blum, Mark Laurence. The Origins and Development of Pure Land
religious tradition of Eastern Christianity and the spiritual
Buddhism: A Study and Translation of Gyo¯nen’s ‘Jo¯do Ho¯mon
tradition of the Greek fathers.
Genrusho¯.’ New York, 2002.
John was a prolific writer, who, though completely
Hasegawa Masatoshi. Kinsei no nenbutsu hijiri Muno¯ to minshu¯.
faithful to the Eastern church and its theological tradition,
Tokyo, 2003.
also evinced significant theological creativity. Several of his
Ito¯ Yuishin. Jo¯doshu¯-shi no kenkyu¯. Kyoto, 1996.
earlier writings were revised and enlarged after their original
Kleine, Christoph. Ho¯nens Buddhismus des Reinen Landes: Refirnm
publication. John’s works reflect his broad educational back-
Reformation oder Ha¯resie? Frankfurt am Main, 1996.
ground and cover numerous areas of concern.
Machida, So¯ho¯. Renegade Monk: Ho¯nen and Japanese Pure Land
Buddhism. Berkeley, 1999.
He wrote a number of exegetical works on the Old and
New Testaments. Among the better known of these are a
Noda Hideo. Meiji jo¯doshu¯shi no kenkyu¯. Kyoto, 2003.
shortened version of Chrysostom’s commentaries on the let-
Payne, Richard K., and Kenneth K. Tanaka. Approaching the Land
ters of Paul, to which he added some of his own observations.
of Bliss: Religious Praxis in the Cult of Amitabha. Honolulu,
In the same manner he published an epitome of the sermons
2004.
on the Hexaemeron attributed to Chrysostom but written by
Sakazume, Itsuko. Asobi to kyo¯gai: Ho¯nen to Shinran. Tokyo,
Severian of Gabala (c. 400).
1990.
Terauchi Daikichi. Ho¯nen sanka: ikiru tame no nenbutsu. Tokyo,
John’s major theological production was in the area of
2000.
doctrinal writings: his most important work is Pege gnoseos
Unno, Taitetsu. River of Fire, River of Water: An Introduction to
(Fount of Knowledge). This work has been translated into
the Pure Land Tradition of Shin Buddhism. New York, 1998.
many languages and is the foundation of his reputation as
a theologian and dogmatician. The work, divided into three
FUJIYOSHI JIKAI (1987)
Revised Bibliography
parts, appears to have been revised several times, which ex-
plains why at least two dates for its composition are recorded,
728 and 743. Each of the parts is found in three versions,
JOHANAN BAR NAPPAHA
of differing length, indicating that they were written inde-
SEE YOH:ANAN
pendently and at different times, revised, and subsequently
BAR NAPPAH:A’
gathered together into the unified work.
The first part of Fount of Knowledge consists of a treat-
JOHANAN BAR ZAKKAI SEE YOH:ANAN BEN
ment of general knowledge (the philosophical and physical
ZAKK’AI
sciences of his day) as an introduction to theology. Based pri-
marily on Aristotle, this portion of the work is theologically
important because of its holistic perspective. The method
used is definitional, by which major terms are defined in
JOHN OF DAMASCUS, also known as John Dama-
brief sections or chapters, in two areas: theoretical (theology,
scene, was an eighth-century Christian saint, church father,
physics, and mathematics), and practical (ethics, economics,
monastic, theologian, author, and poet. Little is known with
and politics).
certitude about John’s life. The dates of both his birth and
his death are disputed, as are the number of years that he
The second part of Fount of Knowledge deals with here-
lived. A conservative assessment of the evidence indicates
sies, or various false teachings, from the perspective of ortho-
that he was probably born about 679 and died at the age of
dox Christianity. In large part it is a compilation and elucida-
seventy in 749. It is generally accepted that he was born into
tion of other antiheretical writings, but the three chapters on
a Greek-speaking Syrian family of Damascus, known as
Islam, Iconoclasm, and the aposchistai (wandering monks
Mansour (“victorious,” or, “redeemed”). His father, Sergius,
who rejected all sacraments), were written as new material
held the high position of logothetes in the Muslim caliphate
by John. Additional chapters were added subsequently by
at the end of the seventh century. John enjoyed a full course
others.
of instruction as a youth, including mathematics, geometry,
The most important part of this work is the third, an
music, astronomy, rhetoric, logic, philosophy (Plato and Ar-
outline of orthodox theology (Ekthesis orthodoxou pisteos)
istotle), and theology.
consisting of 100 short chapters. In chapters 1–14 the doc-
Following the death of his father, John assumed an eco-
trine of God is discussed; cosmology follows in chapters
nomic administrative position (protosumboulos) in the gov-
15–44 dealing with angelology, demonology, good and evil,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JOHN OF THE CROSS
4941
the created world, and anthropology; Christology and soteri-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ology are discussed in chapters 45–73; and the last chapters
Texts and Translations
deal with a variety of topics including Mariology, icons, self-
Barlaam and Iosaph. Edited by Harold Mattingly; translated by
determination (autexousion), faith, and the saints. The theo-
G. R. Woodward. Loeb Classical Library, vol. 34. Cam-
logical tenor of this work is basically Cappadocian, with per-
bridge, Mass., 1937.
spectives from other theological streams of thought such as
Homélies sur la Nativité et la Dormition. Introduction, French
those derived from Dionysius the Areopagite, Chrysostom,
translation, and notes by Pierre Voulet. Paris, 1961.
Athanasius, and Maximos the Confessor.
On the Divine Images: Three Apologies against Those Who Attack the
Holy Images. Translated by David Anderson. Crestwood,
A number of John’s polemical works are doctrinal in
N.Y., 1980. A readable translation.
character. Among these are Concerning Faith against the Nes-
Opera omnia quae exstant. Edited by Michel Lequien. Paris, 1712.
torians, several works against monophysitism, Against the Jac-
Reproduced in Patrologia Graeca, edited by J.-P. Migne, vol.
obites, and a work concerning the Trisagion Hymn, in which
94. Paris, 1860. The standard received text.
he opposes a purely Christological reference to this popular
Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos. 4 vols. Edited by P. Boni-
and liturgical hymn. In his works Concerning the Two Wills
fatius Kotter. Berlin, 1969–1981. These definitive critical
and Energies in Christ, and Against Monophysites and Mono-
texts have extensive documentation and textual critical
thelites, John deals with the Monothelite Controversy. Be-
material.
tween 726 and 731 he wrote three different studies titled
H¯e Theotokos: Tesseres Theom¯etorikes Homilies. Edited by Athana-
Concerning the Icons, reflecting various early stages of the
sius Gievtits. Athens, 1970. Contains the text, with an intro-
Iconoclastic Controversy. He also concerned himself with
duction and commentary by the editor. Each of the four
treating other religious traditions from an Eastern Orthodox
homilies has been rendered into modern Greek by a different
perspective, including Judaism, Manichaeism, and Islam.
translator.
John also dealt with ethical topics in a three-part work titled
Writings. Translated by Frederic H. Chase, Jr. Fathers of the
Sacra Parallela: Concerning the Holy Fasts, The Eight Spirits
Church, vol. 37. Washington, D.C., 1958. Includes only
of Evil, and Concerning Virtues and Vices.
Fount of Knowledge. The best existing English translation.
Contains an introduction by the translator that deals with
It has been difficult to determine which of the many ser-
many of the unresolved historical questions.
mons attributed to John of Damascus are genuine. Among
Studies
those whose authenticity is in doubt are three sermons on
Barnard, Leslie W. “Use of the Bible in the Byzantine Iconoclastic
the Dormition of the theotokos, one of two on the annuncia-
Controversy, 726 to 843 A.D.” Theologische Zeitschrift 31
tion, sermons on the transfiguration of Christ, the fig tree,
(March–April 1975): 78–83. John’s use of scripture is dis-
the birth of Christ, and Christ’s presentation in the Temple.
cussed as it relates to the Iconoclastic Controversy.
In addition there are a number of sermons on saints attribut-
Chevalier, Celestin M. B. La Mariologie de saint Jean Damascène.
ed to him.
Rome, 1936. A literary and theological examination of John
of Damascus’s teaching concerning the theotokos.
Although disputed, it is now generally accepted that
John also wrote a Christian version of an ancient Buddhist
Sahas, Daniel J. John of Damascus on Islam: The “Heresy of the Ish-
maelites.” Leiden, 1972. A revision of a doctoral dissertation.
tale under the title Barlaam and Joasaph. It is essentially a
The best detailed biographical treatment in English. It in-
story of the conversion to monastic Christianity of a young
cludes a careful treatment of the major problems regarding
profligate through the hearing of a striking parable.
John of Damascus’s teaching concerning Islam.
John of Damascus is highly regarded as a hymnodist. He
STANLEY SAMUEL HARAKAS (1987)
is well known for the fourteen published collections of
hymns known as canons. In addition, approximately ninety
canons are attributed to him in the manuscript tradition.
JOHN OF KRONSTADT SEE IOANN OF
John is primarily responsible for the hymnology of the basic
KRONSTADT
weekly cycle of Eastern Orthodox services found in the litur-
gical book the Okto¯echos (Eight tones). The hymns are char-
acterized by theological exactness coupled with poetic
JOHN OF THE CROSS (1542–1591), mystic, poet,
warmth and power.
saint, and doctor of the church. John was born Juan de Yepes
Tradition attributes to John of Damascus the epithet
y Álvarez in Fontiveros, Spain, the youngest of three sons.
Chrusorroas (“golden-flowing”). His memory is commemo-
His father’s untimely death left the family in poverty. Never-
rated by the Eastern Orthodox church on December 4, the
theless, young John received an excellent education in the
date of his death, and by the Roman Catholic church on
humanities at the Jesuit college in Medina del Campo, and
March 27. He is considered an authoritative voice for con-
in 1563 he entered the Carmelite order at the Monastery of
temporary Orthodox theology. His writings were also an im-
Santa Ana. That same year he received the habit of the order
portant source for Peter Lombard and Thomas Aquinas.
and the religious name Juan de Santo Matía. He completed
Pope Leo XIII declared him a doctor of the Roman Catholic
further studies at Salamanca and in 1567 was ordained to the
church in 1890.
priesthood.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4942
JOHN THE BAPTIST
Shortly after ordination the young friar returned to Me-
mystical state of transforming union. The commentary fre-
dina del Campo, where he met the great Carmelite reformer
quently digresses from the poem’s subject matter to treat var-
Teresa of Ávila. Teresa, fifty-two years old at the time, recog-
ious important aspects of the spiritual life as a whole.
nized in the twenty-five-year old John the intelligence and
Through the example of his sublime personal holiness
holiness that would make him her spiritual and mystical
and his wonderfully fruitful and very human friendship with
compatriot and her collaborator in the reform movement, he
Teresa of Ávila, his collaboration in the establishment of the
doing in the masculine branch of the order what she was al-
Discalced Carmelite Friars, and especially, his unsurpassed
ready accomplishing in the feminine branch. On November
poetic and doctrinal writings on mystical theology, John of
28, 1568, after Teresa, as his spiritual mentor, had judged
the Cross continues to exercise an influence in Western
him ready, he professed the Primitive Rule and took the
Christian spirituality probably unequaled by anyone except
name Juan de la Cruz.
Thomas, Augustine, Dionysius, and Teresa herself.
Captured by enemies of the reform movement and im-
prisoned in the calced (mitigated, or unreformed) monastery
BIBLIOGRAPHY
at Toledo, John spent nine months in a tiny cell. He was de-
The Collected Works of Saint John of the Cross. Translated by Kieran
Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez. Rev. ed. Revisions and in-
prived of adequate food and was regularly scourged; yet his
troductions by Kieran Kavanaugh. Washington, D.C., 1991.
established holiness manifested itself in patient acceptance of
The Complete Works of Saint John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church.
these hardships and while in prison he began to write the ex-
3 vols. Translated by E. Allison Peers. London, 1953. Con-
quisite religious poetry that was to place him among the
tains an extensive international bibliography useful for any
greatest of the Spanish poets and form the kernel of his mys-
study of John of the Cross.
tical legacy.
God Speaks in the Night: The Life, Times, and Teaching of St. John
In 1578 he escaped from prison and began a twelve-year
of the Cross. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh. Washington,
period of administration within the reformed branch of the
D.C., 1991.
order. He was a remarkably able superior and as spiritual di-
Matthew, Iain. The Impact of God: Soundings from St. John of the
rector was much sought after by religious and laity alike. In
Cross. London, 1995.
1590 John again became the object of persecution, this time
Thompson, Colin. St. John of the Cross: Songs in the Night. Wash-
ington, D.C., 2003.
by jealous confreres within the reform movement. An effort
to have him expelled from the movement was frustrated by
SANDRA M. SCHNEIDERS (1987 AND 2005)
his death. John died at Ubeda on December 13, 1591, at the
age of forty-nine.
JOHN THE BAPTIST. Born of a poor priestly family
John of the Cross was beatified in 1675 and canonized
in the hill country of Judea, John renounced the priesthood
in 1726. In 1926 Pius XI declared him a doctor of the church
and entered upon an ascetic existence in the wilderness sur-
under the title “Mystical Doctor.” Besides a few letter, vari-
rounding the Jordan River. There he inaugurated a baptism
ous maxims and counsels, and a number of extraordinarily
rite so unprecedented that he was named for it. His contem-
beautiful poems, John left only four major works, and these
porary, Jesus, unhesitatingly ascribed the impetus for John’s
have become the instruments of his remarkable influence on
baptism to divine revelation (Mk. 11:30), and even though
the history of Christian spirituality. All four were written
priestly lustrations in the Temple, the daily baths at Qum-
from the vantage point of the full maturity of John’s own
ran, or even proselyte baptism (first attested in the second
mystical experience, and they reflect the wisdom of deep ho-
century CE) may provide certain parallels, they are wholly in-
liness well served by biblical and theological scholarship.
adequate to account for John’s demand that Jews submit to
Each consists of a poem followed by a long spiritual com-
a once-only immersion in anticipation of an imminent di-
mentary.
vine judgment by fire. Rejecting all claims to salvation by vir-
The Ascent of Mount Carmel (1581–1585) and The Dark
tue of Jewish blood or the “merits of Abraham,” John de-
Night (poem, 1578 or 1579; commentary, 1584–1585) to-
manded of each person works that would reflect a personal
gether form a treatise on the double purification (of the sen-
act of repentance. The examples preserved in Luke 3:10–14
sory and of the spiritual dimensions of the person) that leads
indicate that John stood squarely in the line of the prophets,
to full mystical union. The Spiritual Canticle (poem, 1578,
siding with the poor (“He who has two coats, let him share
1580–1584; commentary, 1584–1586) is the longest of
with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do
John’s poems, a rapturous overflowing of what he called
likewise”). He demanded that toll collectors and soldiers de-
“mystical wisdom” as he himself had experienced it. It de-
sist from extorting unjust exactions from travelers and pil-
scribes four stages of the mystical journey, but the commen-
grims. His dress was the homespun of the nomad, his diet
tary sets forth the whole of that journey from its ascetical be-
the subsistence rations of the poorest of the poor (locusts and
ginnings to total transformation in the mystical marriage, the
wild honey, Mk. 1:6). He even described the eschatological
last stage of the spiritual life. The Living Flame of Love (poem,
judge, whose near advent he proclaimed, in terms of a peas-
1582–1585; commentary in two redactions, 1585–1591)
ant or a man of the soil (chopping down trees, separating
treats the most perfect experience of love within the highest
wheat from chaff).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JOHN THE EVANGELIST
4943
Through baptism, John provided a means by which
nection at all. When he steps upon the stage of history, his
common people and other “sinners” (tax collectors and har-
message and mission are altogether his own.
lots, Mt. 21:32) could be regenerated apart from meticulous
All four evangelists treat John as “the beginning of the
observance of the Jewish law. His influence on Jesus in this
gospel.” This reflects both the historical fact and the theolog-
and other respects was profound. Jesus and his disciples were
ical conviction that through John, Jesus perceived the near-
baptized by John. But whereas John demanded that people
ness of the kingdom of God and his own relation to its com-
come out to him in the wilderness, Jesus went to the people
ing. The church continued to treat John as the perpetual
in their towns and villages, rejecting an ascetic life (Mt.
preparer for the coming of Christ, calling out for people to
11:18–19), and began to regard the future kingdom as an
repent and let the shift of the aeons take place in their own
already dawning reality (Mt. 11:2–6). Despite these differ-
lives, to “make ready the way of the Lord” (Mk. 1:2).
ences, Jesus continued to speak of John in terms of highest
respect (Mt. 11:7–9, 11a).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
John’s execution by Herod Antipas was provoked by
Kraeling, Carl H. John the Baptist. New York, 1951. Despite more
John’s criticism of Herod for divorcing the daughter of the
recent publications, this work remains definitive. Historical
Nabatean king Aretas IV and entering upon an incestuous
sleuthing at its best.
remarriage with Herodias, his half-brother’s wife. John’s at-
Scobie, Charles H. H. John the Baptist. London, 1964. Adds some
tacks on Herod took place in Perea, a region controlled by
interesting conjectures on the Samaritans.
Herod but bordered by Nabatean territory, an area inhabited
Wink, Walter. John the Baptist in the Gospel Tradition. Cam-
by Arabs and infiltrated in winter by nomads. Herod’s di-
bridge, U.K., 1968. A critical study of the use made of the
vorce provoked guerrilla warfare, and ultimately Aretas
Baptist traditions by the evangelists.
avenged his daughter’s shame by a shattering defeat of
Herod’s army—a defeat that Josephus directly ascribes to di-
WALTER WINK (1987)
vine punishment for Herod’s execution of John (Jewish An-
tiquities 18.116–119). John’s preaching must also have con-
tributed substantially to popular disaffection from Herod.
JOHN THE EVANGELIST, according to ancient
Following the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some
Christian tradition one of the Twelve chosen by Jesus; the
scholars suggested that John might at one time have been an
son of Zebedee, brother of James, and author of the Fourth
Essene. It is true that he preached but eight miles from Qum-
Gospel, the Johannine letters, and the Book of Revelation.
ran, that he shared with the Essenes an imminent eschatolog-
Called by Jesus from his vocation as a fisherman, John is
ical hope, and that he lived out (perhaps deliberately) the
mentioned frequently in the synoptic Gospels, where with
prophecy of Isaiah 40:3 and sought to prepare the way in the
James and Peter he forms the inner circle of disciples. He ap-
wilderness. Both John and the Essenes warned of a coming
pears in all four lists of the Twelve in the New Testament
purgative fire associated with the Holy Spirit and with wash-
(Mt. 10:2, Mk. 3:17, Lk. 6:14, Acts 1:13). Usually he is men-
ing; both issued a radical call to repentance; both employed
tioned after his brother James, which suggests that he is the
immersion in water as a religious rite; both believed that only
younger, but in the Acts of the Apostles his name stands sec-
an elect would be saved, and called the rest vipers; both con-
ond, after Peter’s. Moreover, he appears along with Peter in
demned the priesthood and other authorities; both re-
several of the Jerusalem scenes in the early chapters of Acts
nounced society and abstained from strong drink.
(e.g., 3:1, 3:4, 3:11, 8:14). Interestingly enough, the episodes
in which John figures in the synoptic Gospels (e.g., the rais-
These similarities, however, can in large part be ac-
ing of Jairus’s daughter, the Transfiguration) are missing
counted for: Both John and the Essenes belonged to the larg-
from John’s gospel, and the sons of Zebedee are mentioned
er phenomenon of Jewish wilderness sectarianism. Their dif-
only once, in the final chapter (Jn. 21:2).
ferences, in any case, are more decisive than all their
Although, like the other Gospels, John is anonymous,
similarities. John was a solitary. He established no settled
it is ascribed to an unnamed beloved disciple (Jn. 21:24),
community, moved around in the Jordan wastes, was inclu-
who figures prominently in the passion and resurrection nar-
sive rather that separatist, public rather than reclusive, ad-
rative of this gospel only. He always appears with Peter, ex-
dressing the whole nation rather than withdrawing into an
cept at the cross. Christian tradition has identified this disci-
isolated life. His baptism was granted once and for all, not
ple with John, although the gospel itself does not. In the late
daily, and for a forgiveness of sins on which eternal salvation
second century both Irenaeus and Polycrates ascribe the
hung, not for physical purity. His dress was camel’s hair, not
Fourth Gospel to John, and from that time on it becomes
white linen. He did not require a long novitiate for his con-
a commonplace that John wrote his gospel in Ephesus after
verts, nor did he organize them under rigid requirements. Al-
the others had been composed.
most all the other similarities with Qumran can be traced to
common dependence on the prophet Isaiah. Indeed, if John
Irenaeus traces the Johannine tradition to Papias and
had ever been connected with Qumran, his break was so rad-
Polycarp, bishops during the first half of the second century
ical that it scarcely seems necessary to posit any original con-
(Eusebius, Church History 3.39.1–7, 4.14.3–8). This testi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4944
JOHN XXIII
mony is not without problems, however, as Eusebius recog-
ship. In his more recent Introduction to the New Testament
nized in reporting Irenaeus’s statements about Papias. John’s
(New York, 1997), Raymond E. Brown defends the proba-
gospel was known in some circles throughout most of the
bility of a significant historical connection between the un-
second century; it was popular among Christians who were
named beloved disciple (John 21:24) and the composition of
later condemned as heretics (the Gnostics) and was rejected
the Gospel of John. The most comprehensive treatment of the
by others, such as Gaius of Rome and the Alogoi, who ob-
identity of John and the traditions about him is R. Alan Cul-
pepper, John the Son of Zebedee: The Life of a Legend (Colum-
jected to its departures from the synoptic Gospels. Such a re-
bia, S.C., 1994), especially pp. 56–88.
ception raises questions about the status or recognition of the
Fourth Gospel as an apostolic work during this period.
D. MOODY SMITH (1987 AND 2005)
Nevertheless, when after several centuries the gospel, the
letters, and Revelation had gained universal acceptance as
Christian scripture, they were all regarded as the work of
JOHN XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, 1881–1963)
John the son of Zebedee. As early as the third century, how-
was a pope of the Roman Catholic church (1958–1963).
ever, Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria pointed out the stylis-
Born in Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo in northern Italy, on
tic and theological difficulty of regarding Revelation as the
November 25, 1881, to a family of sharecroppers, Roncalli
work of the author of the Fourth Gospel and the letters.
attended the local grammar school, was taught Latin by the
Only Revelation is expressly the work of someone named
parish priest, and entered the minor seminary at age eleven.
John (Rv. 1:2), and this John makes no claim to being an
Given a scholarship to the Roman seminary (the Apollinare),
apostle (cf. Rv. 18:20, 21:14). Both 2 John and 3 John are
he was ordained a priest on August 10, 1904, after complet-
from “the elder,” while 1 John is anonymous. Modern schol-
ing a year of military service. The following year he obtained
ars are inclined to see three or more authors represented in
a doctorate in theology (with Don Eugenio Pacelli, the fu-
the Johannine corpus.
ture pope Pius XII, on his examining board) and became sec-
Evidence against the traditional view that John lived to
retary to the bishop of Bergamo, Giacomo Radini-Tedeschi,
an old age in Ephesus is provided by the silence of Ignatius,
an ecclesiastical activist in the social, economic, and political
who wrote to the Ephesian church (c. 115) mentioning
movements of the area. Roncalli accompanied the bishop on
Paul’s role at Ephesus prominently but John not at all. There
his visitations in the diocese and on frequent visits to France,
is a strain of evidence, perhaps supported by Jesus’ prediction
Milan, and Rome, and so became acquainted with influential
in Mark 10:39, that John was martyred with James in Jerusa-
ecclesiastics, including Archbishop Giacomo della Chiesa
lem during the 40s (Acts 12:2). However that may be, mani-
(the future Benedict XV) and Monsignor Achille Ratti (the
fold difficulties stand in the way of tracing church tradition
future Pius XI). Despite these contacts, both the bishop and
about John the Evangelist back through the second century.
his secretary came under suspicion during the heresy hunt
that was occasioned by Pope Pius X’s condemnation of mod-
Despite these difficulties, the Gospel of John and 1 John
ernism in 1907. Gravely affected by the accusation, as pope
clearly claim to be based on eyewitness testimony. The valid-
Roncalli corrected the record of the incident in the Vatican
ity of that claim does not necessarily stand or fall with the
archives. His own attitudes were revealed in his granting of
traditional attribution of authorship, which reconciles John’s
total freedom of theological expression to the Second Vati-
gospel with synoptic and other data about Jesus’ disciples.
can Council.
In Christian symbolism dating back to the second century,
the fourth evangelist is appropriately represented by the
At the outbreak of World War I, Roncalli was inducted
eagle, for the Fourth Gospel goes its own way, apparently in-
into the Italian army as a sergeant in the medical corps and
dependent of the other Gospels and their traditions. John’s
served on the front at Piave and as a chaplain in the nearby
feast is celebrated on December 27.
military hospitals. On his return to Bergamo he was engaged
in diocesan education until 1921, when he was called to
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rome by Pope Benedict XV and instructed to coordinate the
Aside from the New Testament the most important primary
activities of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, a
source is Eusebius’s Church History, which brings together
funding organ for foreign missions. After visiting the dio-
earlier testimony of Christian writers on the origin and au-
ceses of Italy, he was persuaded to transfer the organization’s
thorship of the Gospels. The most convenient edition is the
headquarters from Lyons, France, to Rome.
two-volume “Loeb Classical Library” text and translation of
Kirsopp Lake, J. E. L. Oulton, and Hugh J. Lawlor (Cam-
Consecrated a titular archbishop of Aeropolis, Palestine,
bridge, Mass., 1926). The relevant early Christian texts have
in March 1925, Roncalli was sent to Bulgaria as apostolic vis-
been conveniently collected by C. K. Barnett, The Gospel
itor to confront the problems of the Latin and other Eastern
According to St. John, 2d ed. (Philadelphia, 1978),
Christian Catholics in conflict with the Orthodox church
pp. 100–144.
and the local government. Settling in Sofia, he visited Catho-
Werner G. Kümmel’s Introduction to the New Testament, rev. ed.
lic centers, brought relief to political and religious refugees
(Nashville, 1975), pp. 234–246, succinctly states the mod-
from Thrace and Macedonia, organized a congress of Bulgar-
ern, critical case against the tradition of Johannine author-
ian Catholics in Yambol in 1928, and in 1930 arranged the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JOHN XXIII
4945
canonical dispensation for the marriage of King Boris of Bul-
Roncalli was created a cardinal in January 1953 and, fol-
garia, an Eastern Orthodox, to Princess Giovanna of Savoy,
lowing an ancient custom, received the red hat from the ruler
a Roman Catholic. Despite guarantees to the contrary, the
of France, the Socialist president Vincent Auriol, before tak-
marriage was repeated in the Orthodox cathedral in Sofia
ing possession of the See of Venice as its patriarch. On his
and so put the papal envoy “in a most difficult position.”
arrival in the City of the Doges, he assured the faithful that
Nevertheless, in 1931 he regularized his position as apostolic
he had always wanted to function as a parish priest and
delegate, encouraged the use of Bulgarian in the Catholic
would end his days among them. Visiting the parishes of the
schools and liturgy, and became a welcome guest at cultural,
archdiocese, he frequently wrote exhortatory letters in sup-
social, and political events in the nation’s capital.
port of the vigorous religious, social, and labor movements
then in vogue. He downgraded the left-wing faction of the
In 1934, as titular archbishop of Mesembria (Thrace),
Christian Democratic party and its weekly publication, Il
Roncalli was appointed apostolic delegate to Turkey and
popolo Veneto, and in an episcopal letter of 1955 he opposed
Greece with residence in Istanbul, a difficult assignment. He
the party’s policy of “opening to the left.” Changing prece-
had to contend with the secularization policies of the Turk-
dents set by his predecessor, however, he accepted the Bien-
ish president Kemal Atatürk (r. 1923–1938), adopting civil-
nial Arts Festival of 1956 and welcomed the Italian Socialist
ian garb in public, and with the anti-Catholicism of the Or-
party’s congress in 1957. That same year he had organized
thodox clergy in Greece. While serving as parish priest for
a diocesan synod and was correcting the proofs of its ordi-
the small Catholic community in the Turkish metropolis, he
nances when he was called to Rome on October 9, 1958,
visited the minute clusters of Catholics scattered throughout
upon the death of Pius XII.
the country, called on the Orthodox patriarch Benjamin in
the Phanar, the patriarchal residence in Istanbul, and intro-
On October 28, the third day of the conclave, he was
duced the use of Turkish in church publications and liturgy.
elected pope and supreme pastor of the Roman Catholic
church. On accepting the election, he said that he would be
With the outbreak of World War II, Turkey became a
called John XXIII and intended to imitate John the Baptist
center of political intrigue, and Roncalli, an intimate of the
in making straight the path of the Lord. Within a month he
German ambassador Franz von Papen as well as of other dip-
created twenty-three cardinals, including Archbishop Mon-
lomats, found himself a frequently consulted confidant, dis-
tini of Milan and Monsignor Domenico Tardini; the latter
patching intelligence information to the Vatican. Aiding
he appointed his secretary of state. In January, to the conster-
countless Jews and others fleeing persecution in central and
nation of the cardinals of the papal Curia, he announced
eastern Europe, he established a unit of the Holy See’s bu-
plans for convening an ecumenical council aimed at updat-
reau for tracing missing persons, refugees, and prisoners of
ing the church’s image and achieving Christian unity. By
war. In 1942 he flew to Rome to urge Pius XII to persuade
way of preparation he held a synod in Rome in 1960 and
the British government to modify the blockade of Greece by
appointed a commission for the revision of canon law and
allowing the import of food and medical supplies.
a committee to deal with the moral aspects of birth control.
In December 1944 Roncalli was dispatched to France
In outlining plans for the ecumenical council, John de-
to replace Archbishop Valerio Valeri, the papal nuncio. On
clared that it would be the work of the bishops and would
New Year’s Day, as dean (ex officio) of the corps of ambassa-
not be under the control of the Curia. Nevertheless he ap-
dors, he presented the ambassadorial body to the new French
pointed Cardinal Tardini as coordinator of the preparatory
government of Charles de Gaulle. Together with reconciling
commissions and allowed Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani of the
the Catholic factions split by the resistance movement, he
Holy Office to dominate their activities. Under their aegis,
helped prevent the deposition of six or seven bishops accused
prelates and professors from the Roman ecclesiastical institu-
of collaborating with the Pétain regime and initiated a re-
tions prepared seventy-two schemata, or topics for discus-
newal of the French episcopate, supporting Cardinal Suhard
sion, bulging with textbook theology as an agenda for an as-
of Paris in his attempt to re-Christianize the country with
sembly of more than two thousand prelates that was to meet
his Mission de France. He inaugurated a seminary for train-
for one or two months. While saddened by the opposition
ing German prisoners of war for the priesthood and did his
of his curial advisers, John pushed ahead and in so doing
best to mitigate the Vatican’s condemnation of the worker-
gained the support of cardinals and prelates from the outside
priest movement. Through Monsignor Giovanni Battista
world, who at the council’s start had reduced the number of
Montini in the Vatican, Roncalli persuaded the Holy See to
schemata to seventeen.
establish a permanent observer to the United Nations Educa-
tional, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In his opening address to the Second Vatican Council,
He smoothed over the displacements caused by the publica-
on October 11, 1962, the pope said that the council had not
tion of Pius XII’s encyclical Humani generis (Of the human
been called to discuss the basic doctrines of the church; those
race; 1950), which was used to censure such theologians as
were well known and defined. Instead, the assembly was
Yves Congar, Jean Daniélou, M.-J. Chenu, and Henri de
aimed at restoring unity, first among Christians and then in
Lubac, all of whom, as pope, John was to welcome as experts
the world. To do this the church would have to take a leap
to the Second Vatican Council.
ahead (balzo in avanti) in penetrating the consciousness of
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4946
JOHN XXIII
contemporary men and women. While in the past, he assert-
Throughout his career John proved a facile writer. As
ed, the church had used severity in confronting error, now
a young priest he produced a noted essay on the seventeenth-
it was called upon to apply the medicine of mercy. Dismiss-
century church historian Cardinal Baronius. He also wrote
ing his opposition as “prophets of doom,” John said that they
a history of the practice of public charity in the diocese of
knew no history. He insisted that “the truths of the deposit
Bergamo as well as a biography of Bishop Radini-Tedeschi.
of faith are one thing; how they are expressed is another,”
During the course of his diplomatic career he edited a five-
and he said that the church had to restate its teaching in a
volume, documented history of the effects of the Council of
medium that would employ the tools of modern scholarship
Trent on the diocese of Bergamo as it was administered by
and technology. Many of the prelatial listeners felt that the
Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, one of John’s favorite saints.
pope was close to heresy.
From the journal of his seminary days he produced Journal
of a Soul (New York, 1965), a spiritual diary that is the key
The council quickly took on a Johannine contour as it
to understanding his intimate relation with God and the pla-
concentrated on updating the liturgy by introducing the ver-
cidity with which he accepted the ups and downs of everyday
nacular languages for the celebration of the Mass and the sac-
life, in keeping with his heraldic motto, “Peace and Obe-
raments; discussed the relationship between the Bible and
dience.”
tradition in formulating the church’s teachings; and dis-
In the course of his pontificate, John named fifty-five
cussed the structure of the church itself and the way priests,
cardinals; he did not hesitate to break with the tradition of
the laity, nuns, and prelates were to conduct themselves in
holding the college of cardinals to seventy members. He can-
the contemporary world. Listening to the discussions on
onized ten saints and beatified five holy men and women,
closed-circuit television, John seldom intervened, and then
including Elizabeth Seton of Baltimore. Labeled a transition-
did so only to resolve a knotty impasse.
al pope on his election at age seventy-six, John accepted the
In preparing for the council, John invited Orthodox and
designation as a challenge and, as the most innovative pontiff
Protestant churches to send observers. He presented these
in over five centuries, proceeded to revolutionize the church.
observers with the documents relating to the council, gave
When John died on June 3, 1963, he was mourned by the
them permission to attend the debates, and provided infor-
whole world; one newspaper carried the headline “A Death
mal settings where prelates, theologians, and observers got
in the Family of Mankind.”
to know one another intimately. While concerned with the
SEE ALSO Vatican Councils.
organized opposition to his liberalizing aims by a group of
250 prelates, John felt, as the first session drew to a close on
December 8, that the intended updating (aggiornamento)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aradi, Zsolt, et al. Pope John XXIII: An Authoritative Biography.
had been initiated. Expressing his satisfaction that the “open-
New York, 1959.
ing of the church’s window” had been accomplished, he an-
nounced that the council’s second session would begin in
Fesquet, Henri, ed. Wit and Wisdom of Good Pope John. Translat-
ed by Salvator Attanasio. New York, 1964.
September 1963.
Hales, E. E. Y. Pope John and His Revolution. Garden City, N.Y.,
By early November suspicions were aroused regarding
1956.
the pope’s fatal cancer. John nevertheless continued his busy
Hebblethwaite, Peter. John XXIII, Pope of the Council. New York,
schedule, visiting parishes, receiving diplomats, and giving
1985.
general audiences to pilgrims and visitors. During the Cuban
John XXIII. Scritti e discorsi, 1953–1958. 4 vols. Rome, 1959–
missile crisis, he made a radio broadcast in which he admon-
1964.
ished President Kennedy and Chairman Khrushchev to
achieve a peaceful solution, thus enabling the two leaders to
John XXIII. Discorsi, messagi, colloqui del Santo Padre Giovanni
XXIII. 5 vols. Vatican City, 1961–1964.
back off gracefully. On receiving telegrams of recognition for
his efforts, he decided to leave the world a legacy in his noted
John XXIII. Souvenirs d’un nonce: Cahiers de France, 1944–1953.
encyclical Pacem in terris (Peace on earth), which was hon-
Rome, 1963.
ored by a symposium at the United Nations in New York.
John XXIII. Journal of a Soul. Translated by Dorothy White. New
His previous encyclical, Mater et magistra (Mother and
York, 1965.
Teacher), dealing with the world’s social and economic
Murphy, Francis X. Pope John XXIII Comes to the Vatican. New
needs, had caused some problems for conservative Catholics.
York, 1959.
And when the pope received the son-in-law of Khrushchev,
Murphy, Francis X. The Papacy Today. New York, 1981.
Aleksei Adzhubei, in a private audience, there was talk of
Trisco, Robert. “John XXIII, Pope.” In New Catholic Encyclope-
papal indiscretion. These incidents were compounded by
dia, vol. 7. New York, 1967.
John’s reception of the Balzan Peace Prize, awarded by an
international committee that included four Soviet members,
Zizola, Giancarlo. The Utopia of Pope John XXIII. Translated by
in the spring of 1963, which was his last public ap-
Helen Barolini. Maryknoll, N.Y., 1978.
pearance.
FRANCIS X. MURPHY (1987)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JONAS, HANS
4947
JONAH, or, in Hebrew, Yonah, was an Israelite prophet
magical effect, because divine mercy is an attribute of an ut-
in the Bible who, as told in the book preserved in his name,
terly transcendent and free God. The asymmetry between
was divinely commissioned to announce a prophecy of im-
the parable at the story’s end, the prophet’s situation, and
minent doom to the Assyrian people of Nineveh (Jon.
the lesson derived from it, has often been regarded as support
1:1–2). Fleeing his task, Jonah hopped aboard a commercial
for this theological point. God will have mercy in the end
vessel bound for Tarshish, in the west (Jon. 1:3). Subsequent-
upon whomsoever he chooses.
ly, a violent storm broke out that was recognized through
At another level, the ingestion and regurgitation of
divination by lots to be due to a sin of Jonah’s. The storm
Jonah by a fish is a motif that dramatizes the inner transfor-
was quelled when Jonah was cast into the sea (Jon. 1:4–10).
mation and spiritual rebirth of the prophet. Typologically,
However, the Lord arranged for a great fish to swallow the
moreover, the three days spent by Jonah in the belly of the
prophet, who presumably repented his folly in attempting to
fish were seen in early Christian tradition as prefiguring the
flee divine destiny (Jon. 2:8). In any event, he was regurgitat-
three days spent by Jesus “in the heart of the earth” (Mt.
ed upon the dry land and traveled to Nineveh, where he first
12:40). The fish and salvation motifs are found frequently
announced doom to the city and its inhabitants and then
in the Roman catacombs and on the sarcophagi and were
witnessed the pagans’ repentances and God’s forgiveness
used extensively in Byzantine manuscripts and in medieval
(Jon. 3). Grieved at this expression of divine mercy, Jonah
miracle plays. In Jewish Neoplatonic texts, the themes of the
wished to die, but, in the parable of chapter 4, was given in-
story of Jonah were understood allegorically in terms of the
struction and reproof by God in the form of a recinus plant
fate of the human soul in the world.
that sprouted to shade him in the heat of the day but then
as quickly withered. Jonah regretted its loss, although he had
BIBLIOGRAPHY
done nothing to care for it. How much more (he is asked
Bickerman, Elias J. Four Strange Books of the Bible: Jonah, Daniel,
rhetorically) should God have compassion for people like the
Koheleth, Esther. New York, 1967.
Ninevites and their cattle—his creatures?
Cohn, Gabriël H. Das Buch Jona. Assen, 1969.
Both language and theology, as well as the inaccurate
Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews (1909–1938). 7 vols.
depiction of Nineveh, suggest that the Book of Jonah is a rela-
Translated by Henrietta Szold et al. Reprint, Philadelphia,
tively late postexilic composition, from about the fourth cen-
1937–1966. See the index, s.v. Jonah.
tury BCE (it is first cited in Tobit). The book is artistically or-
Goitein, S. D. “Some Observations on Jonah.” Journal of the Pal-
ganized and integrated: Chapters 1 and 3 deal with penitent
estine Oriental Society 17 (1937): 63–77.
pagans and their salvation from the wrath of Israel’s God;
Scholem, Gershom, ed. Zohar, the Book of Splendor (1949), vol.
chapters 2 and 4 deal with the Israelite prophet and his theo-
6. Reprint, New York, 1963.
logical lessons in and by miraculous circumstances. But the
Urbach, E. E. “The Repentance of the People of Nineveh and the
concern of the text has, since antiquity, perplexed its readers.
Discussions between Jews and Christians” (in Hebrew). Tar-
In ancient Jewish Midrashic and aggadic literature,
biz 20 (1949): 118–122.
commentators have drawn out various lessons from the story
New Sources
of Jonah. In the failure of Jonah’s flight they saw proof that
Gaines, Janet Howe. Forgiveness in a Wounded World: Jonah’s Di-
a prophet could not escape his destiny. In his refusal to
lemma. Studies in Biblical Literature, no. 5. Atlanta, 2003.
prophesy they detected a noble desire not to insult Israel,
Person, Raymond F. In Conversation with Jonah: Conversation
who—unlike the pagans—did not repent. In God’s final re-
Analysis, Literary Criticism, and the Book of Jonah. Journal for
sponse to the Ninevites, the rabbis underscored the power
the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series, no. 220.
of repentance to affect the divine will. (Since antiquity the
Sheffield, 1996.
Book of Jonah has been the prophetic lection for the after-
Sherwood, Yvonne. Biblical Text and Its Afterlives: The Survival
noon service of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; see
of Jonah in Western Culture. Cambridge, U.K., and New
B.T., Meg. 31a.) Finally, in Jonah’s refusal to utter a pro-
York, 2000.
phetic oracle of doom in the name of a merciful God, many
MICHAEL FISHBANE (1987)
interpreters have seen his fear of being killed as a false proph-
Revised Bibliography
et. The church fathers, in contrast to the rabbis, argued that
Jonah wanted by his prophecy to the Ninevites to teach a les-
son to the stubborn Jews, and thus found in Jonah precedent
JONAS, HANS. Hans Jonas (1903–1993) was a theolo-
and support for missions to the Gentiles.
gian and philosopher whose intellectual development moved
Divine mercy, false prophecy, and repentance combined
from research into the Gnosticism of late antiquity through
are the core of the prophetic meditation reflected in this
a naturalistic philosophy of life and culminated in establish-
book: Initially concerned that divine mercy would limit the
ing an ethic of global ecological responsibility. Born in
dignity of prophecy and so make the divine oracular word
Mönchengladbach, Germany, into the liberal German-
conditional upon human behavior, Jonah rejected his office
Jewish bourgeoisie, Jonas adhered to Zionist convictions
only to realize finally that repentance has no independent,
early in life. His philosophical studies led him to Edmund
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4948
JONAS, HANS
Husserl (1859–1938) in Freiburg, then—for a short time—
religious-historical origins of Gnosticism, its development
to the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums in Berlin,
within the specific social and religious-cultural settings that
and finally into the circle of Martin Heidegger (1899–1976)
engendered it, and its relationship to Judaism, Christianity,
in Marburg. There Jonas encountered his other influential
Zoroastrianism, or the Hellenistic philosophy. His goal was
teacher, Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976), who was develop-
rather to achieve a philosophically based phenomenological
ing his method of existential interpretation and “de-
survey of the mythological motifs, symbols, religious-
mythologizing” of the New Testament. Bultmann aroused
existential attitudes and ethical concepts that characterized
and intensified Jonas’s interest in Gnosticism and in Gnostic
the appearance of Gnosticism in its diverse manifestations.
ontology. On the road to his revolutionary attempt at a com-
The permanent value of Jonas’s interpretation lies in his
prehensive philosophical interpretation of Gnosticism, the
hermeneutical approach, through which he led research on
Heideggerian analysis of existence was especially helpful to
Gnosticism out of the narrow limits of theology and church
Jonas, since it led him to a new, modern understanding of
history and at the same time went beyond a mere discussion
this religious-historical phenomenon of antiquity. In 1930,
of the religious-historical origins of the multifaceted, syncre-
as an outcome of his dialogue with Bultmann and Heideg-
tistic Gnostic movement. Aided by the Heideggerian existen-
ger, Jonas published the study Augustin und das paulinische
tial analytic—and proceeding also on the basis of Oswald
Freiheitsproblem, in which he laid the foundation for his later
Spengler’s (1880–1936) cultural-morphological theses,
reflections concerning freedom as the basic defining feature
which asserted that abstruse aspects were to be found hidden
of human existence.
behind the historical expressions of religious phenomena—
EARLY CAREER. When the first volume of Gnosis und Spän-
Jonas attempted to overcome the impression of chaos and
tantiker Geist appeared, in 1934, Jonas had already left Nazi
pandemonium and identify the basic types of a Gnostic wor-
Germany and emigrated to Jerusalem, where he stepped into
ldview. Particularly noteworthy in this connection were the
the German-Jewish intellectual circle of Gershom Scholem
belief in the essentially evil or alienating character of material
(1887–1982) and taught at the Hebrew University. In 1939,
existence and a tendency to devalue the demiurgic world (a
he volunteered to serve in the British army and in 1945 he
world that could be overcome only by being renounced) on
returned to Germany as a member of the Jewish Brigade
the basis of a fundamental anti-cosmic dualism. This inter-
Group. There he learned that his mother had been deported
pretation formed the starting point of a whole generation of
to Lodz and had subsequently been murdered in Auschwitz.
researchers in the field of Gnosticism; however, it has more
The passion with which Jonas, in his philosophy, attempted
recently been called in question, for example by Michael A.
to justify the value of life resulted from his confrontation
Williams, who has astutely disputed the idea of one Gnostic
with the Nazis’ utter abandonment of all that is human. In
religion that can be understood in uniform categories and
1949, after being drawn into the army again during the Israe-
who has characterized this idea as a misleading typological
li War of Independence, Jonas left Jerusalem in order to ac-
construct.
cept an academic position in Canada, and in 1955 he accept-
ALIENATION AND ORGANIC BEING. Irrespective of whether
ed a post at the New School for Social Research in New York
Jonas’s account of Gnosticism can stand in the face of more
City.
recent research in the field, it was a crucial determinant of
GNOSTICISM. Jonas published the second volume of Gnosis
his philosophical development after the war. In his 1952
und Späntantiker Geist in 1954; however, he devoted himself
essay “Gnosticism and Modern Nihilism,” he endeavored to
increasingly to other topics and continued to pursue his gno-
make use of his research on Gnosticism to effectuate a funda-
sis research as a peripheral activity. That most publications
mental critique of Existentialism, which had been of great
since the 1980s in the field of religious studies make only
service to him as a hermeneutical key but which now had be-
limited reference to Hans Jonas is due to the fact that current
come the major challenge to his thinking. Above all, the po-
research—which is more strongly historical and sociological
litically ominous potential of Heidegger’s attitude toward the
in its orientation—is capable, on the basis of the Nag Ham-
world, which had made him susceptible to the inhumanity
madi editions of the original sources, of elucidating the dif-
of the Nazi ideology, induced Jonas to set forth a counter-
ferent currents of Gnosticism in a more thoroughgoing and
philosophy in opposition to modern nihilism. The “existen-
detailed fashion than was possible for Jonas. Jonas did have
tialist reading” of Gnosticism, with the help of Heideggerian
access to an abundance of religious-historical sources, but
categories (for example, the losing-of-self, abandonment into
these were primarily from the Patristic literature, the middle-
the nullity of the world, the foundationality of fear) helped
Asian Manichean literature, the fore-Asian Mandean litera-
Jonas decode the Gnostic myths and work out their nihilistic
ture, and Neo-Platonism. However, his aim was first and
implications for self and the world—implications that are
foremost to effectuate a religious-philosophical interpreta-
marked by the human feeling of alienation and suffering
tion of these sources. In later editions of his 1958 book The
under the enslaving powers of the world and of the cosmos.
Gnostic Religion, he undertook to integrate new material into
He postulated a “Gnostic foundationality,” comparable to
his understanding of Gnosticism, without changing his basic
Heidegger’s “abandonment,” which was diametrically op-
conception in any significant respects. In pursuing his work,
posed to the ontology of Greek antiquity, with its conception
he deliberately omitted offering any particular analysis of the
of the cosmos as a living, harmonious, and rational system
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JONAS, HANS
4949
affording security. The foundation myth that Jonas abstract-
In his 1987 essay The Concept of God after Auschwitz,
ed as Gnosticism’s common feature tells of a radically dis-
Jonas radically transformed the question of theodicy into a
turbed metaphysical situation of the world, which—as a de-
question about the justification of the human being, who is
miurgic creation—condemns the human being to existential
created for freedom; he thus bid farewell to the idea that God
abandonment, darkness and “not-at-home-ness.” Libera-
is in absolute control of the course of history. Stimulated by
tion—which, in Gnostic thinking, was conceived of as a re-
ideas from the Lurianic Qabbalah, Jonas employed a specula-
turn of the imprisoned soul into an otherworldly, divine
tive myth to unfold a process of theogony and cosmogony
realm of light, wherein the human soul participates by virtue
in which God, in the course of evolution, withdraws com-
of the spirit even during its exile in the material world—is
pletely back into himself, relinquishes his omnipotence, and
only possible by treading the path of revealed, occult knowl-
makes the world subject to human action, thereby giving
edge (gnosis) and demands as an ethical consequence a con-
over to human control the fate of his own divinity, which
scious “renunciation of worldliness.”
is deeply affected by the joy and suffering of life. These spec-
ulations lent the utmost urgency to his appeal to human re-
Jonas believed himself to have discerned a secularizing
sponsibility for life. It is decisive for the whole of Hans
return to the Gnostic mode of thinking in spiritual streams
Jonas’s philosophy that his ethical-philosophical interpreta-
that extended from Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) through Frie-
tion of the contemporary world’s challenges cannot be un-
drich Nietzsche (1844–1900) and up to Heidegger; Jonas
derstood in isolation from his existential confrontation with
called these spiritual currents “cosmic nihilism” both because
the abysmal depths of inhumanity revealed in Auschwitz, or
they viewed the human being as a lonely element within an
from his belief in the transcendent responsibility of the
altogether indifferent universe, an element separated from
human being. The underlying motif of the philosopher’s cos-
nature by an unbridgeable chasm, and because they advocat-
mogonical suppositions is this: given the human formation
ed contempt for the world and escape from it. Jonas hoped
of the world, in a time when genocide is practiced and tech-
to overcome this tendency through an antidualistic “philoso-
nological self-destruction is possible, the very image of God
phy of the organic,” which he set forth in The Phenomenon
is in peril.
of Life (1963). In this work, he expounded his understanding
of organic being, which recognizes in the process of evolu-
SEE ALSO Ascension; Exile; Gnosticism; Hermeneutics; His-
tion a progressive development of freedom and danger, cul-
tory of Religions.
minating in human beings, who do not have to experience
the world as an inhospitable, hostile place where they are not
BIBLIOGRAPHY
at home if they will begin to see themselves as part of a nature
A comprehensive bibliography of the works of Hans Jonas, and
that is meaningful in itself.
of writings about him, is to be found in the appendix to
Jonas’s Erinnerungen (Memoirs), after conversations with
ETHIC OF RESPONSIBILITY. In his 1984 The Imperative of Re-
Rachel Salamander, edited by Christian Wiese (Frankfurt am
sponsibility, Jonas explored the ethical consequences of his
Main, Germany, 2003). Jonas’s Wissenschaft als persönliches
speculative ontology. In view of the vulnerability of a world
Erlebnis (Science as personal experience; Göttingen, Germa-
society that is able, through its actions, to damage life on
ny, 1987) contains further autobiographical reflections. Bio-
earth irrevocably, and in opposition to the utopian thinking
graphical perspectives provide good introductions to Jonas,
of Ernst Bloch (1885–1977), he demanded a “heuristic of
especially Christian Wiese, Hans Jonas: Zusammen Philosoph
fear” that would enable one to envision “evil suffered by
und Jude (Hans Jonas: Philosopher and Jew; Frankfurt am
Main, 2003); Olivier Depré, Hans Jonas: 1903–1993 (Paris,
coming generations” and set strategies of humility to counter
2003); and Alberto Prieri, Hans Jonas (Florence, Italy, 1998).
the ominous euphoria of the Faustian dream, for example,
A good overview of the different perspectives on Jonas’s work
strategies of self-limitation and reverence for the “holiness of
can be found in Dietrich Böhler, ed., Ethik für die Zukunft
life.” In view of dwindling public trust in religion, he quite
(Ethic for the future; Münich, Germany, 1994). Introduc-
deliberately gave up theological arguments in order to be able
tions to Jonas’s philosophy are provided by Franz Josef Wetz,
to establish a universally plausible ethic for the global society.
Hans Jonas zur Einführung (Hamburg, 1994) and David J.
By contrast, when he addressed Jewish audiences, he gave a
Levy, Hans Jonas: The Integrity of Thinking (Columbia, Mo.,
central role to human respect for the integrity of creation and
2003). Detailed interpretations of Jonas’s life and research
to the notion that human beings are created in God’s own
are found in two collections of essays, Wolfgang Erich Mül-
ler, ed., Von der Gnosisforschung zur Verantwortungsethik
image. Jonas viewed the power of science and technology to
(Hans Jonas: From gnosis research to an ethic of responsibili-
reshape the world, giving humanity the feeling of treading
ty; Stuttgart, Germany, 2003) and Christian Wiese and Eric
in the very footsteps of God, as the era’s most important
Jacobson, eds., Weiterwohnlichkeit der Welt (Berlin, 2003).
challenge. In the field of bio-ethics, he warned against unbri-
Augustin und das paulinische Freiheitsproblem (Augustine and the
dled genetic engineering, which, as he emphasized in his
Pauline problem of freedom; Göttingen, Germany, 1965)
1970 essay “Contemporary Problems in Ethics from a Jewish
should be counted among Jonas’s important religious-
Perspective,” seemed to him to endanger in a most dramatic
historical works. Other important books by Jonas include:
fashion the very “image of the creation itself, including the
Ein philosophischer Beitrag zur Genesis der christlich-
human being.”
abendländischen Freiheitsidee (A philosophical contribution
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4950
JONES, ABSALOM
toward the genesis of the Christian-Western idea of freedom;
berté: Dimensions theologiques, ontologiques et politiques (Hans
Göttingen, Germany, 1930); Gnosis und spätantiker Geist.
Jonas and freedom: Theological, ontological, and political
Die mythologische Gnosis zur Geschichte und Methodologie der
dimensions; Paris, 2002); Frank Niggemeier, Pflicht zur Be-
Forschung (Göttingen, Germany, 1934; expanded edition,
hutsamkeit?: Hans Jonas’ naturphilosophische Ethik fuer die
1964); Gnosis und spätantiker Geist. Von der Mythologie zur
technologische Zivilisation (Duty to be cautious?: Hans Jonas’
mystischen Philosophie (Göttingen, Germany, 1954); The
natural-philosophical ethic for technological civilization;
Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Begin-
Würzburg, Germany, 2002).
nings of Christianity (Boston 1958; expanded and revised edi-
Jonas’ late metaphysical reflections are to be found in Der Gottes-
tion, Boston, 1963).
begriff nach Auschwitz: Eine jüdische Stimme (The concept of
Barbara Aland, with Ugo Bianchi et al., edited an important vol-
God after Auschwitz: A Jewish voice; Frankfurt am Main, Ger-
ume, Festschrift für Hans Jonas (Gnosis: commemorative vol-
many, 1987); Philosophische Untersuchungen und metaphysis-
ume for Hans Jonas; Göttingen, Germany, 1978), in which
che Vermutungen (Philosophical investigations and meta-
world-renowned specialists focus on Jonas’s approach to
physical suppositions; Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 1992);
Gnosticism and related subjects. Ioan P. Culianu, Gnosticis-
and Mortality and Morality: A Search for Good after Ausch-
mo e pensiero moderno: Hans Jonas (Rome, 1985) is also im-
witz, edited by Lawrence Vogel (Evanston, Ill., 2001).
portant in this respect. Eric Jakob, Martin Heidegger und
Thomas Schieder offers a critical polemic in Weltabenteuer
Hans Jonas (Martin Heidegger and Hans Jonas; Tübingen,
Gottes: Die Gottesfrage bei Hans Jonas (God’s cosmic adven-
Germany, 1996) is devoted to elucidating Jonas’s relation-
ture: The God question in Hans Jonas; Paderborn, Germa-
ship to Heidegger. See also Wolfgang Baum, Gnostische Ele-
ny, 1998).
mente im Denken Martin Heideggers?: Eine Studie auf der
CHRISTIAN WIESE (2005)
Grundlage der Religionsphilosophie von Hans Jonas Gnostic
Translated from German by Marvin C. Sterling
(Gnostic Elements in the thinking of Martin Heidegger?: A
study of the foundations of Hans Jonas’ philosophy of reli-
gion; Münich, Germany, 1997); and Richard Wolin, Hei-
degger’s Children: Hannah Arendt, Karl Loewith, Hans Jonas,
JONES, ABSALOM. Absalom Jones (November 6,
and Herbert Marcuse (Princeton, N.J. 2001). For criticism of
1746–February 13, 1818), the first African American priest
the notion of Gnosticism as formulated by Jonas, see Mi-
chael A. Williams, Rethinking “Gnosticism”: An Argument for
ordained in the Episcopal Church, is commonly associated
Dismantling a Dubious Category (Princeton, N.J., 1996) and
with the event that led to the formation of the African Meth-
Michael Waldstein, “Hans Jonas’ Construct ‘Gnosticism’:
odist Episcopal denomination. Jones and Richard Allen
Analysis and Critique,” Journal of Early Christian Studies 8,
(1760–1831) led a group of black worshippers out of Saint
no. 3 (2000): 341–372.
George’s Methodist Church on a Sunday in November 1787
in protest of the church’s decision to segregate black wor-
Jonas develops his philosophy of the organic and brings out its
ethical implications in The Phenomenon of Life: Toward a
shippers in the upstairs gallery.
Philosophical Biology (New York, 1966); in Philosophical Es-
Jones was born a slave in Sussex, Delaware. He taught
says: From Ancient Creed to Technological Man (Englewood
himself to read during his early teens and learned to write
Cliffs, N.J., 1974); and in On Faith, Reason and Responsibili-
after being taken to Philadelphia to work in his master’s store
ty: Six Essays (San Francisco, 1978). For Jonas’s thoughts on
as a clerk and handyman. In 1766 he began attending An-
the philosophy of responsibility and its ethical implications,
see Macht oder Ohnmacht der Subjektivität?: Das Leib-Seele-
thony Benezet’s school in the evenings. In 1770 Jones mar-
Problem im Vorfeld des Prinzips Verantwortung (The power
ried another slave, whose freedom he purchased with the as-
or powerlessness of subjectivity?: The mind-body problem
sistance of Quaker friends and his father-in-law. Jones later
underlying the imperative of responsibility; Frankfurt am
purchased his own freedom in 1784, after which he contin-
Main, Germany, 1981); The Imperative of Responsibility: In
ued to work for his former master.
Search of an Ethics for the Technological Age (Chicago, 1984);
Technik, Medizin und Ethik: Zur Praxis des Prinzips Verant-
Jones was active at Saint George’s Episcopal Church in
wortung (Technology, medicine and ethics: Toward practice
Philadelphia and served as a lay preacher. His outreach ef-
of the imperative of responsibility; Frankfurt am Main, Ger-
forts to Philadelphia’s African American population gained
many, 1985); and Philosophie: Rückschau und Vorschau am
greater success after Allen, who arrived in Philadelphia in
Ende des Jahrhunderts (Philosophy: Review and preview at
1786, joined the church. They formed the Free African Soci-
the end of the century; Frankfurt am Main, Germany,
ety on April 12, 1787, to provide aid and support to the sick,
1993). Important works for interrelated themes in the fields
widows, and orphans. Philadelphia had the largest free Afri-
of ontology and ethics in Jonas are Wolfgang Müller’s Der
can American population in the country, and the Free Afri-
Begriff der Verant wortung bei Hans Jonas (Frankfurt am
can Society was one of their major public gathering places.
Main, Germany, 1988); Gilbert Hottois, Hans Jonas: nature
The number of black worshippers at Saint George’s increased
et responsabilité (Hans Jonas: Nature and responsibility;
Paris, 1993); Bernd Wille, Ontologie und Ethik bei Hans
with the success of Jones and Allen’s ministry and preaching.
Jonas (Ontology and ethics in Hans Jonas; Dettelbach, Ger-
The white church leaders consequently restricted black wor-
many 1996); Nathalie Frogneux, Hans Jonas ou la vie dans
shippers to the balcony. On a Sunday in November 1787
le monde (Hans Jonas, or Life within the world; Brussels, Bel-
Jones seated himself in a front pew in the balcony, but an
gium, 2000); Marie-Geneviève Pinsart, Hans Jonas et la li-
usher insisted that he had to move to the rear of the balcony.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JONES, JIM
4951
When Jones refused, the ushers attempted to physically
lowers to commit murder and suicide in Guyana in 1978,
move Jones from his seat, whereupon Jones, accompanied by
was born to James Thurman Jones and Lynetta Putnam
Allen and the other black worshipers, left the church.
Jones in Crete, Indiana, on May 13, 1931. Lynetta sup-
After they left Saint George’s, Jones and Allen formed
ported the family doing factory work in Lynn because the
the African Church and held regular worship services. By
elder Jones suffered ill health resulting from injuries sus-
1792 the group had begun to raise funds for a church build-
tained in World War I. Although the family was irreligious,
ing, but the members disagreed over the appropriate denom-
the younger Jones attended several local churches and by the
inational affiliation. Most of the members voted for affilia-
age of ten was being groomed as a child evangelist by a female
tion with the Episcopal Church. Jones went with the
Pentecostal preacher.
majority, and Allen went with the minority that favored
As a high school student, Jones met Marceline Baldwin,
Methodism.
a nursing student, at a hospital in Richmond where they
both worked. They wed in 1949. After intermittently attend-
On July 17, 1794, the former group completed the con-
ing Indiana University and working at a series of jobs, Jones
struction of its new church building, which was consecrated
found himself drawn to the ministry, despite earlier expres-
Saint Thomas’s African Episcopal Church, with Jones as its
sions of atheism. He began an internship in 1952 at a Meth-
first minister in the official ecclesiastical capacity of licensed
odist church in Indianapolis but was expelled after he
lay reader. The church was formally received into the Dio-
brought African Americans to services. He established his
cese of Pennsylvania on October 17, 1794. Jones was or-
own congregation, Community Unity Church, which in
dained as a deacon on August 6, 1795, and as a priest in
1955 became Peoples Temple. His ministry in Indianapolis,
1804.
marked by Pentecostal and Holiness theology and black
Jones was renowned as an orator and for the pastoral
church tradition and style, attracted both black and white
care he provided his members through house-to-house visita-
members drawn to his message of racial equality and social
tion. The church grew to a membership of 427 people, and
justice. He and Marceline adopted five children, including
under Jones the leadership organized schools, the Female Be-
one white, one black, and three Koreans, and along with
nevolent Society, and the African Friendly Society.
their biological son created what they called a “rainbow fami-
Although Jones and Allen followed separate denomina-
ly.” Jones’s work as a white minister in an interracial congre-
tional paths, together they founded Philadelphia’s African
gation led to his appointment as director of the Indianapolis
Masonic Lodge in 1798, petitioned Congress and the state
Human Rights Commission in 1961, where he served briefly
legislature for an end to slavery in 1800, and founded the So-
before traveling to Hawaii and South America. When he re-
ciety for the Suppression of Vice and Immorality in 1808.
turned two years later, he told the greatly reduced Indianapo-
In 1812 the Vigilance Committee approached Jones, Allen,
lis congregation that the church must move to northern Cali-
and James Forten regarding efforts to defend the city, for
fornia to be safe in the event of nuclear war.
which these men recruited 2,500 black men. In January
A group of eighty parishioners relocated with the Jones
1817, Jones and Allen organized a convention to coordinate
family to Redwood Valley, a small town in the California
opposition to the American Colonization Society, which en-
wine country north of San Francisco. There members began
couraged blacks to emigrate to Liberia.
to live and work communally, donating wages and income
from outside jobs. The group sponsored several residential
BIBLIOGRAPHY
homes and outpatient services for the mentally ill and men-
Appiah, Kwame Anthony, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., eds. Afri-
tally retarded, which Marceline administered. Jim Jones con-
cana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American
tinued to preach a social gospel message of service to the poor
Experience. New York, 1999.
and encouraged expansion of the church to San Francisco,
Douglass, William. Annals of the First African Church in the United
where membership grew with the inclusion of thousands of
States of America. Philadelphia, 1862.
African Americans. The dynamic minister became a political
Jones, Absalom. A Thanksgiving Sermon, Preached January 1,
force in San Francisco in the 1970s, a result of his delivering
1808, in St. Thomas’s (or the African Episcopal) Church, Phila-
Peoples Temple members to demonstrations in support of
delphia. Philadelphia, 1808; reprint, Philadelphia, 1969.
freedom of the press, Native American rights, and antide-
Lammers, Ann C. “The Reverend Absalom Jones and the Episco-
velopment efforts. Local, state, and national politicians fre-
pal Church: Christian Theology and Black Consciousness in
quented the Temple, where they were warmly greeted. The
a New Alliance.” Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episco-
Temple also opened a church in Los Angeles, and during the
pal Church 51 (June 1982): 159–184.
mid-1970s Jones preached at all three California congrega-
tions, traveling the length of the state in a Temple-owned
JAMES ANTHONY NOEL (2005)
bus. He also led several cross-country caravans, preaching in
Philadelphia, New York, and midwestern cities, attracting
members at every stop.
JONES, JIM. James Warren Jones (1931–1978), the
In 1974 Jones signed a lease to cultivate 3,852 acres in
charismatic leader of Peoples Temple who persuaded his fol-
the Northwest District of Guyana, the only English-speaking
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
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JONESTOWN AND PEOPLES TEMPLE
country in South America. Temple volunteers had been de-
As early as his years in Indianapolis Jones began to make
veloping the site for three years when critical reports about
claims about his own divinity, which eventually led him to
the powerful minister emerged in San Francisco. Former
declare himself “God, almighty God,” in San Francisco.
members claimed that Jones forced sex upon them, encour-
Once in Guyana, however, he dropped the religious language
aged corporal punishment of errant members by other mem-
that had attracted thousands: Christian communalism gave
bers, and had faked faith healings and miracles. Some
way to political communism, as the group contemplated mi-
claimed that Jones had ordered ex-members to be killed.
gration to North Korea, Cuba, or the Soviet Union. Jones’s
Negative publicity, coupled with a federal tax investigation,
beliefs mixed religion, politics, and pragmatism into his own
prompted Jones and a thousand members to immigrate to
unique blend. In place of the sky god of Christianity, he en-
Guyana in mid-1977. Jones’s mental and physical health de-
couraged people to believe in him and his divinity and to put
teriorated in the tropical climate, and his leadership became
their trust in his goodness. Ultimately that trust was be-
more erratic and abusive, as an addiction to tranquilizers
trayed.
worsened. A small leadership group, comprised mainly of
women, carried out most day-to-day details, while Jones fo-
SEE ALSO Father Divine; Jonestown and Peoples Temple.
cused on what he believed were conspiracies against the com-
munity, now called Jonestown.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chidester, David. Salvation and Suicide: An Interpretation of Peo-
When U.S. Congressman Leo A. Ryan announced plans
ples Temple and Jonestown. Bloomington, Ind., 1988. A re-
to visit Jonestown in November 1978 to investigate charges
view of the theology of Jim Jones.
of kidnapping and abuse, Jones and the group protested, but
Hall, John R. Gone from the Promised Land: Jonestown in American
then acquiesced once the congressman arrived in Guyana.
Cultural History. New Brunswick, N.J., 1987. Detailed,
On November 18 Ryan left Jonestown with about sixteen
scholarly history of Peoples Temple and Jonestown.
defectors. Gunmen, presumably from Jonestown, shot and
Maaga, Mary McCormick. Hearing the Voices of Jonestown. Syra-
killed Ryan and four members of his party and wounded a
cuse, N.Y., 1998. History of Peoples Temple that focuses on
dozen others at the Port Kaituma airstrip, six miles from
the role of women in the movement.
Jonestown. Meanwhile, in the community’s central pavilion,
Moore, Rebecca. A Sympathetic History of Jonestown: The Moore
Jones gathered residents who did not yet know of the death
Family Involvement in Peoples Temple. Lewiston, N.Y., 1985.
of Ryan and the others. As a tape recording made at the time
Personal account of a family whose relatives died in Jones-
indicates, Jones exhorted his followers to drink from a vat
town.
of poisoned punch. He asked mothers to quiet their children
Moore, Rebecca, and Fielding M. McGehee III. “Alternative
and allowed a dissenter to speak, although she was shouted
Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple.” Avail-
down by other community members. His words indicate
able from http://jonestown.sdsu.edu. Website presenting
that he wanted the world to recognize their self-sacrifice as
primary and secondary source material on Jonestown and
an act of “revolutionary suicide” to protest the conditions of
Peoples Temple.
an inhumane world. Jones was found shot to death, sur-
Reiterman, Tim, with John Jacobs. Raven: The Untold Story of the
rounded by his followers. An autopsy reported that his
Rev. Jim Jones and His People. New York, 1982. In-depth ex-
wounds were consistent with suicide, although the gun that
amination of Jim Jones and Peoples Temple.
killed him was found several feet away.
REBECCA MOORE (2005)
Jim Jones criticized traditional Christianity for being
complacent and hypocritical in the face of massive suffering
and injustice, and he disparaged otherworldly religion, which
neglected the here-and-now. He advocated a type of “apos-
JONESTOWN AND PEOPLES TEMPLE was
tolic socialism,” which followed the example of the early
a communal religious settlement in the jungles of Guyana
church (Acts 2:44–45, 4:32) in which everyone contributed
founded and led by the Reverend James Warren “Jim” Jones
to and shared in the common good. He wrote The Letter Kil-
(1931–1978). Nearly 1,000 people had come to the South
leth, a pamphlet that identified contradictions and injustices
American country in the mid-1970s intending to build an
in the Bible, and during some services he would throw the
integrated agricultural utopia. Things began to unravel, how-
Bible onto the floor in disdain. Modeling himself after Fa-
ever, when California Congressman Leo Ryan (1925–1978),
ther Divine, the black leader of the Peace Mission, Jones en-
accompanied by journalists and former members, arrived to
couraged followers to call him “Dad” or “Father.” As op-
investigate persistent reports of brainwashing and abuse.
posed to Divine and other charismatic preachers, however,
After Ryan and four others were murdered by temple mem-
Jones eschewed the trappings that usually accompany celeb-
bers, Jones commanded his followers to kill themselves and
rity. He wore used clothing and secondhand shoes, traveled
their children: Over 913 people died on November 18,
and ate with his members, and shared the same type of hous-
1978. In the aftermath, popular media and anticult activists
ing. His modest lifestyle allowed him to attack “jackleg
depicted Jonestown as the epitome of dangerous “cults.”
preachers” who drove Cadillacs and flaunted their worldly
RISE AND DEMISE. Jonestown began as a ministry of the
success.
Reverend Jim Jones, who blended Pentecostal religion, so-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JONESTOWN AND PEOPLES TEMPLE
4953
cialism, and racial harmony into a distinctive political theol-
focused on an imminent rendezvous with nuclear destiny.
ogy. In 1955 he established the Peoples Temple Full Gospel
Fashioned in the midst of Cold War politics, superpower
Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he conducted faith-
conflicts, and the nuclear arms race, this religious worldview
healing services, established social services, and campaigned
was forged in fear of a nuclear apocalypse and its prospect
for racial integration. In 1960 the Peoples Temple became
of a total planetary annihilation. Time, in this context, was
formally affiliated with the Disciples of Christ; Jones was or-
running out.
dained as a minister in 1964. Although the Peoples Temple
Many shared this apocalyptic view. In 1950, during the
remained affiliated with the denomination until the end, the
early days of the nuclear age, American novelist William
group’s religious beliefs and practices of bore little relation
Faulkner accepted the Nobel Prize for literature, observing:
to their parent organization.
“There is only one question: When will I be blown up?” In
When Jones had a vision of imminent nuclear destruc-
sermons twenty years later Jones declared that he would be
tion in 1967, he moved the Peoples Temple, choosing north-
glad to be blown up in a nuclear apocalypse if it meant the
ern California because an article in Esquire magazine had
destruction of the world’s capitalists. Self-sacrifice, even in
identified it as one of “Nine Places in the World to Hide”
a nuclear holocaust of extraordinary devastation, could be
in the event of such a catastrophe. With a nucleus of about
imagined as redemptive within the philosophy espoused by
150 followers transplanted from Indiana, the Peoples Tem-
the Peoples Temple.
ple grew rapidly, expanding from its base to sponsor branch-
As Jones was developing his religious worldview during
es in San Francisco and Los Angeles. As his congregations
the early 1970s, temple membership grew to as many as
multiplied during the early 1970s, Jones began to formulate
5,000. A former member estimated that up to 100,000 peo-
an innovative theology.
ple may have heard a sermon by Jim Jones during this period.
In his sermons, Jones consistently discounted any God
Most temple members were African Americans, many of
“out there,” a notion that he ridiculed as the sky God, the
them recent migrants from the rural South or Northeastern
mythological God, the spook God, or the buzzard God. But
inner cities who had been drawn by extensive recruiting
he celebrated a real God, a genuine God, which he defined
drives. The temple also attracted a number of white social
as love, as sharing, as “God, Almighty Socialism.” When he
activists who were drawn to Jones’s integrated congregations
personally claimed to be God, the messiah, Jones could be
as an alternative to the prevailing order of American society.
understood to be asserting that he was an embodiment of this
Jones portrayed communist countries such as the Soviet
divine socialism. He promised his congregation that they also
Union, China, and Cuba, as utopias in which divine social-
could be deified by dying to capitalism and being reborn in
ism had already been established. In 1973 the Peoples Tem-
socialism.
ple established a mission in the South American country of
In America, he argued, blacks, women, and the poor
Guyana, which was then governed by the black socialist party
had been consistently treated as less than fully human. The
of Forbes Burnham. By 1975 about fifty members were sta-
Bible and Christian churches only sustained this dehumaniz-
tioned there, clearing jungle land for the Peoples Temple Ag-
ing subclassification. To be a human person, Jones argued,
ricultural Project that came to be known as Jonestown.
required liberation from the dehumanizing pull of Ameri-
In 1977 journalists Marshall Kilduff and Phil Tracy
ca—and that could only be achieved through the superhu-
were preparing to publish an exposé of Jim Jones and the
man power of divine socialism.
Peoples Temple in New West magazine. Their article was
During the early 1970s, Peoples Temple members were
based in part on allegations by former members that Jim
told that as long as they lived in the United States they would
Jones was involved in questionable financial dealings, sexual
be in captivity, exile, and eternal conflict. America, Jones ar-
impropriety, and the physical and mental abuse of followers.
gued, was the biblical ancient Egypt, where the children of
Anticipating this negative publicity, Jones and many of
Israel found only enslavement. America was the biblical Bab-
his congregation moved to Guyana in a migration that came
ylon, a place of exile, where refugees longed to return to Jeru-
to be known as “Operation Exodus.” By September of 1977
salem. America was an imperial power, like first-century
nearly 1,000 members were living in the compound. Jones-
Rome, which Jones identified as the antichrist of the last days
town residents were 75 percent black; 20 percent white; and
as described in the New Testament. Since America led the
5 percent Hispanic, Asian, or Native American. Approxi-
global, imperial crusade against God, Almighty Socialism,
mately two-thirds were women. Almost 300 were under the
Jones claimed that people could only feel enslaved and ex-
age of eighteen and over 150 were seniors past the age of
iled, defiled and dehumanized, by living within the United
sixty-five.
States.
While trying to establish a viable agricultural commune
A religious sense of origin and destiny was also cultivat-
in Guyana, Jones increasingly perceived the community to
ed within the Peoples Temple. Developing an innovative cre-
be under threat from external forces, especially the U.S. gov-
ation story, which depicted Eden not as a garden to be re-
ernment, American media, and a group of former members
stored but as a prison from which to escape, Jones’s sermons
who called themselves the Concerned Relatives. On Novem-
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4954
JONESTOWN AND PEOPLES TEMPLE
ber 17, 1978, an official fact-finding delegation led by Con-
Force base at Dover, Delaware. The mayor of Dover ex-
gressman Leo Ryan flew to Jonestown to investigate these
pressed the feelings of many Americans by insisting the
charges. The visit became the flashpoint for the violence that
Jonestown dead should be cremated and their ashes scattered
exploded in murder and suicide. The delegation left the next
“beyond the continental limits of the United States.” Twen-
day, taking fourteen dissatisfied Jonestown residents with
ty-five years later, survivors and family members were still
them. As they gathered on the Port Kaituma airstrip, heavily
struggling to create a suitable memorial for the Jonestown
armed Jonestown security guards drove up and opened fire,
dead in America.
killing five, including Congressman Ryan, and wounding
I
nine others.
NTERPRETIVE CONTEXTS. Academic analysis of the Jones-
town murders and suicides has focused on three contexts: (1)
Back at the temple and fearing retribution, Jim Jones
the sociology of new religious movements; (2) the history
commanded his followers to kill themselves. Vats of a cya-
and heritage of black religion in America; and (3) the phe-
nide-laced fruit drink were prepared and residents lined up
nomenology of redemptive sacrifice in the history of reli-
to drink the poison. Although this event has usually been
gions and religion in America.
characterized as a mass suicide, it is clear that not everyone
who died at Jonestown participated freely. Over 260 chil-
In popular media and the anticult movement, Jones-
dren, for example, had the poison given to them, while about
town became the archetypal “cult,” a deviant social organiza-
forty adults escaped. For those who died willingly, however,
tion masquerading as religion that was, in fact, its opposite—
collective suicide held a religious significance in the context
evil, dangerous, mind-controlling, financially exploitative,
of the worldview that had been cultivated in the Peoples
and politically subversive. Time and Newsweek proclaimed
Temple and Jonestown.
Jonestown the “Cult of Death.” Jonestown was also viewed
in light of the 1970s “cult controversy,” in which some ar-
First, collective suicide was a ritual, signifying a purity
gued that every alternative, unconventional religious move-
of commitment to the community, which had been re-
ment inevitably led to violence. This view was countered by
hearsed a number of times over the past eighteen months.
the growing interest in the academic study of new, alterna-
Referred to as “white nights,” these ritual rehearsals of death
tive, or unconventional religious movements.
affirmed, in the words of Jim Jones on the final night of
Jonestown, that the members of the community were united
Any understanding of Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple,
as “black, proud socialists.”
and Jonestown, however, requires sustained attention to the
broad and deep tradition of black religion in America. Al-
Second, collective suicide promised release from a world
though Jim Jones was white, he claimed to have a black soul,
dominated by what Jones perceived as American racism, cap-
a black heart, and a black consciousness. He consistently
italism, and fascism. To avoid being captured and taken back
identified himself as a black messiah advancing black libera-
to America, he urged his followers to step out of this world
tion. His movement, which emerged from the racism and
by taking “the potion like they used to take in ancient
segregation of the 1950s, was fueled by contact with Father
Greece.”
Divine’s Peace Mission, the interests of a predominantly
Third, collective suicide was an act of revenge in which
black membership, the attractions of a black socialist govern-
the guilt for these deaths would be transferred to the enemies
ment in Guyana, and the sense of alienation experienced by
of Jonestown. “They brought this upon us,” Jones insisted.
many blacks in America.
“And they’ll pay for that. I leave that destiny to them.”
Although in the aftermath of Jonestown mainline black
Finally, collective suicide was regarded as redemptive.
religious leaders generally rejected the movement, most dra-
Many, perhaps most, of the adult participants believed this.
matically at the “Consultation on the Implications of Jones-
What Jones called “revolutionary suicide” was meaningful
town for the Black Church” in February of 1979, it is impor-
for those who embraced it because it represented a superhu-
tant to remember that many of Jones’s followers had been
man act that would rescue them from dehumanization under
drawn to his claims of embodying black consciousness, as
the capitalist, racist, and fascist oppression they associated
well as his sermons, styles of worship, religious practices, and
with America. “We didn’t commit suicide,” Jones declared.
community formation, which were intentionally drawn from
“We committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting
black religious traditions. Even white loyalist and former
the conditions of an inhuman world.”
temple member Michael Prokes wrote a post-Jonestown sui-
cide letter rejecting Jim Jones but retaining his identification
Most Americans found the deaths at Jonestown un-
with the Peoples Temple because it had given him a sense
thinkable, something so obviously outside the mainstream
of community in which he learned what it meant “to be
of American cultural life that it stood as a boundary against
black and old and poor in this society.”
which such values could be defined. In popular media they
were depicted as not American, not religious, not sane, and
In the history of religions, Jonestown-like collective sui-
ultimately not human. Resistance was mounted against al-
cides were seen in first-century Judea at Masada and among
lowing their bodies to be buried on American soil. Over 550
communities of seventeenth-century Old Believers in Russia.
unclaimed bodies were stored for six months at the U.S. Air
In these instances, as at Jonestown, groups of people chose
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JONESTOWN AND PEOPLES TEMPLE
4955
death rather than what they perceived as defilement or dis-
being invested with religious significance. Although marginal
honor by enemy forces. But the religious significance of re-
to American society, the Peoples Temple and Jonestown nev-
demptive sacrifice runs much deeper in the history of reli-
ertheless raised significant questions about religious authen-
gions than such dramatic examples of collective suicide
ticity, religion and violence, religions of the oppressed, and
might suggest. As some analysts have argued, redemptive sac-
the religious and political role of redemptive sacrifice.
rifice goes to the heart of the meaning and power of religion,
and has certainly been central to the religious and political
SEE ALSO Anticult Movements; Aum Shinrikyo¯; Brainwash-
history of the United States. For some analysts, Jonestown
ing (Debate); Branch Davidians; Father Divine; Heaven’s
recalls the pervasive American religious commitment to re-
Gate; Jones, Jim; New Religious Movements, articles on
demptive sacrifice, which requires giving the greatest gift,
New Religious Movements and Children, New Religious
paying the highest price, for a collective redemption.
Movements and Millennialism, New Religious Movements
and Violence; Temple Solaire.
Although the end of Jonestown entailed not only mass
suicide but also the killing of infants and children, Jones in-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
sisted that truly loving people would kill their children before
Following the demise of Jonestown, many journalistic accounts
allowing them to be taken back to America to be tortured,
were published, the best of which is Tim Reiterman with
brainwashed, or even killed by a society he regarded as fascist.
John Jacobs, Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones
That sentiment was echoed by a member of the community
and His People (New York, 1982). For a social history and
as he was surrounded by the bodies of the children who were
sociological analysis, see John R. Hall, Gone from the Prom-
in fact sacrificed: “I’d rather see them lay like that than to
ised Land: Jonestown in American Cultural History (New
see them have to die like the Jews did.” Members believed
Brunswick, 1987; second edition published by Transaction
Books, 2004). For a reconstruction of the religious world-
that death in Jonestown saved those children from a dehu-
view, see David Chidester, Salvation and Suicide: Jim Jones,
manized life and death in America. If the children were cap-
the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown, second ed. (Bloomington,
tured by the Americans, this particular speaker concluded,
2003), in which can be found all direct quotations in this
“they’re gonna just let them grow up and be dummies, just
entry from Jim Jones and his followers. See also Mary Mc-
like they want them to be, and not grow up to be a person
Cormick Maaga, Hearing the Voices of Jonestown (Syracuse,
like the one and only Jim Jones.” Sacrificial death, therefore,
N.Y., 1998).
promised the redemption of an authentic human identity.
Jonestown has also been considered in analyses of new religious
Saving children by killing them seems beyond the
movements and violence. See John R. Hall, with Philip D.
Schuyler and Sylvaine Trinh, Apocalypse Observed: Religious
bounds of American religion. In the aftermath of Jonestown,
Movements and Violence in North America, Europe, and Japan
however, from 1980 to 1988 the symbolic center of the
(New York, 2000); Thomas Robbins and Susan J. Palmer,
American public order was occupied by President Ronald
eds., Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem: Contemporary
Reagan, a political figure who, on numerous occasions, ideal-
Apocalyptic Movements (New York, 1997); and Catherine
ized redemptive sacrifice, with specific attention to children.
Wessinger, How the Millennium Comes Violently: From Jones-
In a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in
town to Heaven’s Gate (New York, 2000).
Orlando, Florida, on March 8, 1983, Ronald Reagan related
For discussions of the Peoples Temple and Jonestown in the con-
that a prominent young man in Hollywood told a public
text of African American religion, see Rebecca Moore, An-
gathering during the early 1950s that there was nothing in
thony B. Pinn, and Mary R. Sawyer, eds., Peoples Temple and
the world that he loved more than his daughters but he was
Black Religion in America (Bloomington, 2004). An early at-
prepared to sacrifice them in the interest of a higher good.
tempt to interpret Jonestown in the context of the history of
According to Reagan, this young father declared, “I would
religions was undertaken by Jonathan Z. Smith in “The
rather see my little girls die now, still believing in God, than
Devil in Mr. Jones,” Imagining Religion: From Babylon to
have them grow up under communism and one day die no
Jonestown (Chicago, 1982): 102–120. Discussion of the role
of redemptive sacrifice in the religious worldviews of Jim
longer believing in God.” In praising this young man, Rea-
Jones, Ronald Reagan (including direct quotations from
gan concluded that this willingness to sacrifice his children
Reagan in this entry), and American popular culture can be
revealed “the profound truth” about “the physical and the
found in David Chidester, “Saving the Children by Killing
soul and what was truly important.” Revealing the “truth”
Them: Redemptive Sacrifice in the Ideologies of Jim Jones
of the American soul, this willingness to sacrifice promised
and Ronald Reagan,” in Religion in American Culture: A Jour-
to redeem that soul from a communist fate worse than death.
nal of Interpretation 1 (1991): 177–201; and David Chid-
According to Ronald Reagan, therefore, redemptive sacrifice
ester, Authentic Fakes: Religion and American Popular Culture
was the “profound truth” at the heart of America.
(Berkeley, 2005).
Decades after the event, Jonestown has remained the focus of sen-
The religious worldview of Jim Jones, the Peoples Tem-
sationalistic revelations by opponents, such as Deborah Lay-
ple, and Jonestown was forged in the Cold War between cap-
ton, Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor’s Story of Life and
italism and communism. Jones’s deification of God Al-
Death in the People’s Temple (New York, 1998), as well as
mighty, Socialism, evolved during the second half of the
counterarguments, including conspiracy theories, by defend-
twentieth century in which free-market capitalism was also
ers, such as Laurie Efrein Kahalas, Snake Dance: Unravelling
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4956
JOSEPH
the Mysteries of Jonestown (New York, 1998). In tracking the
elsewhere they are seen as a trial intended to test his righ-
ongoing cultural, social, and religious history of Jonestown,
teousness. Particular attention is devoted to his relationship
dedicated scholarly research can be found on the website “Al-
with the wife of pharaoh’s officer, elaborating on her efforts
ternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple,”
to attract Joseph or raising questions about his own role in
supported by the Department of Religious Studies, San
the incident.
Diego State University (http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/
~remoore/jonestown; May 20, 2004).
The historicity of the Joseph story has been defended
on the basis of its incorporation of Egyptian vocabulary, cus-
DAVID CHIDESTER (2005)
toms, and narrative motifs. Historians since the first-century
Josephus Flavius (Against Apion 1.103) have linked Joseph
with the Hyksos, a West Semitic people who dominated
JOSEPH, or, in Hebrew, Yosef, was the firstborn son of
Egypt toward the end of the middle Bronze Age. Their ex-
Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel. The account of Joseph’s life,
pulsion in the sixteenth century might then account for the
which the QurDa¯n (12:3) calls “the most beautiful of stories,”
Bible’s statement that “there arose a new king over Egypt
is described in a uniquely detailed and sustained biblical nar-
who did not know Joseph” (Ex. 1:8). However, none of these
rative.
factors is sufficient historical proof. The author’s knowledge
of Egyptian culture hardly proves the story’s historicity. The
As Rachel’s son, Joseph was treasured by his father. Re-
land of Canaan was long under Egyptian control, and there
sentful of Joseph’s resulting conceit, his brothers sold him
are several cases of apparently Semitic figures holding high
to a group of passing traders, who took him to Egypt, where
positions in the Egyptian bureaucracy. As a result, such
he was purchased by one of pharaoh’s officers. When Joseph,
knowledge could have been acquired in any of several differ-
who is described as “attractive and good-looking” (Gn.
ent periods.
39:65), rejected the advances of the officer’s wife, she accused
him of attempted rape and had him imprisoned. In jail he
SEE ALSO Jacob; Rachel and Leah.
demonstrated his ability to interpret dreams. He was there-
fore brought to pharaoh, whose dreams could not be other-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
wise understood. Joseph recognized them as warning that a
An overview of modern scholarship relating to the entire patriar-
period of abundance would be followed by famine. Elevated
chal period is in Nahum M. Sarna’s Understanding Genesis
to high office to prepare Egypt for the coming threat, Joseph
(New York, 1970). This must, however, be read in conjunc-
was given both an Egyptian name (Zaphenath-paneah) and
tion with the historical information in Roland de Vaux’s The
Early History of Israel, translated by David Smith (Philadel-
wife (Aseneth).
phia, 1978). A detailed examination of the Joseph story, in-
As a result of Joseph’s efforts, Egypt was ready for the
cluding both its literary characteristics and its Egyptian col-
difficult times that followed and even served as a resource for
oration, is in Donald B. Redford’s A Study of the Biblical
surrounding peoples. Joseph’s brothers came from Canaan
Story of Joseph (Genesis 37–50) (Leiden, Netherlands, 1970).
The ways in which the story has been elaborated and their
to purchase grain; he recognized and tested them before re-
relationships to other traditions are explored in Shalom
vealing himself and bringing the entire family to settle in the
Goldman, The Wiles of Women/The Wiles of Men (Albany,
eastern Nile Delta. Joseph died at the age of 110; the Israel-
N.Y., 1995); James L. Kugel, In Potiphar’s House (San Fran-
ites took his bones to Canaan when they left Egypt during
cisco, 1990); and Maren Niehoff, The Figure of Joseph in
the Exodus.
Post-Biblical Jewish Literature (Leiden, Netherlands, 1992).
Louis Ginzberg’s The Legends of the Jews, 7 vols., translated
Joseph’s special status is attested by the ascription to
by Henrietta Szold (Philadelphia, 1909–1938), contains an
him of two biblical tribes, named after his sons Ephraim and
exhaustive collection of rabbinic lore relating to biblical sto-
Manasseh. Ephraim came to dominate the northern king-
ries.
dom of Israel, which is therefore also called the House of Jo-
seph. Joseph’s childhood dreams were thus fulfilled during
FREDERICK E. GREENSPAHN (1987 AND 2005)
the lifetimes of his descendants as much as during his own
lifetime.
The story of Joseph is remarkable for its numerous
JOSEPH OF VOLOKOLAMSK (1439–1515),
human touches, which lead to the apparent absence of divine
born Ivan Sanin, was a Russian Orthodox monastic saint. Jo-
intervention so common elsewhere in Genesis. In fact, how-
seph succeeded his spiritual father, Pafnutii, as abbot of the
ever, God is present, if not always visible, acting through
Borovsk monastery in 1477. But the reforms toward a stric-
human behavior (Gn. 45:5, 50:20). The narrative incorpo-
ter form of communal life that he sought there did not find
rates many elements found in other biblical tales, most strik-
favor with his community, and Joseph undertook an exten-
ingly in the stories of Daniel and Esther, which also describe
sive tour of Russian monasteries in search of alternative mod-
an Israelite’s rise in a foreign court. In postbiblical traditions,
els. Ultimately Joseph established an entirely new monastery
Joseph’s fate is often connected to his personality: some pres-
at Volok or Volokolamsk (1479), where he remained for the
ent his experiences as a punishment for earlier wrongdoing;
rest of his life.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JOSEPHUS FLAVIUS
4957
Since his early years at Volok, Joseph had been involved
Monastic Rule of Joseph of Volokolamsk, translated and edited
in politics, campaigning against the widespread reformation-
by David Goldfrank (Kalamazoo, Mich., 1983). His spiritual
ist heresy of the so-called Judaizers, the Novgorodian-
counsels and regulations are surveyed in an orderly manner
Muscovite opponents of church order and Trinitarian teach-
in Thomas Spidlík’s Joseph de Volokolamsk: Un chapitre de la
ing. Joseph was to urge consistently (and in 1504 finally at-
spiritualité russe, “Orientalia Christiana Analecta,” no. 146
tain) the physical elimination of the leading heretics at the
(Rome, 1956).
hands of the state. In his view, even professions of repentance
SERGEI HACKEL (1987)
should not allow heretics to be spared. Joseph’s zeal in this
regard was expressed in his Prosvetitel’ (The enlightener, c.
1502–1503; expanded version, c. 1511), a compilation of
JOSEPHUS FLAVIUS (37/8–c. 100 CE), born Yosef
antiheretical writings. In 1507 Joseph transferred the alle-
ben Mattityahu, was a Jewish general, historian, and apolo-
giance of his now influential monastery to the Muscovite
gist. Josephus was perhaps the most prolific, significant, and
grand prince, a serious breach of ecclesiastical discipline, re-
controversial of Jewish writers in Judaea during the Hellenis-
sulting in alienation from the Novgorodian archbishop.
tic-Roman era. Born in Jerusalem, he traced his paternal lin-
More positive and more lasting than his work against
eage from the priesthood and his maternal descent to the
heretics was Joseph’s contribution to the shaping of Russian
Hasmonean dynasty, and he claimed to have been educated
monastic discipline and piety. He composed two rules, the
not only within the priestly circles but also among the vari-
second (and longer) of which dates from his final years. The
ous Judaic sectarian movements of his day. In 64 he went
aim of each was to ensure sobriety and discipline in liturgy
to Rome and obtained the release of imprisoned Jewish
and daily life. Poverty was enjoined on the individual monk.
priests, returning to Judaea on the eve of the Great Revolt,
Yet the community as a whole was expected to flourish for
a Jewish uprising against Rome. Although he was a moder-
the service of society at large, especially at times of dearth or
ate, he was appointed to command the Galilean forces, and
distress. As many as seven thousand people would be fed
upon their defeat by Vespasian in 67 he surrendered after his
daily during a famine; an orphanage for fifty children was
comrades committed suicide. Josephus claims that while in
regularly maintained. The orderly and dutiful expression of
captivity he predicted the accession of Vespasian to emperor,
Christian philanthropy was Joseph’s dominant concern and
and two years later he was freed by the newly acclaimed ruler
principal contribution to Russian Orthodox tradition.
of Rome. Josephus accompanied Vespasian’s son Titus dur-
ing the siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.
Joseph was the foremost proponent of the Possessors’
After the war, Josephus lived under imperial patronage in
school of thought; he insisted that monastics should own
Rome, where he wrote four major works that survive thanks
land and he effectively countered the contrary claim of cer-
to their preservation by the Christian church.
tain Orthodox ascetics and of Ivan III (1440–1505). The
Less than a decade after Jerusalem fell in 70, Josephus
Moscow church council of 1503 heeded Joseph and decided
completed The Jewish War, a seven-book narrative of Judean
the question in favor of the Possessors. Had it been other-
history from the accession of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV
wise, Joseph might have felt impelled to act in accordance
(175 BCE) to the fall of Masada in 74 CE. This work was writ-
with the daring principle that obedience to a ruler was condi-
ten first in Aramaic and later translated into Greek in order
tional on the ruler’s righteousness, which he had enunciated
that readers in both the Parthian kingdom and the Roman
earlier. An unjust ruler is “no tsar, but a tyrant.” In the words
empire would learn why the revolt occurred and how it
of Georges Florovsky (1893–1979), Joseph bordered here on
failed. With Flavian approval, Josephus portrayed a Jewish
“justification of regicide.” In fact, Joseph was to become ever
nation tragically swept by a small band of fanatics into a war
more dependable a collaborator of the state.
that could only demonstrate Rome’s invincibility.
It was Joseph’s hope that his monastery would attract
Jewish Antiquities, published in 93/4, recounts in twenty
well-born postulants and that these would provide the bish-
books the Jewish experience from earliest times until 66 CE.
ops of the future. His expectations were fulfilled in the course
Josephus drew heavily from biblical and later Jewish and
of the sixteenth century. By the end of it his posthumous rep-
non-Jewish sources, which he carefully reworked and edited
utation was firmly established, and his local canonization
into a treatise modeled on the Roman Antiquities of Diony-
(1578) was followed by the proclamation of his sanctity by
sios of Halikarnassos. The result is a highly creative apologia
the Russian Orthodox church as a whole in 1591.
that within its Greek historiographic form emphasizes the
antiquity and philanthropy of the Jews and Judaism even as
BIBLIOGRAPHY
it underscores biblical concepts of divine justice and provi-
Joseph’s Prosvetitel’ was edited (anonymously) by Ivan I. Porfir’ev
dence. Josephus subsequently made these apologetic argu-
as Prosvetitel’ ili oblichenie eresi zhidovstvuiushchikh: Tvorenie
ments more explicit in the two books collectively titled
prepodobnago ottsa nashego Iosifa, igumena Volotskago (Kazan,
Against Apion, which quote and refute many anti-Semitic
1857); while his prolific correspondence appeared more re-
works from the Hellenistic age.
cently as Poslaniia Iosifa Volotskogo, edited by Aleksandr A.
Zimin and Iakov S. Lur’e (Leningrad, 1959). Only one of
Finally, Josephus appended to Jewish Antiquities an au-
Joseph’s major writings has been translated into English: The
tobiographical book that is almost entirely devoted to de-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4958
JOSHUA
fending his conduct of the Galilean campaign. While in The
preceding generation through the mediation of Moses. He
Jewish War he portrayed himself as a committed, efficient
exhorts the people to remain devoted to YHVH and to keep
general, in his autobiographical work, The Life, he empha-
his law.
sizes that he went to Galilee as a moderate who unsuccessful-
Joshua’s role as leader of the conquest is anticipated in
ly attempted to restrain his countrymen.
the biblical narrative by his introduction as the field com-
Josephus and his works are no less controversial in mod-
mander in the battle against Amalek (Ex. 17:8–13) and as
ern scholarship than they were in their day. The literature
a spy sent by Moses to reconnoiter Canaan (Nm. 13). Moses
is without equal in breadth and detail; therefore, paradoxical-
elevates Joshua’s status by changing his name from HosheaE
ly, questions about its reliability often cannot be resolved.
to YehoshuaE (YHVH is salvation) and by appointing Joshua
Principal foci of contemporary analysis of Josephus include:
as his successor. Indeed, the Book of Joshua frequently refers
(1) modes of Hellenization within Palestinian Judaism; (2)
to Moses’ tutelage of Joshua and shapes many aspects of
the nature of the Pharisaic, Sadducean, and Essene move-
Joshua’s career to parallel similar aspects of the career of
ments, among others; (3) Jewish and Roman political dy-
Moses. For example, Joshua’s splitting of the Jordan River
namics prior to and in the aftermath of the revolt; (4) Jose-
recalls Moses’ splitting of the Sea of Reeds; Joshua’s theopha-
phus’s own motives and conduct, particularly during the
ny (Jos. 5:13–15) specifically evokes that of Moses at the
revolt and then in light of his Flavian patronage; and (5) the
burning bush (Ex. 3–4); the image of Joshua holding out his
brief, but extraordinary, passage in Jewish Antiquities that re-
spear until the city of Ai is taken (Jos. 8:26) recalls the image
fers to Jesus but generally has been judged to be at least in
of Moses extending his arms until the Amalekites are routed
part a forgery.
(Ex. 17:12); and Joshua, like Moses, dispatches spies ahead
In sum, Josephus emerges as a crucial source for the re-
of his army (Jos. 2). As though to highlight the parallel even
construction of Judaism and Jewish history in late antiquity.
further, in Joshua 12 a summary of Joshua’s triumphs over
Many contemporary scholars eschew Jerome’s claim that Jo-
Canaanite kings (Jos. 12:7–24) is juxtaposed with a summary
sephus was the “Greek Livy,” yet few would deny his contri-
of Moses’ earlier triumphs over kings in the Transjordan (Jos.
bution to current understanding of his era or his skill and
12:1–6).
passion in explaining and defending his people to their
Because most of Joshua’s military activities took place
neighbors.
in what became the tribal territory of Benjamin and Ephra-
im, and because he is said to have been buried in an Ephra-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
imite estate in Timnath-serah (Jos. 19:50), modern scholars
The standard text and translation of Josephus’s complete works
surmise that Joshua was a legendary leader of the north-
is that of the “Loeb Classical Library,” edited by Henry St.
central Israelites. However, the Book of Joshua’s description
John Thackeray, Ralph Marcus, Allen Wikgren, and Louis
of a massive takeover of Canaan by an army of invading Isra-
H. Feldman in ten volumes (Cambridge, Mass., 1926–
elites is contradicted by a number of biblical passages (such
1965). A classic introduction is Josephus: The Man and the
as Jos. 13:1–5 and Jgs. 1). It is further contradicted by an in-
Historian by Henry St. John Thackeray (New York, 1929),
creasingly clearer archaeological record, in view of which
republished with a new introduction (New York, 1967); and
a fine, more recent overview is Tessa Rajak’s Josephus: The
only some of the sites said to have been destroyed by Joshua
Historian and His Society (London, 1983). The most com-
were in fact destroyed in the late Bronze Age (thirteenth
plete annotated bibliography is Louis H. Feldman’s Josephus
through twelfth centuries BCE), and those were destroyed
and Modern Scholarship, 1937–1980 (Hawthorne, N.Y.,
over an extended period. The stories of Joshua’s conquests,
1984).
which were apparently written during the Judean monarchy
(ninth through seventh centuries
D
BCE), as well as the division
AVID ALTSHULER (1987)
of the land among the premonarchic tribes, tend to be re-
garded by historians as ideologically motivated. The clear-
ance of Canaanite people and culture from the land of Ca-
JOSHUA, or, in Hebrew, YehoshuaE, was an Israelite lead-
naan, as related in the Book of Joshua, is understood as a
er who flourished, according to tradition, in the thirteenth
mythical expression of Israel’s own self-definition (we are en-
century BCE. The Book of Joshua tells how its namesake led
tirely distinct from them), and Joshua’s military leadership
the twelve tribes of Israel in a concerted military invasion and
is often interpreted as a projection or reflex of Judean imperi-
conquest of the land of Canaan, whose territory was divided
al aspirations, such as those of Hezekiah (late eighth century)
among the tribes. Joshua attributes the success of the cam-
or Josiah (late seventh century).
paign to the direct involvement of YHVH, Israel’s God (see
When the compilers of the Book of Joshua combined tra-
Jos. 10:14, 23:3, 23:10)—a claim underscored by the mirac-
ditions of the Exodus with traditions of the conquest, they
ulous nature of the defeats of the cities of Jericho (whose wall
cast Joshua as the lieutenant and successor of Moses. Thus
is toppled by the shouts of the Israelites) and Gibeon (where
they forged these once-disparate traditions into a unified nar-
the sun stands still until the Israelites are victorious). After
rative.
the conquest is completed, Joshua assembles the Israelites at
Shechem to renew the covenant with YHVH made in the
SEE ALSO Canaanite Religion; Moses.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JÖTNAR
4959
BIBLIOGRAPHY
within the context of these events that the framers of Deuter-
For a summary and discussion of the scholarly issues concerning
onomy were able to promulgate their reform program.
the nature of the Israelite occupation of Canaan and of Josh-
ua’s role in it, see Manfred Weippert, The Settlement of the
It must be kept in mind that the presentation of events
Israelite Tribes in Palestine, translated by James D. Martin
in 2 Kings 22–23 is shaped by a historian whose outlook is
(Naperville, Ill., 1971). For a summary of the pertinent ar-
strongly influenced by Deuteronomy. It is possible, however,
chaeological evidence, see William G. Dever, Who Were the
that both purification and centralization of the cult did not
Early Israelites, and Where Did They Come From? (Grand
become firmly established until the Second Temple period,
Rapids, Mich., 2003). For a notable effort to trace the origins
and even then there were exceptions. Some scholars have
of the conquest tradition, see Nadav NaDaman, “The ‘Con-
sought to offer archaeological evidence for the destruction of
quest of Canaan’ in the Book of Joshua and in History,” in
Judean sanctuaries at Arad and Beersheba in the late seventh
From Nomadism to Monarchy: Archaeological and Historical
century BCE, but the evidence is ambiguous and must be
Aspects of Early Israel, edited by Israel Finkelstein and Nadav
treated with caution.
NaDaman, pp. 218–281 (Jerusalem and Washington, D.C.,
1994). For a model analysis of Joshua as a type of a Judean
Josiah is also credited with a brief revival of the Judean
king, see Richard D. Nelson, “Josiah in the Book of Joshua,”
state and some expansion into the former Israelite kingdom
Journal of Biblical Literature 100 (1981): 531–540. A close
to the north. About this, however, the Bible says little except
literary reading of the Book of Joshua is Robert Polzin’s Moses
for its reference to Josiah’s destruction of the altar at Bethel.
and the Deuteronomist, pp. 73–145 (New York, 1980); and
The archaeological evidence for Josiah’s territorial control
an ideologically oriented commentary is L. Daniel Hawk’s
consists mostly of royal seal impressions on jar handles,
Joshua, Berit Olam series (Collegeville, Minn., 2000).
which would limit his sphere of activity within the borders
EDWARD L. GREENSTEIN (1987 AND 2005)
of Judah.
Apart from its description of the cultic reform, Kings
contains only a few enigmatic remarks about Josiah’s death
JOSHUA BEN HANANIAH SEE YEHOSHU!A
at the hands of Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo while Necho was
BEN H:ANANYAH
on his way to aid the Assyrians at Carche mish (2 Kgs. 23:29–
30). The subsequent Babylonian hegemony led to
the end of de facto Judean independence for the next four
JOSHUA BEN LEVI SEE YEHOSHU!A BEN LEVI
centuries.
The author of Kings rates Josiah highest of all the kings
of Judah after David because of his religious reforms, and
JOSIAH, or, in Hebrew, YoDshiyyahu, was a king of Judah
there is some further reflection of this esteem in Jeremiah
(c. 640–609
22:15–16.
BCE). Josiah came to the throne at eight years
of age upon the assassination of his father, Amon. The ac-
count of his reign in 2 Kings 22–23 is almost entirely taken
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Treatments of the history can be found in John Bright’s A History
up with a presentation of his cultic reform program in the
of Israel, 3d ed. (Philadelphia, 1981), and in the contribu-
eighteenth year. The parallel account in the much later histo-
tions by Hanoch Reviv, Yohanan Aharoni, and Yigael Yadin
ry of 2 Chronicles 34–35, which divides this reform activity
to The World History of the Jewish People, vol. 4, The Age of
between the twelfth and eighteenth years, probably has no
the Monarchies, edited by Abraham Malamat (Jerusalem,
independent validity and so should not be used in the recon-
1979), pt. 1, chaps. 9, 14; pt. 2, chap. 8. On the relationship
struction of the events of his reign.
of Deuteronomy to the reforms of Josiah, see E. W. Nichol-
son’s Deuteronomy and Tradition (Philadelphia, 1967),
The version in Kings states that during the course of the
Moshe Weinfeld’s Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School
renovations of the Temple a “book of the law” (sefer ha-
(Oxford, 1972), and Hans-Detlef Hoffmann’s Reform und
torah) was found. Its contents raised great consternation in
Reformen (Zurich, 1980).
the royal court and led to a large-scale reform program to pu-
rify the cult in Jerusalem. This last act meant the obliteration
New Sources
Barrick, W. Boyd. The King and the Cemeteries: Toward a New
of other cult places throughout Judah and as far north as the
Understanding of Josiah’s Reform. Leiden and Boston, 2002.
region of Bethel, with the unemployed Levitical priests of
“the high places” becoming wards of the state.
JOHN VAN SETERS (1987)
Revised Bibliography
Because of the close match between the nature of the
cultic reform program, especially the centralization of wor-
ship, and these same concerns in Deuteronomy, scholars have
long identified “the book of the law” with this part of the
JÖTNAR (giants) constitute a supernatural tribe in Scan-
Pentateuch. The time of Josiah is thus understood as a period
dinavian mythology. Since the tribe includes fire giants and
of nationalistic and religious fervor resulting from the decline
ice giants, the concept may have originated in the observa-
of Assyrian domination and influence in the west. It was
tion of natural phenomena. Giants are natural spirits and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4960
JOURNALISM AND RELIGION
among the original inhabitants of the world. In Germanic
(1941): 70–85, and Lotte Motz reassesses older views in “Gi-
cosmogony, life originated from the body of the primeval
ants in Folklore and Mythology: A New Approach,” in Folk-
giant Ymir, who was eventually dismembered to create the
lore 93 (1982): 70–84. Margaret Clunies Ross takes a socio-
world. A fire giant, Surtr, helps bring about the end of the
logical approach in Prolonged Echoes: Old Norse Myths in
current world age at Ragnarok, the giants’ final conflict with
Medieval Northern Society, vol. 1 (Odense, Denmark, 1994).
E
the gods, in which both the Æsir and the giants perish. Al-
John Lindow surveys the scholarship in Scandinavian My-
thology: An Annotated Bibliography (New York, 1988).
though the mutual hostility of the gods and giants is implaca-
ble, they are biologically related and occasionally intermarry.
ELIZABETH ASHMAN ROWE (2005)
The Æsir (the dominant group of gods) trace their descent
from the giantess Bestla, and Óðinn’s mistress Jörð, the
mother of Þórr, is a giantess. Njorðr and Freyr, hostages
E
from the second group of gods, the Vanir, marry giantesses,
JOURNALISM AND RELIGION. [This entry dis-
although the unions do not last. Óðinn also seduces a
cusses reporting on religious topics in the daily print and broad-
giantess as part of his efforts to steal the mead of poetic
cast media in the United States.]
inspiration.
Alexis de Tocqueville devoted a chapter of his Democra-
The Æsir fear that, left unchecked, giants will take over
cy in America (1835), “Of the Relation between Public Asso-
their citadel, Ásgarðr, and destroy all life on earth. Character-
ciations and the Newspapers,” to the interdependence of
istically, Óðinn uses wisdom as his weapon, turning the gi-
communications media and other institutions in a democrat-
ants’ magic chants against them and stealing the mead of po-
ic society. Tocqueville highlights this interdependence in the
etry, whereas Þórr uses brute strength to kill giants and
following observation:
giantesses. Heimdallr is another guardian of the gods against
There is a necessary connection between public associa-
the giants. Yet giants are also depicted as brave and strong,
tions and newspapers; newspapers make associations,
old and wise, wealthy and (some at least) of high social status.
and associations make newspapers. . . . A newspaper
For example, the Æsir enjoy drinking bouts at the home of
can survive only on the condition of publishing senti-
the sea giant Ægir. It is a giant who builds Ásgarðr, the Æsir’s
ments or principles common to a large number of men.
stronghold. Giants are aligned with the natural when it is
A newspaper, therefore, always represents an association
contrasted with the cultural, but this shows the natural to be
that is composed of its habitual readers. This association
unnatural and monstrous; superior to it is the cultural, which
may be more or less defined, more or less restricted,
is of course associated with the Æsir.
more or less numerous; but the fact that a newspaper
keeps alive is proof that at least the germ of such an as-
Jötnar have been viewed as objects of cultic worship; as
sociation exists in the minds of its readers. (Tocqueville,
ancestors and primeval spirits; as the gods of a pre-Germanic
ed. Bradley, 1960, vol. 2, pp. 120, 122)
population; as the powers of wintertime; and as forces of un-
THE CREATION OF THE NEWS. Tocqueville’s view ties news-
tamed nature, of death and infertility, and of chaos and de-
papers and other media closely to their own associations of
struction. It has also been argued that the giants continually
readers and viewers, and, at the same time, gives newspapers
try to steal the goddesses and symbols of order such as the
and other media a representative function. The representa-
sun and moon not because they are essentially disorderly, but
tive function is actually twofold. First, the media represent
because they have no opportunity for reciprocal exchange
the associations that make up their readerships and regular
with the gods. Conversely, the Æsir practice violence, theft,
listeners, those in whose minds the germs of such associations
deception, and oath breaking to gain what they want from
exist. Second, the media, while being associations them-
giants, but their actions are depicted as justified. As time
selves, also represent other associations. They are both lamp
passed, the negative side of the giants became predominant
and mirror in a society in which many groups seek to keep
in the mythology. A differentiation of the various types of
their own torches bright, thereby creating a need among the
giants was apparent in heathen times (jötunn is the generic
citizens for mirrors in which to perceive what is going on
term, whereas as þurs and troll designate malevolent giants),
among the diversity of associations, each with its own self-
but the sources, which date from the late heathen or early
interested agenda. In their preoccupation with matters of
Christian era, probably also reflect the Christian demoniza-
personal and neighborhood interest, the citizens “require a
tion of pagan mythological figures. Overall, Scandinavian
journal to bring to them every day, in the midst of their own
mythology shows that the giants are not an external threat
minor concerns, some intelligence of the state of their public
but are ineradicably part of divine society, both as mothers
weal” (Tocqueville, p. 120).
and monsters.
In their interdependence the media and the associations
SEE ALSO Germanic Religion; Njorðr; Óðinn.
E
they serve are among the central institutions in American so-
ciety. Media shape and are shaped by the dynamic consensus
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of advocacy and counteradvocacy among the associations.
Hilda R. Ellis emphasizes the benevolent aspects of giants in “Fos-
To read a newspaper, listen to radio, or view television is to
tering by Giants in Old Norse Sagas,” in Medium Aevum 10
participate, whatever the attenuations, in a communion with
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JOURNALISM AND RELIGION
4961
the central institutions and ethos of the society, an act more
comes news through the repertory of conventions for writing
powerful for being in large part symbolic and hence less obvi-
stories. While the facts that can be reported are without
ous. The media, then, are a part of the consensus-making
limit, the conventions into which facts are translated are lim-
and consensus-reflecting exchanges that create a public out
ited, though they may vary from medium to medium, from
of a diverse and scattered population, encompassing even
one journalistic tradition to another.
peoples of the globe, many of whom depend on American
Conventions of writing include the type of story an
media for their news of the world.
event or set of facts is judged to be, the stereotypes and rhe-
Without an understanding of media as symbolic matrix,
torical modes common to reporters, and editors’ norms of
there can be no helpful understanding of “the news,” much
judgment. Darnton makes clear that reporters are not rote
less the news of religion. The publication of the news is little
writers; they are enterprising in seeking new twists on old
noticed in its symbolic aspect, and the news becomes more
ways of telling stories, but they typically do so within an ap-
powerful than it should be in a democratic society because
proved genre of storytelling. Facts may be observed, re-
the media through which news is mediated are disregarded.
corded, and quoted, but before the reader or viewer sees the
Why, then, are citizens not more critical of the media—not
results, the reporter, under supervision of editors, writes the
as institutions with their own affiliations, self-interests, and
news. This sequence is as true of television reporting as it is
eccentricities, but rather in their symbolic function? Citizens
of radio and print media (one may note, for example, the be-
are in fact critical of the media because of “bias” (writing and
ginning and ending sentences of every television report from
broadcast that takes words and images “out of context,” or
“the scene”).
that touts a standard party line). Rarely, however, does criti-
These conventions of story writing compose the sym-
cism of the media touch on the means by which they make
bolic matrix through which the media translate facts into
news out of persons, issues, movements, and events in the
news. Thus the graffito “All the news that fits we print” cap-
world. Why is this so? It is not possible to proceed to an ex-
tures in an aphoristic formulation the “neatness of fit that
amination of the way religion is reported in the media in the
produces the sense of satisfaction like the comfort that fol-
absence of some field against which to assess the ways in
lows the struggle to force one’s foot into a tight boot. The
which aspects of various religions and religious practices be-
trick will not work if the writer deviates too far from the con-
come, and do not become, news. The “news” must be under-
ceptual repertory that he or she shares with the public and
stood first.
from the techniques of tapping it that he has learned from
News is not fact, but the mediation of facts through
his predecessors” (Darnton, 1975, p. 190).
symbolic media, through conventions of writing and editing,
“Conceptual repertory” comes in the form of rhetorical
and through inclusions and exclusions created in the practice
conventions, descriptive types, and formulaic devices, and
of such conventions. This is not generally understood be-
not in the form of explicitly held taxonomies of types of sto-
cause the creators of the news and its readers and viewers are
ries. The tacit sharing of these conventions of writing and
in common agreement on a key theory about what consti-
reading (or viewing) stories is the underlayment that sup-
tutes knowledge, particularly that form of knowledge called
ports the public status of the media, that is, the means for
“news.” News is not self-evident, because it is the creation
publicity based on publicly shared symbolic forms. Even
of the media, but it is assumed to be self-evident because it
though they may be biased on specific issues, the media in
is understood to be identical with “facts.” Both reporter/
this understanding are representative and consensual.
editor and reader/viewer typically share a theory of knowl-
edge that tacitly teaches them that news gets its status solely
As a good historian of his own abandoned career as a
by reference to facts. What is published are matters of fact,
reporter, Darnton recounts that the first move a reporter
a set of signs whose primary reason for being is to refer, copy,
makes upon being given an assignment is to go to “the
or imitate brute facts (the person who spoke, the event that
morgue” in search of relevant sheets, a cluster of examples
occurred) or actions that happened beyond the pages and
that inscribe an exemplary way of telling the story. “The dead
film, in the real world. On this view, news is reference; it is
hand of the past therefore shapes his perception of the pres-
what is reported or photographed. The news-as-reference
ent” (ibid., p. 189). This is how journalistic traditions of
theory leaves unnoticed the nature of the media as symbolic
writing are maintained. This practice demonstrates in impor-
matrices through which “facts” become “news.”
tant if little-noticed ways that news is old. “There is an epis-
temology of the fait divers” (ibid.). And this epistemology of
CONVENTIONS OF STORYTELLING. The Princeton historian
tradition is displayed not as a theory of knowledge but as a
Robert Darnton, for an article in which he reflects upon his
set of slowly changing styles of writing, and through the rhe-
days as a reporter for papers in New Jersey and New York
torical conventions of the trade.
City, took as his epigraph a graffito he found in 1964 on the
wall of the press room of the Manhattan police headquarters:
Darnton reinterprets Tocqueville, or rather extends
“All the news that fits we print.” Darnton called his article,
Tocqueville’s observations by particularizing them. One im-
which appeared in Daedalus in 1975, “Writing News and
portant meaning of association is the communion between
Telling Stories”; in it he tells how the reporting of facts be-
habitual readers and the newspapers, the sharing of “senti-
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4962
JOURNALISM AND RELIGION
ments and principles” of which Tocqueville wrote; Darnton
MEDIA AND RELIGION. With the larger context of the multi-
particularizes the devices of this sharing in arguing that an
ple meanings of media established, it is possible to move to
essential dimension of the media is their symbolic matrix.
the question of the media and religion. How do the media
Many historians and critics of American journalism have ne-
represent religion? It is necessary that the preceding discus-
glected or overlooked what Darnton calls “the long term cul-
sion be joined to this key question at many points, because
tural determinants of the news,” in part because they have
the long-term cultural determinants that decisively affect the
neglected to consider the enduring styles of storytelling
play of the news in general affect the ways the media repre-
through which news is mediated to various publics. Darnton
sent religion in particular. The discussion is focused on daily
writes:
national media in the United States, not on local, state, or
Of course, we did not suspect that cultural determi-
ethnic media, nor on the vast array of media owned by vari-
nants were shaping the way we wrote about crimes in
ous religious organizations, nor on the weekly and monthly
Newark, but we did not sit down at our typewriters
periodical press and television programs. The defining pres-
with our minds a tabula rasa. Because of our tendency
sures of daily and hourly deadlines impose their “fits” on the
to see immediate events rather than long term processes,
representation of religion in the national media. This is the
we were blind to the archaic element in journalism. But
most illuminating case for understanding how the central as-
our very conception of “news” resulted from ancient
sociations in the society transmit and receive news about
ways of telling stories. (ibid., p. 191)
religion.
The reason that newspapers and other media are consensus-
In the preceding paragraph this article has borrowed
making and consensus-made institutions is that stories fit a
Darnton’s term cultural determinant to refer to a catalog of
range of cultural preconceptions of news. These cultural pre-
conventions relied upon by reporters to write their stories.
conceptions are expressed, not as such, but rather in the “fit”
Yet one of the problems attending the effort to write with
of the facts, the fit of a new story into available conventions
critical consciousness about religion is precisely that the
for writing that story. To study the way the media report reli-
available typologies and formulaic devices used to report on
gion is to study some of the constitutive rules that govern
politics, war, sports, and other areas are used to write on
the display of stories in the media, rules that are never stated
religion.
as such but that are presented through the conventions of
news writing.
Another sort of cultural determinant involves prevalent
ideas among people working in the media about what reli-
Treatments of the news and how it becomes so are also
gion is. Thus notions about religion in the American context
examinations into the epistemology of power through the
determine not only how the news of religion is reported in
analysis of rhetorical forms and conventions that translate
this society, but also how religious leaders, movements, and
facts. The philosopher John Searle, drawing on earlier work
traditions abroad are interpreted. Consensus about religion
by J. L. Austin and G. E. M. Anscombe, summarizes the hi-
in this country, therefore, involves the ways that religions be-
erarchical relations that obtain among facts, institutions, or
yond this country are reported.
associations, and those constitutive rules that order both:
“The description of the brute facts can only be explained in
The ways the media represent religion through the me-
terms of institutional facts. But the institutional facts can
diations of their various conventions are different from the
only be explained in terms of the constitutive rules which un-
ways members of religious groups view their own and other
derlie them” (Searle, 1969, p. 52).
religions, and different also from the ways scholars study reli-
To understand how rules operate as norms and mediat-
gion. These differences account for many misunderstandings
ing symbols and to comprehend how they are refigured, his-
and criticisms. The representations of religion in the media
torically, as they confront novel situations, requires an inqui-
are the combined results of both kinds of cultural determina-
ry that can be usefully assisted by the work of historians of
tions: the predetermination of story schema and the ideas
religion such as Jonathan Z. Smith. Especially helpful are
held by writers and editors about religion, and the repertory
two of Smith’s essays, “Sacred Persistence: Toward a Re-
of conventions and the conceptual repertories of ideas and
description of Canon,” and “The Bare Facts of Ritual,” from
images about religion. It is the interplay of these two sets of
his collection Imagining Religion (1982). Studies of revision
cultural determinations that make the constitutive rules that
in the canonical status of taxonomies that function as consti-
govern representations of religion in the media.
tutive rules for the governance of facts through sanctioning
The first set requires that a story have a “hook” or “lead”
of particular forms of storytelling would find many useful
that organizes its telling. The favorite convention or model
analogies from similar studies of canonical and ritual change
for organization is some form of drama. Usually a type of
occasioned by time and circumstance.
conflict, this drama is something that can be grasped in a
Media is an overlapping of associations: the association
sharply delineated “take” that arrests the attention and woos
as institution, association as representing other associations,
the eye to read further. The dramatic, or conflict, scheme
association between the media and habitual readers and
may come in cameo or in large-scale settings.
viewers, and association as symbolic matrix. Through these
Those aspects of religious life that lend themselves to
complicated connections the news is made.
this prefiguration—namely, highly condensed, dramatic ac-
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JOURNALISM AND RELIGION
4963
tions—are more likely to appear as stories: controversy,
fact, the category of pastness and the category of the ordi-
charge and countercharge, conversions, schisms, deviations
nary, so characteristic of much religious life and practice, are
of many sorts, novel conjunctions of tradition and modern
alien categories in the prevailing modes and ideas. The ways
style. Of special importance is the time sense required by this
symbols work in the living of lives and in the continuities
particular model or convention. This time sense is congruent
of institutional life, of habits of mind and textures of sensibil-
with that that characterizes the entire world according to the
ity, of forms of conviviality, and of matters of taste legiti-
media: a time sense made up of a series of discrete units, each
mated by religious belief are outside the typical scope of the
more or less self-contained. Any religious practices that lend
media—unless they are caught in the portmanteau category
themselves to dramatic portrayal, that are of limited dura-
of “features,” a prime location for worthy efforts that deviate
tion, and that are novel in appearance best meet these re-
from the prevailing norms and conventions.
quirements. Of course, as has been noted, there is nothing
The cultural historian will be intrigued by the hypothe-
in these requirements that is unique to religion. The way reli-
sis that the disposition to favor the drama of religion over
gion is reported must be regarded as essentially similar to the
the prose of religion is not original with the media, even
ways news of politics, economics, athletics, law, or military
though it happens that forms of storytelling most favored by
affairs is reported; there is no special category for “religious
the media conform to this dramatic idea of religion. This au-
news” in contrast to “the news.”
thor’s hypothesis is that one particular strand, a long and
Formulaic pieces that report the visits of presidents and
dominant strand, in Protestantism’s religious practice has be-
royalty, for example, work well for popes: the airport arrival,
come thoroughly part of the media’s ideas about religion:
the crowds along the route of the motorcade, appearances in
The media’s dramatic model for religion is in fact derived
public places, presentations, brief speeches and testimonies,
from the conversion rituals so typical of evangelical Protes-
then departures—a series of sharp segments highly adaptable
tantism in particular and of a variety of conversion-oriented
religions in general. Conversion and its opposite, deconver-
to the rhetorical inscription, transmission, and display re-
sion, are metaphors that support the dramatic model for
quirements of the media. If drama, in one of its many vari-
writing news about religion. Manifestly all dramatic stories
ants, is the favored model, second in usefulness is the “per-
about religion are not conversion stories, but the metaphor
sonality” who dramatizes great conflicts in his or her
of conversion may serve as the tacit root for a variety of con-
gestures. Here two major genres for best coverage are those
flict models for use in the coverage of religion.
that focus on the spectacle or the personality. These genres,
of course, are just as effective for athletic heroes, criminals,
To write about the slow pace of institutional life and the
and political figures as they are useful in the portrayal of reli-
erosions of change over time; to write about the variety of
gious persons. Just as the presidential candidate’s rally may
ways religious identity and sensibility affect other associa-
have the form of a religious revival meeting, so papal visits
tions and expressions in society, the arts, manners, styles of
have the form, according to the taxonomy relied upon by the
living, family life; to describe ways of thinking about and
media, of visits by heads of state. The substitutions of differ-
imagining sexuality, work, leisure, competition, cooperation,
ent events or personalities within the same format for writing
war; and to analyze inside/outside group relations appear
or image making is a reminder of the power of the image
staggering tasks within the idioms and notions about religion
types and story conventions that are used to schematize quite
that prevail in the media.
different situations in similar ways. “Facts” are not canonical
When necessary the media can do a competent job in
for the media, but the forms within which they are organized
reporting formal properties present in the collective life of
have a canonical status worthy of the attention of scriptural
religious groups, particularly when some of the properties—
scholars.
sexual ethics, for example—generate conflict within individ-
One idea that fits neatly with the conventions used to
ual persons and families. But the distance is vast between the
report religion is that religion is most authentically itself
common forms and ideas about religion in the media and
when it dramatizes itself, particularly in the lives of interest-
the remote but powerful ways religious symbols and behavior
ing human beings. Religion as ordinary living or as tradition,
affect political and economic actions, for example.
as a symbolic complex regularly reenacted, or as a complicat-
When an understanding of religion moves beyond the
ed set of ideas with long histories (even with revolutionary
personal and specifically institutional and goes in the direc-
consequences) does not attract the attention of the daily
tion of the less formal and more implicit ways religious belief
media. It is striking that the same features in religion—its
and sensibility work themselves out in a variety of associa-
symbolism, use of conventions, dependence on repetitions
tions, such indeterminate but no less important aspects of re-
in institutional life and personal behavior—turn up in the
ligion place impossible strains on the media’s conceptual
media’s analyses and that members of the media pay about
framework, not to speak of the framework of its writing con-
as much attention to these aspects of religion as they pay to
ventions. These elusive but important aspects of religion are
similar aspects in their own modes of operation. Personal
rarely noticed in these idioms, and for good reasons, because
lives and institutional histories do not lend themselves to
they cannot be categorized within the prevailing forms of
translation into the major news-reporting conventions. In
classification presupposed by reporters’ assignments; by story
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4964
JOURNALISM AND RELIGION
types; by the specialized competences of reporters in politics,
prepares the media to understand the power of symbols to
law, science, economics, sports; and, not least, by the depart-
inspire group visions other than those of progress and eco-
mentalization of media into corresponding sections on poli-
nomic growth. The frequency of use of the term medieval in
tics, law, science, economics, sports, and style. There is an-
describing the forces led in Iran by Khomeini discloses much
other set of reasons for large areas of religion’s impact on
of the media’s own misunderstanding of religion. The irony
society being dropped from notice by the media; it has to do
is that it was precisely this misunderstanding that led so
with a set of intellectual traditions about religion that power-
many intellectuals in America to be surprised by the Islamic
fully affect the outlooks of reporters, producers, editors, and
Revolution.
columnists alike.
The media, then, work with conventions and ideas that
SOME SPECIFIC CASES. Mary Catherine Bateson, an anthro-
reinforce each other in determining the ways religion is rep-
pologist, used the occasion of the Islamic Revolution to call
resented. In addition, the American press, used to the con-
to the attention of the editors and readers of the New York
sensual reporting of religion in this country, is ill prepared
Times the consequences of the intellectual attitude toward re-
to report on religion in other cultures where the manners of
ligion that is held today by many experts upon whom the
pluralism do not obtain and where religious power is often
media wait for authoritative deliverances about such events
disintegrative of the existing social order instead of commun-
as the mass suicide at Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978, and the
ing with it.
Islamic Revolution of the late 1970s and early 1980s. She
points to the failure of the media and of policymakers in the
Just as there are working models in the media for what
United States government, as others had pointed to the fail-
is authentically religious, so there is at work a pattern for the
ure of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to grasp
typical relationship between religion and the central social
the revolutionary forces at work in Iran. Such failures were
order. Nowhere is this model so clearly disclosed as when the
extended in the systematic misrepresentations of the Ayatol-
media attempt to report minority or fundamentally different
lah Khomeini by the American media, misrepresentations of
forms of religious practice, different ways of being religious
a kind that will continue unless “there is a fundamental reap-
than those practiced in the mainline associations and in the
praisal of the role of religion in the world today” (letter to
major religious traditions. Again, the ways the media report
the New York Times, February 20, 1979).
minority religious practices in American society indicate how
foreign religions will be reported, or not reported.
What needs reappraising are notions about religion resi-
dent in large portions of the professions and among policy-
On Sunday, June 8, 1980, the New York Times ran a
makers, as well as in the media. These ideas comprise an un-
story headlined “Police Seize Animals Prepared for Sacrifice
steady mixture of the Enlightenment idea that religion is at
by Cult in the Bronx,” accompanied by a two-column pic-
root superstition and liberalism’s teaching that religious be-
ture of an officer of the American Society for the Prevention
liefs are primarily of interest in the private lives of persons.
of Cruelty to Animals holding a lamb with the caption
Neither attitude helps those who hold it to gain advanced
“Lamb Saved from Slaughter.” The lead on this story was as
notice of a crisis, much less write about many aspects of reli-
follows: “Police officers and agents of an animal protection
gion, until there is a dramatic crisis such as a revolution,
society raided a garage in the Southview section of the Bronx
something that is of course political and economic, not mere-
early yesterday and confiscated 62 animals that they said
ly “religious”; this is particularly so because such a revolution
were apparently being held for sacrifice by a religious cult.”
would be unimaginable in America. Consensus reporting
The raid, following one that had occurred three weeks previ-
does not prepare the media to view religion as having the
ously, was termed in the second lead paragraph “the first
power to redirect the history of a nation, let alone affect the
major successful raid on secret cults practicing animal sacri-
life of many other nations. Bateson notes that a new under-
fice.” The final sentence of the ten-paragraph story read “The
standing of religion is necessary that will “transcend the fash-
animals used in the cultic rituals are usually killed by having
ionable tendency to see religion either as fanaticism or as a
their throats slit, according to Mr. Langdon,” the officer pic-
cloak for other interests; it must be premised on a recogni-
tured holding the saved lamb. The drama of the raid, as re-
tion that for vast numbers of the world’s people the symbols
ported, was followed by lists and numbers of animals confis-
of religion sum up their highest aspirations.”
cated. Officer Langdon was the major source for the story,
and apparently the quoted authority on the meaning and his-
When the media seek expert consultants on religious
tory of the cult. “People will give one of the sect’s priests
matters, they frequently call in members of the psychological
$100 to perform a sacrifice so that good things will happen,
profession, who are often disposed to see religion as a form
so they will get money, or become healthy,” he said. Not
of pathology, or other social scientists who see religion as a
until the seventh paragraph were any words attributed to a
“cloak,” or an ideology covering a variety of other interests,
member of the group raided, and no leaders were quoted.
whether ethnic, economic, or political. Neither media no-
There was no reference to scholarship on this form of reli-
tions of religion, derived from Enlightenment critique, nor
gious practice. Not until the penultimate paragraph was any
courtship of the social sciences for authoritative enlighten-
background information supplied about this group and its
ment about unusual religious phenomena such as Jonestown,
affiliations. Again, Officer Langdon was the informant quot-
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JOURNALISM AND RELIGION
4965
ed: “Mr. Langdon said that the people in the house belonged
and viewers’ tacit association and to reassert the normative
to a sect closely related to Santería, which, he said, was de-
and “normal” status of the familiar and dominant. “Charis-
rived from a Nigerian religion called Yoruba that was
matic preacher” may work as a term of approval, but “cult
brought to Cuba by slaves in the 18th century and which
leaders” become “self-proclaimed messiahs,” while their be-
once practiced infanticide as well as animal sacrifice.”
lievers become “victims.”
A generous critic of this story may doubt if many adher-
The mix of conventions used to report the practice of
ents of Santeria were assumed to be included in the Times’s
Santeria in the Bronx bear close relations to similar encod-
readers that Sunday morning. All the key terms of the
ings in the reporting of Jonestown and its leader Jim Jones
story—“raid,” “sacrifice,” “religious cult,” “slaughter,” “cru-
and of the revolution in Iran and Khomeini, who was con-
elty to animals,” “sect,” “a Nigerian religion called Yoruba,”
stantly referred to as a “madman,” and whose country was
“slaves,” “infanticide as well as animal sacrifice”—along with
classified as backward, if not primitive, by being called “me-
the quoted final sentence, combine to project a consistent
dieval.” The visual image of the shouting mob became the
image of the exotic. No reporter would describe a mainline
set for television reporting from Iran, recalling a scene type
religious group as “an American religion called X that was
that goes back to the crowd imagery used by those writers
brought to this country in the seventeenth century by vi-
hostile to the French Revolution.
sionaries, refugees, indentured servants, and fortune seekers.”
Generalizations about the media as a consensual associa-
True to form, the story angles on a dramatic event, a
tion enforcing what Tocqueville called “principles and senti-
police raid, followed by confiscation of the animals. But not
ments” are routinely inscribed in the particulars of ordinary
so true to form is the hybrid mixture of conific offerings and
stories like the Times story discussed above. The ways that
demonstrating the qualities of taker. The alleged violations
particular “facts” are represented contribute to the consensus
of city laws on the treatment of animals and on harboring
while embodying many of the consensus’s assumptions. Such
farm animals in the city are in tension with the story of the
representations not only define themselves and their constit-
religious rite interrupted by the raid, and nowhere is the issue
uents affirmatively toward their conception of the normal
of freedom to practice religion hinted at as an issue. The mix-
but also negatively toward the alien, the exotic, the criminal,
ture of types struggling with each other here—the police
the pathological, the animal, the medieval, the primitive, and
raid; the exotic practices of a minority religion; the motiva-
so on. These terms of exclusion and their encoded idioms
tion for such practices as involving exchange of money with
within the rhetorical commonplaces of news writing carry
priests of the cult (a constant, formulaic consideration in re-
power to refamiliarize the normal by distancing the alien.
porting of religion); the sentimental story involving officers
Thus the rhetoric of the media bears close analogies to rituals
rescuing animals from danger (no pictures provided of goats
of inclusion and of exorcism. In these ways the media make
or guinea hens, which were also saved)—disclose a clash of
their contribution to the manners of discourse and good taste
genre and, perhaps unwittingly, reveal the problematics of
in a society that has shown a decided disposition to view reli-
conventional treatments of the exotic for an intended majori-
gion as private, lest the plurality of prescriptive and assertive
ty readership. All information supplied about the minority
religions within its borders cease observing good form. This
religious group only highlights the alien, if not pathological
equivocal achievement is sustained by a studied absence of
and illegal, status of such groups and their practices.
attention to the power of symbols, those of religion and those
of the media, to affect the lives of the unreported many, who
The loosely braided character of the several story con-
take the former with much more seriousness than the latter.
ventions at work demonstrates what happens when news that
does not neatly fit gets published. Perhaps here was a telltale
SEE ALSO Law and Religion, article on Law, Religion, and
occasion when “All the news that’s fit to print” prevailed over
Human Rights; Religious Broadcasting.
“All the news that fits we print.” The misfits here illuminate
the standard fits that prevail in most reporting of religion.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The heterogeneity of the “brute facts” on which this story
Anscombe, G. E. M. “On Brute Facts.” Analysis 18 (1958): 69–
was based may have placed too much pressure on the ruling
72. A brief and influential article setting forth elementary
conventions for them to operate effectively.
distinctions among different kinds of facts and their rela-
tions. See Searle (1969), cited below.
The repitition of key words in the story shows how the
Bensman, Joseph, and Robert Lilienfeld. Craft and Consciousness:
alien and the minority is encoded for the familiar and majori-
Occupational Technique and the Development of World Im-
ty. Terms such as “cult,” “secret sacrifice,” “infanticide,”
ages. New York, 1973. Journalists and intellectuals are
“slaughter,” and the like had echoed through the media dur-
among the occupational groups treated in this work in the
ing the previous eighteen months, following the reporting of
sociology of knowledge. Alert to the power of images arising
events at Jonestown, Guyana, in November 1978; at that
out of occupations, it is, in effect, a theoretical expansion of
time, other terms—“fanatical,” “paranoid,” and “bizarre”—
Kenneth Burke’s dictum, “occupations engender preoccu-
were added to the code to alert readers and viewers to the
pations.”
alien and “other” status of such religious practices and lead-
Cuddihy, John Murry. No Offense: Civil Religion and Protestant
ers. These signals of differentness serve to reaffirm readers’
Taste. New York, 1978. While not directly about media in
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4966
JOURNALISM AND RELIGION
American society, this work offers a provocative and contro-
sional pieces, many with bibliographical reference, for begin-
versial thesis about the function of discourses of civility and
ning an inquiry into the representation of religion in the
taste in a pluralistic society. Cuddihy’s multiplication of ex-
news. Of particular note is the stress in several parts of the
amples from a variety of sources is a persuasive exercise in the
consultation on the interplay between the coverage of reli-
hermeneutics of unmasking.
gion in America and the coverage of religion in other coun-
Darnton, Robert. “Writing News and Telling Stories.” Daedalus
tries.
104 (Spring 1975): 175–194. Darnton shows himself to be
Schudson, Michael. Discovering the News: A Social History of
a master of two conventions here, making the personal mem-
American Newspapers. New York, 1978. A quality work clear-
oir serve the larger purposes of a historical and rhetorical
ly represented by its title. In the tradition of the Hughes
analysis of the ways the news is prefigured. An exemplary ap-
book noted above.
proach suggesting literary and cultural analyses can be useful-
Schudson, Michael. “Why News Is the Way It Is.” Raritan 2
ly combined with historical study of the media. Included is
(Winter 1983): 109–125. Other than the Darnton article
a selective and critical annotated bibliography.
cited above, the single most useful article on the subject.
Gans, Herbert J. Deciding What’s News: A Study of CBS Evening
Schudson is not held captive by any one theory but is deft
News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and Time. New York,
in relating the reigning theories about the news to each other
1979. Gans’s analysis focuses on decision making. This is a
and in using them to criticize each other. The result, particu-
standard approach in work on the media. The identification
larly because one of the theories he treats is the semiotic, is
of sets of image traditions, however, such as the pastoral,
a minor classic of synthesis.
makes his an important contribution to the symbolic analysis
Searle, John. Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language.
of the media.
London, 1969. Drawing on the work of J. L. Austin and G.
E. M. Anscombe, Searle is important for his placement of a
Goethals, Gregor T. The TV Ritual: Worship at the Video Altar.
philosophy of language in conjunction with questions of fac-
Boston, 1981. While not strong on the history of the images
tuality, on the one hand, and institutional contexts, on the
employed on television, this art historian offers a novel thesis
other, and he dialectically weaves the relations among them.
about the religious functions of television images in their var-
An analysis that is useful to applied work in religion or in the
ious formats. An effort to suggest a ritual analysis of televi-
media, or both.
sion image sequences.
Shils, Edward. “Center and Periphery.” In Center and Periphery:
Hughes, Helen MacGill. News and the Human Interest Story. Chi-
Essays in Macrosociology, vol. 2, Selected Papers, pp. 3–16.
cago, 1940. This is one of the earliest of the few works that
Chicago, 1975. Shils offers a dialectic in the understanding
stress the long-term cultural determinants at work in the
of the central institutional system in a society, with dissensu-
conventions of news reporting. Like Darnton’s memoir, it
al forces imaged as “periphery.” The bias toward the center
sets a good precedent for further work on the sociocultural
is clear, though the delicacy of the analysis, if used to think
determinants of news writing.
about the functional and symbolic roles of media, is helpful.
Innis, Harold A. Empire and Communications (1950). Reprint,
Should be supplemented by Shils’s chapter on consensus in
Toronto, 1972.
the same volume.
Innis, Harold A. The Bias of Communication. Toronto, 1951.
Smith, Jonathan Z. Imagining Religion: From Babylon to Jones-
These two undervalued works have inspired more famous
town. Chicago, 1982. Smith provides the only available treat-
treatments of media, none of which have equaled Innis’s
ment of Jonestown by a historian of religion. In addition, his
cross-cultural scope and empirical incisiveness. Historians
essays “Sacred Persistence: Toward a Redescription of
and anthropologists of religion can benefit from Innis’s treat-
Canon” and “The Bare Facts of Ritual,” included in this vol-
ment of the role of intellectuals in various media in a variety
ume, not only illuminate problems in the history and anthro-
of cultures, ancient and modern. Innis is particularly helpful
pology of religion but are also helpful in understanding
in outlining, through comparative study, different time
media as a canonical symbolic matrix and in exploring the
senses in various societies and within various strata of society.
problems attending changes in that canon.
Lippmann, Walter. Public Opinion. New York, 1922. Few subse-
Strauss, Leo. Persecution and the Art of Writing (1952). Westport,
quent works have approached the comprehensiveness of
Conn., 1973. Strauss offers a hermeneutic for understanding
sweep and the use of telling detail of Lippmann’s pioneering
writing performed under particular repressions, especially the
study. It is an extensive elaboration of many of Tocqueville’s
threat of official censorship. The work’s relevance ranges far
intuitions and notes. Most of interest to the student of reli-
beyond issues of writing and censorship if censorship is
gion is Lippmann’s fine treatment of censorship and privacy,
broadened to include a variety of forms of cultural suppres-
stereotypes (all of the third section of the book), the role of
sion or exclusion.
interests, and the recurrent attention to the function of rhe-
Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Edited by Phillips
torical forms in media in a democratic society. A classic work
Bradley. 2 vols. New York, 1960. This work is included be-
meriting a new edition.
cause, in addition to the observations on newspapers in a
Rockefeller Foundation. The Religion Beat: The Reporting of Reli-
democratic society, Tocqueville’s chapters on language and
gion in the Media. New York, 1981. Papers by journalists and
speech in America are early instances that can now be seen
academic specialists in religious studies, followed by excerpts
to be a part of social semiotics.
from a day’s consultation, sponsored by the Rockefeller
New Sources
Foundation, Humanities Division, in the aftermath of Jones-
Buddenbaum, Judith, and Debra Mason, eds. Readings on Religion
town and the Islamic Revolution. A good collection of occa-
as News. Ames, Iowa, 2000.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ DE ASBAJE Y RAMIREZ
4967
Hangen, Tona. Redeeming the Dial: Radio, Religion, and Popular
studies, and the reasons for her entry into a convent continue
Culture in America. Chapel Hill, N.C., 2002.
to be a matter of debate amongst sorjuanistas (Sor Juana
Hoover, Stewart. Religion and the News: Faith and Journalism in
scholars). Núñez de Miranda became Sor Juana’s confessor
American Public Discourse. Thousand Oaks, Calif., 1998.
for a significant portion of her cloistered life.
Hoover, Stewart, and Lynn Schofield Clark, eds. Practicing Reli-
Sor Juana’s time in the convent was focused primarily
gion in the Age of the Media. New York, 2002.
on fierce study and scholarship. She read in the fields of liter-
Lundby, Knut, and Stewart Hoover, eds. Rethinking Media, Reli-
ature, philosophy, theology, and science. Estimates of the
gion, and Culture. Thousand Oaks, Calif., 1997.
number of books in her library range from hundreds to thou-
McDannell, Colleen. Material Christianity, Religion and Popular
sands. She also collected scientific and musical instruments.
Culture in America. New Haven, 1998.
Her poetry and plays were in high demand for both Church
Schmalzbauer, John. People of Faith: Religious Conviction in Amer-
festivities and court occasions, and it is in these milieus that
ican Journalism and Higher Education. Ithaca, N.Y., 2003.
her writings were read, sung, and performed. Much of her
Smith, Christian, ed. The Secular Revolution: Power, Interests, and
corpus was written by request and for commission.
Conflict in the Secularization of American Public Life. Berke-
After enjoying a public life as a writer and intellectual,
ley, 2003.
Sor Juana’s situation took a dramatic turn when, in 1690,
RUEL W. TYSON, JR. (1987)
La Carta Atenagórica, her critique of a male theologian’s
Revised Bibliography
analysis of Christ’s greatest demonstration of love, was circu-
lated without her authorization. The critique was circulated
with a letter, written under the pseudonym Sor Filotea, criti-
JOURNEY SEE ASCENSION; DESCENT INTO THE
cizing Sor Juana’s intellectual pursuits. Sor Juana scholars
UNDERWORLD; FLIGHT; PILGRIMAGE; QUESTS
generally acknowledge that the author of the letter was the
Bishop of Puebla, Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz, and
that Sor Juana was aware of his role in these events. Fernán-
dez names the object of Sor Juana’s critique as a fifty-year-old
JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ DE ASBAJE Y
sermon written by the prominent Jesuit theologian Antonio
RAMIREZ. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648/1651–1695)
Vieira. Though the actual object of Sor Juana’s critique is a
was a compelling seventeenth-century Mexican scholar and
matter of debate among sorjuanistas, the perceived target in
writer whose work deserves a significant place in the history
the eyes of her contemporaries was Vieira. Sor Juana’s re-
of Christian thought. Scholars who study her religious writ-
sponse to these events, La Respuesta, an autobiographical de-
ings consider her to be the first female theologian of the
fense of women’s right to intellectual pursuits, was complet-
Americas. Her poetry and dramas offer a theological voice
ed the following year. Within four years of the production
through the medium of literature.
of La Respuesta, Sor Juana renounced her public life. Two
years later she died from an illness that she contracted while
Juana Ramirez de Asbaje y Santillana, the daughter of
caring for the sick in her convent.
unwed parents, was born in the town of Nepantla, Mexico,
between 1648 and 1651. Her mother was a criolla (American
Three volumes of Sor Juana’s works were published in
of Spanish descent), and her father was a Spanish military
Madrid between 1689 and 1700. Her corpus includes sixty-
officer. Around the age of thirteen, Juana went to live in the
five sonnets, sixty-two romances, a large number of poems
court of the viceroy of New Spain (colonial Mexico) as a
in other forms, two comedies, three autos sacramentales (alle-
lady-in-waiting. She stayed there for three years. In 1667 she
gorical dramas), sixteen sets of villancicos (poems sung on re-
entered into the ascetic, cloistered Roman Catholic order of
ligious holidays), one sarao (a celebratory song accompanied
Discalced Carmelites, which she left after a short time. Two
by a dance), and two farces. Her writings incorporate an
years later she joined the order of the Hieronymites.
eclectic mixture of colonial Mexican philosophy and theolo-
gy, including Thomism, Neoplatonism, and Hermeticism.
At a young age, Juana developed a passion for the intel-
A child of the Americas, Sor Juana incorporates indigenous
lectual life. She was an avid reader, primarily self-taught, and
and African sources and voices throughout her work. One
by her midteens she was recognized as the most erudite
of her most significant contributions to Christian theology
woman in Mexico. Her reputation as a scholar was a crucial
is her defense of indigenous peoples and her understanding
factor in her gaining a position in the viceregal court. Her
of indigenous religions as prefigurations of Christianity.
desire for a life of scholarship and study was perhaps a signifi-
cant factor in her decision to enter cloistered life. During her
As a baroque figure, Sor Juana’s writings are clearly
time in the court, the Jesuit Antonio Núñez de Miranda en-
marked by the excesses and ornamentation that characterize
couraged Juana to enter the convent. Aware of her academic
this era. She and other baroque writers of New Spain emulat-
gifts, as well as her distaste for marriage, he felt the convent
ed the Spanish greats of the period, including Luis de Gón-
was the best venue from which to monitor Juana’s growing
gora (1561–1627) and Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600–
public notoriety and intellectual aspirations. Juana hesitated
1681). The literature of this world was predominantly male,
to take the veil, fearing that convent life would impede her
written to and read by men. Sor Juana, of course, is a notable
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4968
JUDAH
exception, although not because she was a woman. There
JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA TO
were other women writers in colonial Latin America, espe-
1492
JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA SINCE
cially within the context of convent life. What distinguishes
1492
Sor Juana is her forays into what were understood as the mas-
JUDAISM IN NORTHEAST AFRICA
culine discourses of philosophy and theology, which contrast
JUDAISM IN ASIA
drastically with the mystical writings of other nuns. Today,
JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE TO 1500
JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
Sor Juana is recognized as Mexico’s most important colonial
writer.
JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
Sor Juana’s corpus touches on a wide variety of theologi-
Judaism is the religion of the Jews, an ethnic, cultural, and
cal themes through the lens of literature. In her poetry one
religious group that has its origins in the ancient Near East,
finds a heavy Marian emphasis. The theme of beauty is per-
has lived in communities as members of collective polities
vasive in her work. Her Christological writings emphasize
and as individuals throughout the world, and now numbers
Jesus as a manifestation of God’s glory and the beauty of hu-
about thirteen million people, chiefly concentrated in the
manity created in the image of God. Her allegorical drama
State of Israel, North America, and Europe. However, not
El divino Narciso reinterprets the Ovidian myth of Narcissus
all Jews practice Judaism as a religion; nor does every form
into an account of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection,
of Judaism constitute a religious expression. Judaism as a reli-
highlighting the dramatic character of humanity’s relation-
gion has since its emergence held to a belief in one God; be-
ship with the divine. Her theological anthropology presents
lieved that the Jewish people are bound to God by a sacred
a relational humanity, constituted by the interconnectedness
covenant; and read, interpreted, and followed what it sees as
of the human community and its relationship with God. Sor
the terms of that covenant in God’s revelation in the form
Juana also defended women’s right to an education, and she
of the Torah. But Jews’ conceptions of God have ranged
critiqued the social construction of gender. Poet, dramatist,
from extreme anthropomorphism to forms of pantheism; the
theologian, and philosopher, Sor Juana is a Latin American
idea that the covenant obliges Jews especially and personally
Church mother and a key figure in the history of theology.
has been challenged by certain Jewish religious movements
SEE ALSO Christianity, article on Christianity in Latin
in modern times; and ways and implications of interpreting
America.
the Torah have varied greatly, even in the most common
forms of Judaism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
It is impossible to separate the history and description
Bénassy-Berling, Marie-Cécile. Humanisme et religion chez Sor
of Judaism from that of the Jewish people. Defining and de-
Juana Inés de la Cruz: La femme et la culture au XVIIe siècle.
scribing Judaism for a reference work on religion therefore
Paris, 1982.
presents several questions, many of which do not arise when
Gonzalez, Michelle A. Sor Juana: Beauty and Justice in the Ameri-
describing most other religions. How does one identify the
cas. Maryknoll, N.Y., 2003.
Jewish people—a political, social, and religious entity that
Juana Inés de la Cruz, Sor. Obras completas. 3d ed. Edited by Al-
has ranged from antiquity to the present, that is not limited
fonso Méndez-Plancarte and Alberto G. Salceda. Vol. 1:
to one geographic region, and the members of which do not
Lírica personal; Vol. 2: Villancicos y letras sacras; Vol. 3: Autos
always agree on what constitutes membership in their com-
y loas; Vol. 4: Comedias, sainetes, y prosa. Mexico City, 1995.
munity? Does this definition preclude any doctrinal or be-
Kirk, Pamela. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Religion, Art, and Femi-
havioral definition of Judaism? When members of that com-
nism. New York, 1998.
munity depart from a set of beliefs or practices but still
Merrim, Stephanie, ed. Feminist Perspectives on Sor Juana Inés de
consider themselves Jews, are they still adherents to Judaism?
la Cruz. Detroit, 1991.
Does one accept internal definitions of Judaism and Jews, or
Paz, Octavio. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, or, The Traps of Faith.
does one draw conclusions from the historical range of Jew-
Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden. Cambridge, Mass.,
ish history?
1988.
Questions are not limited to those that concern identi-
Tavard, George. Juana Inés de la Cruz and the Theology of Beauty:
fying the Jews as an entity and simply describing their cul-
The First Mexican Theology. Notre Dame, Ind., 1991.
ture, the way one might define a geographic region such as
MICHELLE A. GONZALEZ (2005)
southern India or ancient Mesoamerica and describe its in-
digenous religions. For Judaism as a religion has carried with-
in it a concept of Jewish peoplehood. This concept is knit
JUDAH SEE YEHUDAH HA-LEVI
into the fabric of its myths, rituals, and theology. The Jewish
people, usually designated as Israel in Jewish theological and
mythic discourse, stands at the center of almost all major reli-
JUDAISM
gious expressions of Judaism through the notion of a cove-
This entry consists of the following articles:
nant between Israel and God. Religious conversion to Juda-
AN OVERVIEW
ism entails not only joining a creed, set of rituals, and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
4969
community, but an extended family as well: it is customary
(1961/1948) and Abba Hillel Silver’s Where Judaism Differed
in Jewish legal and ceremonial practice for a convert to desig-
(1987/1956) sought not only to present Judaism as a set of
nate his or her parents as Abraham and Sarah, the progeni-
creeds and norms but to distinguish it from Christianity and
tors of the Jewish people. Moreover, modern secular nation-
other religions. Likewise much Jewish historiography in the
alist definitions of Judaism, such as Zionism, have drawn
nineteenth century was concerned with what was essential
heavily from those religious conceptions of Jewish people-
and nonessential to Judaism in Jewish history. As a result his-
hood and could not have developed without them. A few
torians such as Heinrich Graetz dismissed large movements
modern expressions of Judaism have sought to minimize or
in Jewish history and thought as unjüdisch (see Biale, 1982).
reconfigure the place of Jewish peoplehood in Judaism. Most
notably some sectors of the Reform movement in the nine-
This tendency was balanced by the efforts of historians
teenth and early twentieth centuries sought to redefine Juda-
of Jewish literature such as Leopold Zunz and Moritz Stein-
ism as a form of ethical monotheism open to all. However,
schneider, whose principal motivation was to uncover and
a closer look at these expressions shows that they usually saw
catalog as many textual and cultural sources as possible. In
the dissolving of boundaries between Jews and non-Jews as
the latter half of the twentieth century historians such as Ger-
the outcome of an enlightened, utopian future and further-
shom Scholem (who once described himself as a “religious
more saw Israel as a distinct entity charged with the mission
anarchist”), Salo Baron, and others sought to describe Jewish
of spreading Mosaic religion to the larger world.
cultures in their widest variety, privileging virtually no cen-
tral idea or spiritual phenomenon over others. So too Jacob
In the light of the centrality of peoplehood in Judaism’s
Neusner, describing the Jewish religious landscape in late an-
conception of itself, the major historical entries on Judaism
tiquity, sees the major documents and genres of Jewish litera-
that follow will focus not only on myths, rituals, theologies,
ture as constituting discrete “Judaisms” and not as one enti-
ethics, and factions that make up stages of Judaism but polit-
ty. Scholem’s historiography, rejecting normative criteria for
ical and demographic data as well. After a brief discussion
admitting phenomena into Jewish history, encompassed not
of criteria by which historians of religion can survey this sub-
only the Qabbalah but expressions of Judaism widely consid-
ject, this article will proceed to a description of some of the
ered heretical, such as the messianic movements surrounding
major historical stages, themes, and practices that constitute
Shabbetai Tsevi and Jacob Frank, the extreme anthropomor-
Judaism.
phism of the ShiEur Qomah literature of late antiquity, and
“Jewish Gnosticism.”
DEFINITIONS. The term Judaism first appears in Hellenistic
Jewish literature, most prominently 2 Maccabees (a narration
The earlier generation’s effort at distinguishing the
of the Judean revolt against the Seleucid Greeks in the sec-
unique aspects of Judaism, however, was also paradoxically
ond century BCE), where the word Ioudaïsmos seems to iden-
an attempt to place Judaism on a parity with other “world
tify the ways and practices of the Jews in contradistinction
religions,” especially Christianity. By describing it primarily
with those of the “barbarians” (which in 2 Mc. 2:21 actually
as a set of doctrines, this discourse made Judaism a philo-
means Greeks). There Ioudaïsmos is contrasted with Hellenis-
sophical or spiritual system that could be compared with
mos, the ways and practices of the Greeks that the Maccabees’
other systems of its class. This, no less than the status of Juda-
Jewish opponents wished to follow. Thus the term Judaism
ism as the spiritual ancestor of Christianity and Islam, grant-
began as a way of distinguishing itself from the other. Like-
ed Judaism pride of place in encyclopedias, textbooks, and
wise the Hebrew term Yahadut appears occasionally in the
other large-scale comparisons of Western religions.
Middle Ages with a similar valence. In all of these premodern
examples, Judaism refers to the whole of a religious behavior-
Other historians and theorists of religions also had their
al system and is not given a substantive, doctrinal definition.
uses for Judaism. For some historians of early Christianity
From the Hellenistic period until the dawn of modernity,
and the matrix of first-century Judaism that produced it, Ju-
Jews would be most likely to describe their practices, beliefs,
daism was portrayed as a civilization whose nomocentrism,
and theological thinking as Torah. This word originally
casuistry, and parochialism could be contrasted with early
meant “teaching” and in its simplest common meaning ap-
Christianity’s spirituality, sincerity, and universality. For an-
plies to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (the Penta-
thropologists from James Frazer (Folklore in the Old Testa-
teuch). However, as shall be seen, the term came to encom-
ment, 1988) and W. Robertson Smith (Religion of the Sem-
pass nearly the entirety of Judaic religious discourse.
ites, 2002/1956), Judaism could be held up to examination
as an example of the persistence of ritual patterns, such as
It is in modern times that the word Judaism came most
food taboos and sacrificial values, that also characterized
commonly to denote a full-fledged religious system that
“primitive” religions. From the nineteenth century, which
could be compared with Christianity, Islam, and other reli-
saw the birth of the Wissenschaft des Judentums, the scholarly
gions. From the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth
study of Judaism, historians of Judaism responded with a
century it became common for Jewish thinkers to identify
counterdiscourse that sought to prove that within Judaism’s
an “essence of Judaism,” which consisted mainly of a set of
legal structure lay profound ethical and spiritual truths.
doctrines authentic to the eternal character of Judaism as a
Whereas, as mentioned above, this movement sometimes re-
religion. Books such as Leo Baeck’s The Essence of Judaism
sulted in the tendency to gloss over aspects of Jewish history
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4970
JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
that did not conform to Western rationalist ideals of religion,
leaders called rabbis sought to construct a system where-
this effort also succeeded in uncovering a sophisticated philo-
by the worship of God centered around the study of the
sophical and literary civilization within the vast Jewish
Torah as interpreted by its authoritative transmitters,
manuscript collections of Europe and the Middle East. With
the rabbis, and according to which the performance of
the increased integration of the study of Judaism into the
individual commandments (mitsvot) could lead the per-
Western academy, historians and critics have come to chal-
son to a beatific life after resurrection. During this peri-
lenge conceptions of Judaism forged in these early conflicts.
od synagogues became the primary locus of worship,
In addition, some students of the major non-Western reli-
and early forms of Jewish magic and mysticism took
gions, especially Hinduism and Buddhism, have come to see
shape.
Judaism as a comperand for such themes as exile, scholasti-
cism, purity, and discourse of sacrifice.
4. The medieval period, sixth to sixteenth centuries. Dur-
ing this period Jews increasingly lived in Europe, North
This has resulted in a productive tension between the
Africa, and the Middle East among Christians and Mus-
effort to identify elements of Judaism that are enduring and
lims. This encounter with the two major religious civili-
indispensable on the one hand and on the other the tendency
zations that saw themselves as daughter and successor
to see no form of Judaism as alien to the historian. It has led
religions to Judaism produced tensions and new forms
to synthetic studies tracing key motifs and ideas through long
of discourse. Under Islam, Jews developed an extensive
stretches of time; has brought to light genres, theological and
literature of systematic philosophy and secular poetry;
experiential trends, and ritual patterns that otherwise might
under Christianity, Jewish intellectuals produced inno-
have been neglected; and keeps students of religion conscious
vative systems of textual and legal interpretation.
of the complexity of their subject. It is likewise productive
for an overview such as this, for it makes both writer and
5. The early modern and modern period, seventeenth to
reader aware of the value of generalizations as well as their
twenty-first centuries. During this period Jews in the
limits.
Middle East and North Africa were affected by the for-
tunes of the Ottoman Empire and the colonization of
After a brief discussion of what constitutes Jewish iden-
those parts of the world by European countries. In east-
tity in Judaism, this article will be organized historically, with
ern Europe new religious trends such as the Hasidic
an eye to understanding what each historical episode in the
movement and the Talmudism of the Vilna Gaon
history of Judaism has contributed to the religion and culture
changed the face of Jewish life. From the early nine-
as it stands in the early twenty-first century. This history will
teenth century onward Jews in the West increasingly be-
be described in five major stages.
came citizens of modern states, not members of autono-
mous Jewish communities. In some states in western
1. The biblical period, second millennium to 536 BCE. In
Europe and in America it became possible for Jews to
this period the Israelites coalesced into a divided king-
leave Jewish communities and disavow any Jewish iden-
dom under a Davidic royalty and a priestly caste. Dur-
tity without converting to another religion. By the
ing this time the worship of YHWH rose to become the
twentieth century it also became possible to abandon
defining characteristic of Israel’s religion and the Tem-
Judaism as a religion while retaining a Jewish identity.
ple in Jerusalem the most important place of sacrifice
During the modern period the religious denominations
and sacred space. In this period as well the scribes,
Reform, Orthodoxy, Conservative Judaism, and Recon-
priests, prophets, and poets dedicated to that God com-
structionism formed over differences in the status and
posed the writings that would become the Hebrew
interpretation of Jewish law, the nature of revelation,
Scriptures.
and the role of the Jewish people in the modern world.
2. The Second Temple period. After a fifty-year period of
In this period, in response to the growth of modern Eu-
exile, the leadership of the nation of Judah returned
ropean nationalism as well as the rise of political anti-
from exile under Persian rule (538 to 333 BCE). With
Semitism, the Zionist movement formed around the
the advent of Greek, then Roman control of Judea and
idea that the Jews could only find safety and fulfillment
the introduction of Hellenism (333 BCE to 70 CE), polit-
as a nation by returning to the Land of Israel.
ical, economic, and cultural upheavals led to the forma-
Each historical stage will not be described comprehensively.
tion of a Diaspora in the Greco-Roman world and the
Rather, those major elements of each period that contributed
rise of competing sects and communities within Judea.
most to later stages will be emphasized. For more complete
During this period the writings of the biblical period
accounts, the reader is referred to the other major articles in
were increasingly treated as a canon and were subject to
this section. The article will conclude with a description of
diverse methods of interpretation. The civil strife that
some of the most important forms, themes, and practices in
beset the commonwealth in the first century culminated
contemporary Judaism, noting differences among the de-
in the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 CE.
nominations where relevant. These include basic theological
3. The rabbinic period, 70 CE to the sixth century. With
tenets, practices and rituals, and principles of ethics and
the destruction of the Temple, a class of nonpriestly
polity.
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
4971
WHO IS A JEW? The Hebrew Bible most often uses the word
Bible, such as Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and the books of Kings,
Israel, Yisrael, in such formulas as Bene Yisrael, “the children
tell a story of the foundation, growth, and tribulations of a
of Israel,” or EAm Yisrael, the people of Israel. This term for
nation guided by its relationship to God. (God is known by
the Jewish people has persisted in legal and religious dis-
several names, both generic and specific, in the Hebrew
course. Individually a Jew is known in Hebrew as Yehudi,
Bible; chief among them is a four-letter proper name whose
Jew, or Yisrael, “member of Israel,” the latter used principally
original pronunciation is lost but whose letters correspond
to designate an individual in legal language from the Mish-
in English to YHWH. Based on some early sources, scholars
nah onward. However, the term Israel also refers to the king-
often use the pronunciation Yahweh for this name.) This na-
dom that, according to the Hebrew Bible’s historiography,
tion, according to Genesis, began with God’s call to Abraham
formed when the descendants of Jacob (Israel) settled the
to go forth from his Mesopotamian homeland to form a holy
land of Canaan, appointed kings, and in 722 BCE formed a
nation (Gn. 12). In Genesis 17, God appears to Abraham as
separate kingdom from the southern Kingdom of Judah.
El Shaddai. He then makes the following charge to Abraham:
Since this kingdom was conquered in 586 BCE and its leaders
“Walk in My ways and be blameless. I will establish My cove-
exiled, what remained was Judah. By the third century BCE
nant between Me and you, and I will make you exceedingly
its inhabitants became known as Judeans or Ioudaïoi. As a
numerous.” He further stipulates that He will assign the land
result of this history it is customary in English to use the term
of Canaan to his children, and as a sign of that covenant
Israelite when referring to the people of biblical times before
Abraham is to circumcise himself and his male children. This
the Babylonian exile (that is, the second millennium to 585
practice is called brit milah, the covenant of circumcision.
BCE) and to use the term Jew to refer to the people after that
The idea that a covenantal relationship exists between
period.
God and the children of Abraham is a driving force behind
The criteria for membership in the Jewish people have
biblical and postbiblical Jewish theology and has informed
not always been clear. In ancient Israel citizenship in the geo-
every stage of Judaism. This covenant, like many political
graphic and political entities that formed Israel and Judah
and religious treaties in the ancient Near East, is one of suzer-
were synonymous with being a member of the people. From
ainty, a solemn contractual relationship between unequal
the time of Ezra in the fifth century BCE onward (see Ez. 9),
parties. At the same time it implies mutual obligations. In
Jewish law has prohibited intermarriage between Jews and
return for Israel’s obedience, God will preserve the people
non-Jews. From at least the first century CE to the early twen-
and allow them to prosper. As a result, in biblical narration
ty-first century it has been agreed that any child born of a
and prophetic rhetoric, Israel’s misfortune was understood
Jewish mother is Jewish. However, some scholars have sug-
as a result of the nation’s failure to live up to its terms in the
gested that Jewish communities as late as the Hellenistic peri-
covenant.
od considered the child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish
The covenant is tested and renewed several times in bib-
mother to be a Jew. At any rate the matrilineal definition
lical narrative. It is tested when, in Genesis 22, God com-
held sway in Jewish law from the early rabbinic period until
mands Abraham to sacrifice his son, thus putting the pros-
modern times. In the twentieth century the Reform and Re-
pect of his having an heir into jeopardy (this, and not the
constructionist movements declared that being the child of
ordinary love of father for son, was probably the source of
a Jewish father is sufficient to make one a Jew on condition
the tension in the story for ancient readers, who were ac-
that the parents raise the child as a Jew. However, this defini-
quainted with the practice of sacrificing the first born). In
tion is controversial and is not accepted by the Orthodox and
Exodus 19–20, at Mount Sinai, God lays out, in the fashion
Conservative movements. The other way one becomes a Jew
of ancient Near Eastern suzerainty treaties, the terms of the
is by conversion. Since late antiquity, conversion in Rabbinic
covenant as they apply to the Children of Israel most perma-
Judaism has been a legal procedure that involves accepting
nently and dramatically through Moses, the paradigmatic
Judaism, circumcision for all males, and ritual immersion for
prophet. The people, descendants of Jacob and his brothers
all converts. That procedure thus changes the status of the
who had settled in Egypt, had been liberated from slavery by
individual and he or she is considered Jewish in every way.
God’s intervention. God sets out the terms of their future
Whereas the Law of Return of the State of Israel grants citi-
relationship:
zenship to all Jews, the definition of the Jew for those pur-
poses is still a matter of controversy, involving religious, po-
You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I bore
litical, and sociological considerations.
you on eagles’ wings and brought you to me. Now then,
THE BIBLICAL HERITAGE. While the religion of ancient Isra-
if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant,
el differed in many dramatic ways from the Judaism that
you shall be My treasured possession among all the peo-
ples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be to
emerged from the Hellenistic era onward, several of the cen-
Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
tral ideas that were to define Judaism as a religion in this ear-
liest stage of Judaism originated in this period. Two of the
After the people declare their acceptance of the covenant, the
most fundamental are the sacred history of the Jewish people
details of Israel’s obedience are set forth in the Ten Com-
and the idea of their covenant with the one God. The narra-
mandments and the law code that follows. Those laws entail
tive of the Torah, together with the “historical” books of the
monolotry, that is, the requirement that Israel worship no
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4972
JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
god other than YHWH, social norms, and observance of the
a system whereby one local deity, YHWH, was believed to
Sabbath. A result of the foundational status accorded to the
be a supreme God and further demanded excusive loyalty to
Sinai experience, legal relationships tend to have deep emo-
one whereby only one God existed and all others were illu-
tional consequences in Judaism. One important biblical term
sions. It became the common way of understanding God in
for God’s love of Israel is H:esed, which refers to the love that
the Hellenistic period. Even then, however, most Jews until
arises from God’s fulfillment of his part in the covenantal re-
modern times have believed in the existence of superhuman
lationship (see Ps. 136). Another poetic motif is that of mar-
beings, such as angels and demons.
riage, a contractual relationship that carries strong emotional
implications; for example, in the Book of Hosea the Sinai ex-
Integral to Israelite religion, like all Mediterranean reli-
perience is seen as the honeymoon between Israel and
gions in antiquity, was the system of sacrificial worship and
YHWH. Israel’s worship of other deities is depicted as adul-
seasonal pilgrimages. After several centuries this system came
tery, and God’s willingness to forgive the people is likened
to be concentrated in the Temple in Jerusalem. In the cli-
to the love of a forgiving husband.
mate of the Judean hills, a central concern was rain and the
harvest. The festival system revolved around the agricultural
The master narrative of the Hebrew Bible continues
cycle of that region. There were three major pilgrimage festi-
with its depiction of the people settling in Canaan under
vals. Pesah:, Passover, was a spring lamb sacrifice which was
Joshua’s leadership and forming a confederation of tribes led
combined with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, H:ag ha-
by a series of charismatic “judges,” which then grows into a
Matsot. ShavuEot, the Feast of Weeks, seven weeks after Pass-
kingdom ruled by royalty descended from David. This king-
over, celebrated barley and wheat harvests and the offering
dom divides into two, Israel in the north and Judah in the
of the first fruits. In time two of the festivals came to be asso-
south. In 722 BCE Israel was conquered by the Assyrians,
ciated with historical events. Sukkot commemorated Israel’s
leaving Judah alone in the south. In 587 BCE Judah too was
sojourn in the Sinai Desert. The commandment to live in
conquered by the Babylonians and its leaders exiled. They
temporary harvest huts (sukkot) was associated with the tab-
returned in 538 BCE under the Persian emperor Cyrus, who
ernacles in which the Israelites lived in the wilderness. The
allowed them to rebuild the Temple and install a local gov-
spring festival of unleavened bread, Passover, commemorat-
ernment.
ed the exodus from Egypt, when the Israelites had no time
to let the bread rise in their haste to escape. By the rabbinic
The early episodes of this grand narrative that weaves
period the ShavuEot became associated with the revelation at
through the Torah and the historical and prophetic books
Sinai.The fall season began with a convocation of the nation
of the Hebrew Bible do not always correspond with what his-
at the beginning of the calendar year in Tishri (known by
torians can reconstruct of the early history of the Israelites.
the rabbinic period as RoDsh ha-Shanah) and, most impor-
But after this narrative was codified in the Hebrew Bible and
tant, a solemn sacrifice to cleanse the Temple of impurity
interpreted by generations of Jews from the postexilic period
and a day of fasting and atonement for sins (Yom Kippur).
onward, it played a central role in determining not only Isra-
el’s self-conception but its ritual system, legal structure, and
Daily and seasonal offerings of slaughtered animals,
eschatology. The books that became the Hebrew Bible took
grain, and fruits took up most of the activity in the Temple.
shape over several centuries from the dawn of the first millen-
Biblical stories make it clear that the sacrifice of animals on
nium BCE to the second century CE. The bulk of the Torah
the altar was particularly pleasing to God if the individual
and the historical and prophetic books were probably com-
who was sacrificing met with favor. In Genesis 8:20–22
posed from many sources during the period of the Judan
Noah, having been spared the Flood, offers a sacrifice of
monarchy, between the tenth and sixth centuries BCE.
thanksgiving. YHWH inhales the pleasing aroma of the
burning meat and decides never again to doom the earth be-
Historians thus now present a complex picture of a soci-
cause of humanity’s sins. On the other hand the prophets,
ety that emerged from diverse origins in the Fertile Crescent
often critics of the political authorities, warned that God
and came, in the first few centuries of the first millennium
would not accept the people’s offerings if the sacrificers had
BCE, to understand itself as a nation unified by common an-
not made provisions for a just society.
cestry and divine election. The Bible as it now exists is the
product of a group of scribes, priests, and poets loyal to the
The sacrifice for Yom Kippur is another good illustra-
cult of YHWH and so excludes much of the religious ten-
tion of the phenomenology and ritual system of biblical Isra-
dencies of ancient Israelites, including women. Archaeologi-
el. In Leviticus 16:2 God instructs Moses, “Tell your brother
cal finds of extrabiblical documents and close readings of the
Aaron that he is not to come at will into the Shrine behind
Hebrew Bible itself suggest that religion for some of ancient
the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest
Israel’s inhabitants included worship of deities such as Ashe-
he die, for I appear in the cloud over the cover.” In this pas-
rah, YHWH’s consort; human sacrifice; and other phenome-
sage God is conceived as localized but volatile. His abode is
na condemned or ignored by biblical writers. Likewise stu-
in heaven, and he is able to come to earth under specific ritu-
dents of the religion of ancient Israel believe that the Israelite
al circumstances. Those circumstances involve the presence
idea of God evolved from a henotheistic religion to a mono-
of a sacred space—in this case the inner sanctum of the Tab-
theistic one. That is, ancient Israelite religion developed from
ernacle or Temple—that the deity is able to inhabit. Nor is
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
4973
God invisible. In this case he comes enclosed in a cloud. In-
BCE changed Judaism deeply and irrevocably. The Persians
deed there are several instances in which God is seen directly;
had been content to rely on local leaders and their cultures
the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel have divine visions, and at
to preserve stability in the provinces they ruled. The Greeks
Sinai, Moses, Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel
on the other hand brought with them deep transformations
“saw God, and ate and drank.” At the same time direct en-
in the nature of ancient societies. The effect of the exporta-
counter with the divine presence is a dangerous thing, and
tion of Greek economic, social, and cultural patterns, called
some biblical traditions think of the sight of God as fatal. In
Hellenism, transformed the Mediterranean basin into an in-
Exodus 33 God, replying to Moses’ request to see him, says,
tegrated economy. The instrument of that transformation
“No one can see My face and live.” Those who do see them,
was the polis, the Hellenistic city-state, which was used as
such as Isaiah, are frightened that they will die as a result
a model for local governments. The polis carried with it a
(Is. 6:5).
political structure based on the rulership of a local elite or
What makes the encounter possible is observance of a
boule; an economic program based on increasing urbaniza-
system whereby ritual impurity, caused by such sources as
tion and export of goods to other regions of the empire; and
corpses, dead reptiles, seminal flux, and menstruation, is
a cultural program based on Greek language, rhetoric, and
purged from the Temple precincts, especially by means of
religion—the latter spread through the teaching and inter-
water, sacrificial blood (which purges the sacrificial altar),
pretation of Homer and identification of local gods with the
and the purifying ashes of a red heifer. The creation of a pure
Greek pantheon.
space on earth allows God’s presence to descend from the
Judea was not a major center of Hellenistic political or
pure environment of the divine abode and bestow on the
economic activity, and so the process of Hellenization came
people the blessings of a complex agricultural society: safety
slowly there. In the late fourth century and early third centu-
from enemies, rain and prosperity, and children to carry on
ry BCE gradual changes in architecture, demographic pat-
the family economy. But the terms of the covenant make that
terns, and cultural styles could be discerned. With the con-
presence conditional on Israel’s loyalty to YHWH as well as
flicts between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid successor empires
its observance of the ethical norms expected of God’s people.
to Alexander in the second century CE, Judea became a con-
In the period of the monarchy, a class of prophets warned
tested area because of its location between Egypt and Syria.
the nation that divergence from those norms would result in
Eventually Judea was ruled by Rome, who installed Herod,
God’s withdrawal of that presence and military and political
a descendant of Iduminean converts, as a client king. Roman
disaster.
economic and military pressure on the province of Judea as
The sociopolitical system of Israel too was sacralized.
well as internal conflicts came to a head in 66 CE with a revolt
According to the Books of Samuel, the unsuccessful reign of
against Rome. The revolt was suppressed by Romans with
the first king, Saul, gave way to the dynasty of David, who
the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 CE. By the
is anointed (mashiah:) by the prophet Samuel. David’s de-
first century as well there were substantial communities of
scendants are seen by biblical narrative and by subsequent
Jews living in the Diaspora, that is, outside of the Land of
Jewish tradition as the only rightful heirs to the kingship.
Israel. There were Jews in many of the Greek-speaking com-
The prophets were critical of the kings for their failure to
munities of the Mediterranean, especially Alexandria, Rome,
produce a just society as well as their tendency to allow wor-
and Asia Minor. There was also a flourishing Jewish commu-
ship of other gods, and some anticipated a time when a righ-
nity in the Persian Empire, in Mesopotamia.
teous Davidic king would usher in an era of peace and rever-
In Judea the changes in economic, social, and cultural
ence.
organization brought on by Hellenism thus accelerated in
In 722 BCE the Assyrian Empire conquered the northern
the second and first centuries BCE. With them came increas-
Kingdom of Israel, exiled much of its population, and dis-
ing divisions within the society and differences of opinion
solved it as a political entity. In 587 BCE the Babylonians
about how God’s word should be interpreted and followed.
conquered the Kingdom of Judah and exiled its leaders. Fifty
One effect of Hellenization was increased urbanization. This
years later, under the Persians, they returned to reformulate
meant that Jerusalem, a modest community surrounded by
a Jewish commonwealth under priestly leadership. Histori-
the Judean hills, became a major regional center of economic
ans believe that this period, from the time of exile to the end
and cultural as well as political activity. Another effect was
of Persian rule in 333 BCE, was when key Judaic ideas were
cosmopolitanism. Each local government in the Hellenistic
formed. Increasingly YHWH was seen not only as Israel’s
economic communities was called on to contribute to the
special deity but the only true God. It was probably during
trade in goods, pay taxes, and carry out political affairs in
this period that diverse written and oral traditions of the an-
Greek. This entailed getting a Greek education and being
cient Israelites were gathered together to form the Torah and
conversant with Greek cultural norms and religious values,
several of the central scriptural writings that became Juda-
including exposure to Greek mythology and philosophy.
ism’s sacred canon.
The political leadership of Judea would therefore be increas-
THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD. The conquest of the Persian
ingly associated with Hellenistic style and cultural symbols.
Empire, including the Land of Israel, by Alexander in 333
Another result of Hellenization therefore was greater dispari-
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4974
JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
ty in the social and cultural status of various sectors of soci-
with reverence for the Temple and its personnel. The latter
ety: rich versus poor, priests versus nonpriests, and urban ver-
is represented by the figure of Simon, son of Yoh:anan, high
sus rural. Some also saw these social differences in terms of
priest from 219 to 196 BCE, who is depicted in rhapsodic po-
a struggle between Hellenists, those inclined toward integrat-
etry performing the daily sacrifice. Important to Ben Sira as
ing Greek culture with their own, and anti-Hellenists, those
well was reverence for the heroes of Israel’s history, who are
who saw Greek ways of life as threats to the monotheism,
praised in an extensive encomium for their willingness to fol-
legal norms, and ritual traditions of the Jews. These struggles
low God’s word and build Israel’s institutions.
came to a head in 167 BCE, when, after a period of unrest
But this harmonious picture of a pious nation was not
in the wake of political scandals in the Temple administra-
shared by all religious communities that formed in the wake
tion, the Ptolemaic emperor Antiochus IV imposed Seleucid
of Hasmonaean rule. From Josephus as well as the Dead Sea
rule on the Temple and turned it into a polytheistic shrine.
Scrolls and later sources one can outline the main features
This precipitated a revolt led by Judah Maccabee and his
of several of the sects and movements that flourished from
family. Their victory is commemorated in the holiday of
the second century BCE to the fall of the Temple in 70 CE.
H:anukkah, which celebrates the dedication of the Temple
One of the most important was the Pharisees, who are de-
after the Maccabees retook it in 164 BCE. The Hasmonaean
picted in strikingly different ways in Josephus, the New Tes-
dynasty that then ruled Judea, first as a short-lived indepen-
tament, and rabbinic literature. They are depicted by Jose-
dent commonwealth and then as local rulers under the Seleu-
phus as a group that had much support among the general
cids, also provoked dissatisfaction. One therefore sees in this
population and whose relationships with the ruling classes
period a wide variety of religious communities (“sects”) with
were unstable. The New Testament depicts them polemical-
political, ritual, and theological agendas.
ly as hypocritical intellectuals interested in the intricacies of
The evidence for these social, cultural, and religious
ritual, especially ritual purity. The rabbis considered them
their spiritual ancestors, sages who preserved traditions of
trends comes from a number of sources in addition to ar-
Torah handed down from Moses, and defended them from
chaeological findings. One of the most important is the his-
heterodox sects such as the Sadducees. From these disparate
torian Josephus, a former priest of the first century CE who
portraits, a few commonalities emerge. The Pharisees held
had joined the Roman army during the revolt against Rome
legal and ritual traditions that were not written down explic-
and wrote several valuable historical and polemical works in
itly in Scripture, they counted priests and nonpriests in their
Greek. There are also extant literary works written in He-
ranks, and they were interested in extending purity rituals be-
brew, Aramaic, and Greek. Some of these were translated
yond the boundaries of the Temple and the officiating
into Greek and other languages and attained a canonical or
priests.
deuterocanonical status in some Christian communities.
Others, like the apocryphal Book of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus),
In rabbinic literature and in Josephus the opponents of
survived in Hebrew as well as in Greek. One of the most
the Pharisees are known as Sadducees. This term, which
valuable resources for an understanding of this period is the
comes from the name of the priest Zadok (see 1 Kgs. 1 and
corpus of writings found in the Judean desert, especially the
Ez. 40–48), designates a group that represented the families
Dead Sea Scrolls, the library of a sectarian community
from which the high priests and principal officiants in the
formed in the second century BCE. However, these sources
Temple were drawn. One can suppose that they represented
present difficulties for the historian. Josephus wrote his his-
the interests of the aristocratic priesthood and differed with
tory with political and ideological goals in mind, and the
the Pharisees on points of law. Josephus says that they did
apocryphal and sectarian writings, often written in a highly
not believe in the resurrection of the dead.
symbolic language or attributed pseudepigraphically to bibli-
The Sadducees left no texts, but the writings survive of
cal personae, are cryptic about the historical circumstances
another group that took Zadokite lineage seriously, the
of their composition.
Qumran community, whose library was deposited in caves
The Book of Ben Sira, written at least thirteen years be-
near the Dead Sea. This library, known as the Dead Sea
fore the Maccabean revolt, provides a window into the type
Scrolls, tells about several things at once. The writings of the
of piety that characterized the religious elite of the early Hel-
tightly organized community that preserved them yield a
lenistic period. This book is valuable because it was written
portrait of a sectarian eschatological community and its con-
by an individual, YehoshuEa Ben Sira, who signed his name
cerns. At the same time writings from what is now the bibli-
to the book. The author was a priest who also apparently
cal canon, apocryphal and pseudepigraphic literature, and li-
taught in the scribal schools of Jerusalem, perhaps in the
turgical poetry help round out the picture of the range of
Temple precincts. He wrote the book in the tradition of
religious expressions in Greco-Roman Judea.
scribal wisdom, an ancient Mediterranean literary tradition
The Qumran community also demonstrates the grow-
represented in the Hebrew Bible by such works as Proverbs
ing prominence of two facets of Judaism: scripture as an ob-
and Job. The Book of Ben Sira presents a type of piety in
ject of interpretation and increasing concern with the escha-
which the cultivation of wisdom, identified as practical social
tological future and the end results of historical process. This
skills and, most important, the study of Torah, combines
community, which may have been formed by Zadokite
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
4975
priests and their sympathizers who had been deprived of po-
Usually these secrets not only demonstrate that the prior his-
litical power in the Temple establishment, formed soon after
tory of Israel has depended on a group of select pious people
the Hasmonaean dynasty took hold. A legal epistle thought
but that in the future there will be a day of reckoning when
to be from the early history of the sect (the so-called halakhic
the forces of good, led by God and his armies, will defeat the
letter or 4QMMT) suggests that the founders of the group
forces of evil, on earth and in the supernatural realm. The
split with the priestly establishment in Jerusalem over inter-
genre may have its roots in Near Eastern wisdom tradition,
pretations of Temple procedures and other legal and ritual
in which cataloging the things that make up the cosmos
issues. The group grew into a highly structured separatist sect
played an important part. These works may also reflect dis-
that sought to live in accordance with its leaders’ interpreta-
satisfaction with the political and religious situation of the
tions of Scripture. The most important function of this
time, which, the writer implies, will be rectified in the time
group, which saw itself as the true Israel, was to prepare its
to come. The biblical book of Daniel, written during the cri-
members for a future in which the forces of light, the sect
sis in the second century BCE that led to the Hasmonaean re-
and the angelic warriors, would fight on their behalf with the
volt, is an example of this genre.
forces of darkness, the wicked nations of the world, Temple
officials and priests whom they opposed, and the angels of
Apocalyptic literature established certain ideas that were
darkness. For this purpose they were organized into a kind
to influence esoteric and political trends in late antique and
of Temple in exile, observed high standards of ritual purity,
medieval Judaism: the idea that the boundaries between
and held a liturgy in which they depicted the angels holding
heaven and earth are permeable and the idea that history will
sacrifices in the heavenly camps in conjunction with their
end with a catastrophic battle between good and evil. The
counterparts on earth.
former idea survived in the literature of merkavah mysticism,
which depicted rabbis ascending to heaven and gazing at the
Scripture, its interpretation, and the creation and pres-
divine throne. Jewish apocalyptic literature influenced early
ervation of new literary works were important facets of
Christian literature and was written occasionally in Hebrew
Qumran sectarian life. The sect developed the genre of
well into the Middle Ages. Apocalyptic eschatology influ-
pesher, in which a detail from a biblical book was taken to
ences Jewish messianism even in the twenty-first century. Jo-
prophesy about current events. The sect also made innova-
sephus, Philo (see below), and rabbinic literature also tell that
tions in interpretation of the laws of the Torah. For example,
there was an increasing diversity of opinion about the after-
they extended the idea of ritual impurity to hold that an indi-
life, a subject of no great importance to biblical writers.
vidual could be contaminated by committing such social
Whereas the Sadducees apparently did not believe in an af-
transgressions as theft and false witness. These innovations
terlife, the Pharisees believed that at the end of time the dead
were formed by a council of inspired interpreters (moshav ha-
would be resurrected. This became a central tenet of rabbinic
Rabim), whose founder was known as the “righteous teacher”
Judaism.
(moreh tzedek).
The Greek-speaking Diaspora communities also left a
In fact in this period one can locate what James Kugel
literary legacy, which was forgotten by the rabbinic leaders
has called “the rise of Scripture” (Early Biblical Interpretation,
in the Land of Israel but was preserved by the Christian com-
1986). Although the Torah became the core of the Jewish
munity. Greco-Jewish works from the Hellenistic period in-
canon by the Persian period, it was in the second and first
clude novelistic expansions of biblical works, such as Joseph
centuries BCE that the canon began to coalesce and the inter-
and Aseneth, and apologetic works in the form of epistles,
pretation of Scripture became a major issue. Writers com-
such as the Letter of Aristeas, and in the form of pseudepigra-
posed works of “rewritten Bible,” such as Jubilees, in which
pha, such as the Sibylline Oracles. The Greek-speaking Jew-
troublesome questions about biblical characters and concepts
ish community in Egypt also produced the first major Jewish
could be addressed through narrative. Rabbinic literature re-
philosopher, Philo of Alexandria, who used middle Platonic
members the disputes between the Pharisees and the Saddu-
metaphysics and Stoic allegorical hermeneutics to argue that
cees as focused largely on differing interpretations of biblical
the Torah was a supremely philosophical work.
law. The manuscripts found at Qumran include all books of
the Jewish canon except for Esther.
When the Romans installed their own local officials in
Judea in 6 CE, the political climate became more turbulent.
From Qumran there are also examples in Hebrew and
While Herod, Rome’s client king, had embarked on an elab-
Aramaic of Jewish apocalyptic literature, a genre that other-
orate building program that made Jerusalem and its magnifi-
wise would have survived largely in Greek translations and
cent Temple into one of the empire’s great cities, oppressive
secondary translations into other languages of early Christen-
taxation and dictatorial rule turned many against Rome. At
dom. In this genre the secrets of the cosmos as well as the
the fringes of society, groups of zealots and dissenters advo-
secrets of history are revealed to a human hero, usually a bib-
cated militant revolt against Rome and its Jewish representa-
lical figure such as Enoch or Ezra. The protagonist is often
tives in Jerusalem; others took their promises of an imminent
taken up to heaven and given a “guided tour” of its wonders.
“kingdom of heaven” to small communities of followers.
At this point the secrets of history are revealed to him by
Most of these groups claimed that their leaders were the
means of symbols that are interpreted by his heavenly guide.
mashiah:, the righteous king foretold in the books of the
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
prophets. Political enemies of the Roman order were often
ism. The Mishnah, compiled in 200 CE, sets forth rabbinic
crucified, which most of the Jewish populace took as an indi-
law and related matters in statements and formulae attribut-
cation that those individuals could not have been the victori-
ed to the sages of the Second Temple era and of the first two
ous king to which those prophecies referred. However, two
centuries CE. Whereas the rabbis considered rabbinic law to
of those movements did carry dramatic consequences for the
be based on Scripture, the Mishnah does not generally frame
Jewish people and its religion. In 33 CE and the following
its laws as biblical commentary but rather states them in in-
decades one such movement, centered around Jesus of Naza-
dependent, apodictic form. Rabbinic study of the Mishnah
reth, survived its leader’s execution and went on to include
resulted in the redaction of the great compendia of Mishnaic
non-Jews among its members, eventually forming the Chris-
commentary, tradition, and lore known as the Talmuds. The
tian community. In 66 CE another, more militant movement
Palestinian Talmud was redacted in the early fifth century
of zealots allied with other Jewish forces initiated a war
and the Babylonian Talmud in the early sixth century.
against Rome that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem
The Babylonian Talmud became the source of legal de-
and its Temple in 70 CE. In 132, another revolt against Rome
cision, intense study, and reverence for most of the world
led by Simon bar Kokhba broke out. It was repressed in 135
Jewry in the Middle Ages and remains so for traditional Jews.
by the emperor Hadrian, who turned Jerusalem into a pagan
As a result when people speak of “the Talmud,” they are
city and renamed Judea Palestine.
often referring to the Babylonian Talmud. The Talmud’s
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE AND THE RISE OF RAB-
commentary to the Mishnah is called the Gemara D. Besides
BINIC JUDAISM. Judaism as it is known in the early twenty-
commenting on the meaning and implications of the Mish-
first century is largely a product of the first centuries after
nah’s laws, the Gemara D discusses the relationship of the
the destruction of the Temple in the Jewish revolt against
Mishnah to Scripture and extra-Mishnaic sources and in-
Rome. It was following this event that many of the primary
cludes tales of the sages, biblical exegesis, and folklore. While
institutions, individual practices, values, and teleological un-
it is a commentary to the Mishnah, the Gemara D often takes
derpinnings of classical Judaism were formed or refined. To
the form of an ongoing conversation among sages, many of
be sure the defeat of the Jewish commonwealth by the Ro-
whom lived centuries apart from each other. This conversa-
mans was a human catastrophe, but beyond the physical suf-
tion is moderated, as it were, by an anonymous Aramaic text
fering it caused, it had profound religious and political signif-
(called the stam) that can take the role of a skeptical observer,
icance. According to Jewish cultic theology, by which the
asking questions regarding opinions presented, pointing out
Temple was the locus for God’s presence on earth, the loss
contradictions and logical inconsistencies, and arranging
of that Temple meant the absence of that presence from the
source materials for comparison. This method of presenta-
world. The Babylonian Talmud (b. Bava Batra 60b) paints
tion can be considered a kind of dialectical argumentation
a portrait of groups of first-century ascetics who abstained
about traditional sources for exegetical purposes.
from meat and wine in mourning for the Temple. The apoc-
Rabbinic scriptural exegesis, called midrash, found its
ryphal Book of Baruch reflects the response of apocalyptic
way into compilations that were completed from the fourth
communities that saw the cataclysm as a challenge to their
century to the early Middle Ages. These compilations con-
eschatological expectations.
tain specific elucidations of the biblical text but also include
The centuries following the destruction of the Temple
postbibical legends, homilies, and discourses on biblical
also saw the rise of the rabbinic movement. The Hebrew
themes. Some of these were close readings of legal texts from
term rabbi means “my teacher” or “my master.” In the New
the Torah (midrash halakhah), and others were more homi-
Testament, Jesus is occasionally addressed as rabbi, and the
letical and narrative (midrash aggadah). In midrash one can
title appears as an honorific term in ancient inscriptions. In
occasionally find elements of the sort of theological specula-
this discussion, however, the term rabbi refers to a class of
tion that might appear in systematic philosophical treatises
leaders who came to define the character of Judaism for cen-
in other cultures.
turies to come. These scholars, who traced their heritage to
If one takes the Mishnah as the first systematic state-
the Pharisees, were not necessarily priests but laymen who
ment of rabbinic Judaism, one finds several striking ways in
held that by a life of study of the Torah, observance of the
which it seems a departure from forms of Judaism that flour-
commandments, and ethical action the individual Jew could
ished in the Second Temple period. The first unit, or Mish-
gain salvation in the form of resurrection in the messianic
nah, of the text, tractate Berakhot (Blessings) 1:1, indicates
era. This system of everyday observance of a comprehensive
to the reader that new actions, notions of authority, and in-
system of sacred law, which came to be known as halakhah,
terests are in play:
depended on its constant teaching and refinement by mas-
ters—the rabbis—who considered their extrabiblical tradi-
From what time is the ShemaE recited in the evening?
tions to have been handed down as Torah from Sinai. These
From the time when the priests enter to eat of their
traditions came to be known as the Oral Torah.
terumah [a portion of the harvest donated to the priests]
until the end of the first watch. These are the words of
The rabbis of late antiquity produced a series of texts
Rabbi Eliezer. But the Sages say, Until midnight. Rab-
and traditions that became a kind of second canon for Juda-
ban Gamliel says: Until the rise of dawn.
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
4977
The form of the passage and its social implications deserve
does more than legitimize the rabbis. It sets the tone for a
mention. It begins with a question, which is answered imme-
type of Judaism in which the act of study, epitomized by
diately after. But this answer itself contains a detail—the end
memorizing the words of the sages, becoming their disciple
of the period when the Shema may be recited—that does not
and watching their actions, and acting out those teachings
go unchallenged. What follows is a three-way controversy in
in everyday activities, becomes a primary form of worship.
which Rabbi Eliezer and Rabban Gamliel seem to stand
Returning to the first Mishnah in Berakhot, one also no-
against the entire community of sages. The Mishnah then
tices a curious historical dimension. The Mishnah was re-
conveys a sense of multivocality as well as the impression that
dacted in around 200 CE, 130 years after the Temple was de-
revelation is a matter of dialectic. When one turns to the sub-
stroyed and about 65 years after a revolt against Rome in
ject matter, one notices that the passage refers to rituals that
132–135 CE resulted in severe repression of Jewish teaching
would be understood by the rabbinic Jew if not the outsider.
and rituals. Yet the Temple, where the priests enter to eat
The ShemaE is the recitation of the declaration of God’s unity
of their contributed produce, is alluded to in the present
in Deuteronomy 6:4 and accompanying scriptural passages.
tense. In fact fully one-third of the Mishnah (the divisions
It is an essential part of the statutory liturgy for the individual
of purities, holy things [covering sacrificial law], and some
(at least for men) in the evening and morning. Whereas the
portions of tractates dealing with Passover and other rituals)
text to be recited is from the written Scriptures, the com-
concern the Temple and its rituals and laws. There are a few
mandment to recite it in prayer is not. Indeed the whole trac-
possible explanations for this anomaly. One is that the Mish-
tate Berakhot, which specifies the order of prayers to be said
nah is a utopian document, drawing an ideal picture of a re-
on a daily basis, presupposes whole spheres of ritual law not
deemed society in which the Temple is restored and the sages
anticipated in the Bible. The same can be said for such rituals
have ultimate jurisdiction over their performance of the ritu-
as the lighting of candles and blessing of wine on the Sab-
als. Another, proposed by Jacob Neusner, is that the framers
bath. The Mishnah then relies on whole areas of law, such
of the Mishnah wished to assure the community that had en-
as rituals and regulations for the Sabbath, expansions of the
dured historical catastrophe that life could go on as if that
dietary laws of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, and proce-
catastrophe had changed nothing. One must also remember
dures for marriage and divorce, that are not set out explicitly
that in the beginning of the third century sacrifice and sacri-
in Scripture.
ficial institutions were the norm and not the exception in the
It is therefore obvious that rabbinic Judaism relies on
Mediterranean. It may simply have been inconceivable to de-
sources other than the written Bible for its authority and way
scribe a ritual and legal system without including the descrip-
of life. But at the same time it considers itself to be acting
tion of a Temple.
out God’s will as expressed in the Torah. The argument for
Yet for the rabbis the proper substitute for sacrifice was
this authority is made most eloquently in the opening pas-
not to be found in the concept of sacred space but in sacred
sage of the tractate Avot, “Fathers,” a kind of manifesto of
actions. Yoh:anan ben ZakkDai, one of the founders of the
early rabbinic Judaism: “Moses received Torah from Sinai,
rabbinic movement, is said to have declared, “We have an-
and handed it down to Joshua, and Joshua to the Elders, and
other means of atonement, effective as Temple Sacrifice. It
the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets handed it down
is deeds of loving kindness.” Other statements assert that the
to the Men of the Great Assembly” (M. Avot 1:1).
study of sacrificial law, enshrined in the Mishnah and related
sources, was equivalent to the performance of those sacri-
The text goes on to introduce the sayings by sages of the
fices. Prayer in the synagogue was also considered to be a
Great Assembly and continues with statements of a succes-
form of sacrifice. A famous rabbinic statement (y. Ber. 4:1
sion of sages until the later generations. This myth is a dra-
[7a]) declares prayer to be “the sacrifice in the heart” (Avodah
matic illustration of the idea of tradition. Revelation is not
ba-Lev). According to the Palestinian Talmud, when a prayer
given anew to each sage or generation. Rather, it has come
leader was called upon to begin the prayer service, the con-
to Israel from Moses and has been transmitted through the
gregation would call, “Perform our sacrifice” (y. Ber. 4:4
succession of masters and disciples. Yet the Torah is not sim-
[8b]).
ply a document passed from one pair of hands to another.
It is associated with a process by which the Torah’s wisdom
The shift from a culture of sacrificial worship to one of
is elaborated by each successive generation. Human agency
prayer was part of a larger phenomenon: the shift from an
and wisdom thus play an essential role in the rabbinic theory
emphasis on collective religious action to greater attention
of revelation. But more than that, since the agency is that of
to individual religious action. To be sure the rabbis main-
a succession of sages, this wisdom is cumulative. This distin-
tained a strong sense that the community of Israel was
guishes the rabbinic mode from the apocalyptic, in which the
obliged to carry out its terms of the covenant and that it
revelation is given by an angel to an individual, who is then
would be rewarded in the messianic future with the nation’s
charged to write it in a book that is made available to the
return to the Land of Israel under divine sovereignty and the
community. By its inclusion of the sages from Moses to the
rebuilding of the Temple. At the same time rabbinic Judaism
later rabbis in its account of the transmission of Torah, Avot
was structured around the idea that each individual was
reinforces the authority of the rabbinic class. But this tractate
obliged to perform certain individual religious command-
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
ments, called mitsvot, by which he or she would gain merit.
ticularly in Palestine. The synagogue (both the Greek word
(While women had a place in this system, they were not held
and the Hebrew term bet kenesset mean “place of assembly”)
to the same specific mitsvot and were largely excluded from
began in the Second Temple period primarily as a place for
participation in the public dimensions of rabbinic life.) That
study (although in the Diaspora synagogues were often called
merit would earn that individual resurrection in the messian-
proseuch¯e, places for prayer). However, with the Temple in
ic era or “world to come.” Thus such actions as saying bless-
ruins, the synagogue became the primary locus for worship.
ings before wine and bread, wearing phylacteries (tefillin),
There were many conceptual and practical differences be-
and giving to the poor functioned in several ways. They con-
tween the Temple and the synagogue. Unlike the Temple,
stituted mitsvot that contributed to salvation; they served as
a synagogue could be built practically anywhere and could
acts of witnessing God’s sovereignty on earth; and they could
be of any size. Its space was not delineated as sacred in the
be considered as bringing something of the divine presence
same way as the Temple’s. Whereas only priests were allowed
to earth, an idea that Max Kadushin called “normal mysti-
to enter certain precincts of the Temple, nonpriests were al-
cism.” Indeed there are statements in the Talmud that
lowed anywhere in the synagogue. (It is not clear to what ex-
“wherever two speak words of Torah together, the Shekhinah
tent women were allowed to participate; there is evidence for
[the indwelling presence of God] hovers over them.” Such
women being leaders of some Diaspora synagogues, although
statements are an indication that some rabbis’ conceptions
rabbinic literature specifies no liturgical or social role for
of the divine presence had shifted from one that was localized
women in the synagogue. Although the rabbis saw prayer as
and required special conditions to one that could be manifest
the “sacrifice of the heart,” no animal sacrifice took place in
in subtle ways at any place.
the synagogue. Prayer could be led by any male Jew of the
age of majority as long as he was fluent in the liturgy. By the
In pursuit of the proper way to carry out the mitsvot,
sixth century
the rabbis developed or codified significant innovations in
CE synagogues, especially in the Galilee, had be-
come prominent buildings decorated with fine sculptural
ritual and civil law. For example, the dietary laws (kashrut)
stonework and colorful mosaics depicting central themes in
of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 specify the animals that
Judaism’s sacred lore.
may and may not be eaten. In addition biblical law (Ex.
23:19, 34:26; Dt. 14:21) prohibits boiling a kid in its moth-
The liturgy of the early synagogue has survived in the
er’s milk. The rabbis interpreted this verse to mean that mix-
form of the liturgies of Jewish communities and in the form
ing any meat and milk products, including fowl, was prohib-
of manuscripts of prayer literature from the Middle Ages. In
ited (see M. Hul. 8:1). Other innovations addressed
the ancient synagogue prayers were composed by prayer lead-
prohibition of carrying beyond the household on the Sab-
ers who were considered to be representatives of the commu-
bath by allowing a community to construct a temporary
nity and who improvised the texts of the prayers around ru-
boundary (eruv) that effectively turned an entire city into one
brics predetermined by halakhah. In these prayers they
household. (M. Eruv.)
expressed themes that were emphasized less in Talmudic lit-
erature, including the longing for the messianic era, the need
In the sphere of civil legislation, rabbinic law codified
for rain and prosperity, and the idea that Israel’s patriarchs
the use of a marriage contract (ketubah) that specified the
have accumulated merit (zekhut avot) on which the commu-
property rights of each party in the case of divorce. Rabbinic
nity can draw to plead for God’s favor. In addition a substan-
society did not deviate radically from the patriarchal norms
tial literature of liturgical poetry, known as piyyut (from the
of the Greco-Roman world. However, in the rabbinic legal
Greek poetes) flourished from the fourth to the seventh cen-
system women were given a circumscribed set of rights and
tury. This ornate, allusive genre of synagogue poetry, com-
protections. One the one hand women are legally dependent
posed by authors such as Yose ben Yose and YannaDi, whose
on men when their status is that of daughters and wives.
artistry earned them fame in Palestinian synagogues, served
However, they gain their independence in the event of the
to embellish the standard liturgy with its recondite language,
death of the husband or divorce and therefore are granted
alliteration and acrostics, and references to themes popular
full economic status in those circumstances.
among preachers and storytellers of the time. It is not known
The rabbis sought to expand their influence on the Jew-
how closely the synagogue and the rabbinic school (bet mid-
ish populations of Palestine and Babylonia through a system
rash) were related. Synagogue literature and iconography
of courts governed by rabbinic law. It is not known to what
draw on rabbinic midrash and law, but there are some inter-
extent the influence of this system took hold, but it was
esting departures in emphasis and details. Most likely there
helped by the close alliance of the local Jewish authority,
were synagogues in which the community did not necessarily
called the patriarch (nasi), with the rabbis. This was accom-
identify closely with the rabbinic movement, such as the syn-
panied by a growing network of disciple circles and acade-
agogue in Sepphoris, which seems to reflect priestly interests,
mies (yeshivot), which produced a form of dialectical reason-
and others that did, such as the synagogue in Rechov in the
ing preserved in the Talmuds.
northern Galilee, where passages from the Palestinian Tal-
Other spheres of cultural production intersected with
mud were used for the mosaic floor.
the rabbinic class and were influenced by it. The synagogue
Other forms of Jewish religious behavior and literature
emerged as an important institution during this period, par-
from this period have come down from archaeological and
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
4979
manuscript sources. A corpus of Hebrew and Aramaic texts
logue and influence. Christianity was monotheistic; revered
tells stories of how great rabbis, such as Rabbi Akiba and
Hebrew Scriptures, which it accepted into its canon as the
Rabbi Ishmael, ascended to heaven. In these texts the rabbin-
Old Testament; and held that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah.
ic heroes travel arduously through seven “palaces” or hekha-
Islam made monotheism a central tenet of faith; understood
lot, warding off the fierce angelic guardians, and finally reach
Jewish biblical heroes, such as Abraham and Moses, to be
the divine throne, which is conceived, in the manner of the
prophetic forerunners to Muh:ammad; and saw Ishmael as its
visions of Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1, as a great chariot (merkavah)
progenitor. At the same time both religions considered them-
on which God is seated, surrounded by an angelic choir. The
selves to have superceded Judaism with superior revelation
texts then state that anyone who fulfills the moral and ritual
and means to salvation. In particular Christianity saw Jews
requirements for ascent may do the same. Other texts in this
as having rejected the kingship of Jesus and therefore subject
corpus give recipes for conjuring an angel known as the
to rebuke or worse. Islam, which considers Jews and Chris-
Prince of the Torah (Sar ha-Torah), who will impart to any
tians to be “People of the Book,” granted Jews and Christians
man a prodigious memory and make him a great rabbi. Ger-
the status of protected minorities (dhimm¯ı), which assured
shom Scholem, the founder of the modern study of Jewish
them physical security while preventing them from attaining
mysticism, saw its authors as mystics who cultivated visions
full status in Muslim society. Christianity since Augustine
of the heavens and recorded their experiences as narrative
had developed a theology of tolerance of Jews. However, in
and hymnology.
practice Jewish communities could be welcomed into Chris-
These texts were not written by the rabbis to whom they
tian lands or persecuted by Christian rulers, depending on
were attributed, but who their authors were is still a matter
the political and religious circumstances. So too in Islamic
of debate. Most likely they were Jews who stood outside the
countries both the principles of subordinate status and toler-
rabbinic elite but shared some of its values. This literature
ance were honored in the breach as well as in the observance.
is closely related to another corpus that is well attested in
The transformation of the southern Mediterranean into
writings from this period: the literature of early Jewish
an Islamic region had deep consequences for Judaism. With
magic. From ancient Palestine and its environs about three
the Muslim Empire centered in Baghdad in the eighth centu-
dozen amulets written on silver, lead, and copper foil survive.
ry, the political center of Jewry also shifted to Iraq—Jewish
These amulets are formulaic incantations in Hebrew, Arama-
Babylonia—where a thriving Talmudic culture had pro-
ic, and Jewish Greek adjuring angels and demons for such
duced a class of rabbinic scholars and legislators located in
purposes as healing, love, and protection. A far larger cor-
yeshivot in Baghdad. These eventually set the religious and
pus—indeed the single largest corpus of Jewish inscriptions
halakhic agenda for Jewish communities, making rabbinic
from late antiquity—consists of hundreds of clay bowls
law the prevailing legal system throughout the Islamic world.
found in the Mesopotamian region (Jewish Babylonia) on
This hegemony did not go unchallenged. Beginning in the
which Aramaic incantations are written. In these artifacts
eighth century a movement called Karaism opposed the au-
Jews address their daily needs by invoking divine power to
thority of the Talmud and the rabbinic class, insisting on in-
command the intermediaries, using the powerful name of
dependent inquiry and a reading of the biblical text un-
God as their authorization and weapon. The rabbis too be-
mediated by Rabbinic interpretation. This movement gained
lieved in angels and demons and in the efficacy of magic, but
a substantial following in Egypt, Palestine, and other Jewish
these practitioners seem to have operated outside of their ju-
communities before the eleventh century, and although the
risdiction.
Karaite community is a small minority within Jewry, it still
MEDIEVAL JUDAISM. If late antiquity represents a formative
exists. The consolidation of rabbinic authority resulted in an
period for classical Judaism, the Middle Ages represents the
increasing tendency toward disseminating legal rulings and
period of its consolidation and expansion. It was in this peri-
toward legal codification. This took the form of halakhic
od, beginning with the rise of Islam in the seventh and eighth
epistles (responsa), Talmud commentaries, and eventually
centuries CE, that rabbinic Judaism spread through the influ-
independent legal codes such as the Mishneh Torah of Moses
ence of Talmudic academies and legal authorities to the Jew-
Maimonides.
ish population of the Diaspora. It was also in this period that
The first Muslim centuries were also a period of great
new forms of discourse, especially philosophy and mysticism,
cultural ferment. Islam’s emphasis on the QurDa¯n and its lan-
took hold as significant ways of expressing Jewish religiosity.
guage brought with it intensive Arabic and scriptural study.
By the ninth century a majority of Jews lived in the Di-
Translations of Greek philosophical works brought philo-
aspora. Jewish communities were scattered throughout the
sophical concepts and methods into dialogue with Islamic
Mediterranean and the Middle East, especially Iran, Iraq,
monotheism. Mystical and pietistic movements sought di-
and North Africa, and had begun to form in western and
rect experience of the divine. Judaism in the Islamic sphere
central Europe. Both regions were dominated by the reli-
was profoundly affected by these developments as well. Al-
gions, Islam and Christianity, that saw Judaism as their pre-
though philosophy had been introduced to the Hellenistic
cursors. This was an ambiguous legacy. On the one hand the
Jewish community of Alexandria through Philo, he left no
Judaic heritage of both religions offered possibilities for dia-
mark on rabbinic Judaism in Palestine and Babylonia. How-
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4980
JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
ever, in the intellectual environment of Islam in the ninth
Maimonides as well prayer and the mitsvot are forms of reli-
and tenth centuries, Jewish philosophy took hold for the first
gious discipline essential to the education of the moral per-
time. Jewish philosophy had begun largely as a way of de-
son rather than direct interactions with a God who responds
fending rabbinic Judaism from freethinkers and Karaites
to the individual by guaranteeing salvation personally. The
who challenged rabbinic ways of thinking. However, by the
purpose of Judaism is to produce the ideal individual, the
eleventh century in Babylonia and Spain philosophical train-
prophet, who achieves consummate knowledge of God
ing and inquiry had become much more sophisticated.
through philosophical contemplation.
Moreover internal considerations impelled philosophical
The medieval Jewish philosophical tradition ebbed by
thinking among a Jewish elite in the Muslim world, especial-
the fifteenth century, especially with the expulsion of Jews
ly in Spain from the tenth to the twelfth centuries. The pros-
from Spain. Although some works continued to be read, me-
perity of Spanish urban society during this period fostered
dieval Jewish philosophy was largely rediscovered by nine-
the rise of intellectual classes dedicated to the ideal of adab,
teenth-century German Jewish scholars who saw in it ante-
an Arabic term for proper social behavior and education. The
cedents for their own rationalism. It has therefore continued
adib, the cultured Mediterranean gentleman, had a profes-
to be of interest not only to intellectual historians but to
sion such as law, trade, or medicine; acquired a traditional
modern Jewish thinkers such as Hermann Cohen, Abraham
education, in the case of the Jewish adib in Bible, Talmud,
Joshua Heschel, and Joseph B. Soloveitchik. But the most
and Hebrew grammar; learned to write sacred and secular
lasting effect of medieval Jewish philosophy has been the idea
poetry in Arabic or Hebrew; and also received a scientific ed-
of Jewish philosophy. The idea that Judaism can be exam-
ucation, which included philosophy. Philosophy in this peri-
ined and explained through the same methods used to ad-
od took on a particularly cosmopolitan tone. The Jewish phi-
dress other philosophical issues lies behind much influential
losopher Shelomoh ibn Gabirol (1020–1057) wrote The
Jewish thought of contemporary time.
Fountain of Life, which was eventually translated into Latin
though the original Arabic was lost. For centuries scholars
Jewish philosophy, however, did not affect the majority
debated whether it had been written by a Muslim, a Chris-
of medieval Jews, who continued to live by the way of life,
tian, or a Jew. Philosophy was designed not only to stimulate
rituals, sacred stories, and forms of piety of prephilosophical
the religious thinking of these intellectuals but to protect
Judaism. Fortunately a good deal of information about me-
them from religious doubt. Philosophy thus brought with it
dieval Jewish culture in the Mediterranean is accessible
an ambivalence to Jewish tradition. On the one hand it
thanks to the discovery a century ago of the Cairo Genizah,
strengthened concepts such as monotheism, the soul, and re-
a storehouse of discarded Jewish manuscripts that contains
ligious discipline. On the other hand it left open questions
everything from autographed letters from Maimonides to
of whether biblical stories and traditional lore stood up to
children’s writing exercises. From the Genizah one can re-
the rigorous demands of philosophical reasoning.
construct a portrait of Jews as individuals and as communi-
ties steeped in biblical language and lore, looking up to Tal-
The philosophical patterns that prevailed during this
mudic scholars for guidance and legal redress, concerned
period were influenced by several trends from the previous
enough about divine disposition to their fate to take part in
few centuries. From the kala¯m came the idea that God’s
the Jewish magical tradition, and devoted to the life of the
unity was absolute; from Neoplatonism came the notion that
synagogue.
creation was a process of emanation from a pure, spiritual,
By the twelfth century another form of Jewish thought
infinite God to physical matter; and from Aristotelianism
was taking shape in southern France and northern Spain
came the idea of God as the unknowable unmoved mover.
among small groups of intellectuals and pietists that stressed
The greatest and most eloquent exponent of Jewish philoso-
the mystical contemplation of the divine nature. This form
phy was Moses Maimonides (1135/8–1204), a physician and
of mysticism picked up threads of esoteric lore and philoso-
legal authority who was born in Spain but spent his adult-
phy that had been circulating in the Mediterranean in the
hood in Egypt. Maimonides not only wrote philosophical
early Middle Ages and fused it with the Neoplatonic cosmol-
works of great depth but attempted to codify philosophical
ogy of medieval philosophy. Its adherents held that this form
principles in his monumental manual of halakhah, the Mish-
of mysticism had been passed down through esoteric tradi-
neh Torah. The tractate that begins that work, the Book of
tion along with the exoteric Torah. They thus gave this form
Knowledge, holds that it is a primary mitzvah to believe that
of religiosity the name Qabbalah, “tradition.”
God is one, unchangeable, and that he possesses no bodily
form. Furthermore because God is unchangeable and not de-
In the late thirteenth century qabbalistic literary creativ-
pendent on any other being, he cannot be affected by human
ity flourished in Spain, where speculative and richly symbolic
action or prayer. These principles, formulated in elegantly
writings were being produced. Moses de Leon, aided perhaps
rabbinic Hebrew, were notable as well for their departure
by some of his close associates, wrote a massive mystical com-
from prephilosophical Jewish conceptions of God and his re-
mentary to the Torah called the Zohar, or Book of Enlight-
lationship with the world. The anthropomorphism familiar
enment, which eventually became the most revered Jewish
to readers of biblical and rabbinic literature gives way to a
text after the Bible and the Talmud. The qabbalists were con-
concept of a God who is utterly abstract and formless. For
cerned about some of the effects of the new Maimonidean
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
4981
philosophy. If God did not need human prayer and virtue,
The resilience of this system is attested by the growth
they reasoned, what motivation would they have to do the
of Qabbalah from a small circle of mystics in the twelfth and
mitsvot? If human beings can attribute no positive character-
thirteenth centuries to its prominence as a form of Jewish
istics to God, as the Aristotelian Jewish philosophers had ar-
theology in the later medieval period and early modern peri-
gued, how can God be worshiped meaningfully? For Mai-
od. With the expulsion of the Jews from Christian Spain in
monides, the love of God consisted of the wonder and awe
1492, the Qabbalah spread to exiled communities in North
that struck the enlightened devotee upon contemplation of
Africa, Turkey, and Palestine. In the town of Safed in Pales-
the facts of God’s creation and sustaining vitality. However,
tine in the sixteenth century charismatic teachers such as
the qabbalists insisted that God did in fact have positive attri-
Isaac Luria redrew the Qabbalah’s cosmology and eschatolo-
butes that could be known by the person who understood
gy to construct a system whereby the individual, through the
how they were encoded in Scripture.
performance of a mitzvah fortified by meditation on divine
The qabbalah therefore developed a complex symbolic
names, could bring redemption and repair the broken pieces
system in which God’s attributes were unveiled in a process
of the divine body. This system, which offered the worshiper
of ten emanations (sefirot) of the divine vitality from his infi-
a powerful motivation to perform the commandments, was
nite unknowable essence (En Sof) to his final manifestation
popularized in subsequent centuries and is still deeply influ-
(Shekhinah). The idea of the sefirot emerged as a highly effec-
ential, especially in Middle Eastern Jewish communities.
tive way of expressing divine attributes. They could be un-
Through the Hasidic movement, the principal Jewish mysti-
derstood as parts of a divine body, as colors, as metaphysical
cal movement of modern times, through modern scholar-
principles, as cognitive and emotional facets of God’s person-
ship, and through contemporary interest in mysticism, the
ality, and as letters of the divine name. For the Zohar, the
Qabbalah continues to affect Jewish thought and practice.
Torah is not simply a book of stories and laws but an intri-
Smaller Jewish communities existed in northern and
cately coded treasury of mystical secrets, a kind of autobiog-
central Europe from the ninth century, when they had been
raphy of God’s manifestation of himself. The sefirotic system
invited by Charlemagne to participate in the economy of the
also addressed an important philosophical problem in an in-
new empire. Longstanding communities were established in
genious way. According to the philosophers, one could no
France and Germany, called Ashkenaz in Hebrew (a name
longer conceive of God anthropomorphically. Maimonides
that came to designate all of northern, central, and eastern
considered the anthropomorphic language of the Bible to be
European Jewry). However, with the crusades in the eleventh
an accommodation to the limitations of the human imagina-
and twelfth centuries, relations between Jews and Christians
tion; thus the expression “the hand of God” was a figurative
took a turn for the worse. The massacres of Jews by crusading
way of speaking of divine power, which makes for all reality.
armies and Christian mobs and expulsions by local rulers left
The qabbalists likewise did not think of God as having a
a deep imprint on these communities. Bitter poetic laments
physical, anthropomorphic form. Rather, the “body of God”
were written, describing how Jewish victims of these riots
was the arrangement of the sefirot. Thus the right arm of God
chose to martyr themselves and their families “for the sake
stood for the sefirah of supernatural mercy (H:esed) and so on.
of sanctifying the divine Name” ( Eal qiddush ha-Shem).
That hand was not merely a metaphor using the human hand
However, there were also long periods of quiet if tense coex-
as a symbol for a divine attribute—it was the real, supernal
istence. Scholars are increasingly finding evidence of dia-
arm, the original to which the human arm, modeled in God’s
logue and mutual influence, both positive and negative, be-
image, referred. In addition the Qabbalah introduced a new
tween European Christians and Jews.
dimension of gender to the idea of God. The divine body
The Ashkenazic communities distinguished themselves
was described as possessing male and female sides and male
particularly in two areas of culture. The first was textual
and female anatomy. Relationships between those male and
study. The region produced important schools of biblical ex-
female aspects were likened to the longing of men and
egesis. The most famous exegete of this community was a
women for each other. In the premessianic era God’s male
French scholar from Troyes named Shelomoh ben Yitsh:aq
and female aspects were in exile from each other, only to be
(1040–1105), known by the acronym Rashi. Rashi pio-
reunited in the age to come.
neered a type of terse, incisive biblical interpretation that fo-
By contemplating the lower world, by searching the
cused on the peshat, or contextual (“plain”) meaning of the
Scriptures, and by ecstatic contemplation, the qabbalist
text. His use of rabbinic midrash was highly selective, intend-
sought to gain a direct experience of the inner life of the god-
ed to draw out contradictions and nuances in the biblical text
head. At the same time qabbalists believed that knowledge
itself. Rashi’s commentary is still an indispensable compo-
of the inner workings of the sefirot enabled the mystics to
nent of traditional study of the Torah. Rashi applied similar
draw down divine power for their own spiritual and material
methods to his monumental Talmud commentary, which is
benefit. There was also an explicitly ecstatic dimension to the
still printed alongside of the Talmud text in nearly every edi-
Qabbalah, epitomized especially by Abraham Abulafia, who
tion. Rashi’s method in his Talmud commentary was to draw
instead of the theory of the sefirot developed such techniques
out the essence of each position in the debates that constitut-
as contemplation of Hebrew names and letter combinations
ed the main subject of the Talmud texts, without taking a
with the goal of reaching the state of prophecy.
clear position on the issue being discussed.
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
Rashi’s grandson YaEaqov ben MeDir Tam and his con-
in Germany, modernization came with the Enlightenment
temporaries pioneered a more wide-ranging and daring
in the late eighteenth century, when liberal intellectuals con-
method of exegesis, which sought to probe each piece of the
templated giving Jews equal rights. For eastern European
Talmud text for every possible internal contradiction and
Jews, glimmers of modernity could be sensed in the eigh-
connection with other areas of the text. Over the next two
teenth century, but several of its defining ingredients—
centuries their successors compiled the work of several gener-
science, secularism, liberalism and socialism, and national-
ations of this school of exegesis into “supplemental” com-
ism—came only with the end of the nineteenth century. For
mentaries (Tosafot), one of which is now printed opposite
Jews in the Muslim world, modernity was a product of colo-
Rashi’s in traditional editions of the Talmud. This method
nialism, as it was to their Muslim neighbors. The nineteenth
of exegesis was accompanied by a great deal of halakhic inno-
and twentieth centuries were also periods of great Jewish mi-
vation, a trend encouraged by the structure of the Ashkenazic
gration, from Europe to America (and prewar Palestine) and
communities, which were more decentralized than the con-
from the Middle East and North Africa to Israel.
temporary Spanish and Middle Eastern communities. Re-
search suggests that this time and place saw an increasing tex-
It is difficult to say in what ways the tremors of the En-
tualization of Judaism, that is, it was the written text and its
lightenment shaking western Europe were felt by the Jews
implications more than the way of life practiced by sages that
living in Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine in the eighteenth
came to determine how the law was shaped and followed.
century. But an important movement did change the nature
of Judaism in those regions. Jewish communities at this time
A second important religious development of the early
were still self-governed. The elite’s authority rested on a net-
Ashkenazic community was one that affected a small group
of elite Jewish scholars in twelfth- to thirteenth-century Ger-
work of yeshivot that stressed a rigorously intellectual ap-
many. This group, called the German pietists or H:aside Ash-
proach to Talmud study. While this leadership accepted the
kenaz, drew on a spiritual heritage that included the creation
principles of Qabbalah and revered the Zohar, mystical expe-
of liturgical poetry and collection of esoteric and magical
rience was not a priority. In this atmosphere Jewish healers
lore. This group cultivated a type of austere pietism charac-
and preachers flourished. Some of them were known as
terized on the one hand by the willingness to speculate on
ba Eale shem, masters of the (divine) name, that is, experts in
the mystical implications of the magical and visionary tradi-
the names of God that the magical tradition uses to achieve
tions of the Talmudic period and on the other hand an insis-
its ends. One of these figures, Rabbi YisraDel ben EliEezer
tence on supererogatory discipline and punishment as a form
(1700–1760), was known as the Good Master of the Name
of spiritual purification.
or Master of the Good Name, the BaEal Shem Tov. He in-
spired a movement of spiritual revivalism whose adherents
EARLY MODERN AND MODERN JUDAISM. It can be said that
were known as Hasidim, “the pious” (this movement is not
the changes to Judaism wrought by modernity were no less
to be confused with Ashkenazic H:asidism, the pietistic
drastic than those wrought by the destruction of the Temple
movement of early medieval Germany described above). The
in the first century. By the twentieth century several condi-
movement spread, initially under the leadership of Dov Ber
tions of Jewry were no longer valid. Jews were no longer liv-
the Maggid of Mezhirich and then under charismatic leaders
ing in autonomous communities governed by local Jewish
known as tsaddiqim, throughout eastern Europe.
leaders under the control of non-Jewish governments. In
many countries Jews had full rights as citizens along with
Hasidism has been characterized, especially in the popu-
their non-Jewish neighbors. Halakhah, including civil law,
lar imagination, as an outpouring of simple religious enthusi-
was no longer binding on Jews. Jews were not exclusively re-
asm, celebrated by singing, dancing, and heartfelt prayer.
ligious; in several countries it was possible to abandon belief
This image belies the complex theology and symbolism that
in God and still consider oneself a Jew. Many who were reli-
Hasidic leaders developed in speculative writings as well as
gious no longer saw themselves as carrying out an unchang-
in stories and sermons. Hasidism took the qabbalistic ideas
ing, sacred way of life that went back to God’s revelation to
in new directions. Hasidic thinkers adopted a panentheistic
Moses at Mount Sinai but as a religion in which they them-
approach to God’s relationship with the world; that is, the
selves could be agents of change. Finally, it was possible to
universe existed within the infinitude of God’s vitality and
leave the Jewish community entirely without converting to
only existed in and of itself because of God’s decision to
another religion—what sociologists and community leaders
create a boundary between himself and his creation. The ear-
alike have come to call “assimilation.” By the second half of
lier Lurianic Qabbalah had also argued that God needed to
the twentieth century two other radical changes had taken
contract himself in order to create the world. But that move-
place. European Jewry was no longer a large part of the
ment presupposed a transcendent God who is apart from cre-
world’s Jewish population, having been all but exterminated
ation. Hasidism’s notion of God was far more imminent. For
by Nazi Germany. There was also a Jewish state, Israel, with
Hasidism the human soul also carries within itself a model
a democratically elected government, an army, and a nation-
of the divine personality, and if one brings those inner sefirot
al language, modern Hebrew.
to consciousness, it is possible to cleave to God. This process
These changes, however, did not come to all Jewish
of attachment to the divine essence, known as devequt, is the
communities at the same time. For a small group of elite Jews
constant goal of the Hasid. For the Hasidic movement, all
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
4983
actions—study, eating, prayer, and song—have the potential
where it grew exponentially in the atmosphere of almost un-
to raise the individual to a state of devequt. While the Hasidic
limited religious freedom that Jews experienced there.
leaders were usually well educated, studied Talmud, and
The goal of the Reform movement was to refashion Ju-
were dedicated to halakhah, they also sought to address ele-
daism into a religion that could take its place alongside the
ments of the populace who did not have access to the elite
(post-Reformation) Christianity of its day, a religion that
centers of learning. They did so through the charismatic ap-
would also make sense to the growing numbers of Jews enter-
peal of the tsaddiqim, through an emphasis on achieving de-
ing modern European society, speaking German, and acquir-
vequt through everyday actions, and through skillfully
ing a scientific and humanistic education. The Reformers de-
wrought stories celebrating the Hasidic leadership and its
clared that the Talmud and halakhah were no longer
way of life.
binding, that Jewish rituals, practices, and liturgy had to be
Another important dimension of the Hasidic movement
remodeled to suit modern sensibilities, and that the Jews did
was how it dealt with the longing for the messianic age that
not constitute a national group. To these ends they promot-
has characterized Judaism since the rabbinic period and that
ed changes in basic practices, doing away with aspects of tra-
becomes especially potent in times of crisis. A century earlier
ditional Jewish law, introducing prayers in the vernacular of
the Jewish world had been convulsed by the failure of a pop-
the secular society, and applying historical methods of study-
ular messianic movement surrounding Shabbetai Tsevi. In
ing Judaism and Hebrew literature. At the same time Reform
the person of the tsaddiq, the Hasidim found a figure that
Judaism saw itself as carrying out a divine mission to spread
took up something of Shabbetai’s role of intervening be-
ethical monotheism to the world and to use the freedom
tween the ordinary man and God’s will to redemption. Yet
granted the Jewish people to carry out principles of social jus-
for most of the Hasidic movement, the tsaddiq was not the
tice in the public sphere. The movement rejected the idea
messiah himself but an extraordinarily endowed man who
of a personal messiah, hoping instead for an ideal future
might one day “force the hand” of God to bring redemption.
when, as an American Reform prayer-book put it, “unbelief
The Hasidic movement thrives in modern times, although
shall disappear and error be no more.”
most of its original population was decimated in the Holo-
This movement did not go unopposed. A group of
caust. Several branches of Hasidism are known for their tra-
modernized Jews committed to halakhah argued that it was
ditionalism, seeking to preserve the Hasidic way of life by
still possible to participate in modern society and observe
maintaining their communal institutions and schools, ways
Jewish law at the same time. The Orthodox movement,
of dress, and tightly knit social structures. However, the
founded in the early nineteenth century in response to the
movement has also been influential. Hasidic thought has
Reform movement, took as its motto Torah im derekh erets,
formed an important foundation for the theologies of mod-
that is, full observance and study of the traditional Torah
ern Jewish thinkers such as Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua
combined with a worldly occupation and demeanor. Thus,
Heschel, and Arthur Green. In addition the Lubavitch
they argued, it was possible to wear modern clothes as long
movement, under the direction of Menachem Schneerson
as one’s head was covered according to tradition, to hold a
(1902–1994), initiated a major outreach effort after World
job as a doctor or a lawyer, to observe Sabbath the way
War II to bring unaffiliated and non-Orthodox Jews into the
halakhah demanded, and to marry or divorce according to
Hasidic way of life.
the dictates of Jewish civil law.
In western Europe and the Western Hemisphere mo-
A third alternative was proposed by Zacharias Frankel
dernity affected Judaism more directly and with permanent
(1801–1875), who founded Historical Judaism. For Frankel
consequences. Enlightenment thinkers in emerging modern
and subsequently for the Conservative movement in the
states, especially Germany and France, argued that Jews
United States, Judaism was best understood as a historical
should be granted full rights of citizenship. Eventually those
and national group. The preservation of Jewish culture and
states did relax restrictions on the personal, political, and
heritage was an essential goal of modern Judaism. Historical
professional rights of Jews. However, this came at the price
and Conservative Judaism held to the structure and centrali-
of Jewish autonomy. It was a price that many Jews were will-
ty of the halakhah. However, halakhic change was permissi-
ing to pay, and in Jewish intellectual circles in Germany, dec-
ble under controlled circumstances. Halakhic decision-
larations of loyalty to the state could be heard. Moderniza-
making in the Conservative movement took into account
tion also meant that modern ways of thinking, such as
modern scholarly textual criticism and the historical context
individualism, liberalism, and science, could influence Jew-
of a legal issue, as well as changing circumstances. The move-
ish thought. Many Jews in Europe sought to change Judaism
ment grew in the United States with the mass immigration
itself in a conscious way. Thus began the Reform movement
of Jews in the early twentieth century from eastern Europe.
in Germany in the second decade of the nineteenth century.
This community, unlike the German Jews who had formed
The movement was begun by small circles of rabbis and lay-
Reform congregations in the mid-nineteenth century, were
people and became a significant feature of Jewish life in Ger-
comfortable with the traditional liturgy and practices, but
many (and to a lesser extent in Britain, where it was called
wanted the freedom of mixed seating and a more open ap-
Liberal Judaism). Eventually it spread to the United States,
proach to halakhah. One leader of the Conservative move-
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4984
JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
ment, Mordecai Kaplan, inspired by American pragmatism
return to the Land of Israel would be the first step in the mes-
and twentieth-century social theory, broke with the theism
sianic redemption. But there was also a revolutionary secular
and traditionalism of the movement and placed Jewish peo-
element to the movement. Inherent in Zionism was the idea
plehood at the absolute center of Judaism as a religion. For
that Jews would bring their own salvation rather than wait-
Kaplan, the collective spirit of Judaism, which he defined as
ing for the Messiah. The movement also had a social and cul-
an “evolving religious civilization,” was the guiding force;
tural dimension. Zionists sought to create a nation of “new
personalistic and particularistic definitions of God were es-
Jews” who were not dependent on Gentiles for safety and
chewed in favor of one that saw God more abstractly as “the
livelihood but able to defend themselves militarily, work the
power that makes for salvation.” The movement Kaplan
land, and return to the vitality of biblical Israel. Since most
founded eventually became a separate American denomina-
of the early Zionist activists had received traditional educa-
tion of Judaism.
tions and knew biblical and Talmudic literature thoroughly,
Yet all western European Jewish and American Jewish
they drew on those sources in their efforts to create a Jewish
movements share many characteristics out of necessity.
culture that was authentically Jewish yet radically different
While the Orthodox might insist on practicing Jewish civil
from that of the Diaspora. At the same time Zionists were
law, in the modern Western state such practice is ultimately
for the most part starkly divided between secular and ortho-
a voluntary affair. The focus of Jewish life in North America
dox; a nonorthodox Zionist movement never took hold (the
and Europe is ritual, both at home and in the synagogue,
Reform and Conservative movements have small growing
which modern societies have designated as definitively pri-
branches in Israel, but they are comparatively new develop-
vate spheres.
ments). In Israel and North America most Jewish religious
movements see the founding of the State of Israel and its sur-
The upheaval in Judaism that modernity caused has also
vival under threats to its security as religiously meaningful
given rise to an almost unprecedented degree of creativity in
events. A modern prayer for the welfare for Israel calls it “the
the religious sphere. Jewish philosophy was revived in post-
beginning of our promised redemption.” For some this takes
Enlightenment Europe. Rationalists such as Moses Mendel-
on a specifically messianic connotation, and for others it is
sohn and Hermann Cohen took up the medieval intellectual
a more general wish for Israel to be the religious and cultural
tradition; existentialists such as Martin Buber and Franz
center of world Jewry.
Rosenzweig addressed Jewish theology from the standpoint
of the condition of modern humanity. This tradition contin-
European anti-Semitism culminated in the Holocaust
ues in Israel and North America, where such trends as
(a term that came to be applied to that catastrophe in the
poststructuralism and feminism inform Jewish religious
1950s and 1960s). Nazi Germany’s attempted genocide of
thought. Ritual and liturgical creativity was a hallmark of the
the Jewish people succeeded in wiping out the cultural and
Reform movement, although not its exclusive provenance.
religious centers of European Jewry, including many of the
In the twentieth century two cataclysmic events shaped
major Hasidic communities, the most important yeshivot, the
the nature of Judaism, not to mention the Jews as a nation:
German academic seminaries of Jewish studies, and thriving
the attempt in 1941–1945 by Nazi Germany to exterminate
communities of poets, writers, and theaters in Poland, Hun-
world Jewry, what has come to be called the Holocaust; and
gary, Lithuania, and elsewhere. On the surviving Jewish
the rise of Zionism, the settlement of Palestine by Jews, and
communities in North America, Israel, and Europe, this had
the founding in 1948 of the State of Israel. The effects of
several major effects. One was to galvanize support among
both events are now essential elements not only of Jewish na-
Jewish movements for the State of Israel. Whereas some Re-
tional life but of Judaism as a religion.
form Jews had opposed Zionism on the grounds that Juda-
ism was most properly a religious not a national group, the
In western Europe, modern anti-Semitism, as opposed
Reform movement increasingly embraced Zionism and in-
to most forms of premodern hatred of Jews, was directed not
deed ideas of Jewish nationhood. The strands of the Reform
only at isolated and traditionalist groups of Jews but at those
movement in North America that had since early in the
Jews who had integrated into Western society. In eastern Eu-
twentieth century asserted Judaism’s ethnic dimension were
rope anti-Jewish riots (pogroms) accompanied the first stir-
thus strengthened. In modern Orthodoxy too the element
rings of modernity in the early twentieth century. This and
of religious Zionism has become more prominent from
the influence of modern nationalism spawned the Zionist
World War II to the twenty-first century.
movement at the end of the nineteenth century. The move-
ment was based on many principles central to Judaism as a
Another effect has been a process of theological search-
religion, such as Jewish peoplehood, the hope for the nation’s
ing. The Holocaust seemed to break the paradigms of theod-
return to the Land of Israel in the messianic era, and the He-
icy set by earlier generations of Jewish theologians. It could
brew language, which from the first century to modern times
not be reasonably said that the millions of pious Jews who
was used almost exclusively as a literary and liturgical tongue.
died in the death camps were being punished for their sins;
There was also a religious Zionist movement, based on the
nor was it any consolation to know that they would be re-
principle that Jewish life, including the halakhah, could only
warded for their martyrdom in the world to come. Much
be lived most fully in the Land of Israel and that the active
thoughtful meditation has been applied to these problems,
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JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
4985
but two approaches in particular have struck a chord with
Age spirituality form informal groups seeking religious expe-
American Jews. Elie Wiesel’s narrative works and essays stress
riences both inside and outside the framework of Judaism.
the postwar Jewish community’s responsibility simply to
More significant is the influence of large-scale immigration
bear witness to the world, remember the victims and how
of Jews from Muslim countries in the 1950s. Those commu-
they were victimized, and eschew easy lessons. Emil Facken-
nities had not been divided deeply between orthodox and
heim’s response is to declare that there is a new com-
secular factions. As a result, Israelis of Middle Eastern back-
mandment: “It is forbidden to grant Hitler any posthumous
ground are often more sympathetic to religious traditions yet
victories.”
not always identifiable as Orthodox by conventional western
CONTEMPORARY JUDAISM. In the early twenty-first century
criteria. The full consequences of this influence have yet to
religious Judaism in North America has inherited the de-
be determined.
nominationalism of the past two centuries, but other social
Other trends are affecting Judaism at the beginning of
and religious trends have rendered the structure of the com-
the twenty-first century. One is feminism, which has affected
munity more complex. In the late 1960s and early 1970s,
the social, ritual, and theological life of contemporary Juda-
groups of young Jews, many of whom had been raised in the
ism. Especially since the 1960s Jewish feminists have argued
Conservative and Reform youth movements, began express-
for full equality both in Jewish communal life and in reli-
ing their dissatisfaction with the large institutions and ethos
gious status. For nonorthodox movements, this has meant
of the major denominations by forming small, informal
that after years of struggle women have won full participation
communities called h:avurot. In these communities, no hired
in rituals, ordination as rabbis, and parity in Jewish law. For
Rabbi or cantor presided over worship services or supervised
some orthodox communities, it has meant testing the
education and programming. These communities were also
boundaries of the halakhah. Jewish feminism has also result-
deeply influenced by the egalitarianism and feminism of the
ed in a reexamination of Jewish theology and religious sym-
postwar left as well as what they saw as the spontaneity and
bolism. This has taken several forms. One result is the inter-
spirituality of the Hasidic movement. Some of the h:avurot
est in reexamining Jewish history from a feminist perspective,
are independent; others are associated with the Jewish Re-
both to find historical precedents and alternative myths and
newal movement. Thus those Jewish denominations begun
symbols and to present a thorough critique of patriarchy
in the nineteenth century look quite different in the early
within a Jewish cultural context. Another result is a reconsid-
twenty-first century. In the wake of the Holocaust and the
eration of gender in Jewish concepts of God. Jewish feminists
founding of the State of Israel, practically no sector of reli-
have explored alternatives to masculine images and language
gious Judaism accepts the notion that the Jews constitute a
for God. For example, some draw on elements of the Qab-
purely religious group—that is, a community defined only
balah that refer to the female within divinity (especially the
by common beliefs and not by common ancestry and tradi-
idea of the Shekhinah); others believe that these categories
tion—and not a national or ethnic group. After World War
will have to be redrawn considerably before they meet criteria
II a major concern of all Jewish movements has been the
for inclusive language. Jewish feminism has also resulted in
worry that Judaism will disappear. Anti-Semitism is seen to
the creation of new rituals or the reinvention of old ones.
present a physical threat to the Jews as a people, and con-
Thus the naming of a female baby becomes a (non-surgical)
versely, it is feared that in an open society Jews will assimilate
equivalent of brit milah; likewise, the New Moon celebration
into the larger culture, intermarrying with non-Jews and
has become an occasion for Jewish women to gather for new
leaving their religion and culture behind. This anxiety lies
ceremonies.
behind the arguments made by the major movements. Or-
Another important trend that is affecting religious af-
thodoxy sees its dedication to halakhah, dietary laws, inten-
fairs all over the world is the rise of traditionalist, “funda-
sive traditional education, and commitment to religious
mentalist,” and militant religious movements. In Jewish
Zionism as an effective way to fight assimilation. Nonortho-
communities this can be seen in the renewed vitality of tradi-
dox movements argue that without adapting to the chang-
tionalist communities, such as H:asidim, that in the mid-
ing needs of society, Jews will be alienated from
twentieth century seemed on the verge of extinction. These
Judaism.
trends are also in evidence with the growth of a movement
Israel is a different case. It is paradoxically a country
of ba Eale teshuvah, Jews who “return” to Orthodoxy from
with a secular Jewish majority in which orthodox institutions
nonaffiliated or nonorthodox backgrounds. In Israel, where
and authorities form part of the political and legal structure.
politics and religion are inseparable, traditionalist religious
One consequence of this structure is that religious and politi-
parties and messianic movements have taken up a higher pro-
cal movements are often closely related. Another result is that
file in public life. At the same time small numbers of Jews
nonorthodox denominations are far smaller in Israel. None-
in North America who have not had a strong loyalty to the
theless, small groups of secular Israeli intellectuals that have
major denominations have become interested in spiritual
formed to discuss what constitutes the “Jewish book-
trends, such as the Jewish Renewal movement, that adopt
shelf”—a kind of Jewish canon for secular Israelis—include
qabbalistic ideas and symbols but stress inner, personal goals.
Jewish religious literature in that discussion. In addition, Is-
However, certain constants prevail in contemporary Ju-
raelis who have been influenced by travel to India or by New-
daism, each of which can be seen as an inheritance from the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4986
JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
long history described above. One common theme in reli-
historical experience both through the senses and discursive-
gious Judaism, in all of its denominational manifestations,
ly. As the Haggadah, the traditional narration for the Seder,
is the structure of a covenant between Israel and God. For
puts it, “In every generation one should see oneself as having
traditional Jews, the terms of the covenant are to be found
come out of Egypt.” The Seder has become one of the most
in the halakhic process, and understanding its details is vital
popular Jewish rituals in modern times, celebrated in homes
to living a life devoted to God. For some nonorthodox move-
not only by all religious denominations, but by secular Jews
ments, the covenant is the beginning point that initiates a
as well. For traditional Jews, the Seder has symbolized re-
process of dialogue with the tradition and the world.
demption and divine sovereignty; for many modern Jews, it
represents national solidarity and political freedom. The ritu-
Another constant is the Torah. The rabbis (M. Avot
al thus manages, in a series of gestures, to combine thought
5:22) said, “turn it over, turn it over, for everything is in it.”
and action, history and the present, and the extraordinary
Legends tell of how the Torah is literally as large as the world
and the everyday.
itself. Over the centuries the meaning of the term Torah has
come to expand from individual biblical teachings, to the
SEE ALSO Amoraim; Ashkenazic Hasidism; Conservative Ju-
core of the canon, to traditions memorized and taught by
daism; Covenant; Dead Sea Scrolls; Halakhah, article on
rabbis and their disciples, to the entire Judaic tradition. Juda-
History of Halakhah; Hasidism; Israelite Religion; Jewish
ism sees Torah not simply as a body of textual material, but
People; Jewish Religious Year; Jewish Renewal Movement;
a form of activity. The Torah is read ritually in Hebrew in
Jewish Thought and Philosophy; Midrash and Aggadah;
the synagogue from a scroll; the Oral Torah, written down
Mishnah and Tosefta; Oral Torah; Orthodox Judaism; Pa-
in the Talmud and Midrash, is the focus of dialectical study
triarchate; Pesher; Qabbalah; Rabbinic Judaism in Late An-
and interpretation; and whether praying or making ethical
tiquity; Reconstructionist Judaism; Reform Judaism; Saddu-
decisions, religious Jews see themselves as translating the
cees; Synagogue; Talmud; Tannaim; Torah; Tosafot;
Torah into action.
Worship and Devotional Life, article on Jewish Worship;
Zionism.
It can be said that action, more than belief or inner ex-
perience, is seen as primary to Judaism. Ritual observance,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
whether in the synagogue or at home, remains a defining
characteristic of Jews as individuals and as a community.
General works
The best reference work for the study of Judaism is the Encyclope-
Jewish religious communities are more likely to come togeth-
dia Judaica, 16 vols. (Jerusalem, 1971), although the earlier
er and divide over matters of ritual and practice than on the-
Jewish Encyclopedia, 12 vols. (1901–1906) is still of value. An
ology or doctrine. Action can take the form of halakhah, ob-
excellent survey of the history of Judaism, balancing histori-
servance of rituals, and engagement in social and ethical
cal detail with religious ideas, is Robert Seltzer, Jewish People,
issues. In the late twentieth century and early twenty-first
Jewish Thought. A briefer, up-to-date historical survey is Ray-
century, the experiential dimension has been emphasized in-
mond P. Scheindlin, A Short History of the Jewish People:
creasingly by many communities; however, this dimension
From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood (New York,
is usually associated with ritual and contemplative practices.
1998). Judith Baskin (ed.), Jewish Women in Historical Per-
spective (Detroit, 1991), is especially useful for understanding
The persistent relevance of these themes are embodied
the history of women in Judaism. An excellent introduction
in ritual, which often resonates particularly deeply with reli-
to the most important Jewish religious texts is Barry Holtz,
gious Jews. The Passover Seder can be taken as emblematic
Back to the Sources (New York, 1984). Harvey Goldberg,
of the interplay of these themes in the way it illustrates the
Jewish Passages (Berkeley, 2003) is a substantial description
layers of history, interaction of myth and ritual, and affective
of the rituals of Jewish life that takes anthropological and his-
nature of Jewish practice. The Seder is a meal held on the
torical methods into consideration. Two fine works on Jew-
holiday of Passover, which celebrates Israel’s liberation from
ish liturgy are Ruth Langer, To Worship God Properly (Cin-
cinnati and Detroit, 1998) and Lawrence A. Hoffman,
slavery in Egypt. In the Torah (Ex. 12:1–28), an annual
Beyond the Text (Bloomington, 1987).
commemoration of the Exodus is prescribed as a reenact-
ment of the original event. It consists of a lamb sacrifice eaten
On Jewish philosophy from antiquity to the twenty-first century
see Daniel H. Frank and Oliver Leaman (eds.), History of
hastily by a family in the household; in time the sacrifice was
Jewish Philosophy (London, 1997). The seminal work on
linked to pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. With the
Jewish mysticism, and one of the most important modern
destruction of the Temple, the sacrifice was no longer of-
works of Jewish scholarship, is Gershom Scholem, Major
fered. However, by the time of the Mishnah the Passover cel-
Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York, 1941). Other impor-
ebration had become a meal in which symbolic foods were
tant studies of the Qabbalah and other types of Jewish mysti-
eaten and discussed and the biblical story of the Exodus was
cism are Moseh Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives (New
told and interpreted. For example, the participants not only
Haven, 1988) and Elliot Wolfson, Through a Speculum that
eat the unleavened bread (matsah) and the bitter herbs
Shines (Princeton, 1994).
(maror) as prescribed in Ex. 12:8, but explain their meaning
The biblical period
as the bread eaten in haste by the Israelites and a symbol of
The best introduction to biblical religion, especially as a back-
the bitterness of slavery. Thus the participants internalize the
ground for understanding Judaism, is Jon D. Levenson’s
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDAISM: AN OVERVIEW
4987
Sinai and Zion (New York, 1985). Mark S. Smith, The Early
East, see Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands in
History of God (San Francisco, 1990; Dearborn, 2002) is also
Modern Times (Philadelphia, 1991). For Judaism in the
valuable. An important essay on the conception of God that
United States, see Jonathan D. Sarna, American Judaism: a
underlies biblical ritual is Baruch A. Levine, “The Presence
History (New Haven, 2004). Charles S. Liebman’s The Am-
of God in Biblical Religion,” in Jacob Neusner (ed.), Reli-
bivalent American Jew (Philadelphia, 1973) also contains
gions in Antiquity (Leiden, 1968), pp. 71–87. Susan Niditch,
many good insights. For an overview of Zionism see Walter
Ancient Israelite Religion (New York, 1997) is also notable for
Laqueur, A History of Zionism (New York, 1989).
its consideration of archaeological data and the history of
Among the many modern theologies of Judaism, several stand out
women in biblical Israel.
as having made an impact on contemporary Judaism and are
The Second-Temple and Rabbinic periods
attentive to many aspects of Judaic experience. Though diffi-
Two valuable introductions to Judaism from the Persian period
cult, Franz Rosenzweig’s The Star of Redemption (1930;
to the end of the talmudic period are Lawrence H. Schiff-
trans. by William W. Hallo, New York, 1971) presented a
man, From Text to Tradition (Hoboken, 1991) and Martin
system describing Judaism as a process of creation, revela-
S. Jaffee, Early Judaism (Upper Saddle River, N.J., 1997).
tion, and redemption that has been very influential. Abra-
Lawerence H. Schiffman’s Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls
ham Joshua Heschel’s God in Search of Man (New York,
(Philadelphia, 1994) is a comprehensive introduction to the
1955) emphasized the experience of “radical amazement”
literature of the Qumran community; John J. Collins, The
and his poetic work The Sabbath proposed the values and
Apocalyptic Imagination (New York, 1984; Grand Rapids,
worldview embodied in the Sabbath as an antidote to the ste-
Mich., 1998) is an excellent description of apocalyptic litera-
rility and cruelty of modern society. Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s
ture. An important statement on the Mishnah and how it re-
Halakhic Man and “The Lonely Man of Faith” (Modern Ju-
flects the earliest stage of Rabbinic Judaism is Jacob Neusner,
daism 2:3 [1982]: 227–272) are important existential reflec-
Judaism, the Evidence of the Mishnah (Chicago, 1981). Solo-
tions from the modern Orthodox perspective. While not a
mon S. Schechter, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology (New York,
work of theology per se, Elie Wiesel’s works, especially Night
1909; reprint, 1969) is a collection of essays on Rabbinic
(New York, 1972), have set the agenda in the starkest terms
thought that can still be read with profit. In Imperialism and
for Jewish considerations of the Holocaust. For two influen-
Jewish Society, 200 BCE to 640 CE (Princeton, 2001) Seth
tial statements see Richard L. Rubenstein’s After Auschwitz
Schwartz presents a provocative challenge to conventional
(Indianapolis, 1966) and Emil L. Fackenheim, To Mend the
understandings of Judaism in the Rabbinic period.
World (New York, 1982). Judith Plaskow, Standing Again at
Sinai (New York, 1990), is a pioneering work of Jewish femi-
On women and gender in Rabbinic Judaism see Judith Romney
nist theology.
Wegner, Chattel or Person? (New York, 1988); Judith Haupt-
man, Rereading the Rabbis: A Woman’s Voice (Boulder,
Translations of major Jewish texts
1998); and Daniel Boyarin, Carnal Israel (Berkeley 1993).
Translations of most of the major Rabbinic texts are available;
For the history of the ancient synagogue, Lee I. Levine, The
classic translations of the Mishnah, Babylonian Talmud and
Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years (New Haven,
Midrash Rabbah (the principal Rabbinic commentary on the
2000) and Steven Fine, This Holy Place (Notre Dame, 1997)
Torah and five other books) are The Mishnah, translated by
integrate archaeological finds and textual research. Baruch
Herbert Danby (Oxford, 1933); The Babylonian Talmud, 35
Boxer, The Origins of the Seder (Berkeley, 1984) demon-
vols. (1935–1948; reprint in 18 vols., London, 1961); and
strates the significance of the Passover Seder for the history
Midrash Rabbah, 10 vols., translated by Harry Freedman et
of rabbinic Judaism. On Merkavah Mysticism, see Peter
al. (London, 1939). A preliminary English translation of the
Schäfer, The Hidden and Manifest God (Albany, 1992).
Palestinian Talmud is The Talmud of the Land of Israel, trans-
The Middle Ages
lated by Jacob Neusner (35 vols.; Chicago, 1982). The Mish-
For a social history of Jews in the Middle ages see Mark R. Cohen,
neh Torah, the great legal code of Maimonides, has been
Under Crescent and Cross (Princeton, 1994). S. D. Goiten
translated as The Code of Maimonides, 16 vols. to date (New
synthesized the enormous range of sources found in the
Haven, 1949–). The best translation of Maimonides’ philo-
Cairo Genizah into a fascinating and comprehensive portrait
sophical magnum opus is The Guide of the Perplexed, translat-
of a medieval Jewish community in A Mediterranean Society
ed by Shlomo Pines (Chicago, 1964). A translation of the
(6 vols., Berkeley, 1971). On medieval Jewish philosophy see
Zohar into English that combines poetic language with criti-
Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages
cal acumen has been undertaken by Daniel C. Matt, The
(Cambridge and Paris, 1985) and Julius Guttmann, Philoso-
Zohar (two volumes published so far; Stanford, 2004–). The
phies of Judaism, translated by David W. Silverman (New
Jewish prayerbook (siddur) is an important source of infor-
York, 1964). For the Qabbalah see the works of Scholem,
mation on Jewish values, implicit theologies, and sacred liter-
Idel, and Wolfson cited above. On the spiritual world of me-
ature. The best translation of the traditional prayerbook is
dieval Ashkenazic intellectuals see Ephraim Kanarfogel, Peer-
Daily Prayer Book, ha-Siddur ha-Shalem, translated by Philip
ing through the Lattices (Detroit, 2000).
Birnbaum (New York, 1949). The Passover Haggadah, edited
by Nahum N. Glatzer (New York, 1969), is a good transla-
The modern period
tion of the traditional text for the Passover Seder.
An excellent portrait of the pioneers of Jewish modernity in Ger-
many is Michael A. Meyer, The Origins of the Modern Jew
Other works cited in this entry
(Detroit, 1967). Paul R. Mendes-Flohr and Jehuda Rein-
Baeck, Leo. The Essence of Judaism. Translated by Irving Howe
harz’s The Jew in the Modern World (Oxford, 1980) is a valu-
and Victor Grubwieser. London, 1936; revised edition, New
able anthology of documents. For Judaism in the Middle
York, 1948.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4988
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA TO 1492
Biale, David. Gershom Scholem: Kabbalah and Counter-History, 2d
Syria (where it had been located since 661 CE) to Baghdad.
ed. Cambridge, Mass., 1982.
Under the Abbasid dynasty, Iraq became the center from
Frazer, James. Folklore in the Old Testament. New York, 1988.
which power and scholarly creativity radiated to the rest of
Kadushin, Max, Worship and Ethics. New York, 1963.
the Islamic world. In this setting, the institutions of Babylo-
Kugel, James L., and Greer, Rowan A. Early Biblical Interpreta-
nian Judaism were able to consolidate their own authority
tion. Philadelphia, 1986.
and religious leadership over the Jews living within the orbit
Silver, Abba Hillel. Where Judaism Differed. New York, 1956; re-
of Islam. Successive waves of Jewish (as well as Muslim) mi-
print, Northvale, N.J., 1987.
gration from the eastern Islamic lands, long subject to the
Smith, W. Robertson. Religion of the Semites. New York, 1894; re-
religious guidance of the Babylonian Talmud, to the Medi-
print, New Brunswick, N.J., 2002.
terranean and other western provinces of the caliphate, con-
MICHAEL SWARTZ (2005)
tributed substantially to this process.
The main instrument of this consolidation was the ye-
shivah. Though usually translated “academy,” the yeshivah
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST
then was actually more than a center of learning. It was, as
AND NORTH AFRICA TO 1492
well, a seat of supreme judicial authority and a source of reli-
Judaism is indigenous to the Middle East. There in antiquity
gious legislation. In pre-Islamic times there were already
the Israelite people formed its unique identity. There the
three yeshivot, one in Palestine, headed by the patriarch (the
Bible came into being, and there by late antiquity Israelite
nasi D), and two in Babylonia, named Sura and Pumbedita.
religion was transformed into normative rabbinic Judaism.
The Palestinian (or Jerusalem) and Babylonian Talmuds
The basic texts of rabbinic Judaism—the halakhic midrash-
were redacted, respectively, in the Palestinian and Babylo-
im, the Mishnah (compiled c. 200 CE), the two Talmuds,
nian yeshivot.
that of Palestine and that of Babylonia (compiled in the fifth
and sixth centuries), and the first compilations of rabbinic
After the middle of the eighth century the Babylonian
lore (aggadah)—were all written in the Middle East. In the
yeshivot began to outshine their counterparts in Palestine.
formative period of rabbinic Judaism, sectarian groups such
The heads of the yeshivot (first of Sura, later of Pumbedita,
as the religious communities of Qumran (the Dead Sea sects)
too) acquired a lofty title, “gaon” (short for ro Dsh yeshivat
manifested other varieties of Judaism. An esoteric mystical
ge Don Ya Eaqov, “head of the yeshivah of the pride of Jacob,”
trend within rabbinic Judaism itself also grew in the Middle
see Psalms 47:5). In an effort to assert the authority of Baby-
East of late antiquity. In Egypt in the first century
lonian Judaism throughout the caliphate, the Geonim devel-
CE, the
Greek writings of Philo Judaeus of Alexandria gave voice to
oped many types of halakhic (legal) literature. They were un-
a Hellenized philosophical trend within Judaism.
doubtedly influenced by the intense efforts to consolidate
Muslim legal traditions that were going on at the same time
Jews carried their religion to North Africa in late antiq-
in Iraq. However, owing to the centrality of halakhah in Jew-
uity, where some form of Judaism penetrated the native Ber-
ish life the consolidation of legal authority in the hands of
ber population, and to Arabia, where, in the seventh century,
the Babylonian Geonim also served the political purpose of
Judaism had some influence on the formation of the new re-
endowing the Babylonian Gaonate with administrative hege-
ligion of Islam. After the Middle East and North Africa were
mony over Islamic Jewry.
brought under the dominion of Islam, following the Arab
conquests, and the centuries-old separation of Jewry into two
One of the most important literary vehicles used to this
branches, one living under Ssasanid-Zoroastrian rule, and
end was the system of questions and answers (responsa). Like
the other living under a Roman-Christian regime, was
its analogue in Roman and in Islamic law, a responsum (Heb.,
brought to an end, Judaism underwent further change.
teshuvah) is an answer to a legal question. It can be issued
Under Islam, rabbinic Judaism, faced with the unification of
only by a scholar of recognized authority. Something like the
North African and Middle Eastern Jewry under one empire,
responsa seems to have existed in pre-Islamic Palestine, but
became consolidated. In addition, as Jews adopted Arabic in
the Babylonian geonim developed the legal custom into a
place of Aramaic as both their written and spoken language,
major enterprise for the extension of their spiritual and polit-
the intellectual culture of their host society became accessible
ical domination over the communities of the Islamic empire.
to all layers of Jewish society for the first time in history. Re-
Queries dispatched to Babylonia were accompanied by dona-
sponding to the challenge of dynamic Islamic civilization,
tions, which constituted one of the chief means of support
perceived with unmediated intensity by Arabic-speaking
for the yeshivot there.
Jewry, Judaism also experienced new developments in sectar-
A large number of responsa are extant from the mid-
ianism, philosophy, and mysticism. These characteristic de-
eighth century onward. They were sent to places as far away
velopments in Judaism between the Muslim conquests and
as North Africa and Spain and were transmitted mainly by
the end of the fifteenth century will form the focus of this
Jewish merchants. In communities along the trade routes
article.
through which they passed, copies of the Geonic rulings were
THE BABYLONIAN CENTER. In the middle of the eighth cen-
often made. In Old Cairo, for instance, a major commercial
tury the capital of the Muslim caliphate was moved from
crossroads of the Islamic Middle Ages, many such responsa
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA TO 1492
4989
were discovered in the famous Cairo Genizah, where they
jects as precepts regarding festivals, commercial law, family
had lain undisturbed for centuries owing to the Jewish cus-
law, and synagogue and other ritual observances. A more
tom of burying, rather than physically destroying, pages of
comprehensive work of this type was the Halakhot gedolot of
sacred writings. Once a responsum reached the community
ShimEon of Basra (c. 825), a student at the yeshivah of Sura.
that had sent the question, it was read aloud in the syna-
Like the Muslim legists, the Geonim composed special-
gogue, a procedure that strengthened local reverence for the
ized codes, extracting for handy reference Talmudic laws of
spiritual as well as the political authority of the Geonim.
inheritance, of deposit, of buying and selling, and of juridical
The two Geonim from whom we have the largest num-
procedure.
ber of responsa are SheriraD and his son HDai, whose consecu-
tive reigns as gaon of the yeshivah of Pumbedita spanned the
The first written prayer books in Jewish history were ac-
years 968–1038. The fact that very few responsa emanating
tually Geonic codes of liturgical procedure. The one by the
from their rivals, the Palestinian Geonim, are known is a fur-
ninth-century gaon Amram was sent in response to a request
ther measure of the success of the Babylonian responsa enter-
from a community in Spain for guidance in these matters.
prise in creating a strong Babylonian orientation among the
SaEadyah Gaon (882–942) also wrote a prayer book, one
Jews of the Islamic world.
which, for the first time, used Arabic for the explanatory
sections.
Another device employed by the Babylonian Geonim to
universalize Babylonian Judaism was the taqqanah (legisla-
It was, however, not only by way of these various literary
tive ordinance). These taqqanot were new laws, or modifica-
endeavors that the Babylonian Geonim imposed their au-
tions of existing laws, designed to adapt Talmudic law to re-
thority on most of the Arabic-speaking Jewish world and
alities not foreseen by the rabbis of the Mishnah and the
universalized their form of Judaism; they further consolidat-
gemara D. For instance, with the large-scale abandonment of
ed their spiritual and political sovereignty by training and li-
agriculture by Jews and their increasing involvement in com-
censing judges and by teaching Talmud to Jews who came
merce, the issue of collection of debts by proxy became prob-
from afar to hear lectures at the yeshivah’s semiannual con-
lematic. The Talmud permitted this only in conjunction
claves (kallot). By the beginning of the eleventh century the
with transfer of land. The Babylonian Geonim, conscious of
process had been successfully completed. The Palestinian
the deagrarianization of Jewish life, promulgated a taqqanah
gaon Shelomoh ben Yehudah (in office 1026–1051) had to
stipulating that debt transfer could be effected even by the
send his own son to the Baghdad yeshivah to complete his
nonlanded by employing the legal fiction that every Jew
Talmudic education. Shelomoh’s successor as gaon in Jerusa-
owns four cubits of real property in the Land of Israel.
lem, DaniyyeDl ben EAzaryah, was a Babylonian scholar and
a member of the family of the Babylonian exilarch, the de-
To further their ecumenical authority the Geonim also
scendants of the Davidic royal house who were living in Bab-
wrote commentaries on the Mishnah and Talmud. These
ylonian exile and were recognized by the caliph, as they had
originated as answers to questions about unclear passages in
been by the pre-Islamic rulers of Persia, as “heads of the Dias-
the Talmud that were posed by Jews living far from the cen-
pora.” Ben EAzaryah, who died in 1062, brought Babylonian
ter of living Talmud study in Babylonia. In their commen-
learning for a brief time to the yeshivah of Jerusalem.
taries, the Geonim gave pride of place to halakhic sections,
owing to the juridical priorities of the yeshivot and to the
NEW CENTERS IN NORTH AFRICA AND EGYPT. In the course
practical needs of the Jews. The Geonim also sought to make
of time, the very universalization of Babylonian Judaism and
the Babylonian Talmud more accessible to those lacking
the dispersal of Babylonian-trained judges and scholars
training at the yeshivah itself. To this end they wrote intro-
throughout the Diaspora in Islamic lands created a founda-
ductions to that literature, explaining the methods, rules, and
tion upon which new independent centers of religious learn-
terminology of rabbinic jurisprudence. One type of intro-
ing and authority could be built. This happened in North
duction consisted of a chronological survey of Mishnaic and
Africa in the tenth and eleventh centuries and in Egypt some-
Talmudic teachers. This established their historical relation-
what later.
ship and linked the rabbinic authority of the Geonim with
Kairouan. In the ninth and tenth centuries, the Jews
the divine source of Jewish law at Mount Sinai. The most
of Kairouan, the capital of Muslim Ifriqiya (modern Tuni-
famous work of this type, which in form was actually a re-
sia), were firmly within the camp of the Babylonian Geonim.
sponsum sent to a North African questioner, is the “Epistle”
Indeed, most of the Jewish settlers in Kairouan had originat-
(Iggeret) of SheriraD Gaon, which forms our best single source
ed in Iraq and Iran, the heartland of Geonic authority. But
for the history of Geonic rule.
in these two centuries, Muslim Kairouan achieved consider-
The Geonim also compiled the first post-Mishnaic
able prosperity and became a major center of Islamic legal
codes of Jewish law. The Halakhot pesuqot of Yehud’ai Gaon
studies. Against this background, the local Jewish communi-
(in office 757–761 CE) is an abridged paraphrase of the Baby-
ty began to create its own center of Talmudic scholarship.
lonian Talmud in Aramaic. A practical book, it omits nearly
The first mention of a formal house of study in Kairouan—
all of the aggadah (nonlegal literature) and the agricultural
the term used was midrash rather than yeshivah—occurs at
and sacrificial laws and concentrates on such practical sub-
the end of the century. Led by YaEaqov bar Nissim ibn
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA TO 1492
Shahin, who belonged to a family whose origins lay in the
tury by Shemaryah ben Elh:anan, a scholar educated at one
East (probably Iran) and who was a loyal adherent of Babylo-
of the Babylonian yeshivot. Egyptian Jewry at that time was
nian Judaism, this midrash was not yet a rival institution to
subject to the political authority of the gaon of the Palestin-
the Babylonian yeshivot. Detachment from Babylonian reli-
ian yeshivah, who was recognized by the Fa¯t:imid caliph in
gious sovereignty became pronounced a generation later, fol-
Cairo as head of the Jews in his empire (Egypt and Palestine).
lowing the arrival in Kairouan of a scholar, believed to have
When Shemaryah’s son and successor Elh:anan began to ex-
hailed from Italy, named H:ushiDel. Italian Jewry had been
pand the activities of the Egyptian midrash by soliciting do-
influenced more by Palestinian than by Babylonian tradi-
nations even from Palestine and by assuming some of the re-
tions, so when H:ushiDel opened a second midrash in Kair-
ligious and political prerogatives of the Palestinian gaon, he
ouan, some Palestinian traditions were taught alongside Bab-
was excommunicated by the Jerusalem yeshivah. This put a
ylonian Talmudic scholarship.
temporary halt to the growth of native Egyptian religious
In the first half of the eleventh century two of H:ushiDel’s
scholarship until, in the latter part of the eleventh century,
students placed native North African religious scholarship on
several distinguished scholars settled in Egypt.
a firm literary footing: his son, H:ananDel ben H:ushiDel, and
As in the case of Nissim ben YaEaqov of Kairouan, the
Nissim, the son of YaEaqov bar Nissim (who had died in
writings of these scholars are known from fragments, from
1006/7). H:ananDel wrote responsa, commentaries on the
quotations in later works, and medieval book lists. One nota-
Torah, on Ezekiel, on the dietary laws, and, most important-
ble author was Yehudah ha-Kohen ben Yosef, who wrote
ly, a comprehensive commentary on the Babylonian Tal-
commentaries on the Bible and on portions of the Talmud,
mud. In innovative fashion, this last-mentioned work em-
a code of regulations concerning ritual slaughtering, liturgi-
ployed material from the Palestinian Talmud to explain
cal poems, and a commentary on the mystical Sefer yetsirah
passages in the text, though, like the commentaries of the
(Book of creation). Another was a scholar from Spain named
Babylonian Geonim, its primary focus was juridical.
Yitsh:aq ben ShemuDel, who wrote an Arabic commentary on
Nissim (d. 1062) maintained his father’s loyalty to the
some if not all of the Former Prophets, a commentary on at
Babylonian Geonim. However, like his contemporary
least one Talmudic tractate, responsa, and liturgical poems.
H:ananDel, he too wrote a fresh commentary on the Talmud
Though neither of these scholars opened an academy of
utilizing material from the Palestinian text. Duplicating Bab-
learning, they gave Egyptian Jewry a renewed sense of inde-
ylonian Geonic efforts to disseminate knowledge of the Tal-
pendence from the traditional sources of religious leadership
mud, Nissim composed in Arabic his own “Introduction”
in Babylonia and from the political dominion of the yeshivah
entitled The Book of the Key to the Locks of the Talmud. Other
in Palestine.
religious writing of his include a chain of transmission of rab-
Related to the activity of these respected rabbinic schol-
binic tradition reminiscent of SheriraD Gaon’s “Epistle,” re-
ars in Egypt toward the end of the eleventh century was the
sponsa (of which many are extant), and a “Secret Scroll”
emergence there of a new Jewish institution of central leader-
(Megillat setarim), written in Arabic, that consisted of a pot-
ship. This was the office of “head of the Jews” (Arab., ra D¯ıs
pourri of miscellaneous ritual laws. None of Nissim’s rabbin-
al-yahu¯d), more commonly known in Hebrew as the office
ic works has been preserved in its entirety and its original
of the nagid. The scholarly family of court physicians headed
form; they are known of only from fragments or through
by the brothers Yehudah and Mevorakh ben SaEadyah was
quotations in the works of others.
the first to hold this position of dignity. The office of head
H:ushiDel’s disciples completed the process of fashioning
of the Jews, inheriting the sovereignty formerly reserved for
an independent center of religious creativity in North Africa.
the Palestinian gaon, was invested with supreme religious as
Their period of activity coincided with the decline of the
well as political authority over the Jews in the Fa¯t:imid
Babylonian Gaonate following the death of HDai Gaon in
empire.
1038. However, the budding new center of rabbinic Judaism
in North Africa was cut off abruptly in 1057 when Kairouan
In the third decade of the twelfth century the Palestin-
was destroyed by bedouin tribes sent by the Fa¯t:imid ruler of
ian yeshivah, which had been located outside the borders of
Egypt to punish his disloyal vassals, the Zirids, in that city.
Palestine since the Seljuk conquest of Jerusalem around
1071, transferred its own headquarters to the capital of
Fez. Another creative center of Judaism in North Africa
Egypt. With this move the office of head of the Jews tempo-
developed in Fez (present-day Morocco). Responsa addressed
rarily passed into the hands of the newly arrived Palestinian
to Fez by the Geonim of Sura and Pumbedita testify to the
gaon, Matsliah: ha-Kohen ben Shelomoh. How much teach-
presence of learned scholars in that distant North African
ing went on in the relocated Palestinian yeshivah we do not
city. The most famous rabbinic master from Fez, Yitsh:aq ben
know. However, the arrival of Moses Maimonides (Mosheh
YaEaqov Alfasi (c. 1013–1103), wrote an abridged version of
ben Maimon) in Egypt around 1165 established Egypt as a
the Talmud that later became part of the apparatus of the
respectable center of Jewish religious scholarship. Maimoni-
standard printed Talmud text. He also wrote many responsa.
des attracted a circle of students and substituted the study
Egypt. In Egypt a local school of advanced religious
of his own code of Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah, for the
study (a midrash) was established at the end of the tenth cen-
study of the Babylonian Talmud in the curriculum of Jewish
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA TO 1492
4991
higher education. The Babylonian Gaonate voiced opposi-
ed by the Jewish aristocracy of Iraq through the Davidic ex-
tion to Maimonides, who was seen as a threat to its efforts
ilarchate.
to reassert its former supremacy over world Jewry. Neverthe-
The Iranian Plateau, fertile ground for sectarian rebel-
less, the Maimonidean tradition of learning in Egypt, modi-
lion in early Islam, spawned several antirabbinic Jewish re-
fied by a distinctive mystical bent, was continued by his son
volts prior to the crystallization of a cohesive Karaite move-
Avraham and by a succession of Maimonidean descendants
ment. One example was the sect of Abu¯ E¯Isa¯ al-Isfaha¯n¯ı,
until the beginning of the fifteenth century.
whose period of activity is variously given as 685–705, dur-
Yemen. A center of Jewish learning much influenced by
ing the reign of the Umayyad caliph EAbd al-Malik ibn
Moses Maimonides was to be found in Yemen. Already in
Mans:u¯r, or at the time of the transition from Umayyad to
late antiquity there was a small Jewish presence in South Ara-
Abbasid rule, between 744 and 775. His ascetic, anti-
bia, as we know from the evidence of Hebrew inscriptions
Talmudic program included the prohibition of divorce and
and from stories about the conversion to Judaism of rulers
a change in the daily liturgical cycle from three to seven
of the South Arabian kingdom of H:imyar (the last of these
prayers. Abu¯ E¯Isa¯ was also driven by his belief in the immi-
Jewish kings of H:imyar, who was also the last H:imyar¯ı ruler,
nent coming of the Messiah to take up arms against the Mus-
died in 525 CE). In the Islamic period the Jewish settlement
lim government.
was considerably strengthened by the migration of Jews from
Abu¯ E¯Isa¯’s sect was but one of many groups whose an-
Babylonia and Persia. Naturally, from the outset the Yemen-
tirabbinic halakhic practices were collected together in the
ite community maintained loyalty to the Babylonian geonim
eighth century by EAnan ben David, an important link in the
and the Babylonian exilarch, supported the Babylonian yeshi-
chain leading to the consolidation of Karaism in the ninth
vah financially, and adhered to the Babylonian interpretation
and tenth centuries. EAnan may have hailed from the Iranian
of rabbinic Judaism.
Plateau, but he operated in the center of Geonic-exilarchal
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, however, Yemen
territory in Babylonia. He was, in fact, said to have been a
and Yemenite Jews became closely connected with Egypt as
member of the exilarchal family. A biased Rabbinite account
a result of general political and economic developments.
of his sectarian rebellion ascribes his motives to personal dis-
Thus, they identified in the twelfth century with the yeshivah
appointment after being passed over for appointment to the
of Matsliah: ha-Kohen in Cairo and especially with Maimon-
office of exilarch.
ides after his arrival in Egypt. In the later Middle Ages a con-
EAnan’s principal achievement was to assemble scattered
siderable indigenous religious literature developed among
bits of sectarian halakhah into a code called Sefer ha-mitsvot
the Yemenite Jews, much of it consisting in commentaries
(Book of commandments). In this book, he employed Tal-
on various works of Maimonides. In Yemen, moreover, Mai-
mudic methodology for his own end: his biblical exegesis
monides’ Mishneh Torah became the principal code of Jewish
served to lend credibility and respectability to the deviant
practice. Among Yemenite works from the later Middle Ages
practices that he codified. This use of rabbinic methods and
that cite passages from Maimonides’ œuvre is the volumi-
language to establish the legitimacy of nonrabbinic Judaism
nous anthology of homiletic and legal midrashim on the five
constituted a serious challenge to the authority of the
books of the Torah compiled in the thirteenth century by
Geonim.
David ben EAmram of the Yemenite port city of Aden, enti-
tled Midrash ha-gadol.
EAnan seems to have envisaged the creation of separatist
communities of nonrabbinic Jews living in various locales
KARAISM. Not long after the Muslim conquest, the most im-
within the Diaspora. One scholar has even proposed that he
portant religious schism in medieval Judaism, known as
wished to gain government recognition for a second legiti-
Karaism, occurred in the Middle East. The Karaites rejected
mate school of law within Judaism, coexisting with the
the jurisdiction of the Talmud and of rabbinic Judaism in
school of the Babylonian Geonim much like the different
general, claiming exclusive reliance on the Bible. Some schol-
madhhabs (schools of jurisprudence) in Islam.
ars believe that Karaism actualized a latent anti-Talmudism
that had existed beneath the surface since the time of the
Later Karaites attributed to EAnan the formulation of a
Sadducees, who centuries earlier had denied the validity of
principle, expressed as an apothegm: “Search thoroughly in
the oral Law. Others identify in Karaism affinities with the
the Torah and do not rely upon my opinion.” This legiti-
religion of the Dead Sea sects, notably the asceticism shared
mated, in theory at least, the exclusive reliance on the Bible
by these two religious movements.
that distinguished Karaism from rabbinism and sounded the
call for individualistic exegesis in place of slavish adherence
It is difficult to prove the influence of one sect on anoth-
to rabbinic tradition. It also justified a proliferation of
er separated from it in time by so many centuries. What is
non-EAnanite sects in the ninth and tenth centuries, such as
certain, however, in terms of immediate causes is that Kara-
the sect of Isma¯E¯ıl al-EUkbar¯ı (from EUkbara, near Baghdad),
ism arose in opposition to the extension of the authority of
the sect of Mishawayh al-EUkbar¯ı, the sect of Abu¯ EImra¯n
rabbinic Judaism by the Babylonian Geonim in the early Is-
al-Tiflis¯ı (from present-day Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia),
lamic period and out of resentment towards the power wield-
and the sect of Malik al-Raml¯ı (from Ramleh, Palestine).
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA TO 1492
Much of our information about these groups comes from the
wrote a Book of Commandments and important responsa, and
law code, Kita¯b al-anwa¯r wa-al-mara¯qib (Book of lights and
initiated a liberalization of Karaite marriage laws which, on
watchtowers), by the tenth-century Karaite thinker YaEqu¯b
the basis of literal interpretation of the Bible, had multiplied
al-Qirqisa¯n¯ı, which contains an introduction on the history
the number of incestuous (and therefore forbidden) marriage
of sects in Judaism. Not surprisingly, for Qirqisa¯n¯ı it is the
combinations, thus threatening the biological continuity of
Rabbinites, beginning with the Pharisees, rather than the
the sect. Like al-Bas:¯ır, YeshuEah ben Yehudah composed a
Karaites, who were the real religious deviants. EAnan ben
treatise refuting the Karaite laws of incestuous marriage. He
David’s role as reformer was to rediscover the long-
also penned commentaries on books of the Bible.
suppressed true path.
REVIVAL OF JEWISH RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY. Several factors
The first to employ the term Karaites (Benei Miqra D,
converged to bring about a revival of Jewish religious philos-
“children of scripture”) was the ninth-century Binyamin
ophy, dormant since Philo, among the Jews of the Muslim
al-Naha¯wand¯ı (of Niha¯vand, Iran). He was known for his
world, Rabbinites and Karaites alike. Most important were
tolerance of observance of rabbinic laws, especially where
the new availability of Hellenistic philosophy in Arabic
biblical legislation failed to answer practical questions of ev-
translation; Jewish awareness of the application of rationalist
eryday life. This liberalism with respect to Talmudic law was
inquiry to theological questions in Islam; the critique of bib-
matched by an insistence on the right of every individual to
lical anthropomorphism; the attack on the Bible by Jewish
interpret scripture as he saw fit. Troubled by the rationalist
skeptics like H:iwi al-Balkh¯ı; and the desire to prove that Ju-
critique of biblical anthropomorphisms, Binyamin taught
daism embraced the same universalistic truths as Islam. The
that the world was called into being by an angel created by
lion’s share of Jewish religious philosophy was written in
God, and that all anthropomorphic expressions in the Bible
Spain. However, the founder of Judeo-Arabic philosophy,
were to be ascribed to that angel. A judge by profession,
SaEadyah Gaon, and the most important philosopher of them
Binyamin wrote a Sefer mitsvot (Book of commandments)
all, Maimonides, wrote in the Middle East.
and a Sefer D¯ınim (Book of laws). He also wrote biblical
commentaries.
The earliest venture by Arabic-speaking Jews into ratio-
nalism followed the lead of the Muslim science of kala¯m.
DaniyyeDl al-Qu¯mis¯ı, another Karaite thinker of the end
Kala¯m means “speech” and refers specifically to discussion
of the ninth century, was a messianist who settled in Jerusa-
of theological problems. The most rationalistic trend in the
lem in order to mourn for Zion (the group he headed was
kala¯m was that of the MuEtazilah, which originated in Iraq
called Avelei-Tsiyyon, “Mourners for Zion”) and to pray for
in the cities of Basra and Baghdad, and it was from this doc-
redemption. In his approach to the Bible he rejected the lib-
trine that SaEadyah, who lived in Baghdad, drew the inspira-
eral individualism of Binyamin al-Naha¯wand¯ı and the lat-
tion for his pioneering work of Jewish religious philosophy,
ter’s theology of the creator angel. However, in his own exe-
Kita¯b al-amanat wa-al-I Etiqa¯da¯t (The book of beliefs and
gesis, he was, according to some sources, a rationalist.
convictions). Like the MuEtazilah, he began his treatise with
By the tenth century Karaism was sufficiently consoli-
an epistemological discourse establishing the indispensability
dated to pose an active threat to the Babylonian geonim.
of reason as a source of religious knowledge. To this he added
SaEadyah Gaon took up the cudgels of defense on their be-
the category of reliable transmitted knowledge—doubtless in
half, writing a refutation of EAnan (Kita¯b al-radd Eala¯ EAnan)
response to skeptics and Karaites who discredited the reliabil-
and opposing Karaite views in others of his writings.
ity of biblical stories and laws. The idea that reason and reve-
SaEadyah’s hostility inspired a Karaite counterattack. Indeed,
lation lead to the same religious truths remained a corner-
he was the polemical object of much of the rich Karaite liter-
stone of all medieval Jewish religious philosophy after
ature of the “golden age” of the tenth and eleventh centuries.
SaEadyah. Like the MuEtazilah, SaEadyah placed the discus-
sion of the creation of the world out of nothing (creatio ex
Several important figures of this Karaite golden age bear
nihilo) at the head of his treatise, since from the premise of
mention here. YaEqu¯b al-Qiriqisa¯n¯ı (tenth century) com-
creation flowed the belief in the existence of God and hence
posed, in addition to the code of law, the Book of Lights and
all other religious convictions.
Watchtowers, commentaries on several books of the Bible, a
refutation of Muh:ammad’s claim to prophecy, and a treatise
The MuEtazilah struggled with two major challenges to
on God’s unity. Salmon ben Yeroh:am (tenth century) wrote
rationalism: scriptural anthropomorphisms that seemingly
a poetical tract against the Rabbinites, The Book of the Wars
denied God’s unity, and the question of the existence of evil
of the Lord, that bristles with polemic against SaEadyah, and
in this world that appeared to contradict God’s justice. Like
among other works, biblical commentaries on Psalms and the
the Muslim MuEtazilah, SaEadyah devoted separate chapters
Song of Songs. Yefet ben EEli wrote commentaries in Arabic
to these two subjects in his philosophical treatise. Divine
on the entire Hebrew Bible, accompanied by translations of
unity was defended by invoking the principle that the Torah
Hebrew text into Arabic. Sahl ben Mas:liah: composed a Book
uses metaphor to describe God in terms understandable to
of Commandments, only partly extant, and a letter to a Rabbi-
human minds. The problem of divine justice was resolved
nite disputant in Egypt extolling Karaism at the expense of
with the Mu’tazil¯ı solution of claiming freedom of the
rabbinism. Yu¯suf al-Bas:¯ır (Yosef ha-RoDeh, from Basra)
human will. SaEadyah took other leads from the MuEtazilah,
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA TO 1492
4993
for instance, in drawing a distinction between laws knowable
ophy, Maimonides did most of his writing, including his
through reason and laws knowable only through revelation,
philosophic magnum opus, the Guide of the Perplexed, in
as well as in his treatment of retribution. In addition, he ad-
Egypt, where he lived out most of his life as a refugee from
dressed Jewish eschatology in his chapters on resurrection
Almohade persecution in Spain and North Africa. Maimoni-
and redemption.
des sought to achieve a workable synthesis between Judaism
The Muslim kala¯m influenced other Jewish writers in
and Aristotelianism without glossing over the uncontestably
the Middle East. Before the time of SaEadyah, David ben
incompatible elements in each of those systems. Writing for
Marwa¯n al-Muqammis: (ninth century) combined MuEtazil¯ı
the initiated few in the Guide, he took up troublesome theo-
views with Greek philosophical notions. So did the Babylo-
logical questions. He argued for the existence of God, which
nian gaon ShemuDel ben H:ofni (d. 1013) in his commentary
he demonstrated, not in the by-then-unsatisfactory manner
on the Bible. Nissim ben YaEaqov of Kairouan showed famil-
of the old kala¯m, but by exploiting scientifically and logically
iarity with MuEtazil¯ı teaching in his commentary on the Tal-
more credible Aristotelian philosophical concepts. He up-
mud. Finally, the Karaites, liberated from the commitment
held the unity of God, not by accepting the identity of God’s
to tradition as a valid source of religious knowledge, adopted
attributes with his essence, as kala¯m would have it, but by
MuEtazil¯ı rationalism with even less reserve than its Rabbi-
combining the metaphoric interpretation of scriptural an-
nite exponents. Prominent among the Karaite rationalists
thropomorphisms with the doctrine of negative attributes,
were the above-mentioned YaEqu¯b al-Qirqisa¯n¯ı, Yu¯suf
which leaves the fact of God’s existence as the sole bit of posi-
al-Bas:¯ır (eleventh century), and YeshuEah ben Yehudah
tive knowledge of divinity available to believers. He even ad-
(mid-eleventh century).
dressed the problem of the creation of the world, which
forced him to suspend Aristotle’s doctrine of the eternity of
These Karaites went beyond the principle of the equiva-
the world in favor of the biblical account of the miraculous
lence of reason and revelation and gave primacy to the for-
creation by the will of God.
mer. It was, in fact, among the Karaites of Byzantium alone
that MuEtazil¯ı kala¯m continued to have influence on Judaism
Maimonides also attempted to bring an Aristotelian
after the eleventh century. In contrast, among the Rabbi-
conception of Judaism within the reach of the philosophical-
nites, Neoplatonism and especially Aristotelianism took over
ly uninitiated. This he did with a philosophical introduction
the role that MuEtazil¯ı thought had played during the pio-
to, and other occasional rationalistic comments in, his Mish-
neering phase of Jewish religious philosophy in the Islamic
neh Torah (Code of Jewish law); with an Aristotelian ethical
world.
introduction to the Mishnah tractate Avot; and by formulat-
Neoplatonism and Aristotelianism flourished mainly
ing a philosophic creed for Jews in his commentary on the
among the Jews of Spain. However, the first Jewish Neopla-
Mishnah.
tonist, Yitsh:aq YisraDeli (c. 850–950), was born in Egypt and
PIETISM AND JEWISH SUFISM. A new religious development
composed philosophical works in Arabic while serving as
in Judaism began in the Middle East in the twelfth and thir-
court physician to the Muslim governor in Kairouan. Of his
teenth centuries. Individual Jews began to be attracted to the
works the Book of Definition and the Book on the Elements
pious asceticism of the Muslim S:u¯f¯ıs. In his introduction to
(extant only in Hebrew and Latin translations) and a com-
mentary on Sefer yetsirah (Book of creation), revised by his
the Mishnah tractate Avot, called “The Eight Chapters,”
students, show how he tried to incorporate the Neoplatonic
Maimonides chastises such people for engaging in extreme
doctrine of emanation into Judaism. Though he did not
self-abnegation, thereby straying from the more moderate
abandon the biblical premise of divinely willed creation out
path advocated by Judaism.
of nothing for a pure Neoplatonic cosmogony, he adopted
In the thirteenth century in Egypt, some representatives
the Neoplatonic conception of progressive emanation of
of the Jewish upper classes (physicians, government secre-
spiritual substances in the supraterrestrial world. As with the
taries, judges, and scholars) joined together in pietistic broth-
Islamic Neoplatonists, some aspects of YisraDeli’s philosophy
erhoods akin to the S:u¯f¯ı orders that were then flourishing
of religion show the influence of Aristotelian ideas. For in-
in Egypt under the patronage of the Ayyubid dynasty of
stance, his concept of reward for ethical conduct is based on
Muslim rulers founded by Salah: al-D¯ın (Saladin). These
the ascent of the human soul toward its final reunification
Jews called themselves h:asidim, using the regular Talmudic
with the upper soul. The phenomenon of prophecy, a prob-
word for the pious. They fasted frequently, practiced nightly
lem for Muslim religious philosophers, similarly occupied
prayer vigils, and recited additional prayers accompanied by
Yitsh:aq YisraDeli; his theory employs the naturalistic explana-
bowings and prostrations more typical of Islam than of Juda-
tion offered by the Islamic Aristotelians but leaves a place for
ism. Rather than exhibiting their pietism in public they
divine will in connection with the form of the vision ac-
maintained a private place of worship where they followed
corded prophets.
their special path. Rather than wearing wool outer clothing
The most important full-fledged Jewish Aristotelian was
like the Muslim S:u¯f¯ıs, they designated as the symbol of their
Maimonides. Born in Spain, where in the twelfth century Ar-
asceticism the turban that they all wore (Arab., baqya¯r or
istotelianism replaced Neoplatonism as the preferred philos-
buqya¯r).
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4994
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA TO 1492
The most illustrious member of this circle of h:asidim
introduction to Jewish life under Islam is to be found in The
was the nagid (head of the Jewish community) Avraham, the
Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book, compiled and
son of Moses Maimonides. He wrote a long code of Jewish
introduced by Norman A. Stillman. An older but still valu-
law entitled Kifa¯yat al- Ea¯bid¯ın (The complete guide for the
able book on Jewish history and literature under early Islam
servants of God), which, in its fourth and final book, con-
is Simh:a Assaf’s Tequfat ha-ge Donim ve-sifrutah (Jerusalem,
tains a program of mystical piety for the Jewish elite based
1955).
on the ethical tenets of Sufism.
Regional studies include Jacob Mann’s The Jews in Egypt and in
Palestine under the Fa¯t:imid Caliphs, 2 vols. in 1 (1920–1922;
The h:asidim in Avraham Maimonides’ brotherhood
reprint, New York, 1970); my Jewish Self-Government in Me-
made attempts to influence the general Jewish public to
dieval Egypt: The Origins of the Office of the Head of the Jews,
adopt some aspects of their pietism. Earlier, Moses Maimon-
ca. 1065–1126 (Princeton, 1980); Eliyahu Ashtor’s Toledot
ides himself had introduced reforms in the Egyptian syna-
ha-Yehudim be-Mitsrayim ve-Suryah tah:at shilt:on ha-
gogue service aimed at imitating the more decorous environ-
Mamlukim, 3 vols. (Jerusalem, 1944–1970), which concerns
ment of the mosque. Driven by pietistic zeal, his son went
the Jews of Egypt and Syria; his The Jews of Moslem Spain,
further. He tried to introduce the kneeling posture of Islamic
translated by Aaron Klein and Jenny Machlowitz Klein, 3
prayer into the synagogue; he insisted that worshipers face
vols. (Philadelphia, 1973–1984); and H. Z. Hirschberg’s A
the direction of prayer even while seated; and he required
History of the Jews in North Africa, 2d rev. ed., 2 vols. (Lei-
people to stand in straight rows during the Eighteen Bene-
den, 1974–1981). On the Yemenite Jews see S. D. Goitein’s
Ha-Teimanim (Jerusalem, 1983) and David R. Blumenthal’s
dictions, in imitation of the orderly, symmetrical pattern of
edition and annotated translation of The Commentary of R.
the mosque. These and other pietistic reforms aroused much
H:o¯t:er ben Shelo¯mo¯ to the Thirteen Principles of Maimonides
opposition, and some Jews actually denounced Avraham to
(Leiden, 1974). Goitein’s magisterial work, A Mediterranean
the Muslim authorities for attempting to introduce unlawful
Society, 5 vols. (Berkeley, 1967–1983), presents a detailed
innovations into Judaism. In response, Avraham wrote a vig-
portrait of Jewish life, in both its worldly and religious as-
orous defense of pietism, which has been found in the Cairo
pects, in the Mediterranean Arab world of the High Middle
Genizah.
Ages. On Karaism, see Karaite Anthology, edited and translat-
ed by Leon Nemoy (New Haven, 1952), and the introduc-
Avraham Maimonides’ son EOvadyah wrote his own
tion to Zvi Ankori’s Karaites in Byzantium (New York,
S:u¯f¯ı-like book. Called Al-maqa¯lah al-h:awd:¯ıyah (The treatise
1959). Julius Guttmann’s Philosophies of Judaism, translated
of the pool), it attempted to impart intellectual respectability
by David W. Silverman (New York, 1964), and Georges
to Jewish Sufism. In the later Middle Ages, some Jews in
Vajda’s Introduction à la pensée juive au Moyen Age (Paris,
Egypt imitated the style of life of the S:u¯f¯ı convents in the
1947) offer excellent introductions to the subject of the re-
hills surrounding Cairo. In Egypt, too, Jewish thinkers, out-
vival of religious philosophy in medieval Judaism in the Is-
standing among them the descendants of Maimonides, con-
lamic world. The major Jewish philosophical works men-
tinued to compose treatises in the S:u¯f¯ı vein. This turn to-
tioned in this article exist in partial or complete English
translation, such as the selection of Yitsh:aq YisraDeli’s philo-
wards mystical piety in the Jewish world, at just about the
sophical writings translated into English in Isaac Israeli: A
time when Jewish religious philosophy reached its climactic
Neoplatonic Philosopher of the Early Tenth Century by Alexan-
stage in the Middle East in the writings of Maimonides, re-
der Altmann and Samuel M. Stern (Oxford, 1958); Saadia
calls the replacement of philosophy by Sufism as the domi-
Gaon: The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, translated by Samuel
nant religious mode in Islam in the later medieval period.
Rosenblatt (New Haven, 1948); and Maimonides’ Guide of
Possibly Jewish interest in Sufism similarly reflects a dissatis-
the Perplexed, translated by Shlomo Pines and introduced by
faction with the answers given in the past by Jewish rational-
Leo Strauss (Chicago, 1963). On pietism and Jewish Sufism,
ism to religious questions. Only when the study of Jewish
see the introduction to Paul Fenton’s translation of Obadiah
Sufism, still in its infancy, has progressed further will it be
Maimonides’ Treatise of the Pool (London, 1981) and Gerson
possible to gain a clear sense of its place in the history of Ju-
D. Cohen’s “The Soteriology of R. Abraham Maimuni,”
daism in the Islamic world and of the influence it might have
ProceeD¯ıngs of the American Academy for Jewish Research, 35
(1967): 75–98 and 36 (1968): 33–56.
had on the Lurianic Qabbalah that sprouted in Muslim Pal-
estine after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492.
For additional bibliography on the general subject of Jewish life
and culture in the medieval Islamic world, consult the Biblio-
SEE ALSO Islam, overview article and article on Islam in
graphical Essays in Medieval Jewish Studies, edited by Yosef H.
North Africa; Jewish Thought and Philosophy, article on
Yerushalmi (New York, 1976), especially my chapter, “The
Premodern Philosophy; Karaites; MuEtazilah; Polemics, arti-
Jews under Medieval Islam: From Rise of Islam to Sabbatai
cle on Muslim-Jewish Polemics; Rabbinic Judaism in Late
Zevi,” reprinted with a supplement for the years 1973–1980
Antiquity; Sufism; Yeshivah.
as “Princeton Near East Paper,” no. 32 (Princeton, 1981);
and that by Lawrence Berman, “Medieval Jewish Religious
Philosophy.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The most thorough general work on Jewish history and religion
New Sources
is Salo W. Baron’s A Social and Religious History of the Jews,
Barclay, John M. G. Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora: From Al-
2d ed., rev. & enl., 18 vols. (New York, 1952–1980). A good
exander to Trajan (323 BCE–117 CE). Edinburgh, 1996.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA SINCE 1492
4995
Gil, Moshe. Tans. David Strassler. Jews in Islamic Countries in the
iation.” Typically, Jewish and Christian houses of worship
Middle Ages. Boston, 2004.
were to be inconspicuous, Jews and Christians were to wear
Goldberg, Harvey E., ed. Sephardi and Middle Eastern Jewries:
distinguishing garments, such as special headgear or footwear
History and Culture. Bloomington, Ind., 1996.
and clothing of designated colors. They were prohibited
Stillman, Yedida K., and Norman A. Stillman, eds. From Iberia
from riding horses or engaging in occupations that would
to Diaspora: Studies in Sephardic History and Culture. Boston,
place them in a position of authority over Muslims. In addi-
1998.
tion, they were required to pay special discriminatory taxes
Wexler, Paul. The Non-Jewish Origins of the Sephardic Jews. Alba-
on produce of the land and a special head tax (jizyah).
ny, 1996.
Implementation of the discriminatory decrees was never
MARK R. COHEN (1987)
uniform; the earlier Middle Ages exhibited a far greater de-
Revised Bibliography
gree of tolerance than the later Middle Ages. On the periph-
eries of the Muslim empire, moreover, in Morocco, Persia,
and Yemen, the Muslim regimes tended to enforce discrimi-
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST
natory codes much more rigorously than in the heartland.
AND NORTH AFRICA SINCE 1492
By the nineteenth century, the entire system of carefully bal-
The year 1492 marks a turning point in the history of the
anced toleration tempered by discrimination had broken
Jewish people. The expulsion of the Jews from Spain closes
down and Jews increasingly turned to the European powers
a brilliant and complex chapter in Jewish history, releasing
for protection. In general, however, Middle East society was
a massive group of talented and despondent refugees upon
marked by public displays of religiosity, which found partic-
the shores of the Mediterranean. They were soon followed
ular expression in the family or clan unit. Judaism, too, was
by other waves of Jewish émigrés from Portugal, France, Pro-
a family and communal tradition strengthened by genera-
vence, and the various Italian states as a result of the forced
tions of relative economic, social, and political isolation in
conversions or expulsions in those countries in the late-
Muslim lands. Known in Turkish as a millet (nation) in the
fifteenth through mid-sixteenth centuries. Even within the
Ottoman realm (from the mid-fifteenth century), Jews and
tragic annals of the Jews, rarely had the contemporary scene
Judaism enjoyed a relatively self-contained and protected po-
appeared so bleak. With most of the gates of Europe closed,
sition in the lands of Islam.
the refugees of western Europe fled to the world of Islam,
injecting new life and much controversy into the Jewish
JEWISH DEMOGRAPHY IN MUSLIM LANDS: PRE- AND POST-
communities there that had been living in a state of decline
1492. Population estimates of Jews in Muslim lands are ex-
for at least two centuries. The emergent period was marked
tremely risky, since even at the height of the Muslim state
by fervent yearnings for redemption, painful attempts at
its records of tax collection are partial and incomplete at best.
evaluating why the Spanish Jewish experience had ended in
It is generally accepted by historians that between eighty-five
such ignominy, a brief but brilliant renaissance of Jewish life
and ninety percent of world Jewry lived in the Muslim world
in Turkey, the outburst of antinomianism in seventeenth-
in the period from the eighth through the tenth century. As
century Ottoman Jewry, and a final period of increasing in-
that world became increasingly anarchic in the twelfth centu-
tellectual stagnation of Jews in Muslim lands. Beginning in
ry, and as a result of the pogroms unleashed by the Almohads
the nineteenth century, winds of change swept the Near East,
after 1147, Jewish population migrations to Christian lands
propelled by the influence of the European powers. Jews
increased. By the mid-seventeenth century, there were ap-
were especially receptive to the attempts of western Jews to
proximately three-quarters of a million Jews in the world,
reform the eastern Jews and their situation, unleashing a
half of whom lived in the Muslim realm and half in Christian
chain of events and attempts at modernization whose effects
Europe (primarily Poland and Lithuania). During the six-
are still being felt.
teenth century acme of population growth in the Ottoman
J
empire, the Jewish population in Istanbul alone reached
EWISH LEGAL STATUS IN MUSLIM LANDS. From its incep-
tion, Islam exhibited an ambivalent attitude toward non-
forty thousand. At least as many Jews resided in contempo-
Muslims. The prophet Muh:ammad had clearly enunciated
rary Salonika. Perhaps as many as ten thousand Jews resided
his indebtedness to the faith of his monotheistic predecessors
in Fez in Morocco, fifteen thousand in Iraq, and as many as
in the QurDa¯n, tolerating their continued existence with cer-
fifteen thousand in the city of Safed (in Palestine) in the six-
tain provisos. Jews and Christians were to be recognized as
teenth century.
possessors of scripture, ahl al-kita¯b (people of the Book),
The Jewish population in the Ottoman empire began
were not to be forcibly converted, and were to be afforded
to decline dramatically in the seventeenth century as a result
a modicum of protection. Implied in the status of protection,
of fires, earthquakes, infant mortality, and increasing politi-
dhimma, or of protected peoples—dhimmis—was the right
cal insecurity. By the eve of World War II, Jews from Mus-
of the Jews to exercise their Judaism provided they accepted
lim lands numbered approximately one million out of the
a position of subordination.
global Jewish population of approximately eighteen million.
Over the centuries Muslim jurists worked out elaborate
Since the Holocaust, Sephardic Jews (of Spanish origin) and
codes of what constituted subordination and “signs of humil-
Jews of Middle Eastern and North African origin have in-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4996
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA SINCE 1492
creased in demographic importance, both absolutely and rel-
in Fez that required Muslim intercession. Ultimately, Se-
atively, since they significant percent of the Jewish popula-
phardic numerical preponderance and halakhic leadership
tion of Israel and a majority of the population of France, the
prevailed and Moroccan Jewry emerged as a place of scholar-
second and third largest Jewish communities in the free
ship after centuries of quiescence.
world. (The term Sephardic Jews hereafter may include Mid-
In Tunisia, divisions between the refugees and the in-
dle Eastern and North African Jews, when their distinction
digenous population were also institutionalized. They were
is not necessary.)
aggravated by the influx of Jews from Livorno, Italy, who re-
THE EXILES FROM SPAIN TO THE MAGHREB. Jewish flight
inforced the separatism of the Spaniards. Two communities
from Spain began as a mass movement, not in 1492, but in
were established and the divisions between the newcomers
1391. In that year, waves of violence inundated the Jews of
(known as the grana) and the natives (touansa) persisted until
Spain and the Balearic Islands, and while many Jews were
the twentieth century. (This internecine struggle enabled
martyred, others converted, and still others fled. One of the
local Turkish governors to exploit the Jews more easily.)
most important places of refuge of Spanish and Majorcan
Jewish life in the Maghreb bore a number of distinctive
Jewry in 1391 was Algeria. Sephardic Jews met a mixed re-
features in the period following the advent of the Jews from
ception from the beleaguered indigenous Jews who feared
Spain. On the one hand, most communities were torn by di-
that a large influx of Jews could ignite local anti-Semitism
vision as Sephardim attempted to impose their customs upon
in the Muslim population. But they quickly assumed leader-
the local Jews. Given their large numbers, superior educa-
ship positions in the community, providing a new élan to
tional level, and self-confidence, Spanish Jewry assumed the
North African Jewish life. The scholar-refugee leaders
helms of power in most of the Maghreb. New Jewish intel-
Yitshaq ben Sheshet Perfet (1326–1408) and ShimEon ben
lectual centers emerged in Fez (Morocco) and Tlemcen (Al-
Tsemah Duran (1361–1444) have left a voluminous collec-
geria), and the ordinances (taqqanot) of the Jews of Castile
tion of rabbinic decisions and correspondence (responsa) re-
soon became the guide for natives as well as newcomers. In
vealing that Sephardic Jewry was troubled, not simply by the
matters of personal status as well as questions of communal
arduous task of communal reconstruction following flight,
leadership, inheritance, and ritual slaughtering, the Sephar-
but also by very difficult questions of ritual and law as a result
dic way became the standard mode of behavior for most Ma-
of the large-scale apostasy that had accompanied the waves
ghrebi Jews.
of persecution. Questions of marital, ritual, and dietary law
could not easily be resolved as demands for compassion
North Africa was not, however, a mere replica of pre-
clashed with real issues of communal continuity and Jewish
1492 Spain. Local customs, such as worship at the tombs of
identity.
saints, the special celebration at the end of the festival of
Passover known as the Mimouna, and belief in the efficacy
The wave of refugees rose, and the question of secret
of amulets and talismans became part and parcel of Maghrebi
Jews and forced converts (Marranos and conversos) grew
Jewry as a whole. The special role of the emissary from Pales-
more complex after 1492, as over 150,000 left Spain in haste.
tine, the hakham kolel, in the intellectual life of the Maghreb
One of the favored refuges was Morocco, where Jews found
was already discernible by the fifteenth century. Through the
asylum in the kingdom of Fez after a journey made perilous
hakham kolel the mystical movements of sixteenth-century
by unscrupulous captains and pirates. Chroniclers such as
Palestine spread rapidly in North Africa. North African Ju-
Avraham ben Shelomoh of Ardutiel, Avraham Zacuto, and
daism was characterized by a melding of the study of Talmud
Shelomoh ibn Verga dramatized the hazards of the flight
with that of the Zohar and the pervasive spread in North Af-
from Spain. In Fez, Meknes, Marrakech, Safi, Arzila, and
rica of Qabbalah or mysticism. This blending lent a special
smaller towns the Sephardic refugees injected new leadership
flavor to the scholarship of a long line of teachers, jurists,
and frequent controversy into the midst of small indigenous
judges, and mystics.
communities. In the coastal regions they exploited their con-
THE AFTERMATH OF 1492: THE OTTOMAN EAST. Even be-
nections with the Iberian Peninsula, serving as commercial
fore the expulsion of 1492, Jews in the West began to hear
agents for the Spanish and Portuguese.
that the Ottoman empire was welcoming Jewish immigra-
Wherever the Spanish refugees came, they brought with
tion. Yitshaq Tsarfati reportedly addressed the Jews of north-
them great pride, loyalty, and nostalgia for their cities of ori-
ern Europe under the reign of Murad II (1421–1451):
gin. Many of their customs were unfamiliar to the local Jews,
Brothers and teachers, friends and acquaintances! I,
particularly the halakhic leniencies that they had devised in
Isaac Sarfati, though I spring from French stock, yet I
response to the religious persecution they had endured. But
was born in Germany, and sat there at the feet of my
they considered their customs to be sacrosanct, and contro-
esteemed teachers. I proclaim to you that Turkey is a
versy raged among the Spanish Jews and between the Span-
land where nothing is lacking and where, if you will, all
iards (known as megorashim, “expelled ones”) and the indige-
shall yet be well with you. The way to the Holy Land
nous Jews (known as toshavim). In Morocco, these
lies open to you through Turkey.
communal divisions were reflected in a duplication of many
Indeed, Ottoman might appeared to be invincible for over
communal institutions and a protracted communal debate
one hundred years. By the reign of Süleyman I (“the Magnif-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA SINCE 1492
4997
icent,” 1520–1566) the Ottoman borders extended from
(d. 1578) in his ’Emeq ha-bakhah compared Jewish history
Morocco in the west to Iran in the east, from Hungary in
to a journey through a “valley of tears.” A third sixteenth-
the north to Yemen in the south.
century Sephardic commentator, Shelomoh ibn Verga, also
sought to decipher the reasons for Jewish suffering in his She-
Throughout the sixteenth century, while the empire was
vet Yehudah (Scepter of Judah). It has been suggested that
reaching its acme, successive boats brought Jewish refugees
this unparalleled outpouring of Jewish historical writing dur-
ashore in the eastern Mediterranean, particularly to its fairest
ing the sixteenth century not only represented an intense in-
port on the Aegean, Salonika. Some of the refugees came di-
tellectual attempt to understand what had happened but was
rectly from the Iberian Peninsula while others arrived after
also perceived by the very writers themselves as a novum in
an initial stop in Italy or North Africa where many succeeded
Jewish history. Jews were now seeking for the first time to
in recouping their assets. They were eagerly welcomed by the
understand the ways of oppressive nations, not only the ways
sultan Bayezid II (1481–1512), especially since many were
of God. The chronicle Seder Eliyyahu zuta’ by Eliyyahu Cap-
reputed to be skilled munitions-makers who would un-
sali of Crete is devoted in large part to discussions of Otto-
doubtedly be helpful allies in the repeated wars against the
man history. The events of the time also called forth two
Habsburgs.
more enduring reactions in the mystical and messianic mean-
The newcomers to the Ottoman empire displayed a de-
ings ascribed to the Spanish Jewish tragedy.
gree of separatism and individualism that surpassed that of
their Sephardic coreligionists in the Maghreb. They tended
Spanish Jews brought not only their contentiousness
to divide along geographic lines so that before long there
and tragic vision but also their critical intellectual and tech-
were more than forty congregations in Istanbul and Salonika
nological skills to the Ottoman realm. Among the most im-
each. The very names of the congregations—Catalan, Cas-
portant of the technological skills was the fine art of printing.
tile, Aragon, Barcelona, Portugal, Calabria—evoked identifi-
Soon after the expulsion, a Hebrew press appeared in Fez,
cation with their origins. Distinctive identities were rein-
and it was followed soon thereafter by Hebrew printing
forced by the separate formations of self-help societies of all
presses in Salonika (1500), Constantinople (1503), Safad
sorts. The very mixture of Jews, not only various groups of
(1563), and Smyrna (1764). Hebrew printing spread from
Sephardim, but also Ashkenazim from Germany and Hun-
there to Baghdad, Calcutta, and Poona and eventually to
gary, Greek-speaking Jews from the Balkans (known as Ro-
Jerba, Sousse, Algiers, and Oran. (Not until more than two
maniots), and Italian Jews created strains and tensions. It was
hundred years after the establishment of the first Hebrew
not long before the preponderance of Sephardim over-
printing press in Turkey was the first Ottoman Turkish press
whelmed the smaller native communities and the Castilian
established.) A large number of the works printed by the Jew-
language, with an admixture of Hebrew, Turkish, and Slavic
ish presses were tracts dealing with practical Qabbalah or
words known as Ladino, became the primary language of Ot-
mysticism. Indeed, the rapid spread of mysticism from six-
toman Jewry and it remained such until the twentieth centu-
teenth-century Safed throughout the Mediterranean world,
ry. Popular Jewish culture was sprinkled with Ladino prov-
as well as the Zohar’s dissemination as a popular Sephardic
erbs and ballads and a veritable treasure trove of Iberian
text, can be attributed to the introduction of Hebrew print-
literature entered into the folk culture of Ottoman, especially
ing in the Ottoman empire.
Balkan Jewry.
United under the umbrella of one dynamic and expan-
The city of Salonika emerged as the preeminent Jewish
sive empire, the Jews of Muslim lands enjoyed a cultural re-
community of the sixteenth century. The fame of its Talmud
naissance and an era of prosperity in the sixteenth century.
Torah (a rabbinic academy) spread far and wide, as did the
Jewish physicians emerged in the royal courts of Constanti-
rabbinic decisions of its rabbis Shemu’el de Medina (1505–
nople to reassert their special role as courtiers and diplomats.
1589) and his contemporary Yosef Taitasaq. The sixteenth-
Moshe Hamon (1490–1554), the personal physician to Sü-
century Jewish historian Samuel Usque called Salonika in
leyman I, managed to outlast the intrigues of the harem to
1545 “a true mother in Judaism.” Salonika’s preeminence as
excel as a physician, medical scholar, bibliophile, and protec-
a city of Sephardic culture remained down to its last days
tor of Jews against the blood libel (false accusation that Jews
when, in 1943, the community was destroyed by the Nazis,
have committed a ritual murder). Rabbis Moshe Capsali
its vast library sacked, and its four-hundred-year-old ceme-
(1453–1497), Eliyyahu Mizrahi (1498–1526), and Yosef
tery desecrated and dismantled.
ben Moshe di Trani (1604–1639) held considerable sway
over the Ottoman Jews through their reputation as scholars
One of the salient characteristics of the generation of
rather than through any official position. By the eighteenth
exile was its melancholy brooding on the meaning of the
century, Izmir, as well, boasted a rabbinic leadership whose
tragic history of Israel, and especially of its Sephardic stan-
influence could be felt in the Near East.
dard-bearers. A series of historians emerged among the Jew-
ish people to record and comment upon the recent events.
Two personalities of sixteenth-century Ottoman Jewish
In his Consolations for the Tribulations of Israel, Samuel
history embody many of the qualities of the Sefardim in this
Usque, writing in Portuguese, adumbrated a lachrymose
generation. Gracia Nasi (d. 1568?), a Portuguese Marrano
view of Jewish existence. His contemporary, Yosef ha-Kohen
(whose converso name was Beatrice Mendès), Jewish banker,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
4998
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA SINCE 1492
entrepreneur, and patron of scholars and schools, arrived in
demption of the Jewish people while providing mythic
Constantinople amid great splendor. Her many activities in
formulations for comprehending the Sephardic catastrophe.
the Ottoman empire included the rescue of Marranos from
These mystics were not recluses but were, rather, legal schol-
the Inquisition, the restoration of Jewish learning through
ars actively engaged in history. One of their giants, Ya’aqov
enormous charitable donations, and the judicious use of dip-
Berab (d. 1546), arrived in Safed after wanderings in North
lomatic levers to assist foreign Jews in distress. Gracia was as-
Africa and Egypt. Believing the time ripe for the messianic
sisted in her spectacular business undertakings by her neph-
redemption of the Jewish people, Berab set out to restore the
ew Yosef Nasi (1514–1579; that is, Joseph Mendès). Yosef
ancient rite of rabbinical ordination (semikhah) in 1538 as
was also adviser to Selim II, the sultan who awarded him a
a prerequisite for the reestablishment of the Sanhedrin which
dukedom over the island of Naxos and a permit to recolonize
was, in turn, prerequisite to the proper repentance of the
the city of Tiberias. The awards were apparently made in rec-
Jewish people that would bring redemption. While his disci-
ognition of the astuteness of Yosef’s advice, particularly con-
ples eagerly accepted the new charge placed upon them,
cerning the conquest of Cyprus in 1571.
Berab’s movement was ultimately thwarted by the forceful
opposition of Levi ibn Habib of Jerusalem.
Jewish life in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman empire
also began to quicken as a result of the Ottoman conquests
Another towering intellectual figure of that generation
in the first quarter of the sixteenth century. Egypt produced
who eventually found his way to Safed after many years of
David ibn Abi Zimra (1479–1573), one of the most prolific
wandering was Yosef Karo (1488–1575). Karo’s halakhic au-
responsa writers of his day. Despite the Ottoman conquest
thority was established by his major work Beit Yosef. He is
of 1526, Iraq did not succumb to Ottoman control until the
remembered by posterity, however, through the utility of his
seventeenth century. Its small Jewish community, however,
comprehensive legal handbook Shulhan Arukh. In the Shul-
emerged from isolation and resumed contact with the out-
han Arukh Karo presented numerous Sephardic as well as
side Jewish world, turning, for example to the rabbis of Alep-
Ashkenazic practices in a readily accessible fashion, rendering
po, Syria, for religious guidance. The Ottoman conquest of
his work one of the most useful codes for subsequent genera-
Arab provinces did not necessarily improve the lot of the
tions of Jews. Karo also possessed a mystical bent that
Jews. For the Jews of Yemen, Ottoman incursions and con-
emerges in his work Maggid mesharim, a mystical diary of an-
quest in 1546 destabilized an already precarious situation.
gelic revelations, and he served as mentor to the remarkable
Caught between warring Muslim forces, the Jews of Sanaa
cluster of mystics and pietists in sixteenth-century Safed.
were subjected to severe discriminatory legislation, culminat-
With the arrival of Isaac Luria in Safed in the 1560s,
ing in the destruction of synagogues and expulsions in the
Jewish mysticism reached its greatest heights. A charismatic
seventeenth century. Literarily, the community underwent
personality with a stirring effect on his followers, Luria deci-
a period of cultural flowering, despite these hardships, during
sively influenced the development of Jewish mysticism in the
the career of the Yemenite poet Shalom Shabbazi (1617–
following generations. Lurianic Qabbalah, with its doctrines
1680?).
of a cataclysmic scattering of divine sparks at creation and
SAFED AS A CENTER OF SEPHARDIC SEARCH AND JEWISH
the unique role of Israel in liberating and reunifying these
MYSTICISM. The Sephardic refugees of the sixteenth century
sparks, together with a belief in metempsychosis and new
were a melancholy and restless generation, torn by guilty
mystical modes of prayer, deepened the expectation of messi-
memories of community apostasy, perplexed by their contin-
anic redemption and altered the way many Jews thought
uing suffering and exile, and fevered by expectations of im-
about themselves for at least a century and a half.
minent salvation. Messianism ran deep in the community,
The mystics of Safed delved into the vast corpus of Jew-
easily aroused by flamboyant pretenders such as David Reu-
ish literature, frequently using the Zohar as their point of de-
beni who went to Clement VII (1478–1534) and other
parture. Many unusual personalities in this group were char-
Christian leaders with the offer of raising Jewish armies to
acterized by their frequent walks in the Galilee and fervent
help them recapture Palestine from the Ottomans. One of
embellishment of the Sabbath and daily ritual actions. One
his most illustrious followers, a Portuguese secret Jew, Shelo-
of the participants was the poet Shelomoh Alkabets. He is
moh Molkho (1501–1532), heeded Reubeni’s call, circum-
best remembered for the poem Lekhah dodi, a Sabbath invo-
cised himself, and set out for Italy preaching the advent of
cation welcoming the Sabbath as bride and queen that has
the Messiah. Ultimately he fell into the hands of the Inquisi-
been included in the Friday evening Sabbath services in all
tion and was burned at the stake in Mantua in 1532. His in-
Jewish communities.
fluence, however, spread as far as the settlement of Safed in
Palestine.
After Luria’s death in 1572, his disciple Hayyim Vital
(1543–1620) began to disseminate a version of the teachings
After the Ottoman conquest of Palestine in 1516, Jew-
of the Lurianic school of Safed. The prominence of the city
ish migration to the Holy Land increased. Soon a remarkable
itself did not last much longer. In 1576 the Ottoman sultan
galaxy of scholars and mystics emerged in Safed. Three gen-
ordered the deportation of one thousand Jews from Safed to
erations of extraordinary mystics engaged collectively and in-
repopulate the newly conquered island of Cyprus. The order
dividually in ascertaining practical means of hastening the re-
was rescinded soon thereafter, but many Jews had already left
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA SINCE 1492
4999
the city. The vitality of Safed’s Jewish community was fur-
from the West alongside the growing influence of Western,
ther sapped by the corruption of Ottoman provincial gover-
particularly French, power among the Christians.
nors, the impact of devastating earthquakes, and the periodic
N
depredations of local Arabs. Additionally, the mystical move-
EAR EASTERN JEWRY ON THE EVE OF THE MODERN ERA.
Jewish life in the easternmost part of the Ottoman empire
ment in Safed was severely compromised by the disastrous
did not share in the renaissance of sixteenth-century Otto-
effects of the disillusionment in the wake of Shabbetai Tsevi’s
man Jewry. Persian Jews were particularly endangered by the
messianic movement. In the seventeenth century Safed re-
campaign of forced conversion that the Sh¯ıE¯ı Safavid dynasty
verted to its former role as an inconspicuous settlement in
(1501–1732) undertook in the seventeenth century. Isolated
a backwater province while the qabbalistic ideas that had
from Ottoman Jewry, the forty thousand Jews of Persia were
emerged there spread rapidly throughout the Diaspora.
subjected to an especially harsh code of discriminatory legis-
INFLUENCE OF SHABBETAI TSEVI. The decline of the Jewish
lation, known as the Jami Abbasi, which was operative until
communities in Muslim lands was a slow process caused by
1925. Even the increasing influence of the European powers
a number of external factors. An especially prominent symp-
could not spare the Jews of Mashhad from a forced conver-
tom of this decline is the bizarre and tragic career of Shab-
sion to Islam during the nineteenth century. The newly con-
betai Tsevi. Shabbetai Tsevi was born in the city of Smyrna
verted Jews of Mashhad continued to observe Judaism in se-
in 1626, began to engage in mystical studies in 1648, and
cret, a fact that did not escape the notice of the surrounding
fell under the spell of Natan of Gaza in 1665, pronouncing
Muslim population. When permitted in the twentieth centu-
himself the Messiah in that year. An anarchic outburst of an-
ry to revert to Judaism, new practices had crept into their ob-
tinomian activity and frenzy ensued as news of Shabbetai’s
servance. Foreign travelers to Persia (Iran) were struck by the
bizarre behavior spread. Even his conversion to Islam in
abject conditions under which Jewish life endured.
1666 did not discredit the movement, but rather accelerated
the tendency of that generation to perceive the Spanish expe-
Ottoman rule in Yemen (1546–1629) was succeeded by
rience as one with messianic overtones. The fact that Tsevi
a harsh succession of independent ima¯ms of the Zayd¯ı sect.
converted shook Marrano circles everywhere. Scholars in
Despite the frequent expulsions from villages and towns and
Italy and Amsterdam were agitated; poets in Kurdistan wrote
the implementation of the policy of kidnapping Jewish or-
poems on Shabbetean themes; Jewish followers of Tsevi,
phans to raise them within Islam, Yemenite Jews continued
known as Donmeh, converted to Islam and continued to be-
to produce a significant poetic and qabbalistic tradition dur-
lieve in Tsevi as the Messiah for generations after his death.
ing this period. Males were largely literate, the printed prayer
The energy, confusion, guilt, and false hopes with which the
books of the period attesting to the spread of Lurianic Qab-
Shabbatean movement had tried to break out of the mold
balah into the remote corners of the H:ija¯z. By the nineteenth
of Jewish suffering left a hyperagitated Jewry deeply de-
century, even some of the tenets of Haskalah—European
pressed.
Jewish Enlightenment—had reached such communities as
Sanaa. Change brought with it conflict and the Jews of
Ultimately the messianic storm subsided, rabbis—
Yemen were internally split. It was the worsening status of
especially in the Ottoman empire—began to destroy books
the Jews in Yemen, however, and not the ideological con-
with references to Shabbetai Tsevi, and concerted efforts
flicts, that precipitated their mass migration from Yemen to
were made once again to integrate mystical studies into rab-
Palestine in the 1880s. By the early twentieth century, Ye-
binics. Ultimately, Near Eastern Jewry repressed Shab-
menite Jews formed a significant community in the city of
beteanism while retaining traces of it in its particular fond-
Jerusalem.
ness for an integration of Judaism with such practices as saint
worship and visiting holy sites (ziyarah), and a strengthened
Jews in the East had never ceased their close contact
belief in the efficacy of practical Qabbalah such as the casting
with other Jews even in the age of Ottoman military and po-
of lots or the interpretation of dreams.
litical decline. Jews in the Ottoman realm (especially Sephar-
dic Jews) continued to serve as merchants, diplomats, com-
Ottoman Jewish decline accelerated after the debacle of
mercial agents, and interpreters throughout the period of
Tsevi. It was temporarily halted in 1730 when the first vol-
Ottoman ascendancy and decline, reinforcing their ties with
ume of the multivolume encyclopedia Me’am lo’ez appeared.
coreligionists. But by the nineteenth century, the Jewish po-
This popular compendium of Oriental Sephardic lore by
sition in Arab and Turkish lands was one of abject poverty,
Ya’aqov ben Mahir Culi instructed while entertaining the
extreme vulnerability, humiliation, and insecurity. Pressures
masses with a vast array of legends, anecdotes, customs, and
on the Ottomans to reform were brought to bear by the Eu-
laws. Compositions in Ladino as well as Hebrew continued
ropean powers, not so much to assist the Jews as primarily
to be recited in the salons of Salonika, but the once vibrant
to assist the Ottoman Christians. Under these pressures the
Jewry of Ottoman lands found itself enfeebled by a series of
Ottoman reform movement, Tanzimat, ended special dis-
natural catastrophies and by the mounting anti-Jewish hos-
criminatory taxation, agreed to protect the legal rights of
tility of Ottoman Christians as well as Muslims. While some
non-Muslims, and granted civil equality to them. Reforming
of this hostility was the product of economic rivalry, some
legislation, however, could not restore the Ottoman empire
of it can also be traced to the influx of anti-Semitic notions
to good health. Jewish well-being came increasingly to de-
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA SINCE 1492
pend upon the intervention of Western powers and Western
East. Many Jewish autonomous institutions ceased to exist
Jews.
as a direct result of European colonial legislation. For exam-
ple, early in their administration, the French authorities in
No incident highlighted this vulnerability and depen-
Algeria abolished the independent Jewish system of courts.
dency more clearly than the Damascus blood libel in 1840.
While Jews were granted French citizenship in Algeria in
When the Jews of Damascus were falsely accused of murder-
1870, elsewhere they adopted European culture without at-
ing a Christian for ritual purposes, the community of Da-
taining the benefits of European citizenship. Their cultural
mascus, as well as other Syrian communities, faced grave
identity with the European powers, especially in North Afri-
danger. Through the intervention of Moses Montefiore of
ca, ushered in a period of confusion of identities as local Arab
London (1784–1885) and Adolphe Crémieux (1796–1880)
nationalism began to flower. In some parts of the Arab
of Paris, the Jews of Damascus were rescued and the Sublime
Porte was forced to publicly repudiate the blood libel accusa-
world, such as Iraq, the Jewish minority became one of the
tion. During the course of their visit to the East, these Euro-
segments of the population most active in creating modern
pean champions of Near Eastern Jewry became advocates of
Arabic literature. Yet, at the same time that they pioneered
the introduction of modern schooling in the area and the im-
in the language, press, and modernization of the economy
portance of learning the languages of Europe and the local
of the Arab states, Jews were increasingly isolated from the
population. Soon after their successful intercession, tentative
pan-Arab and pan-Islamic culture then capturing the hearts
steps to introduce Western schooling began in Istanbul as
of the masses. For Middle Eastern Jews, however, the mod-
well as Egypt. Despite this intervention, Near Eastern Jewry
ern period of Western encroachment did not result in indige-
was subjected to a host of unfortunate blood libel accusations
nous Jewish attempts to form new self-identifying modes of
at the hands of the Greeks, Arabs, and Armenians in the
expression. Even the Zionist movement of national self-
nineteenth century. More than once the indefatigable Mon-
determination, a late nineteenth-century European Jewish
tefiore went to the Near East and the Maghreb to intercede
response to emancipation and modernity, echoed only faint-
personally on behalf of Jews.
ly in Muslim lands.
Jewry in France. In 1860 the Alliance Israélite Univer-
A vigorous movement of religious reform and its atten-
selle was founded in France. Among its guiding principles
dant strident denominationalism never took place in the
was the goal of protecting the Jewish communities of Mus-
Near East as occurred in Western Europe and America. Nev-
lim lands and modernizing and uplifting them from their ab-
ertheless, it would be incorrect to conclude that Judaism in
ject state of poverty and ignorance. The altruistic goals of
the Near East was untouched by the currents of modernity.
French Jewry dovetailed well with the political and imperial
The traditional school declined as modern schools of the Al-
goals of the French government. The Jews of France set out
liance Israélite Universelle were founded from Morocco to
with almost missionary zeal to transform the face of Near
Iran. From the beginning, the modernizing schools tried to
Eastern Jewry and to forge a community that would embody
stress the reforming, rather than revolutionary, nature of
some of the cherished ideals of the French Revolution. Be-
their innovations. Hebrew studies were relegated to a minor
ginning with the establishment of their first school in Mo-
part of the curriculum and girls as well as boys were provided
rocco in 1860, the Alliance Israélite Universelle proceeded
with vocational and linguistic skills. To smooth the path of
to introduce modern, secular notions and technical skills to
its innovative schools, the Alliance received the endorsement
a new generation of Jews throughout the Near East. By
of local traditional authorities by including them on their
World War I, over one hundred Alliance schools teaching
faculties as instructors of Judaica. Local rabbis were not sim-
the French language and secular subjects had been set up in
ply co-opted, but sometimes eagerly endorsed the schools for
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and
their own children as it became increasingly evident that
the Balkans. The Alliance schools succeeded in undercutting
modern education would be the route out of poverty for
poverty and Jewish female illiteracy and, introducing secular
their communities. Additionally, these schools provided the
studies to all Jews, prepared a new generation of Jews for
only alternative to the increasingly attractive option of the
entry into modernity. Its thoroughgoing insistence on mod-
mission schools which the European powers were introduc-
ernization also dealt a near fatal blow to the preponderance
ing in the area. Thus Rabbi Israel Moses Hazzan, chief rabbi
of Ladino and its folk culture as Alliance schools insisted that
of Alexandria from 1857 to 1863, endorsed the new curricu-
their pupils discard the language in favor of French.
lum and the learning of foreign languages. Rabbis Eliyyahu
Bekhor Hazzan (1847–1908) and Raphael Ben Simeon
The introduction of Western-style education among
(1847–1928) exhibited a gradualist approach to moderniza-
Near Eastern Jews did not result in a parallel movement of
tion in Egypt and Morocco respectively. For Rabbi Ben-
religious reformulation and the building of a new, modern
Zion Meir Hai Uzziel (1880–1953), chief Sephardic rabbi
Jewish identity there. This was partially because Near East-
in Israel, Jewish law had the inherent capacity to respond to
ern Jews, unlike the Jews of Europe, were not presented with
the challenge of modernity
the option of entering their majority society provided they
refashioned themselves since religion remained a fundamen-
At the same time that many prominent nineteenth and
tal basis of social and political organization in the Middle
twentieth century Sephardic rabbis adopted a moderate path
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA SINCE 1492
5001
with regard to modernization, the Near Eastern states con-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tinued to regard the rabbinical authorities as the final arbiters
The best introductory volume on the subject is Solomon Dob
in family and personal law. Paradoxically, the actual power
Fritz Goitein’s survey Jews and Arabs: Their Contacts through
of the rabbinical courts increased. This scenario represented
the Ages, 3d rev. ed. (New York, 1974). Norman A. Still-
a sharp contrast to the increasing secularization of society
man’s The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book
(Philadelphia, 1979) provides a fine introductory essay and
characteristic of modern Europe and the sharp polarizations
a large collection of documents translated from Arabic and
within Ashkenazic society. Respect for Near Eastern Jewish
Hebrew and a variety of Western languages. More recently,
traditional leadership was undiminished even as Jewish tradi-
Bernard Lewis’s The Jews of Islam (Princeton, 1984) has of-
tional mores declined. Judaism as an expression of family sol-
fered a fresh interpretation of the broad sweep of Middle
idarity remained as the bedrock of Sephardic and Near East-
Eastern Jewish history. André N. Chouraqui’s Between East
ern Jewry. Jewish life became increasingly secularized on a
and West: A History of the Jews of North Africa, translated by
day to day basis.
Michael M. Bernet (Philadelphia, 1968), gives a balanced
survey of the Jews of the Maghreb and is particularly infor-
CONCLUSION. Arab nationalism reached a crescendo in the
mative for the modern period. For a more detailed examina-
post–World War II period. In the wake of the creation of
tion of the Maghreb, see H. Z. Hirschberg’s Toledot ha-
Yehudim be-Afriqah ha-Tsefonit, 2 vols. (Jerusalem, 1965),
the State of Israel and the emergence of Arab independent
translated by M. Eichelberg as A History of the Jews in North
states in the post–World War II period, Jewish life became
Africa, vol. 1, From Antiquity to the Sixteenth Century (Lei-
precarious in the extreme. Riots, forced incarcerations of
den, 1974) and vol. 2, From the Ottoman Conquests to the
Jews, panic and flight spread throughout the Near East and
Present Time (Leiden, 1981). Hirschberg analyzes the politi-
North Africa. The millennial communities of Jews in Mus-
cal history of the Jews in Arab lands and the Maghreb exten-
lim lands came to an abrupt and almost total end. By the year
sively in his article “The Oriental Jewish Communities,” in
2000 less than 10,000 of the former 250,000 Moroccan Jews
Religion in the Middle East: Three Religions in Concord and
remain in Morocco. All other Jewish communities have vir-
Conflict, edited by A. J. Arberry (Cambridge, 1969),
pp. 119–225. Older multivolume studies of Ottoman Jewry
tually disappeared except a small remnant in Turkey and
such as Solomon A. Rosanes’ Divrei yemei Yisra’el be-
Iran. The Judaism of the more than one million Jews who
Togarma, 6 vols. (Jerusalem, 1930–1945) and Moïse Fran-
fled their ancestral homes for Israel or the West is a Judaism
co’s Essai sur l’histoire des Israelites de l’Empire Ottoman depuis
still in flux. Middle Eastern Jewish religiosity was always an-
les origines jusqu’à nos jours (Paris, 1897) still contain valuable
chored in familial and communal action, especially in the
material culled from rabbinic sources. Volume 18 of Salo W.
post-1492 period. In the Muslim world, people had stayed
Baron’s exceptionally important A Social and Religious Histo-
in their communities for generations, passing on hereditary
ry of the Jews, 2d ed., rev. & enl. (New York, 1983), updates
communal offices from father to son. Although these lines
these earlier studies, extending the geographic scope to in-
clude the Jews of Persia, China, India and Ethiopia as well
of tradition have been irrevocably cut with the great migra-
as the Ottoman empire. Especially useful is Baron’s discus-
tion to Western, technological, modern societies, the Juda-
sion of demography. The problem of the general question of
ism of the Middle Eastern Jew has retained some remnants
the legal status of the Jews under Islam has been treated by
of former times. Among those remnants must be included
A. S. Tritton in The Caliphs and Their Non-Muslim Subjects
the fervent love of the Land of Israel with its messianic and
(London, 1930). While Tritton is still the standard reference
mystical overtones, the expression of religiosity within a fa-
work on Muslim theories regarding the dhimmis, a methodi-
milial context, and the special pride and quality imparted by
cal discussion can be found in Antoine Fattal’s Le statut légal
a specific link with the Sephardic tradition.
des non-Musulmans en pays d’Islam (Beirut, 1958). Four
monographs of varying value treat the specific problems of
Just as 1789 set in motion a crucial reorientation of Jew-
individual Jewries based on rabbinic responsa. These studies
ish identities and Judaism in western Europe, and just as
are still useful as the sole English source on significant rab-
binic figures and their age. Isidore Epstein’s The Responsa of
1881 set in motion a process of change that eventually led
Rabbi Simon B. Zemah Duran as a Source of the History of the
to a permanent transformation in the structure of Jewish pol-
Jews in North Africa (1930; reprint New York, 1968), Israel
itics among Ashkenazim, especially in eastern Europe, so too,
Goldman’s The Life and Times of Rabbi David Ibn Abi Zimra
one suspects, 1948 will be found to have marked a trans-
(New York, 1970), Morris S. Goodblatt’s Jewish Life in Tur-
forming date in the lives of Middle Eastern Jews. With the
key in the Sixteenth Century as Reflected in the Legal Writings
end of living on the fringes of Muslim society, the Jewish
of Samuel de Medina (New York, 1952), and Abraham M.
communities from the world of Islam have embarked upon
Hershman’s Rabbi Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet and His Times
a new path in Jewish history.
(New York, 1943) explore the major problems of an age of
transition and the response of a leading rabbinic luminary.
A delightful account of the city of Safed and its Qabbalistic
SEE ALSO Anti-Semitism; Folk Religion, article on Folk Ju-
circles is Solomon Schechter’s essay “Safad in the Sixteenth
daism; Karo, Yosef; Luria, Isaac; Marranos; Messianism, ar-
Century,” which can be found in his Studies in Judaism
ticle on Jewish Messianism; Pilgrimage, article on Contem-
(1908; reprint, Cleveland, 1958) and in The Jewish Expres-
porary Jewish Pilgrimage; Polemics, article on Muslim-
sion, edited by Judah Goldin (New York, 1970). The Qab-
Jewish Polemics; Qabbalah; Shabbetai Tsevi; Zionism.
balistic movement of Safed also can be seen in the excellent
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5002
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHEAST AFRICA
biography Joseph Karo: Lawyer and Mystic by R. J. Zwi Wer-
developed in Ethiopia after the fourteenth century. During
blowsky (London, 1962). For an exhaustive and monumen-
the twentieth century Ethiopian Judaism ceased to exist in
tal treatment of the life and times of Shabbetai Tsevi, see
its customary form. Contacts with representatives of world
Gershom Scholem’s Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah,
Jewry led to changes in Ethiopia in the indigenous tradition,
1626–1676 (Princeton, 1973). More recent studies of the
and the emigration to Israel of virtually all practicing Be¯ta
Shabbatean movement have enlarged the discussion to take
EsraDe¯l put an end to Jewish communal life in Ethiopia.
into account parallel messianic and mystical movements in
Christian and Muslim circles. See Matt Goldish’s discussion
RELIGIOUS LIFE IN ETHIOPIA. The belief system of the Be¯ta
of spirit possession and the intense religious contacts among
EsraDe¯l had at its core the belief in one God, the Lord of Isra-
Jews and Christians in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
el. Both angels and demons, as well as hostile spirits known
in The Sabbatean Prophets (Cambridge, 2004) and Lawrence
as zar, also figured prominently in their cosmology. The Be¯ta
Fine’s Safed Spirituality (New York, 1982). Moshe Idel’s on-
EsraDe¯l did not believe divine intervention to be a regular oc-
going scholarship has injected new scholarship and lively
controversy in the growing literature on Qabbalah and the
currence; however, the judgment of souls after death forms
qabbalistic tradition. A one-volume introductory overview of
one of the major themes in their literature. They also be-
Near Eastern Jewry with essays by leading scholars in the
lieved in a final judgment at the end of days.
field can be found in The Jews of the Middle East and North
The clerical structure of the Be¯ta EsraDe¯l, which in the
Africa in Modern Times, edited by Reeva S. Simon, Michael
M. Laskier, and Sara Reguer (New York, 2003). Norman
past included monks, priests, deacons, and clerics known as
Stillman’s Sephardic Religious Responses to Modernity (Luxem-
dabtarotch, showed a marked resemblance to that of their
bourg, 1995) and Zvi Zohar’s Tradition and Change:
Christian neighbors. From the middle of the fifteenth centu-
Halakhic Responses of Middle Eastern Rabbis to Legal and
ry until the end of the nineteenth century, monks were the
Technological Change Syria and Egypt 1880–1920 (Jerusalem,
principal religious leaders of the Be¯ta EsraDe¯l. The decline
1993) [in Hebrew] offer extended discussions on how Near
and virtual disappearance of monasticism during the twenti-
Eastern rabbinic authorities handled the challenges of mo-
eth century appears to be related to a disastrous famine
dernity. The single best treatment of the Alliance Israelite
(1888–1892) and criticisms from both Christian missiona-
Universelle can be found in Aron Rodrigue, French Jews,
ries and representatives of world Jewry.
Turkish Jews (Bloomington, Ind., 1990). Esther Benbassa
and Aron Rodrigue offer a comprehensive overview of Turk-
The Be¯ta EsraDe¯l priesthood was not hereditary, nor was
ish and Balkan Jewry in The Jews of the Balkans: The Judeo-
it limited to a particular family or clan. Priests recited prayers
Spanish Community, 15th to 20th Centuries (Oxford, 1995),
during the week and on the Sabbath and holidays. They also
providing an essential one-volume text on the history of the
performed sacrifices and officiated at rites of passage, such
Jews of the area from 1500–2000. For an exhaustive study
as circumcisions, naming ceremonies, funerals, and memori-
of the Damascus Blood Libel see Jonathan Frankel, The Da-
als for the dead. Every Be¯ta EsraDe¯l had a priest who was his
mascus Affair (Oxford, 1995). The latest studies on Jews in
the Middle East can be found in such Israeli publications as
or her confessor. During his training, a candidate for the
Sefunot (Jerusalem, 1956–1966), Pe’amin (Jerusalem,
priesthood served as a deacon. In this position he assisted in
1979–), and Mizrah u-ma’arav (Jerusalem, 1919–1932). In-
prayers, carried firewood and water, and cared for animals
terdisciplinary approaches can be fruitfully employed in this
destined for sacrifice. He also learned to read and write, stud-
field, and the works of contemporary anthropologists such
ied the Bible and other texts, and familiarized himself with
as Moshe Shokeid, Harvey Goldberg, Shlomo Deshen, and
the liturgy and ritual practice. A dabtara¯ (plural dabtarotch)
the late Walter Zenner have been especially illuminating in
was an unordained or defrocked cleric who assisted the in the
analyzing Middle Eastern Jewish communities in Israel.
liturgy. Dabtarotch were often skilled in the performance of
These studies frequently begin with considerations of indi-
sacred music and not only copied religious texts but also
vidual Near Eastern Jewish communities in their traditional
wrote charms. During the twentieth century the dabtarotch
milieu and historical structure.
practically disappeared.
JANE S. GERBER (1987 AND 2005)
Be¯ta EsraDe¯l religious life was centered around the prayer
house (¸salota b¯et), also called a masgid (from the root sagada,
“to bow”). Prayers were recited on all holidays and at major
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHEAST AFRICA
stages in the life cycle of the individual. The Be¯ta EsraDe¯l also
brought offerings of bread and beer to the prayer house on
The Be¯ta EsraDe¯l (Fala¯sha¯), or Beta Israel, formed an ethnic
Sabbaths and other festivals. Another major feature of reli-
group that numbered around thirty thousand and resided in
gious practice was the performance of sacrifices (qwerba¯n).
Northwest Ethiopia. Whereas some scholars and the Be¯ta
During the twentieth century, however, there was a sharp de-
EsraDe¯l themselves contend that their religion was essentially
cline in the frequency of sacrifice due to both economic dis-
an archaic form of Judaism, others view it as primarily Ethio-
tress and criticism voiced by foreign representatives of Juda-
pian in its origins, form, and content. Although the first of
ism and Christianity.
these hypotheses cannot be totally excluded, it is possible to
demonstrate that numerous elements of the Be¯ta EsraDe¯l reli-
For the computation of feasts (ba Ea¯l) and fasts (¸som),
gion, including its literature, liturgy, and clerical hierarchy,
the Be¯ta EsraDe¯l used a lunar calendar composed alternately
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHEAST AFRICA
5003
of thirty or twenty-nine days. Although this calendar drew
enter it. Even when the observance of other purity laws
from written sources, including the Pentateuch, Enoch, and
began to decline, these rituals were maintained with a special
Jubilees, there was no written calendar. The following are the
tenacity.
most important Be¯ta EsraDe¯l holidays and fasts.
Circumcision for Be¯ta EsraDe¯l boys took place on the
Sanbat (Sabbath) observance is one of the major themes
eighth day after birth. After the circumcision, the mother
of Be¯ta EsraDe¯l literature, and it holds a central place in their
and the infant entered the birth hut, where they remained
religious life. Sabbath observance was particularly strict: no
for thirty-nine days. Female circumcision was practiced by
work was done, no fires were lit (including Sabbath candles),
the Be¯ta EsraDe¯l in Ethiopia, although the custom appears to
no food was cooked, and no journey could be undertaken.
have been in decline throughout the twentieth century. Un-
Sexual relations were also forbidden. The Be¯ta EsraDe¯l treated
like male circumcision, this ritual had no fixed day and mini-
every seventh Sabbath with particular respect and viewed it
mal religious content. Female circumcision was only per-
as a day particularly suited for confession and the absolution
formed by women. Two weeks after the birth of a girl, the
of sins.
mother and child entered the birth hut, where they remained
for sixty-six days. Forty days after the birth of a boy and
Most of the annual holidays observed by the Be¯ta EsraDe¯l
eighty days after the birth of a girl, the mother and child
are based on biblical precedents and have parallels in the cele-
ended their isolation. A priest gave the baby its name and im-
brations of other Jewish communities. These include Fa¯sika¯
mersed it in water. The Ethiopic text known as the Book of
in commemoration of the exodus from Egypt; Berha¯n Shara-
the Disciples (Arde Eet) was read as part of this ceremony.
qa, which marked the New Year; Astasreyo, which was simi-
lar to Yom Kippur; and BaEa¯la Ma¸sallat, coinciding with
The Be¯ta EsraDe¯l believed it to be of the utmost impor-
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). The holiday of Ma¯Erar (har-
tance that the dead receive a proper burial and be properly
vest), which corresponds to Pentecost, was celebrated on the
commemorated. When a person felt death approaching, he
twelfth day of the third month, seven weeks after the last day
or she offered a final confession to his or her spiritual guard-
of Fa¯sika¯. Another Ma¯Erar was celebrated in the ninth
ian. Priests recited psalms and prayers of absolution at the
month, to better coincide with the actual harvest in the Ethi-
funeral. For seven days after the funeral, close kin of the de-
opian agricultural cycle. Although the Be¯ta EsraDe¯l did not
ceased abstained from work. On the seventh day, a sheep or
celebrate Purim, they did observe the fast of Esther (S¸oma
goat was sacrificed, and a feast was prepared. A commemora-
Aste¯r) in commemoration of Esther 4:16. Prior to the twenti-
tion ceremony was also observed on the anniversary of the
eth century Jewish festivals such as Simh:at Torah,
death.
H:anukkah, Lag ba-EOmer, the fast of Gedaliah, and Tu
LITERATURE. Any consideration of Be¯ta EsraDe¯l literature
bDshvat were not observed.
must begin with biblical literature. Their version of the Old
Sigd is a unique pilgrimage festival celebrated by the
Testament, known as the Orit, is identical to that of the Ethi-
Be¯ta EsraDe¯l on the twenty-ninth day of the eighth month.
opian Orthodox Church. It also included such apocryphal
Some associate the holiday with the renewal of the covenant
and pseudepigraphical works as Tobit, Judith, Ben Sira, and
during the period of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezr. 8–10), and
most importantly Enoch and Jubilees. The Be¯ta EsraDe¯l were
passages from these texts were part of the holiday liturgy.
not familiar with the Talmud or later rabbinic literature;
However, scriptural texts concerning the revelation at Sinai
however, they possessed a number of noncanonical works.
and the Decalogue were also read.
One large group that includes The Death of Moses, The Death
of Aron, and the testaments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob re-
Traditionally the Be¯ta EsraDe¯l observed a number of
lates the deaths of biblical figures. The Disciples contains
monthly celebrations. The first day of each month was cele-
Moses’ secret teachings to his disciples (the leaders of the
brated in keeping with biblical custom. The tenth, twelfth,
twelve tribes). The Conversation of Moses contains a dialogue
fifteenth, and twenty-ninth of each month served as monthly
between Moses and God in which the divine essence and the
reminders of Astasreyo, Ma¯rEar, Fa¯sika¯, and Sigd. During the
punishment of the dead are explicated. The importance of
last decades of the twentieth century the observance of these
the Sabbath forms the focus of The Commandments of the
holidays lapsed in Ethiopia.
Sabbath, The Teachings of the Sabbath, and much of the hom-
iletic work Abba Elijah. The fate of the soul after death is yet
Ritual purity played a central role in Be¯ta EsraDe¯l obser-
another central theme of Be¯ta EsraDe¯l literature and is
vances both in the regulation of internal communal relations
discussed in The Book of Angels, Apocalypse of Baruch, and
and the definition of the community’s differences from its
Gorgoryos.
Christian neighbors. The Be¯ta EsraDe¯l were particularly de-
voted to the laws that governed female purity during men-
Almost without exception the literature of the Be¯ta
struation and after giving birth. According to Be¯ta EsraDe¯l
EsraDe¯l did not originate within their community, nor did it
practice, a menstruating woman left her house and entered
reach them directly through Jewish channels. Rather, the
a menstrual hut, where she remained for seven days. This hut
majority of Ethiopian “Jewish” texts reached the Be¯ta EsraDe¯l
was located at the edge of her village, and only her children
through the mediation of Ethiopian Christian sources after
and other women, who brought her food, were allowed to
the fourteenth century.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5004
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN ASIA
CHANGES IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. Although Be¯ta
The pressures on Ethiopian immigrants to adopt life-
EsraDe¯l religious practice developed and evolved throughout
styles similar to those of either their religious or secular Israeli
its history, changes became particularly obvious during the
neighbors have led to a large-scale abandonment of Ethiopi-
twentieth century as a result of contact with representatives
an customs and practices. It appears unlikely that much more
of world Jewry. The arrival in Ethiopia in 1904 of Jacques
than remnants and scattered elements of Ethiopian Judaism
(YaDacov) Faitlovitch marked a turning point in the relation-
will survive beyond the first decades of the twenty-first
ship between the Be¯ta EsraDe¯l and the outside Jewish world.
century.
Faitlovitch’s introduction of external Jewish elements began
a process that has continued into the twenty-first century.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Following the establishment of the state of Israel, many Be¯ta
Aescoly, Aaron Z., ed. Recueil de textes Falachas: Introduction, tex-
EsraDe¯l villages were exposed to aspects of external Jewry, in-
tes éthiopiens. Paris, 1951. Geez religious texts with a French
translation.
cluding Hebrew prayers, H:anukkah, Purim, and the lighting
Halévy, Joseph, ed. and trans. Te Dezaza Sanbat: Commandements
of candles on the eve of the Sabbath. Elements of “norma-
du Sabbat. Paris, 1902. The first major edition of Be¯ta
tive” Jewish practice, such as the use of Torah scrolls, began
EsraDe¯l texts translated from Geez into French.
to be introduced in the celebration of Sigd.
Kaplan, Steven. Les Fala¯sha¯s. Turnhout, Belgium, 1990. A general
Although contact with representatives of world Jewry
survey discussing history, religion, and society, with selected
texts in French translation.
brought about certain changes in Be¯ta EsraDe¯l belief and ritu-
al in Ethiopia, these pale in comparison to the changes that
Kaplan, Steven, and Hagar Salamon. “Ethiopian Immigrants in
Israel: Experience and Prospects.” Jewish Policy Research Re-
occurred following the arrival of Be¯ta EsraDe¯l in Israel begin-
port 1 (1998).
ning in 1977. Be¯ta EsraDe¯l clergy in Israel were not allowed
Leslau, Wolf. Coutumes et croyances des Falachas. Paris, 1957. An
to retain their clerical status and lost the right to perform rit-
important survey of Be¯ta EsraDe¯l religious life.
uals such as weddings, circumcisions, or funerals. Moreover
Leslau, Wolf, ed. and trans. Falasha Anthology. New Haven,
the resettlement of immigrants with no regard for previous
Conn., 1951. A translation of Geez literature into English
village residence inevitably resulted in a disruption of previ-
with an ethnographic introduction.
ous ties between priests and their followers. Most priests,
Quirin, James A. The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews: A History of
however, continue to perform some religious duties and to
the Beta Israel (Falasha) to 1920. Philadelphia, 1992. A com-
participate in ritual gatherings. A small number of younger
prehensive history.
priests have undertaken studies that enable them, at least in
Salamon, Hagar. The Hyena People: Ethiopian Jews in Christian
theory, to exercise some formal religious functions, and some
Ethiopia. Los Angeles, 1999. A reconstruction of Jewish life
priests are among the Ethiopians who have been trained as
in Ethiopia based on interviews conducted in Israel.
rabbis. Ethiopian synagogues have been established in a small
Shelemay, Kay Kaufman. Music, Ritual, and Falasha History. East
number of communities, but these are the exception rather
Lansing, Mich., 1986. A major study tracing the links be-
than the rule.
tween Christian monasticism and Be¯ta EsraDe¯l liturgy.
Ullendorff, Edward. Ethiopia and the Bible. London, 1968. A clas-
Ethiopian traditions of ritual purity have also weakened
sic work on the impact of the Bible on Ethiopian culture.
seriously since their arrival in Israel. Israeli authorities made
STEVEN KAPLAN (2005)
a conscious decision not to facilitate the observance of men-
strual separation. The comparatively late age of marriage of
Ethiopian women in Israel, as well as their unprecedented
presence in the educational system and workforce, are further
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN ASIA
For as long as two millennia, perhaps even longer, there have
factors that serve to discourage traditional menstrual obser-
been Jewish communities scattered throughout South, East,
vances. Although it is still possible for women to observe the
central, and Southeast Asia. Most have lived in port cities,
days of separation after the birth of a child, this custom has
such as Surat, Kochi (formerly Cochin), Mumbai (formerly
changed dramatically. Most Ethiopians visit a woman after
Bombay), Kolakata (formerly Calcutta), Yangon (formerly
she gives birth, and some will kiss and touch a postpartum
Rangoon), Singapore, Bangkok, Kobe, Hong Kong, and
woman and her baby. Purification and naming ceremonies,
Shanghai. Other Jewish communities were found at major
forty or eighty days after birth, remain popular.
trading centers along the Spice Route, which meandered
Most Be¯ta EsraDe¯l holidays that parallel pan-Jewish ob-
westward from South India through Kabul, Herat, and
servances have been assimilated to their non-Ethiopian
thence Iran and Turkey. Jewish communities also thrived
equivalents in Israel. Sigd continues to be celebrated in Israel
along the Silk Route at Bukhara, Tashkent, and Samarkand
with a central national ceremony being conducted in Jerusa-
in central Asia and at Dunhuang, a cosmopolitan Gobi De-
lem. In the spring of every year, on the day that celebrates
sert oasis, but the best known was at the route’s eastern ter-
the Israeli reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, the Ethiopian
minus, Kaifeng.
community holds a ceremony in memory of those who per-
Some of these Jewish communities are old, dating from
ished in an attempt reach Israel.
at least the early medieval period if not ancient times, where-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN ASIA
5005
as some of them emerged when merchant houses in India es-
the festival they ritually demolished their temporary ark to
tablished branches eastward during the nineteenth century.
the accompaniment of unique Hebrew songs. All of these be-
Some communities are newer: Bangkok’s Jewish community
haviors reflect Hindu temple festivals, when the deity (mu¯rti)
dates from the first half of the twentieth century, and Shang-
of the temple is first displayed, then taken on procession, and
hai’s modern Jewish community has existed only since the
then (often) disposed of. None of these practices violates Ju-
establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Is-
daic law (halakhah), so these borrowings from the local
rael in 1992. Many of these Asian Diaspora communities
Hindu culture were judicious and reflected the Kochi Jewish
have been in decline since the middle of the twentieth centu-
community’s firm Jewish identity, based on Judaic learning.
ry due to emigration to Israel and elsewhere.
Another example of the acculturation of Kochi Jews is
It is in the oldest of these Jewish communities that one
the position of women in the community. Kochi Jewish
finds the most profound interactions with the host culture.
women were remarkably well educated, with fluency in He-
The best examples are Kochi in India and Kaifeng in China.
brew and knowledge of Judaic law. They were active in com-
KOCHI, INDIA. According to local traditions, Jews first set-
posing Malayalam folk songs, sung at weddings, during
tled on India’s southwest coast when the Second Temple was
matzo baking, and on other occasions. These songs inter-
destroyed and the Romans exiled all Jews from Jerusalem in
weave Jewish and Malayali motifs and symbols, and they
70
played an important role in establishing and celebrating the
CE. They fled along maritime trade routes, which had
been in use since King Solomon’s time; travel along these
Indian Jewish identity of these Jewish communities. The
routes had recently become faster with the discovery of the
high position of Jewish women in Kochi is also reflected
monsoon winds by Greek navigators early in the first centu-
symbolically. For example, liturgical events deemed impor-
ry. The Jewish refugees settled at Cranganore, among other
tant, such as Torah readings, were performed from a second
towns, where they were granted political autonomy by local
bimah located in front of the ezrat nashim (women’s section),
monarchs and flourished as agriculturists, international spice
which is up a flight of stairs. Women’s ritual garments
merchants, petty traders, and shipbuilders and in govern-
(mundus) were used to decorate the synagogue as well as for
ment service and the military. During the fourteenth century
a parochet (curtain) in front of the holy ark. These unique
Jews migrated to Kochi. Their numbers in the Malabar rose
expressions of the Judaism of the women reflect the religious
as high as three thousand at the time of independence, but
and secular power of women of the local dominant caste, the
fewer than fifty remain at the beginning of the twenty-first
Nayars, with whom the Jews had particularly close relation-
century. Where there were once nine flourishing synagogues
ships.
as well as Jewish schools, scribes, scholars, mystics, and poets,
KAIFENG, CHINA. The Kochi Jews were acculturated, which
in the early twenty-first century the Cochin Synagogue, built
is to say they were culturally at home in their Hindu environ-
in 1568, fails to obtain a prayer quorum of ten adult males
ment, without becoming assimilated, which involves a sur-
unless there are Jewish visitors from elsewhere in India or
render of identity. Not so with the Jews of Kaifeng, China,
abroad.
at least not in the long run.
The Kochi Jews, always part of the Jewish mainstream
Jews came to China following two routes. Persian Jews
both commercially and culturally, were knowledgeable about
came via the Silk Route. Judging from a Hebrew manuscript
their religion and savvy about affairs of state and currency
on Chinese paper discovered in a Buddhist library in Dun-
fluctuations even in far-off Europe, not to mention among
huang as well as Muslim travelers’ reports, Jews were estab-
the plethora of princely states of South India. Knowing
lished in China no later than the eighth century. Indian Jews
the languages of the subcontinent, the Middle East, and
came via maritime routes to the South China Sea and settled
Europe, they played invaluable roles in both commerce and
in port cities. The Kaifeng community is the only one that
diplomacy.
survived the Middle Ages, having been “discovered” as an
isolated, moribund community by Jesuit missionaries during
The Kochi Jews’ religious life evidences a high degree
the early seventeenth century.
of acculturation into their Indian context but not assimila-
tion. For example, during their autumn holy days and at
Jews lived in Kaifeng for nearly a thousand years, where
weddings, many customs of the Nayar (the local dominant
they were traders, agriculturists, artisans, physicians, and
caste) and symbols of royalty were adopted. At weddings, for
government officials. More than a few passed the rigorous
another example, Kochi Jews borrowed an elephant from a
civil service examinations and became mandarins. They con-
neighboring Hindu temple to convey the bridegroom to the
structed a synagogue in Kaifeng in 1126 that included an an-
synagogue for nuptials. During the festival of Rejoicing in
cestor hall, typical of Chinese temples. Through the years
the Torah (Simh:at Torah), Kochi Jews added three elements
Kaifeng’s Jews increasingly identified with Chinese high cul-
to their celebrations that are found nowhere else in the Jew-
ture. A 1488 inscription in their synagogue proclaimed:
ish world: they displayed their Torah scrolls on a temporary
Although our religion agrees in many respects with the
ark on the days just prior to the festival, during the afternoon
religion of the literati, from which it differs in a slight
prayers they performed outdoor circumambulations of the
degree, yet the main design of it is nothing more than
synagogue with their Torah scrolls, and at the conclusion of
reverence for Heaven, and veneration for ancestors, fi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5006
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN ASIA
delity to the prince, and obedience to parents, just what
lahs (door-to-door salespeople) settled down and became de-
is included in the five human relations, the five constant
partment store magnates. Of the three groups, only Bene Is-
virtues, with the three principal connections of life.
rael remains viable as a community.
To Western Jews it is striking to hear Judaism described in
Whereas most Bene Israel live in Mumbai, the nearby
such Confucian terms. Similarly it is remarkable to see in the
Konkan coast is their spiritual home. Bene Israel Jews trace
Cochin Synagogue reflections of Hindu temple behavior.
their community back to seven couples from Israel who sur-
But on the other hand, one can imagine that to an Indian
vived a shipwreck off Navgaon in the unknown distant past.
or Chinese Jew it would be unnerving to know that their
Somehow the descendants of these Jews clung to vestigial Ju-
American coreligionists understand Judaism fundamentally
daic observances despite centuries of isolation. Their tenacity
as ethical monotheism; such a characterization might sound
in maintaining the Sabbath, ritual circumcision, Jewish di-
Protestant. The point is that Judaism, like any ancient reli-
etary codes, and the Hebrew Shema (the affirmation “Hear
gion, has many threads within itself, and one or another of
O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is One”) set the stage
these threads becomes highlighted in response to the ethos
for their unlikely transformation from an anonymous oil-
of the host culture in which a particular Jewish community
pressing caste in the remote Konkan into modern, urban
finds itself. Such a process could be indicated by using a con-
members of the world Jewish community. This evolution oc-
cept borrowed from Gestalt psychology, that of background
curred over two hundred years, beginning in the middle of
and foreground. In relation to a background (the host cul-
the eighteenth century.
ture), certain elements in a perceptual field rise to the fore-
ground (the particular Judaisms of India, China, or the Unit-
A Kochi merchant heard rumors of a Konkani caste that
ed States). As Judaism, or any religion, moves from culture
rested on Saturday and circumcised their sons on the eighth
to culture or as it moves through time, differing threads are
day, so David Rahabi, the eldest son in Kochi’s leading mer-
foregrounded and others backgrounded, depending on the
cantile house, visited them. After spending time with the
host culture and its vicissitudes.
community, examining their dietary habits as well as their
C
eccentric (by Hindu standards) religious observances, he
ONTEMPORARY INDIAN JEWRY. India had and still has the
largest number of Jews of any country east of Iran. Indian
concluded that they were lost Jews. Rahabi took three of
Jewish population peaked in 1950 at around thirty to thirty-
them back to Kochi, where he educated them in Hebrew and
five thousand, after which emigration to Israel and other
the rudiments of Judaism and sent them back with the title
places reduced their number to around four to six thousand
of kazi, religious leader. This began a long-standing relation-
by the beginning of the twenty-first century, more if the so-
ship between Bene Israel and Kochi Jews; as the Bene Israel
called BDnai Menashe and BDnai Ephraim are counted.
prospered, they hired Kochi Jews to be their cantors, teach-
ers, ritual slaughterers, and scribes. Bene Israel Jews recall
There have been three major distinct Jewish communi-
these events as their “first awakening.”
ties in India. The oldest group, which in the early twenty-
first century numbers less than fifty, is found in and around
Subsequent encounters with British and American mis-
Kochi in the southwestern state of Kerala. Perhaps five thou-
sionaries and with the nascent Baghdadi community of
sand Cochinim, as they are called in Hebrew, live in Israel.
Mumbai built upon the sense of Jewishness among Bene Is-
The largest group is known as Bene Israel and is found chief-
rael. This period is known as their “second awakening.” They
ly in and around Mumbai, with active communities in Pune
learned Bible stories from the missionaries, and they shared
also in Maharashtra state, in Ahmedabad in Gujerat state,
their synagogues (they built their first one in Mumbai in
and in New Delhi. All told, there are four to five thousand
1796) and cemeteries with the Baghdadis. Both the British
Bene Israel in India and forty to fifty thousand in Israel,
and the Baghdadis offered opportunities in Mumbai, wheth-
where they make up a significant ethnic group (edah in He-
er in the military, railway, or civil service or in the mills and
brew) known as Hod Dim, “Indians.”
docks of the illustrious Sassoons, and Bene Israel migrated
to the new, glamorous city in search of their fortunes. It did
The most recently arrived group, which is known in
not take long until there were more Bene Israel in Mumbai
India as Baghdadis, or Middle Eastern Jews, is made up
than in the Konkan.
mostly of Arabic speakers who migrated to India during the
late eighteenth century, about the time the British arrived.
Gradually the Baghdadis, in an effort to become accept-
These immigrants settled in India’s port cities, especially
ed by the British as “European” rather than “Indian” (a label
Mumbai and Kolakata. Numbering about five thousand at
with tangible economic benefits as well as social snobbery),
their peak, they have declined to around one hundred, most
came to adopt British condescension toward all things Indi-
all of whom are elderly. The Baghdadis played a significant
an, including the Bene Israel Jews, who were unmistakably
role in the development of British India’s ports. Beginning
Indian in both appearance and culture. This condescension
as jewelers and opium traders, Baghdadi entrepreneurs soon
became all the more ugly when the Baghdadis began to cast
moved into textiles and shipping in Mumbai and real estate,
aspersions upon the very Jewishness of the Bene Israel. The
jute, manufacturing, and tobacco in Kolakata. Replicating
heart and soul of the newly found and hard-earned identity
the Jewish experience in the United States, humble boxwal-
of the Bene Israel was under attack.
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN ASIA
5007
In Mumbai the Bene Israel learned about both the Zi-
munity has maintained its own identity, largely through a
onist and Swaraj movements for independence from Britain
singular ritual activity. Long devoted to the Prophet Elijah
in Palestine and India respectively, and they were rent by
as a sort of patron saint, his veneration has become central
competing nationalisms. On the one hand, as Jews they had
to their new Israeli identity as Hod Dim. The propitiatory rite
internalized the longing to return to Jerusalem and rebuild
known as malida, after a parched rice mixture served with
Zion. On the other hand, their unhappy experiences with the
fresh fruits and flowers, is often the culmination of a pilgrim-
Baghdadis led them to mistrust foreign Jews, and as Indians
age to an Elijah cave near Haifa.
they yearned for independence from the British. Moreover
they were fond of the British, who were their employers and
In the mid-twentieth century several shamans and lead-
often patrons, and wanted to support them as well. Mahatma
ers of tribal people in extreme eastern India (the states of Mi-
Gandhi appreciated their ambivalence. Leaders of the Ah-
zoram, Manipur, and Tripura) and western Myanmar (for-
medabad Jewish community (where Gandhi had headquar-
merly Burma) began having dreams and visions that told
ters at his Sabarmati Ashram) asked the Mahatma what
them of their lost, true identity—that they were Jews of the
should be the stance of India’s Jews vis-à-vis the indepen-
tribe of Menashe who had wandered from ancient Israel
dence movement. He is said to have replied that the Jews
along the Silk Route to Kaifeng, China, then through South-
should “stand aside” because, as a small community, they
east Asia, finally settling in their current, remote mountain-
would be crushed between the competing and overwhelming
ous homes. Their religious enthusiasm spread, such that in
forces of the British Empire, Indian nationalism, and Mus-
the early twenty-first century there are thousands of Kuki
lim separatism. As a community they did stand apart, al-
tribals on both sides of the border who are living as Jews.
though many Bene Israel became involved as individuals.
Some traveled to Israel, where they learned Hebrew, studied,
The bottom line, however, is that the great majority of Bene
and converted to Judaism; some later returned home as reli-
Israel emigrated to Israel.
gious leaders. A number of synagogues sprouted up, and
By the beginning of the twenty-first century the Bene
there are regular visits from Israeli and American coreligion-
Israel community had stabilized. Those who intended to em-
ists. Several hundred Kuki tribals now live in Israel, especially
igrate had done so, and most of those who remained intend-
in the Yesha (settlements), but most wait for redemption at
ed to stay. Most are in Mumbai, where they work in the pro-
home. In the 1990s a similar group, who called themselves
fessions, education, industry, the military, and commerce.
BDnai Ephraim, emerged in Andhra Pradesh, a state on the
Most are educated and in the middle class. During the 1980s
Bay of Bengal on India’s southeast coast.
the Organization for Rehabilitation and Training (ORT) es-
Most demographics of Indian Jewry do not include
tablished two schools in Mumbai, one for boys and one for
girls, to provide vocational training. The ORT schools be-
these tribals, and there are no reliable estimates of their num-
came popular among Jews and non-Jews alike. Soon services
ber, but it is incontestable that some of them have undergone
expanded to include classes in religion, Hebrew, and Israel
conversion and are therefore Jewish. It is also the case that
studies. The Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) also be-
most are sincere in their beliefs and aspirations, but their pas-
came active in Mumbai, sending rabbis from the United
sionate yearning for Israel has provoked controversy. Israeli
States to help meet the community’s religious and education-
immigration officials generally take an unsympathetic, skep-
al needs. The Israeli consulate also serves as a community
tical view, believing these groups to be opportunists who seek
focus. Several of the synagogues in Mumbai have a full range
only a higher standard of living. Some accuse immigration
of programs, from prayer services to singles groups to com-
authorities of racism, pointing out that many Russians who
puter classes. Summer camps at a rural retreat center have
are white but are not Jewish have been welcomed in Israel,
provided an intense infusion of Jewish spirit to many of
whereas these tribals, who are not white but who have at least
Mumbai’s younger Jews. Kosher meat and wine, ritual ob-
some claim to Jewishness, receive only scorn. From the other
jects, books, Indian Jewish calendars, and the accouterments
side of the controversy, the Israeli and American supporters
of Judaic religious life are available, and India’s generally tol-
of these immigrants are criticized for settling them in disput-
erant attitude toward religions and religious pluralism bode
ed territories as a way of bolstering Israeli claims to Judea and
well for the future of the Jewish community in Mumbai.
Samaria (the West Bank).
Smaller organized communities in Ahmedabad and
CONTEMPORARY CHINESE JEWS. The ancient Jewish com-
Pune face more difficult challenges, but their synagogues are
munity at Kaifeng was on its last legs when Jesuits first visited
lively, and social and educational programs are well sub-
in the seventeenth century. Even then local Jews bemoaned
scribed. In New Delhi there are only a handful of Bene Israel
the withering away of traditions and observances, the dismal
families, but they are augmented by Israeli and American
state of Hebrew learning, and the lack of a rabbi. Their syna-
diplomats and businesspeople. Regular prayers are held at the
gogue was destroyed by a series of floods in 1841, 1849, and
synagogue, and the Israeli embassy helps out with the com-
1860, as it had been several times before, but by this time
munity’s Passover seder.
the community was too impoverished and isolated to rebuild
In Israel, despite initial difficulties in adapting to a new
it. Intermarriage was the rule, and assimilation had worn
culture, climate, and economy, the sizeable Bene Israel com-
down their sense of Jewish identity.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5008
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN ASIA
However, due to the interest of Jewish tourists and then
itself dates to the Sassoon and Kadoorie families, who arrived
to the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel, the
during the middle of the nineteenth century. Jews played a
community experienced something of a rebirth. Although
significant role in the development of Hong Kong, having
virtually no Jews or Jewish descendants were found in Kai-
electrified the city and established the famous Star Ferry.
feng during the 1980s, in the early twenty-first century hun-
Even the city’s main thoroughfare, Nathan Road, is named
dreds of people in Kaifeng claim to be Jews. Some petition
for a Jewish governor from the early twentieth century. The
the Chinese government to be allowed to list their ethnicity
beautiful Ohel Leah Synagogue dates from the turn of the
as Jewish on their identity cards. Others hope to learn some-
century, and the city has kosher facilities, a Jewish school,
thing about the religion of their ancestors. One Kaifeng Jew
and a Jewish historical society and library, and prayers are
even attended rabbinical school in New York. There is also
held at several locations. The question facing Hong Kong’s
talk of building a Jewish museum in Kaifeng, but it seems
Jews is the same as that facing the entrepreneurial class as a
that the Chinese bureaucracy is reticent.
whole, whose well-being is dependent upon a continued
In Shanghai and Hong Kong, on the other hand, Jewish
laissez-faire approach from Beijing. There is also a small Jew-
life seems to be on the rise. Shanghai is more significant from
ish community in Taipei composed of both Sefardic and
a historical point of view, whereas Hong Kong has the more
Ashkenazic members as well as a handful of Jewish Chinese
active Jewish life in the twenty-first century.
nationals.
JAPAN. Jews have lived in Japan since the Sassoons estab-
Modern Jewish communities in China date to 1844,
lished themselves there in the mid-nineteenth century. Indi-
when Elias Sassoon, one of the sons of the Mumbai industri-
an, Iraqi, and European Jews settled in Yokohama, Tokyo,
alist David Sassoon, arrived in Shanghai. Elias Sassoon estab-
Nagasaki, and Kobe.
lished his family’s business interests, mostly in opium, and
soon had offices in Guangzhou (formerly Canton) and Hong
Japanese attitudes toward Jews seem highly contradicto-
Kong. As soon as Japan was “opened” to Western trade in
ry. Anti-Semitic literature enjoys great popularity among
1858, a branch office was opened in Tokyo. Jews from
Japanese readers, who otherwise display no negative behavior
Kolakata, Iraq, and elsewhere soon followed. Shanghai’s syn-
toward Jews. Although Japan was allied with Nazi Germany
agogues were built during the late nineteenth century, and
during World War II, the country, nevertheless, afforded ref-
soon the city’s Jewish community had its own newspaper and
uge to thousands of Eastern European Jews, including the
glossy magazine, a religious school, a secular school, a hospi-
entire Mir Yeshiva from Poland. Among the Jews of Japan
tal, and chapters of BDnai BDrith and various Zionist organiza-
are Russian-speaking former residents of Manchuria and
tions.
Shanghai, Indian and Middle Eastern Sefardim, and a variety
At the same time that Shanghai’s Sefardic community
of foreign Jewish temporary residents. There are synagogues
was coming of age, Ashkenazic Jews from Russia migrated
in Tokyo and Kobe.
east, following the overland trade route to Manchuria, espe-
Since World War II, Japan has been especially fertile
cially to the city of Harbin, in northeastern China. These ad-
ground for the emergence of new religions, and Japan’s long-
venturers and furriers were joined by a wave of migration
standing, ambivalent fascination with the Jewish people led
spurred by the 1917 Russian Revolution. Within a few years
to intriguing syncretic religious expressions. For example,
Harbin had thirteen thousand Jews, and there were more in
there is a small but serious group of Japanese converts to Ju-
Tianjin and other cities in the region. When the Japanese
daism led by Setsu Zau Abraham Kotsuji. Another group,
conquered Manchuria in 1931, most of these Ashkenazim
the 50,000-strong Jewish-Christian Makuya, led by Abra-
moved to Shanghai, where they built their own synagogues
ham Teshima, believes itself to be the lost tribe of Zebulun.
and institutions. They were soon joined by German and Pol-
Although they accept the Christian Messiah, they study He-
ish refugees from Adolf Hitler. At their peak there were more
brew and visit Israel frequently.
than thirty-thousand Jews in Shanghai, which was the only
CENTRAL ASIA. Jews may have settled in central Asia, long
city in the world to remain open to Jewish immigration
associated with the legend of the ten lost tribes, earlier than
throughout World War II. The end of the war was followed
in either India or China. Pottery shards bearing Hebrew
by the Communist victory in China, at which time all but
names, which date from the first to third centuries CE, have
a handful of China’s Jews left.
been found in Turkmenistan, and it is believed that some of
With China’s opening to the West and especially the es-
the many Jews of the Persian Empire were involved in the
tablishment of diplomatic relations with Israel, commercial
Silk Route trade when Persia ruled the region before the
opportunities in Shanghai enticed a number of Jews to take
fourth century BCE.
up residence there, with the result that a Jewish community
Whether under the Persians, or the Hellenistic domin-
may be in the process of rebirth. The Chinese government
ions of the Baktrian kingdom (fourth century BCE to third
refurbished one of the old synagogues in Shanghai, but only
century CE), or the Buddhist Kushans (third to sixth centu-
as a museum. Prayers are forbidden.
ries CE), Jewish traders and settlers were found in towns
Hong Kong is home to a thriving, prosperous Jewish
throughout central Asia. The mercantile Jewish Radanites
community of about five hundred families. The community
and the semiheretical Karaites were bolstered when a neigh-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN ASIA
5009
boring Turkic tribe, the Khazars, converted to Judaism
By the sixteenth century Islamicization led most of Sam-
around 750 CE and dominated much of the Silk Route, the
arkand’s Jews to migrate to Bukhara. When the Timurids
lifeblood of the community. It was toward the end of this
were defeated by the Persian Safavids a hundred years later,
period that Persian-speaking Jews made their way to China’s
government policy supported forced conversion to Sh¯ıEah
Middle Kingdom and settled in Kaifeng.
Islam, and the ensuing persecution took its toll on the belea-
guered community.
After two hundred years of Arab rule and Islamicization,
central Asia came to be dominated by “pagan” Mongols, led
A late-eighteenth-century revival was sparked by the ar-
by Chinggis Khan, in the early thirteenth century. From the
rival of a shaliach (emissary) from the mystical city of Tsfat
perspective of the Jews in the region, Chinggis and his Mon-
in the Holy Land. Yosef ha-MaDaravi imported books and led
gol successors often favored minority groups (Buddhists,
a religious revival and by the same token instituted a Sefardic
Nestorian Christians, Jews, and animists) as a bulwark
rather than a Mizrah:i ethos. A school for poets developed,
against the Muslims to their south. It has also been suggested
and the literary outpouring was so great that a Russian bibli-
that the Mongols were already familiar with Jews by the time
ographer counted some 250 Judeo-Persian books and 20
they arrived at Samarkand, where they made their capital,
manuscripts in the Jewish Museum of Samarkand in 1994.
from Kaifeng and elsewhere along their routes of conquest.
When Sh¯ıEah zealots forced conversion on the Jews of
By the fourteenth century central Asian Jews were en-
Meshed, the holy city in eastern Iran, many fled to Bukhara.
joying a cultural and religious revival, following two hundred
A contemporary missionary reported some three hundred
years of hostile Islamicization. Timur Shah, known in Eu-
families of anusim (those forced to convert) among Bukhara’s
rope as Tamerlane, expanded the Mongol Empire, which
Jews. Fearful of Persian religious intolerance, many central
under his reign extended as far north as the Volga River, as
Asian Jews flocked to territory newly conquered by Russia
far west as Damascus, as far south as Delhi, and as far east
in the late nineteenth century. Sizable communities were to
as China. Although Timur adopted Islam, his rule was based
be found not only in Bukhara city but in Samarkand and
more on the laws and traditions of Mongolia, which had
Tashkent, all now in Uzbekistan, and in Turkmenistan as
been brought to the region by Chinggis Khan and were
well.
known as Yasa, than upon Islamic law, shar¯ı Eah. Jews were
Bukharan Jews began to migrate to the Holy Land as
allowed to practice their religion freely and to pursue their
early as 1827, and by 1892 they had established the Bukha-
livelihoods as physicians, translators, diplomats, merchants,
ran Quarter in Jerusalem. There ensued ongoing travel be-
agriculturalists, traders, and artisans.
tween Bukhara and Jerusalem, sparking yet another period
For reasons unknown, Timur Shah became a devotee
of intense literary activity. Some 170 books in Judeo-Persian
of the biblical prophet Daniel, and he is said to have reinter-
were published in Jerusalem. The Bukharan Jews built syna-
red Daniel at Samarkand, where a saint’s cult emerged. The
gogues in Jerusalem that one observer described as resem-
prophet became the “patron saint” of Bukharan Jews, and
bling a masjid (Muslim house of worship). Custom and ar-
a number of epic and liturgical poems in Judeo-Persian (writ-
chitecture reflected central Asia: the prayer halls were
ten in the Hebrew script) were composed about him. In this
carpeted, and men prayed shoeless, sitting on the floor. Reli-
respect also the Bukharan Jews resembled their Indian coun-
gious leaders were called by the Persian title, mullah, and
terparts. In Kochi the seventeenth-century qabbalist Ne-
Torah cantillation resembled QurDa¯n recitation.
hemia Mota emerged as patron not only of local Jews but
Prior to World War II large numbers of Russian Ashke-
of the whole area; the Bene Israel have long had a similar spe-
nazic Jews settled in the cities of Uzbekistan and Turkmeni-
cial relationship with the Prophet Elijah, and the scribe Ezra
stan. Largely irreligious, they adapted to local traditions,
sustained far-flung Baghdadis.
which by the twentieth century had become indistinguish-
The fourteenth century was a time when Judeo-Persian
able from those in Iran or Afghanistan. At this time the re-
literature flourished, and the religious saga, the Musa-Nama,
gion was home to sixty thousand Jews.
has ever since embodied the mores and values of central
Judaism, like other religions, was suppressed under So-
Asian Jews, even those who migrated to Jerusalem centuries
viet rule, and the Bukharan Jews devised ingenious tech-
later. City-dwelling Bukharan Jews spoke Judeo-Persian for
niques for practicing an attenuated form of the religion as
the most part, whereas their rural coreligionists spoke mostly
well as for maintaining a Jewish identity under the suspicious
Uzbek and Turkic. Most knew both.
eyes of Kremlin authorities. The annual memorial service be-
came an emblematic ritual, performed in homes or commu-
It is also believed that Timur’s closest adviser and prime
nity halls without prayer books. If an unfriendly eye should
minister was a Jew, David ha-Tsaddiq. Patterns resembling
happen upon the event, it could appear as an innocuous
the Jewish experience in Kochi and Kaifeng were replicated
meeting or meal devoid of religious content.
in Samarkand under the Timurids. Like David ha-Tsaddiq
in Samarkand, Yehezkel Rahabi was prime minister to an
However, everything changed with the breakup of the
eighteenth-century Hindu maharaja in Kochi, and Kaifeng
Soviet Union. Almost immediately, in 1992, Israel became
had its share of Jewish mandarins.
the third country to recognize an independent Uzbekistan,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5010
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN ASIA
after only the United States and Turkey. In the early twenty-
dred Sefardim and Ashkenazim, is augmented by a signifi-
first century about twenty-eight thousand Jews remain in
cant number of Jewish businesspeople and young Israeli
Uzbekistan, where there are sixteen synagogues. In Tashkent
backpackers. Two synagogues are maintained, one in a resi-
one finds the seat of the chief rabbinate of central Asia as well
dential area and the other in the business district, both led
as the region’s sole rabbinical seminary. Relations with Israel
by a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary.
are cordial, and the community regularly receives Jewish visi-
As the Inquisition reigned in Spain, Spanish Jews and
tors, pilgrims, and rabbis from Israel, the United States, and
Marranos had an added impetus to join in Spanish and Por-
Europe. Bonds between resettled Bukharan Jews in Israel and
tuguese voyages of exploration. They sailed to Mexico, the
the United States and their kin in Uzbekistan are strong, as
American colonies, Goa, the Philippines, and elsewhere.
they have been ever since the first Bukharans settled in Jeru-
Sadly the Inquisition followed them, and by 1580 an auto-
salem in the nineteenth century.
da-fé was held in Manila.
SOUTHEAST ASIA. In the early nineteenth century Baghdadis
By the last quarter of the nineteenth century Jews from
from Kolakata pursued their fortunes to Yangon in Myan-
Alsace, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt began to settle
mar, gradually joined by Bene Israel and a few Kochi Jews.
openly. They were soon joined by Russian and central Euro-
Later that century they built their synagogue, which still wel-
pean Jews, who found their way to the Philippines via Har-
comes visitors to its well-maintained sanctuary. Satellite
bin and Shanghai. After the Spanish-American War, Ameri-
communities emerged in many of Burma’s (Myanmar’s)
can Jews added to Manila’s community. In 1922 a formal
trade and shipping centers, including Mandalay, Myanmo,
congregation was established. In the early twenty-first centu-
Moulmein, Bassein, Akyab, and Toungyi.
ry about 250 Jews live in the Philippines on a permanent
The community was virtually destroyed in the 1940s,
basis.
when the Japanese, suspicious of Jews as potential British
CONCLUSION. The study of Asian Jewish communities up-
sympathizers, conquered Burma and drove most of its thir-
roots several common stereotypes. For example, the adage
teen hundred Jewish inhabitants to Kolakata. About five
that “East is East and West is West” becomes transparent as
hundred returned after the war. Burmese Judaism enjoyed
a colonizing myth once a Jewish perspective is adopted. The
a brief flowering after independence and the establishment
study of these communities also reconfigures the common
of cordial Israeli-Burmese relations, based on the warm
understanding of Judaism and the Jewish people. It is com-
friendship between Prime Ministers U Nu and David Ben
monly held that Judaism is one of the sources of Western civ-
Gurion. After a military coup in 1962, the position of mi-
ilization and that Judaism is a Western religion. Such a view
norities in Burma degenerated, and most Jews left. A handful
blinds one to Jewish experience in Asia; it silences the millen-
of Jewish descendants remain. Other Kolakata Jews migrated
nia-old, rich cultural interactions between Judaic, Indic, Si-
farther east to Singapore, Malaya, Bangkok, Indonesia, and
nitic, and Islamo-Mongol cultures. On the other hand, Jews
the Philippines.
have traditionally spoken of themselves as an am-olam, a
“universal people,” a cultural and mercantile bridge in a
As soon as Stamford Raffles established a British settle-
world bifurcated into an East and a West. The study of the
ment at Singapore in 1818, Indian Jews followed, mostly to
Asian Jewish experience debunks the Jews-as-Westerners
pursue the opium trade. They settled in the Chinatown sec-
view and confirms the traditional self-understanding of Jews
tion that by the middle of the century had a synagogue and
as a truly universal people.
a cemetery. Twenty-five years later the community had mi-
grated to what was then a suburban quarter, where they built
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the Maghain Aboth Synagogue, followed after another quar-
Ben-Zvi, Itzhak. The Exiled and the Redeemed. 3d ed. Translated
ter century by Chesed El Synagogue and a religious school.
by Isaac A. Abbady. Jerusalem, 1976.
Out of a community that at one time numbered two
Cooper, Alanna E. “Negotiating Identity in the Context of Dias-
thousand, David Marshall was undoubtedly the first citizen.
pora: The Bukharan Jews and Jewish Peoplehood.” Ph.D.
The island nation’s “father of independence,” he was prime
diss., Boston University, 2000.
minister in 1955 and United Nations ambassador thereafter.
Elazar, Daniel J. The Other Jews: The Sephardim Today. New
In the early twenty-first century about three hundred Jewish
York, 1989.
families, mostly Sefardim, can be found in the prosperous,
Katz, Nathan. Who Are the Jews of India? Berkeley, Calif., 2000.
tiny state, enjoying a full religious life under the leadership
Katz, Nathan, and Ellen S. Goldberg. The Last Jews of Cochin:
of an emissary of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Jewish Identity in Hindu India. Columbia, S.C., 1993.
A handful of Jews reside in Bangkok as citizens of Thai-
Lesley, Donald. The Survival of the Chinese Jews: The Jewish Com-
land, where the law requires that all nonethnic Thai citizens
munity of Kaifeng. Leiden, Netherlands, 1972.
adopt a Thai name. This requirement has caused consider-
Pollak, Michael. Mandarins, Jews, and Missionaries: The Jewish Ex-
able distress among Muslims, the largest minority in Thai-
perience in the Chinese Empire. Philadelphia, 1980.
land. Jews have been the only group exempted from the law.
Roland, Joan G. Jews in British India: Identity in a Colonial Age.
The local Thai Jewish community, comprised of several hun-
Hanover, N.H., 1989.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE TO 1500
5011
Shterenshis, Michael. Tamerlane and the Jews. London and New
be innovative. We see this in the legal decisions of Gershom
York, 2002.
ben Yehudah (d. 1028), the first major rabbinical figure in
NATHAN KATZ (2005)
Mainz. Gershom functioned as an appeals judge on matters
of Jewish law, and his legal opinions rarely mention the deci-
sions and precedents of the Babylonian geonim. Rather, he
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND
answered questions by interpreting Talmudic or even biblical
EASTERN EUROPE TO 1500
passages, thereby imitating rather than following the geonim.
Although Jews lived in the northern European provinces of
His ordinances against polygyny and a woman’s involuntary
the ancient Roman Empire, long-lasting communal settle-
divorce became binding precedents.
ments began only in the tenth century, when Christian mon-
We also find signs of improvisation in the actions of the
archs promoted the economic vitality of their domains by in-
early community board (qahal) and communal leaders
viting Jewish merchants into the newly developing towns.
(parnasim) contemporary with Gershom, who undertook to
SETTLEMENT AND EARLY INSTITUTIONS. A pattern of early
maintain law and order, supervise the weights and measures
royal support followed by royal opposition and instability
in the market, and provide for the indigent. The institution
characterized Jewish political life first in western Europe and
of ma Earufyah, an individual Jewish merchant’s trade mo-
then later in the East. The earliest royal policy toward the
nopoly with a specific Christian client, was widespread in the
Jews in northern Europe dates from Charlemagne and, espe-
Rhineland, and boards adopted measures to protect it. As the
cially, from his son, Louis the Pious, who issued three private
Jewish population grew in the eleventh century, local com-
charters (privilegia) to individual Jewish merchants in about
munity boards placed a ban on new settlement (h:erem ha-yi-
825. These texts indicate that Jews were among the interna-
shuv) to prevent excessive economic competition.
tional merchants doing business in the Carolingian empire
By the middle of the eleventh century, questions about
and were granted protection of their lives, exemption from
the limits of local autonomy had arisen in newer areas of set-
tolls, and guarantees of religious freedom. This Carolingian
tlement, like the duchy of Champagne. Yehudah ha-Kohen,
policy toward Jewish merchants was also pursued by subse-
Gershom’s successor, decided that in the area of general pub-
quent rulers of the German empire, and it encouraged the
lic welfare and security each local Jewish community was
Jewish immigration that became a factor in the demographic
completely autonomous, but if a community violated reli-
and urban expansion of early medieval Europe.
gious law, another community or outside religious authority
The first communities developed gradually in the
could hold it accountable.
Rhineland towns, where various family groups settled and in-
termarried. Of special significance were the Qalonimos fami-
An additional sign of new communal development oc-
ly from Lucca, Italy; the descendants of Abun, a rabbi from
curred in 1084, when some of the Mainz Jews moved to
Le Mans in northern France; and other families from France,
Speyer, where they were welcomed by Bishop Rüdiger, who
which became the nucleus of the Mainz Jewish elite. Cut off
issued them a formal charter. Modeled on the early Carolin-
from the Jewish political and religious authorities in Pales-
gian privilegia, this charter extended to the new community
tine and Babylonia, as well as Spain, the leaders of the Mainz
guarantees of life, religious protection, and exemption from
community had considerable room to improvise and experi-
tolls. Confirmed by the German emperor Henry IV in 1090,
ment with new patterns of autonomous local governance.
this continued the Carolingian policy of royal or imperial
legal protection of European Jews until the late thirteenth
From the beginning, communal leadership assumed two
century. The patterns of royal protection and local Jewish
overlapping but distinct forms. On the one hand, legal deci-
self-rule that had first developed in the German towns be-
sions were rendered by religious judges or rabbis who ac-
came the model for local Jewish communities in the regions
quired expertise in the Talmud. On the other hand, commu-
of royal France, England, and central Europe.
nal control over nonlegal public affairs devolved upon the
“elders,” whose authority derived from their age, wealth,
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES. The late elev-
family lineage, and other personal qualities. They maintained
enth and twelfth centuries were a time of social and cultural
public order, collected taxes for the Christian authorities and
consolidation in northern Europe. New religious orders were
for support of Jewish social services, and were the liaison be-
founded; the popes renewed the claims of canon law to estab-
tween the community and the gentile rulers.
lish the primacy of the church over the empire in spiritual
and even temporal affairs; and in Paris the university attract-
In the period of first settlement the rabbis were mer-
ed students who eagerly came from all over Europe to sit at
chants, like the rest of the community, and were among the
the feet of popular scholars like Peter Abelard. It is possible
elders who decided public policy. As communities grew in
that the Christian Schoolmen were in part motivated to re-
size and complexity, communal roles became more differen-
state Christian doctrine in a clear and logically consistent
tiated. A paid rabbinate gradually developed only in the thir-
way because Jews were raising doubts about Christianity in
teenth century.
the minds of Christian townsmen. In return, an awareness
The location of the early northern Jewish communities
of Christian religious innovation and ferment stimulated re-
on a frontier prompted religious leaders and elders alike to
appraisals of Judaism.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5012
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE TO 1500
The First Crusade precipitated the first major crisis of
This new Jewish pietistic ideal, incorporating ancient
Jewish cultural identity in northern Europe. Urban II’s call
Jewish mystical and ascetic practices, began as a regimen for
for an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the spring of 1095
religious virtuosos but became a common-place of European
led local German peasants and petty knights on their way to
Jewish spirituality after the late twelfth century and contin-
the Holy Land to riot in the towns of Mainz, Worms, Co-
ued to define the dominant style of Jewish piety in eastern
logne, and Speyer. According to the Latin and Hebrew
Europe even after it was challenged by the eighteenth-
chronicles that recount what happened on this Peasants’
century revival movement of Hasidism.
Crusade, just before and during the Jewish holiday of Sha-
The second new mode of Jewish spirituality that devel-
vuEot in the spring of 1096, the righteous Jews of Mainz and
oped in the twelfth century in northern France was the Tal-
Worms ritually slaughtered their families and themselves in
mud scholar who excelled in intellectual prowess by discover-
order to prevent the Christian rioters from forcibly baptizing
ing new interpretations of difficult passages. At the very time
or killing them. The victims included leaders of the rabbini-
that Christian Schoolmen were reconciling the logical incon-
cal elites of Mainz and Worms as well as hundreds of inno-
sistencies in authoritative theological texts and scholars of
cent men, women, and children.
canon and Roman law were resolving contradictions by mak-
ing new distinctions, rabbinical scholars began to study sys-
Many Jews escaped or were subjected to baptism by
tematically the entire Talmudic corpus and apply canons of
force, but the survivors’ guilt only heightened the loss of the
logical consistency to it. This activity developed in northern
saintly martyrs, whose memory now cast a shadow over the
France and not in the Rhineland for two reasons. On the
following generations of German Jews. Among the liturgical
negative side, the older academies of Mainz and Worms suf-
memorials they instituted in Europe was the earlier geonic
fered a loss of leadership in the riots of 1096. On the positive
prohibition of celebrating Jewish weddings between Passover
side, the newer schools in Champagne were able to build on
and ShavuEot, still observed as an annual period of collective
the foundations in Hebrew Bible and Talmud interpretation
mourning. New prayers were written to recall the righteous-
established by the late-eleventh-century rabbinic master
ness of the slain and to invoke God’s vengeance on the guilty
Rashi (Shelomoh ben Yitshaq, 1040–1105).
Christians. Each spring the martyrs’ names were recited in
the Rhenish synagogues in order to keep alive the memory
In the duchy of Champagne, another Jewish frontier,
of the sacrificed dead and to invoke their merit as a form of
the master of Troyes taught generations of students who
vicarious atonement for the living.
were geographically and culturally removed from the living
oral culture of rabbinic studies in Mainz and Worms. For
Two other important northern Jewish ideals emerged in
them Rashi produced the first comprehensive running com-
the twelfth century; the first of these was the h:asid, or pietist.
mentary on almost the entire Hebrew Bible and the Babylo-
By the second half of the twelfth century, an ascetic, pietistic
nian Talmud, the canon of the Ashkenazic curriculum. Be-
movement emerged in Speyer, the one Jewish community
cause of his extraordinary sensitivity to the biblical usage of
that did not suffer major losses in 1096. It was led by descen-
language and his knowledge of the Talmudic corpus, he suc-
dants of the branch of the Qalonimos family that survived
ceeded in providing the one gloss to both the Hebrew Bible
the riots of 1096. The pietists placed special emphasis not
and the Babylonian Talmud that has remained standard for
only on punctilious observance of Jewish law but also on cer-
all students of those texts to this day.
tain spiritual exercises including concentrated prayer, physi-
The next generation’s scholars, who glossed Rashi’s
cal self-denial, and the mystical and magical manipulations
commentary (ba Ealei ha-tosafot), introduced a synoptic
of Hebrew letter combinations that represent the secret
method of dialectical study designed to discover and resolve
names of God. One of the mottos of ShemuDel ben Qaloni-
potential contradictions among different parts of the Tal-
mos the Elder (fl. mid-twelfth century) is “be resourceful in
mud and between the Talmud and Jewish life in Christian
the fear of God,” a Talmudic dictum (B.T., Ber. 17a) that
Europe. The shift from the piecemeal to the synoptic study
he reinterpreted to mean that the pietist, or truly God-
of the Talmud resulted in an expansion of the scope and de-
fearing Jew, must search scripture resourcefully in order to
tail of Jewish law. The new distinctions that resolved contra-
infer additional prohibitions and higher degrees of self-
dictions between divergent traditions added conceptual sub-
discipline.
tlety to categories of law that had been created for a
In Sefer h:asidim (Book of the Pietists), written by She-
Mediterranean society. Adjustments were also made to ac-
muDel’s son Yehudah the Pietist (d. 1217), we find a sectarian
commodate the Talmudic traditions, a product of ancient
fellowship of pietists, led by their own sages, who are con-
pagan and medieval Muslim societies, to the actual practices
stantly challenged and tested by their inner passions and by
of the Jews living in Latin Christendom.
the harmful presence of nonpietistic Jews, whom the author
The Judaism that resulted from these encounters with
calls “the wicked.” Among Yehudah’s innovations is the re-
Christian Europe in the twelfth century was more complex
quirement that pietists who sin should confess their sins to
than the relatively homogeneous religious culture of the elev-
a sage and receive penances proportional to the sinful act and
enth. The righteous self-image, the reverence of the dead
to the pleasure experienced while sinning.
martyrs, German Hasidism, and the scholasticism of the to-
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE TO 1500
5013
safists were part of a twelfth-century transformation of classi-
sometimes were directed against the Jewish infidel as well.
cal Judaism into a “traditional” Ashkenazic Judaism. Parallel-
Thus papal approval of the new urban reforming orders of
ing these developments were the creative philosophical
the Franciscans and, especially, the Dominicans as disciplin-
synthesis of Moses Maimonides (d. 1204) in Egypt and the
ary arms of the church in the early thirteenth century created
writing down for the first time of qabbalistic mystical tradi-
a source of new pressure against Jewish distinctiveness. Indi-
tions in southern France.
vidual friars, sometimes zealous apostates from Judaism, ac-
tively sought to persuade Jews to convert.
EXPULSION AND RESETTLEMENT IN THE LATER MIDDLE
AGES. The pattern of royal support in return for Jewish eco-
At the same time that the Jewish communities were
nomic usefulness appears in England in the twelfth century.
eliminated in England and royal France in the late thirteenth
Henry I (r. 1100–1135) issued a charter, no longer extant,
and fourteenth centuries, organized Jewish life in the north
similar to the continental ones, offering the Jews protection
shifted increasingly eastward to the politically fragmented
of life and toll exemptions backed by royal justice. Henry II
German empire, the central European territories of Bohe-
(r. 1154–1189) extended Jewish privileges to include self-
mia, Moravia, and Hungary, and Poland and Lithuania. The
government under Jewish law. By this time, sizable Jewish
thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries were a time of con-
communities existed not only in London but also in Nor-
tinuous demographic expansion in Europe, and the Jewish
wich, Lincoln, and Oxford.
communities in central and eastern Europe were augmented
by natural increase and new immigration from the West.
In addition to obtaining funds on demand from the
community, the English kings turned to especially wealthy
The major turning point for central European Jewry
Jews, such as Aharon of Lincoln, for major loans. When
was the Black Death of 1349, a trauma that reduced the pop-
Aharon died, in 1185, he had outstanding loans of fifteen
ulation of some areas of Europe by as much as 50 percent.
thousand pounds, three-quarters of the annual receipts of the
Unable to explain a catastrophe of such magnitude, the pop-
royal exchequer. To protect the safety of these financial re-
ular mind personalized the agents of destruction by blaming
cords, Jewish and Christian officials were appointed to see
the Jews for poisoning the wells of Europe. Aside from being
to it that duplicate copies of loans were drawn up and depos-
subject now to unpredictable waves of violence, whole Jewish
ited in chests (archae). By 1200 the office of exchequer of the
communities were routinely expelled. The theme of death
Jews was filled entirely by Christians, called the justices of
began to play an increased liturgical role in the religious sen-
the Jews. Another centralized official of the end of the
sibilities of Ashkenazic Judaism. In particular, the annual an-
twelfth century was the presbyter Judaeorum, not a chief rabbi
niversary of a parent’s death (Yi., yahrzeit) is first attested at
but a wealthy Jew appointed by the king to serve as the liai-
the end of the fourteenth century. The regular recitation by
son between the court and the Jewish community.
mourners of the Qaddish prayer also seems to have begun
around the fourteenth century, in this period of increased
Jewish money lending at immoderate interest, or usury,
Jewish martyrdom and random violence.
became a major factor in the decline of the Jewish communi-
ties in England and France in the thirteenth century. Al-
As a gradual demographic and economic recovery slowly
though papal policy condoned Jewish lending at moderate
began, Jews were readmitted for specified periods into towns
rates of interest, canon lawyers opposed it absolutely, and in
of early settlement, like Speyer, and into newer Jewish com-
the late thirteenth century the English and French kings im-
munities in Austria and Bohemia. The decline of imperial
plemented policies based on the stricter position. These mea-
authority over and protection of the Jews is reflected in the
sures against usury were neither economically nor politically
growing influence of the Christian burghers, who reserved
motivated; rather, they were successful royal efforts at spiri-
the right to expel “their” Jews at will. The elimination of ef-
tual reform undertaken at a time of waning papal authority.
fective royal protection added to the Jewish communities’ in-
creased political vulnerability in the later Middle Ages in the
In royal France, money lending with interest was made
West.
illegal in 1230. To support his crusade, Louis IX (r. 1226–
1270) confiscated Jewish loans, as provided by the Council
In the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Jewish
of Lyon (1245), expelled only Jewish usurers from France in
legal authorities generally lost prestige and control in their
1248/9, and confiscated their property. In England, Edward
communities. No intercommunal councils were established
I (r. 1272–1307) issued his Statute on the Jews (1275),
in the German empire after 1350, and local rabbis com-
which outlawed Jewish lending completely, and in 1290 the
plained that the wealthy members of the community ignored
Jews were expelled from his kingdom. Philip the Fair (r.
them. To be sure, masters like Mosheh Mintz and Yisra’el
1285–1314) expelled the Jews of royal France in 1306.
Isserlein of Austria continued in the fifteenth century to exert
their authority as great sages of the age, as had Gershom in
Whereas royal policy toward the Jews shifted from sup-
the late tenth, but the influence of local rabbis declined after
port in the period of settlement to antagonism in the late
1350.
thirteenth century, papal policy remained relatively constant
and supportive. But when heretical movements posed a
Politically the proliferation of independent principali-
threat to the church itself, measures adopted to fight heresy
ties and cities in the German empire constituted a safety
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
valve for the Jews there. Whenever residents of one particular
Despite its tendency to emphasize Jewish persecution in the Dias-
community were expelled, they could find refuge in another
pora, parts of chapters 25–41 in A History of the Jewish Peo-
until the edict was rescinded. But as economic instability re-
ple, edited by H. H. Ben-Sasson (Cambridge, Mass., 1969),
duced the demand for Jewish money lending in the towns,
contain important discussions of medieval Jewish communal
some Jews began to settle in villages and on rural estates.
life and also refer to many of the primary sources. On the
Jewish communities of England, one still must turn to Cecil
Gradually they entered new occupations as agricultural mer-
Roth’s A History of the Jews in England, 3d ed. (Oxford,
chants and middlemen. The decline in economic opportuni-
1964), chaps. 1–5, and the more solid study by H. G. Rich-
ties in the empire also led many Jews to join the eastward
ardson, The English Jewry under Angevin Kings (London,
emigration of German Christian burghers attracted by new
1960). On northern France, Louis Rabinowitz’s The Social
opportunities in Poland and Lithuania, still another frontier.
Life of the Jews of Northern France in the Twelfth to Fourteenth
Although Jews had been settling gradually in the
Centuries, 2d ed. (New York, 1972), and Robert Chazan’s
duchies of Poland and Lithuania for some time, official rec-
Medieval Jewry in Northern France (Baltimore, 1973) should
be supplemented by the pertinent studies of Gavin Lang-
ognition of their communities appeared only in the thir-
muir, such as “‘Judei Nostri’ and the Beginnings of Capetian
teenth century. In 1264, Prince Boleslaw granted the Jews
Legislation,” Traditio 19 (1963): 183–244, and William
of Great Poland a charter modeled on those issued by Freder-
Chester Jordan, such as “Jews on Top,” Journal of Jewish
ick II, duke of Austria, in 1244; Béla IV, king of Hungary,
Studies 29 (Spring 1978): 39–56. A synthetic scholarly treat-
in 1251; and Otakar II, king of Bohemia and Moravia, in
ment of German Jewry still does not exist but readers may
1254. Unlike the Carolingian-type charters issued to Jewish
consult with profit Guido Kisch’s The Jews in Medieval Ger-
merchants from the ninth through twelfth centuries, these
many, 2d ed. (New York, 1970). Important trends in the
were designed for Jews whose primary occupation was
early years of the European Jewish community are discussed
money lending. But like the earlier ones, the Polish charters
by Avraham Grossman in “On ‘The Early Sages of Ash-
provided for Jewish self-government and royal protection. In
kenaz,’” Immanuel 15 (Winter 1982–1983): 73–81, a sum-
1364, Casimir III (r. 1133–1170) issued a confirmation of
mary of his book H:akhmei Ashkenaz ha-ri Dshonim (Jerusalem,
1981).
these regional charters that was valid in the unified kingdom
of Poland. Some Jews served the kings or dukes as money
The history and institutions of the medieval Jewish community
lenders and bankers; others managed estates forfeited to
are treated in depth in Salo W. Baron’s The Jewish Communi-
ty, 3 vols. (1942; reprint, Westport, Conn., 1972), which is
them for bad debts, lived in towns that the nobles founded,
out of date in some areas. On the major intellectual and reli-
or farmed tolls. Jews were also prominent in the export trade
gious trends discussed above, see Haym Soloveitchik’s
of agricultural products to the German empire and the
“Three Themes in the Sefer Hasidim,” AJS Review 1 (1976):
Crimea.
311–357, especially on the influence of the Tosafists, and my
The Jews who migrated to Poland from Germany, Aus-
book Piety and Society: The Jewish Pietists of Medieval Germa-
tria, and Bohemia brought along their familiar forms of com-
ny (Leiden, 1981) on German (Ashkenazic) H:asidism.
munal government. The frontier model applies to Poland as
Two important studies on the deterioration of Jewish life in the
it had before to the first settlements in western Europe, but
thirteenth century are Kenneth R. Stow’s “Papal and Royal
with one important difference. The eastern immigrants
Attitudes toward Jewish Lending in the Thirteenth Centu-
could rely on support and spiritual guidance from their for-
ry,” AJS Review 6 (1981): 161–184, and Jeremy Cohen’s The
mer homeland in the German empire.
Friars and the Jews (Ithaca, N.Y., 1982).
For Jewish life in central Europe during the late Middle Ages, see
The arrival of YaEaqov Polak in Cracow, where he
Shlomo Eidelberg’s Jewish Life in Austria in the Fifteenth
opened his innovative Talmudic academy, marks the begin-
Century (Philadelphia, 1962) and Eric Zimmer’s Harmony
ning of advanced Jewish religious study in Poland and with
and Discord (New York, 1970). A basic work on eastern Eu-
it the first condition for cultural independence from the
ropean Jewry that deals with the early period is Bernard D.
West. In 1503, Alexander I (r. 1501–1506) appointed him
Weinryb’s The Jews of Poland (Philadelphia, 1972).
rabbi of Jewry there. Symbolically, a new era of centralized
New Sources
Jewish self-government and cultural ferment was about to
Signer, Michael A., and John Van Engen, eds. Jews and Christians
begin.
in Twelfth-Century Europe. Notre Dame, Ind., 2001.
SEE ALSO Ashkenazic Hasidism; Halakhah; Jewish Thought
IVAN G. MARCUS (1987)
and Philosophy, article on Premodern Philosophy; Polemics,
Revised Bibliography
article on Jewish-Christian Polemics; Qabbalah; Rabbinate;
Tosafot.
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
Detailed critical discussions of the rich bibliography on this period
can be found in my “The Jews in Western Europe: Fourth
As a result of a series of Jewish expulsions and of Poland’s
to Sixteenth Century” and Kenneth R. Stow’s “The Church
increasing economic attractiveness, in the sixteenth-century
and the Jews: From St. Paul to Paul IV,” both in Bibliograph-
Ashkenazic world Poland was widely recognized as the most
ical Essays in Medieval Jewish Studies (New York, 1976).
promising of the European communities.
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
5015
POLAND AND LITHUANIA. The expulsion of Jews from nu-
ry. The acquisition of a lease frequently constituted the be-
merous German cities and secular principalities and from
ginning of a new Jewish community, since lessees would en-
much of Bohemia and Moravia, coupled with the final divi-
courage other Jews to settle with them to run inns, flour
sion of Hungary (previously relatively hospitable to Jews)
mills, and so forth. Poland’s rapidly growing population re-
into Habsburg, Ottoman, and Transylvanian sections, en-
quired ever-increasing supplies of agricultural and meat
couraged Jews to look eastward. Poland’s rapid commercial
products, and the colonization of the Ukraine—in which
expansion, the relative weakness until the late sixteenth cen-
Jews played an important and visible role—ensured a steady
tury of its craft and trade guilds, and the religious toleration
supply to domestic (and foreign) markets.
that characterized crown policy reinforced these migratory
Jewish communal autonomy in Poland. A highly
trends. Jewish adjustment to the new surroundings was eased
ramified system of Polish-Jewish autonomy with a central-
because of German influences in the cities, which (despite
ized consultative council was created as Jews settled in Po-
the rapid polonization of the German immigrants) may have
land in large numbers. It was the product of several factors,
encouraged the retention by Jews of Yiddish. Greater occu-
including the Jewish community’s wide geographic disper-
pational diversity was possible here than in Germany. Most
sion, the example of Jewish communal institutions in Bohe-
Polish Jews worked in domestic trade, moneylending, and
mia and Moravia, pressures from the crown for a centralized
artisanry but some Jews also captured important roles in the
Jewish leadership, and the diminishing power of the king,
trade between Constantinople and western and central Eu-
which motivated many sectors of Polish society to claim a
rope and in the export of Polish textiles, grains, and cattle.
measure of self-government. On the bottom tier of Jewry’s
Others acquired the leases over minting and other crucial fis-
system were the qehalim, or Jewish communal councils,
cal and administrative functions.
which functioned alongside and were structured similar to
The increasing impact and militancy of the Roman
the municipal councils of Polish cities. Above them were the
Catholic Church in the wake of the Counter-Reformation
district councils composed of representatives from the qe-
and the rising antagonism of burghers toward Jews led to the
halim. At the uppermost tier were the supercouncils, which
partial expulsion of Jews from about fifty Polish cities by the
met, beginning in 1569 and perhaps even earlier, at the fairs
end of the sixteenth century. Rarely were they completely
of Lublin and less frequently at Jaroslaw. Representatives
barred; most often they were forced to move to suburban en-
from all parts of Poland and Lithuania participated in these
claves or to the jurydyki within the municipal boundaries but
meetings of the Council of the Lands of Poland (until a sepa-
under the jurisdiction of the nobility. Jews continued to live
rate Lithuanian council was established, for fiscal reasons, in
in the same neighborhoods with Catholics in the cities where
1623), where taqqanot (“regulations”) were issued, individu-
they were freely permitted to reside. However, the introduc-
al and communal grievances were aired, and protests against
tion of clauses permitting non tolerandis Judaeis and the effec-
qehalim were reviewed. The council deliberated on halakhic
tive unification of Poland and Lithuania with the Union of
matters and, perhaps most important, intervened on behalf
Lublin in 1569 encouraged Jewish migration to the south-
of the community before the authorities. From the vantage
eastern Ukrainian expanses of Lithuania.
point of the state, the Polish Council was a tax-farming body
but even the state recognized, at least tacitly, the council’s
The pacta conventa of 1573, which confirmed the gen-
more extensive functions.
try’s accumulation of considerable power at the expense of
the crown, cemented close relations between the upper
Talmudic study in Poland and Lithuania. At the same
szlachta (“the magnates”) and the Jews. The magnates fre-
time, the challenge posed by the distinguished Talmudist
quently favored Jews as their commercial agents and lessees.
Mosheh Isserles of Cracow (1520–1572) in numerous
Commerce, artisanry, and, in the southeastern regions, lease-
works, particularly his Darkhei Mosheh to the Sephardic cod-
holding (often tied to trade in agricultural goods) became the
ification of Jewish law, the Beit Yosef of Yosef Karo, consoli-
most common Jewish occupations. By the middle of the sev-
dated Poland’s standing as the preeminent center of
enteenth century—when the Jewish community of Poland
Ashkenazic learning. Isserles promoted the legitimacy of
and Lithuania numbered, according to varying estimates,
Polish-Jewish customs along with a rationalist-mystical un-
somewhere between 250,000 and 450,000—nearly 40 per-
derstanding of mitsvot. The rich rabbinical literature of the
cent of the Jews lived, according to Samuel Ettinger, in the
period—which, in addition to Isserles, was represented by
Ukrainian area.
Shelomoh Luria, Yom T:ov Lippman Heller, and many other
Talmudic masters—was efficiently disseminated by the rapid
Jewish participation in the Polish nobility’s colonization
expansion of printing in the sixteenth century.
of the Ukraine involved Jews in a system of pledges where
Jewish lenders received a part of the income from estates
Pilpul, a casuistic method based, in Poland, on the ap-
pending the repayment of loans. What evolved was a more
plication of principles of logical differentiation to reconcile
direct system of leaseholding, called the arenda, in which
apparent Talmudic contradictions, was the focus of much of
Jews leased agricultural properties from the nobility, general-
the yeshivah curriculum. This method was increasingly criti-
ly for a period of three years, at a designated price. Profits
cized beginning in the fifteenth century for its alleged obfus-
would be extracted from taxes and fees on the local peasant-
cation of the plain meaning of the texts. But it only declined
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
in importance and was supplanted by an alternative pedagog-
Humanist appreciation for Hebrew and the gradual la-
ical system in the early nineteenth century. Polish Jewry’s
icization of European culture that accompanied the appear-
wealth helped promote the spread of yeshivah study, but Pol-
ance of humanism in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries set
ish-Jewish moralists, preeminently the late-sixteenth-century
the stage for some cultural collaboration between Jews and
preacher Efrayim Luntshitz, argued that wealth was a certain
Christians. In the Ashkenazic world, the influence of human-
sign of corruption and hypocrisy. By the seventeenth century
ist trends was most clearly reflected in a moderation of anti-
the study of Torah was widely disseminated in Poland and
Jewish sentiment in certain small but influential intellectual
Lithuania—though the Ukraine still provided fewer oppor-
circles. In Johannes Reuchlin’s (1455–1522) defense of the
tunities for serious study than more settled regions of eastern
Jews against the anti-Talmudic charges of Johannes Pfeffer-
Europe.
korn, for instance, he referred to Jews and Christians as “fel-
low citizens of the same Roman Empire [who] live on the
The KhmelDnitskii uprising. Religious, economic, and
basis of the same law of citizenship and internal peace.” The
ethnic tensions in the Ukraine erupted in 1648, and for the
religious wars, which culminated in treaties which acknowl-
next twelve years the Polish state was faced with a series of
edged that religious toleration—at least toward other Chris-
Cossack uprisings (initially with Tartar support) and with in-
tians—was essential if only to save Europe from ceaseless
vasions from Sweden and Muscovy. The Cossacks, led by
strife, led to arguments for tolerance. More important in this
Bogdan KhmelDnitskii, massacred rural and urban Jewish
regard, however, were the Protestant sects, most of them
communities on both sides of the Dnieper river. Hatred of
marginal, which began to question the connection between
Jews—which had little influence in sparking the Deluge (as
religious truth and political rule and showed an often intense
both Polish and Jewish accounts refer to it)—resulted none-
interest in the biblical constitution and an attachment to the
theless in the killing of large numbers of Ukrainian Jews and
people and language of the Bible. Such trends were most ap-
in the evacuation of nearly all the remainder. The Jews of
parent in Cromwellian England, where the impact of the Ju-
Ukraine quickly rebuilt their communities after the uprising
daizers, the growing appreciation for Hebrew, the spread of
was put down, but it left its mark on the increasingly delete-
millenarianist sentiment, and the renewed search for the Ten
rious fiscal standing of the qehalim and the councils.
Lost Tribes with the discovery of the New World created a
MOVEMENT WESTWARD. A westward trend in Jewish migra-
suitable cultural climate for a receptiveness to Menasseh ben
tory patterns was now apparent. In particular, Jews from
Israel’s mission to promote Jewish readmission to England.
areas of Poland devastated by the Swedish invasion moved
Around the time of the Whitehall conference of 1655,
in large numbers to Silesia, Moravia, and elsewhere in central
which considered the readmission of Jews to England but left
Europe. (To be sure, Germany had retained Jewish commu-
the matter undecided, small numbers of New Christians as
nities in the intervening period, despite the widespread ex-
well as Ashkenazic Jews settled in England, mostly in Lon-
pulsions, particularly in areas under imperial and ecclesiasti-
don. This small community came from Amsterdam, where
cal protection and in the central and southern parts of the
an increasingly sizable and economically prominent Jewish
Holy Roman Empire.) Small numbers of Polish Jews also
community had lived since the unification of the northern
found their way in this period to Amsterdam and London.
provinces of the Netherlands and their declaration that the
Some joined the growing ranks of the central European Bet-
new state would be free from religious persecution.
teljuden or Schnorrjuden (Jewish beggars), but most were ab-
Within the Ashkenazic sphere, Jewish thought re-
sorbed, if only marginally, into the economic life of the Em-
mained largely indifferent to indications (however uneven
pire, which offered greater opportunities for Jews after the
and contradictory) of changes in Christian attitudes toward
Thirty Years’ War.
Jews. Indeed, a renewed sense of cultural segregation, as
The skill of Jewish agents and contractors during the
Jacob Katz (1961) has characterized it, was apparent in the
war and the rise of absolutist and mercantilist tendencies in
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as reflected in a com-
government policy helped improve the economic and even
plete lack of Jewish interest in anti-Christian polemics and
the social standing of German Jewry. Jews moved into new
in the formation of a set of Jewish attitudes toward non-Jews
localities (especially noteworthy were the Sephardic settle-
that saw differences between the two as inherent rather than
ment in Hamburg and the Ashkenazic enclave in suburban
doctrinal. This case was argued most coherently by Yehudah
Altona) and, with the support of rulers, were permitted to
Löw ben BetsalDel (c. 1525–1609). Yet the same period saw
participate in an increasingly wide range of occupations, par-
the promulgation of important halakhic decisions that per-
ticularly commerce. German princes, concerned about com-
mitted Jews to trade in Gentile wine and even in rosaries (in
petition from Atlantic ports better able to trade with the
contrast to earlier rabbinic prohibitions against such trade)
New World, saw wealthy Jews as useful commercial allies.
on the grounds that the Talmudic prohibitions against trade
Central European armies had benefited from Jewish contacts
with idol worshipers were not relevant to Christians,
with Poland during the Thirty Years’ War, and the experi-
who, at least for practical purposes, did not fall under this
ence (and wealth) gained by some Jews in this period helped
category.
contribute to the eventual emergence of court Jews who
A stratum of well-placed Jews had, since the religious
served local princes.
wars, played a significant role in the centralizing administra-
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
5017
tions of the absolutist German states. Jewish moneylenders,
ments. At the same time, it effectively neutralized the poten-
minters, and agents were selected to perform important ad-
tially subversive elements of Lurianic Qabbalah.
ministrative, fiscal, and even diplomatic functions because
The concept of devequt (cleaving to God), for instance,
their loyalty to the princes was unaffected by guild attach-
was shorn by Hasidism of its cosmic and elitist features and
ments or local enmities. Close links were forged between Pol-
placed within a mundane framework. Hasidism promoted a
ish-Jewish agricultural exporters and wealthy Jewish import-
strategy whereby Jews might focus on the prosaic and even
ers in Leipzig, Frankfurt, and Hamburg. Court Jews, as some
the patently profane in order to transform and elevate them.
of these magnates were called, emerged as a group relatively
Cosmic elements in Lurianic Qabbalah were transformed
free from Jewish communal and rabbinical control and with
into individualized landmarks in the psychology of faith and
independent access to the Gentile authorities.
repentance.
The wealth of the court Jews, their relatively easy access
Hasidism’s moderation helped it eventually gain the ac-
to the Christian elite, and the example of the acculturated
ceptance of rabbis sympathetic to mysticism. Its halakhic in-
Sephardim of Hamburg and elsewhere in central and western
novations were minor: the introduction of a sharper knife for
Europe encouraged some Ashkenazim to imitate Sephardic
ritual slaughter (perhaps to capture Hasidic control over a
and even non-Jewish social patterns. In certain well-to-do
crucial communal sphere) and some liturgical changes, such
German-Jewish circles in the early eighteenth century, dance
as use of the Lurianic liturgy and a less punctilious attitude
lessons, the study of French, and even the cutting of beards
toward the traditionally designated times for prayer. More-
was common. In the same circles, Polish Jews were frequent-
over, though Hasidism has come to represent for some mod-
ly characterized as superstitious and culturally inferior.
ern interpreters a democratized form of Judaism, it promoted
However, until the late eighteenth century and the
no concrete social program and, indeed, did not attract the
spread of the Enlightenment and emancipatory movements,
support of the urban artisans who constituted at the time the
distinctions between German and Polish Jews remained
severest critics of Jewish communal authority. Among its
fluid. This essential fluidity was reflected, for instance, in the
most ardent and earliest supporters were rural Jews, particu-
careers of YaEaqov Emden and Yonatan Eibeschutz, the emi-
larly arendators, who were unhappy with the inability of the
nent rabbinic figures at the center of the most vociferous
qehalim to defend their traditional right of h:azaqah (protec-
Jewish polemical battle of the eighteenth century, which
tion from competition) and whose interests were frequently
spanned the major Jewish communities of eastern and cen-
protected by the H:asidim. In this respect communal decline
tral Europe. Cultural unity was also apparent in the response
helped to fuel the movement, and it is unlikely that it would
of Ashkenazic Jewry in the 1660s to the news of Shabbetai
have spread as quickly or widely—by 1800 close to one-half
Tsevi, whose claim to be the Messiah was received with the
of the Jews of east Europe flocked to its banner—had the
greatest enthusiasm by Sephardim but who was supported,
Polish and Lithuanian councils not been abolished by
according to Gershom Scholem, by most of European Jewry.
the state in 1764. When challenged, for instance, by a charis-
matic spokesman of the communal elite, as in Lithuania by
Shabbetai Tsevi’s conversion to Islam in 1666 led to the
Eliyyahu ben Shelomoh Zalman, known as the Gaon of
disintegration of the movement and to its rebirth, on a much
Vilna (1720–1797), Hasidism’s momentum was temporarily
smaller scale, as a secret network of sects. In Podolia, where
checked.
the Frankist movement arose out of this Shabbatean network
in the second half of the eighteenth century, it attracted the
Rather than introducing a new egalitarian note into
support of only small numbers of Jews, and its leader, Jacob
Jewish religious life, Hasidism’s most influential innovation
Frank (1726–1791), along with about six hundred followers,
was the promotion of a new elite that differed from both the
eventually converted under some duress to Catholicism. The
traditional rabbinic scholars and the qabbalistic ascetics. The
teachings of Frank, which combined an eclectic reliance on
Hasidic tsaddiq forged a link between the qabbalistic master
Qabbalah and an intense fascination with worldly power,
and the Jewish masses by emphasizing his communal respon-
had a limited impact outside Poland when Frank moved to
sibilities (in contradistinction to the asceticism of the qabbal-
Brno, Offenbach, and elsewhere in central Europe in the last
ist). The eighteenth century witnessed a marked decline in
years of his life. The sect served as a syncretistic pathway for
rabbinical stature. Jewish popular sentiment, rather than
some poor as well as rich Jews to a less insular, larger world.
feeling alienated from the rabbis because of their self-
HASIDISM. In contrast to Frankism, the Hasidic movement,
imposed scholastic isolation, criticized them for their inabili-
which also arose in Podolia, gradually spread beyond the
ty to live up to their own austere and still widely accepted
Ukraine after the death of its founder YisraDel ben EliEezer
standards.
(1700–1760), known as the Besht, and won widespread sup-
HASKALAH. The German-speaking lands produced at the
port in Poland, Belorussia, and, to a more limited extent,
same time a westernized, acculturated elite. It was shaped by
Lithuania. Completely devoid of the Christological tenden-
the emphasis of enlightened absolutists on the state as a secu-
cies that would attract some acculturated Jews to Frankism,
lar rather than a Christian polity; the compulsory education
Hasidism embraced qabbalistic concepts and built on Jewish
system introduced (briefly) into Austria; the Enlighten-
spiritual yearnings stirred by the heretical mystical move-
ment’s vision of a neutral society where religious distinctions
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
were rendered irrelevant or, at least, subordinate to other
gration to the west in the same period. Rapid demographic
considerations; and the French Revolution, which emanci-
increase, the legal discrimination suffered by Russian Jewry,
pated the Jews of France in 1791. Most central European
and the sluggishness of those sectors of the Russian economy
Jews, particularly after the Polish partitions (1772–1795)
in which most Jews were employed contributed to the even-
when Galicia was absorbed by Austria and east Poznan was
tual politicization of the community and to its migratory
added to Prussia, were Yiddish-speaking and religiously tra-
trends in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
ditional and remained so until the mid-nineteenth century.
At the turn of the twentieth century, more than 40 percent
But the self-consciously “enlightened” elite that emerged em-
of the world’s fourteen million Jews lived in the Russian em-
phasized the sensualist rather than the divine source of
pire; 7.5 million Jews lived in eastern Europe as a whole, in-
knowledge, the ultimate importance of earthly existence, and
cluding Galicia and east Prussia.
a revised understanding of the relationship between religion
Rapid urbanization and economic change in the nine-
and state. As the leading German-Jewish Enlightenment fig-
teenth century challenged the foundations of Russian Jewish
ure, Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) argued that Judaism
social and economic life. Repeated expulsions from villages,
was able (better than Christianity) to fit into a new order
moves against rural Jewish innkeepers, and the concentration
constructed on the basis of natural truth, rationalism, and a
of the liquor trade (which employed about 30 percent of pre-
clear distinction between the functions and tools of church
partition Polish Jewry) in the hands of a small number of
and state.
wealthy contractors contributed to the community’s urban-
RUSSIAN JEWRY. The Prussian state did not repudiate Jewish
ization. Petty trade, on the other hand, was undermined by
autonomy as anticipated by Mendelssohn, but in Austria,
the decline of fairs, the rise of permanent markets, and the
France, and even, if somewhat ambiguously, in Russia, the
government’s war on smuggling. Eventually the construction
unity of Jewish society had to be maintained despite the lack
of railway lines destabilized previously crucial commercial
of support and even the hostility of the government. Russia
and banking centers which were bypassed by the railroad.
had prohibited Jewish settlement before the Polish partitions
The decline of the commercial sector led to an overcrowding
but it absorbed in the late eighteenth century approximately
in others, such as artisanry, where Jews tended to concentrate
eight hundred thousand Jews. The regime was unwilling,
in the garment trade and in shoemaking.
and perhaps unable, to integrate Jews into the existing es-
At the same time, improved transportation, renewed ef-
tates, disinclined to believe that Jewish assimilation was pos-
forts at the exploitation of the agriculturally rich Ukrainian
sible, and suspicious of the potentially deleterious impact
steppe, and the construction of major grain exporting ports
that the Jews might have on the Russian peasantry. The re-
(the most important being Odessa) where Jews played prom-
sult was the creation of a large area in which Jews were per-
inent economic roles all produced a stratum of successful
mitted to live, called the Pale of Settlement, in the fifteen
Jewish entrepreneurs and merchants. Jews made substantial
provinces of Lithuania, Belorussia, the Ukraine, and so-
contributions to industrial manufacturing (particularly in
called New Russia (on the northern littoral of the Black and
Bialystok and Lódz´), to the sugar trade (where Jews revolu-
Azov seas). Jews were also allowed to live in the ten provinces
tionized marketing techniques), and the construction of rail-
of central Poland, although these were formally excluded
ways. By 1851, 20 percent of the members of Russia’s
from the Pale. Jews constitued an average of 12 percent of
wealthiest merchant guild were Jews, though they constitut-
the total population in this area of west and southwestern
ed only about 2 or 3 percent of the total Russian population.
Russia (and often the majority of the urban population) by
Jewish communal authority. In the absence of a state-
the late nineteenth century. The classification of Jews as ino-
recognized body that represented Russian Jewry (except for
rodtsy (in 1835), the legal category created for the semi-
the infrequent, government-convened delegations of Jewish
autonomous primitive and nomadic tribes at the periphery
deputies and later the tepid rabbinical commissions), consid-
of the empire, highlighted their essentially anomalous status
erable pressure and responsibility was placed in the hands of
in Russian law, since the regime abolished the qehalim soon
qehalim and private associations. The authority of the qe-
afterward, in 1844. Indeed, despite intermittent governmen-
halim was undermined by the 1827 statute which instituted
tal attempts to assimilate Russia’s Jews, the regime continued
the conscription of Jews and which placed responsibility for
to share an abiding preoccupation (sometimes more and
the draft in the hands of local qahal officials. This led to
sometimes less acute) with their irredeemable separateness.
widespread abuse: the exemption of the rich, the forced con-
There was little intervention by the Russian state into
scription of the poor, the drafting of boys of twelve and
the communal life of the Jews until the 1840s. Even after the
younger who were subjected, once they were drafted and
qahal was abolished, a separate Jewish judiciary continued to
handed over to the military, to intense pressure to convert
function and many of the duties of the qahal were subsumed
to Russian Orthodoxy. Protests by Jews against the qahal oli-
by other representative Jewish bodies (though Jewish auton-
garchy erupted in Podolia, Minsk, Mogilev, and elsewhere,
omy was now checked by municipal supervision). The Rus-
and the rabbinical elite—whose yeshivah students were pro-
sian Jewish community grew rapidly over the course of the
tected by communal officials from the draft—mostly re-
century and by 1880 numbered four million; it increased in
mained silent in the face of these abuses, which further erod-
size to more than five million in 1897 despite the mass mi-
ed their popular stature.
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JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
5019
Russian Haskalah. Nineteenth-century Russian Jewry
form and Neoorthodoxy which minimized or rejected as-
nonetheless retained a traditional profile. There was little
pects of Judaism considered as sacrosanct in the east. Joseph
scope in Russia for acculturation; the multiethnic character
II’s Toleranzpatent (1782) attempted to legislate against Jew-
of the empire mitigated assimilation and anti-Jewish senti-
ish separatism while opening up new economic and educa-
ment remained pervasive among liberals and conservatives
tional options for some Jews. The long and contentious de-
alike. Yet the introduction by the state in the 1840s and
bate in Germany over the feasibility of Jewish emancipation
1850s of a network of schools where secular as well as Jewish
made its small Jewish community (which constituted about
subjects were taught, the liberalization of government policy
1.75 percent of the total population in 1871 when emancipa-
(and the emancipation of the serfs) under Alexander II
tion was finally granted) highly visible and particularly sensi-
(1855–1881) which excited Jewish hopes, and the example
tive to the vagaries of public opinion. In Prussia, 58,000 of
of an acculturating western and central European Jewry
its 124,000 Jews were in fact emancipated by 1815; else-
helped create a Russian Haskalah, or Jewish enlightenment
where in Germany restrictions on employment in the public
movement. Haskalah stressed those aspects of Jewish life that
and private sectors and limitations on Jewish residence were
non-Jews presumably considered positive: the purity of bibli-
abolished, or at least substantially modified, by the 1850s.
cal Hebrew, the stability of Jewish family life, the Jews’ fi-
To be sure, the 1848 uprisings were followed by new restric-
nancial aptitude, their agricultural past, and Judaism’s philo-
tions in Austria and Bavaria, and they were also accompanied
sophical legacy. On the other hand, the movement
by a new anti-Semitic argument which identified Jews with
denounced aspects of contemporary Jewish life at variance
the most disruptive and oppressive features of modern
with the beliefs of the larger society (and presumably with
society.
the true character of Judaism), such as mystical speculation,
disdain for secular study, and ignorance of the vernacular.
In Galicia, where over 800,000 of Austria’s 1.2 million
Jews lived in 1900, 85 percent of the Jewish population, ac-
In contrast to the exponents of the German-Jewish en-
cording to one report, subsisted at substandard conditions
lightenment in the decades after Moses Mendelssohn’s
and worked as petty moneylenders, agents, and innkeepers.
death, Russian maskilim (Jews who subscribed to the goals
Yet the majority of Germany’s Jews, who were concentrated
of the Haskalah) hoped to see Jewry rendered acceptable to
until the mid-nineteenth century in petty trade, small retail-
its neighbors without relinquishing its distinctive social or re-
ing establishments, and artisanry had by 1871 entered the
ligious character. In their view, Judaism was to be purified
middle and upper-middle classes. The most telling indica-
but not entirely stripped of its idiosyncratic tendencies. The
tion of their social mobility was the disappearance of the Bet-
Haskalah movement gave rise to efforts to promote a secular
teljuden (many of whom immigrated to the United States),
Hebrew literature and periodical press and new types of phil-
who had, together with day laborers and domestic servants,
anthropic and self-help institutions, and it later had a deci-
made up 15 to 20 percent of the German-Jewish population
sive impact on Jewish nationalist and socialist movements.
in the late 1830s. German Jews continued to be concentrated
Its promotion of secular study also helped contribute (espe-
in a cluster of occupations, but now these were wholesale
cially after the 1870s) to the precipitous rise in the number
trade, commerce, the money market, the professions, and
of Jews enrolled in Russian and secular Jewish schools.
journalism.
Musar. The Musar movement was one response to
Emergence of reform. Attempts at integration by Ger-
modernizing trends within the traditional camp. It stressed
man Jews produced ideologies of religious reform that ac-
self-discipline (an echo of the highly influential system of Eli-
cepted the diminution of the national traits of Judaism as es-
yyahu ben Shelomoh Zalman, which saw the prodigious
poused by the larger society and emphasized those aspects of
study of Torah as taking precedence even over the perfor-
Judaism most conducive to cultural symbiosis. Abraham
mance of mitsvot) but Musar’s founder, YisraDel Salanter
Geiger (1810–1874), Germany’s major Reform exponent,
(1810–1883), promoted a pedagogical system in which com-
saw Judaism as having evolved historically and asserted that
munal meditation and introspection were integrated into the
every generation had to determine for itself what religious
traditional Talmudic curriculum. At the same time, a series
practices and concepts retained a contemporary relevance.
of relatively well-funded and prestigious yeshivot were estab-
Geiger identified monotheism and the teachings of the
lished in Lithuania to counter the inroads made by the Has-
prophets as the quintessential message that had characterized
kalah and secular education. Charismatic rabbinic figures,
Judaism throughout the ages and that constituted the basis
perhaps most prominently YisraDel MeDir Kagan (known as
for its ethical system. In a radical departure from the tradi-
the H:afets H:ayyim, 1838–1933), continued to represent the
tional understanding of galut, Geiger saw the Jewish disper-
community’s highest ideals in their personal piety, humility,
sion as a positive condition, since it helped Jews promote the
and devotion to learning.
universalistic teachings of their faith. This emphasis on mis-
INTEGRATION AND EMANCIPATION. Nineteenth-century
sion served to justify continued Jewish peculiarity and helped
German and Austrian Jewry—with the major exception of
to reinforce, albeit within a substantially modified context,
the Jews of Galicia—eventually entered the middle class, dis-
traditional assumptions of Jewish specialness and chosenness.
carded Yiddish for German, and produced ideologies of Re-
The fundamental principles of Reform were elaborated in a
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5020
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
series of rabbinical conferences held in the 1840s, and these
acculturation preceded the complete abrogation of Jewish re-
assemblies constituted the culmination of a long period in
strictions. An absence of denominationalism was another
which Reform promoted a substantially modified Jewish ed-
feature common to both English and French Jewish life, and
ucational curriculum and alterations in synagogue service
in the two communities Reform tendencies were absorbed
and decorum.
or neutralized by the dominant religious institutions and
they did not precipitate the sectarianism characteristic of
Emergence of Orthodoxy. The response of Pressburg’s
(modern Bratislava) influential Mosheh Sofer (H:atam Sofer,
German Judaism. The absorption into the middle class of
1762–1839) to the emergence of Reform was summarized
most English and French Jews by the late nineteenth century
in his pithy “H:adash asur min ha-torah” (“everything new
helped encourage a privatization of Jewish identity, which
is forbidden by the Torah”), which denounced all change as
was eventually challenged by the east European migration.
undermining Judaism. The call for traditional Jews to segre-
Between 1881 and 1914 the English Jewish population in-
gate themselves from the increasingly Reform-dominated
creased, mostly as a result of the immigration of Russian
communities of Germany was promoted by many Orthodox
Jews, from sixty-five thousand to three hundred thousand.
rabbis, most prominently by Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–
Thirty thousand immigrants settled in Paris in the same peri-
1888), who argued for the universalizing of Judaism and, at
od (arriving in particularly large numbers after 1905), and
the same time, for an uncompromising affirmation of its tra-
they introduced into the western urban Jewish milieu an eth-
ditional commitment to mitsvot. Traditional Judaism in Ger-
nic dimension previously unknown. Indeed, between 1881
many, and elsewhere in Europe, began to employ the tools—
and 1924, about 2.5 million east European Jews (mostly
and in Hirsch’s case also the terminology—of the larger, sec-
from Russia) migrated to the West; two-thirds of them left
ularizing world in order to combat Reform, and this led to
their homes between 1903 and 1914 and the vast majority
the creation of Orthodox newspapers and political parties.
of immigrants moved to the United States. About 10–15
The first such party was established in Hungary in 1867.
percent settled in western and central Europe. Russian Jews
in particular emigrated in large numbers because of the op-
ACCULTURATION AND RESPONSES TO ANTI-SEMITISM. Eu-
pressive tsarist legislation of the 1880s and 1890s, shrinking
ropean Jewry’s acculturation led, to be sure, to a diminution
economic prospects, and often exaggerated rumors of eco-
of the importance that Jewish concerns played in the lives
of many Jews, but it also provided an increasingly western-
nomic prospects in the West.
ized Jewry with new and sophisticated tools with which to
East European Jewish immigrants became a special
promote Jewish interests. Jewish liberals and a small number
focus of attack by the anti-Semitic movement that erupted
of political radicals played a prominent role in the 1848 revo-
in western and central Europe in the late nineteenth century.
lutions, in contrast to the political passivity of the Jews of
This movement was the product of a general antiliberal reac-
France in 1789; another indication of the tendency of west-
tion which promoted romantic conservatism over constitu-
ernized Jews to employ new and innovative means to pro-
tionalism, a free market economy, and freedom of speech
mote Jewish causes was the creation of a highly diversified
and assembly. Anti-Semitism (the term was coined in the
Jewish press mostly published in European languages.
1870s) provided a seemingly plausible target for a wide range
Jewish assimilation, whose goal was the fusion of Jewry
of social and economic frustrations. Its literature drew on
into the majority culture, was most feasible in settings were
secular (and often scientific) rather than religious terminolo-
Jews formed a small percentage of the population in large
gy and sometimes, as in Edouard Adolphe Drumont’s La
urban areas; where acculturation was widespread but anti-
France juive (1886), it drew on left-wing ideology in its case
Semitism prevalent, the promotion of social integration was
for the illegitimacy of Jewish wealth and position. Influential
thwarted. A precipitous rise in anti-Semitism in societies
anti-Semitic parties appeared in Germany and Austria. Anti-
where Jews had experienced substantial acculturation often
Semitism became a cultural code, in Shulamit Volkov’s char-
contributed to an increase in the incidence of conversion. On
acterization, for a wide range of groups that stressed militant
average, 145 Jews converted annually in Prussia between
nationalism, imperial expansion, racism, anticolonialism, an-
1880 and 1884 while, in the wake of the anti-Semitic agita-
tisocialism, and respect for authoritarian government.
tion of the last decade of the century, the number doubled
The rise and resilience of the anti-Semitic movement
to 349 between 1895 and 1899.
compelled some European Jewish leaders to reassess their
Of the smaller Jewish communities of western and
communal and political strategies. In Germany this gave
northern Europe, about 35,000 Jews lived in England in the
birth in 1893 to the Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger
1850s, 80,000 in France, about 52,000 in Holland (in the
jüdischen Glauben, which departed from the classical Men-
1840s), 64,000 in Belgium, and fewer than 1,000 in Sweden.
delssohnian stance both in its promotion of a conspicuously
In France and England, Jews were concentrated in the largest
Jewish (as opposed to philo-Semitic, liberal, and Gentile-led)
cities (a process that had begun earlier in England than in
response to anti-Semitism and in its insistence that the Jew-
France). In both societies, despite the emancipation of
ish case be aired and vindicated in courts of law. In Russia,
French Jewry more than half a century before the Jews of En-
as in the West, before the 1880s Jewish politics was seen as
gland were admitted into the House of Commons in 1858,
predicated entirely on the goodwill of Gentiles and its goal
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
5021
was the encouragement of Jewish emancipation. A new un-
adoption of international guarantees for the observance of
derstanding took hold after the 1881–1882 pogroms, best
national minority rights in the new states of east central Eu-
encapsulated in the title of Odessa physician Leon Pinsker’s
rope (along with prewar Romania) was largely the product
Auto-Emancipation (1882), which called upon the Jews to
of the maneuvering of British and American Jewish leaders.
cease their efforts to adapt themselves to the larger environ-
The mass evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Galician
ment and to create instead a new one outside of Russia. A
and Russian Jews in 1914–1915 (the Russian ones evacuated
new type of Russian Jewish leader emerged in the same peri-
under particularly degrading conditions) lent Jews a special
od: young, russianized (or partially so), who came to com-
visibility, which was reinforced by the fact that much of the
pete with the communal magnates of St. Petersburg and the
war was conducted in regions heavily populated by Jews.
rabbinical elite.
Misperceptions of the strength and dimensions of Jewish in-
fluence (suppositions which gained worldwide notoriety
Zionism. Two major ideological currents emerged: Zi-
onism and Jewish socialism. Zionism drew its constituency
after World War I with the dissemination of the anti-Semitic
and vitality from eastern Europe but the Austrian journalist,
tract Protocols of the Elders of Zion) helped Jews wrest major
Theodor Herzl (1860–1904), gave the small and Russian-
political concessions for themselves. The Balfour Declara-
based movement a measure of stature and international rec-
tion, in which the British declared sympathy for Zionist aspi-
ognition in the 1890s and early twentieth century. Herzl’s
rations in Palestine, resulted partly from the Allies’ belief that
most important Zionist adversary was the Odessa intellectual
Russian (and American) Jewish support was crucial in bol-
Asher Ginzberg (better known as Ah:ad ha-EAm, 1856–
stering the war effort. The Russian liberalization of Jewish
1927), who provided Zionism with influential ideological
residence restrictions in 1915 was the product of a misper-
underpinnings very different from those of Herzl. From
ception that Jewish-controlled Western loans would be de-
Herzl’s perspective, the promotion by Zionism of a Jewish
nied to Russia if it continued to be seen as brutally anti-
homeland would undercut the growth of anti-Semitism, re-
Semitic. Western support for national minority rights in east
store Jewish economic productivity, and provide Jews
central Europe was given special impetus in the wake of the
throughout the world (as well as the threatened liberal order)
Ukrainian pogroms of 1918–1919 in which more than five
with renewed stability. Ginzberg, on the other hand, saw Zi-
hundred Jewish communities were attacked and about seven-
onism as a framework that could allow Jewry to absorb West-
ty thousand Jews were killed. The effort of the Bolsheviks—
ern values without having them submerge Jewish identity.
who in November 1917 had overthrown the liberal anti-
He stressed the cultural benefits of the rebuilding of a Pales-
tsarist government that had been in power in Russia since
tinian Jewish homeland and minimized its immediate eco-
the fall of the Romanovs earlier that year—to put down the
nomic impact.
anti-Jewish disturbances and to pacify the Ukrainian separat-
ist movement won widespread (if somewhat equivocal) sup-
Jewish socialism. A second Jewish political movement
port for them among Russia’s Jews.
emphasized the need to transform Russia itself—a goal Rus-
sian Zionists also eventually adopted in their Helsinki plat-
The new Soviet government associated anti-Semitism
form of 1906—and the Jewish Socialist Labor Bund, estab-
with tsarist reaction and fought it vigorously, but Bolshevism
lished in 1897, charted a course between the two poles of
also denied Jewish demands for national recognition on the
nationalism and Marxism. Jewish socialism’s following, not
basis of its authoritative statement on minority nationalism,
surprisingly, expanded in moments of revolutionary turmoil
Marxism and the National Question (1913). Nonetheless,
and contracted with rapidity in times of relative quiescence.
Jewry’s distinctive cultural and, implicitly, also its national
But the heroism of the Jewish revolutionaries, their organiza-
needs were acknowledged by the regime, which was interest-
tion of self-defense groups during the pogroms, their partici-
ed in consolidating Jewish support. Secular cultural activity
pation in widespread philanthropic endeavors, and even their
in Yiddish was encouraged; Hebrew was barred as bourgeois
conspiratorial form of internal organization came to infuse
and religious institutions and functionaries were harassed. By
them with an almost legendary respect in the Pale of
the early 1930s even Yiddish-language publishing, research,
Settlement.
and pedagogical activity were restricted. At the same time,
the Soviet Jewish population as a whole—which numbered
WORLD WAR I AND ITS AFTERMATH. The war seemed at
about three million in 1926—benefited from the expanding
first to present a singularly unfavorable scenario for Jewish
economy, became urbanized (it was eventually concentrated
political activity but was, ironically, followed by a series of
in Moscow, Leningrad, and a few other large cities), and was
outstanding victories for Jewish leaders in the diplomatic
absorbed, despite the existence of a residual popular as well
sphere and by a new and apparently more encouraging politi-
as institutional anti-Semitism, into the industrial working
cal order. The Russian Revolution of 1917 brought down
class, the bureaucracy, the professions, and the sciences.
the imperial regime and emancipated Russia’s Jews; the Bal-
four Declaration, issued by the British the same year, was Zi-
The Jews of interwar Poland (who numbered just under
onism’s first concrete diplomatic achievement and it would
2.9 million in 1921, 10.5 percent of the total population)
serve, until the State of Israel was established in 1948, as a
underwent a process of acculturation different from that of
central focus of the movement’s strategy. Moreover, the
Soviet Jewry. Ravaged as Poland was by the war and separat-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5022
JUDAISM: JUDAISM IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SINCE 1500
ed from its natural markets and sources of energy by the
a high rate of intermarriage (72.5 percent among males in
boundaries of the new Polish state, its postwar economic de-
the years 1951–1958) and a death rate that far exceeded its
velopment was sluggish before 1929 and singularly depressed
birthrate. The most culturally vibrant Jewish community of
in the 1930s. Poland’s depressed economic state reinforced
east central Europe was Hungary, where between 80,000 and
a widespread integral nationalism that persuaded many Poles
90,000 Jews in the 1960s maintained, eventually with gov-
that the Jews, as members of a faith inimical to Christianity,
ernment support, a wide range of religious and philanthropic
had no place in Poland. Particularly after 1936, nationalist
institutions, including a rabbinical seminary. The post-1967
xenophobia, church-sponsored anti-Semitism, and econom-
resurgence of Jewish nationalist sentiment among Soviet
ic decline combined to persuade Poles of varied political per-
Jews led to a revival of (largely clandestine) cultural activity
suasions that anti-Jewish policies were a necessary cruelty.
and helped precipitate a large migration of Jews to Israel and
About one-third of Poland’s Jews retained a largely tradition-
the United States. The centers of European Jewish cultural
al religious profile and promoted Orthodox interests with te-
life in the postwar period were England and France. The
nacity and some sophistication. Jewish acculturation was also
French Jewish community, in particular, has demonstrated
vividly reflected in the growth of secular Jewish culture and
a marked vitality, encouraged by the migration of North Af-
widely diversified socialist and Zionist political activities,
rican Jews, primarily from Algeria, in the 1960s.
which took on different forms in various regions of Poland,
Galicia, central Poland, and Lithuania-Belorussia.
SEE ALSO Agudat YisraDel; Hasidism, overview article; Holo-
caust, The, article on History; Messianism, article on Jewish
THE HOLOCAUST. The vast majority of Germany’s approxi-
Messianism; Musar Movement; Orthodox Judaism; Reform
mately 600,000 Jews (constituting about one percent of the
Judaism; Shabbetai Tsevi; Yeshivah; Zionism.
population in the early 1920s) were solidly based in the mid-
dle class, though one-fifth of the Jewish population were for-
eign-born and maintained a less prosperous occupational
BIBLIOGRAPHY
profile. Anti-Semitic sentiment—which reached ferocious le-
Early Modern Period
vels in the immediate post–World War I period when wide
The most authoritative work in English on the Jews of Poland and
segments of the population associated the sudden loss of the
Lithuania in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is vol-
war with the treachery of the Jews—was marginalized during
ume 16 of Salo W. Baron’s A Social and Religious History of
the economic prosperity of 1923–1929. Anti-Semitism re-
the Jews, 2d ed., rev. and enl. (Philadelphia, 1976). For a so-
gained a mass following with the onset of the worldwide de-
ciological analysis of Jewish communal autonomy in eastern
and central Europe, see Jacob Katz’s Tradition and Crisis
pression. Once Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933,
(New York, 1961). On Jews in the late medieval Germanic
German Jewry was gradually segregated from the larger pop-
empire, see Selma Stern’s Josel of Rosheim (Philadelphia,
ulation, denied employment, and those who did not emi-
1965). Useful methodological questions are raised in an arti-
grate by 1939 were eventually deported and either worked
cle by Gershon David Hundert, “On the Jewish Community
to death or gassed in labor and death camps. Germany’s inva-
in Poland during the Seventeenth Century: Some Compara-
sion of Poland led to the effective segregation of its large Jew-
tive Perspectives,” Revue des études juives 142 (July–
ish community, and Jews elsewhere in Nazi-occupied or
December 1983): 349–372. On the seventeenth century,
Nazi-dominated western and east central Europe were placed
there is interesting material in Jonathan I. Israel’s “Central
in ghettos where they too were starved, brutalized, and, in
European Jewry during the Thirty Years’ War,” Central Eu-
the end, sent to death camps. More than one million Soviet
ropean History (March 1983): 3–30. The best treatment of
Jews were killed by Nazi mobile killing units during the Ger-
Polish-Jewish cultural life in the same period is H. H. Ben-
Sasson’s Hagut ve-hanhagah (Jerusalem, 1959). Jewish mi-
man invasion of 1941; the introduction in 1942 of highly
gratory trends in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
efficient means for mass extermination led to the construc-
are studied in Moses A. Shulvass’s From East to West (De-
tion of a series of death camps designed expressly for the ex-
troit, 1971). On the readmission of English Jewry, see David
termination of European Jewry. Over the course of World
S. Katz’s Philo-Semitism and the Readmission of the Jews to En-
War II during the Nazi Holocaust about 6 million Jews were
gland, 1603–1655 (Oxford, 1982).
killed: 4.5 million in Poland and the Soviet Union; 125,000
Modern Period
German Jews, 277,000 Czechs, 402,000 Hungarians,
An incisive analysis of the social features of Hasidism may be
24,000 Belgians, 102,000 Dutch, 40,000 Romanians,
found in Samuel Ettinger’s “The Hassidic Movement: Reali-
60,000 Yugoslavs, 85,000 French, and tens of thousands in
ty and Ideals,” in Jewish Society through the Ages, edited by
Greece and Italy.
H. H. Ben-Sasson and Samuel Ettinger (London, 1971),
P
pp. 251–266. For a discussion of French Jewish identity, see
OST-HOLOCAUST JEWISH COMMUNITY. The resilience of
Phyllis Cohen Albert’s “Nonorthodox Attitudes in Nine-
postwar anti-Semitism in Poland encouraged most Holo-
teenth-Century French Judaism,” in Essays in Modern Jewish
caust survivors to emigrate, and the Polish Jewish communi-
History: A Tribute to Ben Halpern, edited by Frances Malino
ty, numbering about 30,000 in the late 1950s, was further
and Phyllis Cohen Albert (Rutherford, N.J., 1982),
decimated following the migration of large numbers of Jews
pp. 121–141. Michael Stanislawski’s Tsar Nicholas I and the
in the wake of the 1968 anti-Semitic governmental cam-
Jews (Philadelphia, 1983), and Hans Rogger’s “Russian Min-
paign. Germany’s 25,000 Jews in the late 1960s experienced
isters and the Jewish Question, 1881–1917,” California Slav-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDGE, WILLIAM Q.
5023
ic Studies 8 (1975): 15–76, study imperial Jewish policy. The
Path, an independent journal published in New York. This
essays in Revolution and Evolution: 1848 in German-Jewish
publication continued for ten years and ran to ten volumes,
History, edited by Werner E. Mosse, Arnold Paucker, and
mostly of Judge’s own writings under pseudonyms such as
Reinhard Rürup (Tübingen, 1981), examine nineteenth cen-
Bryan Kinnavan, Eusebio Urban, and many others. The Path
tury German Jewry, with particular emphasis on the commu-
was renamed Theosophy in 1896.
nity’s socioeconomic transformation. Todd M. Endelman’s
The Jews of Georgian England, 1714–1830 (Philadelphia,
Judge was born in Ireland, one of the seven children of
1979) is a skillful social history. The political responses of
Frederick Judge, a Freemason, and Mary Alice Quan. At the
east European Jews are studied in Jonathan Frankel’s Prophe-
age of seven, the boy had a serious illness and indeed seemed
cy and Politics: Socialism, Nationalism and the Russian Jews,
to his family to have died, but he suddenly and miraculously
1862–1917 (Cambridge, U.K., 1981). Ezra Mendelsohn re-
recovered. After this near-death experience he showed re-
views the interwar period in The Jews of East Central Europe
markable abilities. He devoured books on Mesmerism, phre-
between the World Wars (Bloomington, Ind., 1983). The best
study of Soviet Jewry is Zvi Y. Gitelman’s Jewish Nationality
nology, religion, magic, and Rosicrucianism, which was sur-
and Soviet Politics (Princeton, 1972). A particularly insightful
prising because no one had taught him to read. His family
essay in Yehuda Bauer’s The Holocaust in Historical Perspec-
was simply puzzled by the change in his behavior. However,
tive (Seattle, 1978) is his “Against Mystification: The Holo-
many theosophists believe he was an actually a Hindu initiate
caust as a Historical Phenomenon.”
who had entered the body of the dying Irish boy to fulfill
New Sources
the vow of helping to bring the wisdom of the East to the
Gitelman, Zvi, ed. The Emergence of Modern Jewish Politics: Bund-
West. In an April 1891 letter, he wrote to Annie Besant
ism and Zionism in Eastern Europe. Pitt Series in Russian and
(1847–1933): “I am not in my own body and am perfectly
East European Studies. Pittsburgh, 2003.
aware of it. It is borrowed” (Ransom, 1938, p. 305). For this
Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Virtually Jewish: Reinventing Jewish Culture
reason, some called him “the Rajah.”
in Europe. Berkeley, 2002.
When Judge was thirteen, his family immigrated to
Israel, Jonathan Irvine. European Jewry in the Age of Mercantilism,
New York. As a youth, he became a clerk and studied law
1550–1750. Oxford, 1998.
in the offices of George P. Andrews. At twenty-one, he be-
Sutcliffe, Adam. Judaism and Enlightenment. New York, 2003.
came a naturalized U.S. citizen and was admitted to the bar.
He specialized in commercial law and developed a reputation
Wasserstein, Bernard. Vanishing Diaspora: The Jews in Europe since
1945. Cambridge, Mass., 1996.
for honesty and meticulous handling of cases. In 1874 he
married Ella Smith, a strict Methodist who did not share his
STEVEN J. ZIPPERSTEIN (1987)
interest in occult and paranormal matters. The couple had
Revised Bibliography
a daughter who died as a small child. During this difficult
time Judge read Olcott’s People from the Other World (1875)
and wrote to the author about their mutual interest in spiri-
JUDGE, WILLIAM Q. William Q. Judge (1851–
tualist phenomena. Olcott invited him to call on Madame
1896) was a cofounder of the Theosophical Society in 1875,
Blavatsky in New York City. Judge wrote of his first meeting
along with Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–
with Blavatsky: “It was her eye that attracted me, the eye of
1891) and Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907). The
one whom I must have known in many lives past away” (Lu-
society was dedicated to promoting universal brotherhood
cifer 8, no. 6 [June 15, 1891]). Blavatsky wrote in an 1889
and the study of the hidden laws of nature and ancient scrip-
letter that “H.P.B. would give. . . the whole esoteric brood
tures. Judge was a close associate of Blavatsky during the
in the U.S. for one W.Q.J., who is part of herself since several
years when she wrote Isis Unveiled (1877) until her death in
aeons” (Theosophical Forum, June 1933, pp. 192–193).
1891. She referred to him in a letter as “My dearest Brother
The period from 1878 to 1883 was particularly trying
and Co-Founder of the Theosophical Society” (H. P. Blavat-
for the young disciple, for he was virtually penniless and
sky to the American Conventions, Second Annual Meeting,
could do little work for the society. In addition, Blavatsky
April, 1888, p. 31). Blavatsky signed a letter to him, “yours
and Olcott had sailed for India to carry on the work of the
until death and after” (Lucifer, June 1891). (Judge revealed
Theosophical Society while he remained in New York. In
the content of some of Blavatsky’s letters in articles published
1881 he traveled on business to Central and South America
after her death in the journal Lucifer.)
and Mexico where he contracted blackwater fever. He re-
After Blavatsky’s death, Judge continued to be a clear
corded his experiences in “A Weird Tale,” one of the many
and notable expositor of her writings and of Theosophical
spiritual allegories and stories he would write. Around this
concepts in general. Judge’s The Ocean of Theosophy (1893)
time Judge corresponded with Damodar K. Mavalankar, a
is a readable synopsis of Blavatsky’s great work The Secret
disciple of Blavatsky in India, about being discouraged and
Doctrine (1888). Although he considered himself to be a dis-
depressed. He was himself called to India on June 11, 1883,
ciple of Blavatsky and a line of mahatmas (masters) behind
by a summons on the back of a letter from Damodar printed
the Theosophical movement, Judge was an author, counsel-
in red pencil, “Better come, M. . .” Since Judge thought
or, and teacher in his own right. In 1886, Judge began the
such messages were always from a master called Morya, he
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5024
JUDGE, WILLIAM Q.
left as soon as possible. (Letter from the Adyar Archives, Ech-
Because both of these objections were held to be reason-
oes of the Orient, Vol.1, p. XXV, Sven Eek and Boris de Zirk-
able, in July 1894 he was reconfirmed as vice president of
off.) After visiting Blavatsky in Paris for several months in
the Theosophical Society, based in Adyar, Madras (Chen-
1884, he sailed to Bombay (Mumbai). Meeting there with
nai), India. However, personal feelings against Judge ran
Damodar and others about the future of the movement,
high, and there were renewed calls for his resignation. Be-
Judge then traveled to several cities and gave lectures on The-
cause Annie Besant continued to press charges, the U.S. sec-
osophy and the destiny of India.
tion declared complete autonomy from the Theosophical So-
ciety at its 1895 annual convention and formed an
Upon returning to New York in 1885, he was deter-
independent body, with Judge selected as president for life
mined to preserve the Theosophical Society. Even when
(1895). However, during the early part of 1896 the acrimony
most of the membership had vanished, Judge held meetings,
of these events had a detrimental effect on his health, which
where he spoke and recorded the minutes himself. This work
was still frail because of the blackwater fever contracted years
by Judge was instrumental in forming the American Section
earlier, and he died that same year on March 21 in New
of the Theosophical Society, and he was elected its general
York. His last words were “There must be calmness. Hold
secretary in 1886. In 1890 he was appointed vice president
fast. Go slow” (Letters That Have Helped Me, p. 29). Judge’s
of the international Theosophical Society. Also in 1886,
teaching and life can be best summarized by his own words:
Mrs. Julia Campbell Ver Planck (later Mrs. Archibald
“There is no room for sorrow in the heart of him who knows
Keightley) joined the Theosophical Society. Her correspon-
and realizes the Unity of all spiritual beings. While people,
dence with Judge (for which she used the name Jasper Nie-
monuments and governments disappear, the self remains and
mand) became Letters That Have Helped Me, a valuable book
returns again. The wise are not disturbed; they remain silent;
concerning the trials of discipleship on the Theosophical
they depend on the self and seek their refuge in It” (Echoes
path.
of the Orient, vol. 1, p. lxv). Katherine Tingley (1847–1929)
In 1890 Judge sued the New York Sun on behalf of Bla-
became head of the Theosophical Society in the United
vatsky, who had been libeled in the paper by Professor Elliot
States after Judge died, and she moved its headquarters to
Coues. Coues had charged that Blavatsky had perpetrated a
Point Loma, California. Judge’s devoted student Robert
hoax by persuading Mabel Collins to claim that an adept had
Crosbie (1849–1919) seceded from this group and formed
dictated her book Light on the Path (1885). He had also ac-
the United Lodge of Theosophists in 1909.
cused Blavatsky of sexual immorality, fraud, plagiarism, and
SEE ALSO Besant, Annie; Blavatsky, H. P.; Olcott, Henry
deception. When the Sun’s attorneys found out that Coues’s
Steel; Point Loma Theosophical Community; Theosophical
allegations were “without solid foundation,” they were re-
Society; Tingley, Katherine.
tracted in 1892.
After Blavatsky’s death in London in 1891, Judge sailed
BIBLIOGRAPHY
to England as the representative of the U.S. section of the
Works by Judge
Theosophical Society. Judge published articles in the Sun
The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali. New York, 1889; reprint, Los
and in the Path in tribute to Blavatsky’s life and work. He
Angeles, 1967. A rendition assisted by James Connelly, this
also published a rendition of The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali
is a valuable introduction to Oriental psychology.
(1889), introduced with a succinct discussion of Oriental
Echoes of the Orient. New York. 1890; reprint, Los Angeles, 1950,
psychology. In 1890 he published his version of the Bha-
and San Diego, 1987. A small pamphlet broadly outlining
gavad Gita, in which he sought to capture the original’s
Theosophical doctrines.
meaning rather than to be strict to the letter of Sanskrit
grammar. These works made a deep impact on Theosophy
The Bhagavad Gita: The Book of Devotion. New York, 1890; re-
and the further introduction of Oriental psychology to the
print, Los Angeles, 1947. Also done in collaboration with
James Connelly. The Notes, covering the first seven chapters
West.
are by Judge, the rest by his student Robert Crosbie.
In 1893 Judge made a lasting impression when he spoke
Letters That Have Helped Me. Compiled by Jasper Niemand. New
to a large audience at the World Parliament of Religions in
York, 1891; reprint, Pasadena, Calif., 1953 and 1981. Con-
Chicago. However, his final years were clouded by the
tains correspondence between Judge and Jasper Niemand
charges preferred against him by Besant and Olcott for mis-
(Mrs. Archibald Keightley), Judge’s notes for “An Occult
using the mahatmas’ names and handwriting. They claimed
Novel,” and information about his life.
that no contact with the mahatmas could be proved to their
The Ocean of Theosophy. 1893; reprint, Los Angeles, 1915.Origi-
satisfaction. Olcott ordered Judge to resign from the vice
nally published as a series of articles for the Fort Wayne Senti-
president’s position. Judge refused, however, and defended
nel. The simplest and clearest exegesis of basic theosophical
himself by stating that he had in no way abrogated his duties
ideas and of Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine.
as vice president, and that a trial could not be held without
Reply by Mr. Judge on Charges of Misuse of Mahatmas’ Names and
creating a dogma as to the existence of the masters, which
Handwritings. London, 1895. Reprinted as Two Replies (Los
was his personal belief.
Angeles, 1992).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD
5025
Practical Occultism. Edited by Arthur Conger. Covina, Calif.,
Websites
1951. Contains private letters of William Q. Judge not previ-
The website of the Theosophical Society (http://www.
ously printed.
theosociety.org) includes biographies, letters, articles, and
other useful information. The Theosophical University Press
Echoes of the Orient. 3 vols. San Diego, 1987. The most thorough
website (http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ts/tup.htm)
publication of Judge’s collected works.
also provides a plethora of information about Judge and The-
See alsoThe Path, vols. 1–10, New York, April 1886–March 1896.
osophy. The Theosophy Library Online (http://
Judge owned this independent journal. It was renamed The-
theosophy.org/JudgeWorks.htm) contains The Ocean of The-
osophy in in 1896, and again renamed Universal Brotherhood
osophy, The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, Occult Tales, and
in 1897. It became Universal Broherhood Path in 1900. After
other books and articles by Judge.
a series of changes, a similar journal began publication as
Sunrise, issued by the Theosophical University Press in Pasa-
JUDY D. SALTZMAN (2005)
dena. A journal with the same purpose has continued since
1912 in Los Angeles as Theosophy.
Works on Judge
JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. In religions where
Blavatsky, H.P. H. P. Blavatsky, to the American Conventions,
a differentiation is made between the righteous and sinners
1888–1891. Pasadena, 1979. Blavatsky’s messages to Ameri-
in the hereafter, the decision to which category to assign each
can Theosophists.
individual can be thought to take place in different ways.
Deveney, John Patrick. “An 1876 Lecture by W.Q. Judge on his
Sometimes it is an automatic process, as in the Indian doc-
Magical Progress in the Theosophical Society.” Theosophical
trine of karman; each individual’s deeds in this life determine
History 9 (July 2003): 12. Discusses the young Judge’s exper-
his status in his next existence. In other cases, it is believed
iments with clairvoyance and astral travel as an effort of will
that the deceased has to pass over a narrow bridge; if he is
not mediumship.
good there is no difficulty, but if he is evil he is thrown down.
Forray, Brett. “William Q. Judge’s and Annie Besant’s Views of
This idea is found in ancient Iranian religion, and similar
Brahmin Theosophists.” Theosophical History 10, no. 1 (Jan-
beliefs exist among the Algonquin Indians, the Mari
uary 2004): 5–34. Discusses their divergent views on the
(Cheremis) in Russia, and the Bojnang of the island of Sula-
Esoteric Section and on the importance of Hinduism for
wesi. Here no god or personal being seems to be involved
theosophy.
in the decision. In other cases, however, a court scene is pre-
Gomes, Michael. “The Letters of H.P. Blavatsky to William Q.
supposed, with divine or semidivine judges passing on each
Judge.” Theosophical History 6, p.129, Letter dated Nov. 19,
individual.
1890. Blavatsky praises Judge’s loyalty and warns him about
ANCIENT NEAR EAST. The evidence from ancient Mesopota-
Olcott and the latter’s possible resignation as president.
mia is scanty. One Assyrian text tells the story of a crown
Greenwalt, Emmet A. The Point Loma Community in California,
prince descending into the netherworld and appearing before
1897–1942: A Theosophical Experiment. Berkeley, Calif.,
its king, Nergal, who decides that he is to return to life. It
1955. Discusses the association of Judge and Tingley, and of
seems likely that this text presents the mythical background
Tingley’s “successorship.”
of an incantation rite, and thus refers only to a decision in
Johnson, K. Paul. Initiates of the Theosophical Masters. Albany,
the netherworld whether a sick person should die or recover.
N.Y., 1995. A discussion of a number of international figures
It does not refer to a regular judgment of the dead. Texts
of varying backgrounds who were “initiated” into theosophy.
from the sixth century BCE, found at Susa in southwestern
Nethercot, Arthur H. The First Five Lives of Annie Besant. Kings-
Iran, mention some sort of judgment that gives the good
wood, U. K., 1961. Examines the Judge–Besant association.
some advantage over the wicked, but they hardly represent
Nethercot, Arthur H. The Last Four Lives of Annie Besant. Chica-
genuine Babylonian belief; possibly they were influenced by
go, 1963. Examines the Judge–Besant association.
Iranian ideas.
Ransom, Josephine. A Short History of the Theosophical Society.
Ancient Egyptian religion is especially known for its
Adyar, India, 1938.
concern about life in the hereafter. However, in the Pyramid
Ryan, Charles J. H. P. Blavatsky and the Theosophical Movement.
Texts, the oldest funerary texts at scholars’ disposal, there is
Pasadena, 1975.
no reference to a judgment of the dead. Though there is
found the idea that the king still carries out his earthly func-
United Lodge of Theosophists. The Theosophical Movement,
1875–1950. Los Angeles, 1951. Contains thorough discus-
tion as a judge, he is not said to judge the dead in general.
sions of Judge’s relationship to Blavatsky and of Besant’s alle-
Several tomb inscriptions from the Old Kingdom warn that
gations against Judge and his replies.
anyone who violates the tomb will be “judged by the Great
God at the place of judgment.” But that again is no judg-
See also Sunrise (Vol. 45, April/May 1996); this entire issue of
Sunrise magazine (published by Theosophical University
ment of the dead. On the other hand, autobiographical texts
Press) was devoted to articles about Judge in honor of the
from the same period express the wish that the author’s name
centennial of his death. The Theosophical Forum, Vols. VI-
“may be good before the Great God.” This seems to imply
XXIX (Point Loma and Covina, 1929–1951), a monthly
some kind of judgment in the hereafter. The same is true of
journal started by Gottfried de Purucker, is also of interest.
inscriptions in which the dead person promises to defend
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5026
JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD
anyone who respects his tomb “in the judgment hall of the
INDIA AND CHINA. Ancient Indian religion seems to know
Great God.” But in the Instruction for Merikare (early Middle
King Yama as the judge of the other world. A late Vedic text
Kingdom) there is a clear passage referring to “the judges
(Taittir¯ıya A¯ran:yaka 6.5.13) states that before Yama those
who judge the sinner” in the hereafter as not being lenient.
who have been faithful to truth and those who have spoken
Therefore individuals should remember that they must die,
lies will part company. There is no explicit reference to a
and that after their deaths their sins will be laid beside them
judgment, but it may be implied. The weighing of good and
in a heap. Anyone who lives unmindful of the judgment in
wicked deeds is referred to in the Brahmanic texts.
the hereafter is foolish, but anyone who has not sinned will
This same Yama appears again in the pantheon of
be like a god in eternal freedom.
Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism. In China he is called Yenlo or Yenlo
A different outlook is reflected in the Coffin Texts. Here
Wang. Together with nine others of Chinese origin (“the
magical spells are used to secure various privileges for the de-
Ten Kings”) he is believed to be the administrator of the
ceased in the hereafter. There is also reference to a court of
punishments of Hell. It is believed that all individuals are to
judgment presided over by the earth god Geb, who issues de-
meet him after death and be judged with the strictest impar-
crees to the benefit of the deceased in the same way as an
tiality. It is supposed that he fixes the hour of dissolution,
earthly court might. Gradually it becomes customary to add
and that once the decision is made, nothing can alter or post-
to the name of the deceased person the epithet maa kheru,
pone it. In Japanese Buddhism he is called Enma-o¯.
which denotes him as cleared by the court of an accusation.
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME. In ancient Greece, one finds,
This title was also given to Osiris, when he had been declared
in Homer and Hesiod, for example, the idea of a shadowy
righteous in the court of Geb and had been reinstated in his
and dreary realm of the dead, called Hades, to which the
royal rights (though he was now in the netherworld). As it
“souls” of all dead come; but there are also at times the ideas
became customary to identify every dead person with Osiris,
of a miry place where the wicked are punished and of the Ely-
he was also certain of being maa kheru.
sian Fields, where a few righteous are allowed to enter. But
there is no information on how it is decided who is going
The final result of this development appears in the well-
where. Homer says that Minos gives laws to the dead but
known judgment scene in the Book of Going Forth by Day.
does not act as judge (Odyssey 11.567ff.).
Chapter 125 describes how the deceased appears before Osi-
Gradually, however, under the influence of the mystery
ris, the divine judge of the netherworld, who is assisted by
cults and of the Orphic and Pythagorean movements, the
forty-two assessors, one for each of the provinces of Egypt.
ideas of judgment and retribution were developed. Pythago-
It seems that the reader is here confronted with two different
ras taught a judgment of souls (according to the biography
sets of ideas. According to the text, the deceased addresses
of Iamblichus), and the Orphic judgment is depicted on a
the assessors, asserting that he has not committed forty-two
vase that shows Aiakos, Triptolemos, and Rhadamanthos as
specific sins; this is often referred to as the “negative confes-
judges.
sion.” The scene depicted, on the other hand, shows the de-
ceased being led before the judges by Horus; in front of Osi-
The ideas of the Orphics and Pythagoreans are repro-
ris there is a balance, attended by the god Anubis. On one
duced by Pindar and by Plato in some of his dialogues (Gor-
scale is put the heart of the dead man, on the other a feather,
gias, Apology, the Republic). Usually, the judges are three,
the symbol of the goddess Maat (“truth”). The wise god
Minos, Rhadamanthos, and Aiakos; in the Apology Plato
Thoth takes down the result of the weighing on his scribe’s
adds Triptolemos. They give judgment in a meadow, at the
palette. The illustrations always present the scales in perfect
parting of the ways, one of which leads to the Abode of the
equilibrium, indicating that the dead man’s life has been in
Blessed, the other to Tartaros.
accordance with maat, the principle of order and truth. If
In Gorgias Plato says that in the beginning the dead were
such is the case, the deceased is declared to be maa kheru,
sent to the Island of the Blessed or to the punishment in Tar-
“true of voice,” that is, acquitted in the court of Osiris. If not,
taros; the judgment was pronounced on the day of death, but
he will be eaten by the “devourer of the dead.”
apparently it was sometimes influenced by the outer appear-
All this seems to imply high moral standards. But in fact
ance of the person in question. Therefore Zeus decreed that
souls should be judged naked, without their earthly frame.
this chapter of the Book of Going Forth by Day is hardly more
Punishment could serve for purification and improvement;
than another magic spell, intended to protect the deceased
but there are some evildoers who cannot be saved. Here, in
from the perils of the other world. The negative confession
part, Plato is using traditional ideas, possibly Orphic and
is rather an expression of acceptance of the validity of certain
other; but he may have created the eschatological myth he
moral principles (in the last count, of maat) than a real decla-
presents here to illustrate his philosophical ideas.
ration that one is not guilty. In addition, there are also spells
to prevent the heart from “standing up against” the deceased
Such beliefs were probably widespread among the
(Book of Going Forth by Day, chap. 30). Thus there is a ten-
Greeks, as is shown by numerous references to judgment and
sion between moral obligations on the one hand and recourse
the fate of souls in Lucian’s satires, and by the caricatures of
to magical spells on the other.
Aristophanes. The classical dramatists rarely mention a judg-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD
5027
ment of the dead, but there are a few references in Aeschylus,
Christ’s judgment is decided here and now, according to the
and it figures sporadically in other authors and in grave in-
belief or unbelief of each one; this should leave no room for
scriptions. In Vergil’s picture of the underworld, Minos
a final judgment at the end of time.
judges certain crimes, and Rhadamanthos is judge in Tar-
The Christian church has placed considerable emphasis
taros (Aeneid 6.426ff., 540ff.).
on the idea of the final judgment (that is, rather than on the
JUDAISM. The writings of intertestamental Judaism contain
judgment here and now). Both the Apostles’ Creed and the
occasional references to a judgment of the dead. The scene
Nicene Creed state that Christ “will come again (in glory)
in the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel, where the An-
to judge the living and the dead.”
cient of Days opens the books and passes judgment, is not
ISLAM. In the preaching of Muh:ammad the imminent day
concerned with individuals, but with the kingdoms of the
of judgment (yawm al-d¯ın) has a prominent place. Because
earth, and it is Israel that stands acquitted. But in chapter
many of the accompanying motifs correspond to Jewish and
50 of the Ethiopic Apocalypse of Enoch there is an explicit
Christian ideas (not the least to the preaching of the Syriac
mention of judgment, in which the Lord of the Spirits will
church), it seems obvious that he has taken over the idea of
show himself righteous, sinners will be punished, and the
judgment from these sources. The day is also referred to as
righteous will be saved. Chapter 51 then speaks of the resur-
the day of resurrection, the day of decision (QurDa¯n, su¯rah
rection of the dead, and says that the Chosen One will sit
77:13), the day of gathering (64:9), the day of eternity
on God’s throne, probably as judge. The same idea is found
(50:34), and so forth. It is a day of great catastrophes that
in 2 Esdras (chapter 7): The earth will give up those who are
cause fear and terror on the earth. The judgment is individu-
asleep in it, and the Most High will appear on the seat of
al. On that day “no soul will be able to help another, for the
judgment. The emphasis here, however, is not on the scene
decision belongs to God” (82:19). Each soul must defend it-
of judgment but on the resurrection, and on the destiny of
self (16:112) and cannot bear the load of another (17:15, cf.
the righteous and the wicked.
16:25); no soul will be able to give satisfaction or to make
There are occasional references in these scriptures to
intercession for another (2:48); no ransom will be accepted
books in which the deeds of indiviudals are recorded, and ac-
(5:36). The works of each person will be documented in an
cording to which they will be judged (Ethiopic Apocalypse of
irrefutable way. Books will be produced, in which “every-
Enoch 47:3, 90:20), but the context does not mention a final
thing that they have done, great and small, is recorded”
judgment in connection with the resurrection. Thus, the
(54:52ff.). “The book will be put (before them), and you will
weighing of people’s works on a balance is referred to (ibid.
see the sinners fearful at what is in it. . . . It leaves nothing
41:1, 61:8) without mentioning the judgment.
behind, small or great, but it has numbered it. And they shall
CHRISTIANITY. Jesus tells the parable of the last judgment in
find all they did present, and your Lord shall not wrong any-
chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew. The Son of Man is to
one” (18:49). Every individual shall find a book wide open:
come and sit on his glorious throne, and all nations will gath-
“Read your book! Today you are yourself a reckoner against
er before him; he will “separate them as a shepherd separates
yourself” (17:13ff.). The idea of books that are opened is
the sheep from the goats.” Those who have acted in love for
found in the Hebrew Bible (Dn. 7:10) and in other Jewish
their neighbors will receive eternal life; those who have not
literature in connection with a judgment scene. In addition,
will be sent away into eternal punishment.
it may be that Muh:ammad, as a merchant, was familiar with
the keeping of accounts.
Though this description of a final judgment is found
only in the Gospel of Matthew, it is obvious from other occa-
There is also in the QurDa¯n the idea of weighing human
sional references in the New Testament that the idea was es-
deeds. “We shall set up the just balances . . . so that not one
sential in early Christian preaching. Thus, in Acts 17:31,
soul shall be wronged anything; even if it be the weight of
“God has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in
one grain of mustard-seed we shall produce it; and we know
righteousness by a man whom he has appointed [i. e., Jesus
how to reckon” (21:49). “The weighing that day is true; he
Christ].” In Acts 10:42, Christ “is the one ordained by God
whose scales are heavy—they are the prosperous, and he
to be judge of the living and the dead”; in 2 Corinthians 5:10,
whose scales are light—they have lost their souls” (7:8ff.; cf.
“we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ [or,
23:102 and 101:5ff.). There is here hardly any connection
in Romans 14:10, of God], so that each one may receive good
with the Egyptian ideas discussed above; the ideas of
or evil, according to what he has done in the body.” The last
Muh:ammad seem rather closer to those of the Jewish texts.
judgment is thus connected with the Parousia, or second
In the case of Islam, those who stand the trial will enter
coming of Christ.
Paradise, and those who fail will be thrown into Hell. How-
In the Gospel of John, the idea of the judgment has been
ever, no one belief concerning the fate following judgment
transformed in a peculiar way. Though it is stated that God
of the dead is common to all religious traditions. That fate
the Father “has given all judgment to the Son” (5:22), the
is determined according to each tradition’s conception of
reader learns that one who believes “has eternal life” (here
what happens after death. Just as the judgment of the dead
and now) “and does not come into judgment, but has passed
is conceived in different ways within the different traditions,
from death to life” (5:24). In other words, the outcome of
so too is the ultimate fate of the person who is judged.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5028
JULIAN OF HALICARNASSUS
SEE ALSO Afterlife.
only a divine nature, denying the reality of his humanity. At
first Julian followed the moderate views of his friend Severus
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of Antioch, one of the leading critics of the Chalcedonian
A cross-cultural collection of sources on this topic is Le jugement
formula, according to which Christ is “one hypostasis [es-
des morts: Égypte ancienne, Assour, Babylone, Israël, Iran,
sence, entity] in two natures.”
Islam, Inde, Chine, Japon, “Sources orientales,” no. 4 (Paris,
1961). For a treatment of the beliefs about the judgment of
Julian’s significance lies in the fact that he parted with
the dead in Egyptian religion, see Die Idee vom Totengericht
the moderate monophysites. Deposed from his see in 518,
in der ägyptischen Religion (Hamburg, 1935) by Joachim
he fled to Egypt, where he promulgated his theory known
Spiegel. See also The Dawn of Conscience (New York, 1933),
as aphthartodocetism (incorruptibility). Julian taught that,
pp. 250ff., by James Henry Breasted. See my Religions of the
from the moment of its conception, the human nature of
Ancient Near East, translated by John Sturdy (Philadelphia,
Christ was incorruptible, impassible, immortal, and free
1973), pp. 122ff., for a brief treatment of Mesopotamian
from all physical burdens such as hunger, thirst, and pain.
ideas on the judgment of the dead. Volume 1 of H. C. C.
Thus Christ’s human sufferings were apparent rather than
Cavallin’s Life after Death: Paul’s Argument for the Resurrec-
tion of the Dead (Lund, 1974) treats the topic as it relates to
real, a theory similar to docetism. His followers in Alexandria
Judaism. Two discussions of Christian beliefs about the
established their own community and became known as
judgment of the dead are John A. T. Robinson’s Jesus and
Aphthartodocitae and Phantasiastai.
His Coming (New York, 1957) and his article “The Parable
Not only the Orthodox Chalcedonians but also Julian’s
of the Sheep and Goats,” New Testament Studies 2 (May
former friend Severus of Antioch attacked his teachings. Ju-
1956): 225–237. The only monograph on Greek ideas about
judgment is in Latin: De mortuorum iudicio (Giessen, 1903)
lian wrote a treatise entitled Peri aphtharsias (About incor-
by Ludwig Ruhl. See also Fritz Graf’s Eleusis und die orphis-
ruptibility), directed against Severus, and an Apologia de-
che Dichtung Athens in vorhellenistischer Zeit (Berlin, 1974),
fending his own teachings. Of his writings only two letters
pp. 79–150, and Franz Cumont’s After Life in Roman Pagan-
and fragments of his theological works, in the original Greek
ism (1922; reprint, New York, 1959). On Plato’s treatment
and in Syriac translation, have survived.
of the topic, see Les mythes de Platon (Paris, 1930) by Perceval
Frutiger. Two studies of the Iranian view are The Zoroastrian
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Doctrine of a Future Life (New York, 1926) by J. D. C. Pavry,
The sources for Julian’s writings are Spicilegium Romanum, vol.
and R. C. Zaehner’s The Teachings of the Magi (New York,
10, Synodus cpolitana, edited by Angelo Mai (Rome, 1844),
1956), pp. 131ff. Arthur Berriedale Keith’s Indian Mythology
pp. 206–211, and Anecdota Syriaca, vol. 3, edited by J. P. N.
(Boston, 1917), pp. 159ff., and Bimala Churn Law’s Heaven
Land (Leiden, 1870), pp. 263–271. Studies of Julian include
and Hell in Buddhist Perspective (1925; reprint, Varanasi,
René Draguet’s Julien d’Halicarnasse et sa controverse avec Sé-
1973), pp. 96ff., present Indian and Buddhist ideas of
vère d’Antioche sur l’incorruptibilité du corps du Christ (Lou-
judgment.
vain, 1924) and “Pièces de polémique antijulianiste,” Le
New Sources
Muséon 44 (1931): 255–317; Martin Jugie’s “Julien
Griffiths, John Gwyn. The Divine Verdict. A Study of Divine
d’Halicarnasse et Sévère d’Antioche,” Échos d’Orient 24
Judgement in the Ancient Religions. Leiden, 1991. The defini-
(1925): 129–162, 257–285; and Robert P. Casey’s “Julian
tive cross-cultural survey by a scholar who is both a philolo-
of Alicarnassus,” Harvard Theological Review 19 (1926):
gist expert in various domains and an insightful historian of
206–213.
religions. It includes a thorough well-organized bibliography.
DEMETRIOS J. CONSTANTELOS (1987)
Marguerat, Daniel. Le jugement dans l’évangile selon saint Mat-
thieu. Geneva, 1995. A theological and historical study by a
prominent New Testament scholar.
HELMER RINGGREN (1987)
JULIAN OF NORWICH (1342–1416?), known as
Revised Bibliography
Lady Julian, Dame Julian, and Mother Julian, was an En-
glish mystic and Christian theologian. Julian lived in the cen-
tury in which Europe was ravaged by the Black Death, and
JULIAN OF HALICARNASSUS (d. after 518),
England and France were torn by the Hundred Years War.
Christian bishop and theologian. The place and date of birth
Against a background of war, plague, social turmoil, and reli-
of this prominent fifth- and early sixth-century churchman
gious unrest she shared in a flowering of English mysticism
are unknown. Of his early life we know that as bishop of
along with Walter Hilton, Richard Rolle, Margery Kempe,
Halicarnassus in Asia Minor he had sojourned in Constanti-
and the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing.
nople around 510, perhaps between 508 and 511. There he
Highly literate—despite a polite disclaimer in her book
participated in the discussions as to whether the decisions of
Revelations [or Showings] of Divine Love—and demonstrating
the Council of Chalcedon (451) ought to be abrogated in
a knowledge of the Vulgate rare for a layperson of her day,
order to achieve church unity.
she was the first woman to compose a literary work in En-
As bishop of Halicarnassus, Julian had been a protago-
glish. Although scholars have traced many general theologi-
nist of the monophysites, who maintained that Christ had
cal influences in Julian’s book, specific influences are hard
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUNAYD, AL-
5029
to identify, so thoroughly assimilated are they into a theology
says and Handbook to the Exhibition “Revelations of Divine
that is at once deeply traditional and highly original. She was
Love,” edited by Frank D. Sayer (Norwich, U.K., 1973).
probably familiar with the writings of William of Saint-
This book includes a useful bibliography of Julian publica-
Thierry (d. 1148) and Meister Eckhart (d. around 1327), but
tions prior to 1973: five manuscripts, twenty-six printed edi-
the only two writers whom she mentions by name are Diony-
tions (in German, French, and Italian as well as English), and
sius the Areopagite (c. 500) and Gregory I (d. 604), from
fifty-six books and articles about Julian and her thought. For
works published since 1973, the Fourteenth-Century English
whose Life of Saint Benedict she quotes.
Mystics Newsletter (Iowa City), published quarterly since
Little is known about Julian’s life. In May 1373, when
1974, is indispensable. Renamed Mystics Quarterly in 1984,
Julian was thirty years old, she became severely ill. At what
this journal contains articles, book reviews, descriptions of
seemed the point of death, she revived and received what she
scholarly studies in progress, and bibliographies of the many
described as fifteen “showings of God’s love”; on the follow-
books and articles on Julian, including a Swedish translation
ing day she had a sixteenth such experience. Her mother, her
and two French translations of Revelations. Among the post-
1973 works, one of the most significant is the definitive edi-
parish priest, and possibly others were with her at these
tion of the original text prepared by Edmund Colledge and
times. Some time later Julian wrote a description of these
James Walsh, Juliana, anchoret, 1343–1443: A Book of Show-
showings that is now referred to as the “short text” or “short
ings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich, 2 vols. (Toronto,
version.” Twenty years later, after profound meditation, she
1978). From this critical text Colledge and Walsh have made
felt she had come to a fuller understanding of the showings,
a modern translation, Julian of Norwich: Showings, “The
and she wrote a much longer version, concluding: “So I was
Classics of Western Spirituality,” vol. 1 (New York, 1978).
taught that love is our Lord’s meaning. And I saw very cer-
Another significant English translation published since 1973
tainly in this and in everything that before God made us he
is Revelations of Divine Love by Juliana of Norwich, translated
loved us, which love was never abated and never will be”
with a particularly good introduction by M. L. Del Mastro
(Colledge and Walsh, Showings, p. 342).
(Garden City, N.Y., 1977). The chaplain of the Julian shrine
in Norwich, England, Robert Llewelyn, has written With
At some time in her life Julian became an anchoress, liv-
Pity, Not with Blame: Reflections on the Writings of Julian of
ing in a cell attached to the church of Saint Julian in King
Norwich and on The Cloud of Unknowing (London, 1982).
Street. It was probably from this saint that she took the name
Many Julian publications are available at the shrine. In addi-
by which she is known.
tion, the Norwich Public Library has a sizable collection of
printed material on Julian.
The all-encompassing theme of Julian’s Revelations is
the compassionate love of God as universally manifested
BARBARA BISHOP (1987)
throughout the process of creation and as focused in the pas-
sion of Jesus, whose delight was to suffer for his beloved hu-
mankind. One aspect of Christ stressed by Julian is his
JUNAYD, AL- (d. AH 298/910 CE), whose full name is
“motherhood.” Many earlier writers, including Anselm, had
Abu¯Dl-Qa¯sim ibn Muh:ammad al-Junayd, was a major repre-
written of Christ’s motherhood, but Julian wrote more ex-
sentative of the Baghdad school of Sufism who is associated
tensively on this theme.
with its “sober” and socially responsible trend. He came from
Julian’s theology is eschatologically orientated. The res-
a family of Iranian merchants. Al-Junayd’s father traded in
olution of the problem of evil (a problem over which she ago-
glassware, and he himself earned his livelihood as a dealer in
nizes at length) will come through a “great deed ordained by
silk. Under the influence of his paternal uncle Sar¯ı al-Saqat:¯ı,
our Lord God from without beginning, treasured and hid-
who is often viewed as one of the doyens of Baghdad Sufism,
den in his blessed breast, known only to himself, through
al-Junayd embraced its mystical ideals and ascetic ethos and
which deed he will make all things well” (Colledge and
eventually succeeded him as leader of the Baghdad school of
Walsh, Showings, pp. 232–233). This aspect of Julian’s the-
mysticism. He received a solid juridical and theological train-
ology proved particularly interesting to T. S. Eliot, who
ing under the guidance of such famous Sha¯fiE¯ı scholars as
quotes from her book and alludes to her thought in his mys-
Abu¯ Thawr (d. 855 CE) and Ibn Kulla¯b (d. c. 855) and was
tical poem Four Quartets.
qualified to issue legal opinions on various juridical issues.
However, most of his teachers were associated with S:u¯f¯ı cir-
The enduring contemporary interest in Julian was ex-
cles. He cultivated the friendship of a famous Baghdad schol-
pressed in an ecumenical celebration in Norwich in May
ar and ascetic al-H:a¯rith al-Muh:a¯sib¯ı (d. 857) with whom he
1973, the six-hundredth anniversary of her Revelations. Her
had long discussions of questions related to mystical experi-
influence continues at the Julian shrine in Norwich, where
ence and pious life. The influence of al-Muh:a¯sib¯ı’s mystical
prayer and spiritual counsel continue in a chapel built where
psychology and introspection on his young associate is abun-
her cell once stood.
dantly attested in al-Junayd’s epistles and logia.
B
The later S:u¯f¯ı tradition portrays al-Junayd as the princi-
IBLIOGRAPHY
Basic information on Julian herself and on the six-hundredth-
pal exponent of the “sober” type of mysticism, which was
anniversary ecumenical celebration of Revelations is conve-
routinely juxtaposed with the “excesses” of its “intoxicated”
niently given in Julian and Her Norwich: Commemorative Es-
counterpart represented by Abu¯ Yaz¯ıd al-Bist:a¯m¯ı (d. 848 or
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5030
JUNAYD, AL-
875), al-Shibl¯ı (d. 945), al-Nu¯r¯ı (d. 907), and al-H:alla¯j
172), al-Junayd describes the entire course of history as peo-
(d. 922). Al-Junayd’s public sermons were not confined to
ple’s quest to realize that covenant and return to the primeval
his fellow mystics; they attracted many high-ranking state of-
state in which they were before they were. By endowing peo-
ficials and respectable theologians as well, who showed a
ple with a separate, individual existence, God deliberately
great respect for the Su¯f¯ı master. Modern western scholars
plunged them into the corporeal world of trial and affliction,
share in this esteem. Thus, Arthur Arberry in Sufism (1969)
where their bodily passions and appetites cause them to for-
described al-Junayd as “the most original and penetrating in-
get about their preeternal acknowledgment of God’s absolute
tellect among the Sufis of his time,” who “took within his
sovereignty. Through arduous, ascetic self-discipline and in-
ranging vision the whole landscape of mystical speculation
tense meditation, mystics strive to obliterate the last trace of
stretching below him, and with an artist’s eye brought it to
the selfish impulses emanating from their imperfect bodies.
comprehension and unity upon a single canvas.”
If successful, they are reintegrated into the realm of the Di-
The S:u¯f¯ı tradition also depicts al-Junayd as an eloquent
vine Presence. They then return to this world by experienc-
exponent of “the science of God’s uniqueness” ( Eilm
ing “survival” or “subsistence” in God (baqa¯ D), which gives
al-tawh:¯ıd), who was also proficient in the knowledge of the
them a new, pure life in, and through, God. Yet, even in the
mystical states (ah:wa¯l) experienced by the mystical seeker.
blissful state of baqa¯ D, the mystic remains separated and
This statement is not entirely accurate: similar classifications
veiled from God. To accentuate the painful nature of this
of the ah:wa¯l were developed by some of his younger and
separation, al-Junayd employed the imagery of the lover
older contemporaries. Al-Junayd’s written legacy includes a
yearning for the Divine Beloved and taking an intense joy
number of “epistles” (rasa¯ Dil) to his contemporaries and short
in observing his reflections in the beauty in his handiwork.
treatises on mystical themes. The latter are simply commen-
This agonizing vacillation between union and separation be-
taries on select QurDanic passages. The profoundly subtle and
came the keynote of al-Junayd’s entire legacy. Eschewing the
abstruse language of al-Junayd’s mystical discourses may
extravagances of language that on the lips of the “intoxicat-
have been a deliberate strategy aimed at rendering his ideas
ed” mystics Abu¯ Yaz¯ıd al-Bist:a¯m¯ı and al-H:alla¯j alarmed and
impenetrable to exoterically minded scholars and thus elud-
alienated the orthodox, al-Junayd by his clear perception and
ing their criticisms. Al-Junayd’s deliberately obscure style
absolute self-control laid the foundations on which most of
was imitated and elaborated by al-H:alla¯j, who, however, was
the later S:u¯f¯ı systems were built.
much more outspoken in describing his mystical experiences
On the political and social plane, al-Junayd demonstrat-
than his older, and more cautious, contemporary.
ed a political conformism and docility that saved him from
Al-Junayd’s discourses reiterate the theme, first clearly
the persecutions against “heretics” that were common in this
reasoned by him, that because all things have their origin in
tumultuous age. Time and again, al-Junayd explicitly advised
God, they must finally return, after their dispersion (tafriqa),
his disciples against challenging the temporary and religious
to reside in him again (jam E). This dynamic of ecstatic rap-
authorities of the age. He viewed political and social activism
ture and subsequent return is captured in the mystical experi-
as a sign of spiritual and intellectual immaturity and an at-
ence of passing away (fana¯ D) followed by the state of subsis-
tempt to rebel against the divine will. His cautious attitude
tence in God (baqa¯ D). In the process of fana¯D the human self
came to the fore in his disavowal of the overpowering drunk-
is completely shattered by an encounter with the Divine Re-
enness of ecstasy that permeated the sayings of his contempo-
ality, which leads it to a mystic union with the divine. In de-
rary Abu¯ Yaz¯ıd al-Bist:a¯m¯ı. Al-Junayd’s glosses on Abu¯
scribing this experience, al-Junayd writes:
Yaz¯ıd’s ecstatic utterances (shat:ah:a¯t) clearly show his prefer-
ence for the state of sobriety over mystical intoxication. His
For at that time thou wilt be addressed, thyself address-
ing; questioned concerning thy tidings, thyself ques-
discourses were firmly rooted in the QurDanic notions of
tioning; with abundant flow of precious wisdom, and
God’s uniqueness and absolute transcendence, and he was
interchange of visions; with constant increase of faith,
careful not to present the relationships between man and
and uninterrupted favors.
God as a union of two essences (ittih:a¯d). Rather, he never
tired of stressing the purely experiential nature of this phe-
In accounting for his mystical experience he says:
nomenon.
This that I say comes from the continuance of calamity
and the consequence of misery, from a heart that is
Al-Junayd’s age was rich in charismatic and mystical tal-
stirred from its foundations, and is tormented with its
ent. Among his associates and disciples we find such conse-
ceaseless conflagrations, by itself within itself: admitting
quential figures in S:u¯f¯ı tradition as Abu¯ SaE¯ıd al-Kharra¯z
no perception, no speech, no sense, no feeling, no re-
(d. 899), Abu¯ H:amza al-Khura¯sa¯n¯ı (d. between 903 and
pose, no effort, no familiar image; but constant in the
911), EAmr bin EUthma¯n al-Makk¯ı (d. 903 or 909), Abu¯D1
calamity of its ceaseless torment, unimaginable, inde-
-H:usayn al-Nu¯r¯ı (d. 295/907), Ruwaym bin Ah:mad
scribable, unlimited, unbearable in its fierce onslaughts.
(d. 915) Abu¯ Bakr al-Shibl¯ı (d. 334/946), Abu¯ Muh:ammad
(Translated by Arberry, 1969)
al-Jurayri (d. 924), Abu¯ EAl¯ı al-Rudhba¯r¯ı (d. 322/934), and
In meditating on the QurDanic image of the preeternal cove-
JaEfar al-Khuld¯ı (d. 348/959), to name but a few. Upon al-
nant between God and disembodied humanity (QurDa¯n 7:
Junayd’s death his disciple al-Jurayri replaced him as head
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUNG, C. G.
5031
of the Baghdad S:u¯f¯ı school. Al-Junayd’s life and work exem-
The two corresponded and, in 1906, met. For the next seven
plify what Western scholars often call “the golden (or classi-
years Jung’s life was shaped almost entirely by his relation-
cal) age of Sufism.”
ship with Freud. The two became intimate friends and corre-
sponded extensively. Jung initially concluded that Freud’s
BIBLIOGRAPHY
theories of the unconscious, dreams, childhood conflicts, and
Ansari, Muhammad. “The Doctrine of One Actor: Junayd’s View
psychological illnesses (neuroses) were essentially correct,
of Tawhid.” Islamic Quarterly 27, no. 2 (1983): 83–102.
and he adopted them in his own psychiatric work. Freud
Arberry, Arthur. Sufism: An Account of the Mystics of Islam. Lon-
considered Jung his most promising colleague.
don, 1968.
The close collaboration did not last. Each man began
Ess, Josef van. Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert
to misunderstand the other, and heated resentments devel-
Hidschra. Berlin and New York, 1997, vol. 4, pp. 278–288
oped. Freud insisted on the sexual roots of neurosis, whereas
and index under “G
˘ unaid.”
Jung advanced a nonsexual approach. Jung maintained that
el-Kader, Ali Abdel. The Life Personality and Writings of al-Junaid.
he could discern a religious dimension in psychoanalysis,
London, 1962.
whereas Freud insisted that the basis of psychoanalysis was
Knysh, Alexander. Islamic Mysticism: A Short History. Leiden,
entirely scientific. The two broke off their correspondence
2000. See pp. 52–56.
and in 1913 abandoned all professional collaboration. From
that time forward their personal lives, careers, psychological
Singh, Darshan. “Attitudes of al-Junayd and al-Hallaj Towards
the Sunna and Ahwal and Maqamat.” Islamic Culture 58, no.
theories, and theories of religion diverged, and their bitter-
3 (1984): 217–226.
ness toward each other never abated.
Z:a¯z:a¯, Zuhayr. Al-Ima¯m al-Junayd, Damascus, 1994.
Freud survived his disappointment with Jung by turn-
ing his energies to his other followers and to the worldwide
ALEXANDER KNYSH (2005)
recognition that his ideas were receiving, but Jung had far
less on which to fall back. Shaken by the break, he found it
necessary to isolate himself. In 1913 he resigned from his
JUNG, C. G. (1875–1961), was the originator of a dis-
teaching post at the University of Zurich and withdrew from
tinctive variety of depth psychology. Until recently, accounts
the International Psychoanalytic Association. He had left the
of the life and work of Carl Gustav Jung had emphasized the
Burghölzli in 1909. Having made these breaks, Jung entered
strong influence of Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) and had
a period of intense inner stress during which he was beset by
portrayed Jung as first an obedient follower of Freud and
disturbing fantasies, visions, and dreams. For the next several
then a rebellious dissident. Although Jung’s ideas were to a
years he occupied himself with analyzing the products of his
great extent influenced by his contact with Freud, Jung’s
own mind. Later he would look back on that turbulent time
originality preceded as well as followed his contact with
as the most creative period in his life. At its close he wrote
Freud (see Bair, 2004, and Shamdasani, 2004). Jung’s inde-
what have become his two most important works, Two Essays
pendence stems partly from his Christian background and
on Analytical Psychology (1943 and 1928/1935 in German,
is expressed in his mature conviction that depth psychology,
1953 in English) and Psychological Types (1921 in German,
his form of which he named analytical psychology, is insepa-
1923 in English). These books established Jung’s reputation
rable from a religious appreciation of the world. Jung has had
as the founder of his own school of depth psychology.
a greater influence on humanistic religious scholarship than
For the remainder of his life, Jung practiced his ap-
has Freud, whose psychology has been more influential in the
proach to psychotherapy, wrote prolifically, and lectured and
social sciences.
traveled widely. In addition to psychotherapy, two subjects
LIFE. Jung was born in the village of Kesswil, Switzerland,
of special interest to him were Western religion and the
the son of a Lutheran minister. When he was four years old
moral failures of modern society. His best-known books on
the family moved to Basel on Lake Constance, where Jung
these subjects are Answer to Job (1952 in German, 1954 in
spent his childhood and youth. He took a medical degree
English) and The Undiscovered Self (1957 in German, 1958
from the University of Basel in 1902. Believing that psychia-
in English). Near the end of his life Jung dictated an autobio-
try would allow him to combine his scientific with his hu-
graphical memoir, Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1962 in
manistic interests, Jung joined the staff of the Burghölzli, the
German, 1963 in English).
psychiatric clinic of the University of Zurich. There he
ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND RELIGION. The relationship
worked under Eugen Bleuler, its highly regarded director. In
between analytical psychology and religion is part of a broad-
1903 he married Emma Rauschenbach and moved to Küs-
er topic: the relationship between modernity and religion.
nacht, a small village near Zurich, on the shore of Lake Zu-
There are at least four views on this issue. The fundamental-
rich, where he spent the rest of his life.
ist view pits religion against modernity and opts for religion.
In 1900 Freud published what came to be his most fa-
It denies modernity, or at least its inescapability. For funda-
mous book, The Interpretation of Dreams, and began to at-
mentalists, religion can continue to exist as it purportedly has
tract a talented following. Among the most gifted was Jung.
done since the days of the apostles. Because fundamentalism
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5032
JUNG, C. G.
ignores rather than confronts modernity, it cannot be taken
cate, to comfort, to harmonize, or to give meaning. For ratio-
seriously as a response to modernity.
nalists, religion may serve a host of nonexplanatory functions
alongside its explanatory one; those functions may be more
The rationalist view is similar to the fundamentalist one
important than the explanatory one; and those functions
in that it pits religion against modernity. For both funda-
may overlap with the ones touted by romantics. But religion
mentalists and rationalists, there can be no modern religion,
cannot exist once it stops being an explanation. By contrast,
and the term modern religion is self-contradictory. However,
for romantics, religion can still exist and even thrive. In fact,
rationalism, antithetically to fundamentalism, opts for mo-
the conflict with science gives religion the opportunity to rid
dernity over religion. To rationalists, modernity itself is ines-
itself of its explanatory baggage and to make explicit for the
capable. One is born into the modern world. The question,
first time its nonexplanatory core. Far from undermining re-
then, is not, as for fundamentalists, whether modernity is ac-
ligion, science abets religion by compelling it to show that
ceptable to religion but whether religion is acceptable to mo-
it has always been something other than an explanation. Ro-
dernity. The rationalist answer is no.
mantics turn a necessity into a virtue.
For rationalists, modernity is coextensive with science,
and science, both natural and social, dooms religion. The sci-
The fourth view of the relationship between religion
entific attribution of events in the physical world to imper-
and modernity is the postmodern one. Like fundamentalists,
sonal processes is incompatible with the religious attribution
postmodernists refuse to defer to modernity, but not in the
of those events to the decisions of gods. Similarly, the social
name of religion, which they spurn as fully as rationalists do.
scientific attribution of human behavior to processes such as
In opposing modernity, they appeal not to prescientific reli-
socialization and internalization is incompatible with the re-
gion but to postscientific culture. They reject science as the
ligious attribution of that behavior to phenomena such as sin
epitome of modernity, by which they mean above all the be-
and possession. Because rationalists are by definition scientif-
lief in objectivity, neutrality, and universal truth. They
ic and cannot have both religion and science, they must re-
espouse subjectivity over objectivity, commitment over
ject religion for science.
neutrality, and local truth over universal truth. Like funda-
mentalists and unlike both rationalists and romantics, post-
Rationalists do not limit the function of religion to ex-
modernists deny the inescapability of modernity. Indeed, for
planation. They recognize that religion serves many other
them the heretofore moderns have already escaped it, for
functions as well, such as prescribing values. However, they
they are now living in postmodern times.
insist that the nonexplanatory functions rest on the explana-
tory one. For example, acceptance of Jesus as a preacher of
CATEGORIZING JUNG. Jung was not a fundamentalist. He
ethics depends on acceptance of Jesus as a resurrected
deferred to science and interpreted all aspects of religion
being—a scientific impossibility. Religion can work only
nonliterally. He was not a budding postmodernist either. He
when its explanation is accepted, and science precludes the
proudly considered his discoveries, beginning with his associ-
acceptance of that explanation.
ation tests, scrupulously scientific. If nothing else, he ante-
dated postmodernism. (For an attempt to see Jung as preco-
For rationalists, the impact of science on religion is even
ciously postmodern, see Hauke, 2000.)
more insidious. Science not only competes with religion but
also accounts for it. Science explains not only the world but,
Jung was a grand rationalist insofar as he explained reli-
through social science, religion itself. Religion does not
gion scientifically, that is, psychologically. No one psycholo-
merely cease to explain but becomes the explained. The ex-
gized religion more relentlessly than he. Certainly Freud
planation of religion typically provided transforms the chief
lacked both the patience and the erudition to do so. In such
function of religion from explanation into something socio-
essays as “A Psychological Approach to the Dogma of the
logical, economic, or psychological. To science is thus ceded
Trinity” (Jung, 1953–1966, vol. 11, paragraphs 169–295)
not only the explanation provided by religion but also reli-
and “Transformation Symbolism in the Mass” (Jung, 1953–
gion as an explanation. Religion remains irreconcilable with
1966, vol. 11, paragraphs 296–448) Jung translated every as-
modernity because the nonexplanatory functions still depend
pect of the religious phenomenon into psychological terms.
on the explanatory one: if religion can no longer serve to ex-
He psychologized not only the content but also the origin
plain the world to its adherents, it cannot exist, in which case
and function of religious belief and practice.
it can scarcely serve to do anything else.
Yet Jung was a grand romantic insofar as he was indiffer-
The romantic view breaks with both fundamentalism
ent to the explanatory function of religion. For him, religion
and rationalism in its refusal to oppose religion to modernity.
was a psychological activity clothed in an explanatory or a
Rather than forcing a choice between the two, it strives to
metaphysical guise. Hence he continually characterized him-
reconcile them. Like fundamentalists, romantics prize reli-
self as a psychologist rather than a metaphysician and regu-
gion as an eternal and invaluable possession. Nothing can su-
larly distinguished his psychological use of the term God
persede it. But unlike fundamentalists, romantics do not
from any metaphysical one: “When I say ‘God’ this is a psy-
prize religion as an explanation. Religion for them serves to
chic thing. . . . This has nothing whatever to do with God
do almost anything but explain. It serves to express, to advo-
per se” (Jung, 1973–1974, vol. I, p. 487). Jung bristled at
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUNG, C. G.
5033
his characterization, especially by theologians, as a meta-
cients. Primitives and ancients alike use religion to explain
physician.
the world, but religion functions simultaneously and uncon-
sciously to connect both groups to their unconscious. Reli-
Conversely, Jung’s rigid, Kantian-based distinction be-
gion operates circuitously by means of projection onto the
tween the metaphysical and the nonmetaphysical realms al-
physical world, so that one encounters oneself through en-
lowed him to psychologize metaphysics without becoming
countering god. Still, religion consciously serves as an expla-
metaphysical. Thus he objected as vigorously to theologians
nation, and the psychological function depends on the pro-
who denied him his psychological due as to those who mis-
jection involved in the explanation.
took his psychology for metaphysics: “Psychology has no
room for judgments like ‘only religious’ or ‘only philosophi-
By contrast, neither rationalists nor romantics are reli-
cal’ despite the fact that we too often hear the charge of
gious. Both groups have substantially withdrawn their pro-
something’s being ‘only psychological’—especially from
jections from the physical world. For them, the world is nat-
theologians” (Jung, 1963, p. 350). Even when Jung waxed
ural rather than supernatural, impersonal rather than
metaphysical, as in Memories, Dreams, Reflections, he did so
personified. It is explained by science, not religion: “Only in
as a metaphysician, not as a psychologist, thereby preserving
the following centuries, with the growth of natural science,
the distinction between the domains.
was the projection withdrawn from matter and entirely abol-
ished together with the psyche. . . . Nobody, it is true, any
Jung found most theologians exasperating not only be-
longer endows matter with mythological properties” (“The
cause they confused psychology with metaphysics but also
Philosophical Tree,” Jung, 1953–1966, vol. 13, paragraph
because, as theologians, they focused on religious belief. For
395). Although some projections onto the external world re-
Jung, the heart of religion is experience, not belief. Experi-
main, such as the anthropomorphizing of animals, most pro-
ence shapes belief or creed rather than vice versa: “I want to
jections are now onto fellow human beings: “Projection is
make clear that by the term ‘religion’ I do not mean a
now confined to personal and social relationships. . . .”
creed. . . . Creeds are codified and dogmatized forms of
(“The Philosophical Tree,” Jung, 1953–1966, vol. 13, para-
original religious experience” (“Psychology and Religion,”
graph 395).
Jung, 1953–1966, vol. XI, paragraphs 9–10).
Rationalists pride themselves on their rejection of reli-
Jung’s disdain for the creedal, explanatory, metaphysical
gion, which they set against not only science but also their
side of religion does not by itself make him a romantic. Even
image of themselves as progressive, omniscient, and omnipo-
a rationalist such as Freud would deem the main function
tent—in short, modern. They, not any divine puppeteers,
of religion psychological rather than explanatory. The ques-
are the masters of their destiny. They reject not only religion
tion is whether for Jung religion can exist after the rise of sci-
as explanation but also the explanation religion offers, for
ence. The question is whether for him religion can exclude
that explanation subjugates humans to gods. In rejecting reli-
belief yet remain religion. Where belief, like the rest of reli-
gion, rationalists unwittingly reject one of the best vehicles
gion, can be psychologized, the acceptance of religious belief
for encountering the unconscious. Of course, some rational-
requires the acceptance of it as true about the external world,
ists reject the idea of an unconscious as contrary to their self-
not merely as true about oneself. Therefore to say that for
image. Others, notably, Freud, stress the hold of the uncon-
Jung belief was expendable because he psychologized belief
scious on humans and consequently harbor a far more deter-
is to miss the point.
ministic view of human nature. Still, for Freud, the
JUNG’S STAGES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT. To see
unconscious lies within humans rather than outside them.
the place of religious belief for Jung, it is helpful to plot the
It replaces god as the determinant of human destiny. For
various stages of psychological growth into which he divides
some rationalists, religion is nothing but an explanation, and
humanity (see Segal, 1992). The terms used here for some
for them science does all that religion has done. For other
of the stages are this author’s, not Jung’s. The key divide for
rationalists, including Freud, religion is much more than an
Jung is between primitives and ancients on the one hand and
explanation, but it is still partly an explanation, and the tri-
rationalists and romantics on the other. Both primitives and
umph of science over religion as explanation undoes religion
ancients are religious, and overtly so. By ancients—an admit-
altogether.
tedly imprecise term of this author’s—is meant religious peo-
Although romantics no less than rationalists reject reli-
ple up through the present, including not only ancient Su-
gion as an explanation, they do not applaud the demise of
merian, Egyptian, and Greek religions but also Judaism,
religion. On the contrary, they bemoan the loss of religion
Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.
for its nonexplanatory functions, especially that of giving
Primitives project themselves onto the physical world in
meaning. Romantics seek to preserve or revive religion by re-
the form of gods and, furthermore, identify themselves with
conceiving it as other than explanatory and therefore as com-
those gods. Ancients also project themselves onto the physi-
patible with science.
cal world in the form of gods but do not identify themselves
JUNG’S RECONCILIATION OF RELIGION WITH SCIENCE. Jung
with their gods, who are taken as entities distinct from their
did not fault religion for losing rationalists or even romantics
worshippers. Today’s fundamentalists are the heirs of the an-
to science. As an explanation of the world, religion must
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5034
JUNG, C. G.
yield to science. Jung spurned sophisticated attempts to rec-
objected that the supposed incompatibility of myth with
oncile religious explanation with scientific explanation, for
modern knowledge stemmed from a false, literal interpreta-
example, by placing God behind the scenes.
tion of myth. Jung also believed that myth is indispensable
to experience and therefore to religion. Christianity had
Similarly, Jung did not fault science for making atheists
sought to overcome the opposition between religion and
of rationalists and romantics. He celebrated, not con-
modern knowledge by discarding belief that is at odds with
demned, science for its advances, and saw the development
knowledge—a rationalist kind of response in its preoccupa-
of psychology as part of the scientific enterprise, which for
tion with belief. However, in eliminating myth, Christianity
him encompassed social as well as natural science. He vaunt-
had eliminated experience as well.
ed himself as a scientist of the mind and declared psychology
to be the key science. Whether Jung is characterized as a ra-
By Christian mythology, Jung meant most of all the life
tionalist or a romantic, he refused to deny the triumph of
of Christ. Read literally, the Gospels are incompatible with
science over religion as an explanation of both the physical
history and science alike. Taken psychologically, the Gospels
and the human worlds. Contrary to fundamentalists, he be-
sidestep these impediments. The life of Christ becomes a
lieved that science had supplanted religion as explanation.
symbol of the archetypal journey of the hero from primordial
The only options left were to replace religion—the rationalist
unconsciousness (birth), to ego consciousness (adulthood),
response—or to reconceive it—the romantic response. Jung
to the return to the unconscious (crucifixion), and to the re-
opted, or seemingly opted, for the romantic route.
emergence from it to form the self (resurrection). Without
denying the historicity of Christ, Jung maintained that
Jung’s strategy was to separate mythology from the rest
Christ can be inspirational even as a mythical, that is, a psy-
of religion and to offer mythology as a psychological, not an
chological, hero. In arguing that the prime appeal of Christ
explanatory, phenomenon. Severed from the rest of religion,
has always been psychological rather than historical, Jung es-
that is, from religion as explanation, mythology could con-
poused a romantic position. The obstacles that modern his-
tinue to exist in the face of science. By mythology, Jung
torical and scientific knowledge pose to a literal rendition of
meant the stories of the lives of gods and heroes.
Christ’s life offer an opportunity to make clear for the first
For Jung, mythology and religion traditionally had
time the psychological meaning intended from the outset.
worked in tandem. Together with ritual, the other part of
Ironically, Jung’s position was in fact close to Bultmann’s.
religion for Jung, mythology had provided the best entrée to
Both sought to show that Christian mythology had never
God. In contrast to belief, which provides only information,
been intended to be taken literally, so that the impossibility
myth offers experience: “The protean mythologem and the
of continuing to accept it literally was a blessing in disguise.
shimmering symbol express the processes of the psyche far
Jung never faulted Christian mythology for its out-
more trenchantly and, in the end, far more clearly than the
datedness, only its interpreters: “Our myth has become
clearest concept; for the symbol not only conveys a visualiza-
mute, and gives no answers. The fault lies not in it as it is
tion of the process but—and this is perhaps just as impor-
set down in the Scriptures, but solely in us, who have not
tant—it also brings a re-experiencing of it” (“Paracelsus as
developed it further, who, rather, have suppressed any such
a Spiritual Phenomenon,” Jung, 1953–1956, vol. 13, para-
attempts” (Jung, 1963, p. 332). By developing Christian my-
graph 199).
thology, Jung did not propose altering the psychological
meaning of the life of Christ. He intended only to be expli-
Unlike early Christianity, present-day Christianity had
cating that meaning by filtering out the literal rendition.
failed to update its myths. That failure was part of its overall
inability to reinvigorate itself. Sometimes Jung argued that
At the same time Jung recognized that religion had
Christianity had gone astray in trying to meet the challenge
ceased to be an option for many persons, even though he,
of science by severing belief from experience and relying only
unlike Bultmann, acknowledged that many others remain or
on belief. Jung’s objection was that belief without experience
seek to remain the equivalent of the ancients. For those for
is empty and that belief is in any case often incompatible
whom religion is no longer a possibility, such as rationalists,
with modern historical as well as scientific knowledge. At
the alternative to psychologizing religious myths is to replace
other times Jung contended that Christianity had gone astray
them with secular ones.
by turning belief into dogmatic faith severed from knowl-
SECULAR MYTHS. For Jung, secular myths minimally take
edge. Jung’s objection here was that even faith requires expe-
the form of a recasting of traditional, religious myths in secu-
rience to sustain itself.
lar garb:
Although these criticisms did not involve myth, at other
Mythological motifs frequently appear, but clothed in
modern dress; for instance, instead of the eagle of Zeus,
times Jung asserted that present-day Christianity had erred
or the great roc, there is an airplane; the fight with the
in its attempt to update itself by eliminating myth, for exam-
dragon is a railway smash; the dragon-slaying hero is an
ple, in the theological liberals’ transformation of Jesus into
operatic tenor; the Earth Mother is a stout lady selling
a teacher of timeless ethics and in the theologian Rudolf
vegetables; the Pluto who abducts Persephone is a reck-
Bultmann’s project of “demythologizing,” which Jung mis-
less chauffeur, and so on. (“Psychology and Literature,”
interpreted as eliminating rather than preserving myth. Jung
Jung, 1953–1966, vol. 15, paragraph 152)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUNG, C. G.
5035
Far more significant has been the creation of distinctive-
city restores to the world the meaningfulness that projections
ly secular myths, of which Jung’s best example is the belief
once provided.
in flying saucers. That belief is widespread and arouses the
Synchronicity is not itself myth. It is the experience of
archetypal emotions of awe and fear. Flying saucers are in-
the world as meaningful. Myth would be an account of that
voked to explain events in the physical world, such as fast-
experience. The payoff, however, would be less an explana-
flying objects and strange lights. Above all, these technologi-
tion of the world than connectedness to the world. Secular
cally advanced phenomena fit the present-day scientific self-
myths that, like the myth of flying saucers, connect one to
image: “It is characteristic of our time that the archetype . . .
the physical world and not just to other human beings have
should now take the form of an object, a technological con-
the potential to duplicate the past existential as well as psy-
struction, in order to avoid the odiousness of mythological
chological functions of religious myths.
personification. Anything that looks technological goes
down without difficulty with modern man” (“Flying Sau-
JUNG AS ROMANTIC. In conclusion, Jung was a rationalist in-
cers: A Modern Myth,” Jung, 1953–1966, vol. 10, paragraph
sofar as he sought secular myths, that is, he sought alterna-
624).
tives to religious myths. As a rationalist, he could grant that
the function of religious myths was no more explanatory
For primitives and ancients, myth functions outwardly
than that of secular ones, but he would still argue that reli-
as well as inwardly not merely in explaining the world but
gious myths worked only for those who explained the world
also in giving it meaningfulness. A personified world operates
religiously. Secular myths were needed for those who now
responsively, in accordance with the purposes of gods and
explained the world scientifically.
the pleas of humans. To cite Jung’s favorite example,
However, Jung was a romantic insofar as he considered
The Pueblo Indians believe that they are the sons of Fa-
secular myths to be secular versions of religious ones rather
ther Sun, and this belief endows their life with a per-
than secular alternatives to religious ones. He was thus re-
spective (and a goal) that goes far beyond their limited
taining religion even in the face of science. First, he used the
existence. . . . Their plight is infinitely more satisfac-
term myths in referring to secular myths, thereby linking
tory than that of a man in our own civilization who
them to religion. Second, the fullest secular myths, such as
knows that he is (and will remain) nothing more than
the myth of flying saucers, concern the physical world and
an underdog with no inner meaning to his life. (Jung,
1968, p. 76)
thereby restore the symmetry between humans and the world
formerly provided by religious myths. Third, the myth of fly-
Jung granted that most secular myths do not, like the myth
ing saucers nearly brings back gods to the world in the form
of flying saucers, connect adherents to the physical world.
of the omniscient and omnipotent occupants of the saucers.
Most myths presuppose the withdrawal of projections from
the world, which now is experienced as impersonal and
At the same time the link of secular myths to the physi-
therefore meaningless. Most secular myths refer only to the
cal world evinces a rationalist residue in Jung. Even if the
human world and not to the physical one. For example, the
myth of flying saucers primarily shapes the way the world is
myth of the Cold War as an apocalyptic struggle between
experienced and not the way it is explained, that myth does
the forces of good and the forces of evil demonizes Commu-
explain outer events. Moreover, the line between experience
nists but not the earth. Still, Jung sought the existential, not
and explanation is blurry, and explanation affects experience.
merely the psychological, import of myths: connecting hu-
Rather than ceding the physical world to science, secular
mans to the external world.
myths try to reclaim it.
Conversely, one might maintain, Jung so relentlessly
That continuing import is evinced above all in Jung’s
psychologized (and existentialized) religion that religion re-
concept of synchronicity. Synchronicity restores to the phys-
placed by psychology was religion as it had always been,
ical world its meaningfulness even without its personality,
whether or not this interpretation had ever been recognized
which science precludes. Meaningfulness is now inherent in
by its practitioners. That is how Jung could trace a straight
the outer world rather than imposed on it through projec-
line from Gnostic religion to alchemy to analytical psy-
tion: “Synchronistic experiences serve our turn here. They
chology:
point to a latent meaning which is independent of [our] con-
sciousness” (Jung, 1973–1974, vol. II, p. 495). Meaningful-
[W]hen I began to understand alchemy I realized that
ness stems not from the existence of god, or personality, in
it represented the historical link with Gnosticism, and
the world but from the symmetry between human beings
that a continuity therefore existed between past and
and the world. Still, the effect is the same as that once provid-
present. Grounded in the natural philosophy of the
ed by gods: rather than being alien and indifferent to hu-
Middle Ages, alchemy formed the bridge on the one
mans, the world proves to be akin to humans, not because
hand into the past, to Gnosticism, and on the other into
gods respond to human wishes or because human wishes di-
the future, to the modern psychology of the uncon-
scious. (Jung, 1963, p. 201)
rectly affect the world but because human thoughts corre-
spond to the nature of the world. Jung continued to demand
Analytical psychology represented an advance over
the withdrawal of projections from the world, but synchroni-
Gnosticism and alchemy only in separating out what in them
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5036
JUNO
had been a mix of metaphysics and psychology. Taken this
Segal, Robert A., ed. Jung on Mythology. Princeton, N.J., and Lon-
way, Jung was a consummate romantic.
don, 1998. A sourcebook on both Jung and Jungians (Neu-
mann, Von Franz, and Hillman).
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the nones, in a ceremony “intended to strengthen the light
Noll, Richard. The Jung Cult. Princeton, N.J., 1994. Argues that
of night” (Dumézil, 1975) and connected with the cult ren-
Jung, far from being committed to science, cloaked funda-
dered to Jupiter in the Poplifugia of July 5. Similarly, Juno
mentally antimodernist, atavistic, religious inclinations in a
modern, secular guise.
Regina of the Capitol is venerated, along with Jupiter, on
September 13, the ides, in the left chapel of the Capitoline
Rowland, Susan. Jung: A Feminist Revision. Cambridge, U.K.,
temple, the anniversary of which falls on that date (Livy,
2002. The finest feminist assessment of Jungian psychology.
7.3.5).
Ryce-Menuhin, Joel, ed. Jung and the Monotheisms: Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. London and New York, 1994. A dis-
In Roman history Juno intervened in several instances.
cussion of Jung and Western religions.
In 396 BCE the dictator M. Furius Camillus obtained the
Segal, Robert A., ed. The Gnostic Jung. Princeton, N.J., and Lon-
consent of Uni, the Etruscan homologue of Juno and the
don, 1992.
protectress of the hostile town of Veii, to be transferred from
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUPITER
5037
her besieged town to the Aventine in Rome. Thus a second
of dies, or “day”; while in the second element we find the
Juno Regina, this one of foreign origin, was established in
Latin word pater, meaning “father.” Iuppiter therefore identi-
the capital (Livy, 5.21.3, 22.4–6). In 390 BCE the Capitol
fies the “god of heavenly light.” Many of the ancients were
was saved from the Gauls by the honking of geese, birds sa-
aware of this meaning; Paulus-Festus for example, describes
cred to Juno (Livy, 5.47.3–4). Was this an intervention of
the epithet Lucetius, referring to the god, this way: “Luceti-
Juno Moneta (“the warner”; see Cicero, De divinatione
um Iovem appellabant quod eum lucis esse causam crede-
1.101)? In 344 BCE a temple was dedicated to her by the dic-
bant” (Jupiter was called Lucetius since he was believed to
tator L. Furius Camillus, the son of the aforementioned Mar-
be the author of light). The name Iuppiter belongs to the
cus (Livy, 7.28.4). The establishment of a mint near this
Indo-European domain, and is semantically related to the
sanctuary to Moneta (Ad Monetae; Livy, 6.20.13) gave to the
Greek Zeus, which stems from *dyeus.
word moneta the meaning of “money.”
All Italians recognized Jupiter as their god, particularly
Syncretism had little effect upon Juno. In the lectisterni-
the Latins, who honored him under the title of Jupiter Lat-
um of 217 BCE she was simply paired with Jupiter after the
iaris during the Feriae Latinae. This feast was celebrated each
example of the Greek couple Zeus and Hera.
year under the auspices of Alba Longa on the summit of the
Alban Hills. It continued in this location as a movable feast
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(feriae conceptivae) after Rome replaced Alba as the supervisor
Dumézil, Georges. La religion romaine archaïque. 2d ed. Paris,
of this federal ceremony. Moreover, Jupiter is present in the
1974. See page 299 on the etymology and pages 303–310
Umbrian ritual of the Bronze Tables of Iguvium. This feast
on the Italic Junoes. This work has been translated from the
first edition by Philip Krapp as Archaic Roman Religion, 2
celebrates Jupiter, Mars, and Vofionus; Table VI lists the
vols. (Chicago, 1970).
three identical prayers accompanying the sacrifices of three
oxen, one to each of the deities. Tinia, the great god of the
Dumézil, Georges. Fêtes romaines d’été et d’automne. Paris, 1975.
Etruscan pantheon, was equivalent to Zeus-Jupiter; he con-
See pages 271–283 on Juno Caprotina, written in partner-
ship with Paul Drossart.
trolled three kinds of lightning. This supreme deity was often
represented on mirrors, accompanied by Uni (Juno) and
Schilling, Robert. Rites, cultes, dieux de Rome. Paris, 1979. See
Menrva (Minerva), with background images from Greek my-
pages 233–239 on Juno Covella and pages 239–244 on Juno
Sororia.
thology.
Wissowa, Georg. Religion und Kultus der Römer. 2d ed. Munich,
Ancient Rome honored Jupiter as the supreme god. His
1912. See pages 181–191 for a general treatment.
preeminence was never called into question, not even when
New Sources
syncretism brought in the ritus Graecus (Greek rite): in the
Champeaux, Jacqueline. “Religion romaine et religion latin: les
lectisternium of 217 BCE, Jupiter, along with Juno, held the
cultes de Jupiter et Junon à Préneste.” Revue des études Latines
highest rank. Jupiter served as the keystone in the ancient
60 (1982): 71–104.
triad of gods, along with Mars and Quirinus; later, in the
Dury-Moyaers, Geneviève. “Aperçu critique relatif au culte de
Capitoline triad, his companions became Juno and Minerva.
Junon.” In Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt
According to Latin and Greek historiography, and also ac-
2.17.1, pp. 142–202. Berlin and New York, 1981.
cording to archaeological evidence, the Capitoline temple of
Dury-Moyaers, Geneviève. “Réflexions à propos de l’iconographie
Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva with its three cellae was built at
de Iuno Sospita.” In Beiträge zur altitalischen Geistesgesch-
the end of the sixth century by Etruscan kings, the Tarquinii.
ichte. Festschrift Gerhard Radke, pp. 83–101. Münster, 1986.
Some scholars have also speculated on an Etruscan origin for
Fabian, Klaus Dietrich. Aspekte einer Entwicklungsgeschichte der
the Latin triads, or another triad associating Ceres, Liber,
römisch-lateinischen Göttin Juno. Berlin, 1978.
and Libera (whose temple was dedicated on the Aventine at
the beginning of the Republic).
Fabian, Klaus Dietrich. “Ex numine dea? Überlegungen zum
numinosen Ursprung der römischen Göttin Iuno.” In Bei-
The Jupiter of the archaic epoch, specified as Jupiter
träge zur altitalischen Geistesgeschichte. Festschrift Gerhard
Feretrius—an epithet that the ancients traced to either ferre
Radke, pp. 102–115. Münster, 1986.
(to bear, carry) or ferire (to slay, strike)—was venerated in
Häussler, Reinhard. Hera und Juno. Wiesbaden, 1995.
a chapel located on the summit of the Capitoline thought
Pailler, Jean-Marie, “Quaestiunculae Dumezilianae. 1. Origines
to have been built by Romulus. There, the first king of Rome
de Rome, trivalence féminine, hagiographie.” Pallas 48
consecrated the first spolia opima (spoils seized from a slain
(1998): 203–224.
enemy commander) to Jupiter. According to Paulus-Festus,
ROBERT SCHILLING (1987)
the sanctuary of Jupiter Feretrius contained “sceptrum per
Translated from French by Paul C. Duggan
quod iurarent et lapidem silicem quo foedus ferirent” (“a
Revised Bibliography
sword for swearing oaths and a flintstone for concluding
treaties”). Livy records that the Roman Fetialis, the college
of priestly officials responsible for ritual declarations of war
JUPITER. The name Iuppiter is made up of two elements:
or peace, concluded a treaty in the name of the Roman peo-
the first, Iou-, stems from the Indo-European *dyeu, the root
ple with the Alban people they prayed precisely to Jupiter
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5038
JUPITER
Feretrius to smite (ferire) the Roman people if they should
Many other epithets illustrate different aspects of Jupi-
deviate from the treaty, similar to the way the priest would
ter. Some correspond to his atmospheric manifestations,
strike the sacrificial pig with the flintstone. Plutrach records
such as Jupiter Tonans (the thunderer) or Jupiter Fulgur (he
that near the sanctuary of Jupiter Feretrius, the Ludi Capi-
who throws lightning). Others refer to his magical or juridi-
tolini (Capitoline games) were celebrated each year on the
cal interventions, such as Jupiter Stator (he who immobilizes
ides of October; they consisted of hand-to-hand combat and
or Jupiter Fidius (loyalty warranter). During the historical
foot races.
epoch, however, his principal title was officially Jupiter Opti-
mus Maximus. The anniversary of the founding of his tem-
Jupiter is linked with Roman triumph. Romans believed
ple on the Capitoline fell on the ides of September, and it
their victories arose from two factors: the excellence of the
was followed by the Ludi Romani (Roman games). On the
general and from the favor of the supreme god who, as opti-
calends of January, the new consuls would go there, accom-
mus and maximus, ensured the prosperity of the Roman Em-
panied by senators, magistrates, priests, and common people.
pire. Victory processions were directed towards Capitolium,
The consul named to lead a military expedition would pro-
where the victor would present a solemn offering to Iuppiter
nounce the vota, which were prayers and promises for gain-
Optimus Maximus; the triumphator (victor) appeared to have
ing a victory. Upon his triumphant return, he would go to
achieved the rank of a god. The triumphator was clothed in
the temple to give thanks to the sovereign god.
the vestis triumphalis: the tunica palmata, thus called because
of the palm-branches embroidered on it; and the toga picta,
SEE ALSO Fides; Flamen; Indo-European Religions, overview
a name also owed to its rich embroidery; on his head, he wore
article; Juno; Minerva; Quirinus; Roman Religion, article
the corona laurea, or crown of laurels, the symbol of the tri-
on the Early Period.
umph. Scholars differ in their interpretations of the figure
of the triumphator and the meaning of his insignia: some
BIBLIOGRAPHY
scholars saw the personification and embodiment of the god
Banti, Laura. “Il culto del cosidetto tempio di Apollo a Veii e il
problema delle triadi etrusco-italiche.” Studi Etruschi 17
Jupiter, but others traced back the insignia triumphalia to the
(1943): 187–224.
regal robes; consequently, they recognized the former rex in
the triumphator. By wearing the ornatus Iovis and the corona
Brelich, Angelo. “Juppiter e le idus.” In Ex orbe religionum. Studia
Geo Windengren oblata, pp. 299–306. Leiden, 1972.
Etrusca, by having his face painted with the red lead, and by
exclaiming triumpe, the triumphator is viewed as the god
Cazeneuve, O. “Jupiter, Liber et le vin latin.” Revue d’Histoire des
Religions 205 (1988): 245–265.
manifesting himself. This idea may have originated in Etrus-
can kingship and thus can be explained against the back-
Dumézil, Georges. Jupiter, Mars, Quirinus, Essai sur la conception
ground of Etruscan religion. These robes, which had origi-
indo-européenne de la société et sur les origines de Rome. Paris,
1941.
nally become the state robes of the king when they had
turned into ornatus Iovis, were, on the very day of the tri-
Dumézil, Georges. “Quaestiones indo-italicae, 14 (Jupiter et les
Vinalia), 15 (Le mythe des Vinalia priora), 16 (Inter exta
umph, taken back from the god by the king, who then was
caesa et porrecta).” Revue des Études Latines 39 (1961):
characterized as both Jupiter and king.
261–274.
Being god of heaven, Jupiter protected all the ides, or
Dumézil, Georges. La religion romaine archaïque. 2d ed. Paris,
“days of full light,” so called because those days were pro-
1974. Translated from the first edition by Philip Krapp as
longed by a full moon. The ides were the thirteenth day of
Archaic Roman Religion, 2 vols. (Chicago, 1970).
most months, but the fifteenth day in March, May, July, and
Fowler, W. Warde. “Juppiter and the Triumphator.” Classical Re-
October. On these days, the Romans offered Jupiter a sacrifi-
view 30 (1916): 153.
cial lamb (ovis Idulis). His cult was maintained by the flamen
Gantz, Timothy. “Divine Triads on an Archaic Etruscan Frieze
Dialis, who was “in the god’s permanent service,” and was
Plaque from Poggio Civitate (Murlo).” Studi Etruschi 39
“celebrated every day.” His principal feast was celebrated on
(1971): 1–22.
the Vinalia, which were divided into the Vinalia Rustica (Au-
Koch, Carl. Der römischen Juppiter (Frankfurter Studien zur Reli-
gust 19), marked by the consecration of grapes, and the Vi-
gion und Kultur der Antike). Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany,
nalia Priora (April 23), marked by the offering of wine. The
1937.
feast of the Meditrinalia (October 11), celebrating the magi-
Montanari, Enrico. Identità culturale e conflitti religiosi nella Roma
cal and medical power of the vinum novum also honored Ju-
reppublicana. Rome, 1988.
piter. Together with Venus, he was venerated as the sover-
Rufus, Fear Julius. “The Cult of Jupiter and Roman Imperial Ide-
eign god, protector of the Romans. From a naturalistic point
ology.” Aufstieg und Nidergang der römischen Welt, II, 17, no.
of view, scholars point to the gift of the wine to Jupiter as
1, 1981: 3–143.
a proof of an “agrarian” god; in fact, Latin peasants honored
Schilling, Robert. Rites, cultes, dieux de Rome. Paris, 1979.
Jupiter because his powers could endanger their crops and
Schilling, Robert. La religion romaine de Vénus. 2d ed. Paris, 1982.
the vineyards. The link between Jupiter and wine and Jupiter
Versnel, Henobrik Simon. Triumphus. An Inquiry into the Origin,
and Venus (who is associated with Jupiter in the Vinalia) in-
Development, and Meaning of the Roman Triumph. Leiden,
dicates his sovereignty and preeminence.
1970.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUSTIFICATION
5039
Wissowa, Georg. Religion und Kultus der Römer. 2d ed. Munich,
formation of humanity’s relationship to God as effected by
1912.
Christ. Other terms draw on the imagery of healing (salva-
ROBERT SCHILLING (1987)
tion), economics (redemption), and warfare (ransom), all of
CHARLES GUITTARD (2005)
which suggest rescue or release from captivity to some alien
Translated from French by Paul C. Duggan
power. By contrast, justification is a legal metaphor that con-
notes the vindication of an accused party before a judge and,
more specifically, acquittal from self-incurred guilt. In bibli-
JUSTICE SEE COSMOLOGY; DHARMA;
cal perspective, to be justified is to be reestablished in right
ESCHATOLOGY; FATE; JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD;
relationship with God in spite of having violated that rela-
LAW AND RELIGION; THEODICY
tionship: “Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered; blessed is the one against whom
the Lord will not reckon sin” (Rom. 4: 7–8, quoting Ps. 32:
JUSTIFICATION. Christianity teaches that the minis-
1–2).
try of Jesus Christ has established the conditions necessary
The language of justification reflects Christianity’s roots
for human beings to live in communion with God, both in
in Judaism and, more specifically, the Jewish belief in God’s
the present and in eternity. The doctrine of atonement refers
covenant with the people of Israel. In ancient Judaism cove-
to the objective basis for this communion (i.e., how God’s
nant was understood as a formal relationship, solemnly
action in Christ makes such communion possible for hu-
agreed between two parties, in which each has certain re-
mankind in general). By contrast, the doctrine of justifica-
sponsibilities to the other. For Israel, fidelity to its covenant
tion refers to its subjective basis (i.e., how this possibility is
with God was a matter of obedience to the law: the com-
actualized in and for individual human beings). The justified
mandments, ordinances, and statutes given by God to Israel
person is one who has realized the possibility of communion
on Mount Sinai. These commandments structured common
with God established by Christ. The one who has not been
life by laying out the people’s obligations to God and each
justified has somehow failed to do so, and thus persists in the
other. God had promised to reward the keeping of the law
state of alienation or estrangement from God that Jesus was
with prosperity, but threatened those who broke it with
sent to overcome.
judgment and punishment (see, e.g., Deut. 28).
OVERALL PLACE OF THE CONCEPT IN CHRISTIANITY. The
topic of justification has assumed particular importance in
The apostle Paul is the New Testament writer who deals
the history of Christian thought owing to internal disagree-
most explicitly with the theme of justification. The language
ments over the way in which individuals appropriate the ben-
of justification is most prominent in his correspondence with
efits of Christ’s work for themselves. Although all sides have
the churches at Galatia (c. 54 CE) and Rome (c. 58 CE),
confessed the priority of God’s grace in sending Jesus in the
though it is present in other letters as well. The key Greek
first place, consensus on the degree to which this gracious
terms relating to this concept in the Pauline corpus are the
initiative needs to be complemented by some separate
verb dikaioun (normally translated as “to justify”) and its
human action has been harder to achieve. The question at
nominal and adjectival cognates dikaiosune and dikaios (nor-
issue in these debates may be stated fairly easily. Granted that
mally translated as “righteousness” and “righteous,” respec-
the aim of Christ’s ministry was a transformation of the rela-
tively).
tionship between God and humankind, and granted that the
In Galatians, Paul is arguing with a competing group
concept of relationship implies the active participation of
of Christian missionaries who teach that Gentile Christians
both parties, what are the respective roles of God and human
need to observe the Jewish law in order to be justified.
beings in effecting justification?
Against this position, Paul maintains that the law does not
Two concerns have tended to shape the ways in which
justify. He breaks the conceptual link between justification
Christians have attempted to answer this question. On the
and keeping the law by arguing that the covenant with Israel
one hand, there has been a desire to minimize any talk of
was established with God’s promise to bless the descendants
human activity with respect to justification in order to stress
of Abraham, more than four hundred years before the giving
God’s graciousness as the founder and guarantor of this rela-
of the law. The example of Abraham shows that the basis of
tionship. On the other hand, there has been just as strong
justification is not keeping the law, but simply God’s prom-
a desire to emphasize human activity as a means of avoiding
ise—and thus a matter of grace rather than works (Gal. 3:
any suggestion that God’s graciousness undermines the free-
17–18).
dom and responsibility of human beings as active partici-
The letter to the Romans lacks the polemical context of
pants in this relationship. Different groups’ positions on jus-
Galatians and provides a more detailed development of
tification can be interpreted for the most part as the result
Paul’s views. He argues that all people, Jews and Gentiles,
of an inclination to regard one or the other of these concerns
have violated the law and therefore stand under God’s judg-
as the more theologically pressing.
ment (Rom. 3: 9, 23). It follows that justification cannot
BIBLICAL ROOTS OF THE CONCEPT. Justification is one of
come by fulfilling the demands of the law; rather, people “are
many terms used in the New Testament to refer to the trans-
justified by [God’s] grace as a gift, through the redemption
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5040
JUSTIFICATION
which is in Christ Jesus” (3: 24). Once again, justification
own power. The freedom of the will that Pelagius champi-
is the result of divine gift, rather than of human achievement
oned was therefore illusory. According to Augustine, human
(4: 6; 11: 5–6). Just as Abraham was justified by his faith in
beings were justified exclusively by God’s free gift of grace
God’s promises long before the law was given (4: 3–5), so
and not by their own efforts, to the extent that human salva-
now the basis for life in covenant with God is faith in Christ,
tion and damnation alike were determined exclusively by
through whom the justification obtained by Abraham has
God’s decree (the doctrine of double predestination).
been made available to all peoples (4: 11–12).
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD. Though Pela-
JUSTIFICATION IN EARLY CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. Though
gianism was officially condemned at the Councils of Car-
Paul’s letters quickly acquired canonical status within the
thage in 418 and Ephesus in 431, Augustine’s views did not
early church, his views on justification do not appear to have
win unconditional support. The Greek-speaking churches of
been accepted with great enthusiasm. The theme of justifica-
the East did not accept his denial of free will. In the Latin-
tion is largely absent from the later, pseudo-Pauline letters
speaking West, the fifth and sixth centuries saw the rise of
that would eventually be included in the New Testament
a so-called “semi-Pelagian” position that sought to strike
(though, see Tit. 3: 7), and still other biblical writers directly
more of a balance between human responsibility and divine
challenge the idea of justification by faith apart from works
grace than Augustine seemed to allow, arguing that freedom
(Jas. 2: 14, 22–24). In short, it appears that while the memo-
of the will had not been so damaged by the fall as to preclude
ry of Paul was revered, his writings were seen as potentially
all human initiative in the process of justification. Though
dangerous (2 Pet. 3: 15–16), presumably because his empha-
semi-Pelagianism, too, was eventually condemned at the Sec-
sis on grace over works was seen as undermining ethical rigor
ond Council of Orange in 529, Western theology continued
in the church (a charge that Paul himself explicitly rejects in
to be marked by debates over the relationship between
Rom. 3: 8 and 6: 1–2).
human freedom and divine grace in justification throughout
the medieval period.
The general eclipse of Paul’s teaching on justification
within the church only increased in the first centuries after
The fifth-century condemnations of Pelagianism ex-
his death. The concern over a legalistic understandings of
cluded any overt teaching of justification by works from sub-
justification that had prompted Paul’s letter to the Galatians
sequent Catholic theology. At the same time, the desire not
evaporated with the rapid disappearance of a distinct Jewish
to undermine the integrity of human beings as responsible
presence within the church. Furthermore, in response to
agents before God tended to push many theologians away
Gnostic Christians (who were understood to teach a kind of
from Augustine’s strict predestinarianism. Furthermore, the
determinism with respect to human destiny), the leading
emergence in Western Europe of the careful distinctions of
theologians of the church’s first centuries were anxious to
Scholastic theology in tandem with an increasingly intricate
stress the role of the human will in justification rather than
penitential practice led to an increasing understanding of
echo Paul’s emphasis on grace apart from works. This per-
God’s righteousness as an impartial justice that could be sat-
spective, which stresses the way in which the incarnation re-
isfied only through individual human beings’ acquisition of
news the capacities of fallen human nature, remains domi-
merit. Consequently, the degree to which human beings
nant in the Eastern Orthodox churches to the present day.
could be said to acquire merit before God without succumb-
ing to Pelagianism became a central issue in medieval ac-
It was not until the Pelagian controversy in the fifth cen-
counts of justification.
tury that justification again emerged as a central theme in
Christian theology. Pelagius (died c. 420) was a British ascet-
Gabriel Biel (c. 1425–1495) sought to avoid a crudely
ic who wanted to instill greater ethical rigor into what he saw
Pelagian account of justification by works while also leaving
as a church that imperial patronage had rendered morally
room for human initiative. He argued that while a person’s
flaccid. To this end, he emphasized human beings’ responsi-
deeds apart from grace are always objectively worthless (i.e.,
bility for their status before God: though he taught that di-
without merit) before God, God had determined for Christ’s
vine grace was the ultimate source of human freedom, he in-
sake to reward with grace those who do their best (facere quod
sisted that justification depended upon the individual’s use
in se est) as though their deeds were meritorious. This theory
of that freedom and thus was finally a matter of human
seemed both to exclude justification by works (since it was
achievement.
acknowledged that human works had no objective merit),
and to allow that human beings could dispose themselves for
Pelagius and his followers were opposed by Augustine
the receipt of justifying grace by their own natural powers.
of Hippo (354–430), who maintained that their position un-
dermined the unmerited and gracious character of justifica-
Biel by no means represented the consensus position
tion. In defending what he saw as clear Pauline teaching, Au-
among his contemporaries. Many important theologians (es-
gustine challenged Pelagius’s account of human freedom by
pecially members of the Dominican and Augustinian orders)
defining a distinctly Western doctrine of original sin. Augus-
rejected outright the idea that a person could ever be said to
tine argued that Adam’s fall had corrupted not only his own
merit grace, even in the highly attenuated sense specified by
will, but also that of his descendants in such a way that ren-
Biel. Still, the “modern school” (via moderna) of which Biel
dered human beings incapable of turning to God by their
was a representative was influential in many quarters, includ-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUSTIFICATION
5041
ing the faculty of the University of Erfurt, where the German
tinianism is the role of faith. Where Augustine had defended
reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) received his theologi-
justification by grace, Luther spoke of justification by grace
cal training.
through faith (Eph. 2: 8), or, still more succinctly, of justifi-
THE ROLE OF THE CONCEPT IN THE REFORMATION AND
cation by faith alone (sola fide). Because justification was
PROTESTANTISM. Luther soon began to have doubts about
rooted in God’s promise to be gracious to humanity for
Biel’s account of justification. His worries were at once theo-
Christ’s sake, to be justified was nothing else than to have
logical and existential: Biel had taught that justification was
faith or believe in that promise as addressed to oneself. Im-
conditional on doing one’s best, but how was the individual
portantly, the point of sola fide was not to make faith a condi-
to know if she or he had truly fulfilled this condition?
tion of justification (as though faith were itself a meritorious
Though Biel had conceived “doing one’s best” as a minimal
work that earned God’s favor), but rather to re-enforce the
requirement, Luther, acutely conscious of his own sin, found
principle that trust was to be placed in Christ rather than
he could never be sure that he had done even that much.
oneself. For this reason, justification by faith alone has been
After a thorough study of Paul, he eventually concluded that
characterized by Lutherans in particular as the article by
Biel’s account was wrong: justification did not depend on
which the church stands or falls (articulus stantis vel cadentis
humans meeting any prior condition.
ecclesiae).
Though Luther would go on to substantiate his claims
ROLE IN SUBSEQUENT THEOLOGICAL DISCUSSION. Though
by reference to Augustine’s anti-Pelagian writings, his views
widely accepted by other Protestant reformers, including es-
on justification were in many ways quite distinct from those
pecially John Calvin (1509–1564), Luther’s doctrine of justi-
of Augustine and medieval Augustinians. Augustine had seen
fication was rejected by the Catholic magisterium at the
justification as the product of the divine gift of grace. Against
Council of Trent (1545–1563). In its “Decree on Justifica-
the Pelagian claim that human beings could fulfill the com-
tion,” the Council affirmed the priority of grace against both
mandments by an exercise of the will, Augustine had insisted
Pelagianism and the theology of Biel, but also taught that
that the will of fallen human beings was corrupted and could
human beings actively cooperated in their own justification.
be healed only by a gift of grace that turned it to God. In
Faith given by God was affirmed as the beginning of justifi-
short, for Augustine, God’s grace justified human beings by
cation, but the idea of justification by faith alone and the as-
giving them the capacity to be in right relationship with
sociated teaching that grace was imputed rather than im-
God.
parted were explicitly condemned. If Luther was worried that
Catholic emphasis on human cooperation undermined trust
By contrast, Luther denied that right relationship with
in God as the sole source of salvation, Catholics charged that
God had anything to do with human capacities, whether in
the Lutheran sola fide failed to honor God’s creation of
their natural state (as Pelagius had held) or as transformed
human beings as free and responsible agents.
by grace (as Augustine had argued). To suggest they did, he
insisted, would cause human beings to look to themselves for
Without seeking to minimize the differences between
evidence of their justification in a way that would lead either
Protestant and Catholic positions on justification, it may be
to arrogant presumption or crushing doubt regarding their
noted that representatives of the two traditions in the Refor-
status before God. Instead, Luther read Paul as teaching that
mation era frame the doctrine in very different ways. The
the righteousness by which human beings were justified was
Tridentine emphasis on faith as the beginning of justification
Christ’s rather than their own. It was therefore an “alien righ-
is rooted in a vision of justification as a temporally extended
teousness” (iustitia aliena) that remained always external to
process that includes the human growth in relationship with
the justified (extra nos).
God. By contrast, Protestant emphasis on justification as a
In arguing that justification consisted in God’s ascribing
unilateral declaration of forgiveness led to a sharp distinction
Christ’s righteousness to the individual (i.e., a matter of rela-
between divine action and human response. The latter
tion) rather than some objective change within the human
(termed sanctification) was important, but was to be clearly
being (i.e., matter of ontology), Luther concluded that even
distinguished from the question of human status before God
after being justified, the human being remained always also
(justification proper).
a sinner (simul iustus et peccator). As developed especially by
In the wake of the Second Vatican Council (1963–
Luther’s colleague Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560), this
1965), dialogue between Protestant (especially Lutheran)
emphasis on the externality of grace led to the specifically
and Catholic theologians has seen increasing convergence on
Protestant concept of “forensic justification.” According to
the doctrine of justification. In 1997 representatives of the
this interpretation of the doctrine, justification was best con-
Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation issued
ceived along the lines of acquittal in a court of law (forum
the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification that re-
in Latin): to be justified was not a matter of being made (let
ported a consensus on the basic truths in the doctrine and
alone of making oneself) righteous, but rather of being de-
declared the mutual condemnations of the sixteenth century
clared righteous by God.
no longer applicable. Although this document has not met
Perhaps the most obvious mark distinguishing Protes-
with universal approval within either communion, it does in-
tant treatment of justification from that of classical Augus-
dicate a decisive move away from the intellectual hostility
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
5042
JUSTINIAN I
that marked Catholic and Protestant discussion of this topic
union of two natures in the incarnate Word, and of Leo of
from the Reformation period through the early twentieth
Rome, who wrote of one person in two natures. Both Cyril
century.
and Leo affirm that the manhood of Christ is the same as
everyone’s own and subject to suffering. John Mayentius and
SEE ALSO Atonement, article on Christian Concepts; Free
a group of Scythian monks from the Dobruja, who said that
Will and Predestination, article on Christian Concepts;
“one of the Trinity suffered in the flesh,” had a cool recep-
Grace; Incarnation; Merit, article on Christian Concepts;
tion in Rome in 519. But Justinian used their language in
Redemption; Soteriology.
edicts in 529 and 533, which were included with a letter of
approval from Pope John II (received in 534) in the defini-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tive edition of his collection of Roman law, the Corpus juris
The Lutheran-Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justifi-
civilis (535). So the suffering and death as well as the birth
cation (Grand Rapids, Mich., 2000) is an accessible and
of the Son of God became part of the vocabulary of church
even-handed introduction to the basic issues in the history
of Western debate on this topic. For a critical response to this
and state in East and West.
document from the Protestant perspective (and also a para-
The Corpus juris became the standard textbook of
digmatic exposition of the traditional Lutheran view), see
Roman law in the West, at Bologna and elsewhere, but Jus-
Eberhard Jüngel, Justification: The Heart of the Christian
tinian did not succeed in restoring imperial government. In
Faith, 3d. ed. (Edinburgh, 2001). Prominent Catholic
studies of the question from an ecumenical perspective in-
Africa the Vandals were eliminated, but the mountain tribes
clude Hans Küng, Justification (New York, 1964), and Otto
were not subdued. In Italy the Ostrogoths were defeated, but
H. Pesch, Theologie der Rechtfertigung bei Martin Luther und
they fought on as guerrillas, preferred by the peasants to rent
Thomas von Aquin (Mainz, Germany, 1967). An excellent
collectors and tax gatherers. Pope Agapetus I came from
introduction to Luther’s thought is Paul Althaus’s The Theol-
Rome to Constantinople in 536 in search of a diplomatic so-
ogy of Martin Luther (Philadelphia, 1966), especially
lution. He insisted on a purge of those whom he considered
pp. 224–250. Detailed studies of justification from a Catho-
disloyal to the Council of Chalcedon and pressed the emper-
lic perspective include Bernard J. F. Lonergan, S.J., Grace
or to introduce a Chalcedonian patriarch into Alexandria.
and Freedom (New York, 1971), and Bernard Welte, Heils-
But when he died suddenly his successor at Rome was elected
verständnis (Freiburg, Germany, 1966). The most compre-
while the Ostrogoths were still in possession. Pope Silverius,
hensive historical survey of the topic in English is Alister E.
McGrath’s Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of
deposed and exiled as soon as the imperial armies arrived, ob-
Justification, 2 vols. (Cambridge, U.K., 1986). For a survey
tained a review of his case from Justinian, but he was deposed
of developments in the modern period, see Boniface Wil-
again and died in prison.
lems, “Soteriologie von der Reformation bis zur Gegenwart,”
Vigilius, who replaced Silverius, was regarded as an in-
in Handbuch der Dogmengeschichte, edited by Michael Sch-
maus, Alois Grillmeier, and Leo Scheffczyk, vol. 3, fasc. 2c
truder, an agent of Theodora, Justinian’s empress, who pa-
(Freiburg, Germany, 1972).
tronized the Monophysite opponents of the Council of
Chalcedon. In 543–544 Justinian issued the “Three Chap-
IAN A. MCFARLAND (2005)
ters” edict against the person and writings of Theodore of
Mopsuestia, who, though the master of Nestorius, died in
428 before the Nestorian controversy broke out; and against
JUSTINIAN I (482–565), Roman emperor, was born in
criticisms of Cyril of Alexandria by Theodoret of Cyrrhus
or near Skopje in Macedonia, a city where the local aristocra-
and Ibas of Edessa, who at Chalcedon were received as ortho-
cy spoke Latin. The trusted minister of his uncle, Justin I,
dox. In a revised form (551), which has been preserved, this
from 518, Justinian was made his coemperor and succeeded
edict contained a series of directions for the use of terms in
him in 527. Justinian worked for the liberation of the Latin
appropriate contexts, for instance for the proper use of in and
West from armies of occupation: Ostrogoths in Italy and Il-
of two natures. Vigilius did not criticize these, but he kept up
lyricum, Vandals in Africa and Sicily, Visigoths in Spain. To
criticism of the “Three Chapters” before and after he was
this end it was necessary to repair the breach between the
brought to Constantinople in 548 and during the Second
court and church of Constantinople, and the church and city
Council of Constantinople (553), where a final version of the
of Rome, which had been caused by concessions made in the
edict was approved.
East to those who held that the Council of Chalcedon (451)
The war in Italy continued until 553. After it was over,
had pressed the distinction between the divine and human
Vigilius consented to confirm the council, but he died on the
natures of Christ too far in a direction that could be called
way home. His successor at Rome, Pope Pelagius I, suc-
Nestorian.
ceeded in limiting schism to a few places in northern Italy
Before the reign of Justinian, Chalcedonians in the East
around Aquileia, but by this time the Monophysites in Syria
were a party opposed to anything that might obscure the dis-
had acquired their own hierarchy. There and in Egypt, where
tinction between the natures of Christ. During his reign,
they kept control, their leaders were not extreme, but they
some Chalcedonians in the East came to stress what is com-
feared to lose their followers if they accepted the orthodoxy
mon to the letters of Cyril of Alexandria, who wrote of a
of the Council of Chalcedon, as Vigilius feared to lose sup-
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JUSTIN MARTYR
5043
port in the West if he admitted their orthodoxy. Justinian
to Christianity as an idealization, most have defended it as
continued to strive for a balance that can be seen in the archi-
authentic, if somewhat stylized. The conversion itself en-
tecture of the great churches built in his reign in Constanti-
tailed less a substantive shift than a change of commitment
nople and Ravenna. He kept the West open to Eastern influ-
from Greek (Socrates and Plato) to Hebrew (the prophets
ence but failed to restore the unity of the East.
and Jesus) truth. Justin opted for Christianity, he explained,
“not because the teachings of Plato are different from those
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of Christ, but because they are not in all respects similar, as
A review of the political background can be found in George
neither are those of the others, Stoics, and poets, and histo-
Ostrogorsky’s History of the Byzantine State, rev. ed. (New
rians.”
Brunswick, N.J., 1969), pp. 68–79. For the history of theol-
This philosopher-evangelist taught in Rome during the
ogy, see Jaroslav Pelikan’s Christian Tradition, vol. 1, The
reign of Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161). His students included
Emergence of the Catholic Tradition, 100–600 (Chicago,
Tatian (fl. 160–175), the brilliant Assyrian founder of the
1971), pp. 267–279, and John Meyendorff’s Christ in East-
ern Christian Thought (Crestwood, N.Y., 1975), pp. 29–89.
Encratites, and Irenaeus (c. 130–c. 200), bishop of Lyons
and noted antiheretical writer. Justin suffered martyrdom
GEORGE EVERY (1987)
early in the reign of Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180); he was
betrayed by a Cynic philosopher named Crescens, whom he
had bested in an argument. Summoned before the Roman
JUSTIN MARTYR
prefect Rusticus, according to a reliable early martyrology,
(c. 100–163/5) is generally regard-
Justin and several companions who were apprehended at the
ed as the most significant Christian apologist of the second
same time refused to offer the sacrifices required by law, say-
century. With him Christianity moved from competition
ing, “No right-thinking person falls away from piety to impi-
with the popular Hellenistic mystery cults, which attracted
ety.” By command of the prefect they were scourged and be-
chiefly persons of limited education and culture, to competi-
headed. The date of his death is uncertain, but traditionally
tion with philosophies that appealed to persons of higher ed-
it has been commemorated in the Roman calendar on April
ucation and culture. In his apologies he presented Christiani-
13 and 14.
ty as “the true philosophy” uniting the wisdom of both Jews
and Gentiles.
WRITINGS. Although Justin was the first prolific Christian
author, only three of his writings are extant in complete
LIFE. Although born at Flavia Neapolis (modern Nablus) in
form. Works that have perished include the following trea-
Palestine, the site of ancient Shechem in Samaria, Justin
tises: Against Marcion (Marcion, d. 160?, was the founder of
claimed neither Jewish nor Samaritan ancestry. His grandfa-
a heretical anti-Jewish sect); Against All Heresies; two titled
ther was named Bacchius (a Greek name), his father Priscus
Against the Greeks; On the Sovereignty of God; Psaltes; and On
(a Latin name), and, according to his own statements, he was
the Soul. The works that survive in their entirety are 1 Apolo-
uncircumcised, reared according to Gentile customs, and ed-
gy, 2 Apology, and Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew. The second
ucated in the Greek fashion. His writings, however, reveal
Apology is often characterized as an appendix to the first, but
considerable familiarity with Jewish customs and thought,
it seems to have been occasioned by different circumstances
particularly in handling the Scriptures.
and probably was written several years later.
From his youth, Justin possessed a serious religious and
In 1 Apology, addressed around 150 CE to the emperor
philosophical interest. In quest of truth (God) he studied
Antoninus Pius, Justin weaves together a refutation of stock
successively with Stoic, Peripatetic (Aristotelian), Pythagore-
pagan charges against Christians and a positive case for
an, and Platonist teachers. The Stoic, Justin reports, disap-
Christianity as the true religion. He calls for a halt to punish-
pointed him; the teacher failed to help him further his
ment of Christians for the name alone and demands an im-
knowledge of God. The Peripatetic evinced greater interest
partial investigation of the common charges of atheism, im-
in collecting fees than in education. The Pythagorean, a phi-
morality, treason, social aloofness, and theological absurdity.
losopher of some note, rejected Justin when he found the lat-
Justin holds that pagan sources reveal ample analogies to
ter had no acquaintance with music, astronomy, and geome-
Christian teachings on the resurrection, the virgin birth, the
try. Downcast but not despairing, Justin turned to
life and death of Jesus, and Christ’s Sonship. Thus while pa-
Platonists, whose emphasis on the spiritual and on contem-
gans have not been excluded from the truth, they have ob-
plation caused his spirit to soar.
tained this truth by imitation of the prophets or the Word,
Like many others after him, Justin crossed the Platonist
which became incarnate in Jesus, and they have mixed the
bridge to Christianity. Witnessing the fearlessness of Chris-
truth with falsehood. Christianity alone expounds pure
tians in the face of death, he was convinced that they could
truth. Before Christ, the Word was in the world so that who-
not be living in wickedness and pleasure as their detractors
ever lived reasonably, that is, according to the teaching of the
charged. Further, he was influenced by an unidentified elder-
Logos, the divine Word, or universal reason, such as Socrates
ly Christian “philosopher,” perhaps in his native Palestine or
or Heraclitus, was a Christian. Concluding 1 Apology with
in Ephesus, where he went as a young man. Although some
an explanation of Christian baptism, the Eucharist, and the
scholars have characterized Justin’s account of his conversion
Sunday liturgy, Justin then appends the rescript of Hadrian.
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5044
JUSTIN MARTYR
In 2 Apology, a very brief work addressed to the Roman
tural depth. In his apologies, moreover, he wavered back and
Senate, Justin enters a plea for three Christians condemned
forth, relying now on citation of authorities and now on logi-
to death by the prefect Urbicus at the urging of an irate hus-
cal argument. As one of the first to grapple seriously with
band whose wife divorced him for infidelity after she con-
questions posed by more cultured Gentiles, he wobbled and
verted to Christianity. Confessing that he expects a similar
tottered, very uncertain of his footing.
fate because of the hatred of the Cynic Crescens for him, he
offers to debate Crescens before the Senate itself. Why do not
Nevertheless, because he tried, Justin established a per-
all Christians simply commit suicide if they love death so
manent niche in Christian history. As a philosophical evan-
much? Because, replies Justin, the death of all Christians
gelist, he dared to undertake the difficult task of reinterpret-
would mean the end of those instructed in divine doctrines
ing the biblical message in the idiom of what most scholars
and perhaps even the end of the human race, for God delays
now recognize as Middle Platonism. Unlike other Christians
his final judgment for the sake of Christians. Christians do
of his day, even his own pupil Tatian, he acknowledged the
not differ from others in whom the Logos dwells, for all of
truths found in Greek philosophical thought, especially Pla-
these have suffered persecution inspired by demons. They
tonism. Although he sometimes ascribed such insights to
differ only in the fact that they possess the whole truth be-
borrowing from Moses and the prophets, he developed the
cause Christ “became the whole rational being, both body,
more credible theory of illumination or inspiration by the
and reason, and soul.” Thus they do not fear death; rather,
preexistent Logos. Thus Socrates and Heraclitus, in advance
by dying, they prove the validity of their faith.
of Jesus’ advent, merited the title of “Christian.” Whereas
they, however, grasped truth partially, in Jesus the whole
In Dialogue with Trypho Justin ostensibly reports a de-
Logos dwelt bodily, thus vouchsafing to Christians the whole
bate in Ephesus between himself and a Jew named Trypho,
of truth.
a recent refugee from Palestine during the Bar Kokhba Re-
The significant place that Christians ascribed to Jesus
volt (132–135). Some scholars have identified Trypho as
both in worship and in doctrine posed for Justin and other
Rabbi T:arfon, but this is improbable. Although the work
apologists an urgent theological problem: how to preserve
could reflect an actual dialogue, in its present form it cannot
belief in one God while recognizing Jesus as God. The even-
be dated earlier than 1 Apology, from which it quotes. Be-
tual solution was the doctrine of the Trinity, but Justin’s
cause Rabbi T:arfon remembered the Temple, destroyed in
thinking did not reach that far. In his doctrine of God he
70 CE, he most likely would not have been alive at the date
wedded the Platonist idea of God as unknowable and tran-
required for the debate. Some scholars, moreover, have ar-
scendent, the unmoved first cause, nameless and unutterable,
gued that the Dialogue, in which Justin makes skillful use of
and the biblical conception of a living creator, the compas-
Jewish arguments based on scripture, was not an apology to
sionate Father who has come near in Jesus Christ. Often the
Judaism per se but rather was addressed to Gentiles who
former idea dominated. For his understanding of the Logos
cited Jewish objections to Christian claims (as did Celsus in
he appropriated and developed elements of earlier Christian
his True Discourse, c. 175). It has also been argued that the
tradition in relation to either Stoic or Middle Platonist con-
Dialogue was designed as a treatise to prop up the faith of
cepts. The Logos is God’s personal reason—not only in
wavering Christians.
name but numerically distinct from the Father—in which all
The longest of Justin’s extant writings, the Dialogue
partake but which in Jesus Christ became a man. Lest this
consists of four major parts. After narrating at length the
dualism that he posits of God land him in ditheism, howev-
story of his conversion (chaps. 1–10), Justin proceeds to ex-
er, Justin emphasized the unity of the Father and the Logos
plain why Christians no longer keep the whole Mosaic law
prior to creation. The Logos is not eternal, as in later
(11–31). Christianity, he claims, is the true Israel under a
thought, but a product of the Father’s will from the begin-
new covenant. The new covenant, requiring religion of the
ning, thus subordinate to the Father in person and function.
heart, has supplanted the old one, which required sacrifices,
His universal activity, Justin liked to say, is that of the Logos
observance of the Sabbath, fasts, observance of dietary laws,
spermatikos, or Seminal Logos. Justin did not clearly differen-
and circumcision. Christians still keep the eternal (moral)
tiate the activity of the Holy Spirit from that of the Logos,
law, but not the ritual law prescribed to Israel because of its
though he evidently did believe in a personal Holy Spirit.
hardness of heart and transgressions. In the longest section
The Spirit’s chief office is prophetic inspiration.
(32–114) Justin replies to Jewish objections to Christian
Justin turned to Christian philosophy for the same rea-
claims concerning Jesus as fulfiller of Jewish messianic hopes
son that most people turned to one of the philosophies cur-
and as Lord. He bases his argument wholly on the citing of
rent in his time—as a means of salvation. Here he sounded
Old Testament texts and types. In the final section (115–
two notes: truth and victory over demons. In line with his
142) he makes a case for the conversion of the Gentiles by
Platonist philosophical assumptions, he emphasized human
citing Old Testament texts. The rather one-sided “dialogue”
freedom. In each person dwells a spirit or a part of the Semi-
ends with an appeal to Trypho but not with a conversion.
nal Logos. Thus each person has power of choice morally.
THOUGHT. Justin was not a theological giant. As his rejec-
None inherits sin or guilt; that comes from actual sin, which
tion by his Pythagorean teacher indicates, Justin lacked cul-
is the result of letting demons lead one into sin. Christianity
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
JUVAROAN RELIGION
5045
offers two things to remedy this situation. One is the teach-
doubt, he opted for the biblical, as his eschatology (doctrine
ing and example of the Incarnate Logos, who was both divine
of “last things”) indicates. In support of Christian messianic
and fully human. To live by his teaching is to avoid sin. The
convictions he held tenaciously to his belief in the second
other is the power to overcome demons, the demons that
coming of Christ, though he seems not to have worried
Justin, like his contemporaries, believed to be everywhere in
about its delay. The first advent of Christ, he contended, was
fearsome power. Through his death and resurrection Christ
in lowliness; the second one will be in glory. The delay of
has triumphed. Demons, frequently exorcised in his name,
the second coming, according to Justin, is a sign of God’s
are now subject to him.
patience with a recalcitrant humanity for the sake of Chris-
Justin did not elaborate on his understanding of the
tians. Justin also sided with biblical authors on resurrection
church and the ministry, but he did supply some of the earli-
and the millennium. He was not wholly consistent here; in
est extant evidence on Roman baptismal and liturgical prac-
the Dialogue he envisioned the millennium inaugurated by
tice in the second century, including the earliest liturgy. A
a resurrection of the righteous and concluded by a general
period of instruction, the length of which is not indicated,
resurrection and judgment, as in the Revelation to John. He
preceded baptism. Prayer and fasting came immediately be-
cited the judgment as a major part of his argument against
fore. Baptism itself was in the name of the Trinity and ac-
persecution of Christians. Both human beings and angels
companied by a confession, but Justin did not mention lay-
would be judged according to their use or abuse of free will,
ing on the hands after baptism. The Eucharist was celebrated
and the wicked would be condemned to eternal fire. In his
following baptism. The weekly liturgy combined a service of
apologies Justin also spoke of a world conflagration, but his
the word and a eucharistic service. Held on the “day of the
attention to this Stoic idea seems to have been more an ac-
sun,” a designation Justin employed with some reservation,
commodation to Gentile thinking than a contradiction of his
it consisted of reading “as long as time permits” the “mem-
belief in an eternal Jerusalem.
oirs” of the apostles or the writings of the prophets, exposi-
tion by the person presiding (presumably the elder or bish-
SEE ALSO Apologetics.
op), prayers said in a standing position, presentation of the
bread and wine mixed with water, prayers and thanksgivings
BIBLIOGRAPHY
by the one presiding “to the best of his ability,” distribution
The standard critical edition of the text of Justin’s writings is that
and reception of the bread and wine by those present, dis-
by J. C. T. S. Otto, Justini philosophi et martyris opera, 3d ed.
patch by the deacons of remaining portions to those absent,
(Jena, 1875–1881). Reliable English translations of the three
authentic works of Justin can be found in volume 1 of The
and a collection of alms for orphans, widows, the sick, visi-
Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited and translated by Alexander Rob-
tors, and other needy persons.
erts and James Donaldson (1867; reprint, Grand Rapids,
Justin ascribed considerable significance to both bap-
Mich., 1975). A more up-to-date translation of the Dialogue
tism and the eucharistic meal. In baptism the Holy Spirit
is A. L. Williams’s Justin Martyr: The Dialogue with Trypho
brings new birth (as promised in John 3:3–4). Baptism is “il-
(London, 1930). Excellent introductions to the life and
lumination” (photismos) by the Logos, which empowers one
thought of Justin are L. W. Barnard’s Justin Martyr: His Life
to live a truly moral life, thus achieving the goal of the philos-
and Thought (Cambridge, U.K., 1967) and E. F. Osborn’s
opher. In the eucharistic meal the divine Logos unites with
Justin Martyr (Tübingen, 1973), which revise and correct
Erwin R. Goodenough’s one-sided judgments in The Theolo-
the bread and wine in such a way that they become the body
gy of Justin Martyr (1923; reprint, Amsterdam, 1968). Willis
and blood of the incarnate Jesus. This food, consecrated “by
A. Shotwell’s The Biblical Exegesis of Justin Martyr (London,
the word of prayer which comes from him,” and thus no lon-
1965) supplies useful information about Justin’s knowledge
ger ordinary and common, fortifies the recipient with the
of Judaism.
mind and power of the Logos to live the Christian life. Al-
E. G
though Justin uses the word change to describe the effect of
LENN HINSON (1987)
consecration on the elements, his understanding should not
be confused with the later doctrine of transubstantiation.
Suspended between two worlds, Greek and Hebrew,
JUVAROAN RELIGION SEE AMAZONIAN
Justin sometimes did not know which way to lean. When in
QUECHUA RELIGIONS
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N